by the beach...laguna beach

this is going to be a really fun show. it's the first of a few shows i have coming up in the next few months, and what a show it is! i'm showing with my good friends tom haubrick, and andrew hem. i'm excited to be in such good company!thank you suzanne(ashes in orange peels), for putting this together!

it's something

since i can't really post anything for the projects i've been working on, i thought i'd paint another small piece for my blog/etsy.

more updates and artwork are coming very soon!

two heads...

are better than one? i made both of these mini paintings today as a warm up for some larger pieces that i'll be starting soon.
i've got a few really cool projects in the works, as well as some cool shows coming up. i'll post more info as it becomes available.

wedding portrait

i was commissioned by dylan over at subtext gallery to do a portrait for his friends that were to be married. i haven't been able to post anything until now. they are officially married, and this is the portrait of the couple...

vague

this is part of a project in the works...i've added her to my etsy store...kengarduno.etsy.com

saturday night/sunday morning

i got home pretty late tonight, but still wanted to finish this piece so i could take it along with some others to get framed tomorrow. i'm pretty excited and a little bummed out about tomorrow...the final episode of "lost". i've just recently become a huge fan of the show, so i'm sorry to see it end. i won't go off any more on that tangent... this piece is appropriately titled "l'amour"
goodnight, world.

5,6, and 7

these are the final 3, and my personal favorites.


check out gallery1988.com for availability!

4 of 7

the twilight zone tribute art show is tonight.i thought i'd post one last image before the show. this next piece is a tribute to the man behind the show...

3 of 7

for the twilight zone show at gallery 1988, this thursday may 20th, 7-10pm.see you there?

newton revisited

i was recently commissioned by a collector friend of mine to "free newton". dave is much better with explaining what he had in mind in terms of concept, so i asked him if he could send me a quote that i could post along with the pieces. i've posted the quote below the art. the first image is "newton" by william blake, and below that is my response inspired by his piece, which i've titled "enter spectrum".


"Romantic artist William Blake banished scientist Isaac Newton to the depths of some sea, wrongfully imprisoning him inside an unmovable rock by locking his leg in place and forcing Newton to gaze down with great focus, self-absorbed: as if blind to the beauty of the world around him.

This view expressed an inherent disdain for science, that Newton had the audacity to “reduce” nature into deterministic explanations — into natural laws that allegedly eroded the mystical, metaphorical heart of art and even suppressed personal interactions with an active God.

The human species, however, uses science to better understand not only the reality in which we exist but also this same reality of which we are made. And this understanding can lead to greater feelings of interconnection with the world and with each other, not less.

Newton supplied humanity with the beginnings of several groundbreaking insights, later refined (as is often the case in science) by many, including Einstein, who improved rather counterintuitively upon the notions of time and gravity.

Freeing Newton from this imprisonment should have occurred long ago; and with the march of progress and a longing for enlightenment, we as a species may continue to attempt to assess the real nature of reality, rather than deluding ourselves with our own inventions, beautiful as they may be.

Physicist Richard Feynman generalizes the overall point quite well: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSZNsIFID28"--dave fischer

i had a great time working on this commission. thank you, dave...

2 of 7

this is another piece for the twilight zone tribute show at gallery 1988. it's this coming thursday, may 20th from 7-10pm.

top secret...but not really

i made this piece for an upcoming project, but it won't be used for that after all. i'll mention the project soon when i find out more about it. i'm really happy with the piece either way.
"tangent"

another dimension

gallery 1988 is having a twilight zone tribute show on may 20, 7-10pm. i did a total of 7 smaller pieces based on some of my favorite episodes, so i figured i could show you a piece ahead of time...

more love.

a new tshirt i designed for clandestine industries was just released today. this is my second design for the label.i've posted the art and the printed tshirt below. my thanks go out again to jensen and pete at clandestine.



www.clandestineindustries.com

spot.

this is a spot illustration i did for chris bovey at the Inlander in spokane, washington. it's a story about a mother/daughter that decide to take up shooting at a range as a way of dealing with difficulties in their lives.thanks, chris!

cover

i did this cover a while back, and it's finally going to be released. the book is a great read, and it was optioned by Spike Jonze, so read it before it hits the big screen. below is the original painting before design. i painted the balloon separately, so it was added on digitally along with the type. this is the final design. i love what the art director did with the final. kudos to paul buckley for his design skills.


i've added the amazon link below, just in case you were interested in picking it up.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0143117785/ref=s9_simh_gw_p14_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=1B2BK8BMEZSEBNKC2VC0&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=470938631&pf_rd_i=507846

i guess it's a series.

i love doing portraits, but i wanted to take a break from doing my regular faces. lately i've been sketching out faces that look alien-like, and yesterday's post was the first in what will now be a continuing series of these "out of this world" characters. i call this one "traveler".
i thought i'd post this sketch too. i used to hate drawing hands back in the day, but now i find myself drawing them obsessively.

quickie

i've had an image of this in my head all day long. i couldn't wait to get it on paper. when i make a new piece, i usually like to come up with a short one sentence story in my mind about the character/s. "portal"


on a side note: i just got a bunch of paintings back from a gallery. i'm running out of space to store work. email me at kengarduno@yahoo.com if you're interested in finding out what i have available, and i'll offer these pieces at a deal!
these are pieces that i won't be putting up on my etsy store...

thanks,
k

still life.

i've been in a groove with making new stuff. i'm trying to keep it going as long as i can.

"offerings" 8.25"x10.75"



more soon...

back in black

as i mentioned before, i've been wanting to return to my limited palette ink illustrations. i've got a few planned out, and this is the first.
"ethereal"


most of the pieces i've posted recently are for a show coming up in august. i'll be posting info about the show once everything is confirmed.

let the ink flow.

i've been having fun working in color lately. i do, however, miss working with black/grey wash so i'll be going back to doing a few of those soon. this piece was especially fun for me. i really enjoy painting loosely with my inks.
"reality overload"

4 am

it's that time again. for some reason, i keep finishing paintings at around the same time. this piece is called "vision".

tired eyes.

it's about 4:30 am, and my eyes are getting ready to close. i kept them open long enough to finish this painting, and scan/post it.
"Machine"

good night!

correction

the piece i posted below will be in next week's LA weekly. sorry about the confusion!

la weekly

this is my latest piece for the la vida section of tomorrows la weekly. i've been lucky to be asked to do this pretty frequently.
thank you again, jason and darrick at the weekly!

part deux

this was a sketch that i had done along with yesterday's sketch-turned-finished piece. i figured i should take it to finish too...

for blog's sake

since i can't post an image of the commission i just finished (yet), and can't post other stuff i've been working on yet, i decided to make this piece especially for my blog today.

more stuff soon...i promise!

relax

i'm currently working on a pretty cool commission. i can't really post anything yet, but i'm very excited to work on it. i'm still in the sketch stage, and i figured that while i'm waiting for feedback, i should probably break out the art materials just to loosen up. i'm not quite sure what inspired this, but it was fun to work on. i call it "burst".

as tall as lions...round 2

i did an album cover awhile back for the band "as tall as lions". i was happy to hear back from them, with some kind words and another offer to do a piece for their upcoming headlining tour poster. they're going to be playing the first night of coachella as part of their tour, so if you're going, be sure to check them out.

this is my painting:

and this is the poster with text added by the band:

jefferson.

here's a commission i just finished. it's my take on thomas jefferson. it's always fun getting to do a commission, and especially one like this. he was originally supposed to be in KISS makeup, but i'm glad the patron decided to go without...

shirt

i mentioned this tshirt in a previous post, and finally got around to taking a pic. i'll be adding these to my etsy store soon, but if you don't want to wait for that, email me at kengarduno@yahoo.com. my supply is very limited, and i don't think i'll be reprinting this.


i'm working on a couple projects, so i'll post new stuff as it's completed.

etsy

i've added the pieces down below to my etsy store.

kengarduno.etsy.com

-k

hand lettering?

these images down below were supposed to be for a zine made for sacramento con. unfortunately, i ran short on time and wasn't able to put it together. i've been wanting to make more pieces with hand lettered type. I'm not sure what inspired any of these...




i did, however make a few shirts with the Dr. Shifty Eye character above. i'll post a pic of that when i get a chance. email me at kengarduno@yahoo.com if you're interested in getting one.($15+shipping) i didn't make many of them, and i'm taking them up with me to sacramento, so keep that in mind!

femme fatale in red

i made this piece for a show coming up at black maria on march 5th. i'll be out of town at the sacramento con(mentioned below), but if you're in town, check out the show this coming friday night.

sacramento comic convention

i'm going to be a guest at the sacramento comic book convention on sunday march, 7 along with my good friend tom haubrick. i have no idea what to expect out of the con, but i'm sure it will be fun. i've never been to sacramento, so it will be fun to get a chance to see a new area. if you're in the sacramento area, come on out and say hi.

http://www.sacramentocomics.com/html/index2.html

postcard?

i'm probably going to use this image for my next promotional postcard. i call it "mixed signals".

la weekly.

this is my latest illustration for the la vida section of la weekly.

once again, thanks jason and darrick.

dark forest

i'm on a roll with posting lately. i hope i can keep this up! on a piece like this, i go in without using any preliminary sketches. i just go for it and make a mess on the paper. doing stuff like this helps me experiment, and allows me to loosen up.
this piece and the one from my last post are now added to my etsy store. there is a link to my etsy on my links list on the right.

red eye

this portrait was from a sketch i did earlier today. sometimes i sketch something that i can immediately imagine as a finished piece. the colors were worked out in my head, and i couldn't wait to get to work on it. i like being able to complete a piece and have it look exactly how i imagined...
i'll be posting this piece in my etsy store in a couple of days if anyone is interested.

enamored.

a commission.

alice...fresh off of the drawing board.

i apologize for not posting anything for a while. i try to update as often as possible, but i was a little wiped out after our group show. i'll try to get back in my routine of posting now.
i'm posting this piece a bit early. it's going to be in a "alice in wonderland" themed show at canteen gallery in ontario canada. i'll be posting more info about the show soon. the show is in early march. i've always wanted to do an alice piece, so i couldn't pass this up.