I have been waiting for this moment my whole life: French artist Nils Gaudagnin has built a working replica of Marty McFly's hoverboard from "Back to the Future II".
Unfortunately, it only works in conjunction with the plinth it sits on, based on an inbuilt electromagnetic system that allows the object to levitate. But still, they've already released the Nike Hyperdunks (sans self-tying laces) so it's only a matter of time till we all have flying DeLoreans.
31 May 2010
30 May 2010
Burning' and Lootin'
First work: done.
Not that there isn't more to do on this one -- the tones on those signs should be a little more consistent. That baseball player needs way more black on his upper body and shoes. I could probably work a bit more on the panel transitions. I definitely need to figure out how to hang these panels (D-rings?)
Sadly, it's a numbers game now. I've got two weeks left to finish my other much more neglected major work. If there's time, I'll address these issues as best I can. Compromise is such an ugly thing.
It's probably still too fresh to decide whether I like this piece or not. I can say that I don't love it. But maybe that's because I can't help but think about the concessions I had to make to my original idea of having these portraits be life-sized on door-sized panels of wood. I wish there was a way to make this happen, but I'm not even one of those people that can re-visit a work to touch it up, let alone recycle the same idea.
Not that there isn't more to do on this one -- the tones on those signs should be a little more consistent. That baseball player needs way more black on his upper body and shoes. I could probably work a bit more on the panel transitions. I definitely need to figure out how to hang these panels (D-rings?)
Sadly, it's a numbers game now. I've got two weeks left to finish my other much more neglected major work. If there's time, I'll address these issues as best I can. Compromise is such an ugly thing.
It's probably still too fresh to decide whether I like this piece or not. I can say that I don't love it. But maybe that's because I can't help but think about the concessions I had to make to my original idea of having these portraits be life-sized on door-sized panels of wood. I wish there was a way to make this happen, but I'm not even one of those people that can re-visit a work to touch it up, let alone recycle the same idea.
20 May 2010
Triplets
The photo quality isn't great, but here's a quick look at the three panels that I've done so far.
Batman's been a problem child since day one, and to be honest, there's still something about him that gets under my skin. Unfortunately, I have neither the time/effort to re-attempt that particular panel, and I can't think of anything that I could do different to make it better. Hmmm. I guess I'm getting a bit over this project, as evidenced by the steady decline in quality/enthusiasm since the astronaut.
Anyways, three down with the remaining two primed and ready. Next Friday is my D-Day.
Batman's been a problem child since day one, and to be honest, there's still something about him that gets under my skin. Unfortunately, I have neither the time/effort to re-attempt that particular panel, and I can't think of anything that I could do different to make it better. Hmmm. I guess I'm getting a bit over this project, as evidenced by the steady decline in quality/enthusiasm since the astronaut.
Anyways, three down with the remaining two primed and ready. Next Friday is my D-Day.
17 May 2010
Here Comes A New Challenger
My new favourite artist -- James Blagden.
Creator of the now legendary "Dock Ellis & The LSD No-No" animation, as well as an upcoming accompaniment to Ice Cube's "30 for 30" documentary on the L.A. Raiders.
Love those acid-trippy colours and bizarro-surreal subject matter.
Creator of the now legendary "Dock Ellis & The LSD No-No" animation, as well as an upcoming accompaniment to Ice Cube's "30 for 30" documentary on the L.A. Raiders.
Love those acid-trippy colours and bizarro-surreal subject matter.
15 May 2010
People Will Mourn The Legend. But Who Will Mourn For Me?
Legendary fantasy painter Frank Frazetta recently passed away at the ripe old age of 82. I remember seeing his art on the cover of old Conan comics when I was a kid.
I was likewise sad to discover the strained relationship he had with his son, Frank Jr., who recently drove a backhoe into the Frazetta Art Gallery to steal $20 million in paintings (strange ...).
"My son is an alien. There's no telling what he'll do. He's been like that for, I don't know, how many years. We played baseball in the old days. He always chose the opposite side from me."
I was likewise sad to discover the strained relationship he had with his son, Frank Jr., who recently drove a backhoe into the Frazetta Art Gallery to steal $20 million in paintings (strange ...).
"My son is an alien. There's no telling what he'll do. He's been like that for, I don't know, how many years. We played baseball in the old days. He always chose the opposite side from me."
Haterade
Two down, with a third about 3/4 done and the last two prepped and on deck.
Some lingering issues:
1) That text really irks me. I'll wait till all five panels are painted and then re-do it all.
2) I didn't notice at first, but my studio neighbour astutely pointed out the abrupt transition between the panels. Again, I'm going to wait till I've got everything done before adding some cross-panel drips to smooth it out a bit more and add a bit of visual continuity. (Thanks, Nick)
On a side note, whilst prepping my remaining panels with a yellow undercoat the baseball player I'd painted earlier turned out as pictured. Dig that soft look. People have been telling me to include it in the sequence but I think homogeneity's an important part of this project. Maybe if I had a mulligan I'd steer the whole thing in that direction, but it's surely way too late now.
Some lingering issues:
1) That text really irks me. I'll wait till all five panels are painted and then re-do it all.
2) I didn't notice at first, but my studio neighbour astutely pointed out the abrupt transition between the panels. Again, I'm going to wait till I've got everything done before adding some cross-panel drips to smooth it out a bit more and add a bit of visual continuity. (Thanks, Nick)
On a side note, whilst prepping my remaining panels with a yellow undercoat the baseball player I'd painted earlier turned out as pictured. Dig that soft look. People have been telling me to include it in the sequence but I think homogeneity's an important part of this project. Maybe if I had a mulligan I'd steer the whole thing in that direction, but it's surely way too late now.
06 May 2010
Frontiers
A quick recap:
I had this idea waiting on deck pre-semester so was able to hit the ground running -- concept sketches, materials, laying-out and image prep was all done in the first 2-3 weeks. And then a month and a half of flatline. I had my subject matter down, knew how and where everything had to be, but just couldn't figure out the painterly aesthetic that I wanted.
E.g. three early iterations of the first image I tried painting. I'm actually quite fond of the one on the left but (error of all errors) I plotted a new course after some negative feedback from the one teacher in my class whose opinion I actually value. Hence, the increasingly butchered attempts. In terms of the figure, it turned out okay but I immediately and adamantly knew that I could do better.
Behold the breakthrough (above). The lightbult moment came as I was staring at the texture of the floor in the painting studios during a group crit, and was further reinforced by the chance discovery of this jacket cover for Matt Kindt's "Superspy". This led to the profuse experimentation with dripped solvent and glazed paints. I'm extremely happy with the end result. That background combined with the slashed paint strokes on the astronaut give the piece the whole street art feel that I was so depserately searching for.
Now all I have to do is get the rest of the pieces up to speed. Which isn't too bad considering that the astronaut only took me two days all up and I've got the blueprint for the whole process in my pocket. Most importantly, however, is that this project is now fun again. No more banging my head against a wall.
Only four teacher assisted weeks left in the semester and counting so I'm glad that things are finally coming together. Let's see how it goes from here.
I had this idea waiting on deck pre-semester so was able to hit the ground running -- concept sketches, materials, laying-out and image prep was all done in the first 2-3 weeks. And then a month and a half of flatline. I had my subject matter down, knew how and where everything had to be, but just couldn't figure out the painterly aesthetic that I wanted.
E.g. three early iterations of the first image I tried painting. I'm actually quite fond of the one on the left but (error of all errors) I plotted a new course after some negative feedback from the one teacher in my class whose opinion I actually value. Hence, the increasingly butchered attempts. In terms of the figure, it turned out okay but I immediately and adamantly knew that I could do better.
Behold the breakthrough (above). The lightbult moment came as I was staring at the texture of the floor in the painting studios during a group crit, and was further reinforced by the chance discovery of this jacket cover for Matt Kindt's "Superspy". This led to the profuse experimentation with dripped solvent and glazed paints. I'm extremely happy with the end result. That background combined with the slashed paint strokes on the astronaut give the piece the whole street art feel that I was so depserately searching for.
Now all I have to do is get the rest of the pieces up to speed. Which isn't too bad considering that the astronaut only took me two days all up and I've got the blueprint for the whole process in my pocket. Most importantly, however, is that this project is now fun again. No more banging my head against a wall.
Only four teacher assisted weeks left in the semester and counting so I'm glad that things are finally coming together. Let's see how it goes from here.
01 May 2010
Bumaye
Three cool animations made by NYC label/agency No Mas in celebration of the 35th anniversary of 'The Rumble in the Jungle'.
"Zaire" by David Rathman
"Round Zero" by Jerome Lagarrigue
"Godfather of Soul vs Greatest of All Time" by James Blagden
I particularly love the look of "Round Zero". One day, if I ever have the time, patience, and talent to paint like that, I'd love to try my hand at a much more ambitious animation project.
[Note: apologies, I can't get the videos to fit full screen and it's driving me nuts. Here's another link to be safe.]
"Zaire" by David Rathman
"Round Zero" by Jerome Lagarrigue
"Godfather of Soul vs Greatest of All Time" by James Blagden
I particularly love the look of "Round Zero". One day, if I ever have the time, patience, and talent to paint like that, I'd love to try my hand at a much more ambitious animation project.
[Note: apologies, I can't get the videos to fit full screen and it's driving me nuts. Here's another link to be safe.]
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