Ben Bertin

OOFO KOMSK!! @ Brain Frame 4

2012-01-30T10:22:00.001-06:00

Ben Bertin reads Oofo Komsk from Lyra Hill on Vimeo.

Neck Cancer

2011-12-09T11:46:00.001-06:00

Mt. Reedensteen

2011-12-09T11:35:00.001-06:00

Iggy Rock

2011-11-25T18:10:00.000-06:00

CHROMAZOID

2011-10-13T19:56:00.004-05:00

Hello again! My good friend Lale Westvind has lovingly stitched together a comics anthology/mix-tape that goes by the alien alias of CHROMAZOID! I'm in it (those are a couple of sample pages from my comic above), and so are many of my favorite comic artist pals, as well as some others who are new-to-me but more than welcome in this full color collection. And did I mention that there's a mix-tape, featuring original music based on the comics within the book? I'm getting a cavity just thinking about it.

CHROMAZOID has a Kickstarter page, which you could visit right now (if you please) and donate your hard earned dollars (as much or as little as you want -- any bit counts) to help make our dream come true. There are 21 days left for donations, so if you support our cause, even if just in spirit, please, spread the word! Once the book is funded it will be printed and ready for sale at the Minneapolis Indie Xpo, the 5th and 6th of this November.

Light Space Modulator film

2011-09-03T20:42:00.002-05:00

Laszlo Moholey-Nagy, 1930

CARTOONink!

2011-09-03T18:26:00.004-05:00

Come see mine and others' Artoonwork in Chicago!

2011-09-02T16:31:00.002-05:00

Some really pleasing figure work by Oskar Schlemmer. The bottom one is very pixelized, but beautifully designed.

The story of the wild boar and the leg wound

2011-02-15T20:19:00.001-06:00

[428] But as soon as early Dawn appeared, the rosy-fingered, they went forth to the hunt, the hounds andthe sons of Autolycus too, and with them went goodly Odysseus. Up the steep mountain Parnassus, clothed with forests, they climbed, and presently reached its windy hollows. The sun was now just striking on the fields, as he rose from softly-gliding, deep-flowing Oceanus, when the beaters came to a glade. Before them went the hounds, tracking the scent, and behind them the sons of Autolycus, and among these the goodly Odysseus followed, close upon the hounds, brandishing his long spear. Now thereby a great wild boar was lying in a thick lair, through which the strength of the wet winds could never blow nor the rays of the bright sun beat, nor could the rain pierce through it, so thick it was; and fallen leaves were there in plenty. Then about the boar there came the noise of the feet of men and dogs as they pressed on in the chase, and forth from his lair he came against them with bristling back and eyes flashing fire, and stood there at bay close before them. Then first of all Odysseus rushed on, holding his long spear on high in his stout hand, eager to smite him; but the boar was too quick for him and struck him above the knee, charging upon him sideways, and with his tusk tore a long gash in the flesh, but did not reach the bone of the man. But Odysseus with sure aim smote him on the right shoulder, and clear through went the point of the bright spear, and the boar fell in the dust with a cry, and his life flew from him.

[455] Then the dear sons of Autolycus busied themselves with the carcase, and the wound of noble, god-like Odysseus they bound up skilfully, and checked the black blood with a charm, and straightway returned to the house of their dear father. And when Autolycus and the sons of Autolycus had fully healed him, and had given him glorious gifts, they quickly sent him back with joy to his native land, to Ithaca. Then his father and his honored mother rejoiced at his return, and asked him all the story, how he got his wound; and he told them all the truth, how, while he was hunting, a boar had struck him with his white tusk when he had gone to Parnassus with the sons of Autolycus.

Page 1 Blue Ink Only

2011-02-04T21:53:00.000-06:00

Postcard drawing, for SB & IB

2011-02-02T21:05:00.002-06:00

Meals on Wheels logo sketches

2011-01-10T20:37:00.000-06:00

Objectify Objects

2011-01-10T19:52:00.001-06:00

Collage

2011-01-06T16:31:00.001-06:00

OK, GOOD LUCK

2011-01-04T22:33:00.000-06:00

G8way of Clarity

2011-01-03T03:33:00.000-06:00

Four Enemies of a Man of Knowledge

2011-01-03T02:52:00.004-06:00

Inspired by my first reading of the Teachings of Don Juan by Carlos Castaneda. During the read, I repaired the book, which was falling apart; it's a first edition, a TPB.

21st Century

2011-01-03T00:38:00.004-06:00

I'm living in a twenty-first century, doing something mean to it

Charles Burns -- X'ed Out

2010-11-05T21:04:00.012-05:00

An alternating pattern of panels at the front of Charles Burns' latest work in comic art, X'ed Out, presents (almost theatrically) the story to come in the truest and simplest form of comic language. The six by three arrangement of vertical panels (solid black, black, red, red, etc.) sets the precedent for the panel structure of every page to follow. The visual tension of the two colors set on the white background reflects the sometimes sharp and painful moments found within as well as the jumps in the story from the dream world to the real world, and from memory to memory. And look: don't the black panels together form an "X"? The red panels a crude "O"?

X'ed Out is the first book in what will ultimately be a three volume series. The format of the book is based on a European comic album (Tim Hensley's Wally Gropius, released earlier this year, is presented similarly) and is printed in beautiful full color (Burns' work is normally presented in a strikingly graphic black and white). On one side of this checkerboard of a story is Doug, an art school student in 1970's America who reads his William Burroughs inspired poetry at punk shows and snaps photos with his Polaroid SX-70 instant camera; on the other side is Doug's dream-world alter-ego Nitnit, a character homage to one of modern comics more important ancestors, Hergé's Tintin. For the story, Burns' drew on his own subconscious influences and conscious memories, collected over the span of his lifetime and arranged à la Burroughs' cut-up into the final product.

Tintin, though, is perhaps the most important influence found in the pages of X'ed Out. Burns' has been creating loving tributes to the adventurous boy reporter and his band of misfit friends for some time now -- the back cover of his 1992 collection Blood Club and the endpapers of 1999's El Borbah are both direct references to images from the original Tintin albums, in both cases a cast of Burns' own characters replacing Hergé's.

A quote from "Dr. Jerry" (Burns himself) on the back of Blood Club reads:

Pictures within pictures for children who aren't quite sure what they're looking at.

Burns was introduced to the Tintin series when he was a young child, even before he could read the text in the speech bubbles. His family owned just a few of the volumes, so the drawings he saw on the back cover and endpapers would fill him with intrigue, offering only the most frustratingly small clues to the adventures awaiting him in the other books, unknown characters and places. Later on in his youth, a friend showed him a French language version of The Shooting Star (the Tintin book from which X'ed Out borrows its cover imagery), and once again blocked by a language barrier, Burns was unable to read the whole story.

X'ed Out, like Burns' early experience with Tintin, is a tale of fragmented and missing pieces. Burns (no surprise here) employs the comic book medium with mastery, pushing the unique visual strengths of the medium to their maximum potential. The book becomes a flip-through puzzle, a dreamy labyrinth of colors and snapshot memories. Solid color panels (like the black and red panels mentioned at the start) litter the book, serving as bumps between moments in time and space and creating a tense psychological atmosphere by teasing out connections that may or may not have any significance (notice, for example, the color of the green panel below compared to the color of Sarah's shirt).

Repeating images do the same -- the endpapers offer up a few of the more frequently used, like a running river, Mary with the Christ-child, and fetal pig in a jar, to name a few. These repetitions don't answer any questions but instead build up the importance of certain moments in the story and tie them together emotionally -- for example, Nitnit is awoken on the first page by a BZZZZZ which readers can link to the BZZZZZZ! of Sarah's intercom, or even to the ZZZZZ of Doug's tape player during his performance. And I would be remiss if I failed to mention the eggs, oh those eggs! "You like eggs, right?"

As if this all weren't enough, hardcore fans of Burns or X'ed Out will be pleased to know that much more of the story of Doug and Nitnit exists outside of this volume (or even the following two). Monthly magazine The Believer has already published a few of what Burns has called "sketchbook" comic strips under the title Random Access, small snippets of inspiration which may or may not have anything to do with the final story (though one strip does feature a lot of eggs). Inspired by Chinese bootleg versions of Tintin books, Burns has also been working on a series of "foreign cover" prints of Nitnit comic album covers, and will soon be publishing in France his own limited edition "knockoff" of X'ed Out. His "pirated" version will tell a completely different narrative by rearranging the panels of the original comic. It will be printed in just one color, and will be written in a made-up language of Burns' design (recall the noseless man who tries to sell Nitnit that terrified grub-creature, or the text in the ads and posters in Nitnit's world). X'ed Out alone is a terrific comic that fans can really dig deep into, but by telling such a story through so many different channels, Burns has elevated not just his own art, but comic art in general.

Trans End (for XCB15)

2010-11-01T18:27:00.001-05:00

Something to ponder

2010-09-17T00:32:00.001-05:00

^^

2010-09-17T00:29:00.003-05:00

2010-09-16T14:16:00.001-05:00

^

2010-09-15T21:01:00.002-05:00

2010-09-08T13:10:00.001-05:00

2010-09-04T14:15:00.002-05:00

Bailliwik Issue 8

2010-08-25T13:48:00.005-05:00

I'm excited to announce that my mini-comic "Pizza Shark Presents: UFOs for Lunch" (posted below) will be included as one of 8 special projects to be included with issue 8 of Bailliwik, a self-published periodical made by my friends Rob Hunt and Surabhi Ghosh. Follow this link to the issue's page on the Bailliwik site to preview the work, learn more about the artists, or to order a copy for yourself. Click here to see the rest of the Bailliwik books.

Pizza Shark Presents: UFOs for Lunch

2010-08-20T03:06:00.002-05:00

Power to the pen!

2010-07-15T09:23:00.002-05:00

Check out this brilliant project proposal which comes straight from the mind of a personal hero of mine, Jim Woodring.

2010-07-14T14:38:00.003-05:00

2010-07-12T14:06:00.002-05:00

2010-07-02T02:04:00.002-05:00

Light & Ideas

2010-06-28T14:28:00.005-05:00

My good friend Dylan Jones and I started yesterday on a collaborative project which in the future will manifest itself as a music video (my animation / Dylan's music). We spent about an hour jamming -- Dyl playing, me drawing, and both of us talking in between about the concepts which tie everything together. The theme is "ideas," in particular ideas as represented by the symbol of the lightbulb ("Eureka!" cried Edison). Our protagonist is some sort of inventor/big thinker with a lightbulb shaped head, and some of Dyl's recordings come from the sounds of actual bulbs in action.

A proper place for our project on the web is in the works, updates will follow! In the meantime, enjoy some sketches:

2010-06-27T14:55:00.002-05:00

Colder than a witch's --

2010-06-27T14:51:00.003-05:00

The Point of Ideas / Don't Smurf On Me

2010-06-26T13:14:00.001-05:00

M I X

2010-05-17T21:19:00.005-05:00

News! I'm excited to say that I, me, myself, and three of my good friends Beth Hetland, Ian McDuffie, & Lale Westvind will be sharing a table at the upcoming first ever Minneapolis Indie Xpo (MIX)! Click the image below to check out the website and learn more (there's a sweet little statement of purpose animation on the home page):

I can't wait until August 21 to meet all the other super cool comix creators and hang out with three special people at a cramped table while we sell our innermost thoughts in toner ink. See you there!

Goodbye Xerox Candy Bar

2010-05-17T15:43:00.004-05:00

Margin doodles

2010-05-10T00:15:00.002-05:00

Disappearing act: "Perfect Hair"

2010-05-07T15:54:00.002-05:00

BFA Installation View: Ber Bentin RIP

2010-04-15T15:48:00.002-05:00

Under the Sea with Pizza Shark

2010-04-14T13:16:00.002-05:00

Good Morning! (I M N D T V)

2010-04-07T10:46:00.007-05:00

Link <-- to my first ever TV spot!

Over the Shoulder, Tale of Genji Scroll

2010-04-04T23:01:00.002-05:00

Pizza Shark Grows

2010-04-01T21:37:00.006-05:00

Cool is Creepy / Creepy is Cool

2010-04-01T21:36:00.002-05:00

Pizza Shark In Progress

2010-03-31T16:17:00.005-05:00

Character Portrait

2010-03-15T21:15:00.003-05:00

All About Disillusion

2010-03-04T11:30:00.004-06:00

Congratulations to Eryn and Ashley for this glowing review of their show Disillusion (which I have a couple pieces in) from Ann Arbor dot com: follow that link!

Also check out this post at Play Blog, written by Ashley, which describes the vision (or is it just an illusion?): oh, hey, another link!

I's

2010-03-02T18:44:00.002-06:00

MIOK print

2010-02-22T11:09:00.005-06:00

In case you've been wondering about certain recent posts, I've been uploading quite a few images from a body of work related to a new comic I'm working on called MIOK (read the letters separately), a short story following the character Miok (pronounced 'my-oke') as he struggles with self doubt in an increasingly complicated life.

I just finished a long night of printing this print (!), which will sit on the page opposite the Chapter 1 page, based on this digital image that I created earlier this week. It's made up of 10 separate layers and will probably get a few more by the time I'm done with it.

It'll be shrunk down and probably simplified a bit for the sake of the book (the image, which isn't even totally finished, is about 12" x 12" on the paper and the projected size for the book is 11" x 11"). I will be making one hardbound artist book version of MIOK and also reproducing it in some other form.

- - - "ecstatic" doesn't even come close.

2010-02-22T10:32:00.008-06:00

There are no words capable of describing how excited I am about this - - -

2010-02-21T16:41:00.002-06:00

2010-02-21T14:25:00.001-06:00

2010-02-21T12:46:00.002-06:00

Moon Formation Comic

2010-02-15T04:21:00.005-06:00

From Carl Sagan's 'The Cosmos,' a beautiful sequence of images.

Workin' For Dionysus

2010-02-14T19:36:00.002-06:00

Disullusion - Destroying a Reality

2010-02-14T02:09:00.004-06:00

If you happen to be in the Ann Arbor area any time between now and March 12, I have two pieces in a show called Disillusion at the University of Michigan School of Art and Design's WORK Gallery:

The show is curated by Erin Campbell and Ashley Elander (check out Ashley's website and blog), two of the finest artist people Ann Arbor has to offer. I didn't get to make it out to the opening, but my mum and dad did, and they said my work was the best.

LOSING SIGHT MEGASALE

2010-02-14T01:10:00.014-06:00

Hey everyone out there in Internetville, good news from over on this side of the screen!

My good friend Wendy Lee Spacek has done me a big, solid favor and used some of her Cool California Connections to print me some more copies of my latest comic, "Losing Sight." (!) I just received them today, and already it's time to send them on to some new homes.

Printed in a seductive inkjet toner, "Losing Sight" is a story of love, loss, and triumph set in prehistoric times, before the dawn of man. (22 pages, black and white, and staple bound.) Here's a small taste:

If anyone is interested in purchasing a copy for the low, low price of $4 each, please send me an email at benjamin.j.bertin@gmail.com. Include your name, address, number of issues and your choice of cover color: "canary," "pink," "blue," or "green." That's right, your own personalized Cover Color Choice! The comics I'm so creepily displaying above are actually in the buff (comixxx?) - it's up to you, Dear Reader, to teach them a little decency. Here's the cover art so you can imagine the possibilities for yourself:

But there's more?! Yes! Because for a limited time (for as long as I have copies to sell) I will include with every order not one, not two, but several extra goodies to show my extreme gratitude for your kind and generous support.

"Losing Sight" and several extra goodies, all for the low, low price of $4? Dang.

Dear Scott McCloud,

2010-02-08T18:33:00.005-06:00

I finally understand my place:

Right in the middle.

Fondly,

Ber Bentin

Miok Evolves

2010-02-07T21:45:00.003-06:00

rumiokok

2010-01-28T17:46:00.003-06:00

RU MI

OK OK?

Naked (it's not what you think)

2010-01-17T19:30:00.002-06:00

First this.

Then this.

Eyeball Mountain 2

2010-01-15T22:11:00.006-06:00

Eyeball Mountain

2010-01-15T22:02:00.004-06:00

Sketch for "Moon"

2009-12-17T16:55:00.003-06:00

moon

verb

1 stop mooning about WASTE TIME, loaf, idle, mope; informal lollygag.

2 he’s mooning over her photograph MOPE, pine, brood, daydream,fantasize, be in a reverie.

2009-12-11T23:46:00.001-06:00

Artist's Statement

2009-12-10T12:42:00.003-06:00

"Drunk" "Again"

2009-12-04T15:52:00.005-06:00

I visited the Intuit museum today (Chicago's outsider art museum) and was lucky enough to spot this tattoo design of knock-off Mickey Mouse who is " 'Drunk' 'Again' " (love those quotation marks). The current main floor show is called Freaks and Flash, a show about tattoo designs ("Flash") and the people who sport them ("Freaks") --

-- Of course the Mickey tattoo design (which I'm considering getting, by the way, tramp stamp, perhaps?) reminded me of R. Crumb's famous poster "Stoned Agin!" --

-- which was the inspiration for another piece of art that I posted in October, and this Series 5 Garbage Pail Kids card illustrated by John Pound, card #177: Lazy Louie or (as the card that I own names him) Meltin' Milton. The image below is of the original artwork, which was already sold, apparently, on eBay, but I've already contacted Pound about the original pencil and color roughs for this painting. I've never bought a piece of art before, but it seems like this might be a good place to start; here's to inebriation and art about it!

Let's talk about myth >>>

2009-11-22T15:18:00.002-06:00

>>>Devdutt Pattanaik<<<

Untitled Kermit the Frog Collage

2009-11-09T02:13:00.003-06:00

Coupl'a great people who I wish I could just brain pick for a while:

2009-11-07T21:12:00.002-06:00

A Couple'a Quick Jam-jams

2009-11-06T18:34:00.001-06:00

Here we are, more faces

2009-11-06T14:09:00.004-06:00

Some scans from a limited edition offset print book I'm working on. I'll be selling them at SAIC's upcoming Winter Art Sale (open to the public 11a-7p Fri, Nov 20 and 10a-5p Sat, Nov 21) as well as at Quimby's, Chicago Comics, and possibly Graham Cracker and Golden Age, all in Chicago. If I find the extra time in my schedule I'm thinking about creating a few special hardcover copies of the book as well, which I will sell only at the Art Sale. I will also definitely have some small glossy posters of four of the faces that will appear in the book printed in gold and purple.

AND remember... faces are everywhere.

2009-11-06T10:39:00.004-06:00

J. M. Szancer, illus. for Lokomotywa by Julian Tuwim (Poland, 1954)

I found this image today on the blog A Journey Round My Skull, which has been a great source of strange drawing and illustration ephemera to feast my eyes on. This is the first in a series of images called The Wonderful Wizards of Lodz, Kids' Books from Poland Part 1. Aside from my attraction to the sunburst shape of the train wheel, this illustration is just filled with mystery. What exactly is the turtle doing? Trying to reach the center of the wheel? Avoiding being run over? Being run over? Chasing after the cloud on the opposite side? Are they enemies, friends or lovers, the turtle and the cloud? All of these questions are made possible by OUT OF CONTEXT and viewers like you.

Doodle face - Tuesday, November 5, 2009

2009-11-05T19:58:00.001-06:00

Drawn during a talk about how to make a website. Thank Gawd I have this blawg. I'm just kidding, I kind of paid attention.

Hooray

2009-11-05T00:08:00.004-06:00

Monster Face 10.27.09

2009-10-27T19:06:00.003-05:00

"Everything Ever"

2009-10-27T19:04:00.001-05:00

Get Yer Hands Offa Me

2009-10-25T23:55:00.003-05:00

Fishface.

2009-10-15T10:04:00.001-05:00

Jordan Crane -- "Blurst Agin!" (from The Simpsons' Treehouse of Horror #15)

2009-10-05T18:05:00.003-05:00

Depressed Funnies -- Oct. 5, '09

2009-10-05T17:56:00.002-05:00

Amazing syndromes

2009-09-28T17:27:00.003-05:00

James Jarvis

2009-09-07T15:39:00.004-05:00

Check out the drawing blog of UK illustrator, James Jarvis. I am a long time fan of Jarvis' work (my first introduction to him came from his work in the world of vinyl toys, and his comic, Vortigern's Machine, is a must read for fans of the playful & tripppy) but I had kinda sorta forgotten about his brilliant cartoons until I stumbled upon this short animation presented by Nike in collaboration with Richard Kenworthy, called "Onwards":

Onwards from AKQA on Vimeo.

Like Vortigern's Machine, this video is a really successful marriage of hand-drawn sensibilities and a clean computer finish. And I love the crow attack. See more on Jarvis on his website, his other blog, his toy production website Amos, and the Amos blog.

Fresh Young Minds

2009-08-07T18:44:00.001-05:00

We Play MUSIC! (Concert Poster)

2009-07-30T15:22:00.003-05:00

ABC's

2009-07-26T20:15:00.002-05:00

Kids today

2009-07-22T14:38:00.003-05:00

I recently came across some of the newer series of Garbage Pail Kids Cards. They make use of a lot more scatological humour than the earlier ones: here are some of the more revolting ones for you to peruse ( ;) )! I think Red-Eye Rob will probably find his way onto my bathroom mirror. And how in the world could the writers miss the opportunity to name the Batman spoof "Batty Bruce?" Seriously, Batty Brad? Better luck next time, fellas.

Self-Portraits

2009-07-16T23:01:00.003-05:00

The drawing on the left was draw yesterday by Sam Bertin, while we were waiting for the Art Spiegelman talk to get underway at the MOCAD. Not really a self portrait, I know. I drew the other two this evening. I think in order for this to be fully complete, it needs another "me" looking straight ahead at the viewer. Later.

In My Dreams

2009-07-13T16:22:00.002-05:00

THIS BIKE IS FAST

2009-05-29T19:25:00.003-05:00

Rogers Park Art Walk

2009-05-10T15:29:00.002-05:00

Opening May 16th, at Hotei Art Center, part of Rogers Park Art Walk Chicago, works by:

Alyssa Martinez

Andrea Mattson

Ben Bertin

(among others)

Opening night cover charge of $20. Here is a more detailed description of the event, hope to see you there!:

Rogers Park Art Walk

Chicago, IL, May 6th, 2009 – With the cold winter winds now but a chilly memory, Chicago’s Rogers Park neighborhood is throwing a party the best way it knows how – with great local art, music, food, drinks, and plenty of reasons to get reacquainted with neighbors in this unique community. Hundreds of works of art produced by local artists will be offered up for sale at multiple locations along Morse and Glenwood Avenues, at local galleries, restaurants and bars, and even vacant storefronts festively decorated and accompanied by DJs, bands and other local performers. The Rogers Park Art Walk – the first gathering of its kind in a neighborhood thriving with creativity and expression – kicks off Saturday, May 16th at 7 p.m. till 12am and will be repeated once each month through August.

“Our goal is to get people in the community to come out and see the many places we’ll be featuring, some of which are otherwise vacant storefronts. This is a great way to help local businesses, building owners and artists all at the same time, while also getting people from outside the neighborhood to come and see all the good things that are going on here despite the economy,” says Walk coordinator and Hoteí cofounder Omar Farah. “We want to build this event up so that it’s considered a major art walk on par with many of the other better-known Chicago neighborhood art walks and festivals.”

Farah hopes to enlist up to 60 artists to exhibit their work in one of the many locations along the walk. Besides Hotei Gallery and Art Center (1445 W. Morse Ave.), he will have use of two additional otherwise vacant store fronts at 1409 W. Morse Ave.& 1412 W. Morse Ave. and other local businesses like The Glenwood Tap and live music at Duke’s, among other venues. B1E Gallery will open their doors and their patio for fire dancing performers. Artwork will then be on display throughout the month at Hoteí.

Admission to the event is $20, which includes access to all sites, entertainment and open bar and drink tickets good at local establishments. Free parking at the corner of Morse and clark.

To buy tickets in advance and to see the entire lineup of artists, go to
www.Hoteiartcenter.com.

Artists and musicians interested in participating in this unique night are encouraged to contact Omar Farah at Hoteí Gallery & Art Center (hoteiartcenter@gmail.com).

ABOUT HOTEI ART CENTER

Hoteí Art Center is an art and wellness center located at 1445 W. Morse Avenue in Chicago’s Rogers Park neighborhood. Hoteí’s mission is to create a gallery and center for the exhibition, sale, creation and expression of all art forms, from traditional visual arts to the esoteric and healing arts. By placing an emphasis on local artists and instructors, Hoteí aims to provide its community with a greater exposure to art as well as activities that educate, empower and lift the spirit of its community. For more information, including class and yoga schedules, visit: http://www.hoteiartcenter.com or call 773- 856-0551.

The plot thickens...

2009-05-03T19:12:00.002-05:00

Character sketches

2009-04-29T00:05:00.007-05:00

Antoine Laumet de La Mothe, sieur de Cadillac, founder of Detroit

The Nain Rouge, aka the Red Dwarf, aka the Red Demon, aka The Demon of the Straits

A Red Dwarf Star (duh)

More Nain Rouge

My notes on the last page refer to the symbolism of the two things being held by the Spirit of Detroit statue, seen here with its creator, Marshall Fredericks.

CAUTION! WIP (Work in Progress)

2009-04-28T23:59:00.004-05:00

I'm pretty sure that the more I add to this one, the better it will become. That's the working theory, anyways.

Graph Mandala

2009-04-28T23:56:00.001-05:00

Sometimes, it's easier on a grid.

NEXT Art Fair 2009/Thomas Roach: Fun, Natural Fun (Take Off Your Shoes)

2009-04-27T15:22:00.008-05:00

I was asked, just this morning, to be a part of a collaboration with my friend Thomas Roach in a joint drawing (my part of the collaboration might look familiar) that will be on display on the 7th floor of the Merchandise Mart (222 Merchandise Mart Plaza, Chicago) as a part of NEXT Fair 2009, represented by Scott Projects (actually, to be fair, I'm represented by Thomas Roach who is represented by Scott Projects). The show's opening preview is this Thursday, April 30, and then will be on display from Friday May 1 - Monday, May 4. This is awesomely exciting, stop by if you have the time!

And, if you have more time after that, head on over to Scott Projects to see Thomas' solo show entitled Fun, Natural Fun (Take Off Your Shoes), opening Saturday, May 2, 2009 from 6-10 PM. I've always felt that Tom's work has always had a truly sincere quality to it, and he is always pushing the limits of image-making into new territories.

Run, Work in Progress

2009-04-26T20:12:00.007-05:00

This is a work in progress, working title "Run." It's mixed media, and I would tell you all of those medias but I am instead not going to until the thing is done. I have been making a whole bunch of these weirdo faces, as evidenced by my previous two posts, which is where this collage/drawing began. Before I knew it he had a body and was running in the hills. The next step, I think, is to add some kind of explosion in the distance, inspired by an explosion symbol I have been seeing a lot of in my study of the history of Japanese manga. Here are some images I found online and scanned from the books "One Thousand Years of Manga" and the comic book story "Barefoot Gen."

And finally, just to show how amazing the monsters and creatures of Japanese art (always a huge inspiration for me) have been since basically the beginning:

Over the Shoulder 5

2009-04-25T00:51:00.003-05:00