Slow updating

So, with the rush of college I haven't really been drawing too much. Occasionally on napkins during lunch and dinner for people I know, but I can't show those here, as I can't scan them.

I've been doodling on the forums at Binarpilot's page -- Norwegian musician.

You can find my dinosaur ones here, and my Binarpilot-music-inspired ones here.

It basically all started with this one:

Well, one of my friends gave me a new skate deck to doodle and art on all over. Hopefully I'll work on that soon and post pictures!

Inspiring!

So, lately I've been gathering things together in piles for college and I keep asking myself while holding several items "Which one of these will actually be used/be useful at college the next few months?"

It is with this off-brand of Occam's Letter-Opener that I have been able to pare down my stacks of books, the drawers of old scraps, and whole notebooks of well...notes. (Don't worry, all those lovely notes are digitized and not taking up very much space).

While I've been making these moment-by-moment decisions, I have been questioning things that will help me be inspired while up North. I still want to continuously create art and stories, and I know sometimes with the work load I'll need a little bit of inspiration to spur me on.

I have compiled a list of things that are inspiring right now, this very week and day. They may not hold the same luster in the coming months, but for now they spark me to create:


Gerard Way's Umbrella Academy: Apocalypse Suite; a comic book written by the band My Chemical Romance's lead singer. Awesome story with beautiful colors and illustration.

Alex Pardee's Awful/Homesick art book (which seems to be out of stock now). One of my favorite graphic artists, Alex's work never ceases to inspire and beguile me. Also, the title is ironic for going to college.

My old notes, written hastily on scraps of paper, the corners of calendars, and the backs of receipts. A lot of them have lost their original connections and references, but still stir little segues and peeks into my subconscious/creative mind.

Barry Quinn's work. An awesome recycling-artist, Barry has turned his eco-friendly tendencies into a larger effort for global eco-consciousness. He's been creating artwork that once sold, the proceeds go toward a fund to help clean up BP's awful mistake in the Gulf of Mexico. It was actually Barry's post that inspired me to start this very post.

Go visit him, and maybe when he checks his blog's Stats page he'll see the awesome people going from here to there to appreciate his work. By the way, the new Stats page is just awesome, thank you Blogger team!

So, there's a few things that inspire me. And now I say to you, what inspires you? Comment below (anonymously or namedly).

New gallery idea

So, I've been thinking a lot about new ways to push (or at least test) the limits of art and technology.

One idea I've come up with is using semacodes within an art series or within a gallery exhibit.

For those of you lost with by my lingo, semacodes are these barcodes that have been increasingly popular with mobile phones.

They look like checkerboards or crossword puzzles on acid, and most smart phones now can read them. Actually, most of these codes when read by such phones will direct the phone to open up a web page. Essentially its a click-less shortcut, and more and more companies are using them everyday.


This particular semacode (or QR code) when read by mobile phone should send you to my other blog, Seattle Blurbs.
It was created on kaywa.com and if you have a capable mobile phone, you can get the reader here.


My idea is to print semacodes to be used within a gallery exhibit, next to the normal text panels. The codes would then direct people's phones to YouTube videos or Blogger pages containing extra info about that particular art piece.

I think it would be very interesting to design a show with this in mind, and have artists giving a "behind-the-scenes" look at their work and process in videos and blogs, and having this information available in the gallery via mobile phones. It would add a whole new level to viewing and interacting with art.

I'm excited to see if any gallery around here (like in Seattle or Bellingham) would take on such an idea.

Also, I was thinking of "secretly" releasing prints of my art into the public, with semacodes on the back that would direct tech-savvy, curious-kats to this blog.


Have any ideas you'd like to share along these lines? Comment below!

Mo'-Fishtown

I got my copy of Fishtown and the Skagit River early because I will be out of the region for the exhibit's opening reception and book release tomorrow night.

If you're interested, the opening reception is 3 to 7 p.m. Saturday night at the Museum of Northwest Art on First Street in La Conner.

Here's a peak at the book, available for $15 (I'll provide a link if/when it goes onto Amazon).

You can email the Museum to order a book, or call Kathy Harmon @ (360) 466-4446 ext. 112

Magnificent use of David King's 1979 photo of Fishtown (at least one of the shacks) on the cover. The book is 8 in. x 10 in.

David King's 1979 photo of Dodge near Fishtown. On the right is a perfect example of the collaborations that happened in Fishtown: The poem The Diamond Vehicle was composed by Charles Krafft, the image was drawn by Bo Miller, and Steve Herold wrote the calligraphy. The poem/graphic was used in Cow Tales, a poem compilation with lots of collaborations.

-Enjoy!

These are just snaps I took of the book, I do not own them in anyway.

Fishtown and the Skagit River

After the busy-ness with the Art Auction, I was asked by the Museum of Northwest Art's Executive Director if I could help them and proofread an upcoming book. I readily accepted.

The book is Fishtown and the Skagit River, which coincides with their newest exhibit of the same name. The exhibit actually opens tomorrow, and doesn't get switched out until October. The book is expected to be released Saturday, July 10; and will cost $15.

For those of you that have no idea what Fishtown is, let me inform you.

Fishtown was an artist community on the outskirts of La Conner back in the 1960s that existed until the mid-1980s. Fishtown was made up of old, fishing shacks on the banks of the Skagit River that had been abandoned in the 50s. Several artists moved into these shacks and assumed a "simple" way of living:

No electricity, no running water (beyond the ever-moving river), no taxes, and completely enveloped by nature. To get to town, the artists would either trudge through farmland (trespassing, except the farmers were tolerant), or paddle their way to the Swinomish Channel to reach First Street.

Many of the people that lived in these shacks were very fond of Asian culture and beliefs--this was often translated into the artwork that was produced within these shacks. Artists blurred their boundaries of creativity: poets took up paint brushes, painters tackled printing presses, etc. Collaborations between artists were very frequent, and this cultivated a culture that was unique to Fishtown.

You couldn't really get to Fishtown unless you were invited, and even then you needed a guide that had been there or was an actual resident. Now, with the help with satellite photography, one could find the old shacks where Fishtown rests. If you know where to look.

If you are interested in Fishtown, local writer Fred Owens explains its history on his blog, Frog Hospital: A Bit of Fishtown History.

This past week I've been poring over the drafts for the book, trying to catch typos, grammar errors, layout edits, and anything else that jumps to mind. On Tuesday, I got the chance to help set up and arrange a few things at the Museum with curator Kathleen Moles.

Here are a few exclusive shots of the show mid-arrangement:

Several pieces of art waiting to be hung up on the wall at MoNA. 

I don't know who did most these, there are a lot of artists in this show, but I'm pretty sure the middle piece (right of the blue one with circles) is Paul Hansen.

My favorite part of the show right now. 

This is room is usually a glass gallery for exhibits, but not this time.

To transition from the main room (Main Fishtown) to this room (Fishtown-inspired/related), there is an excellent display of Robert Sund's Wind poems. He wrote poems and sayings on thin strips, and hang them around his shack.
The painting of the Skagit River (left of the little yellow piece) was painted by John Simon--a wonderful Skagit Valley painter that recently passed away.

This is the curved wall that is in front of the curving stairs. It's an excellent center-piece for when people walk into the Museum's exhibit. For this show a poem was written, in excellent calligraphy, by local calligraphist and artist Maggie Wilder. Her script has been featured all over town, including the back wall of the local library. The poem is not her work, I believe it is Robert Sund, but will have to update once the show's open.


The show opens tomorrow morning, and the actual opening "party" will be on Saturday, July 10 from 3pm-7pm.

MoNA Art Auction

This weekend, I had a piece in the Museum of Northwest Art's annual art auction. This auction is said to be the best exposure new artists can get, and for free. This single event draws thousands of tourists and art lovers from all over the state (and Northwest), but of course a majority hails from Seattle.

Last year I entered a portrait as kind of a "why not?" and it ended up selling. Actually, I spoke with the winning bidder, and she said she was at a restaurant looking at the catalog, and knew she wanted my piece, even by the thumbnail. By the way, last year's submission was this one:

 On the deviantArt page for this, you can read the background story and materials used.

This year, I initially wanted to do another portrait, but to no avail. And then, I was suddenly hooked on the idea of drawing my town, from street view. If you're intrigued, and want to know the background info, you can read it for yourself here.

Anyway, the last I saw of my piece was about three or so weeks ago when I submitted it to the Museum to get framed. It was in three pieces, all disjointed and incoherent...and on Friday night, during the Preview Party, this is what I saw:

I absolutely love how it came out, and the matting is just perfect. A lot of people at the auction were congratulating on my piece, and how much they liked it. The majority of the pieces in this auction are in silent auction sections, and so there isn't as much energy as the main event: the live auction.

Of course, there's still a buzz in the air, and people are continuously flowing in and out of the sections and ebbing in and out of the upstairs section. It's always nice to see so many people interested in art all in one place, and for artists to get recognized and mingle with possible-buyers and appreciators.

Once the silent auctions were finished, I was pulled aside by a few people of note in the community, and they expressed their approval on my piece, and wanted to know if I wanted to collaborate on a future project. I'm excited.


Also of note, while browsing the galleries during the auction, I came upon artist Tom Beckwith's piece. All I have is this little thumbnail from the Museum's auction site.

When I first started my street-view project, I had a few ideas of what I wanted it to look like. One of them looked kind of like this:

Art Recommendations

To fill in some time and space before my next post, here are some of my art-related recommendations:


Artists to look for:
[I claim no rights to the artwork, the thumbnails are to show-off the skills of the respective artists.]

Eric Canante

 Eric is a crazy-awesome comic book artist that has a unique way of drawing characters. He tends to exaggerate aspects of an image to bring out more movement or emotion. He lives in California, in or around Los Angeles.

Alex Pardee

 Alex is a successful and very talented graphic artist who has collaborated with bands such as The Used, Cage, and In Flames for album-related graphics. He lives in Cali, San Fransisco Bay area.

Barry Quinn

Irish artist I stumbled upon one day, and have been hooked on ever since. He is very eco-conscious, and paints on cardboard and recycles materials a lot. He even found a use for cups full of paint-tinged water: stain paper with them for future works. He also gives great art recommendations.

Tran Nguyen

Tran (pronounced Tron) I found through a recommendation by Barry Quinn. She is a young and flourishing Georgia (US) artist. Very ethereal work.

Myca Gilkey

Washington artist who plays around with photography once and a while. Recently, she's expanded into other realms of art, including painting and drawing.

Gretchen Bennett

Gretchen is a Seattle-based artist. Her work is inspired by urban and natural environments. She creates pieces out of stickers she finds all over the city. To give back to this community, she has creates a few of her own stickers.

Ukitakumuki (aka Kai)

Kai is a very awesome artist I found on DeviantArt. He's done artwork for games, trading cards, and the works. We got talking when Avatar came out, and also about a zombie story I was somewhat writing.



Art Supplies I tend to favor:
[I am not being paid to advertise the products, these are merely what I have found to work for me]

Higgins India Ink
Pilot pen, Precise V5 (extra fine)
Ticonderoga pencils
Sharpie markers
Faber-Castell markers
Golden liquid acrylic paint
White nylon erasers
GIMP (editing/drawing program)
Genius Tablet

Art Event(s):

If you live within or within driving distance of the Skagit Valley, WA, come over for a weekend for the Museum of Northwest Art's 18th Annual Art Auction--June 18-19.

 Crane Guarding Pine by Curt McCauley

You can check out the Museum's page on the auction here. Images of this year's work, as well as contact info for tickets and places to stay are listed.