Work Doodles and Creating Productivity...

On a particularly slow lunch shift a few weeks ago I doodled these at work.

I got to thinking that I haven't really free sketched in a while. Part of this, I'm aware, is because I'm not surrounded by creative energy like I was in Columbus and at CCAD. I also realized I stopped carrying around a sketchbook. I constantly had one on me during high school and used it regularly and I had a small one I carried in my bag when I lived here in AZ a few years back but nothing really since. I've had a couple small moleskine journals but I mostly used them to jot down ideas that came to me or notes for future projects.

But, why?

Why did I stop using a sketchbook and/or creating are so steadily like I used to? An artist's block is merely another label for distractions. Things like jobs, significant others, the internet, and TV, families, responsibilities as well as laziness.

I need to get productive or at least get moving. I've been feeling kind of down since I've moved out here and I think a big part of it is the lack of art surrounding me.

I have no excuse not to create SOMETHING. Even if it's a simple sketch.

I've seen a group of artists do a sketch a day though their blogs last year and recently a friend just started to do something similar over the summer with drawing something everyday now through august.

I've decided I'm going to carry a sketchbook with me again.

I am also doing to draw/doodle something everyday and/or at least work on the progress of a bigger piece of art.

I will document and post here.

I feel like this will get me productive again and progress toward the progress video blogs I want to make.

On that note I'll leave you with a few art vlog/progress videos from a few artists I admire :)

Visual Art for the Ears.

I went to see my favorite band perform last night at a small venue just a few steps from my apartment here in Tempe. MONO is a instrumental rock/ post-rock band from Tokyo. They don't tour North America often so there was no way I was missing this.
I'm not a photographer and all I own is a small point and shoot camera but here are a few shots I took from the show that I liked.








I'm not one with much knowledge about must but, all this art for the ears got me thinking about all the art that is plastered on musicians' album covers.
I complied this visual list of sweet album covers and links to the artists [if available :/ ]
Ready, Set, Photo Spam!


Aaron Janinski


Mark Ryden


Julie Bell


Alex Pardee He also did The Used's 'In Love and Death' album.


Alex Grey has done a couple of Tool's album covers along with much of their merchandise.




Done by the author of one of my favorite graphic novels, Craig Thompson


Drawn by the band's lead, Gerard Way.


Sanna Annukka


Dan Mumford


Paul Romano


Esao Andrews


Will Sweeney


Marq Spusta




both of the above and all the art direction is by Alan Aldridge. He also did the Beatles Illustrated Lyrics




Takashi Murakami

And I'm sure there are many many more that I can't think of/find at the moment.

Also, since I'm mentioning music I'm going to plug the music review site/blog Klap 4 Music written and maintained by an acquaintance of mine, Rudy Klapper.

What are some of your favorite illustrated album covers? Please Share!

Sketch 4 Sketch

Zerofriends duo, Dave Correia and Alex Pardee set out on a US road tour about a month ago called Sketch4Sketch where the two artists traveled to different locations around the country asking you to trade them a drawing for a sketch from each of them. A brilliant idea, I think. Illustrators as touring rockstars? Oh yes.

Well I caught up with them here in Phoenix at Red Hot Robot.

The table of t-shirts and prints

The line of eager fans waiting to trade

Dave [left] and Alex[right] check out the art you trade them and chat it up while they draw.




I traded the boys a few things including the Pop Surrealism piece I did for ColorCon based off Alex Pardee's work, some buttons, a print of my Venus of TaTa and a Snack Monster print, Matinée Snack.
They loved the snack monster and their quick sketches for me were inspired by my junkfood eating creature.

Zerofriends crew member Sean told us stories while we waited. Stories about the true origins of Batman and how he used to cuddle his pet bunnies and pretend they were unicorns :D

Alex sketching something for me

Dave sketching a pumped up Snack Monster

And these are the result.

Snack Monster on Steroids! :O from Dave Correia

Alex Pardee's Giant Mutant Hot Dog Eating a Snack Monster!! Oh Noes!

Hooray for Traveling Artists and Art Trades!!

<3

The Literature of Art

Since my move to AZ I've been reading a lot more often. This has been possible thanks to factors such as the lack of 24/7 internet access and more time spent on public transportation.
Not long after I got here I picked up the book, 'Seven Days In The Art World' by Sarah Thornton
I'm a bit of a nerd when it comes to non-fiction book, I'll be honest. Though, this book was a true bit of recent-history written in a great narrative. Unlike Sarah Thornton, I'm really not one who's good with words so here's the synopsis from off her website:

Seven Days in the Art World is an unconventional ethnography and a social history of the recent past. Set in New York, Los Angeles, London, Basel, Venice, and Tokyo, the book is populated by colorful characters who espouse conflicting definitions of art. Some see it as a luxury good or entertainment, others view it as an intellectual calling, a job description, or a kind of alternative religion. In a series of day-in-the-life narratives, Thornton investigates the minute dramas of a Christie’s evening sale, life in a notorious CalArts seminar, the elite trade of the Basel Art Fair, the competition behind the Tate’s Turner Prize, the peculiarities of Artforum and its critics, the high jinks of Takashi Murakami’s studios, and the curatorial wonderland that is the Venice Biennale. Thornton’s entertaining book explores the dynamics of creativity, taste, judgment, status, money, and the search for beauty in life.

Honestly, if you have any desire to be apart of the contemporary art world or have any love for it, you will read this book.



I've recently started reading 'Art & Fear' by David Bayles and Ted Orland. This is a bit of a psychology book that I'm only a few chapters deep into. It's intriguing so far. The book's about "the way art gets made, the reasons it often doesn't get made, and about the difficulties that cause so many artists to give up along the way".


I have this long list of must reads. In between I pick up a few art magazines here or there. Hi-Fructose magazine is probably my favorite. A quarterly art magazine, founded by artists, Attaboy (Daniel Seifert) and Annie Owens that has a focus on emerging and more recent contemporary artists, leaning towards an illustrative direction. It also was my replacement for Juxtapoz magazine which I used to read religiously but has in the past year or two changed it's approach. I tend to browse the magazine on the stands and only purchase issues that seem really interesting or have a feature by one of my favorite artists. :/

A recent discovery was Blue Canvas. This magazine is different. Blue Canvas is an online artist social net work [think DeviantArt but, more formal?] where the artist posts their work and the community browses and nominates you and your work for the quarterly magazine.

What kinds of artist literature have you/do you read?

Sunny South West

So I've been MIA
and for good reason.

At the beginning of March I made the cross-country move to Arizona.
Drastic change? oh yes.

I loved Columbus, truly did [minus that whole winter thing] and I absolutely loved CCAD just personally it wasn't going to work for me without a ridiculous [financial] struggle.
I'm so glad I took my foundations year at CCAD. One year transformed me immensely as an artist but, I still have more to develop.
To continue on the path to a degree [before I turn 30] I made the hard decision to transfer to a public university. I wanted to attend one that had a reputable art program in a location I knew I could live on my own in. Arizona State University became my answer.

So here I am in Phoenix/Tempe, Arizona

Let the art making and degree pursuit begin.



I leave you w/ a dump of photos from the Phoenix Art Museum and the ASU Art Museums.

Chihuly in Columbus

It's been awhile and for good reason.

Due to finances and other complicated situations I had to withdraw from CCAD for this semester. It was a really rough decision to make but, I promise, there is a plan in the works. A surprising future is coming. Keep an eye and an ear out.

So, since I haven't been in art school I've mostly been back at the restaurant working, making and saving money. I try my best to continue to go out and see what's happening in Columbus, art-wise, even though I'm not directly involved anymore.

I have to say right now though, Columbus is the place to be if you're into Glass. Popular glass artist,Dale Chihuly has TWO shows going on in Columbus right now and I'm lucky to be within a walking distance of both of them.

He has Chihuly:Illuminated at the Columbus Museum of Art, downtown next to CCAD's campus and Chihuly:Reimagined at The Franklin Park Conservatory which is literally across the street from my apartment.

About a month ago me and a friend who was visiting the city went to the Columbus Museum of Art and checked out the show. The theme that was involved was the use of glass and light together, playing off of and with each other. Here are some photos from our visit:

A couple days ago I wanted to play around w/ the new digital camera I bought myself and so I trekked through the knee-high snow mounds across the street to the Conservatory. Chihuly's work here was Art and nature incorporated. There were a lot of works outdoors and I may go back once the snow melts to see these works in a different way but they still have an impact covered in snow.

Did you know that Chihuly paints too? A couple of images of his paintings from both CMA and Franklin Park:

And here's a few awesome flower shots I took, just because. :)

The Show at Franklin Park goes on thru March 28th and the show at CMA is going on thru July 4th and during the museum's remodeling. Do check them out if you've got some time!