welcome friend or foe

"One Hour of TV a Week" Show

2011-12-07T17:02:00.002-05:00

This weekend I had the pleasure of setting up my "One Hour of TV a Week" Show at Gallery 543 in Building 543, a communal space for the headquarters of URBN Inc (which for the uninitiated encompasses Urban Outfitters, Anthropologie, BHLDN, Free People and Terrain) in the Philadelphia Navy Yard . The space is . . . pretty amazing. Coi ponds? Yup. 40 ft tall bamboo indoors? Yup? Handy parking for WWII era aircraft carriers? You better believe it. You can also get a good cup of coffee and tasty lunch if you want to make a day of it.

I want to extend a big thank yous to: Lauren Addis for her support of the show and allowing me to do an extended setup (and make an extended mess), Josh Longo (of Longoland fame) for helping paint boats and put on the finishing touches, and most of all to Michelle Provencal who not only put up with my turning our apartment into a disaster zone, but who also helped out this past week with all the last minute preparations that I never would have been able to finish on my own (as well as my manic stress-isodes). Thank you, thank you, thank you.

On to the show!! So - some of you may recognize a few of the pieces from the "History of the World" show that was up earlier this year created with Owen Sherwood. Initially, this show was going to be my half of that show, but - I like doing work - and wanted to repurpose some of the more autobiographical pieces from "History" into a different slant. So with a few new pieces and tweaks on old ideas, here's the "One Hour of TV a Week" show.

A little stage setting . . .

Is that . . . ? Yes, you're correct. That is an aircraft carrier
looming outside of that large glass window.

"I'll Stop If You Stop", Latex Paint (thanks Josh!)

"National Little League" and "Bicentennial"

"I'll Stop if you Stop" detail

"I Hate Brian Smith", 6" x 6" drawings on paper.

The story is - I got beat up by Brian Smith a lot. Many bloody
noses - most of them deserved - I was a tag-along crybaby. And I'm
still trying to get the last word in 23 years later. Eat it Smith.

"Cancer" and "Magic 2"

"Magic 2" detail

"Cancer" detail

"A Concept of Four at Two" and "Magic" with the model planes I made and painted,
with help from the lovely Michelle Provencal.

p.s. - Do you know how small the landing gear is on a 1/144 scale plane?
About the size of this "I" with two "O"s on either side. Teensy.

On the left are two new paintings - "Duplex" and "Ghostrunners" (shown in
my previous post)

"Duplex" detail - That's our old duplex featuring our upstairs duplex mate, Mrs. Maynard.
She was a nice old lady who kept to herself - we rarely saw her but well into her seventies she'd be
out shoveling snow at five in the morning if there was snow to shovel.

"Mango's, 1988", Latex Paint. This is my squad from 1988 when I was ten and my
first team after I left National Little league for Twin Town Little League in the hinterlands
of upstate NY.

My little workstation for people to make cannonballs featuring: gliders as a reward for cannonball making,
my old D&D wallet (thanks Kate Glasheen), a vintage Queen postcard (thanks Colin O'Higgins), an old gas can I love (thanks N.C.), Wiffle Ball boxes (thanks Jen and Jed Heuer) and some childhood favorite books from Mom and Dad.

And to finish, I'll take an aircraft carrier and jet combo.

Make it a double.

"One Hour of TV a Week" Show Dec 6th!

2011-11-26T16:32:00.002-05:00

Im getting ready for my new show at the URBN campus in building 543 next week! At this point it's half panic, half excitement getting ready for the install. The show is really based on a lot of childhood images: little league, toys, fights . . . ahh . . . the good times. So if you're around the city of Brotherly Love on December 6th (or anytime through the first week in January) swing by the amazing URBN campus down in the Navy Yard (pretty amazing in it's own right) and check out the new stuff!

"Ghostrunners" 22" x 22", gouache on BFK

Black Star

2011-11-21T17:32:00.001-05:00

"Black Star," The New Yorker, December 5, 2011

Mos Def and Talib Kweli formed Black Star in the late 90's as a response to gangsta rap. They are currently on tour and will be at New York's Best Buy theater on December 3rd.

I just read that Mos Def is changing his name to Yasiin. He'll always be Ford Prefect to me...

Stevezee

2011-11-01T09:11:00.002-04:00


Just sent my piece out for the Bill Murray show out at Gallery1988 opening November 3rd!

Here's a little of the piece in progress. Fun to do a big portrait!


"Stevezee" 24" x 24" Gouache on paper mounted on wood panel

Gillian Welch

2011-10-19T11:31:00.002-04:00

"Gillian Welch," The New Yorker, October 24, 2011

Here's my illo of singer-songwriter Gillian Welch for this week's New Yorker (along with some early sketches before I went in a "more Gillian / less cowboy hat" direction) and here's a song from her latest album, "The Harrow & The Harvest"—

She's performing at the Beacon Theater in New York on Saturday, October 22.

Video Gamery

2011-09-05T02:53:00.002-04:00


"Forget-me-not", an homage to the blessed konami code, savior of the weekend Contra player.

"Nailbiter on Custom Track 'Hunter'"

As a kid who grew up with NPR, and only one hour of TV a week my only contact with video games was at friends' houses. It was much treasured. So here's my two contributions to the genre from the iam8bit show and the video game show at Gallery1988 Venice opening Friday the 16. God bless Nintendo.

House of Bamboo

2011-08-25T16:29:00.000-04:00

"House of Bamboo," The New Yorker, August 29, 2011

Here's a quick NYer illo I did for Sam Fuller's House of Bamboo— "starring... Robert Ryan as the ruthless kingpin of Tokyo's post-war underworld!"

New print to share: Surf Jaw!

2011-08-11T15:04:00.008-04:00

Tiny Showcase just released a new print of my work, yay!

The cool part is some portion of the sales goes out to Pangea Seed, yep, that's how TS rolls, nice.

High Places

2011-08-07T19:52:00.009-04:00

"High Places," The New Yorker, August 15, 2011

Above is an illo of High Places I did for the NYer. Also included is an alternate sketch and an early palette direction (I liked the looks of it but didn't think it would reproduce well).

This was an especially fun piece because the WFoFers know Rob from our days at Pratt!

New Illos!

2011-08-02T17:04:00.002-04:00

New piece for Annemarie Neff at American Medical News about the upcoming influx of twenty-somethings to the healthcare system thanks to the Obama plan.

New piece for Rob Schultz at MacWorld about creating safe wifi ipad/laptop network when you're on the road.

New piece for Scott Dvorin at the Observer. These are fun one day turnaround pieces. After about 6 hours of frantic work, they're a nice sense of accomplishment, and reason to go out for a happy hour beer!;)

Wet Hot American Summer Show! (and website update)

2011-06-14T08:26:00.001-04:00

The Wet Hot American Summer Show opened up at Gallery1988, and my "Camp Firewood" map sold! Yahoo! I love doing these maps - they're a little bit of a nightmare, but gratifying when they're done. My "History of the World" buddy, Dr. Owen Sherwood, contributed these guys (below) which look pretty sweet too - and if you want the Michael Showalter as Alan Shemper, too bad. It's already gone. Check out all the piece on the Gallery1988 site.

And . . . I have updated my site with some new goodies if you want to see, including some more of the History of the World show, as well as new editorial.

Turtle Power!!

2011-06-01T19:57:00.001-04:00

I'm happy to be a part of the Autumn Society's (a Philly illo collective) "Shell-Shock - A TMNT Art Show and Tribute" opening this Friday at Brave New Worlds, a great comic book store in Old City, Philadelphia. I really wanted o re-explore the sort of dry brush I did with the "Heavyweights" (below) in a little bit more of a serene setting with a little softer palette. Why are they doing laundry? Well, I do love nude turtles, but I really just thought they would have interesting laundry - those colored strips, and it's such a drudge job for teenagers, and I figured not a lot of people would do "slice of life" type images. Just another day in the sewers . . .

Big Sandy & His Fly Rite Boys

2011-05-31T08:15:00.002-04:00

Hope everyone had a nice long weekend! Here's a quick illo I did for the NYer:

"Big Sandy & His Fly Rite Boys," The New Yorker, June 6, 2011

Check him out in action here:

Ronnie + Excitebike - 80's Bonanza!

2011-05-19T12:43:00.003-04:00

"Endangerous", 22" x 28", Gouache on BFK

Thought I'd post another piece from the "History of the World" I just got around to tiling together from the scans. Thank god Pratt has those big scanners and I had Matt Maher helping me out. On a side note of self horn-tooting, Owen and I got nice write up in the Albany Times Union about the show!

Plus on a side note, here's a preview of part of my submission for the iam8bit Show out in LA. I chose Excitebike - which for some reason was the most nerve wracking game I've ever played. I just remember trying to push down on the gas so had my thumbs would be sweating and cramping. What's more fun than that I ask you?!

When Your Cash Flow Slows

2011-05-16T13:13:00.000-04:00

"When Your Cash Flow Slows," American Medical News, May 16, 2011

Read about doctors' "tactics for tight times" here.

Thanks, Jennifer!

For Asgard!

2011-05-02T23:15:00.002-04:00

"Thor," The New Yorker, May 9, 2011

Here's an illustration I did for the upcoming "Thor" movie for the New Yorker. The assignment was well-timed— I had spent the day before reading "The Ballad of Beta Ray Bill," the opening arc of Walter Simonson's legendary run on The Mighty Thor.

art by Walter Simonson

Here's the movie trailer:

Opens May 6th! Can't wait!

Emily's got it covered.

2011-04-25T12:58:00.004-04:00

Emily's work is featured on the cover of PUSH Stitchery: 30 Artists Explore the Boundaries of Stitched Art from Lark Books. It's out this September but you can preorder your copy here!

Here's the uncropped version of "Hey Courbet":

Hey Courbet, Emily Eibel, 2009

The Wright Brothers

2011-04-25T11:11:00.000-04:00

Piece for the History of the World show about the Wright brothers as kids, and finally got to use the Guillow's Jetstream Glider I've had tacked to my wall for three years. These things are the best! I used to get these instead of candy at our local drug store on our way back from church, and play with my big brother. Thought it made a nice parallel with Orville and Wilbur who were inspired by a toy helicopter as kids. As well as amazing - the glider pioneered somewhere around 500 BC, powered manned flight pioneered in 1903 - a rather large time period of improvement, and yet 50 years after Kittyhawk we were testing the edge of space and traveling at supersonic speeds.

Illo dump!

2011-04-13T16:08:00.005-04:00

Here are a couple of new illustrations for The New Yorker, plus some sketchbook stuff:

"Warpaint," The New Yorker, April 4, 2011

"Bill Cunningham," The New Yorker, March 21, 2011

(in case you're wondering, yes, they're all on a conference call with each other)

Studies in Orbs and Years for the "History of the World" Show

2011-04-08T18:21:00.003-04:00

The year was "1953", suburbia was sprawling, and baseball fields were shrinking to back yards, and balls were slowly evolving "wiffles" . . .

The year was 200 - or rather two hundred years since Earth collided with another planetary body, blowing it to smithereens (which would eventually become the moon), and then began it's re-coagulation into the orb we all call home. Fireworks were millions of years in the future but I thought it would be nice to commemorate the "Bicentennial" of this collection of rock, molten rock, rock ice, and bits of water. Why Legos? Well, it was just a planetary toddler: innocent, but constructive in it's own growth.

Side note: we got our window vinyl! Designed as a wacky grid by Owen Sherwood and myself, and photographed by Caroline Corrigan, Education + Exhibitions Manager up at the Art Center. Thanks, Caroline!

History of the World - How to install a *#&@!% in 6 easy steps!

2011-04-05T03:59:00.001-04:00

1. Insall something on your face. See how you like it.

2. Get Matt Shropshire to help you (background). He's super, super helpful. Optional - do the show with an old buddy (Owen Sherwood, foreground). Can your old buddy do a pensive look like this? If not, cut him out of your life. If he can, have him do half the work. What a buddy!

3. Tchotchka. You need it. You're not all that creative, so the crap you collect in your studio? Use it. Again, you're not that creative, and this makes you look smart and sophisticated. The best places to look are Wal-Mart and the crawlspace under someone else's house.

4. Install giant drawings on the wall of the gallery. This ensures a memorable show: at least by the guy using the 15 gallons of matte white to cover them up when the next show goes up. He'll go to his grave saying - "It took me eight coats to cover up that guy's painting, and he had no hope whatsoever of selling it. What an idiot." Zang! He'll remember you for life!

5. Spread crap all over the place while you're doing it. During the installation, give the space that care-free "there might just be paint rags in this bag, but it could be an unfinished sandwich from Monday" vibe. This is imperative. AND - on day five, chicken curry smells like watermelon. Fantastic. You're almost there.

6. Right by the front window, place a hand drawn icon featuring a famous internet cat. I chose Maru (thanks Courtney). While most people feign interest in politics, the Arab Spring, health care . . . at their core, they just want cat videos, and preferably of cats who, like Maru, are bad at spacial relationships. Famous cats are the currency of the new millenium. Draw those folks in. This also works if you own a pet store.

In conclusion - feel free to do your own twist! Play jazz! Remember, we created the exact history of the world in a gallery. You may want do something different, and lesser! Good luck.

PS - I'm super proud of the work Owen and I did - and thanks to Caroline Corrigan, Amy Williams and Matt Shropshire at the Arts Center in Troy. Even with the long days, and no sleep, it was fanti-billy-tastic, and It'd be great to see as many folks as possible at the reception on April 29th!

The Upcoming Show . . .

2011-03-16T12:39:00.002-04:00

Mr. Owen Sherwood and myself will be hanging our show "History of the World" at the Capitol Region ArtCenter in Troy, NY in two weeks! The work's coming along really well, and it's been great to step outside myself a bit and try some new approaches. I'm mixing a more personal interpretation of history with a bit of autobiography. It's sort of a mental cheat sheet of the "History of the World" more than a linear start to finish. The image above is actually a drawing from a photograph of my great grandfather, Jessie Wood (in orange) and his ball team in the late 1800's. Threw in a couple more preview images below. The show opens on April 4th, with a reception on the 29th.

PCWorld Spot

2011-03-16T10:59:00.000-04:00

New spot for Beth Kamoroff at PCWorld about Firefox creating software to make it's users untraceable to advertisers. I have a few more to upload - but blogger is being a real pain with not allowing pics up . . .If anyone has a solution for the dreaded "server rejected" thing that pops up, I'd love to know!

2011-01-31T14:00:00.005-05:00

I haven't posted on WFOF in a while! Here are some illos from the past few months...

The New Deal Pieces!

2011-01-27T12:46:00.000-05:00

Had another opportunity over MLK weekend to work with the great Larry Gendron from The Deal. The magazine uses lots of illustration and great illustrators, so it was really nice to get a cover and interior piece. The basic angle on the piece was about risk management, and companies changing their financial stances to be more protected. I got going on this sort of circus theme with the first two sketches and was really happy that Larry wanted to use both. It made for a long weekend, but a good one. I even squeezed in a little cross country skiing with the fam, and a gigantic leg of lamb dinner courtesy of my Aunt Grace and Uncle John.

"Is This Thing On?" - Gallery1988

2011-01-07T11:49:00.000-05:00

Gallery1988 is opening the "Is This Thing On?" show tonight at their Melrose gallery at 7 tonight, and here's my submission: Tim and Eric in a piece called "The Nephews Muscles". I'd seen a bit of their stuff before, but it was great to watch all the "Tim and Eric: Awesome Show, Great Job" episodes. Holy hell - funny, crazy - sort of insane anti-funny really. Check it out if your out in the left coast sunshine!

New is Good.

2010-12-07T18:30:00.000-05:00

After months of planning and about a million and one emails between myself and my web guru, Jashar Awan, the new site is up, running, and ready for your viewing pleasure!

New sections include design+lifestyle and interiors work, as well as a tight portfolio facelift in the art+illustration department.

Jashar did a stupendous job of programming the site and making my, often-too-particular-vision come to life.
Spend some time, take a look around and let me know what you think!

Everybody Go Print Shopping Por Favor!

2010-12-05T08:41:00.013-05:00

Wee...machine made Riso print "Tra La La," something I've been itching to try and finally!

On the other hand, a handsome 7-layer handmade silkscreen "GooB" print available also in my shop.

Happy Holidays!

"Goonies" print on sale!

2010-12-04T14:57:00.001-05:00

My "Goonies" print from the Crazy4Cult show is on sale here from Gallery1988! The signed numbered edition of 35 is ready to order just in time for Christmas. A great gift for that age old question: "What do you get the "Goonies" fan who has everything?"!

Shouts and Murmurs

2010-11-30T20:38:00.000-05:00

I illustrated the Shouts and Murmurs article, "Community Service," by Allison Silverman in this week's New Yorker!
Check out the article here. It's a good one– particularly if you're a Brooklynite.

Here's an earlier version of the illustration before a dimension change!

Thanks again, Nick and Jordan!

New PCWorld Piece!

2010-11-05T15:26:00.002-04:00

New piece for Beth Kamoroff at PCWorld about how to make Windows smarter. It's always interesting to work with such abstract topics, and Beth is really great to work with. It was nice to be able to work with the typographic solution, too, and trying to fit in "inefficiency"! I've done a lot of more "urban" type solutions with buildings mostly, so working with a more serene, quiet scene was challenge, but a good one. Another nice bonus if you pick up the magazine was the nice type on the opposing page. Thought I'd throw in the sketches, too. I'm happy when I'm happy with all the sketches, and really would have been happy to do any of these.

History of the World Preview . . .

2010-11-03T10:21:00.000-04:00

Here's some poorly photographed previews for the April Capitol Region ArtCenter show I'm doing with Owen Sherwood, "The History of the World", including a detail of my Charles Darwin portrait, "We are all descended from homeless people", and "The Bullet That Shot Abe Lincoln". Whether any of these make it in the show or not, I'm having a blast working on them

Beautiful Flag - Street Level Women

2010-10-12T00:55:00.000-04:00

I created this record cover for an little record I recorded with my missus and a friend. You can download it if you want also.

Keep those balls in the air!

2010-09-13T15:56:00.002-04:00

"The Flying Karamazov Brothers," The New Yorker, September 13, 2010

...and the official caption for the illo:

Four jugglers tell jokes while keeping all their balls in the air, in “The Flying Karamazov Brothers,” at Minetta Lane Theatre.

This is you. No, this is you.

2010-09-10T09:35:00.003-04:00

My buddy Owen Sherwood and I are going to be doing a two man show curated by Emma Copely (do check out her paintings) up in the Collar City, the Home of Uncle Sam, beautiful Troy, NY at the Capital Region Artcenter. We both grew up right outside of Troy so it's going to be sweet to have a big space to fill and show all our old high school enemies that we are . . . artists. . . As part of the show, we're doing a little project: This is you. No this is you. : a series of insults back and forth that we'll eventually be putting together as a sprawling piece for the show. Fortunately, I had the good sense to make it a blog: Owen has the foresight of drunk garden tool trapped in a cabinet. We're just getting started and it's a lot of fun, so keep checking it out from time to time!

Melissa Ling

2010-09-09T13:27:00.000-04:00

Check out Melissa Ling's work. Another recent Pratt graduate, she's got a great sense for quiet images that really have a visual punch to them, along with some knockout drawing skills!

Nick Cave - no, not that one.

2010-09-02T09:10:00.007-04:00

So - I mistakenly atributed this to Nick Cave the singer/writer, thank you Jordan Awan for pointing me in the direction of the Chicago based performance artist Nick Cave! Who can keep track!? Well . . . apparently people who read:). They're still super fun. I still love how much Jack Kirby I see in the bottom costume - looks like one the Celestials!

Sachin Teng

2010-08-24T18:17:00.002-04:00

Another one of my former students who's doing some really nice work. Sachin's got some pretty nasty skills and he's as good on traditional as digital. I think what I like best about his stuff is his use of subject matter as design element, without turning it into simple pattern - he really keeps it dynamic.

PC World

2010-08-13T10:39:00.004-04:00

Sorry about the posting binge, but I figure better to throw stuff up when I got it, 'cause often I don't! :) Some new spots for Beth Kamoroff at PCWorld about Google's semi-web-monopoly, and a recall of Sony laptops that were literally melting (!?) Aren't you glad you're a Mac person, reader? All this confirms one of my worst fears: apparently, computers are the future.

Phillip Knight's Sketchbook Book

2010-08-12T10:39:00.006-04:00

I was delighted to be a part of UK illustrator and designer Phillip Knight's new book "GARP: Sketchbook Process" which includes some really great illustrators and designers. It totally gives you the voyeuristic pleasure of picking someone's brain along with peeking in their sketchbooks. One of the other people featured and a new favorite is Iain Macarthur - I love his mix of obsessive tightness and pattern, coupled with his pure draughtsmanship and dynamism.

Owen Sherwood

2010-08-10T18:18:00.004-04:00

My old college roomie and great illustrator Owen Sherwood has some new pieces up on his blog including a great series on the world cup. I love his combination of pencil and digital.

The end of Lance . . .

2010-07-30T18:39:00.003-04:00

I was listening to the Tour a bit this year and thought I'd do a little Lance Armstrong piece. I got to admit, the guy's tough, but with the doping allegations and his being 38 (almost 39) he's really out of contention. This could be part of a Roger Clemens, Brett Favre, Michael Jordan retiring then unretiring athletes series:). It's got to be hard to let go, but at some point, just let it go fellas!

Kelsey Bohlinger

2010-07-22T12:38:00.002-04:00

I love this new one from my friend Kelsey Bohlinger for a local radio station T-Shirt contest. As a recent graduate she's just getting warmed up, but I think she's going to be a monster!

No, it's Captain Crazy4Cult!

2010-07-08T09:40:00.002-04:00

Kiersten and I are part for the Crazy4Cult show opening On Friday, the 9th in LA at Gallery1988. I took on my beloved Goonies. Watching Goonies over and over again for work? No problem. Just made me miss my after school fruit roll-ups and the smell college ruled loose leaf paper. For the show I did a 22"x22" map of the underground part of the movie and 12 of the costume portraits like the ones pictured above including Mikey, Chunk, Data, Brand, Mouth, Andy, Francis Fratelli, Jake Fratteli, and of course, Willy. If you happen to be left-coasting it, check it out!

Sahr Ngaujah in "Fela!"

2010-06-28T18:41:00.002-04:00

Sahr Ngaujah in "Fela!", The New Yorker, July 5, 2010

Sahr Ngaujah currently stars in "Fela!" on Broadway.
Read "Say Yeah Yeah" by Hilton Als here.

Caminos del Inka

2010-06-21T12:43:00.001-04:00

"Caminos del Inka," The New Yorker, June 28, 2010

(click to enlarge)

Caminos del Inka perform the music of the Americas at Tanglewood this August.

A Very Interesting Piece...

2010-06-15T10:42:00.001-04:00

...On the lack of Critical History in Illustration

http://www.printmag.com/Article/The-Forgotten-History-of-Illustration

I Love Nevada Politics.

2010-06-09T09:30:00.003-04:00

Had a fun job for the super nice Rachel Perkins at the Las Vegas Sun last week about the Senate race Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is struggling in. Basically, all of Reid's attacks have been aimed at Sue Lowden, while Sharron Angle has toiling away in relative safety and is now surging in the Republican Primary polls. This one actually made the Newseum Top Ten Front Pages of the day which was pretty cool. If you're a news nerd like me, the Newseum in D.C. is a pretty interesting concept.

Vacation Pictures!

2010-06-03T15:03:00.002-04:00

I kept a little sketchbook while I was out in California, and posted the results (or the more sucessful ones at least:)) at my blog.

East River Country: Arthur Miles

2010-05-26T20:16:00.002-04:00

Flier depicting forgotten Texas cowboy and throat singer Arthur Miles for a night at a bar I sometimes DJ at.

You can his one song here it here.

Captain Scribble

2010-05-25T13:17:00.002-04:00

Doing all these motion graphics things is starting to wear off on my illustration.

Matchbooks! America's Design Library!

2010-05-19T10:14:00.003-04:00

Michelle picked me up a sweet matchbook collection at the Brimfield (MA) Antique Show for 5$! This is but a taste. I hate to be one of those illustrators who moons over when overthing was illustrated but uh . . . I'll draw Mister Pancake! I love the processed color palettes too and the hand drawn type - especially the PROX logo.

new portfolio site

2010-05-12T12:34:00.003-04:00

Please check out this site that I'm using as a temporary portfolio space as I take some time to do a much-needed update to spoonstudio.com (Jashar, help!)
The navigation is extremely basic, but the images are big and bright and hopefully do the work some justice.

See it here:
http://wotherspoon.grandportfolio.com/

Advice From A Caterpillar

2010-05-12T12:27:00.003-04:00

Remember Me?
Back in the game with a new piece I just finished up for fun...

This one's going to live on the wall of a new children's store, aptly named Advice From A Caterpillar.

Twilight Zone: The Eye of the Beholder

2010-04-27T14:12:00.003-04:00

I'm so excited to participate in this show along with Drew! My first piece is based on the episode, The Eye of the Beholder.

Show opens May 18th at Gallery 1988 LA

The Twilight Zone!!

2010-04-25T10:14:00.003-04:00

Gallery1988 in LA will be hosting a show of Twilight Zone inspired pieces from a host of peeps, including myself (my piece above based on the "5 Characters In Search of an Exit") and fellow friendorfoer Kiersten Essenpreis. Let me tell you, going back and watching all the classic Twilight Zone episodes probably took more time than the actual paintings, but man, it is fun. What an amazing show.

Signal City revamp

2010-04-21T10:48:00.000-04:00

Check out Signal City, version 2.0!

Mini-illos!

2010-04-18T23:20:00.002-04:00

Little piece about the Icelandic volcano and the air traffic re-routing.
There was a fire at Little Louis'! Not that I went there much, but combined with the building collapse last summer, Myrtle Ave Brooklyn seems like a dangerous place for buildings.

Incarnation by Mark Ryden

2010-04-08T22:41:00.002-04:00

It's fun to see Mark Ryden at the easel but why do all time lapse videos have to have melancholy piano soundtracks?

New illos

2010-04-07T07:29:00.004-04:00

Here are some new illustrations that came out recently:

Jean Renoir's "Toni," The New Yorker, April 12, 2010

"Toni" (1935) will be the first film in a five week retrospective of Jean Renoir's work. Check out some of my unused sketches here.

"On the Town: Boston," Go Magazine, April 2010

One of spots I did for Go Magazine! I did them awhile ago and had to resist posting until the issue came out. You can check out the rest of the spots here.

Small Favors

2010-03-25T10:06:00.001-04:00

From the press release:

Giant Robot is proud to host Small Favors, a group art show featuring small works.

The Big Apple is a place where people have to pay big bucks to live in not-so-big spaces. But who says bigger is better? It's the little things in life that mean the most, and Small Favors is a group show centered around small, affordable works for people who want to support the arts but don't necessarily have a lot of wall space. Artworks created for this show can be in any medium, but most are no larger than 5 inches by 5 inches--a perfect fit for cozy city spaces.

Small Favors opens Saturday March 27th, 6:30pm. Hope you can make it!

Giant Robot Gallery
437 East 9th Street
Between 1st Ave. & Ave. A, in the East Village
New York, New York 10009
(212) 674-GRNY (4769) | grny.net

Holy hell . . . th care!

2010-03-23T17:52:00.002-04:00

He asked, he begged, he cajoled, and when all else failed, he bored the country into submission. You gotta appreciate that.

Eric White

2010-03-23T08:35:00.004-04:00

Eric White's been a favorite since I was in school. He's a nice guy, great painter, fits admirably in the back of a cab for a man his size, and if you haven's seen his new collection of reworked album covers, you're really missing out. In these record size paintings (12x12) he lets some really beautiful impasto and brushwork in contrasting with the spot on rendering and slavishly redone and very witty type.

THERSIC

2010-03-15T08:57:00.003-04:00

Our Kiersten Essenpreis has been a a busy little bee. Along with getting her Etsy site up stocked with a bunch of great new drawings, she's been collaborating with her betrothed, industrial designer Wes Cox on THERSIC, which continues to develop into one of my favorite blogs on the internet. They share a great aesthetic that's somewhere between American-industrial neo-classicism and a dystopian-pop-circus fusion. They've also kept up a pretty rigorous posting regime, so if you haven't checked it out, there's a boat load of great posts.

Heavyweights

2010-02-25T14:02:00.002-05:00

Die Antwoord

2010-02-22T11:43:00.003-05:00

Die Antwoord, The New Yorker, March 1, 2010

Die Antwoord is a South African rap band. Their name means "The Answer" in Afrikaans— just don't ask them what the question is.

Read more about them in "Answer Men" by Sasha Frere-Jones.

"This is like the coolest song I ever heard in my whole life." (4:04)

The Office

2010-02-16T14:48:00.003-05:00

Piece for Annemarie Neff at American Medical News about the dangers doctors alotting too much power to their practice manager. Yet another piece where I was able to squeeze in some polka-dots!

Shackleton

2010-02-15T19:13:00.002-05:00

I drew this portrait of Ernest Shackleton, Arctic explorer. Not sure if I will keep the colors just yet.

Happy Valentine's Day

2010-02-12T17:10:00.003-05:00

Come Fly Away

2010-02-09T10:43:00.000-05:00

"Come Fly Away," The New Yorker, February 15, 2010
(click to enlarge)

"Come Fly Away," Twyla Tharp's new show, is set to the vocals of Frank Sinatra and a live stage band. Performances begin March 1 at the Marquis Theater.

Listen to Ol' Blue Eyes sing "Come Fly With Me" here.

Thanks, Max!

Christoph Niemann on Gestalten.tv

2010-02-04T13:10:00.005-05:00

Nick Dewar, 1973-2010

2010-02-01T13:50:00.002-05:00

Very sad news in the illustration community, to hear of the passing of the extremely talented Nick Dewar.

Through his work it is clear that he was a smart, witty and incredibly talented individual.

What a loss.

Danger Ahead: Pedestrian With Cellphone

2010-01-26T16:58:00.003-05:00

Here's a piece I did for today's Letters section of The New York Times.

Check out my recent slew of spot illos, too– here & here!

Show Tonight!!!

2010-01-21T00:00:00.007-05:00

*But first, a special announcement— some big news for Jashar & me!

20/10 VISION

perceptive artists focus on the new decade

January 21 - February 19

Opening reception: January 21, 7-9 pm

gallery hanahou /galleryhanahou.com

611 Broadway, Suite 730, NYC

Come and see work from over 40 talented artists including Marcus Oakley, Lena Corwin & Ilana Kohn.

In light of the recent tragedy that befell the people of Haiti, gallery hanahou and the artists who are participating in "20/10 VISION" have decided to contribute 20% of all proceeds from this exhibition to disaster relief efforts in Haiti.

The opening this Thursday (1/21) will include a collaborative live drawing created by participating artists. It will be sold at silent auction, with 100% of the proceeds going to disaster relief efforts in Haiti. Please join us on Thursday and watch the piece take shape before your eyes!

Outlaw Amercan Idol!

2010-01-14T10:46:00.001-05:00

Just in time for the new season (kill me now), a piece for Wes Gatbonton at Las Vegas Weekly using a bit more of the painted steez . . .

Easy Eater #2

2010-01-11T12:30:00.000-05:00

Ladies' Constitutional

2010-01-07T16:48:00.002-05:00

Just finished this and like it a lot. I am thinking about giving up the textures. But I can't decide.

Goin' fishin . . .

2010-01-06T17:15:00.003-05:00

Worked up this guy after a sketch I did last summer while sitting in one of my bi-annual church visits. Nice to do a summer picture while surrounded by 12 " of snow!

Happy New Year Baby

2010-01-04T12:17:00.005-05:00

From 1907 to 1943, J.C. Leyendecker rang in the new year for the Saturday Evening Post with a cover illustration of the New Year Baby! Check out the gallery here.

via

Winter Danger

2010-01-03T12:03:00.003-05:00

This illustration describes a danger. However, we don't want it to actually concern you because, we believe, it is a danger that does not actually exist.

High Society. .

2009-12-31T14:03:00.002-05:00

It was a super nice holiday bonus to find out that these two little puppies got into the Society of Illustrators Show and book, which opens on January 8th, especially because these are the new direction the work seems to be moving. Im looking forward to rubbing elbows with some other depressed shut-ins and ADs!

Ice Fishing

2009-12-28T21:54:00.004-05:00

Some spots for the upcoming GO Magazine about ice fishing - without a doubt, one of the world's greatest sports combining patience, beer, cold, coffee, food, patience, beer, endurance, and beer.

::A Christmas Challenge::

2009-12-21T16:19:00.000-05:00

Last Christmas, Americans searched on google for pancakes, Cat Woman, Disney, Walmart, and people who killed themselves. "Peace on earth" and "goodwill to all men" are not scientifically possible this year. However, let's spend Christmas googling these two phrases so that they make it onto a list of "hot searches" for Dec. 25, 2009.

It will look like we are still curious about peace and goodwill.

I Have the Power!!

2009-12-13T13:09:00.005-05:00

Opening on January 8th, Gallery 1988 LA presents their 4th annual tribute show, this time honoring He-Man and the Masters of the Universe!!

Being a super-ultra-mega fan from 1983-85, followed by a brief few months in ‘86, where I thought I might actually be She-Ra, you can imagine the fun I had painting these.

This is how I envision He-Man and Skeletor spending their days off; trimming the bowl cut and getting a root canal.. a very evil one.

McSweeney's

2009-12-10T09:01:00.003-05:00

Here's an illustration for the latest McSweeney's, the SF Panorama issue.

Thanks, Chris!

Frederik Jurk

2009-12-08T11:29:00.003-05:00

Check out German illustrator Frederik Jurk's work here and his blog here.

The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency

2009-12-07T11:21:00.003-05:00

I've been renting "The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency" from Netflix. The animated titles and closing credits were done by Airside, a British design studio. Here's what they said about their approach to this assignment:

Researching into the areas of Botswana where the book is set, we found a tradition of hand-painted shop signage that perfectly captured the vibrancy of African design. Considering it was a plot point, we felt it was natural to continue this aesthetic through to the title sequences. Sourcing colours from African textiles we hand-painted pieces of wood, creating textures to be used within the animation itself.

Key scenes and characters from the film are presented as the narrative journeys from one title card to the next.

Anyway, every time the illustrated credits roll I think, "Gotta post this on WFoF!"

The Blip Festival

2009-12-01T13:41:00.001-05:00

An illustration of the Blip Festival for Max Bode at The New Yorker! Find out more about the festival here.

Auggie Wren's Christmas Story

2009-12-01T13:17:00.000-05:00

Thought I'd start the holiday season off right with an illustration inspired by "Auggie Wren's Christmas Story."

You can listen to Paul Auster tell Auggie's story here.

RETAIL TRAFFIC Cover

2009-11-23T19:58:00.003-05:00

For the super nice Jaun Mims at Retail Traffic.
And some sketches:)

Curious Pages

2009-11-10T11:42:00.007-05:00

Curious Pages, a children's book blog by Lane Smith and Bob, warns the reader, "Looking for books about teddy bears or rainbows or feelings? You’re at the wrong place. Here we celebrate the offbeat, the abstract, the unusual, the surreal, the macabre, the inappropriate, the subversive and the funky."

via

Are you ready for some illustration?!?!

2009-11-03T19:50:00.002-05:00

I've been wanting to do a football image for a while and figured I'd put one together for the Society of Illustrators jury.

Side note - My Mom was in a real bad car crash, and any thoughts or prayers you could send her way would be appreciated:)

Over & Under show at Yard Dog

2009-11-02T17:05:00.004-05:00

I'll have a few pieces in this group show curated by Sublime Stitcher Jenny Hart. It should be a pretty amazing collection of work. I'm a big fan of quite a few of the participating artists.
Stop by if you're in Austin!

me, Christopher Niver, and Takashi Iwasaki

Over & Under

a show of stitches curated by Jenny Hart

Open Nov. 6th to Dec. 6th

Including: Annie Aube - Deborah Baker - Kate Bingaman Burt - Dana Carlson -Diem Chau - Orly Cogan - Emily Eibel - Veronica Fuentes - Takashi Iwasaki - Joetta Maue - Michael Aaron McAllister - Johnny Murder -Christopher Niver - Jennifer Porter - Shannon Rankin - Richard Saja -Kate Westerholt - Kathie Sever

Yard Dog
1510 S. Congress Ave.
Austin, TX 78704
www.yarddog.com

Pauley on Broadway

2009-11-02T10:44:00.005-05:00

Lynn Pauley, a former professor of several WFoFers, did the poster for Superior Donuts, the new Broadway play by Tracy Letts. You can see them all over the city. Congrats, Lynn!

Adulthood Here I Come

2009-10-30T10:54:00.003-04:00

I'm super excited to announce that my longtime boyfriend, Wes, are getting hitched! That's right, my finger is officially BEDAZZLED..

Brendan Monroe - Places Between Here and Here

2009-10-29T09:54:00.008-04:00

On behalf of the Monroe family, I'd like to present Brendan's new paintings and sculptures! His show (opened a little over a week) runs till November 14, 2009 at Richard Heller Gallery in Santa Monica, California. Come see the show if you are near, otherwise, we too can experience it here.

The Old Patent Office

2009-10-26T13:17:00.020-04:00

The Reynolds Center, a.k.a. the Old Patent Office Building in Washington, DC, houses the National Portrait Gallery and the Smithsonian American Art Museum. In addition to a great permanent collection, there is currently a WPA show and a folk art show on display. The Reynolds Center feels like a secret among all of the monuments and Smithsonian museums— during a brief visit home last week, I had the place practically to myself!

The Incorruptible Batman . . .

2009-10-21T11:21:00.002-04:00

Hate to sort of bogart 2 posts, but I'm looking for opinions on this feller.

I'm a Big Baby.

2009-10-19T10:13:00.003-04:00

I went to the Neue Gallery up on 86th and saw a great show of German and Austrian art - Shiele, Kokoschka, Dix, Grosz, Beckmann, Klimt - with an emphasis on the drawings. Definitely worth seeing. The Shiele inspired me to do a self portrait while watching scary movies on Sunday.

SModcast #37

2009-10-15T13:09:00.003-04:00

I was recently invited to participate in SMart: A SMod Art Show at Gallery 1988, which celebrates the release of Kevin Smith's new book. 25 artists were each assigned a SModcast episode (or a portion of one), to base their piece on.

I received a segment of Episode #37, entitled Jennifer Connelly Remake, which basically explores the possibilities and scenarios if Jennifer Connelly decided to remake the life of Scott Mosier. I can’t do this episode any justice by writing about it, so if intrigued, listen to it HERE. It’s a super long episode, so you can skip right to it starting at: 29:00 min.