Welcome To The Jungle

I've been painting. This 'Jungle' painting below was created with open acrylics, which allow a certain amount of blending. I wanted to create an image that you could relax with, to just let your eyes wander...which you won't experience until you click to see the full picture.


Here's a detail of the little man in the center. He's about the size of a nickel.


I also, finally, tried painting from a live model. This was a 1.5 hr pose. My goal was to get comfortable painting very fast, and to not get overly tedious with the paint or blending.

This little study isn't perfect, but there are some portions that I am really pleased with. Painting from a model was a lot of fun, so there will be much more in the future. Click the pic to look closer.

Muralizer -The Reckoning

Another season, another mural. The brewers at Lagunitas (yum,) teamed up with Big Star and Publican to brew The Zephyr, a new summer beer that launches today. The owners used The Violet Hour's ever-changing mural wall, directly across from Big Star, to celebrate the new brew with Zephyr inspired art.

The eminent tattoo artist Hannah Aitchison created a lovely black and white illustration for the project, which I was in charge of translating into a mural. I wanted to stay as faithful to her image and drawing style as possible, so I focused on designing around the central image (which didn't have the decorative border at that point,) in a way that enhances and compliments it, rather than competes for attention. A simple, graphic, summer-time interpretation of the Zephyr rail line (the beer's namesake,) was the theme.

After a lot of chalk, sweat, grid work, paint splots, and worried glances at looming storm clouds, the mural came out exactly as I'd hoped and the neighborhood seem to enjoy it.

Enjoy the images by clicking to enlarge, and take a swig of a Zephyr to toast summer's arrival.

Chicago Typewriter

Run for cover! Its Nick's awesome ASCii Art of the terrifically terrifying tommy-gun!

I always liked the the tommy-gun's "Chicago Typewriter," nickname, and the look of old Underwood typewriters that the authors used to write those cheesy noir stories.

Business as usual in Chicago...

(Click to enlarge the pic, 'caus that ascii tommy-gun took some doing!)

High Five

Lots of big news this week!

I've been selected as finalist for the Ideas For Impact 'Noble Prize for Social Impact' award. Keep your fingers crossed, and maybe send some cake or chocolates to the contest committee on my behalf! Read about it at their blog.

I've also officially joined a studio! The Platform Six Studio is alive and kicking. I'll be working along-side some great artists in a stunning work space. It is huge, framed with giant timbers, shares a building with many other great creative folks like Spudnik Press, and it has an incredible view of the downtown city-scape.

Finally, I sat down one evening and figured out how to make 3D images, because why not. Dust off your red n' blue 3D specs' and take a look at this picture below...it works!

Gluttony

I've been busy. Click the pic to see why...
These items will be part of a scrumptious poster. Soon...

A Moveable Feast

All these drawings are from the nutrition poster, which we'll be printing and selling soon. I've enjoyed creating the different textures for each plant and animal. These all start as ink drawings which I refine and color in Photoshop, as seen in my previous post. These actual images aren't part of the project, nor is the relative size of the items, but I slapped together these pics to show the different textures and to enjoy the groupings.

The little herring, just below, is probably my favorite item from the whole project. Click them to enlarge.

Where's the beef?

This cow is from the nutrition poster I'm finishing up. I sketched him out, in the context of being a delicious food item, and his indignant personality accidentally emerged. Maybe his glower is a reaction against my hungry eyes?

Every time I look at this sketch, I crack up! I laugh when a drawing's created-personality has some beef (ha!) with its intended use.


Here he is in color, with dull cow eyes and a vapid stare.