This week has been hectic. It's midterm time so in my non artsy fartsy classes I've had a lot of papers due. I'm currently painting glassware for a beautiful wedding that's at the end of March so I've been busy trying to finish that! Also, I'm working on a "celebrity portrait" piece for my class with Rick Allendorf. My subject is Louis CK, which has given me an excuse to watch a bunch of his stand-up and show. The final is due tomorrow so this will probably be a long night, but I don't mind all-nighters too much when I'm excited about the project. 

Images later.

Phantom Tollbooth Book Jacket

For my word and image class last semester we had to design a book jacket that we thought was outdated. While I do love the illustrations done for The Phantom Tollbooth by Jules Feiffer it hadn't been re-illustrated since the 60's. They did a new cover in the 70's when the movie came out, but it was one of those cheesy covers with the actors on it, a marketing ploy to promote the film.

Still, Norton Juster's story of Milo and Tock's travels through the Kingdom of Wisdom was always a childhood favorite. I must accredit children's books for much of my creativity today. Writers like Norton Juster, Roald Dahl and E.B. White taught me to embrace the weird, to love imagination even though it often isolated me as the "strange kid" and to never accept boredom.

I hope I did the book justice...

jacket on the book

full layout of entire book jacket

original illustrated cover done in 1961 by Jules Feiffer

Yours Truly

Draw in bed. Get high score on pokemon pinball. GOOD DAY.

humble abode

Valentines Day

Here's the painting version of the 2 digital comps of the carnivorous heart.

Acrylic and charcoal on wood I ripped off my heater; now I burn myself every time I roll over in the night. Happy Valentines day.

House Guest pt.1

If you come to my house, I will probably draw borderline offensive cartoons of you.

roommate's relatives

Hipster visitor 

Landlord (he's shorter in person)

Not a house guest.
don't care...

Carnivorous plant heart

Can't fall asleep, might as well post a little sumthin' sumthin' I did the other day. I like the graphic nature (pun intended) of these studies, but I hope to paint this on some wood I got from the MassArt re-store later this week. I'm working on illustrated type that will spell out the word carnivore to accompany this image. 

I associate the word carnivore with a tyrannosaurus rex, a prowling saber tooth tiger or a vicious cave-lurking monster that tears flesh from human bones strip by strip. The idea of delicate and spindly carnivorous plants counters my mental image of what a carnivore is. I incorporated different types of plants that derive nutrients from animals like pitcher plants, the sundew and venus fly traps in this piece. In my mind though, carnivore does more than describe the feeding nature of some organisms; it describes a way of being. Ever met one of those people who would sell out their own grandmother to get ahead? Being carnivorous is the destruction or consumption without consciousness. Metaphorically, I couldn't think of any symbol besides the human heart that fit carnivore better..

..or maybe I just wanted to draw leafy, bark organs.....

Color Study #2 

Color Study #1

I'm a leaning toward basing the final on color study #2. The painting will probably be less graphic, I'm looking forward to it. Adding color in photoshop sure is fun though.

Original sketch

I'm tired now.. 8 a.m. studio class. WOOOOOOOO ART!