a few things

1.I had the rare opportunity to work from a model tonight. My friend Mercedes was visiting from New York, and was nice enough to sit for a quick portrait. I was pretty rusty at first, but I think I warmed up on this drawing. I used a combination of ballpoint pen, acrylic-ink wash, and marker on this piece. I'm going to try to work with her one more time before she leaves. I miss doing drawings from life, so hopefully opportunities like this happen more often!


2.Some friends of mine started a new art/culture magazine. The first issue was just released this past weekend, and they've included a couple of my images. Check out Debaclemag.com to find out where you can get your hands on a copy.
3. I'm part of this group show coming up. It's going to be great. If you're to be in the area, I'll see you there.

blue

This is another marker sketch that I did yesterday. "Evette"

copic round 2

I didn't get a chance to post this last night. I like that I can easily do artwork anywhere with the markers. I've been doing a lot more sketching at local bars.
I have to get back to my acrylic-inks soon. I"m going to take full advantage of this experimentation time. I have some group shows scheduled in the next few months, and if everything goes according to plan, my next solo show coming up in august. There will be more info on that later...

on a roll

I think it's pretty obvious that I'm really enjoying my sketchbook. I'm loving the freedom. I'm actually carrying around art materials now that haven't seen the light of day in YEARS. Today, I broke out the copic markers. I'm a little bothered by the way they bleed right through the sketchbook pages, but I'll get over it. I hope I don't snap out of this experimental sketchbook phase anytime soon.

Gouache and...

I got a bunch of gouache a while back, and it's been sitting around since. I've made an attempt to use them a few times, but I get easily turned away when the medium doesn't do what I want it to. I've gotten used to acrylic-inks and I'm pretty comfortable using them. Tonight seemed like the perfect night to give the gouache another try. This is what I came up with. "Bernadette"

This is my sketchbook work of the day.

tonight

Here's a quick sketch that I just finished.

blue mountains

I finished this piece last night. "unmasked"

and then there were 2

I got this in the mail today. It's the latest cover that I worked on for Penguin. I'm really pleased with the design. If you've followed my work for awhile, you may remember this piece. The original piece is called "Birth of Color".
I'd like to thank Paul Buckley, once again, for his wonderful design work as well as having me involved in another of his projects. Thanks, Paul!!!

break

I thought I would give the sketchbook posts a break and post this new piece that I finished last night. "Dweller"

Blame the weather

That's right. It's another sketchbook post.

sketchbook love

Here are a couple more sketches...

ball point

I wanted to paint tonight, but I didn't get around to it. Instead, I took the easy route and worked in my sketchbook. I've been using my sketchbooks a lot lately, which hasn't happened in a VERY long time. I forgot how much I love working with ballpoint pens. I've posted a couple of sketches that I just finished.

someday

This is another "being" character in my ongoing series. I would love to someday make a sculpted version of these characters. "Guardian"

to the point

I don't have many words to add to this post tonight. I just wanted to post this latest piece. "Narcisse"

mail

I just got this in the mail today. I did a cover for a Penguin book awhile back called Light Boxes by Shane Jones. Since the book came out, I've been contacted by numerous publishers from different countries to use the cover for their editions. I especially liked this redesign of the cover, so I asked the art director is she could send me a copy. As you can see, this edition has a box cover...so awesome! I'd like to thank Alice Beniero of ISBN Edizioni for sending and designing this!

My second Penguin cover that I worked on(designed by Paul Buckley) comes out next month, so I'll make sure to post more about that soon!

tribute #2

This is my latest contribution to illostribute.com. This time, the selected artist is Al Hirschfeld. I owe much of my inspiration to his work. My earlier works were heavily inspired by Hirschfeld. He truly was( and is) the master of linework. The post at illostribute.com probably won't be up until sometime next week, but i'm sure it will be worth checking out. I decided to pay tribute to the artist by drawing him under the influence of his style.

continuation

I'm really enjoying working on these past couple "experimental" pieces. In the past, I've done pieces like these to loosen up, and I usually get something really important out of them. It's a way of me getting even more familiar with my medium and process. This piece is called "Elders plague"Thank you for the kind comments and support. I may not get a chance to respond to the comments, but I do read and appreciate them!

it's weird.

I know. Sometimes my mind flows in an abnormally strange direction and my hands try their hardest to keep up. This is another experimental piece. I call it "contamination"

sometimes

It's not very often that I do something in a sketchbook that I feel is worthy of a blog post. I've been sketching more often, so maybe that will change. I did this sketch while having a few drinks at a local bar, and I'm pretty happy with it.

comedy

I just found this video on Gallery 1988's blog. It was written by Jensen Karp of 1988, and shows my Tony Danza painting from one of my previous posts.

Bromance w/ Michael Cera, Tony Danza & Martin Starr from Michael Cera

Awesome.