STILLNESS
24" x 24" (61cm x 61cm)
oil on wood
2010

Over a decade ago I experimented with a style on 5 or 6 paintings (see “Untitled #2″ below) that was much different than the style I have developed over the years. It was free and loose, and used a palette knife instead brushes to apply the paint. Last week, after hitting a creative wall in the studio, I decided to revisit that style and see what happened. “Stillness” is the piece that resulted.

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Took the long way to the studio one day and walked by a statue…

Music In The Video
While listening to blip.fm, and right about the time I did this drawing, I came across the band Absofacto (Thank you @kristenboyd). The specific song was No Power. After hearing it the quest to find out where I could consume more Absofacto deliciousness began. With a few clicks I found what I was looking for, and with a couple more learned that it’s the side project of the talented Jonathan Visger of Mason Proper (another tasty band). Both are definitely worth taking the time to get to know.

You can download the song in the video, “Palinopsia”, along with the rest of the Absofacto goodness at www.absofacto.com.

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The statue that inspired the sketch.

Scissors | 13" x 24" (33cm x 61cm) | acrylic on wood | 2010

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Felt like drawing an astronaut…

Music In The Video
ALBUM RELEASE! The 5th Dank art video coincides with the release of Manuok’s latest album, “The Old Horse”. The brain child of the talented Scott Mercado, Manuok was a band I had the delight of seeing play multiple times when I lived in San Diego. The song in the video “Warship” is off their second album No End To Limitations. While I’ll have to wait until I move back to the States before I see them play live again, I’m stoked that today I’ll get to taste a whole new version of the magic Mr. Mercado and his crew have been making.

You can get the new album, along with news and tour dates, at www.manuok.com

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For a good part of early 2010 I had a “secret” project in the works. Last week that project saw the public eye for the first time when the band These United States released their new album What Lasts.

Back in February, through the new wonderland of social media, I was contacted by the lead singer and amazing lyricist of These United States, Jesse Elliott. Him and the crew were in search of someone to come up with artwork for their next album, had heard about my work (thank you MsBojangles), and wanted to know if I’d be willing to take a crack at it.

My answer: Hell Yes.

A couple weeks later a package arrived at our door here in Buenos Aires. In it was the band’s first three albums. Over the months that followed, whether I was working on the cd package, the vinyl, or the t-shirts, it was those tunes that were rambling through my ear buds, and I’m sure slightly shaping what was coming to life.

A big thanks to the whole T.U.S. crew for making this thing a blast to work on. And an especially big shout out to Sarah Law. I couldn’t have done what I did without her amazing photography. The pics below are a sampling of some of the work created for the project. I’d show you more…but now you’ve got one more reason to pick up their new album.

What Lasts – original painting created for album cover

Colored pencil drawing of Jesse Elliott of These United States

Colored pencil drawing of Justin Craig of These United States

Colored pencil drawing of Colin Kellogg of These United States

Colored pencil drawing of Robby Cosenza of These United States

Colored pencil drawing of J. Tom Hnatow of These United States

T-shirt designed for the release of the album

You can purchase all of your These United States goods at their online store here.

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I’ve only painted two self-portraits in my lifetime and both were done over 10 years ago. In early 2006 I had an idea for a new one. At the time my studio was a garage in San Diego and in the corner of it sat planks of wood I had collected for use in future paintings. I snatched four of the planks and hammered them together. Over the years that followed I would periodically apply with a palette knife the leftover paint from other paintings onto this wooden panel.

The idea was that the background would consist of a random/chaotic conglomeration of colors from my other visual explorations and over the top of that would be juxtaposed an image of myself in grayscale. A few months ago, 4 years after beginning the background, I began working on that grayscale image, and finally finished it earlier this week.

To me, the finished piece represents a visual journey, and an amalgamation of intertwined, contrasting ideas: Color versus black & white, chaos versus order, and the movement of time versus a moment of it. The piece is called Self-Portrait (Somewhere).

I was overdue for a gorilla painting…and even more so for an orange one.

Music In The Video
Sweden has its share of bands making serious noise these days. Out of the mix one of my definite faves is Johnossi, a duo out of Stockholm, consisting of John Engelbert (songwriter, singer, guitarist) and Oskar “Ossi” Bonde (drummer, percussionist, singer). Fresh off the release of their third album Mavericks, their tunes are bouncing off my studio walls more and more. The song in the video, “Man Must Dance” can be found on their self-titled debut album (Amazon, iTunes).

Check out the latest news and info on them at following places: Official Website and last.fm.

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For this past year my art studio has also been known as the living room in our apartment. There are obvious advantages and disadvantages of working at home. On the plus side no one would care if the only thing I wore to work was a feathered headdress and moon boots. On the down side, work and home life have an easy way of blending together making it difficult to focus and/or un-focus.

Last week though we decided to make a change. My canvases and paints now occupy a space I rent 19 blocks away on the 3rd floor of an old building in the neighborhood of Recoleta. The faded yellow room that I now dump my creative revelations and failures into sits atop two flights of worn creaky stairs, and was formerly part of a hostel that, until recently, filled both the second and third floors. As my easels moved into the 10″ x 10″ (3m x 3m) former dormitory, two simple wooden beds moved out.

In a bit of irony, not only does my studio reside in a former hostel, but on the first floor lives an old bar owned by Americans called El Alamo. The whole thing has me feeling a bit like Davy Crockett when I head to work each morning.

I’ve only been here a week, but I have a feeling some good things are gonna come out of this room.

My first attempt at making a time-lapsed video with a painting. Hope you dig it.

Music In The Video
For the past few months I’ve had the pleasure/honor of working with Jesse Elliott, and the rest of the hardworking gents of the band These United States, creating the artwork for their upcoming album that’s set to drop later this summer (winter if you’re in the Southern Hemisphere with me). During that time I gave up trying to figure out which of their first three albums is the most magically delicious. The song in this video, “Night & the Revolution”, is off their last album Everything Touches Everything.

If you haven’t had a chance to see these guys play yet you’re in luck. They’ve been playing close to 200 shows a year so chances are they’ll be in your neck of the woods soon. You can get all the latest 411 on them at following places: Official Website, Myspace, Facebook, Twitter, and last.fm.

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My second video Sketch of the Day.

Music In The Video
The song in the video is “Milk” by a ska band out of New Orleans known as The Supaflies, off their 1997 album Rambarded. While that band no longer exists, if you find yourself in Tipitina’s or the like in NOLA you might get to hear the newest incarnation of them, The BLACKbELT Band, performing with a slightly different sound. You can check that sound out online at the following places: Myspace, Facebook, Sickroom Records, and iTunes.

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