Prediction Cat

A nice simple upbeat drawing for today! Although I did consider x'ing out 'awesomeness' and writing in 'murder' or 'fire-bombing.' Maybe I'll post that version on a day I'm feeling down or pessimistic.


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Bear and I Visit The Louvre

Have you ever visited the Louvre and seen the Mona Lisa?! You'll be happy to know that bear and I vastly improved this sad looking painting by making it more 'happy.' Using graffiti, we added animals, kid faces, and hello tags. We are expecting a nobel prize for our awesomeness.


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This is not a pipe-smoking fox.

This drawing finds its inspiration from a Magritte painting. Don't worry, I won't inundate you with too many art history references in my upcoming drawings. I will be sticking to my bread and butter, bears and dead kids. And stars. That way everyone stays happy.


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He Needs Coffee!

So, sometimes I have to babysit this little kid. In order to avoid prosecution and death threats, let's change the name of the little kid and just call him by the code name 'Sebastien.'

Sebastien can be very bossy. And he likes his coffee. He will ring a tiny bell from his bedroom, usually around 3am, to signal me to prepare the coffee and come deliver it.

I am a bear. I wasn't made to serve coffee, especially into someone's skull. It sort of freaks me out. But hey, babysitting Sebastien pays well, so... life ain't all bad.

Have You Ever Worn a Giant Bird Hat?

Because I sure have!!! Excuse the roughness of the drawings I'm putting up, they are all directly scanned from my sketchbook. The drawing displayed above depicts a fond memory from my childhood, when I used to wear a giant bird hat and my body was fueled by the giant heart that was popping out of the bird hat. Yes, it really all makes sense, when you stop and think about it...


Otherwise, I am starting to do a little research into war posters. There are some fascinating images, they tend to be simple, direct, and very powerful (and sometimes downright weird). I don't always care for the message, but in terms of design, they can be intriguing. Please let me know if there are war posters you find interesting, or if you come across any that are weird and hilarious. Those are usually my favorite ones. I saw one that had a bulldog with the face of Churchill. It kind of freaked me out, so I will spare you from seeing that image!

These are some war poster books I'm looking forward to checking out from the library or tracking down one way or another:

Design for Victory

And I am trying to track this one down, the library has it, but it has been checked out since 1996. I tend to be an optimist, but I have a feeling this book is never coming back...

Persuasive Images

Another book that was recently published is about posters from the Cold War, looks promising:

Posters of the Cold War

Cool Art...

Just discovered this artist, name is Terry Rodgers. I really like his work. Here's a link to his site. Besides all the attractive women, haha, I love the sets, the theatrical aspect of the paintings, and the way the figures are placed within the paintings. And the lighting and tones are great. Everything seems so glossy... And there are lots of different objects and different materials, fabrics (or lack thereof), it all works really well together. There seems to be so much going on, but it doesn't feel like too much. I'd like to see his work in the flesh to see how it's painted, doesn't seem too tight, but it's hard to tell from photo images.

The work reminds me of the artist Jack Beal, but I don't like Beal all that much, I find his stuff pretty boring and I don't really appreciate the way he paints and I don't like his colors. I guess Beal's work is theatrical, that's why Rodgers reminds me of him.

Gooblogger. Duckbill Platypus Invasion. And a Painting by Georges de la Tour.

Comments aren't working. I'm sure the gooblogger people are getting on this. Anyways, stuff to talk about... hmmm... I could talk about political blunders (Joe Biden)? Nah, it's just too easy...

There are so many things to talk about and I can't narrow it down. I just can't. Since people can't comment, I guess I can just write some crazy ass rant or remark and not worry about repercussions, something like this maybe:

"The duckbill platypuses (platypi?) have landed in Phoenix and are in the midst of taking over our fine city. Their huge arsenal of candy weaponry is diabolically sinister, and includes machetes of the dark chocolate variety (70% cocoa I wonder?) and chainsaws made of swirling colors (I can't quite identify the specific candy used in the manufacture of these chainsaws but the machinary sure is gruesomely loud and fills the air with a soft hum that seems to be increasing in intensity as the monsters approach). The worst part is the platypuses aren't alone, they're accompanied by a horde of delicious looking chocolate covered saber-toothed mini zombie rabbits whose thirst for human entrails is insatiable. Also accompanying the platypuses are flamethrower toting gummy bear monsters, dude, they are torching buildings left and right with gleeful abandon. And I can't even bring myself to talk about the cotton candy poodle monsters, I'll go blind with fright if I even try describing their awfulness.

I stare out my window. The platypuses and their army are fast approaching. The fires are getting bigger. The air feels hotter. And I'm so scared I just barfed on my keyboard..."

Eh, this is all too much work. I think I'll just post a painting I like.

Here you go... it's by the French painter Georges de la Tour, he's one of my favorites.

Cool Artwork: Jan Van Eyck's Ghent Altarpiece

I know what you're thinking. You think I'm displaying this image so I can turn you into a devout Catholic. If that is what you suspect, well, let me tell you that you are correct. You guys are all hedonists, anarchists, sadists, duckbill platypusists, communists, somnabulists, populists, capitalists, existentialists, and all sorts of other ists. To counteract all these evil ists I'm showing you this painting in an effort to change your ways and guide you to the correct ism.

Besides telling you about the awesomeness of the Catholic religion, I'm here to tell you about the painting pictured above. It's marvelous. Why? It's so freakin' detailed. I guess that's a reason. And it's totally surreal. The bottom middle part is ridiculously weird in its perspective which gives the image a surreal quality. Plus it's got all these super detailed plants and beautifully painted people and a lamb that's gonna get slaughtered. And the clothes are painted super nicely too. I'm a big fan of clothes, specially nicely painted clothes. Bravo. I guess that's it. Well, I could give you a more serious answer but you'd probably want to shoot me in the head.

In case you don't know me well and didn't realize I was joking, let me declare my respect for many of the different ists out there. Be sure to choose your ist wisely, defining yourself by the group or subset you belong to is the key to modern day happiness and also the path to ultimate victory (I don't know what victory entails, I just thought I should say that).

PS. Individualism is so 19th/20th century. To make things easier on ourselves we need to move past the cult of the individual and start redefining ourselves in terms of what television programs or channels we watch. All the other ists and isms are way too confusing anyways. So we'll boil it down to tv... You could be a Simpsonist, or a Spongebobist, or a Stewartist, or an Iron Chefist. Or a Foxist, or a Cartoon Networkist. Obviously it goes on and on. As you can see I've got solutions for everything, just like MacGyver...

Paintings and Art: Some Stuff I Like!

So every once in a while, I figure I'll post some images of paintings or art I enjoy, I'll try and vary between contemporary and older stuff... I also really enjoy African and Pre-Columbian Art, but I'm having trouble finding good images... So I guess the variety will be somewhat limited. If you have artists or anything you like, please send me a link or something, I love discovering new art!

Philip Curtis' "The Parade"

Philip Curtis has a lot of paintings at the Phoenix Art Museum, which sort of makes sense, he was a founding director! Anyways, his paintings are always interesting, I love the colors, and the imagery is fascinating in and of itself. But I really love the way his paintings are painted, you can't tell from images on the internet or in books, so I recommend seeing them at the Phoenix Art Museum if you ever get a chance.

Takashi Murakami's "The Olympic Champ"

Murakami is crazy awesome. What else can you say, I recommend checking out some of his other stuff, very psychedelic!

Charles Bell's "Finis Coronat Opus"

Charles Bell's work is ridiculous in its technical mastery. His subjects ranged from pinball machines, gumball machines, marbles, toys... Anyways, he's one of the photorealists I truly love, so so shiny, haha, the light and glow, man wonder how long it took him to paint these things!

Wendy Wagner

Her paintings are very fun, beautiful colors. I like the way she balances objects and paint in her images. Very cool...

Robert Bechtle's "58 Rambler"

You either love or hate this kind of art. I love it, although I don't particularly like it when this sort of art gets too photorealistic. Bechtle's pieces are always pretty slick, yet they tend to have a sort of romantic thing to them, which I like. And the way he captures the California light, well, I love that.

Sue Kutosh's Self Portrait

Don't know much about this artist, but she seems to do a lot of work in pencil. She's got some surreal stuff going at times, and I love the glow she gets in her pencil drawings. Never seen one of her pieces in person, but I can imagine they are incredibly well executed... I'm also a big fan of drawings as final pieces, rather than as a prepatory step towards a painting.

Daniel Merriam

I recently discovered this artist's work, very beautiful, scintillating, surreal, dreamlike. Huge fish flying around is never a bad thing in my book!

Karl Friedrich Schinkel's "Mittelalterliche Stadt an einem Fluss," 1815

I love this painting, very dramatic and romantic. From what I can tell in his biography, Schinkel became a full time architect and stopped painting... There's a lot of German art from this period that I absolutely love...

Gerard ter Borch's "Paternal Advice"

Gerard ter Borch was a Dutch painter who specialized in genre scenes. The main thing that is so wonderful about him is the way he paints clothing, especially women's clothes. Wonderfully executed, yet there always seems to be a nice dynamic in the paintings, so the technique doesn't tend to overshadow whatever is going in on the painting.

What Movie To See? Gassehnauer Song, Plus Two Music Videos Featuring Zakir Hussain, Plus Art Links

Ok, I don't have much news to report. Hmmm, if I feel ok I think I might see a movie with some friends, either The Departed, but I really want to see the new Bond, or that movie Happy Feet (my sister told me about it, there's like, dancing penguins! Did you know I'm a sucker for animated penguins?!).

Music Stuff

Check out this song over at Stuff on Fire, it's called Gassehnauer. I LOVE IT!

I also found these crazy cool videos on youtube. The first video features the tabla playing Zakir Hussain, accompanied by a guy on Japanese drums. Second video is Zakir Hussain doing a solo.

Art Stuff

If you haven't checked out Bibi's Box yet, you should! She just posted on a couple artists that are worth checking out. The artists include the sculptor Edouard Martinet, and also the mesmerizing work of Marco Guerra and Yasmina Alaoui, who work along the lines of body art that includes intricate arabesque designs, just incredibly beautiful patterns!

The Scorpion

I know you all might have wondered what I did with that scorpion that terrorized us so much we had hallucinations, seizures, psychedelic nightmares... actually it was all pretty cool stuff!

No, I didn't do the logical thing and throw him away, set him on fire, put him on my sister's chair... I'm keeping him in this black cup, saving him for what will become his tragic destiny...

I'm going to do a painting of him (once I'm better of course!). The painting will be called, "The Greatest Painting Ever Because This Is a Painting of the Crazy Scorpion That Tried to Kill Me But He Failed Miserably And I Killed Him Well Actually My Dad Killed Him Because Basically He Wasn't a Perfectly Evolved Apex Predator Like the Great White Shark Is So Now He's My Bitch." I'm still tweaking the title.

My Little Scorpy, as I affectionately call him now, lies quietly and unperturbed in serene solitude... I hope his brothers and sisters don't figure out what ignominious masterplans I hold for him, they are liable to go crazy on me and decide to sting me to oblivion as I sleep the sweet sleep of the truly innocent.

Here is a picture of the vault where My Little Scorpy rests in peace till I bust him out for the painting. (Note to self: Might want to find a more secure location for this thing...)

I Just Realized Steven Seagal is Awesome and Links to Dark, Twisted yet Somehow Sweet Arty Stuff

• Steven Seagal is Great: As my dad and I watched a Steven Seagal movie on tv the other night, we both came to the conclusion that this guy is ridiculously awesome. I thought I should share that, because I too want you to bask in the superamazingness that are Seagal's films(now that I think about it, you probably already know how awesome he is, as for me, I'm always behind in figuring things out!). The movie we saw, Above the Law, was especially great because it took place in classy ol' Chicago! Seagal's movies are completely formulaic and hilarious, yet there's something poetic in their silliness. Or am I just delusional now...
  

• Animation: There's an animation link over at Cruelly Cunning that is really worth checking out. The animation is a creepy crawly gothy sort of thing, and showcases a tiny girl, a mouse, and weird little monster thingies that grow out of the girl's head. My verdict: Unbelievably cool.
  

• Scary Art Links: Stumbling across the internet lately I've run into some fascinating finds. Here's a couple of links to creepy crawly gothy arty stuff that hopefully won't upset your stomach too much. This first link, Elizabeth McGrath's site, is probably the nastiest of the links. The second link is Mizna Illustration, definitely more cutsy, at least some of the work is. Third is this site called Babyart, uh, well, you'll see. There's some wickedly crazy stuff here. Lastly is a link to Spookyland. I've been getting more and more interested in this kind of happily creepy artwork lately.

Sesame Street Tried to Kill Me, Sharks, an Art Link, and the film, Sexo con Amor

• SESAME STREET: Sesame Street just got gangsterfied, so I'm gonna run for my life. I consider sharks, snakes, and airplane crashes as extreme fear-inducing things. I'm in terrible pain and full of melancholy and soul crushing sadness, because I must now add the classic Sesame Street to my list of things to fear.

• SHARKS: Do you, like me, have a morbid curiosity with all things related to sharks? Probably not, but if so, visit this site to fulfill your wacky desires.

• ART: I've been a huge fan of the New American Painting series for a long time. I just realized they have a website, and it's quite good, it includes links to some of the artists they feature in their magazine.

Language Practice: Quick notes on the Film Sexo con Amor in Spanish(please let me know of my mistakes por favor!):

Ayer vi una pelicula chilena de 2003, Sexo con Amor. Es una pelicula simpatica, la cosa que me gusta es en el titulo! Mucho sexo! Pero en serio, el cuento no es dificil a explicar, la historia revuelve sobre parejas de amores que tienen sus infidelades y problemas distintos con el sexo. La pelicula hace pregunatas como, por que hacemos el sexo y como se concilia el sexo con el amor. Los actores juegan muy bien, hay muchos momentos chistosos, y tambien me gusta la musica. No es una obra maestra, pero la pelicula me ayuda a pasar el tiempo de buena manera!

Es todo :)

++++++++++++UPDATE+++++++++++++++

WAT was kind enough to correct my mistakes, so I thought I should post his revision. Thanks WAT! Seeing the original and the revision side by side really helps me!

Ayer vi una película chilena del 2003, "Sexo con Amor". Es una película simpática, ¡lo que más me gusta es el título! ¡Mucho sexo! Pero en serio, el argumento no es difícil de explicar, se trata de parejas amorosas que tienen sus infidelidades y problemas distintos con el sexo. La película hace preguntas como, ¿por qué hacemos el sexo? y cómo se concilia el sexo con el amor. Los actores son muy buenos, hay muchos momentos chistosos, y también me gusta la música. ¡No es una obra maestra, pero la película me ayuda a pasar el tiempo de lo más bien.

Es todo. :)

Simpsons en Espanol,the Digable Planets in English, and Theo Jansen

1. LANGUAGE PRACTICE FOR THE DAY
Mira este video de los Simpsons, es uno de mis favoritos. Es la primera vez que miro los Simpsons en una otra lengua que ingles. Me gusta!!! Hay otros Simpsons en espanol a youtube. Tambien quiero descubrir videos de los Simpsons en frances!



2. MUSIC FOR THE DAY
Back to English. Here's a song by the Digable Planets that I ran across on youtube. I've never seen it before, I really like the way it's shot, and the song is just great.



3. LINK FOR THE DAY(ART RELATED)
Norwoodmatt posted a great video at his blog. It's actually a BMW commercial featuring a kinetic sculpture by Theo Jansen. Very impressive. I found some photos of his work at this site.

Notes: I'm not even going to get into how I've been feeling this past week, but it's been rough :(

Sharks, did you think I had stopped worrying about you?

This post involves one item which melds two things that utterly fascinate me: art and sharks.

Because I spend an unbelievable amount of time thinking about sharks, my mind was bound to get around to this question.

Whatever happened to that art piece by Damien Hirst, “The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living”?

Basically, whatever the hell happened to that huge, rotting, frightening, yet delightfully dead giant shark which Damien Hirst artfully placed in a giant tank? I was going to tell you, but my link died. Instead I'll provide this link to Hirst's bio.

Although Hirst's shark piece is cool/ridiculous(depending on your views), we can't ever forget that sharks are everywhere, very much alive, very very hungry, and they love the thrill of feasting on poor defenseless humans who don't even see them coming and don't stand a measly chance against such magnificently awesome apex predators.

That is all :)

+++++++++UPDATE+++++++++++++++++
I found a site that links to a video of Hirst refurbishing his giant shark piece!!!! Coooooooooollll.

Artwork: Scary-looking monsters plus news and notes from my fascinating life

I discovered this amazing artist, Nicholas Di Genova, through a post at the blog Drawn. The artist's website is www.mediumphobic.com. I love artwork of crazy looking monsters, yet even though they are scary-looking, these monsters have a touch of the comedic.

Other notes: I discovered(just call me Columbus ok!) a site that has the sound recordings of the Truffaut/Hitchcock interviews. How cool is that! A tad on the obscure side, but if you're a Hitchcock fan probably worth listening to.

Other other notes: I went to the doctor today. I am watching many Simpsons' episodes. I've had more energy lately. I am going to an acupuncture session tomorrow. Snakes still haunt my thoughts. I want a cat. I want an army of cats. The cats will hunt the scorpions(cats are immune to scorpion venom) and possibly flush out the snakes from this house.

Artist: Joe Coleman

I discovered this artist through an article on the New York Times website. His official site seems to be this, www.joecoleman.com, and it looks chock full of information. The work looks very intense, dense, and apocalyptic. Some articles define him as an 'outsider' artist, but I'm not even sure what that's supposed to mean these days, and I doubt Coleman quite fits into that mold anyhow. Anyways, his work looks very cool and exciting, I'll let you read about if you want to find out more.

Artist: Laurie Lipton

I ran across this amazing artist via phantasmaphile through this post. The artist, Laurie Lipton, has one of the coolest artist's websites I've had the chance to run across. Let me put it this way, it has screaming flowers. SCREAMING FLOWERS! Awesome. The art seems super detailed and beautifully executed, I wonder how these pieces look when you see them in person. The subject matter is macabre but has a definite sense of humor(or that could just be my twisted sense of perception). Check out the website!!

Artist: Natalie Kocsis

I discovered this artist via Art Junction. The work is very fun and crazy. The artist, Natalie Kocsis, has a website here. I love this sort of illustrative style. The way this artist draws eyes and teeth, it's the best. This art makes me want to jump up and down and have a good time. You can never go wrong if you are doing drawings and paintings of pirates and the Cheshire cat. Never ever. Remember that if you are ever stumped in terms of what to paint. And adding big swirling eyes and fat crooked teeth always helps.

Artist: George Tooker

Here's a post on another artist I love. His name is George Tooker, he's quite a famous 20th century American painter. He works in tempera, and achieves a beautiful mastery of the medium. His works are ethereal, haunting, and in terms of workmanship, really superior. Definitely need to see his paintings in the flesh. I include this link for a short bio on Tooker. This site has a variety of interesting links on Tooker.