:krampus:

Here's the latest artwork I've done - it's for an upcoming art show in Salem (details below), and was done entirely in Painter and with a Wacom tablet, which is still new to me, and I feel that I am improving with each piece. I decided to keep it in just black and white this time. With all the snow, it kinda made sense to me.


Update: this piece was bought at opening night!!

- -

It's that time of year again!

Join us for the opening night of our 2nd annual KRAMPUS Group Art Show! One fearsome, furry theme - many talented artists! Saturday December 4th from 8-10 PM. Meet the artists behind the artwork! Delight in the musical talents of DJ Zombi! Who knows --Krampus might even make an apperance!!

Not familiar with the legend of Krampus? Go to the following link to find out more:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krampus

Can't make it to the opening night shindig? Don't fret! The artwork will be available for viewing all month in our Red Room Gallery.

Fool's Mansion
127 Essex Street
Salem, MA 01970

:sluggish:

A long time between posts, a sure sign that I've fallen in productivity again, despite October being a month of much exposure, and the piece that I showed the creation of in a previous post, "Blood Memory," was actually sold! I wonder if it was the price that was part of it (a lot lower than the rest of the art on display), and if it's time to raise them a bit for next time. I was also concerned that the piece in question wasn't finished, but apparently whoever bought it didn't feel that way.

I also had a doll on display this past weekend, good exposure if not a sale. Gotta look for more shows to enter into.

Also visited an open studios event, which still gives me mixed emotions, mainly how I can't manage to find such a space for myself, and to be blunt, I often wonder how some of the people who do have studios manage to get them. More have been offered by the BRA, again listed as "affordable," but if they're only for sale or if the rent is over $1000, it's not affordable in my (check) book.

There's another art show opening in Salem next month. There's absolutely no reason why I can't make something by then.

:Art-tober:

As hinted elsewhere, October is shaping up to be a good month for me even before it starts, art-wise:

- artwork in the show "Trick or Treat" at Fool's Mansion in Salem, MA, Oct. 2 - 31, opening this Saturday night.

- spooky doll "Ostia" will be on display in the Inside Out Gallery, which is what they're calling that front window of CVS in Davis Square, Somerville, MA, Oct. 1 - 31.

- I will be showing and selling artwork at "Jaded" in Lowell, MA on Oct. 9th. Come see me at Ceremony this Monday night (when I'm not in the DJ booth, naturally), I have passes for $2 off admission.

- I also have two photos in an exhibit of employee art where I work, but I doubt any of you can see that unless you suddenly start working there.

:the process:

I recently completed new artwork for a Halloween show at Fool's Mansion, and kept track of the process (click on pictures for larger views).

I started by drawing in my sketchbooks, for some reason this woman with bloody hands and mouth came to mind. Don't ask me to explain why, I'm just glad that ANY images come out some days. I had originally planned to do it digitally, but the fastly-approaching deadline and lack of confidence with a digital tablet made me decide to do it in pencils, which I have not done in years, so it'd be interesitng to see if I still could.

 

First the basic outline in pencil, then shading in the flesh and hair. I use pencils the way I imagine I would use paint if I was any good with it, in layers, with H pencils first then getting darker with B pencils.

Then the clothes and starting in on the blood. I used some reference to make sure the blood looked "right," but I soon got a feel for it without depending on other pics for too long.

Then the bloody hands and clothes, and overall darkening, though I don't think you can see the subtle changes in these shots.

And the final result. At least I'm considering it such for now, I'm not sure of a background or even if it needs one. I'll decide after it comes home from the show after Halloween. I'm not sure of her story yet either, other than she's done something awful but can't quite recall what, which I hope I got across with her expression. Earlier ideas were less subtle, with spectres all around her or a victim beneath her. I'd like people to think up some ideas of their own, perhaps.

:now showing:

Just a quick note on two upcoming "events:"

I'll be taking part in this year's Windows Arts Malden, and will also be displaying and selling artwork at "Jaded" on October 9th.

Part of me is dismayed that neither of these will feature new artwork (although I still have time before the October one), but part of me is just trying to get my artwork SEEN; while none of it is new to me, there are plenty of people who have never seen it, so you never know...

:bubbling under:

You can make plans all you want, but then things happen to screw things up...

I've been waylaid from the creative path again, some new reasons, some old, the obvious one being atmosphere. Still the apartment/studio search is dragging. The fact that searching for an apartment or a job (and I'm seriously leaning towards looking for a new one, my current one is no good for my physical and mental health, I know this after returning from a week's vacation and the aches and pains returned almost all on the first day) is a second job itself does not make me eager to do it. Started to visit some realtors, but finding either too many places closed (on a Saturday??) or nothing I can afford. It's a paradox that I'm seeking a place closer to work when I don't plan on staying there anyways. And after a day full of disappointment, it takes a lot for me to keep slogging away at it.

That said, there are two upcoming events where I'll be showing artwork. Details closer to their times.

Most of my creativity seems to be going towards using my camera. It's basically a point and shoot digital, but there's enough control with it so I can tweak the results. I try not to use flash ever, for one thing. I post the best ones on my flickr page.

:click:

Hrm, nothing new to show since last time, although I am doing better at getting ideas and sketches down. I have a sketchbook with me at all times. I'm going to try to use one of my breaks at work to sketch instead of read like I normally do.

In other news, I hopefully have at least two photoshoots coming up before summer's end, one with somebody I've worked with before, another one that's new. I have ideas for a third, but I need to find an indoor space for it, and for her schedule to open up.

I still take a camera with me everywhere, and have gotten some good candid shots, of summer skies and recent flooding in the area. I tend to post all such shots on my flickr page.

Going to attempt to sell artwork at this event in Salem, MA tomorrow night.

:still here:

Boy, it's a sure sign of my need for better discipline if I can't write in here regularly, huh? Let's catch up. I did not accomplish as much as I hoped in the past month. I see each new month as a new beginning, so I guess I have 12 New Year's resolutions per year that way. Gotta get cracking on the books and programs, but summer doesn't inspire that sort of behavior, especially with the scorching weather we've had the past few days. And no, no sign of a better place to live yet, thanks for asking.

But! I DID complete a new artwork! Did most of it with the Wacom tablet. Well, all of it actually, but the legs I had to draw on paper and then trace on the tablet. No idea why it's a chore, I've done more detailed work with a mouse in the past. I think it's because the tablet is set up so that a point on it corresponds to a relative point on the screen. If the stylus leaves the surface, you lose your place.

This was for a show called "From the Depths" held in a store called Fool's Mansion in Salem, MA. The deadline helped in this case, I finished it all 2 days before it was due. I've tried giving myself "fake" deadlines to get my ass in gear, but I can't fool myself. Of course, with an actual deadline, I then tend to see things I could've done if Only I Had More Time!

:nothing but time:

Where does the time go? When it's governed by whatever you do to ensure you're not homeless, ie The Dayjob, it's very precious indeed. Before I know it, it's time for my enforced bedtime, that is if I don't want to fall asleep on my way to work or gawd forbid at work itself. Why haven't we evolved beyond needing sleep, while I'm at it?

New month, new chance to get back on the path, as I try to see it. I was messing around with my criminally underutilized Wacom tablet tonight. The act of drawing on it while looking at a screen takes a little getting used to. That and using pressure on the stylus without fearing that I'll break it.

So, tutorials for that, and a Photoshop CS3 book to get through. I intend to learn the entire CS3 creative suite. I know CS5 is due out any day now, but, fuck it. I could afford a new car before I could afford that. But having the shiniest and newest doesn't necessarily equal skill. I still get camera envy, but, I intend to master the cameras that I DO have before getting a new one - I have a book for that as well - but will try to keep one eye out for a bargain if one appears. All this while trying to find a new apartment, one where I can create in peace.

:just dood it:

As I continue to crawl out from my creative doldrums, I ponder how I got there in the first place (aside from bad jobs, roommates and neighbors distracting me from the creative process). Of course I didn't need to force myself to create when I was younger, and not even when I moved to Boston, though that was when it started to get more difficult to find enough time to do it in. I think it somehow centers around whenever I started caring more about "fame and fortune" than the act of creativity itself. And since I've only gotten small amounts of either, maybe I started to believe what I create was worthless, if people don't "want" it. Well, this has to stop.

I still need to find a better place to create in, but I can't just stop what I should be doing until that happens. I'm unfortunately wearing headphones pretty much the whole time I am home now, but better to hear music I like than slamming doors or screaming grandchildren.

I've been reading a book called "Living the Creative Life" that's helping to inspire me. A lot of it is obvious stuff, and a lot of the artists interviewed seem to do folksy craftsy stuff (nothing wrong with that but I can't relate - I know my subject matter tends not to be mainstream), but the process is often the same. And one of the more important things is to Just DO Something, even if there's no project or Big Idea. One way I'm trying to do this is by drawing in my sketchbook more, to fill a page a day. Even though they are generally for my eyes only, I tend to obsess a bit too much on what should be rough ideas and drawings. Just DRAW.

I also have books and tutorials to get through, on the many programs I should know by now, and better knowledge of my cameras. I sometimes get camera envy, seeing yokels with a big digital SLR around their necks, taking pictures of nothing, but I know it's not the camera, it's the photographer. I know I've gotten some damn good shots with my little point and shoot. I'd just like a bit more "power," I guess. And it'd be tough to be taken seriously with a little camera whenever I get back to doing photoshoots.

Back at it.

:forward into the past 14:

...then came The Computer.

When I was in art school, They couldn't afford Macs, so they used...Amigas. Which would've been great if I was going to look for work in Europe at the time. Alas, it didn't do me much good job-wise in the States. Still trying to catch up, due to the expense of Adobe programs, which are pretty much required for any creative jobs. I'm just starting on CS3...CS5 is due out any day now. Sigh.

That said, I definitely found all the new things I could do fascinating. Can't believe my hand survived drawing with the mouse, and only now am I attempting to convert to a drawing tablet.

My work from here on is pretty much on my main website, but I shall continue to dig for older work...providing they aren't too embarrassing to show.

:forward into the past 13:

I often entertained thoughts of making art for people instead of buying gifts; sometimes I actually managed to do it in time for birthdays or Xmas. For Xmas 1996 I actually made a different card for each person. I can't imagine doing that now, and that's quite distressing.

This is a scan of a photocopy of a colored pencil drawing, so I'd say a fair amount of detail is lost here.

:forward into the past 12:

I spent most of my formative years drawing a lot, but very little of it involved humans for some odd reason. I think I'm still getting the hang of it. I try to get to figure drawing sessions when I can, but drawing from my head, I sometimes feel like I'm drawing the same person or face or eyes.

This was from 1991, for some gallery show about Muses. This was supposed to be Melpomene, Muse of tragedy.

:forward into the past 11:

I went to a LOT of concerts in the 90s. I also did my best at photographing at many of them, often using the photos as the basis for drawings that went along with my show reviews in 'zines. This was from a Julee Cruise show, which of course happened at the height of the "Twin peaks" craze. Even without the TV show, I loved the album "Floating into the Night." I wore out my original cassette of it.

This is scratchboard based on a photo I took at the show.

:forward into the past 10:

Here's what I put on top of my graduation cap (gulp, 20 freakin' years ago), using just cut paper. At least I wasn't an architecture student, they had buildings balancing on their heads.

:forward into the past 9:

I did a fair amount of illustrations for 'zines (you know, what we had before the Web) in the early 90s. This one was on the cover of one from Worcester called "SPUN." (Instead of "SPIN," geddit?) It's entitled "the Last Swimsuit Issue."

:forward into the past 8:

The best thing about art school for me was getting to try many different media. Some worked for me, some not so much. Loved photography, didn't enjoy developing so much - mainly because I had to find time around classes to do it and when the labs were available. Liked silk screening, but usually my prints devolved beyond the first one, so so much for multiple editions.

:forward into the past 7:

This was a linoleum block print that I worked a LONG time on. I can't imagine how people who did woodcuts back in the past managed to keep good use of their hands.

:forward into the past 6:

From 1986 - 1996 I did something I called "visual cacophony," in which I kept a month-long list of the first image or word in my head when I woke up, then I would try to create a single picture from it, and try to use a different medium each year. I stopped doing it partially because I was running out of new mediums to try, and partially because I was taking longer to finish them: 1995 & 1996 were completed in 1998.

This one is from 1989.

:forward into the past 5:

A drawing that caused some concern for my mother, since the tombstone being broken in question was a cross. She wondered if this reflected my views on religion. Not at the time, no. I just thought it looked cool. Although all I can see now is a terrible grasp of basic anatomy.

:forward into the past 4:

Some people tried to get me into Dungeons & Dragons when I was younger, it never took hold - I couldn't get past that we were just rolling DICE. But I was certainly interested in the many creatures that populated it.

:forward into the past 3:

I would usually draw on whatever paper I could get my hands on, not much of it is terribly archival, especially crappy note paper from school.

I have no idea what it means either, but it was noticed by the math teacher when I was drawing it instead of learning algebra. Thankfully he didn't make an example of me or anything like that.

:forward into the past 2:

For whatever reason, I was really into Pegasus when I was young (even pretended my bike was able to turn into him), and so drew him quite a bit. I think I tend to add wings to many things that I draw as a result.

This was a linoleum block print.

:forward into the past:

Since I seem to be stuck in the present, I thought I'd look into my past artwork and see if that doesn't guide me somewhere.

I've definitely been drawing my entire life, and it was definitely encouraged. I taught myself how to hold a pencil, unfortunately it isn't the correct way and I tended to get the whole side of my hand covered in graphite.

Animals and strange creatures were the main focus of my early years, often drawing them along with other kids in class. We often shared and altered each other's creations. I couldn't tell you now if this is completely an original of mine or how much of it is somebody else's.

:lessons:

Okay, my first photography book is "officially" out of print now. I sold a whopping 6 copies. Lessons learned from this:

- will probably not work with blurb.com again. Their bases prices are too high in my opinion, and to make any profit, you have to add on to that amount. I know they're not going to print for free, but my book was only 30 pages long. There should be a range of prices based on page length. They are also very strict about orders, if you make a mistake, like enter a discount code wrong, tough shit, they won't cancel ANY orders.

- maybe ask models if they want to use a psuedonym to possibly avoid some of the problems I had in publishing this time.

But all this just means I'll have to make better photos now to make a better book to make up for all this. It's a new year, and I'm not usually one to write down resolutions, the first of every month is a chance to change for me. But goals for this year are of course to finally get that place where I can finally do my artwork in peace, and hopefully enough room for indoor photography. I will also need to perfect my photography skills, and learn Adobe CS3 and my drawing tablet. So the proper place is essential for this. It WILL happen.