Blu art show featuring Ben Tucker and some me.

My good buddy Ben Tucker from DA is having his first semi-solo show and was kind enough to save a wall for some of my work. I'm amazed of his great craftmanship and high quality and you will be too. So show up, have a drink, and we'll chat..

sKetchpooKe

Drapery Study

Leonardo exercise

Moonsigns

I had some fun with the moon and iphone earlier.....

Bananarama


WHyTE



SA signature idea

Art Walk featuring MOCA

The Art Walk on Wednesday housed many delights.
First, I went to the basement in the old library.
Crystal and Clay did a wonderful job taking advantage of this very dark and desolate space.
Below is the band Wudun, they played in the back room which provided great acoustics. At one point, 3 bands were playing simultaneously in the basement, but since the space was huge with multiple rooms, it worked and each one had their own audience.
The MOCA has some work by Marc Sijan


(A++++!!!!~thanks Crystal)
"Sijan's method is distinct and exacting. First, he works from live models, to produce a negative mold in plaster, and sculpts the interior with special tools and a magnifying glass to assure accurate detail. Then, he casts the figure in a polyester resin. To achieve realistic flesh tones, Sijan applies 25 coats of paint --- and adds varnish. Sijan uses oil paint in the final stages of the work."

OK

Flux, Obama, and Voyeurism

Hello everyone, sorry this post is a little late, but I had to document an exquisite show. The NEXT exhibit was successful in so many ways. Discussing new ideas, meeting new people, and selling a painting made this a night I'll never forget.

Untitled Paint Study sold, and afterward I had to take a little break. When you work on a piece, really get into it, and see it everyday, an attachment forms. Fortunately, the painting is going to a great home.
Below is Erica posing next to Flowers of Death



Earlier in the day we went to the Obama rally and walked away with this video.

Boredom at 4am

Thanks for reading and to all that came out and supported the show!

Take care

Black and White Portraits

Alas, a painting I'm currently working on of my Dad and baby Kayla. Lately, painting with simple color schemes on wood has been very rewarding, especially when you rub off some paint to expose the wood for mid-tones! When this painting is finished, I'll update this post.

Introducing: Flowers of Death

Flowers of Death
ink on watercolor paper

These flowers have been around since April 1st (birth of Kayla) and are finally finished! The concept behind these arrangements is universal, so I included it in my Bio for the NEXT art show this Saturday.

Scott Allen (1977 -), born in Jacksonville, was brought back to art after a near-death experience.
“No one knows how long they have to live, and after some fatal close calls, everyday is now spent illustrating the aesthetics of nature with an esoteric approach,“ says the artist. For example, in Flowers of Death, each piece has an abundance of youthful flowers, but hidden iconography reveals just the opposite,
a concept we all share.

Flowers of Death II
ink and ink wash on watercolor paper

NEXT & All is Art @ the Ocean Club

Attire of the Samurai

Hello friends,
I checked out a couple of books from the library and one is about the samurai. Lately, I just want to make pictures with more appealing subject matter and foreign soldiers came to mind. The first picture is the latest and is of the Ohyoroi Armor, and below that is a Samurai Hitatare. The three-triangle motif that resembles the tri-force indicates the wearer is of the Hojo family. Below, are my initial drawings to get warmed up, and its of a Suoh Hitatare and Warrior Monk. All are done with ink.

The Vines and Cat Power

I went over to my parents house for conversation and to eat scallops, and their backyard is so luscious with vegetation. Under those awesome vines are bamboos, in summertime, the vines dominate.

The vines are starting to take over the firewood too. I remember climbing them and resting on the highest part when I was little. Of course you sink and the highest part turns into the lowest part in a matter of time. Still relaxing and fun.

My cats Losa...

..and Fantastic.

Art & Music Mixer II TONIGHT!

Finally this show is gonna happen, dates have been postponed, location moved, but this show is gonna be good. The artist list is huge and some strong artists are going to be showing. Look for my stuff at Raglands (below). Hope to see you there!

Antithesis in the Sketchbook

So it all started with this feeling of making stronger more expressive lines and I needed a specimen. Say hello to Tip O'Neill (former House Speaker). I found an image of him in a old photojournalism book and his wrinkled chin and semi-fat features were exactly what I was looking for.

Here is John Vauthiers, a gold miner. With him, I wanted to keep the expressive lines but also add that dirtier/grittier look. Both drawings are ink and acrylic metallic paints.

On the opposite side of the spectrum you have the highly technical drawings of Kōsuke Fujishima. I found his drawings of cars and motorcycles very inspiring, so I decided to draw from a 1:18 scale replica of a Mercedes 300SL to see where I can take it. Its pretty rough, and nowhere near Fujishima's level, but it was fun, and better than the cars I drew in 3rd grade.

A collection of quotes for you and me.

Art is either plagiarism or revolution.
- Paul Gauguin

Every great advance in natural knowledge has involved the absolute rejection of authority.
- Thomas H. Huxley

"When a person can no longer laugh at himself, it is time for others to laugh at him."
- Thomas Szasz

"It is our responsibilities, not ourselves, that we should take seriously."
- Peter Ustinov

The truth is more important than the facts.
- Frank Lloyd Wright

Criticism is prejudice made plausible.
- HL Mencken

Anger is the feeling that makes your mouth work faster than your mind.
- Evan Esar

No human thing is of serious importance.
- Plato

Happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I know.
- Ernest Hemingway

Defining and analyzing humor is a pastime of humorless people.
- Robert Benchley

The second half of a man's life is made up of nothing but the habits he has acquired during the first half.
- Fyodor Dostoevsky

Above all, it is a matter of loving art, not understanding it.
- Fernand Leger

There's no retirement for an artist, it's your way of living so there's no end to it.
- Henry Moore

Painting is a language which cannot be replaced by another language. I don’t know what to say about what I paint, really.
- Balthus

A sincere artist is not one who makes a faithful attempt to put on to canvas what is in front of him, but one who tries to create something which is, in itself, a living thing.
- William Dobell

I just wanted to find out where the boundaries were. I've found out there aren't any. I wanted to be stopped but no one will stop me.
- Damien Hirst

The method of painting is the natural growth out of a need. I want to express my feelings rather than illustrate them.
- Jackson Pollock

It's not a matter of painting life, it's a matter of giving life to painting.
- Pierre Bonnard

The only thing that overcomes hard luck is hard work.
- Harry Golden

If you make people think they're thinking, they'll love you; But if you really make them think, they'll hate you.
- Don Marquis

We are so accustomed to disguise ourselves to others that in the end we become disguised to ourselves.
- Francois de La Rochefoucauld

The test of courage comes when we are in the minority. The test of tolerance comes when we are in the majority.
- Ralph W. Sockman

A wise man will make more opportunities than he finds.
- Sir Francis Bacon

A joke's a very serious thing.
- Charles Churchill

Education is a method whereby one acquires a higher grade of prejudices.
- Laurence J. Peter

A poet more than thirty years old is simply an overgrown child.
- HL Mencken

Suburbia is where the developer bulldozes out the trees, then names the streets after them.
- Bill Vaughan

Only the shallow know themselves.
- Oscar Wilde

If you develop an ear for sounds that are musical it is like developing an ego. You begin to refuse sounds that are not musical and that way cut yourself off from a good deal of experience.
- John Cage

Sometimes the appropriate response to reality is to go insane.
- Philip K. Dick

A thought is often original, though you have uttered it a hundred times.
- Oliver Wendell Holmes

There are painters who transform the sun to a yellow spot, but there are others who with the help of their art and their intelligence, transform a yellow spot into the sun.
- Pablo Picasso

Failure is not the only punishment for laziness; there is also the success of others.
- Jules Renard

Art is science made clear.
- Jean Cocteau

Why do you have to be a nonconformist like everybody else?
- James Thurber

Those who are too smart to engage in politics are punished by being governed by those who are dumber.
- Plato

The love of truth lies at the root of much humor.
- Robertson Davies

There is no abstract art. You must always start with something. Afterward you can remove all traces of reality.
- Pablo Picasso

When everyone is against you, it means that you are absolutely wrong-- or absolutely right.
- Albert Guinon

The things we know best are the things we haven't been taught.
- Marquis de Vauvenargues

Butthole Snaps

After a year of procrastination, Butthole Snaps is completed.
The original post (a year ago) can be found here
Why is it called Butthole Snaps? Its just a funny name for Erica, among many others, plus it suits the attitude of the figure and the painting for that matter.

I'm a big fan of line movement and you can't beat the figure 8 game plan.

A detail of the lips and chin, this took a couple of reworks, but the results are worth it.

This section of the hair turned out well, looks just like the wig my girlfriend was wearing.
The best compliment I received so far is from my Erica (model), she's very critical of pictures and drawings of herself, and loves this piece. Thanks for posing sweets!

(IF: Hoard 2. to keep secret, private)

Filling up sketchbooks, here's a glimpse...

Hello,
been trying to draw every night and recently I like to open the anatomy book and draw whatever is on that page. So here's a skull.

In the current Juxtapoz mag, there is an interview with N8 Van Dyke, and he mentioned he had like 40 something sketchbooks filled up, always drawing, and it shows. His technical skill is topnotch. One of his samples was a decomposing human face and I was touched by it, so I drew my own, and tried to get more aggressive, but you can only get so aggressive with a micron pen. Next to it is some chubby cherub character that I used just to play with the belly fat, and legs. Below, I was drawing a attractive female and decided to put this old man in the background, to aid in my arousal. I think its funny when old, incapable, very serious, hard-ass men try to flirt.

Farewell friends!

Does Bill Sienkiewicz have ADD?

Bill Sienkiewicz impresses me everytime I pick up one of his books. His art is so diverse, almost like he gets bored with one style after another and this reveals more of his conscience thought. Here are some paintings of Elektra, not a big fan of that character(thanks for nothing Jennifer Gardner), but the art is what arouses me.

This is the cover art to Elektra Assassin #1 (above) and following are some sample pages.

What the hell is up with the lower left cell! Awesome!

More goodness..

the tones in the glass are well done, same with the hands, expressions, thanks...

Elektra Assassin #4's cover has a very strong JC Leyendecker influence(composition, stylish babies and pink flowers).

Of course who could forget this cover art...totally bad ass.

I still have some issues of Stray Toasters I haven't gone through and more Elektras, so, there might be a part 2 coming soon. Hope you enjoy his work as much as me. Bye.
Also, while we are on the subject of Elektra, here is a Kent Williams poster I had when I was a kid. Bye for reals.

Boredom to Babies

Who is this guy? I don't know, but I enjoyed his chin wrinkles and decided to draw him.

Above is a modified drawing of my sister's baby, the IF submission is about babies so why not. Boredom with a mixture of escalated television viewing made the below drawing possible. Evan Almighty was on when I was drawing it, so you can tell how bored I was.

I'm in the process of bringing back a high school comic character, and it was like second nature drawing and composing again. Below is a bird that came out well, from a rough draft of the story.

After a couple pages of bringing the bottled up ideas to life again, this character spawned. Some of the design elements are very pleasing, like the repetition of the circles and vertical lines.

The comic is going to be web based and I'll make sure its very appealing to the eyes and brain. When more info comes together I'll post it. Take care friends!

Shot of Inspiration in Orlando

I got a awesome note in the mail from my Aunt Linda, basically making my dreams come true. After a discussion about Norman Rockwell on Mothers Day, she then let me know of an exhibit in Orlando and catered to practically all the expenses. We stayed at the Florida Mall Hotel for 2 days and below is Black Angus Room service.

Here is the museum located in beautiful Lock Haven.

I couldn't take pictures inside the exhibit, too many security guards(managed a couple).

Here are two Rauschenbergs

Chuck Close and another Rauschenberg

The Problem We All Live With looked like it had actual gravel in the paint (sidewalk) and the cement wall behind her is beautifully textured.

The Art Critic, on the actual palette, the colors are just clumps of paint.

Seeing these works was pure joy and provided a great inspiration boost. Norman Rockwell went out of his way to create the best works possible and had an incredible work ethic (7 days a week/8-5pm)
Again, thanks to my Aunt Linda for making this possible.
Now its time to raise the bar...

Flowers of Death

Hello friends, I just finished Flowers of Death, and excited about showing it later this year. I have another similar picture in progress (different arrangment, same premise) and will post that when it becomes available.Click on the main Picture, to see the details.
Hope you enjoy, and take care.
(wide wrapping)

Rauschenberg dies

Robert Rauschenberg has been an influence to me and a lot of my former colleagues. He was a great pioneer and had that very distinctive style all his own. He will be missed. Below is an article from AP that tells more about our icon.

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Robert Rauschenberg, whose use of odd and everyday articles earned him a reputation as a pioneer in pop art but whose talents spanned the worlds of painting, sculpture and dance, has died, his gallery representative said Tuesday. He was 82.

Rauschenberg died Monday, said Jennifer Joy, his representative at PaceWildenstein gallery in New York.

Rauschenberg, who first gained fame in the 1950s, didn't mine popular culture wholesale as Andy Warhol did with Campbell's soup cans and Roy Lichtenstein did with comic books.

Instead, his "combines," incongruous combinations of three-dimensional objects and paint, shared pop's blurring of art and objects from modern life.

He also responded to his pop colleagues and began incorporating up-to-the-minute photographed images in his works in the 1960s, including, memorably, pictures of John F. Kennedy.

Among Rauschenberg's most famous works was "Bed," created after he woke up in the mood to paint but had no money for a canvas. His solution was to take the quilt off his bed and use paint, toothpaste and fingernail polish.

Not to be limited by paint, Rauschenberg was a sculptor and choreographer and even won a 1984 Grammy Award for best album package for the Talking Heads album "Speaking in Tongues."

"I'm curious," he said in 1997 in one of the few interviews he granted in later years. "It's very rewarding. I'm still discovering things every day."

Rauschenberg's more than 50 years in art produced a varied and prolific collection that that filled both Manhattan locations of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum during a 1998 retrospective.

Time magazine art critic Robert Hughes, in his book "American Visions," called Rauschenberg "a protean genius who showed America that all of life could be open to art. ... Rauschenberg didn't give a fig for consistency, or curating his reputation; his taste was always facile, omnivorous, and hit-or-miss, yet he had a bigness of soul and a richness of temperament that recalled Walt Whitman."

Rauschenberg split his time between New York and Captiva Island in Florida, where he kept a house stocked with his own art and those of his friends.

"I like things that are almost souvenirs of a creation, as opposed to being an artwork," he said in a 1997 Harper's Bazaar interview, "because the process is more interesting than completing the stuff."

He studied painting at the Kansas City Art Institute in 1947. He later took his studies to Black Mountain College in North Carolina, where he studied under master Josef Albers, and alongside contemporary artists such as choreographer Merce Cunningham and musician John Cage. He also studied at the Art Students League in New York City.

Rauschenberg first paintings in the early 1950s comprised a series of all-white and all-black surfaces under laid with wrinkled newspaper. In later works he began making art from what others would consider junk — old soda bottles, traffic barricades, and stuffed birds and calling them "combine" paintings.

One of Rauschenberg's first and most famous combines was entitled "Monogram," a 1959 work consisting of a stuffed angora goat, a tire, a police barrier, the heel of a shoe, a tennis ball, and paint.

By the mid-1950s, he was also designing sets and costumes for dance companies and window displays for Tiffany and Bonwit Teller.

He met Jasper Johns in 1954. He and the younger artist, both destined to become world famous, became lovers and influenced each other's work. According to the book "Lives of the Great 20th Century Artists," Rauschenberg told biographer Calvin Tomkins that "Jasper and I literally traded ideas. He would say, `I've got a terrific idea for you,' and then I'd have to find one for him."

Born Milton Rauschenberg in 1925 in Port Arthur, Texas, and raised a Christian fundamentalist, Rauschenberg wanted to be a minister but gave it up because his church banned dancing.

"I was considered slow," he once said "While my classmates were reading their textbooks, I drew in the margins."

He was drafted into the U.S. Navy during World War II and knew little about art until a chance visit to an art museum where he saw his first painting at age 18. He drew portraits of his fellow sailors for them to send home.

When his time in the service was up, Rauschenberg used the GI bill to pay his tuition at art school. He changed his name to Robert because it sounded more artistic.

In recent years he founded the organization Change Inc., which helps struggling artists pay medical bills.

"I don't ever want to go," he told Harper's when asked about dying. "I don't have a sense of great reality about the next world; my feet are too ugly to wear those golden slippers. But I'm working on my fear of it. And my fear is that something interesting will happen, and I'll miss it."

By MITCH STACY

Quick Sketch, Norman Rockwell and Status

Since my birthday (May 2nd),
I've been dedicating a lot of my time to drums and GTA4, but try to squeeze out a sketch or two, just to keep it real. Above is a sketch of Erica sleeping (big surprise) and was inspired by a book I got about Norman Rockwell (Best of Norman Rockwell, by Tom Rockwell). So many good things are in that book, this part is awesome...
This quote of Norman Rockwell really says it all and is easy to identify with, and here is a super cool drawing of My Studio Burns..
Since this book is by one of his sons, there are tons of unpublished illustrations and studies in it.
If interested in the book, I got it here

In conclusion, I'm working on a painting called Butthole Snaps and will also post a pic of a highly detailed ink drawing of some flowers.
Take care friends!

Quality from the past

After a daily binge on ffffound, I came across these old Powell Peralta Skate Designs. These are still cool after 20+ years. The McGill has always been a favorite, damn thats tough! VCJ or Vernon Courtlandt Johnson is responsible for all the good early Powell Peralta stuff. Not too much information on the web about him, but what an influence.
Below is a retort from Ben
(Kevin Harris by Powell Peralta and Street Creep by Santa Cruz)
Thanks!
If interested in purchasing these stickers Click Here

A better and updated way to release myself.

Roland TD-7 fused with a Mapex Venus