Posts Tagged ‘buildings’

Run & Hide. The GORILLAPHANT is on the loose!

Wednesday, April 28th, 2010

My good friend Ryan Lee aka ‘Defame’ is a super talented musician. Not only has he played guitar in multiple bands but he spends all his free time creating sick beats. The dude has amazing skills and makes music to nod your head to. He has been in the process of fabricating and gathering up material for a legit release for a while now. Well, the time has come. The ‘Gorillaphant!’ is out of the cage and now available online for FREE DOWNLOAD!

Ryan was nice enough to let me design all the album art for the ‘Gorillaphant’. I loved the way it turned out and can’t wait to see it printed up.

Front Cover Art

CD Art

Back Cover Art

You HAVE to download this. Not only are the beats insane but he has some of the best local MC’s on the album. It’s definitely not anything you’ve heard on the radio, that’s for sure. And that’s a good thing. We need more unique and creative individuals pushing what they do best out there for everyone else to see. Indy has many examples of that and Defame is definitely one of those guys. Get to know this dude and his musical creations because it won’t be the last time you hear about him.

Tags: , , , , , ,
Posted in blog | 1 Comment »

Both Sides Of The Beat

Saturday, January 2nd, 2010

December 12th. What a night! I am sorry to say, but if you missed this show you missed something pretty big. There was so much talent underneath one roof, performing and not-performing. But you still have time to go to the Hostel and check out my artwork that is on display. Indy Hostel is such a great place. It is tucked away in Broad Ripple and if you aren’t looking hard enough for it you just might miss it. My art will be hanging until mid-January so head on out to the Indy Hostel before you miss out!

Ligyro setting up some beats with my art hanging on the walls

I created six new works for this show, seven including the s.a.i.n.t. RECON EP art “Psalm Before The Storm“. All the works were inspired by music in general and also partly the hip hop community. I re-purposed old cassette tapes, cassette tape holders, 8-track tapes, a speaker, an old record player cover, and more. I wanted the work the fit the theme of the event instead of just putting some older work on the walls. That would have been a lot easier but I took the extra time and effort to create new work specifically for the show. I think it definitely payed off. I couldn’t be happier with the way everything turned out. So, if you have the time or if you are in the Broad Ripple area, please take some time to check out the work. I would really appreciate it. Indy Hostel is located at 4903 Winthrop Avenue Indianapolis, IN 46205. If you get lost, call (317)727-1696.

Lorax and his daughter hanging out before the show

Before I start my recap of the night, I just want to say big THANKS! to John, Gibson, and Neil for putting on such an amazing event. We are really fortunate that the Hostel, which is fully functioning takes the time to hosts events such as ‘Both Sides of the Beat’. I sure hope everyone else appreciated that gesture as much as I do. Also, thanks to s.a.i.n.t. RECON, Ligyro, Lorax, Dan Marquis, T.J. Reynolds and the Free Hand Orchestra, and Big Skittz for truly great performances. Alright, now for the recap!

Jesse from s.a.i.n.t. RECON getting there early to hang out

As I arrived early to hang my art before the show, I was greeted by Neil, Gibson, Dan, and Cory. It was my first time at the hostel but I could tell as soon as I walked in that it was something special. The atmosphere was really inviting and the space was well put together. John and everyone did a great job with the house. I wish I could have seen it before all the renovations.

Everyone hanging out, drinking some Upland beer. Thanks Upland!

The show took place in the main room on the first floor. I felt at home. I swear the color on the walls was the exact color I had on my walls growing up at my parents. The old hardwood floors took me back as well. Maybe someday I could find an old house to renovate and turn into my own.

Awesome poster created by Bonzo Rockaway. Go buy some killer shirts!

As I was unpacking my art, there was bubble wrap everywhere on the floor. Cory’s daughter was quick to grab a sheet and start poppin’! I swear she went through a 8 foot long piece of that stuff. She was having a blast. It was great to see little kids at an event like this, soaking up the creativity and uniqueness of such a show. I hope she grows up remembering and being inspired by all the great things her dad and his friends did in Indianapolis. When my son gets a little bit older, I would love to take him out more so he too can get to experience something that many people never get to. It takes a lot to put your creative being out there for everyone to see and I commend every artist of any discipline sharing their talents with the world. It needs to keep happening.

A.C.E. O.N.E. and Kinetic from s.a.i.n.t. RECON performing their first acoustic set

This wasn’t just your normal hip hop show. This show included spoken word, some freestyle, and the first acoustic performance by s.a.i.n.t. RECON. If you don’t know about these guys, you need to get hip with it. It was just Jesse with his acoustic bass, and A.C.E. O.N.E. and Kinetic with their rhymes. It was crazy to see a hip hop group perform with ease without a big beat behind them. Those dudes didn’t even need it, their words kept the time. I couldn’t believe it was their first time doing it acoustically because it seemed pretty flawless to  me. The crowd even helped out with some feet stompin’ and finger snappin’. It was one of those moments I couldn’t help but have a goofy smile on my face because it was just too good.

s.a.i.n.t. RECON performing their first acoustic set as lucky attendants take it all in

I hope there will be more shows like this in the future. Hopefully, next time will bring twice as many people. We need to share the love and creativity that is happening in Indianapolis. Take the time to click every single link on this page. All the artists are super talented so check out what they are creating. Also, if you know anyone who needs a place to stay whether they are passing through Indy or not, give Indy Hostel a call. A unique alternative to trite hotels. Until next time…

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in blog | 2 Comments »

Sinks and Cerulean Skies

Friday, October 30th, 2009

It all started over a month and a half ago. My wife and I start demolition of our bathroom to make way for the updated remodeling. We took all the old walls down, pulled all the floors up down to the slab, and we are pretty much replacing everything in there. Being someone who hates to see things go to waste, I was sure to pick out of the rubble whatever I could use towards my art. I was able to use some old wall board that had really neat texture from the adhesive for the shower surround as well as the old sink. The sink wasn’t top of the line but I at least thought it was all ceramic. It was not. I think it is made of some kind of resin. I cut out the basin section for another project and then broke the remaining pieces into smaller sizes. I knew I wanted to use them but I didn’t know how.

BuiltOnABasinBLOG2

Detail of ‘Built On A Basin’

Fast forward a month, as I am working on my latest piece to be completed. I met a man named Jeremiah at his house where he gave me ‘scrap’ wood. This wood to me was definitely not scrap. I received white oak, poplar, pinkish toned maple, and some ash wood for free. It was a huge score for me because some of this wood was already sanded smooth and others even had the edges routed. Some of the maple pieces were long and skinny, relatively speaking. I thought they would work well for my interpretive skylines so I started with a nice blue sky. I actually was experimenting with rubbing oil paint into the wood so the grain would still show. It didn’t work for me so I waited forever until it dried and then used spray paint over it.

Next came the buildings. I knew I wanted to start a new direction for the buildings. Before, I mainly used acrylic to paint the buildings onto the ‘canvas’ but I wanted to add depth to them. Since I have been doing a lot of collage work lately, it made perfect sense to use some kind of paper for the buildings. I found this textured brown paper at work that I really enjoy and painted on it after cutting the buildings out by hand. Now the buildings pop off from the background ever so slightly creating a lot more depth than before.

BuiltOnABasinBLOG1

‘Built On A Basin’

I then had to tackle the problem of visually anchoring the buildings. I was throwing a couple ideas around in my head until I realized the size, color, and texture of the sink basin pieces would work perfectly. I used my puzzle making skills and put them together in a fashion to represent rocks, boulders, whatever geometric earthy creations exist. Perhaps even glaciers. I then put a couple layers of wood glue on them to help them meld into the piece and not be so stark compared to the rest of the background.

I had a lot of fun creating this and I think it turned out great. I was able to experiment, fail, and learn that something doesn’t work as well as I thought it would. I was also able to take my subject matter in a direction that relates well with my other work. Check out the Portfolio section for a straight on shot of the new piece.

Tags: , ,
Posted in blog | No Comments »

I Saw an Aerial Attack

Monday, October 26th, 2009

If you read my last blog post, you would know that I have been in the process of creating a piece of art using a spray paint can as the canvas. Like I said before, nothing ground breaking here but I thought I would have a go at it. Well, I finished it last night and I wanted to share it with you. The piece contains minimal list of materials including:

1. (1) spray paint can

2. (4) blank stickers for the tentacles

3. (1) piece of scrap mail paper for the buildings

4. glue, ink, spray paint

TheAttackInTheAirISawBLOG

Here is a close up shot of “The Attack In The Air I Saw”.

If you have seen the titles to my work, you would also know that I tend to use a lot of tongue-in-cheek, play-on-words type phrases. They amuse me and I hope to get at least a giggle out of the viewer if not a chuckle. That is why “The Attack In The Air I Saw” is not “The Attack I Saw In The Air” because ‘air I saw’ = ‘aerosol’. Follow me? This explanation isn’t meant to insult the viewer by assuming he/she doesn’t get it. We all think differently so sometimes a quick little explanation helps each other meet at a common point.

I had a lot of fun working on this and I’m very satisfied with the end result. Sometimes it is nice to go back to the origins of drawing because unfortunately, I tend to rarely do that these days.

For a 360 degree shot of the entire piece, you can click here to view it in the portfolio section.

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in blog | No Comments »

Awesome Aerosol Art

Saturday, October 24th, 2009

Tonight, I started creating a piece of art out of a spray paint can. I know this definitely isn’t an original idea. I use spray paint a lot in my works but never thought of using it as a canvas until recently. My friend James Quebbeman had created a custom can for me a couple months ago and recently encouraged me to try it out for myself. So this weekend I embarked on the journey.

VaporCan

Custom can created by Vapor aka James Quebbeman

My theme is going to be based around my building and tentacles that I tend to draw a lot. People have asked me before why buildings? Why Tentacles? Well, do you really want to know? Then I guess I will fill you in.

Being raised in the city until second grade when we moved to the small rural town of Danville I think shaped my fascination with the scale, purpose, and aesthetics of skyscrapers or just tall buildings in general. Obviously, small towns aren’t known for massive architectural pieces so visiting the city was always an event. I remember even driving downtown to Herron everyday for school from Danville was great because I got to experience the skyline from varying degrees of size and detail along the way. I still think one of my favorite views of the skyline is the drive through ‘Little Mexico’ right after 36 and 40 combine especially when the sun is setting in the fall.

SprayPaintCan

Progress shot of my spray paint can creation, stickers, utensils, etc.

Big buildings are just down right cool. The insane amount of money and work that goes into them is enough to appreciate them. Not only are they a functional part of cities across the world but they become an iconic image. I think taking that concept and using my creative license to depict buildings in my own way helps me create a certain type of iconic image in the context of my own artwork.

As far the tentacles go, once again…they are cool. Not only that but they are fascinating to look at. Whether it be an earthworm or a tentacle on a giant octopus, I have always found these digits to be way more interesting than human limbs. For me they represent the unknown, the odd, the dangerous, or the down-right creepy. I think the tentacles leave themselves open for interpretation to the viewer because they are just as iconic as buildings. Unfortunately, it seems as of late tentacles have been the cool thing to do in design and illustration. At the same time, just becacuse others on are the same creative tip as myself doesn’t mean I should stop doing what I’m doing.

So there you have it folks. It might just look cool but there is always more to what you are looking at regardless of what it is.

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in blog | 1 Comment »

Some call me a vagabond artist…

Tuesday, October 20th, 2009

Now that it is getting colder and daylight is getting shorter, my creative processes are forced indoors. Unfortunately, my studio (garage) isn’t insulated or weatherproofed very well either. In fact, over the winter paint tends to freeze, glue becomes useless, and then we start the process over the next year. I am being proactive and keeping the ol’ wood glue indoors this year though. However, I will chance the paint freezing because 1. I don’t have space for 30+ gallons of latex paint in my house 2. I like being surprised with the coagulated latex paint. I am not afraid of texture. So whether it is perfectly new, gunky, or dry out; this guy is going to use it up.

KitchenStudio2

Because of being forced indoors over the winter, my style changes with the weather. You will probably start to notice more collage work perhaps some drawing instead of work with big, three-dimensional objects. It is kind of sad. It seemed like just yesterday it was warming up and I had so much I wanted to get done when it was warm. Did I get it all done? Of course not. Such is life. Now only if I didn’t need sleep….

So here is a photo of our kitchen table being over grown with magazine and book trimmings, 8-track tapes, glue, scissors, and old books covers.

KitchenStudio

I was in the process of working on my well known buildings but taking them in a more dimensional direction. Instead of painting them, I am experimenting with collage and even using wood for three dimensional interpretations of my skylines. It should be fun.

Here is a close up shot of that skyline piece without giving too much away. I should be done with it soon. I think I just have to add a couple layers of glue and it should be finished.

KitchenStudio1

Well, I think that it is it until next time. Have fun and be creative!

Tags: , ,
Posted in blog | No Comments »

ORANJE 2009

Monday, September 21st, 2009

ORANJE after the dust settled

ORANJE 2009 was definitely a success! I had a lot of traffic through my booth, plenty of positive feedback on my work and my booth, great collaborative interaction with the ‘raffle panels’, and I even sold some work! I just want to say thanks to EVERYONE who helped made this possible, big or small. The main contributors of helping hands were my awesome wife, Rachel, my supportive parents, Linda and Bryant, and my awesome friend and developer of this site, Drew Skwarcan. You guys rule.

People getting down with the collaborative found objects panels.

ORANJE 2009

It was a great opportunity to show my art to a large audience especially since it was by far the largest show I have ever participated in. The environment was super positive and I had so much fun talking with so many different people about so many different things. I can’t wait to apply for ORANJE 2010.

Earlier in the night.

ORANJE 2009

The only thing I regret is not being able to see more music and enjoy more artist’s booths. I had my hands full with mine and I know everyone else did as well. I am also very appreciative of the great, creative people I met at ORANJE this year and hope to continue to keep in touch and work with as many as possible.

It was getting kind of packed in there.

ORANJE 2009

This show was a big stepping stone seeing as it was my first show in over three years since my son was born. I have been working hard to develop my style over the years and I feel confident in the direction I am going, though never being stagnant. It feels great to get back into the local Indy art scene and I hope to continue to increasingly contribute to such a great city.

A look outwards from inside my booth.

ORANJE 2009

And finally, I will be selecting the five lucky winners of their very own original ORANJE 2009 collaborative found objects piece of art in the upcoming days. I will contact the winners shortly there after. Thanks to everyone who helped out and put your name in the free raffle. Good luck to everyone!

Tags: , , , , , , ,
Posted in blog | No Comments »

OH MY GOUACHE!!!

Sunday, October 19th, 2008

Like I posted earlier, Rachel and I have been wanting to dabble with Gouache on paper. Well, we finally got some and here is my first attempt at it. I have worked with ink and watercolor before and it’s properties are similar to those of watercolor. When it dries though, it reminds me of tempera paint with the opaque, eggshell type finish.

“The Streets of the Grind” Gouache, Ink on Paper 5” x 7”

TheStreetsofTheGrind

I also received some more free found wood recently which I will be cutting into smaller sections than normal. Over the winter, I am going to concentrate on working smaller and a little more detail-oriented with works on paper as well as wood.

Tags: , ,
Posted in blog | No Comments »