So. Another month almost over, and all kinds of art going on.
My main focus, understandably, is the Metal Flake series. At the moment there are 11 of them in various stages of completion:
The four along the top are done; three of them sold. All kinds of big plans in store for the ones on the bottom. Hints: the red one will be titled "Cherry Bomb", the middle one "Power Trio".
And of course, "Bubblegum Rock" is finished:
And that's where it all stands at the moment. Should be prepping wood panels for four more of these in the next day or so. I'm starting to run out of room for them.
Wanted to share a rough sketch I did yesterday. As an impressionable young man in the late 1970s, I loved custom vans. Chopped tops, metalflake, shag-carpeted interiors - pure 70s eye candy. And while the fad didn't last long, it never really went away, either. It's still an unfulfilled goal of mine to own a shaggin' wagon someday.
(An aside: I remember, back in the day, my Uncle Geoff first using the term "Shaggin' Wagon" in front of me. I drew a van with that name displayed rather prominently on the side, and promptly got in shit from my parents. I had no idea that "shaggin'" was a euphemism.)
Anyhow, an online friend who's seen a lot of my automotive work contacted me about a possible commission - her husband owns a Dodge van he's in the process of customizing, and she thought a picture of it would be a nice gift. So yesterday I sat down to do a quick thumbnail of it, but I got a bit carried away:
Hope she agrees to go ahead with this. I'm pretty psyched now.
Well, today was an auspicious occasion - my 500th consecutive day of drawing and/or painting. I worked on ten paintings today to mark the event.
Here's the scene early in the day, before the paint started to fly:
A bit more glazing, more Liquid Mirror and more black lava gel, and the metalflake paintings started to look more like this:
(Still a ways to go yet, of course. And I also laid the base coats for three more of these babies. They still look kinda boring at this point, though.)
Then I got to work on the hot pink metalflake triptych you might've seen recently - my tribute to bubblegum rock. Here's a rough idea of what it'll look like:
After that, I started the process of adding that linework to the actual painting. The middle panel of the three has just been applied:
Hoping to finish this one in the next couple days. By now the masking/painting process for these is fairly simple and uneventful.
So here we are with another installment of "what I'm working on lately." Been working my ass off the past couple weeks (ah, the life of a freelancer), but the art is still happening. Don't think I could stop now if I tried, to be honest.
What's also been occupying my time, of course, is the Game. Or hockey, as you non-Canadians might know it. The Canucks have been having quite an action-packed time of it, so in honour of their recent success, I've done this piece:
That's gonna be printed on metallic paper, 24x20 inches. Can't wait to see the finished product.
I've also got a handful of new pieces underway - three that'll use the acrylic transfer method, and three more metalflake paintings. Trying to use a lot more bold, over-the-top colour these days:
In other news, Sunday will be day 500 of the 1000 Days Project. Still dunno what I'm gonna do that day, but obviously it needs to be something big. Possibly a pinup girl - haven't drawn any cheesecake in a looong time.
Oh, and I should be starting on a brand-new commission any day now. Key words: shaggin' wagon.
Just a quick report: the show with Mojave was a smashing success. Sold all but one of the pieces I had for sale, and sold them in the first half hour or so. Had a nice talk with the owner, and it looks like I'll be putting more art up for display/sale there in the near future. And I still want to put on a full-fledged gallery-type show before the end of the summer, and it should be possible to book the room we used last weekend for that very purpose.
Based on the responses I've been getting to my art lately, I want to explore three very specific directions for my painting. To that end I started six new paintings today, though there's not really anything to show at the moment.
I also ponied up the hundred bucks to buy a platinum membership at Imagekind. That gives me added galleries, a custom storefront (which I'm still tweaking), and most importantly a lot more info on sales - detailed figures, and info on where the buyers are and what they bought. Turns out I've made a pretty decent chunk of cash over the last year and a half with Imagekind.
I'm pretty pleased with Redbubble, too. I've recently added t-shirts to my online merchandise, and those are slowly starting to move. Thinking about postcards next.
There's probably more stuff I'm forgetting, but it's late. So I'll just leave you with this recently-completed commission:
Bret
Vancouver, BC
May, 2011
P.S. Special thanks to Lisa & Paul, Dan Udey, Susan Burzynski and Mario Loubert.
Fellow artists, as you may know I've got a show tomorrow night. I'm still in the process of doing all the prep work, of course. Isn't that always how it is?
For the moment at least, my focus is the display cards that go on the wall under the paintings. I figure they should include the name of the piece, the media used, the price, and my contact info.
... till the big show with Mojave. Pretty psyched for this, I've gotta say. There'll be a whole slew of new art from me, nearly all of which will be for sale (two pieces are sold already).
Plus I haven't seen Lisa and Rev. Paul in ages. And all sorts of friends, new and old, will be in attendance. Also, the Tipper is a great venue all around.
If you're in Vancouver on the 29th and looking for something to do, come by the Tipper for some music and art:
Wow, it's been quite a night here. As you may recall from previous installments, I've been planning a series of paintings for a show sometime this year - all simple, iconic white lineart over glossy, deep, metallic surfaces. The title of the series is "Metal Flake", so the common subject is rock 'n' roll.
Since December I've been filling a sketchpad with thumbnails:
And of course, I've also been doing the heavy-lifting portion of the first three paintings:
Anyhow, this first one came to a head tonight. I masked off the necessary areas and laid down the white lineart:
And when that was done, I promptly posted this last photo on Twitter, Facebook, etc. etc. The result? Within 17 minutes the painting was sold and financial details were sorted. God, I love the internet.
So I may have mentioned this before, but I don't always have an easy time of it when I'm writing for this blog. The delays you see generally happen because I just can't think of anything to write about, and I don't want to cram the blog with filler.
The thing is, though, I sweat it so much that I practically get performance anxiety. Which is ridiculous all on its own. I mean, it's only a damn blog entry, y'know?
Anyhow, it occurred to me that there's one arrow in my creative quiver that I haven't really used on the blog - I'm a compulsive listmaker. Have been all my life, and it's still my strongest organizational tool as well. (Hell, let's be honest. It's really the only way I know of processing and sorting information.)
Also, 2011's been, to be frank, a fucking hellish year. January was brutal - money problems, sickness, general anxiety and stress, cabin fever, all sorts of ugly highschool-drama bullshit, depression, no work, short days with little sunlight, post-holiday anticlimax... you name it, I had it. Looking back on it now, it's like looking at somebody else stumbling through a horror movie. I was definitely operating on the frayed ends of sanity.
February, in comparison, was infinitely better. Not without its share of grief, but the overall amount of trauma was greatly reduced, and things just started to happen. March, so far, has been another giant step up - a huge amount of work dropped into my lap when it was desperately needed, I've got a bunch of new art commissions, I've made some new friends, and of course there's an art show the end of April to prep for. Plus next month will feature some live bands and a friend I haven't seen in a year coming to town for a brief, steak-and-whiskey-filled visit.
By now you're saying, "where's the damn list?" Well, I'm getting to that. More than anything (except the art itself, obviously), what's gotten me through these Dark Times was music. I've heard a ton of new(ish) stuff, and it gave me what I needed to keep the hangman from my door.
So without further ado, here's the good stuff; it kept my creative juices flowing, too:
Social Distortion: Hard Times And Nursery Rhymes. This band has been a fave of mine for many years. Sometimes it's like a gutpunch; other times it's like hanging out with an old friend. And this new album is as strong as anything they've ever done. Highly recommended.
The Heavy: The House That Dirt Built, and Great Vengeance & Furious Fire. These guys were recommended to me by fellow artiste and all-around swell guy Snakebite Cortez. They've got a great sound, clever lyrics and a great party vibe.
The Californian: Sea of Love. Also recommended by a friend (in this case, jazz bassist and brother in arms Lyman Medeiros, of The Funky Supervillain fame). They've got a bit of a surf vibe to them, with inevitable influences by the Pixies.
Slash: Slash. I resisted listening to this album for a long time, mainly because of some negative reviews I read when it first came out, plus the presence of some questionable guests on it. Then I ran into my old buddy Scott MacLeod, and he said I should at least give the song with Ian Astbury a chance. Turns out the whole album is damn strong from start to finish.
Gin Wigmore: Holy Smoke. Strong writing, a quirky voice, good performances all around. Although I've gotta admit, "Dying Day" was a bit too much for me at times.
Dropkick Murphys: Going Out in Style. God, I love this band. I've been a fan for years, and this album absolutely does not disappoint.
Michael Franti & Spearhead: "Say Hey (I Love You)". A pure, sweet, honest sentiment, and a damn danceable tune. First heard it on an episode of Weeds.
Cee Lo Green: "Fuck You". Because sometimes it just has to be said.
Hugo: "99 Problems". An odd little cover of a Jay-Z tune - some tasty guitar, great percussion, and a sentiment I can definitely get behind.
Thank you one and all; I couldn't have done it without you.
