website update!

I've updated my website! Lotsa new work. Check it out!

Signal Watch

© Jashar Awan, 2008

More info here.

a recent page

Here's a recent page from my latest sketchbook. You can check out more sketchbook pages here. At the moment, there's 3 (blog) pages worth- just make sure you click on "Older Posts" when you get to the bottom.

Pie makes me sleepy..

hi everyone, thanks for the invite! such good stuff on here!

these are some sketches and the finish for Paper Magazine's October backpage, out in a couple of days. this has been a DREAM job so far.. the editor literally lets me do whatever i want (that seriously never happens to me). basically i was asked to send her sketches each month, she decides which one she likes and then i do the finish. the only requirement being that my 'characters' be wearing designer clothing. hilarious, since im clueless when it comes to the fashion world, but im slowly learning a thing or two..

the ol' sketchbook

It's only been as of pretty recently that I've gotten back into the whole sketchbook thing. I had intended that this would be a 'no show,' down & dirty, screw around sketchbook in order to keep myself from getting precious about it. What the heck though. Here are a few pages! Including a paint sketch (that one's for you jashar!), I've been trying to get myself to work on those as well.

Ye Olde Mini-Sketchbook

I started teaching Ted McGrath's old Methods and Media class down at Pratt, and got inspired to do some good ol' fashioned drawrin' form life. I realized that while I was grinding the students about really looking at the model, and at reference, I had probably let myself get a little rusty. Felt good to just draw a room, and impromptu still lifes, views out of a passing car. . . I've got to admit, the mini-sketchbook is great for translating mental snapshots to drawings. I'd love to see some of y'alls sketchbook stuff, too!

How to not get bumped from a flight

"How to not get bumped from a flight," 2 Magazine, Fall 2008

Michele Sponagle reveals how to not get bumped from a flight here. See my previous illustration for 2 magazine, "How do we make scheduled sex fun?," here.

Dirty Laundry!

Here's some pics and the design I used for the Dirty Laundry T-shirt show at the Nuuanu Gallery in Honolulu. The concept was to use a stain of some sort, integrated into the design of the shirt. I cleaned fish on 'em and then used some dilluted fish blood for panache. I can now write off my fishing liscence as a work expense (the guy at the bait shop however, does not give receipts). You can see some of the other artist solutions (which are really interesting, I must say) at dirtydirtylaundry.com. Too bad I couldn't get out for the opening!

Imitation of Life

In case you missed it- The Independent interviews Chuck!

Thank You Mario But Our Princess Is In Another Castle

Mixtape. Side A. Side B. Picture by I don't know who.

'Why Myspace Music Won't Succeed' for Seattle Weekly

I really enjoyed making this piece for Seattle Weekly! Here's the article online (and also another from the same issue– it's Sun City Girls related)

Handwritten Newspaper

For the past 81 years, the Musalman, the oldest Urdu-language daily paper in India, has been handwritten by calligraphers.

More on the Musalman here.

It Could Be Me

Could Be Me is an interesting concept involving scads of Illustrators & Designers around the globe that I stumbed across recently. Started by Lithuanian artist Paul Paper, he sums it up:

"Could Be Me is a project exploring possibility of one artist occupying another's space. It is a visual adventure and an interpretation of the same sentence by different artists worldwide."

Worth a gander I'd say.

green remodeling

For Remodeling.

Project One: Icons

Charles Lutz/ Stacked (Heinz, Brillo, and Kellogs Boxes)/ Enamel, Leather, brass, vinyl over plywood

My buddy Charles Lutz has work in "Project One: Icons" at the 108 Fine Art gallery. Other artists in the show include Banksy, Sir Peter Blake, Julian Opie, and Pete Doherty (!?). If you're in England within the next month, I'd recommend checking it out.

More work from Charles here and here.

update 09.18.08- The Independent interviews Chuck!

music piracy

Who knew recreating record covers in pixels could be so much fun! Can you recognize all of them?

Sepultina

I had the flu and made this typeface this weekend. Its sort of some really nice castle gates from final fantasy. The L and J are no good. Can you give me any suggestions to make it better? You sort of have to see it at full size to get what its all about.

I named it after Sepultura, one of my top five metal bands, and Petunia, one of my top sixteen flowers.

my new hero

Hiro Kurata has some of the prettiest, strangest paintings I've seen. His new work has this explosive quality. It's like Savador Dali thrown through a plate glass window. I'd seen some of his stuff in the past, but the texture seems really different: violent, but pretty.

Matthew Palladino

Matthew Palladino's work is some gorgeous stuff definitely worth checking out!
Here's his site and an interview on Fecal Face.
via ffffound.com

Jillian Tamaki Interview

I've interviewed the incredible Jillian Tamaki for Lost At E Minor! Read it HERE.

The Sparks Flew

"Sarah Palin's Speech: The Sparks Flew," The New York Times, September 5, 2008

Here's a sketch done for the NYT Op-Ed letters page. Check out the final version here.

Read the letters about Sarah Palin's speech here.

New York was his town, and it always would be...

Stuart Immonen posted some great screenshots from "Manhattan" on his blog. The stills show how Woody Allen and DOP Gordon Willis use negative space to create tension in a composition.

More images here.

Vanitas by Joseph Hart

Joseph Hart has a "works on paper" show opening up a week from today. This will be the second exhibition at the Wild Project, a new environmentally conscious venue for contemporary theater, film, and visual arts.

Joseph Hart
Vanitas
September 11 - October 24th, 2008
Opening reception for the artist: Thursday, September 11, 7 - 10pm
Gallery Hours: Wednesday - Saturday, 1 - 7pm

Wild Project
195 East 3rd Street (between A and B)
New York, NY 10009
USA
(212) 228-1154

For more information, please contact Curator Hilary Schaffner at 212. 228. 1195 or info@thewildproject.com

Panorama! A Cast of Thousands!

Some WFOF'ers, some friends, and of course, the enigmatic Chang Park. Could you ask for more?

Ceci n'est pas une blog post

I just finished a rush picture for the sort of alternative, east village 6th St. Synagogue. This is for an advertisement about their high holidays services. For those of you who aren't one of God's chosen people, this will make no sense to you at all. 

Day of Wrath

"Day of Wrath," The New Yorker, September 8, 2008

Carl Theodor Dreyer’s “Day of Wrath,” tells the story of a 17th century witch hunt in Denmark. The movie was made in 1943 when the kingdom was occupied by Germany.

Here's the original drawing of the minister's handsome son (as well as a false start to the left). I was happy with how his hair turned out but most of it had to be cropped for the sake of the final composition.

“Day of Wrath” is at the IFC Center through Thursday.

Read more here.