Computers are sort of like magicians' top hats, capable of producing magical wonders galore. Aren't they? Sort of? If you agree with this statement, then it makes perfect sense to put this magic themed desktop wallpaper to use. Click on the above image to grab the widescreen 1600 x 1000 version, or see below for 1024 x 768. Ta-da!
Just showing off the new paint job on my workbench and storage area in my garage. As long as we've owned the place the entire thing has been coated with a displeasing red brick-like color (which can still be seen on the door at the top). My friend Jon and I utilized leftover paint from a half dozen other projects and ended up with what you see here. I was happy that it turned out so fun and even a bit mid-century-ish.
As you may have noticed, it's also a haven for my ancient electronics. I think that every garage could use a beat up old radio, a tv that picks up two channels (at least until everything goes digital next year), and a turntable for playing flea market LPs. So I've got the cool workspace; now I just need to learn how to fix something.
Reality finally set in again when I arrived home to discover that lightning had struck my computer. Oh, wait, that should have been the last line of this post. Well, at least it explains why I've been silent for so many weeks, and why I'm wallowing in old news here. But I'm back on the grid now, and it's high time for some hardcore blogging...
As I mentioned in my last post, I had four pieces of colored pencil art in my first art show, Crazy 4 Cult: 2. The show was, to quote Wil Wheaton of all people, "Fuh. Nuh. Muh. Nul!" But I need to rewind a bit because the good times started 24 hours before the event.
One of the great side effects of my visit to Los Angeles was that I got to stay with my friend Henry whom I've known since preschool. This was my first chance to observe him in his Californian habitat, and I was delighted to discover that his house is like a living Shag painting...
He led me to wonderful pizza and we inevitably talked until an unhealthy hour of the night. Throughout the evening I had the distinct feeling that we were existing in the future we had pondered so many times during our youth. We sat there as heads of our own households, surrounded with miraculous technology, discussing our web based careers (he works for Google, but his building isn't the one with the slide or tiki bar). Amazingly, this future turned out just as we might have jokingly fantasized in high school. "...yeah Hen, someday you'll be living in a swank retro pad up on a hillside in LA, and I'll come out to visit when my work is in some art gallery."
His place was a pleasant jaunt from Ventura Boulevard, so the next morning I strolled on down, absentmindedly singing that one line about vampires from the Tom Petty song Free Fallin'. As I hoofed down the avenue, I recognized the Sheman Oaks Galleria Mall from Fast Times at Ridgemont High and I got a gander at Mel's Drive-in from American Graffitti fame...
That afternoon I had the pleasure of hanging out in the home of fellow contributing C4C artist and Mr. Toast creator, Dan Goodsell. I've been an admirer of his since the mid 1990s when he contributed to a vintage cereal zine called Freakie Magnet. It felt like some sort of life achievement to have somehow made it into his living room. Speaking of which, he and his wife surround themselves with some really fun stuff...
I immediately recognized "Birdopolis" from the early days of Dan's Imaginary World web site.
Yes, that's the very computer where it all happens!
The stuff on the left makes the stuff on the right.
As the evening crept up we ventured to Gallery 1988 where we encountered a line of hundreds of art admirers stretching down the sidewalk and out of sight. By the end of the evening the gallery would see a record 3,000 visitors.
This was my big chance to do like in the movies and stroll past the suckers standing in line and smugly announce my name to the bouncer who would smile and motion me through the door after checking his clipboard of destiny. "Not on the list." turned out to be his exact words. I found consolation in the fact that Dan, a real artist, was absent from the list as well. But before things got ugly (like it does in the movies) we were vouched for by the kindly wife of Oldmanmusing's webmaster, Andrew Speers.
Two guys who made the evening even better: Dan Goodsell and Andrew "Savage" Speers
I stepped inside the muggy building and nearly bumped into Superbad's Jonah Hill, but before I could produce my camera Andrew pointed out Wil Wheaton who was attempting to exit the show with his wife. I annoyingly asked him if he would permit a snapshot and he graciously suggested that we forge our way back to a painting that featured him. I only wish my photography had turned out worthy of such a task...
With this, the show had already gone from zero to awesome. Nary a month prior I was grabbing the beloved Stand by Me from the Wal-Mart DVD shelf, and somehow here I had found myself chatting with former Gordie Lachance, the kid who pointed a gun a Kiefer Sutherland and survived leeches in his underpants.
After our Kodak moment Andrew, who seemed completely at home, stepped in and introduced me as the "family portraits" guy. (The fact that Wheaton was already willing to interrupt his exit for an anonymous schmoe with a camera reveals genuine super coolness.) This is when Wil said some wonderful things about the Griswolds piece and told me that he'd even tried to get there early to buy my Torrances piece, but both of them had already sold! This double whammy of info kicked me into a euphoric stupor. Not only did this mean that I could pay off my plane ticket, but with a single Wil Wheaton-uttered sentence this self-proclaimed "artist" can no longer be preceded by the word "amateur."
Locating my work in the gallery seemed like the next logical step. I spotted it across the room in a sweet position right next to the excellent handiwork of Scott Campbell. I squeezed in for a closer look and noticed a line of text printed on the respective title cards of my pieces— "Print set to be released on Crazy4cult.com soon!" I hadn't even permitted my mind to dream about the possibility of being picked for prints (only a handful of works are selected from each show) so this news left me absolutely stunned; literally, my face could not even produce a grin for a short time. Unbelievable. (And in case you're wondering, the prints should be available in 3-4 months. Believe me, I'll announce it here when they go up for sale.)
About that time, Andrew made another introduction; this time it was Plasticgod, an artist who's work I've enjoyed since I saw it at my first ever Comic Con. This was my one big artist-to-artist moment of the evening, in which he brought up how it's harder to recreate likenesses of lesser known celebrities. Most of his work is pop culture centric, like this lineup of Johnny Depp incarnations...
After calling my wife and reporting this series of thrills I calmed down and got a chance to settle in and soak up the atmosphere. Here's how it worked: the line came in through the front door and snaked around the gallery in a nearly fixed pattern...
(Note the banner that announced that Weird Al is going to be hosting next year!)
Then after patrons got their fill, they either went to the sales desk...
Gallery owner Jensen Karp (right) and his girlfriend Chrissy (middle) take care of business.
or they pushed through the exit and headed into Golden Apple Comics next door...
...where they wove through the aisles and made their way out the back door...
...which emptied into a parking lot where they sold drinks and projected old Japanese Sci-Fi films onto the wall...
After I stood by myself in that crowd for a while, I figured it was time to do some looking at art. (Oh, while I was out there someone approached me and asked if I was Lost writer, Damon Lindelof.) The majority of work was truly amazing, and if I would have had the cash these would have got my money...
Kiersten Essenpreis "After the Fire" One of my favorite movies and probably my fave piece of the whole show. I love how odd the subject is when taken out of context, and how it makes a really funny movie moment appear so sullen.
Camilla D'Errico "The Little Dress Up Doll" Just gorgeous. It sold quick.
Casey Weldon "Zissou Route" Great concept; I like it when art can almost automatically get a chuckle out of viewers.
Dennis Larkins "The Nine Plans of Outer Space" Really nice execution on this Ed Wood tribute. It's even more impressive in real life because it's made up of 3-D layers.
Brandon Bird "I Am the Night"
This one caught me off guard in a great way.
So what else? Let's see. When you hang out at any party long enough Pete Wentz of Fall Out Boy is bound to show up...
I've always enjoyed it when people lean in real tight while their picture is taken but as the shot turns out, there's actually tons of room left in the frame.
Anyway, things finally started winding down as the clock neared 10 PM which was about the time my pal Henry showed up having just got off work (Google, remember?). On our last lap of the show Jensen stopped me and revealed who bought what of my work...
Michael Rapaport will be able to place the Torrances on his fireplace mantel, and...
I certainly think it's awesome that these Hollywood inspired works were enveloped by Hollywood. Suddenly I am like the toenail of a cultural beast that is eating itself.
So yeah, the experience was simply off-the-charts phenomenal; a surreal blessing beyond what I even dared to imagine a few months ago as I sweat over those waxy portraits, covered in pencil shavings, hunched in front of my screen door at four in the morning on a weeknight. Reality finally set in again when I arrived home to discover that lightning had struck my computer.
Being an artist, I make it a personal rule to only appear in black and white photos.
Hey folks! I'm sad to report that I've opted out of doing a Halloween countdown this year. If you like excuses I've got: computer woes that I'm recovering from, and a desire to soak in this season of spooks as opposed to the usual frenzy of October bloggery. But there's no call to completely abandon the Fun Blog this month as I do have a number of better-than-average posts in the hopper that I'm hoping to roll out soon. So despite this undoubtedly devastating news, I still wish you all the happiest of Halloweens!
Alas, here are my contributions to this year's Crazy 4 Cult art show. I'll be blabbing about them soon. at the bottom of this post.
UPDATE: Hey, these were chosen to be made into a set of prints! I'll announce it here when they're ready to order, or you can keep your eye onwww.stuff88.com or crazy4cult.com for details.
UPDATE #2: Rather than tastefully allowing this art to speak for itself I've opted to prattle on about the creative process behind these, starting....now.
My wife was my muse for the concept. As I pondered aloud potential Crazy 4 Cult ideas she reminded me of an awesome old family portrait we'd recently seen for sale and I immediately connected the dots between cult films and the family portrait format. I'd already been thinking in terms of Fargo since I love the flick and it seemed underrepresented in last year's show, so I first envisioned William H. Macey's dopey grin in front of a Sears-style backdrop, and the thought delighted me. Moments later when the mental image of The Shining's Torrance family hit my brain, I grew extremely excited and knew I had to try to bring it to life.
The family portrait format felt perfect since this type of photography is basically a study in pure affectation. And what's great about them is that the veneer of smiles is always too transparent to disguise the strain, the physical discomfort, the uneasiness, and often the volatile emotions bubbling beneath. Amazing how we don our most painful clothes and stand under all-illuminating heat lamps in a vain attempt to appear natural, happy, and "at our best." Then we send this piece of fiction to everyone we know. I vividly recall the agony of being forced to rest my hand on my sister's shoulder for literally minutes at a time!
So when you drop these familiar movie families into the equation you've got a double layer of irony. Anyone who's seen these films gets flashes of the horrors each tribe is destined for. I also liked the idea of creating would-be movie props that could be at home in the families' respective fictional dwellings.
Visual reference was the first order of business. I grabbed The Shining off my DVD shelf and headed for my computer. This part was more tricky than I expected. I needed to grab images of each of the three stars that met the following criteria... 1. They need to be smiling (or something close) 2. They need to be smiling while facing the general direction of the camera 3. They need to be in decent light (finding images with matching light sources would have been impossible) 4. They need to be wearing something they might wear to a family photo shoot
I took dozens of different screen grabs from scenes throughout the film. I soon realized that I'd need to create head/body composites in some cases since the right head and the right body didn't usually share the screen. In the case of the Freelings (Poltergeist) the process was extremely difficult. The family only appears normal during a small sliver of time at the beginning before the ghosts kidnap Carol Anne and the reign of terror ensues. I also noticed that in both Fargo and The Shining, the boys practically never smile (which stands to reason considering the heads of those households.)
So I took my best screen captures and digitally cut them up and pasted them into family portrait-ish compositions (following examples of vintage Olan Mills photos via flickr.) I printed these out and using an old grade school grid technique (you draw a grid on the source material and another on the blank paper and use it as a general placement guide) I transferred and scaled my printout onto the larger 10 x 14 page.
My first thought was to try to create these with acrylic paint, but at some point I remembered a colored pencil piece I did in college of Jeffrey Katzenberg, and I liked the effect.
I used a regular pencil to draw a base layer of details before coming in with the Prismacolor pencils. The process was a long one since I did a lot of layering so as not to let any of the paper show through. The biggest challenges were... 1. Trying to recreate recognizable faces based on low resolution screen grabs 2. Trying to somewhat match the lighting even though the subjects were lit by a wide variety of sources, from sunlight to office fluorescents 3. Surviving the sleep deprivation (I have a career and a family life too.)
I could have made it easier on myself by tracing, but I chose not to; I wanted to allow more of myself to show through, for better or for worse, and I actually like the semi-primitive look and cartoonishness that naturally emerged. The final outcome is a nice mixture of artistic choices and pure inexperience.
I tried to vary the styles somewhat from piece to piece based on each film and family. For instance, I figured the Torrances' photo would come from a K-Mart type store so it's slightly misframed and the lighting is severe in an attempt to match Kubrick's. In contrast, National Lampoon's Vacation was shot using very direct and saturated lighting, so when it translated into my colored pencils it made the piece feel flat and really cartoony from the very beginning. Since this look seemed to match the characters I decided not to fight it and I let the kitsch flow.
I also carefully considered the frames for each, trying to match the eras and families' income. For example, the Freelings from Poltergeist seemed like they might have a more glamorous silver frame in their large suburban Californian home of the '80s, while the Lundegaards seemed a good fit with the dark wood.
So why these families? Well, they all have the following in common... 1. The films they come from are all among my favorites. 2. They're all-American and "traditional" in that both parents are together (Well, at the time of the photo). 3. They all go though purely hellish experiences.
The Griswolds seemed out of place to me until I realized that I'd rather survive a vicious haunting with Steve Freeling (Craig T. Nelson) than travel cross country to Wally World under Clark W. Griswold's supervision.
All in all, it's been great to take a break from the mouse pad to illustrate traditionally again. And being a part of Crazy 4 Cult was a purely wonderful experience. (I'll post my recap of the show soon.) Anyway, I hope you got a kick, a laugh, or a nightmare out of my art.
Hey folks! It is with a gleeful heart that I tell you that I'm a contributing artist in this year's Crazy 4 Cult show at the wonderful Gallery 1988 in glamorous Los Angeles, USA. For those unfamiliar, it's an amazing art show where artists reinterpret classic cult films. I'll be there this Friday for the opening reception (hosted by Kevin Smith and Scott Mosier). Last year thousands of people came through, but if you can spot me among the other thirty-something, black-rimmed-glasses-wearing, hairless men, then by all means say hello. I will reward you with a hearty handshake and some painful smalltalk.
I've got a series of four pieces in the show which I'll post here later this week. But if you care enough to want a sneak peek then I invite you over to Kevin Smith's blog to see one of them! (Hint: it's a family portrait of sorts, and you'll have to scroll down a bit.) And yes, that was just an excuse to point out that a well known filmmaker posted my work. Thankfully, he's keeping me humble by leaving it uncredited. Anyway, here's the info... Opening Reception: FREE ADMISSION Hosted again by Kevin Smith and Scott Mosier Friday, August 22nd, 7-11PM Gallery1988 7020 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90038 (South East corner of Melrose & LaBrea)
Hey there retro-fun loving literates, start preparing your minds for the upcoming Wham-O Super-Book: Celebrating 60 Years Inside the Fun Factory by Tim Walsh of the popular Timeless Toys book. It will be out on October 1st, but it's up for pre-order now. I'm predicting greatness. This is the formerly secret WHAM-O project that I mentioned last year. So some of the items in the book are there entirely due to the existence of secret fun blog readers! I realize I just gave you the brain boggling of a lifetime there, but you simply must accept this fact, and alter your life accordingly.
Well, if you can't wait until October for some bookish pleasure then I recommend the incredible Wacky Packages book that came out a few months ago...
The book itself is a work of art. The wax paper dust jacket triggers the same joys as holding an unopened pack of Wacky cards. The design and layout are practically perfect, (Ok, except that I wish the horizontal Wacky Packs weren't scaled down to fit on the pages.) and this volume (as well as the WHAM-O book) costs less than 14 bucks! I'm ever grateful to Matthew Guest for making it known to me.
For those of you who couldn't make it to the Tulsa premiere of Foot: Phantom of the Forest at Defcon '08 here's a quick look at what you missed! If you study the audience closely, you can see my friends Stephen and Jon, who gave me a ride to the convention center. Thanks again guys!
Hey, all of you Tulsan convention goers, I'll be presenting Foot and Flip at Defcon 7 in Tulsa, Oklahoma this Saturday (August 2nd) at 10 AM. It'll be neato! Helpful hint- come to my presentation if you want good seats for Tom Morga, the guy who has played Jason, Leatherface, and Michael Myers. His thing is right after mine.
I'm still settling back into real life after my Comic Con-tastic trip, but I thought I'd share this quick look at the Foot Wacky Wobbler. I'm really happy with the way it turned out, and I'll tell you how to order one as soon as I find out. I greatly enjoyed the Con, and I hope I can find time for a write-up soon.
UPDATE: Here's a look at all the variants (as prototypes)...
Hey San Diego Comic Con attendees, Foot: Phantom of the Forest will premiere at the Comic Con International Independent Film Festival on Friday, July 25 1:25 PM Room 26AB (right above Hall H)
The film is 17 minutes long and there will be a brief Q & A session with Mike Becker, Vance Reeser, Jamey Clayberg and myself.
The DVD/Wacky Wobbler combo will be on sale during Preview Night and throughout the duration of the Con (or as long as supplies last). According to what I've been told there will be a total of 450 Wobbler/DVD packs available at the convention. The Wobblers will come in 3 different paint styles... Bigfoot brown Sasquatch black and Yeti white and blue (All Wobblers come with a DVD) Sorry, I don't know the price yet. There will be 24 limited edition Glow-in-the-dark Bigfoots, but I think they will only be offered as prizes.
Mike and I will be signing Wobblers Saturday at 1:00 PM at the FunKo booth (#4829)
"Two years after Kubrick's death, Jon Ronson was invited to the director's estate to explore the hundreds of boxes the legendary film director had collected during his decades at Childwick Manor in Hertfordshire. He's been returning ever since, and the story of Kubrick and the archive, now housed at University of the Arts London, is revealed in this fascinating documentary.
Ronson asks: is it possible to get to understand such a man – and his extraordinary working methods – by looking through the hundreds of boxes he left behind?"
Here is the best Dutch stop-motion animated commercial from 1948 that you will see all week. Kermesse Fantastique, a ten minute promotion for Philips Electronics, is directed by Jozsef Misik and presented by Joop Geesink (who art directed some of George Pál'sPuppetoons). There's so much to love here, from the Art Deco star-lit styling to the glorious dark ride trip. Thank you Brian O. for directing me to this wonderful bit of secret fun!
It's my pleasure to announce my latest project... Foot: Phantom of the Forest, a brand new animated short film that FunKo founder Mike Becker and I have been kicking around for nearly four years. Today we were thrilled to learn that it will make its world premiere next month at the 2008San Diego Comic Con International Independent Film Festival!
Foot is about Monty, a 10-year-old boy living in the 1970s at the height of America's fascination with Bigfoot and other unexplained phenomena. When he learns that his recently deceased father was on the trail of the "Phantom of the Forest," Monty finds himself on a quest leading deep into the mysterious woodlands of Washington state. Our tale was given lush, beautiful life by the now-weary hands of Vance Reeser. (Check out this example of his eye-massaging work; and here's another one.) Jamey Clayberg contributed the eerie-licous original soundtrack, and Mike Becker and I co-wrote and co-directed.
The project went through many transitions before finally taking its current shape, but our goal has remained the same since day one; we wanted to end up with a story that's loaded with heart, and seasoned with our mutual appreciation for old school aesthetics— a film that would seem almost entirely out of place in today's film festival scene.
But easily as exciting as the Comic Con news is the fact that we've teamed up with FunKo to release the first ever Bigfoot Wacky Wobbler! The DVD and a wobbler inspired by the titular character will be sold together in a combo pack. The Foot design is a combined effort from both Vance Reeser and Rob Schwartz, the veteran FunKo artist and all-around cool guy who's been blessing the world with his wobbler-craft for nearly a decade.
Needless to say, I'm reaching hazardous levels of excitement over here. I'm planning to attend the screening as well as a signing event with Mike Becker and co. at the FunKo booth. I'll be posting the schedule (and eventually some images) here at the Fun Blog. So until next time, Keep on Footin'!
I immediately recognized "Birdopolis" from the early days of Dan's Imaginary World web site.
The stuff on the left makes the stuff on the right.
Two guys who made the evening even better: Dan Goodsell and Andrew "Savage" Speers
After calling my wife and reporting this series of thrills I calmed down and got a chance to settle in and soak up the atmosphere. Here's how it worked: the line came in through the front door and snaked around the gallery in a nearly fixed pattern...
(Note the banner that announced that Weird Al is going to be hosting next year!)
Gallery owner Jensen Karp (right) and his girlfriend Chrissy (middle) take care of business.
Kiersten Essenpreis
Camilla D'Errico
Casey Weldon
Dennis Larkins
Brandon Bird
Michael Rapaport will be able to place the Torrances on his fireplace mantel, and...
Jonah Hill is the new owner of the Griswolds!
Being an artist, I make it a personal rule to only appear in black and white photos.
(Click any image to enlarge it)
Hey there retro-fun loving literates, start preparing your minds for the upcoming Wham-O Super-Book: Celebrating 60 Years Inside the Fun Factory
by Tim Walsh of the popular Timeless Toys book. It will be out on October 1st, but it's up for pre-order now. I'm predicting greatness. This is the formerly secret WHAM-O project that I mentioned last year. So some of the items in the book are there entirely due to the existence of secret fun blog readers! I realize I just gave you the brain boggling of a lifetime there, but you simply must accept this fact, and alter your life accordingly.
book that came out a few months ago...
Hey, all of you Tulsan convention goers, I'll be presenting Foot and Flip at Defcon 7 in Tulsa, Oklahoma this Saturday (August 2nd) at 10 AM. It'll be neato! Helpful hint- come to my presentation if you want good seats for Tom Morga, the guy who has played Jason, Leatherface, and Michael Myers. His thing is right after mine.
Here is the best Dutch stop-motion animated commercial from 1948 that you will see all week. Kermesse Fantastique, a ten minute promotion for Philips Electronics, is directed by Jozsef Misik and presented by Joop Geesink (who art directed some of George Pál's Puppetoons). There's so much to love here, from the Art Deco star-lit styling to the glorious dark ride trip. Thank you Brian O. for directing me to this wonderful bit of secret fun!
