Gouache Painting: Finished

This piece is going up in a sex-ed themed show at Launchpad next Saturday, 2/25. Launchpad is a community space on Franklin Avenue in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. It's curated by C.M. Duffy.

In other news, I'll be traveling to Walter Reed Medical Center with a few other artists and a reporter from The New York Times. Stay tuned for drawings from that adventure.

Gouache Painting

In between ink drawings I started this gouache painting for a group show later this month. I realized I missed gouache, not just painting. Look at all dem Easter cullers. Shore purty.

Listening to: "Sleeping By Myself" Eddie Vedder

LDR Page One

"Long Distance Relationship" just sounds so corny. I may have to use a different title. Did you know that the term is often abbreviated to "LDR" (by often, I mean 'on the internet')? I think it's all very silly. I am happy to be done with a penciled rough, good Lord. I'm not sure I will keep the "HUF PUF". It seemed like a good idea at the time.

Been listening to the Carter Family a lot lately, I really love Maybelle Carter's voice.
(Wildwood Flower at the Grand Ole Opry).

RRR Sketches

Still thinking. Stumbling right along.

Playing Around

I got some watercolors yesterday. The idea is to sneak painting into my comics since I really miss color, but I think it just makes me want to paint with gouache. I'm not used to using so much water...! The color is pretty muddy and bland so far.

Long Distance Relationship

Here are sketches for a five page comic I am making for a romance-themed anthology. It starts kinda sad but is essentially very hopeful.

The Search

“The search is what anyone would undertake if he were not sunk in the everydayness of his own life. To become aware of the possibility of the search is to be onto something. Not to be onto something is to be in despair.” - Walker Percy

The House on Beaver Dam Road

Diana and Suzan

*UPDATED* Master of Prayer Puppet Show this Wednesday Night at JALOPY

Remember my early December post about that book I made for the puppet show, Master of Prayer? Those good folks are performing as part of the fourth anniversary of Roots N' Ruckus at the Jalopy Theater in Red Hook. The puppets (and fiddle, and band of merry puppeteers) go on at 9pm sharp, with other super awesome musical acts. Best of all the whole thing is free. I will be trotting around taking pictures and drawing and admiring the new additions to Jalopy (if they're open--they've claimed the bar-next-door recently). Here's the line-up for Wednesday evening:

This Wednesday we celebrate 4 years of Roots n Ruckus at Jalopy! The Showstarts a half-hour EARLY this week!
9:00 (SHARP) - The Master of Prayer (an hour-long puppet show about a hilarious and insightful story written by an 18th century rabbi. featuring Craig Judelman)
10:00 - Feral Foster
10:30 - The Whiskey Spitters
11:00 - The Dust Busters 
11:30 - I$TO

The Jalopy Theater is located at 315 Columbia Street in Brooklyn. Directions here. 

Here's some more info about the show from the writer and director:

The Invisible Kitchen presents:

MASTER OF PRAYER

A puppet allegory based on the story by Rebbe Nachman.

Based on a story by by the 19th century rabbi, our show tells of a mythical kingdom, thrown into chaos by a great wind. The Master of Prayer, who lives in the woods with his followers, singing and dancing like hippies, hears of a city of riches where people are valued only according to how much money they have, and is compelled to save these poor fools from their money-lust. To this end, they depart together on a journey that takes them through many kingdoms, each one obsessively valuing one trait to the exclusion of all else. Through the journey we learn that whether they worship money, wisdom, prayer, lust, or death, they are all misguided, because a man must have all the colors on his palette in order to paint life's picture.

Some say the protagonist symbolizes Rebbe Nachman and is thus at the same time a comment on the role of the tzadikim (enlightened teachers) in a corrupted society, and how they provide instruction for social change. This in turn reflects back on the important role of the artist/storyteller in modern society, and ourselves as performers/puppeteers retelling and reintroducing this old story to contemporary audiences.  And so, in our show, the puppeteers themselves play important roles as characters in the piece.

I know this all sounds very serious, but most of the time we are playing for laughs, and most of the story is told in clowning and hand puppets.  It's fast paced, and funny, and features great live traditional and original klezmer music by Craig Judelman (facebook.com/CraigJudelman).

The show makes use of many kinds of puppetry including hand puppets and cranky, as well as giant masks and clowning.  The puppets are designed and built from recycled materials by me, Adam (www.adamende.com).

Photo Source: http://benjaminslure.blogspot.com/2011/03/tune-in.html

 

Society of Illustrators Reception

Whew! What a fun night! It was nice catching Anelle Miller and Joan Chiverton and hearing some of the interesting things the Society is involved with.

I rudely interrupted one of G.B. Tran's pals to tell him how much I enjoy his work, only to realize I had met him the previous year through a mutual friend. New York is crazy! Check out G.B. Tran's book, Vietnamerica here.

Here's a photo of one of his award-winning pages. It's really beautiful.

Some silliness at the party.

I really like the folks there, they are good people. The show is on view through January 21st, and they have a new animation screening room downstairs, be sure to go see it if you have a moment. It's free and as I mentioned, they are incredibly nice folks.

Status Quo Ante Bellum at the Society of Illustrators

The reception for Illustrators 54: Sequential-Series, Moving and Uncommissioned Works is this Friday from 6pm until 9pm. I am really excited. The admission is $40 for non-members, but the show will be up for a few weeks (until January 21st) so if you're in that neighborhood or need an arty weekend jaunt, I recommend checking it out. A load of incredible artists are represented in the show, and it's a great honor to be included in this year's exhibit and book.

Society of Illustrators
128 East 63rd Street
(between Park and Lexington Avenues)

Thomas Woodruff's "The Four Temperament Variations" at P.P.O.W. Thursday 11/5

My former mentor and chairman of the Illustration and Cartooning Department at the School of Visual Arts is having a reception for a new (super weird and awesome) series of paintings. His work is sweetly obsessive and low-brow but has a lot of meat-and-potatoes painting skills and really thoughtful motifs in his work...so low-brow without the emptiness...mid-brow? Uni-brow? Waxed goth brow? Whatever you're into. On view until February 4th.

The Four Temperament Variations - Thomas Woodruff

Thomas Woodruff, Landscape Variation, Phlegmatic 2010-11, acrylic on linen, 66 x 90 inches

Framing and Puppet Show

I have been busy this month preparing materials for the Society of Illustrators reception and annual I am a part of this year. I've also been helping some new friends with puppet propping for their forthcoming show, The Master of Prayer. (I made a book out of paper bags and cardboard, and drew the illustrations--I neglected to get photos of the book-- but it was a fun assignment!) These guys are incredibly talented and high energy--there will be live music accompanying very dramatic puppet action, with an occasional human soliloquy. I am waiting on details about their upcoming shows this month in Brooklyn and beyond, details will be posted here as I get them.

Framed and dropped off my pieces for the Society of Illustrators Sequential Show. Come see!

Craig's cat Meow-Meow nestled in the fiddle case.

Adam examining a guard puppet.

Noah playing guitar in Craig's living room.

Bink in the Chair

 

From a photo I took on the trip to Boone, NC.

Tattoo Story Page One Pencils

I drew this about a month ago already...time sure is flying. I have traveled more this year than all previous trips before this year combined, I think. I am really happy to burrow into the studio for the winter and do some printing. The guy at the top right of the page is John Haywood, a great talented tattoo and fine artist from Kentucky who I had the pleasure of meeting in passing in Newport. He plays all sorts of instruments really well, too.

Jenn in Cincinnati

This past weekend, my sister Jenn and I went to Newport, KY (via Indianapolis and Cincinnati) where we visited The Southgate House to see a benefit show, To Sing With You Once More. Here's a very quick sketch I did of her sipping some wine and looking at the second issue of Suspect Device (not pictured).

Status Quo Ante Bellum Accepted in Illustrators 54 Annual/Show

Woo hoo! The judges were super awesome this year, it is a huge honor and one of my biggest dreams to get into the show and annual. Keep on drawing!

Driving Page One

 

A pencil sketch for page one of the Tattoo Story, where Clifton Hicks travels to Whitesburg, KY from Boone, NC to get a really cool tattoo.

John Hicks

 

This is a drawing done from 60's era passport photo of Clifton's father. I am a big fan of the paisley tie, the fabric was really fun to draw. 

I Tossed And Turned All Night

 

This is a drawing for the Tattoo Story. I couldn't wait to do the layout for this particular scene, I just had to copy a drawing right from the photograph. It's very lovely. I am excited to get to this part of the story.

Tattoo Story Cover

Etching Round Three

Only thing left to do is some aquatint, I hope you're not tired of this thing. It's getting pretty!

Stormy Night

A page from the sketchbook, about something I remembered from the North Carolina trip. There was a really windy storm that woke me up the second night I was there in the cabin, I thought for sure I would blow away. I saw the clouds outside make what looked like two condensation funnels (ack! tornado!) and asked myself what I should do. I settled on going back to sleep and woke up to an absurdly gorgeous day.

Etching: in Progress

Always a work in progress...going to put this in the acid one more time, and add aquatint to the outside border. I like the original drawing better, since it was more delicate. I'm learning a lot of things about how to get that delicate quality in etching and feel the etchings I do later will benefit from all of this stumbling around in the print shop I've been doing. Working on more fun stuff like the actual interior-- story. I think I'm at the point where I am over-thinking and just need to make it. Kinda feel silly making the cover before the inside pages. Onward we go!

Sketchbook Pages

John Haywood, tattoo and fine artist.

Boots.

Me in a field in Vilas, NC.

Plate

Putting this old thing in the acid tonight. 

North Carolina

Just got back from North Carolina. It sure is pretty there.

A Finely Tuned Beginning

Here's the sketch for the cover for issue two...hoping for this one to be longer, think there is lots of good story to cover. Am turning this drawing into an etching and am really excited about it, gonna be really beautiful. I need to work faster but am still getting a grasp of the printshop schedule and just returned from the Alternative Press Expo, which was really awesome! Met a lot of nice folks and made some new friends. The pre-party was in the warehouse lair of Last Gasp, will update later with some photos of that crazy place.

Tattoo Story Thumbnails

I've been gathering notes and photos for the next installment of Status Quo Ante Bellum. I never used to enjoy thumbnails but I've grown fond of them recently, you can make lots of little pretty drawings really fast and kind of throw them away if they're not so good.  The other drawing is from earlier this week when I was feeling sad.