TWILIGHTING in the ZONE

6x6 "I can feel loneliness too.." Digital Print and Acrylic Transfer.

Hey all,

I'll just take a quick pause on all things March MODOK Madness related to show you something else entirely.  For the past three or four years I've been approached by the ladies of Eat Your Art Out (and the Angel City Derby Girls of Los Angeles) to create some artwork for various auctions.  I've really enjoyed the themes they usually send my way so I make them some stuff.  This year was Twilight Zone themed... So I got involved.

I'd seen an episode here and there in the past, most of them super memorable with great imagery and narrative.  So, in the interest of reigning in my overactive imagination, I watched the first season (36 episodes) and told myself to pick favorites and work on something from the top four or five episodes on my list.  It was hard to make a choice.  Those early episodes have some REALLY good stuff to work with and draw from.  But, I finally decided to make something based on the seventh episode, entitled, The Lonely".

The image came together pretty quickly after that, in spite of my obsessing over smaller details.  I kept the artwork small and relatively simple for the most part. My doing this was twofold, on the one hand I had to pay to ship it to L.A. in short order, and on the other hand I find that people seem to enjoy buying smaller pieces to hang on the wall.

For the most it's a digital collage with sketches and painting thrown in on top.  I pulled bits and bobs from the episode and am rather happy with how thing came out.  My digital transfer process was also pretty seamless this time around (I think I'm getting better at it) and the final artwork had a wonderful textured quality to it.  While the depth of the art board lets it cast a lovely shadow on the wall depending on the lighting.

It's about an inch deep off the wall.  Made for a lovely cast shadow.

In closing, if you are in L.A. tonight I suggest you check out the auction, Lots of great work to bid on.
Hope you dig,

P

Celebrating 85 years of Popeye

Hey all. 

Here's a photo of this image I made to honor Popeye's 85th Birthday.  It appeared at the Hero Complex Gallery over in L.A. last week.  It showcased with a slew of other fantastic Popeye tribute artwork that you should definitely scope out if you feel the urge.

"Measuring the Forearms of Formidable Might"

The image was mounted directly onto a chunk of Maple wood for presentation but began with a digital file.  It was a compilation of sketching and Photoshop brush work all coupled together with my desire to make something loose and natural feeling.  Sorta like an old photograph from some bygone era.

Looking back, I really relish the line work in this image and how it effected my selections on this rough comp sketch.

My original pass was kinda direct, and I felt it was a bit too simple.  So, I wound up changing some stuff about.  I added an additional figure (which I'd been considering) and modified the layout a tad to try and carry the gag a bit further.

Removing the line work was my original game plan.  I kept feeling that it tied things together rather nicely.

I'd wanted to try and make the painting feel like the Fleischer Studios approach of using modeled set type backgrounds, with animated characters filmed over top.  I'd even considered making the figures look more like cel drawings with a heavy outline.  In the end, I liked the softer quality of the lighting within the shop, and I could only get that without using really dark outlines. 

Also, I tried to fit in as much as possible within the image that would, make the image a little more narrative and meaningful for anyone that wanted to get close and have a closer look at the image.

The Two Tailors are specific folks.

A proper pedestal for the sailor.

A rather familiar figure on a fashion type pin up calendar.

I put a fair amount of time into it and am pretty satisfied with how it came out.  Certainly I ran into some bumps along the way.  But, in retrospect I feel like I've learned from this image and can use that knowledge to make even more cool stuff in the future.

Thanks for checking this out.
I yam what I yam, and hope you dig it.

P

P.S.  As always many thanks to the shows organizers for letting me make some art and share in another awesome show.

I paid this doofus three bucks to hold my artwork, so I could take a photo of it.

Going on a QUEST!

Wait a minute...
Look at your watch, calendar, sundial, ect.
I'm posting AGAIN!

I've been doing some gallery work in my absence from the blog here and figured I'd share some of that here.

I always liked to imagine that the hero was just whistling the tune while, he marched about on his quest.

About a month ago I was involved in the second installment of a Video Game themed show in Brooklyn called 8Bit & Beyond 2.  I'd been involved with the first show and was happy to be invited back to participate.  After much deliberation I figured I'd draw inspiration from my very first 8bit RPG.  Dragon Warrior.

I just remember hours of grinding levels, and listening to the over world audio looping infinitely.  certainly, a favorite of mine.  Aside from illustrating some lovable Slime Creatures, with a nod to Akira Toriyama.  I also tried to work in a bit of music, because the games soundtrack is pretty great.

I'm relatively happy with how the image came out too.
It's a similar process to how my Hellboy image was made a few months back.  However, things went far more smoothly during this artworks execution due to some much needed simplification in my workflow.  Hell, even a few things that seemed like mistakes at first wound up lending a nice texture to the finished image overall (seen below).

A Warrior Wandering Whilst Whistling Within the Overworld.

Looking at this image again has me thinking about playing the game again sometime soon.
I sorely miss playing a good RPG.
 
Hope you dig,
P

HELLBOY turned 20!

Hey All,

It's been a while.  Just wanted to share this with you and say that I'm still drawing every day.  Even though my regular posting has recently fallen off the wagon in a  most spectacular fashion.
I still carry the clipboard and burn through printer paper. 
I still dissect brown paper bags and cover them with marker and felt tip pen.
I've even started learning and practicing some new mixed media Illustration processes and have done some work for gallery shows.  Like this one...

HELLBOY: Gremlins in the Gears.

 

Color is a little closer to correct in the top image.  I had better lighting.

Most recently It was in celebration of HELLBOY's 20th Anniversary.
The work is hanging with a bunch of other amazing work over at Hero Complex Gallery, in Los Angeles.  But, I'll share it out here for those who (like myself) had to miss the show completely.
Bit of a bummer, I hear that Mignola was there for the opening night festivities.

Hope you dig,
P

It Came from 1984!

"Little Byrne, Big Suit" 10x10  Pencil, maker, bristol & paper collage.

 

 

   Earlier this month I wrapped up this image for a show over at Bottleneck Gallery in Brooklyn.
The only guideline from the gallery was that I needed to reference a movie from the year 1984.  Sounded like fun, and I signed on.
 

   Upon further research I found that there were a bunch of fantastically inspiring films to work with. That one short year between the end of 83' and the dawn of 85' had me considering 12 possible movies.  I had to narrow it down to one image. 

   So, my brain shut down for a time.  Overwhelmed by the options and possibilities that usually send my mind into a spin.  Granted I draw a lot of stuff during this time; mostly sketches.  This often doesn't help, must like having a team of sled dogs all pulling in opposing directions.  After two days of sketching I can be left with WAY TOO MANY OPTIONS, and a deadline that is not going to change.  Gotta find a direction then get into the execution, not the other way around.  Must remind myself to point those dogs in one direction, and then GO.

That aside I wound up making an image based on the Talking Heads concert film Stop Making Sense.
I wound up abandoning a few images and going with something kinda basic.  However, part way through the rending one of my earlier ideas resurfaced.  Had fun with it, and it seems to have gone over well in the show.

Same as it ever was,
P

3NES

Hey EVERYBODY!,

Last night in Brooklyn saw the opening of the 3NES show at Bottleneck Gallery. 
I submitted three images to the show, and was responsible for making images based on these big Nintendo Franchises...

Bowser Vs. Mario & The Convenient Axe.

Link Vs. The Dangers of a Rigged Money Making Game.

Samus Vs. Two Metroids & A Partial Justin Bailey Handicap.

I'll go on to say that I DID NOT CREATE THESE CHARACTERS.  But, they were fun do draw and play with.  I used a mix of Pencils, and Copic Markers (which I'm still fiddling with) to get these together.

The Venue was packed and I met a bunch of cool people.  It was kind of amazing to see the line of people that had formed outside of the gallery prior to the opening.  Some NES consoles were hooked up and I indulged in some MARIO BROS and a bit of METROID.  It felt great, and I forgot to photograph anything...  So, a good evening was definitely had.
 
Thanks again to everyone for the support at the opening last night.  Thanks and congrats to my fellow artists in the show and to Bottleneck for supplying the walls and press exposure.




Hope you dig,
P

Samus Sketch...

Tonight I'll have some Art up in Brooklyn For 3NES, a show centered around Nintendo's Big Three.  MARIO, LEGEND OF ZELDA, and METROID are all represented with my submitting an image for each game. 
I struggled with ideas early on, but feel like the images came out pretty good.
For now I'll share this sketch of SAMUS that I was working with.  I'll put up the finished images here in a few days for sure.

Hope you dig,
P

Eat Your Art Out 6!

I'll have some work on display tonight, out on the west coast in sunny L.A.

This will be my second year showing with the Angel City Derby Girls, and the theme for this year was Creature Feature at the Drive-In.  The subject has made for some fun artwork based on what I've seen thus far. 

Personally, I struggled a bit to figure out what I wanted to do for the show.  A lot of back and forth with varied Ideas and executions.  When all was said and done I opted to draw a blob sort of character.  Perhaps I'll attach some of my other sketch ideas in the coming weeks. 
Come to think of it, I might just haul off and make some of the other art ideas I had for this show just to practice some new techniques.  Practice is a good thing right?

"Maybe We Could Talk to the Projectionist?"
Pen, Marker, Pencil on Vellum 2013.

So if you find yourself looking for something to do in L.A. tonight go check out the show.
See info at the AngelCity Derby Girls Site.
 

Hope you dig.
P

IS THIS THING ON? 2!!

Gallery 1988 in Melrose will host to its second show themed around funny people that make us laugh... Last year I offered up a Ben Stiller themed image, and they liked it enough to invite me back this year. So, I hemmed and hawed on a subject for the image when I finally decided on JOHN PINETTE. I particularly like his stand up special, I SAY NAY NAY . So if your not familiar with him, CHECK HIM OUT! He does a fantastic Ewok impression, as well as a having a great singing voice..

The image may be my last transparency/ paper craft collage image for a while... I actually attempted working with a color transparency this time and found it to be a whole new area for exploration in doing images. Fun stuff.

So, If your in the L.A. area tonight GO CHECK OUT THIS SHOW!... Seriously, it's a good one.. Hell, WEIRD AL YANKOVIC is gonna be there, which kinda puts a tear in my eye while I sit here at my desk in NY... Damn I need a transporter device of some sort.

Hope you dig,
P

Get Tough....

Hey there Friends of the blog,

This is URSALA! Queen of the Cave Bears! I cranked out this image for the Angel City Derby Girls out in LA. They're hosting their fifth EAT YOUR ART OUT art auction show this Saturday Feb. 25th and I'm on the dance card.
The theme for this show was Carnival After Dark, and I began by waffling back and forth on what to make (tattooed ladies, fat ladies, Bearded ladies, and contortionists mainly) before deciding that girls kicking ass on roller skates might appreciate the concept of the classic strong woman. Did some research and found some cool old reference photos and stuff. Had lots of fun plotting out the early sketches and noodling with how muscular I was gonna make this lass. This then led to some struggles while I tried to finalize the image where I learned that, indecision does indeed suck. In the end I wound up with this bulky brawny beauty. Which then led me to making a narrative for her as a Strong woman who fights with Grizzly Bears in a spectacular side show event.

I'll see about going back to some of my old sketches here in the future and doing a few more of these, maybe a little strong woman series. I'm trying to branch out more. Truth be told I do draw more then just beers, bears, caricatures, and other stuff. I actually filter out some of my work here and there when I post, but I'm trying to share more varied art with you here, in the future.

Hope you dig,
P

P.S. this is an early comp ans sketch that I'm attaching just for kicks..

Also, I even dabbled in a bit of font building during this project... built the letters I needed in Flash with vector shapework... Probably some of my favorite stuff to do with that program.

Swimming with other Adults...

So I did this image for an Adult Swim themed show that opens at Gallery 1988 in Melrose California tonight.. I'm still a big fan of Cartoon Planet and SGC2C, and I miss seeing episodes of the show... In particular I really miss hearing the voice acting... Also, I was a big fan of the way that the show was written and made by reusing old footage in interesting ways. If I get some time I'd sure like to do some other spaceghost related images this year...

Hope you dig.
P

POST NO BILLS....

SO I did this Bill Murray artwork for a gallery show out in California... It opened on the third and I really grappled with the likeness of this truly excellent Actor. However, it seems every time I do a new showpiece I get slightly better with my planning and though processes regarding making artwork... Better Troubleshooting, thumbnails and the like help me work through to a finished image faster...
I even stumbled onto a pretty cool alternate Idea while discussing things with a friend, which I might look into at a later date. Sadly, I had a deadline for this. Which meant I needed to knock it out...
I opted to portray Bill in Osmosis Jones, which is a movie that not everyone loved. But for me it has a soft spot. I actually met Bill Murray at the opening screening for this film at the Egyptian theater out in Hollywood. I actually sat behind Murray during the film screening. It was a treat, as far I was concerned and I got to chat with him for just a few minutes before he left...Really nice guy. From there I spent the rest of the evening drinking HUGE (plastic solo sized) cups of free booze on an empty stomach. Whilst shooting the breeze with Molly Shannon and some other friends..
All and all, the night was awesome... The hangover the following morning was not so great...

Hope you dig.
P

Dia De Los MUCHA!!

This will be up on the wall tonight at THE ICONOCLASTIC DEAD SHOW in Mexico City...!! It traveled quickly, and made it past customs!! I'm exceedingly happy that I was given a chance to participate with all the other great artists contributing to this tribute to our hero's by fashioning a Dia De Los Muertos themed image.
I've had Art Nouveau on the brain since a very early age... In fact the bathroom in my childhood home had (and still has) this fantastic Nouveau print wallpaper in it. Even before, I knew his name I KNEW I loved the work of ALPHONSE MUCHA. Something about the Graceful shapes, the colors, the LINEWORK!... I've been a fan since child hood and don't see that changing any time soon. For my image I tried for a Mucha inspired composition with a keyhole framing element. I'm incorporating autumn leaves, and bone motifs to, lend to a lot of the natural content that you'd find in Mucha's work. But, also I see an odd similarity in brilliant colors of the old dead leaves verses the faded hues of dried bones. In the process of making the final image I played with lots of designs and found that as I do more of these gallery shows, I have a cleaner though process about executing the artwork. Plus, I get new and creative ways to work through design issues and brainstorm. On the whole I'm proud of the final artwork, but also the workflow that led to its completion.
It was a really fun image to work on and I look forward to trying more of these in the future...
I'll close by thanking, Chogrin for bringing me onto the show. Gracias also to the Guru gallery and German for being very friendly in welcoming me. I hope this leads to more great shows in the future. I'll also thank my model Dayna for putting up with my shooting of some helpful photo reference.

Lastly, I'll thank Alphonse Mucha for being a constant source of inspiration and beauty for me to draw on and appreciate...

Hope you dig.
P

Long live the Dead.

Yep... I'm getting some info that my artwork has made the journey down to MEXICO for the ICONOCLASTIC DEAD show at the beginning of next month... I'm paying tribute to an artist that has always inspired me by using his style in a Dia De Los Muertos themed image. This is a snippet of my show submission, and I'll be posting a full image closer to the show date. Hope you dig..

P

An American in PARIS...

"Dinner Bell at the Bottom of the Food Pyramid"

I was a recently honored by an invitation to an 8-Bit Video games themed show in PARIS, FRANCE at FLAQ Gallery (8-Bit Champions). Yep, this is the first international viewing of my artwork, and I'm really excited.

I made an image themed on PAC_MAN which explains the recent rash of PAC MAN here on the blog. I also tried to change up the type of image I was making. I'm pretty happy with the outcome and see myself making more 8-bit tribute images in the future just for my own entertainment.

Now on a sadder note. I,ve recently found out, that my image (above) will not be in the opening night of the show, which is right about now because of timezone differences. I'm told that its due to some kind of problem with postal papers and foreign Customs... DANG....
However on a happier note, I'm told that the work will be added to the show in when it clears customs... HELL YES!.

I'd like to end by thanking Thomas and Joe in coordination with the Autumn Society for making this event happen and for letting me be involved.. MERCI, and THANK YOU!

As always I hope you dig.
P

Nail BITER...

Just a teaser image... I'll post the whole thing here a bit closer to the show.

Here's a snippet from a Pac Man image I have in an upcoming show... The artwork should be at the gallery by now but, they don't seem to have it. I'm trying not to freak out though. Well, maybe I'm freaking out just a bit...

Hope you dig.
P

SNACK CAKE THEIVING CREATURE...

He loves Twinkies...AND, he'll be display at the MONSTER CREEPS show at Dark Delicacies Gallery, in BURBANK Ca. TONIGHT ONLY..

If you get a chance to see the show let me know how it is.
Hope yah dig.

P

Creature BUILDUP!..

Here's some of the sketch work that lead up to my showpiece for the MONSTER CREEPS Show in Burbank later tonight..

My thumbnails where sparse and spread out over a few pages... So, when I found an image I was gonna work with, I hauled into some larger scale sketches with some overlays when I decided. to reposition his head..

Hope you dig...The finished image will post up in just a few hours here.
P

Early Creature drawings..

Here, are some super early pencil scribbles from my MONSTER CREEPS image, which will be on display tomorrow. I was originally going to have an image of the creature being shot, which is sad because I felt it was probably the best Monster Squad character, and he got very little screen time...and a sort of mediocre death... However, I combined some of these elements into what would become my final image...

Hope you dig.
P

THE CHORES OF NAMING...

"Splinter Searches for Baby Names"
Pen and Colored Pencil on Craft Paper.

I had lots of idea's for this Show.... Sketched, discarded, considered, and debated over what route I'd take in Tribute to the TMNT that I grew up with. In the end my final idea was similar to my first one... I like Splinter.. But, with the evolution of the work I found A very funny idea that I kinda latched onto...

I hope you Dig the work... and wanna thank everyone for making last nights show...AWESOME!!..

P