The Iowa Chronicles

Hey party people! I just wanted to let you know that I am currently in Davenport, Iowa for the next year on an artist residency and I have created a blog to track my work and exploits whilst there. Any new work, thoughts, etc. of mine will be posted in the Iowa Chronicles for the next year, so that's the place to go for that shizzle. Follow the below link to reach the magical land of Iowa. Thanks for stopping by and perhaps I'll see you back here in a year! Make sure you dress to impress.

www.iowachronicles.blogspot.com

M U D D L E I I I

M U D D L E I I

Another image of the tragedy of war. I'm not too crazy about the subject matter of this one, specifically the soldier, because it feels too kitsch. I think I'll stay away from putting soldiers in these pieces and keep it limited to civilian interactions.

M U D D L E

Here is the first piece among my intense physical interaction series in which the context of the painting is that of a strongly emotional nature. The photo I worked from is actually one of the saddest I've ever seen; a young Iraqi boy literally dying in the arms of his mother as she seems to be trying to comfort him (suggested by what appears to be a slight smile on her face), the life in his eyes being replaced by confusion and what could very well be the "light at the end of the tunnel," both covered in his blood. The photographer captured a moment few of us will ever experience. I tried to find out who it is to give credit where credit is due, but couldn't. It is an overwhelming view into the horrors that war brings and I plan to do several drawings/paintings of scenes in which someone is dying in another person's arms because of the sheer power that such an image possesses. I want to clarify that the purpose of these pieces is not to say that I think war needs to be stopped (I think a world without war is impossible), but I want to expose people to something that most of us are otherwise completely disconnected from.

Digiactionsaurumon

Whenever I set out to color a drawing digitally I tend to lose interest after a couple hours. I think I may actually see THIS one through to the end. It's loosely concerned with power issues between men and women, a theme that I think I may pursue in the coming months. It's going to remain black and white in order to keep things simple and make it easier for me to see this thing through to the end. More progress shots soon to come oy oy oy.

Animupdate

The animation is going well; I've done 14 of about 50 frames so far. I don't have work for the next two weeks and am a little tired of painting right now (thanks to a stupid experimental piece; many lives were lost), so I should be cranking these mothas out. I think the final product is going to be really interesting.

May 22nd: Up to frame 29.

Animexploration

I've been thinking about trying my hand at a simple animation for a while and I decided today is the day. I drew out the background (shown below) and am going to composite myself into the image walking down the hall toward the camera. I'm thinking I'll just keep it a simple line drawing, although maybe I'll add some shading and if I'm feeling really saucy come color, too. I kind of have a feeling that just the linework will be cool enough. Hopefully I have the stamina do get it finished, as I know animation is mad involved. If all goes well, you should see the animation in a few weeks.

Cuddle Painting #1

It is finished!







Still sticking to the "intense physical interactions" theme, but putting on the slow jamz and taking it down a notch. Ideally I'd like to shoot my own reference so I can design everything in the shot, but this will do for now. I like the little monkey dog.

Grapple Painting #2

I like this orientation for the painting. It takes the figures out of a space and makes everything behave in a more decorative manner, which I prefer.

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Sometimes at work the clients aren't pleased with their dog's haircut. Among those, there are a few who basically react like this.

Even More Perversions

Perversion RD



Perversion JM

I'm pretty happy with how this came out. I plan on doing a series of paintings of intense physical interactions, whether they be violent, loving, etc, where the body parts overlap and tangle with eachother, creating a mass of flesh where it's difficult to discern between one figure and the other. I'm really trying to push my work towards abstraction while keeping the human figure as the central theme. It's starting to happen here and I'm pleased with what I see and am eager to push it more; take it to the limit if you will.

More Perversions

Perversion SD



Perversion TF

"Y'all Ain't from Around Here, Are Ya?" Progress one

Digital Information vs. Hard Copies and Originals

I was picking up some film the other day of some of the dawgies I work with, a few of which I'll probably scan and post just so y'all can see my lovie dovies, and as I looked the pictures over the words of one of my co-workers (a Homo Sapien Sapien) found their way into my head from a conversation we had had earlier. She said she doesn't get photographs anymore and prefers to get all her pictures on a CD. This got me thinking about the gradual shift that has occurred in many realms of documentary life over the past several years and the fact that so many documents, pictures, information in general, have been entrusted to electronic storage devices. This idea got me to begin comparing the ability of digitized information to endure as compared to that of hard copies and originals of the same information. Which will last longer, an image saved on a hard drive or a photograph of that image in a photo album? It all depends, for maybe either the hard drive or album will burn in a fire or be destroyed by a flood, making the other the victor. However, all disastrous occurrences aside, I feel it is more likely that in the long run the hard copy will outlast the digital one. I don't know how long a document, image, etc. can/is meant to stay written on a storage device, but I have seen files of mine go to hell for one reason or another having had a life-span of only a few weeks or months. Eventually, within a person's life time I would think, a hard drive would begin to show signs of its usage through the loss or corruption of files, and it is only a matter of time until information will need to be transferred to another storage device (it is recommended in the first place that all info on one storage device be backed up on another, in case the first becomes faulty). I highly doubt a storage device is meant to last a whole lifetime, much less 500 years like many paintings. Additionally, the tangibility, the ability to touch and feel the texture of an original painting as compared to a digital one is so much more special. Even a photograph, which can be copied as many times as one desires, is more special than the digital version of it. It exists in real space, in all three axes, x, y, and z. I believe in the sanctity of the the physical and the original, even though one could argue that our world as we perceive it is hardly "real" or tangible (Descartes, among others), but that merits a whole other discussion that I don't feel like getting into. I gotsta go work with my fuzzy little angels. Yayyyyy!!!!

"Perversions"

These "Perversions" are drawings based off of other pieces of art that are famous and/or I admire for one reason or another. The Perversions are interesting for me because I get to learn a little bit about the way the original artist designed and executed the works as I filter them through myself to create my perverted versions of them.

Perversion PP



Perversion CGL



Perversion ADeV



Perversion MC

On the Nature of the Artist and Space Exporation

For a period of time I thought being a "professional" artist was one of the most selfish of all assumed means by which to make a living. "Professional" is in quotations because it is somewhat of an odd word to precede that of "artist," for at what point does one become a professional artist? What quality of work must they produce for how much money at how frequent a rate to be considered a professional artist? Who decides that an artist is professional? Perhaps there is not a specific point in time one can pin-point and say "Billy Cheddargrape is a professional sculptor...NOW!" but rather might be one of those things were an artist or the world wakes up one day and realizes Mr. Cheddargrape is a professional artist. Maybe I am complicating the issue by failing to acknowledge the fact that a profession is the activity one engages in as their main mode of income, so when an artist is financially supporting themselves through their art, I suppose they have become a professional artist. However, my main means of income right now is supervising dogs at a doggy daycare, yet I would hardly consider myself a professional "Canine Activity Supervisor (CAS)." This seems to be an elusive butterfly of a question which I don't think I can net now. Anyways, I've gotten off the subject of my original idea long ago, with the beginning of the second sentence;
the selfish, conceited nature of the artist, that's what I meant to fill the last 20ish lines of this entry with. That used to be my opinion of the professional artist; he/she is a person who has chosen to forego making any tangible contribution to society, like that of a teacher or baker, and spend countless hours hermited away from friends and neo-Nazis (the latter of the two is a good thing) and an average social life in the pursuit of...well who knows what. Artists are driven by a variety of things, whether it be recognition/fame, money, self-expression, the desire to emote/incite/inspire, or simply an unquenchable obsession where they need to constantly, to some degree, whether it be all the time or less frequently but nonetheless their whole life, create. I realize I have just stated something contradictory: is not the act of inspiring contributive to society? Oh yes, certainly it is, and as I have grown I have come to realize this truth. So I am happy to say that the artist who seeks to do this is not as selfish and dare I say, useless, as an artist who merely seeks fame and money only. How would one who seeks fame and money through art even reach such a point? The artists who are destined to become famous and/or rich (poor Van Gogh) become so on account of their purity of purpose (Picasso was an anomaly of this, for he did wish to become a superstar. Although there is nothing wrong with that ambition as long as purpose and truth in one's art precedes the desire of fame, and to be honest I don't know which came first with Picasso; maybe he's not an anomaly). They have something to say that they believe in so strongly that they devote large periods of time to it, which shows in the end and thus respect and admiration is gained. An artist who before anything wants to be famous has chosen to travel a path built on nothing, or maybe quicksand or hot coals, and they will not reach any level of real respect unless they wise up and have something to say.

The artist who has no choice but to create something out of nothing, or rather a combination of often times otherwise useless items, like paint or a crayon, things which serve no other purpose than to make something new on a two-dimensional surface (unless one uses them in sculpture), I feel shares qualities akin to an inventor or explorer. Most artists have within them this obsessive quality, yet there are quite a few out there who "hate to make art," even though they may be incredibly good, even amazing. I use to hate making art at times, on account of the fact that I held the work I made too precious, wanting every thing I did to be a masterpiece, and stressing throughout the whole process in anticipation of the catastrophic brushstroke that would turn my Mona Lisa into a >insert the name of a piece of art that you loathe<. I can understand why an artist would hate to make art, but I think when this happens the artist is not doing what they really want to do; they are making art for others and not for themselves, for their own enjoyment. An artist is like an inventor or explorer because they seek truth and new knowledge; they seek truth in themselves or the world by touching and feeling their media and manipulating in such a way as to shine light on certain aspects of life. They are exploring through art, it is their way of absorbing, digesting, and regurgitating the world or themselves to those around them, and some, probably most, artists hope the world will listen and learn/feel something new and/or powerful. Whether or not they want recognition depends on the artist, but we, as humans, are, or should be, driven by the desire to learn more about whatever it is we are interested in. We all want to experience the new and unknown, some just on a grander scale than others. Some may want to live their whole lives in a basement, but they probably want to explore new levels of new video games or new seasons of new shows. Some want to figure out how the universe works, which I can empathize with and feel space exploration is one of the most important things we as a species can do, yet unfortunately we have been preoccupied with our trivial, useless issues here on earth for some time, thanks to our overly complex, destructive big brains (read "Galapagos" by Kurt Vonnegut to really get what I mean here. I would explain it myself but Kurt I'm sure does a better job in a much more entertaining way). I mean, how can there be anyone who doesn't want to learn about where we came from and what else is out there in the universe? Okay, I'm sure there are plenty of people out there who don't really care, but they should. That is the whole point of everything, to know the truth about the universe. Nothing else really matters. And if we do somehow find the answers, which we won't anytime soon and most likely ever, then what do we do? Will we be able to do anything? Are we as a species fated to live out our days on this planet, maybe Mars also, and disappear from "existence" never knowing the truth? Most likely I say, but all we can do is explore the next closest enigma, whether it be for example an artist discovering something new about themselves, or a young adult being deeply affected by a newly found piece of art or literature, opening the flood-gates to a new level of maturity and understanding, setting into motion the events that would see BARACK OBAMA ELECTED AS PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. HOLLAAAAA!!!!

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Another Lady Beatin' Up a Dude

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