is it dry yet and an apology

     First of all, I would like to thank everyone for the kind comments, emails and all-around supportive advice.  You guys rule : )  Second, I'd like to offer a bit of an apology for freaking out a little.  It was late, I was trying to relax a bit and post some freakin' art and then I get the "oh noes, boobies and penises are bad!" thing from Picasa and it just pissed me off.

     Aaaanyway, here's what I was trying to post the other night (didn't have to accept the terms of "service" this time for some reason)::
     As you can tell, I was working rather wet and laying the paint on thick and messy.  I thought to myself when I was done that this would take a while to dry so I let it sit for days but its wet appearance never really went away:   ...and I'm still thinking, "Is it dry yet?" and that there's moisture trapped under there.  Like if I just carefully used an xacto knife or a razor blade wet paint would start running out!  I guess this is just the nature of acrylic when you really glob it on.

     Thanks again for all the suggestions and advice.  I'll be looking into all the possibilities.  Who knows?  Maybe I'll find a much better place to call home than Blogger.

new banner

     I've been meaning to do this for a while but I've been busy with getting distracted lately (you know how that goes).  Anyhow, Jesse over at ZOMBIE BITES modified one of my OPG banners from this past October by adding a pretty cool glowing effect to it and I thought I'd share in case you were in the market for a new banner:


     Thanks Jesse!

bloody teeth and Neil Diamond

     Been wanting to post this guy ever since I finished him but I can get REALLY distracted and lazy sometimes.  Anyway, here he is for your viewing pleasure.  As I recall, this was one from a batch of red eye pieces I cranked out while still buzzed from wine with dinner and jamming out to some old Neil Diamond (the really good shit:  Hot August Night, BBC Top of the Pops and Gold).  Man, what a crazy epic night that was.  I was so full of energy and just plain fearless!  Paint was flyin' and guys like this were appearing before me.  Sigh.  I miss those days...

     Feh, I guess you can't always be inspired and happy in your work.  Gotta have some malaise to make you appreciate the good times I guess.

chaotic mess and artistic funk

     I came across this and paused, then I looked a little harder.  I'm guessing this chaotic mess reflects my emotional state of late.  Anger, frustration, artistic funk, lack of motivation.  'Course, part of this is due to work starting to crank up the overtime again but I won't bore you with the details.  I would, however, like to apologize for not making my normal blogging rounds lately.

     Although I'm identifying more with this in the present I think this was actually completed back in October or thereabouts.  This shares a sandwich background with emergence and is the flip side of paleBleak just to give you a bit of creation trivia.  Well, it's getting late and I need to get my butt to bed.  Thanks for stopping by, you guys are the best.

a bird in my hair is worth two in your bush

     This was painted on the reverse side of this.  If I keep this up I'll have to make a bunch of double sided rotating frames to display a lot of my original works.

     Meh.  Still fighting with this laziness so I'll stop here.  Thanks for taking a look.

branch face and laziness

     Painted during the same session as this guy, I was originally going to post this back in October but I ended up with so many other works that month that this one got passed over again and again.  Anyway, better late than never.  Plus I am SO FUCKING LAZY today and this was already scanned and ready to go.  Enjoy and thanks for stopping by.

insane brother twins

     Thought I'd have myself a Monday-Palooza-Ganza and post two images at once!  Aw yeah!  This crazy train is flyin' right off the fuckin' rails, man!!  I'm outta control!!!

     Seriously though, this is vaguely special in the regard that you wouldn't normally see these two images side by side, as they are each painted on the opposite side of the same piece of watercolor paper.  However, through the magic of technology, here they are; a couple of dirty, bloody, twisted brother skulls in a kind of metaphysical emotional turmoil and insanity.  They share the same plane of existence, the same space, no doubt some of the same pigments, yet they've never seen each other face to face.  A pair of conjoined twins who are strangers to each other.

allies amidst the bleakness

     The background on this one turned out much more pale and bleak than most of my other Red Eye paintings.  Bleakness seems to be in the air lately.  It's almost as if everyone unconsciously believes the world will end this year.  I hope it does.  Humanity could use a big death and rebirth right about now.  A casting away of old habits, a blowing off of steam and a time to relax and get reacquainted with our true selves.  Just one big time-out to rest and reflect.

     Anyway, musings on humanity aside, the more I look at this painting the more I think it's a self-portrait.  I identify and sympathize with this guy's general state of emotion.  I can't put my finger on it exactly, but I'm right there with him.  I'm his comrade and ally.

crawling skitter nom

(clicky)
     Here's my latest dry erase effort.  He seems to be crawling across the floor like a cheap special effect.  He's all like, "skitter skitter skitter nom nom nom" until the the batteries in the remote control car underneath him run out of juice.

     Meh, kinda in a low key mood tonight.  Looking forward to having the next two weekends off.  A little rest and normality is a good thing.  Take it easy peeps, you guys rule.

feathery anger

     This guy really stopped me today when I was trying to figure out what I was going to post next.  His eyes ended up being pretty dramatic.  That combined with the overall fuzzy/feathery look seemed like a bit of a departure from what I normally end up creating with a black marker.  In fact, this almost crossed the line from fuzzy to feathery skeletonian.  I think that was mainly due to the fact I was using my india ink brush pens.  They have much less friction with the paper than a Sharpie and I end up with softer lines.

     In other news, I found myself getting into a shouting match with a co-worker last week.  I won't bore you with the details but I guess I should have seen something like this coming.  The source material for my new header image was created before the incident and should've served as a warning to me to watch my temper but I figured it was all a part of my artistic expression of late and I thought nothing of it.  What a way to start the year : P  Oh well, live and learn I guess.

emergence

     This is actually the flip side of stalactite rain.  I've often been using both sides of my paper lately to make the most of my materials and maximizing opportunities to practice technique.  Anyway, this guy seems to be emerging from some sort of bloody or fiery vortex.  The original is noticeably darker and bloodier, it makes me wonder where I'm going with my artwork.  Do I want to do it for art's sake?  Do I want to do it for myself only?  Do I want to make money at this?  It's quite an issue to wrestle with.  Hopefully, I'll emerge from this murk with some clarity soon.

red eye and the tao of painting

     This one is a personal favorite.  It is one of the first Red Eye pieces I completed last month (although his red eyes are a tad muted in color compared to most).  The little bird-like thing up on the branch was a total accident.  I guess it's more accurate to say that it wasn't consciously planned.  I often find (despite my deliberate lack of planning) I already know what I'm going to create even before I know it, if that makes any sense.  I mean, seriously, his eyes even seem to look upward, curiously, at the bird but I certainly don't recall any clear thoughts about making that happen while I was painting.  I guess it's true what they say, "I do not do it.  It is not done.  It merely happens through me."

wood burn

     Been wanting to post this one for a while.  Kinda has a wood burn look to it.  Also...

     FUZZY GIVEAWAY 2011 UPDATE!  In case all ya'lls were wonderin', I mailed off yo' artworks Tuesday afternoon so they should be arriving any day now : D

red eye and the click

     I think I'm starting to click a little.  When I'm first learning most things I'm rather slow and plodding as I get acclimated to the task at hand.  At some point I get to where things seem to "click" and suddenly methods make sense, ideas crystallize and I pick up speed.  Maybe it was just the long weekends in October but I've definitely become much more comfortable with painting even if it can't be accurately described as a full-on "click."

     What you see above is what I'm happy to announce as a new style of mine called Red Eye.  Not that this is the first one I've shown you.  I sneaked one in during my OPG, if you recall.  I did a bunch of these this past month and I'm still quite happy to keep on doing them.  I'm pretty hooked at the moment : )  Really enjoying the mostly unconnected brush strokes.

Fuzzy Giveaway 2011!

     The Fuzzy Skeletonian Insane Mega-Giveaway is officially closed and the good news is all three of you who signed up and participated in this year's Octoberween-Palooza-Ganza are GUARANTEED to receive your very own Fuzzy Skeletonian orginal artwork!

     The EVEN BETTER news is that you will have a little say in which of my fuzzy fellas you receive!  I know I originally stated that it would be a random giveaway but since there are a whole ten skellies up for adoption and only three of you signed up, I've decided give you all a chance to state your preference.

     So, what I need from each of you is to take one more look at all ten and then email me with the names of three (3) you wouldn't mind receiving.  Please don't tell me your favorite or list them in order of preference (I don't need that kind of pressure, man!), just the three names in no particular order.  Also, don't forget to include your current mailing address.  If you don't happen to have a preference or would rather be surprised, please state that in your email.

     In the end, everyone will still receive only ONE original artwork but at least this way you will have some say in the matter.  So, let me know as soon as you have a moment.  I will, of course, wait for all three emails before I mail anything off.

     Thanks again for all your comments and taking the time to actually participate in my OPG!

bloody gore and insanity

(ADULT CONTENT BELOW)

(clicka4bigga)

     Does this guy look insane or what?  Not as insane as Mr. Gable's Countdown To Insanity this month but still pretty insane.  This painting was done earlier this year and I must say I'm rather proud of the brain matter on this dude.  I had initially painted blood vessels and was going to lay the red on top of them and allow them to bleed through.  I was working rather wet and they not only bled through but they simply became dark swirls amidst the red paint.  This ended up being a pretty happy accident, as I was able to manipulate the swirls into what you see now.  Makes for a pretty gory effect and I couldn't be more pleased!  I'll have to do this on purpose in the future when I want more bloody bloody gore gore.

     Well the month is winding to a close and so far I have only one person officially eligible for the giveaway.  I know it's been a busy this month for everyone but you still have time to complete your entry into the giveaway.  As long as your blog post is dated no later than October 31st it qualifies, and I'm not going to be a Nazi about the quality of your content.  You can just post a picture of candy corn and type "Trick or Treat, smell my feet, give me a free Fuzzy Skeletonian and Vincent's an asshole for making me do this!"  Seriously, folks.  It's that easy.

     Tune in tomorrow and I will share a nightmare with you.

little brother

     This is thick wet lines little brother.   He's not quite as epic but he has his appeal I think.  Eh, not much else to say, I'm a little tired.  It's been a long week but I've gots me a three day weekend so I'll be rested up here in a day or two.  Peace.

red mouth

     This past weekend I had myself the previously mentioned Paint-a-Palooza and, while I said I was going to sit on those paintings for a while and revisit them at a later date, I just couldn't keep this one to myself!  This one (like most of the rest) started out as a random background I made with six sheets of paper and various paint slatherings all sandwiched together.  After they all dried I had the fun of deciding what to do with all the backgrounds.  I think this one came together pretty well, if I do say so myself.  Man, am I lovin' the red and black lately : D

branchy skully

     As promised, here's more of my recent brush work featuring more open, unconnected lines.  I'm really liking this style of painting.  It's quick, fun and I don't get bogged down with details.  Also, it's a good way to practice technique.

     Last night I had myself a little Painta-Palooza and knocked out about six of these.  Those added to what I've already done this month add up to more than I can keep track of which is a very very good thing!  I love being able to just knock a bunch of shit out and come back to it all later to reflect and observe.  Hopefully that will mean some good blog posts in the not too distant future.

red eyes

     If this guy looks familiar, there's a reason.  He used to look like this before I Herman Munstered him up with all the green.  Also, that chunky looking red in the eyes is plain old Crayola watercolor.  Yes, the dry ovals of pigment that you can buy in the school supplies section of any grocery store.  I know, right?  They've become a staple for my paintings of late, as the chunkiness works really well for my wet/dry sandwich paintings, but I digress.

     At first I had reservations at the thought of changing the simple thick, dark lines of the original brush work but I just couldn't resist the urge to fill in those eyes with red and pull some of the black around them into the center to create the effect you see now.  I really love manipulating the swirls in wet paint!  All in all, I think I developed this guy into something more than he was before.