iGod

 Wood, nail, iPod, headphones. 5.5'' x 11.5''

Potentially too controversial for prospective employers, this new piece will have to land here for now. Which is goofy but true. It's really more of a commentary on our societies collective newfound habit of worshiping technology -which I call "iDolotry"- than anything to do with Christianity. (Crucifixion was a form punishment used by several major civilizations before the Roman Empire, and after.) Every time I see the masses with their heads down and hands clasped around their little phones and iPods or whatever, completely oblivious and their minds somewhere else literally high in the sky, it looks like praying to me. Brings a whole new perspective on "Cloud" technology and divine (AKA wireless) inspiration. The satellites are our angels beaming down at us from heaven, protecting us from not knowing who's posted to our Facebook...

A note about the logo: One friend told me this could be a meme (I had to look it up and still didn't get it. So another friend clarified, and told me to put a watermark on it. I later got paranoid and agreed, but I think it makes it look silly/poppy. I tried my hardest to make it look like the QAD was designed for it.

UPDATE:

Just happened upon this in a stack of papers, must be Lara's. But check the logo and compare it to the one I developed. Pretty odd coincidence...

MAN vs. SHARK revisited

Infographic made to comply with 70 - 30 (%) aspect ratio of info to space. Mega-info. But I guess it works when you're trying to bring a point home. Save the sharks, people. Thus save yourselves.

And make the message pretty.

WAYZGOOSE

First time for me and mine visiting Letter Press event at SVC, called "Wayzgoose" this weekend. Definitely need more time, to peruse and get a poster printed next year. Several groups print all day via large poster plates, hand-rolled ink, and a steam roller. They hang them from the balcony railings of the buildings successive floors. Very cool. Print shop, movable type bins and machines are inside. Highly recommended event.

Here's to swimmin' with bow-legged wimmIn.

Mock info-graphic for school. But the facts are true. Inspired while watching Sharkwater documentary. Watch it, and/or go to SavingSharks.com and do what you can to help. As much as Jaws is a favorite, it took it's toll. And the fin has zero flavor...

MIND FIELD

Pen tool practice, in class. One of my all-time favorites...Albert, not the Pen Tool...

"The key to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources."

DISPOSITION

School has consumed my life. It's all I have to show for anything lately.

Photo illustration self portraits. We choose our own battles...

Sun Over Marin

Another fun school assignment. Full re-creation, before and after. Reminds me of South Bay.

Perched Aloft

Photoshop assignment for school. Supposed to be a self portrait, using only our own photos. Smoke and ashes in city still sort of pending.....need to take smoke/cloud tutorial from my 2,343,576 page textbook. My gaiters look like leg warmers. 

The 4th Dimension is Mind

This is Elliot Ave from 2 perspectives, North-bound, then South-bound. I bent space and time. Seattle can never get its fill of colorful corners.

Eyes Wide Shut Me Down

First project in class at AIS. I put some solid effort into it, 12 layers/7 channels, and the teacher said, "eh, it was just to get you working, I don't even want to see it."

How could you deny that face??

"Assassination is the extreme form of censorship." -George Bernard Shaw

 "On Thursday, Gabby Giffords rose in the House of Representatives to read the First Amendment to the Constitution. On Saturday, she was gunned down by one of her constituents. Giffords held "Congress on Your Corner" outside a Tucson grocery, something she has regularly done to talk face to face with the public, not all of whom supported her. The interchange of views and information is precious to me, nothing is more symbolic of that than the First Amendment and Giffords' commitment to dialog with her community. Nothing is more offensive to me than efforts to cut that off, the ultimate means of silencing an adversary being assassination. The vituperation we've seen in politics is, in and of itself, a means of cutting off the conversations that are needed to move this society and this nation forward. That the vitriol that has become so common can inspire the weak-minded to physical harm and even murder is something we should be concerned with. Please, we are not Enemies!"

~G Armour Van Horn

RECORD TIME

 

I don't technically celebrate Christmas per se, because I am not a Christian. I celebrate some sort of family tradition, which holds most of the normal commercial tenants of Xmas -namely getting a tree, putting up little lights, and exchanging gifts. 

It's also a good excuse to make artwork, and a hell of a kick in the pants to meet a mutually accepted deadline. I get some interesting work done in these times. 

Another clock. 12'' with mock label sticker. I've got a lot of unused crappy records laying around. I'm thinking they could be of use. Anyone want to commission one?

PATRON SAINT OF PATIENCE

 

Finally finished what was supposed to be a mother's day gift in 2008. (see older post about pending work here) Needless to say it swallowed many hours. Pen and ink, scanned in sections, realigned the scans, used channels to isolate sections and color in certain layers. Also made some major structural changes, such as the flames in the background, by mirroring one side and cloning it....I even made her taller by warping a lower section of her in Photoshop. 17 layers, 25 channels. Guh. But it turned out nice, Kinko's (Fed Ex, ahem) did a decent job printing, however late.

Poor angel remained crushed underfoot. I can't even remember why I was mad at him to begin with. 

Like I wrote on the back, "Happy every day Ma!"

WOULD SOMEONE PLEASE.....

EMBRACE THE CHAOS

I am sometimes told I focus too much on violence in my art. I can't help it. It's like dreams, in that it comes from somewhere inside and yet presents itself to me.

I depict it in order to address it, to process it, to understand it, and to never forget or become numb to it. It's my therapy while living in a mad world. I just hope that ultimately it's not seen as negative. I actually have a lot of optimism, for a cynic...

AS LONG AS YOU DON'T SELL IT, IT'S OKAY.

Every once in a while, it pays to steal ideas, copying them as close as possible, to learn technique or form or whatever. I'm just lucky I don't have to replicate out The Great Gatsby or For Whom The Bell Tolls to feel the work of my fellow craftsmen.

Drawn proudly from Kyle MacNaughton's concept sketch work for Out of Picture 2.

Vermicious Knid??

Drawing can get weird when you lack a reference. 

STILL HANGIN' ON

Been building back up my Photoshop Skillz lately, it's such a powerful program...good opportunity to fix up old work that needs it. Will be posting some more here soon.

One Leaf

CLICK BELOW FOR CHANGE...

Happy Nov. 2nd

I drew this around the time I almost got flunked out of art class in high school for refusing to salute the flag every morning. I still feel like this watching the election results, some many years later.