Monday, December 30, 2013

Pulled Pork - final (third) painting in the Pig series

...the final comp in the series (see the other 2 piglets here). 

...this painting will feature logos of those replacing the pig - Kroger, Bi-Lo/Winn Dixie, Harris Teeter (and i just came across a rumor that Whole Foods from Texas is looking into Hilton Head SC).

Tuesday, December 24, 2013

Happy Holidays 2013

we've traded the Seattle grey-on-grey passive-aggressive drizzle 47 degree holiday season for a sunny 72 in Savannah (though ornaments in palm trees and near 80% humidity require some getting used to)...

...well y'all, have a joyous and safe holiday season! 

Sunday, December 15, 2013

Here's a great concept - Iron Man VS Resident Evil.

my first attempt at Iron Man - kinda went old-school Marvel on the outfit - going along with the this_franchise_versus_that_franchise movie craze of the early 2000s...and, i think the red and green has a nice holiday touch...

Monday, December 2, 2013

The Walking Dead Mid-Season Finale

Right now on AMC, the mid-season finale of the Walking Dead! Looks like they're back in line with the Kirkman comics...

...here's a comp i threw together as a tribute.

Monday, November 18, 2013

Norman Reedus - he signed it!

just a few days ago i got some mail from Norman Reedus...he signed my caricature!

...follow up from my earlier post in January

Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Pulled Pork - second painting in the Pig series

...and here's piglet #2 (see the first one here).

i ended up sticking with just the Georgia state flag, as we'll be living in Savannah soon...

...unfortunately, i won't be starting these until after the move (all my supplies are packed, and the movers charge by the pound!)...

Tuesday, November 5, 2013

Pulled Pork - in memory of Piggly Wiggly

Fret not, Piggly Wiggly is here to stay - however, 37 stores, from Charleston to Savannah are heading for the chopping block this week (full story here)...

...now, to me (currently in transit from Seattle to Savannah), Piggly Wiggly was as much part of the Southern landscape as boiled peanut roadside stands, cheer-wine delivery trucks and kudzu encased barns (Google it).


I'm working on a three part tribute series - 3 large (at least 4 foot) square wooden canvas paintings, honoring "the Pig"...

...here's a digital concept of the first one in the series.

Alas, one piglet was spared the sausage stuffer; store #101, Coligny Plaza,17 Lagoon Rd
, Hilton Head, SC 29928 (though, still an hour's drive from Savannah).

Saturday, November 2, 2013

Horror Genre Car Photography series - #2 Silent Hill

i'm postponing my Texas Chainsaw Massacre shoot (May 2013) until my 3650 mile road trip from Seattle to Savannah in December - i'll be on location for authenticity...

...Konami's Silent Hill (the movie version by TriStar Pictures) - 1995 Mercedes Benz AMG E36 cabrio...

...if anybody has had the opportunity to visit Seattle during the month of October, they would be very familiar with morning fog regularly reducing visibility to 3 feet - to any cult horror video-game-gone-movie geek this would constitute a Silent Hill kinda day (sans the raining ash from the coal fires)...

...to the right is the original image from a foggy October morning in Magnolia - almost good enough on its own...

Sunday, October 27, 2013

2 Stroke Prosthetic Bunny - the action figure - part 4

Phase 4: 1st mold from the clay master (continuation of my July motor bunny post)
...the first step in creating the initial 2 piece urethane rubber mold. i set every individual part of my bunny figure into some plastilina clay -up to the center line on each piece. the plastilina works great, as it is much softer than the oil-based sculpting clay i used to create the master (i coated everything with a release agent - hopefully this will allow for the painless removal of the plastilina...)
after i have inserted some wooden dowel markers into the plastilina, i can start pouring the  urethane rubber...

Sunday, October 13, 2013

Walking Dead Resumes 10/13

Here's to a brand new season of AMC's The Walking Dead. 11 hours and counting...

i've decided to design a set of 52 highly stylized traditional playing cards featuring memorable characters from the show...starting with Rick Grimes as the king of clubs...

Tuesday, October 1, 2013

A very non-productive September...

Dearest readers and pseudo followers, i want to apologize for this very "dry" month...my creative energy has been transposed into countless moving boxes (along with about 20 years of accumulation within the Pacific Northwest)...though i did start  putting my handy Prismacolor Col-Erase to use again late this afternoon - slow, at first, but some new projects will be posting soon - promise...

For now i'll close this month with a piece that i've finished earlier in September...

Tuesday, August 27, 2013

2 Stroke Prosthetic Bunny - the action figure - part 3

Phase 3: completed clay model (continuation of my July motor bunny post)
currently residing in my meat freezer (since oil-based sculpting clay tends to get softer with heat, so baking it in the oven - as a fore mentioned - is right out)...

i'm still trying to figure out how to best sculpt the moving joints - there is surprisingly NOTHING on the webs about this subject...if any of you have a suggestion, please let me know!
the next step is to create 2 part block molds for each of the pieces. i'm using a 74/30 hardness polyurethane rubber (2 part liquids) to pour the molds (quite spendy at $12.50 the pound - especially as i'll be needing at least 8 for this guy - that is if i make no mistakes)...

...unfortunately, the clay master only survives 5% of the time during demolding.

Wednesday, August 14, 2013

USCSS Nostromo crew outfit - part 1: shirt

Living in Seattle i come across my share of cos-play enthusiasts (beyond the run-of-the-mill, out-of-shape cat ear and tail sporting sci-fi followers)...i consider myself a closet sci-fi/horror geek - so this is my first attempt at building my own outfit - keeping it simple...
Courtesy of 20th Century Fox Ridley Scott's 1979 ALIEN, i decided to go for the USCSS Nostromo's flight crew outfit (starting with the t-shirt and shirt as seen worn by Dallas - the white guy with the beard, for those of you not too familiar with the movie)...
well, here it is... it took me about 6 week nights while on the road in Charleston to hand-stitch the shirt (using the hotel issued handy compact sewing kit)...
i got the patches and the pin (science officer) on ebay - great quality, even better price.
now, for the die-hards, i took some creative liberty with the buttons and breast pocket shape (non-rounded)...but then again, this is intended as a Halloween costume prototype, not a competition winner (see SyFy Channel's Heroes of Cosplay)... more to come!

Wednesday, July 24, 2013

2 Stroke Prosthetic Bunny - the action figure - part 2

Phase 2: clay build-up (continuation of my July motor bunny post)
 
...added some non-hardening sculpting clay to the aluminum tube and foil wire skeleton from earlier. on closer inspection, the clay does not allow for an extremely smooth finish, but good enough for a first-pass rubber mold for wax casting (i'll go into details when that phase comes along)...

also, since i took this picture, i've shortened the neck to better match the proportions of the illustration.

as you can see, the engine and wheel attachment is still in the wire-frame stage - already began sculpting it...although this takes time, as its about 86 degrees here and the clay gets pretty soft (unless i keep placing it into the fridge after every 5 minutes of handling time).

Tuesday, July 9, 2013

2 Stroke Prosthetic Bunny - the action figure - part 1

Phase 1: model sheet and armature (continuation of my June motor bunny post)
A quick series of sketches for scaling consistency served as a suitable blueprint for the wire-frame armature. the arm (got only 1), head and legs are detachable (all movable parts will be sculpted, molded and cast separately to facilitate proper articulation) - i'm basing the movements of the character along the lines of the classic Kenner Star Wars figurines from the 70s and 80s.

i built each "joint" using 2 sizes of aluminum tubing where one slides into the other - this allows me to detach the limbs and work on them separately, thus minimizing contact to the already finished parts of the sculpture. i filled the thicker parts of the character with aluminum foil to reduce the amount of clay in the final sculpt - not only does this save money, but also reduce the weight of the sculpt and allow for faster drying and curing without cracking (especially when baked)...

...working on sculpting the torso now...

Monday, July 1, 2013

Midnight Liquor Run

i originally sketched this one following my 4 and a bit hour drive from Atlanta to Savannah earlier this month...
...i finally got around to finishing it!

enjoy...

Sunday, June 9, 2013

2 Stroke Prosthetic Bunny

2 Stroke Prosthetic Bunny - i originally conceived this double amputee rabbit back in 8th grade (granted, my artistic skills where significantly limited 25 years ago, though the concept did stick)...
this lop-sided bunny is missing the left arm and leg, and is fitted with a detachable motorized prosthetic to allow for a less sedentary lifestyle...

this character will become my first limited edition 8 inch action figure that i plan to resin cast and hand paint...

Thursday, May 16, 2013

Horror Genre Car Photography series - #1 The Walking Dead

If you haven't noticed yet, i really enjoy the horror film genre - especially all things zombie; more classic, less campy; and NO VAMPIRES (ok, 30 Days of Night is an exception - but none of that high-school/sub-urban mom sparkly stuff)...and with my affinity for automotive history, i decided to combine the two through the power of photography (and a little Photoshop)...

...presenting the first of the series: 1995 Mercedes Benz E36 AMG cabrio in the opening credits of AMC's The Walking Dead ...

...so here is how this works; i pick a movie and/or series that i like, let the art direction and cinematography (usually the credits) soak into my subconscious, scout out a respective location, take the shot and run some post in Photoshop...easy, right?

Before i sign off, i wanted to share with you a before shot, i have studied copyright law for a bit, and therefore can't post screenshots from The Walking Dead tv series opening credits.

i highly recommend checking out the series, if you haven't already...

Next in line; Texas Chainsaw Massacre (the recent versions)...

Monday, May 6, 2013

stealth - digital ink wash/water color

I am currently writing from Raleigh, North Carolina...yet this didn't have much influence in my latest drawing...

...other than Zombies (and a myriad of decaying stuff) i also have an avid interest in history.  I was trying to capture the contemporary ink/wash on parchment style of post-battle sketches commonly created by field artists when time and supplies so permitted...

the CSA infantry private was hand-drawn, and colored digitally (i do paint, though this process is usually rather time consuming and there isn't the option of a Ctrl-Z...)

Thursday, April 18, 2013

Dead in the Water

ok, i know, another zombie...
...though rest assured, the next entry is going to be from the world of the living...

...about a year ago i happened across a stripped-down twin engine Cessna in the shallow waters off a deserted beach near Eleuthera, Bahamas - in all likelihood the scavenged remains of a failed drug rum to the Florida coast. while concocting stories revolving around the pilots' fates, my zombie obsession took the upper hand...

though the ghoul is donning the traditional Caribbean tourist garbs, why is he in a kelp forest, you may ask yourself...well, simple, i do the occasional scuba diving near my home in the Pacific Northwest, and ended up sampling some of the local scenery for the image...

...and i really like PBR (the beer cans, for my non American readers)...

Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Zombie Butcher - updated

i decided to update my kitchen art...now this concept is not new; i created the image in 2009, yet it was flat and "lifeless"...

i kept the red and white butcher poster for the backdrop - i always found the stark contrast and simple composition of those iconic vintage meat advertisements and buyer's guides very affective.

i completely redrew the zombie character (colored in Photoshop) - i'm rather happy with the its comic-book finish...

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

A new home for Twiggy

i know, i know...i reserve this blog for all things art and design...but then again the 1964 Ford Thunderbird was an original piece of art in itself...so, there (in the guise of a blatant sales pitch, this message doubles as a sign-of-life...i am still actively creating new pieces of awe, i promise)...
well, here she is, Twiggy, a nigh 2 ton behemoth from the peak-of-the-Cold-War masterpiece of pre-sexual revolution America - and she's for sale!
I have had her for the better part of almost 20 years (garaged) and spent over $15,000 rebuilding or replacing all mechanical elements through-out...
so, here's the pitch: i'm asking $12,000, or best reasonable offer for this 3rd owner, 175k original mile icon of early '60s Americana.
The Exterior: the chrome shines and the glass shows no cracks. Please remember that this is not a museum piece, and she is almost 50, so some wear and tear is expected. There are some areas of minor rust at the base of the doors and the paint has sustained door-dings and a few chips over the decades.




The Interior: the door panels, carpet and front seats where redone by the previous owner, everything else is original and in great condition, including the original AM mono radio (I do have a brand new ivory replacement headliner –just haven’t had the time to install it). All instruments and switches (except for the clock) are accounted for and in working order. The driver’s seat vinyl has a large tear in it, and should be replaced along with the padding.

The Drive train: runs great and shifts smoothly on a completely rebuilt 390cci (6.4L) engine, brand new Holly 4bbl carburetor, rebuilt exhaust system (double 3.5 foot glass packs), rebuilt Cruise-O-Matic 3spd automatic transmission, cleaned fuel system, rebuilt steering column, power-assist pump and gearbox, replaced cooling system and radiator, rebuilt/replaced and cleaned the entire braking system (still has 11inch drum brakes all around), new transmission and motor mounts, replaced power-train electrical system, newer tires and shocks.

oh, the engine compartment paint scheme was my doing...see, still a bit of my art after-all.


Sunday, February 3, 2013

Pacific Blue Mussel Sconces


after almost 20 years in the Pacific Northwest, i think i'm finally getting a hang of this theme - local, organic, sustainable...

presenting the Blue Mussel Sconce set; a shape inspired by the functional works of the lighting obsessed architect Poul Henningsen, adorned with the abundant fruit of the northern Pacific Ocean.

everything on this sconce (and its clone - yes, there is a second one) is recycled...well almost; the bulb is new, as is the sterling silver coating on each shell back (about an ounce or so in total).

the project began with a 2 pound dinner of moules frites (if you are not familiar with this dish, i highly encourage you to become acquainted)...along with the dirty dishes about 50 pairs of shells needed a severe scrubbing. the shells were cleaned, boiled and bathed in blue food coloring (this enhances the vibrancy of the bivalve's inside lining) for a few days.  while still soft from the soaking, 2 holes needed to be drilled into each shell to enable interlinking with silver wire rings (hand made)...

now for the non-recycled part. the black outer side of the shells didn't have the appeal i was looking for, coating them in reflective sterling silver achieved the industrial look i intended.

the fixtures themselves hailed from some derelict 1960s roadside motel - stripped down to the bare metal and updated with a set of reclaimed brass rings (hand shaped) - finished with a matte silver powder-coat.

...oh, and the 2 bottles of rose that accompanied the a fore mentioned dinner, had their top and bottom cut off to create a set of hurricane candle cylinders to shield the bulb...

 ...i also drew up a nice looking blueprint :)

Monday, January 28, 2013

Screen Series: #5 Norman Reedus

After a considerable break, I am kicking off my next batch of caricatures with Norman Reedus; in character as Daryl Dixon from The Walking Dead TV series on AMC, along with his signature crossbow.  the "zombie squirrel" on his shoulder is homage to its many brethren that ended up in the cooking pot around the camp fires in season one...

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

reshuffle the camera bag...

by no means do i consider myself a professional photographer; i do use it as a tool to further my creative ventures and have, at time, accepted payment for my work (for the analytical types in need of categorizing; i'm an illustrator by trade).

a little time back, while in default mode, i found myself cruising verydemotivational.com, as i do, and came across a split image featuring  Neil Armstrong in full NASA garb and some random girl in a bathroom with her smart-phone (the caption reading: "went to the moon, took 5 photos | when to the bathroom, took 37 photos - here's a link to that image: http://memerial.net/5723-went-to-the-moon-took-5-photos) - now, i'm not going to go into excruciating detail explaining this image or the meaning behind it (i'll leave that up to you); however it motivated me enough to dust off my 35mm film SLR!

i held on to film well into 2006, until my Canon EOS Rebel XT digital SLR wedding gift - a great camera, an i take it (and a range of lenses) with me everywhere i go. in the beginning i treated the memory card just like i was shooting on film - make every shot count...

...though with every convenience comes complacency (what i like to call sweat-pants and flip-flops in public)... 

...i soon let myself accept that each card would hold over 400 shots, only having to sift through countless JPEGs after every shoot; saving some deleting others and then printing and trimming the keepers - well, needless to say, i find myself simply storing batches on DVDs or hard-drives, some without even looking at them.

merely knowing that there is a certain dollar amount involved in the development of the final composition will make anyone contemplate its value (artistically and personally, alike) prior to hitting the shutter release...

...and who can forget the child-like anticipation awaiting that stocked envelop of  4-by-6s fresh off the developers press?

well, i'll be making some space for my Canon Eos Rebel XS (35mm film) body and a handful of 36 exposure rolls next to my digital equipment in the camera bag.