The Walrus and the Albatross

If you recall a very long time ago I invited people to send me pictures to draw. I think I only came through with one of them, but I never forget a project and I'm finally getting around to doing another. This is the beginning stages of a piece inspired by a photograph sent in by Lannice Montague, of San Diego CA. The two figures are leaning up against a section of the Berlin Wall with a Star of David painted on it. I'll be posting a more finished piece tomorrow.

Mon-key

Something I did a little while ago from a photo I took at the SF Zoo. With their wispy hair and mustaches these guys really remind me of Dr. Seuss characters.

If anybody has any great animal pictures I can draw please send them to dailysketch17@gmail.com

Dr. Stranglove or How I learned to stop worrying and make a tentacle out of papier mache'

In this blog you'll learn how I made the tentacle for my Sea Cave installation. First you start with a wire frame as a base, and tape tiny circles created from cardboard of varying size to the frame. This is time consuming.



When finished create your papier mache' out of water, flour, and salt. Instructions can be found on the internet. Using thin strips of newspaper soaked in papier mache' proceed to cover entire form. If you have the energy you can wad newspaper around each individual sucker for a more realistic look. I recommend watching TV on DVD while you do this as it is quite time consuming and tedious. Freaks and Geeks and Seinfeld are both good options.





Finally, paint it. You might want to start with a solid color base (such as white) in order to cover up all the newspaper text, and then add whatever detail you like. Then proceed to take nerdy pictures of yourself with your creation.



The state of my living room the week of my installation.



Be careful. Soon you'll realize that with enough wire and papier mache' you can create anything you want, transforming your normal everyday life into a veritable freakshow of terrible horrors. A perversion of everything we hold sacred as a species!

Or maybe that's your thing? If it is, go for it.

"So a mormon, a nun, a shaman, and a rabbi walk into a bar..."

My friend Sam hired me to do this drawing in honor of the one year anniversary of So Say We All. According to their website "So Say We All (SSWA) is a San Diego based producer of multi-media variety shows whose mission is to promote local artists, of all mediums, by staging their art in unexpected and accessible places."

The characters are, respectively, Justin Hudnall (the Mormon), Jess Jollett (the Nun), Sam Carr (the Shaman), and Jake Arky (the Rabbi). Their next show "Growing Pains" is this Saturday at Cream Coffee and Wine Bar in San Diego. Check it out if you get the chance.

SEA CAVE : The Beginning

This is my original sketch for the installation.



Some changes had to be made spatially when I actually got into the space, but for the most part it stayed the same. It sucks that I never got around to making a jellyfish, but the logistics itself had me in a tizzy. The second small window on the left that wasn't included in the photos has the title of the show on it now.

SEA CAVE: The Final Piece

Here are some pictures of the installation I did last week at the Emerson Space Case, courtesy of Stephanie Brachmann. It's a window gallery so the piece consists of four separate "frames" of work. Let's start with each frame individually and then some artier details, shall we?


Frame #1 : The Eyes


Frame #2 : The Octopus Den


Frame #3 : School


Frame #4 : The Whale


Detail #1 : The Eel

I may need to get a picture of the eel in the day because the blue light illuminating it belies the detailed color work of the actual sculpture.

Detail #2 : Tentacle

I'll be posting a separate blog soon about the making of the tentacle.

Detail #3 : Serpent Sea Star

Stephanie did an amazing job of painting this sea star for the installation.

Detail #4 : Fish

I actually wanted there to be an overwhelming amount of fish in this frame, but time did not allow. I'm considering doing more and adding them as the month goes on.

Detail #5 : Eel #2

Okay, so this eel is a little less blue saturated.

"From the Street"

There's a tree blocking the first window from the street, so it's impossible to get a full shot of the piece, but here's the closest we can get.

Thanks to everyone who made it to the opening Monday night, and if you didn't the installation will be up until the beginning of June, so stop by and take a look. And a big thanks to Stephanie for her help with everything along the way. If not for her I'd still be there working on it, I'm sure.

Once again, The Emerson Space Case is an installation window gallery on the corner of NE Emerson and NE 30th in Portland, OR. Check out their blog for news and pictures of shows past.

Thanks for stopping by everyone!

Ideas

I was considering making this guy out of paper mache and chicken wire for my installation, but plans changed. I guess I could still make him and put it in the front window of my house.

The Tylosaurus was a mosasaur and is related to modern reptiles such as lizards and snakes. The largest specimen found was over 49 feet in length. One of the only dreams I remember vividly from my childhood is being woken up by my parents and escorted out to our swimming pool for my birthday present. To my amazement it was an array of dinosaurs hanging out in our pool. And it was awesome.

It's called a Viperfish

This portrait of a Viperfish wearing a bowtie can be seen adorning the sea cave that is my new installation at the Emerson Space Case (corner of NE 30th and NE Emerson, Portland, OR). Opening reception is tomorrow evening starting at 8pm and going till we feel like leaving. Snacks and refreshments will be provided.

I've been working on this pretty much non-stop for the last two weeks and am really pleased with the way it turned out. I'll have pictures up as soon as I can, but it's best to see it in person. It'll be up for the month of May, possibly longer.

Previously Unpublished.

I've been working nearly 12 hour days training for my new job combined with setting up my installation so I haven't really been able to update this blog. So today I'm posting the long lost story behind Arthur Giraffe, published in issue 2 of Dewclaw.

"Arthur? Well let's just say Arthur is not the Giraffe he used to be. Hmmm, well I suppose it's best to start from the beginning, or from the time that I met him, I should say. Like all young English Giraffes Arthur started his studies at Oxford University wide eyed and eager to learn. He scored high marks and was at the top of his class in the study of linguistics and ancient civilizations. He was quite the go getter back then. Unfortunately for all of us, and especially for Arthur, his youth and spirit got the best of him. While pursuing his PHD he fell in with that dreadful Professor Pierson crowd and signed up for an expedition in search of the sunken pyramid of Kalimu.

Now, let me explain. Kalimu was an ancient African prince who's entire kingdom was washed away in a great flood nearly four thousand years ago. According to legend, before the flood Prince Kalimu gathered all the knowledge and literature of his people, knowledge far more advanced than in any kingdom of it's time, and sealed it in a giant pyramid, which supposedly now lies at the bottom of the ocean floor.

Unable to dissuade Arthur in the face of ancient knowledge, treasure, and above all, adventure, I wished him good luck and hoped for the best. Unfortunately the best is far from what happened. We lost contact with them shortly after they arrived in African waters. Months passed and after a year they were all presumed dead. We even held a funeral for them! I myself delivered a very moving eulogy. But, miraculously, three years after they had set sail they returned to the English channel. All of them! Allegedly a giant storm had blown them off course and they had been sailing in circles since then, trying to find their way back home. Relieved that everyone was back and safe the University officials were satisfied enough, but something did not sit right. I didn't know the others well, but I could tell Arthur was profoundly different, and he has only gotten worse since then. Oh, of course he was hired by the university to compensate for any alterations he may have accrued in service to their expedition, but it does him no good. He spends most of his time mumbling in dead languages and constructing purposeless contraptions out of silverware and yarn. Lately he's developed a habit of collecting jars of air, which he has classified by location, elevation, and precipitation. I visit with him every Thursday for tea and a game of chess. One of these days I'm going to win, too. I don't know what happened to him on that expedition, but whatever it was, I wish it hadn't. Who knows what would have become of Arthur Giraffe?"

- Doctor Charles D. Rabbit; Professor of Linguistics
Oxford University, Great Britain c.1902

Back to School

Until I can start actually installing tomorrow I've been using my time to prepare as much as I can. Part of that preparation has been creating a school of fish to swim throughout the horrors of the sea cave. I'm using watercolor pencils on cardboard, and it's taking entirely too long. Five down, twenty to go. If anybody is interested in helping me install this weekend I can always use an extra pair of hands. There will be music and pizza. I like how the fish on the bottom resembles Alice Cooper.