Birth of a Mutation

Mutations is a new body of work that I’m putting together that was born out of my participation in The Big 100 Show earlier this month. For those of you who are unfamiliar with shows of this kind, please allow me to explain a few things. The organizers of The Big 100 asked 100 artists to create 20 8″ x 8″ paintings each. The paintings will be available for one night only and each piece is to be priced at $30.00.

Now, I generally have a problem with anyone attempting to control the retail value of my artwork especially when the value is 2 to 3 times less than normal. However, I decided to make an exception in this case for a few different reasons:

1. I really needed some cash. I’ve had a bike on layaway forever and had to borrow some money to pay off the balance before my down payment was forfeited.
2. I’m pretty good friend with the organizers and they were giving all proceeds to different charities.
3. I had came up with a theory as to how I could create work in a shorter period of time that still embodied the basic style of my normal artwork.

So, how did it all work out? Great question! I worked out pretty well, I sold 13 out of 14 (I knew adding a hobbit was a bad idea… noone needs those hairy little toes leaving jam on the carpet…), paid off the bike loan, facilitated the donation of $130.00 to charity and acquired a new way of creating artwork thus giving life to the Mutations series.

Let’s Get Mutated

The basic idea came from an article I read years ago written by Paul Fujita outlining his process of carbon transfer using acrylic medium. I always thought that this was a cool idea, but never really had a way to incorporate it into my own work. Then it dawned on me… I had all these drawings laying around that I think are pretty cool, but people don’t really ever buy them at my shows – I think it’s because they are just black and white? Whatever the reason, I can’t seem to sell them and there’s no chance in hell that I’m coloring them in. So I photocopied a grip of them, splashed a bunch of bright colors on some wood and went to town with the acrylic media transer process. I think it turned out really well in the end. The piece retain the detail of my normal work without me having to make all of those tiny, tiny lines. I was able to cut creation time of the pieces by a landslide which made it much easier for me to fork them over for a third of the cost.

Look! A Picture!

Here’s an example of what I have been talking about. On the left you will see the original drawing and on the right, the Mutation. Notice how the composition has not been radically altered, but elements have changed well beyond that of simple embellishment.

Why Mutations?

I was struggling with a name for this series. The only thing that made any sense was Theme and Variation. I think that the definition fits the series well and I like the musical association, whenever I hear “Theme and Variation” I get this unsettling visualization of sitting on a brightly colored rug in Kindergarden while some mean lady with a fake smile belted out verse after verse of “Do Your Ears Hang Low?”. Hey lady! do you really thing that I want to sing after stomaching warm milk and stale crackers?!?!? I think not! Go stand in the corner no cookies for you…

Anyway, the thesaurus told me the Mutation is a synonym for Variation and the only flashbacks I get when I hear the word are of the warm an soothing variety… much like the Beck album of the same name. And let me get stuck down with lightning as I type if I fail to mention that it was only through the process of mutation that the ninja turtles were able to save New York City from the dastardly deeds of Super Shredder and his Mighty Technodrome. Also, without the process of mutation, atheists would have little or nothing to argue with when they meet an unsuspecting creationist.

Mutation.

It’s a wonderful thing!

I’ve been working on this one on and off for the lesser part of two years. And it’s progressed much further in the past 24 hours than what is shown here. I think the serpent will return once more. It was a “just in case” piece of wood from the We Must Learn to Speak as Prophets show I curated at The Life in July of ‘07. Have no idea what I’m talking about? Click here and all will be revealed. (24″ x 15″)

Shawn Demarest was nice enough to give me a grip of these super sweet 12″ x 12″ panels that she found while cleaning out her studio. They are far, far away from becoming anything special, but you have to start somewhere I guess.

Really liking this one, It’s been one of my favorite paintings for almost 3 years. The problem with it is, that twice now, I could see it completed but refused to render what I saw due to the fact that it required realistic drawing skills that I don’t possess. At first, it was this really cool looking snake angel with a super dense explosion of white paint coming from where the head would be. Only problem was.. it had no head and I didn’t want to kill the white explosion part. Since I couldn’t draw the head, I thought that a great idea would be to find a picture of a snake’s head (you know, all open-mouthed and scary), photocopy it, and use an acrylic gel transfer technique to render it. Alas, I could not find a picture… therefore the painting sat untouched for a long time. I even had a great title that I may choose to use in the future, but probably not. It would have been called “I Need to Talk to an Angel but the Scientists Made Them All Go Away”. (27″ x 24″)

I think that this one has a very long way to go, maybe not… who’s to say? I just poured out a 4th bottle of red ink all over it about an hour ago. That usually helps. (27″ x 24″)

Enough banter, onto the pictures:

Finally, some progress on the east wall. A long time coming, but I’m really excited about the posture of this human-creature.

Dragon wing is starting to take shape.

Dragon composition becomes visible.

Some detailing on the snake bird. He’s adorable :)
Never painted anything quite like this…
fun fun fun.

Composition becomes visible here as well… but maybe this isn’t the best possible outcome for this creature…

I’m pretty certain that he needs his own body. Could a serpentine body support such massive horns? I think it’s a good idea to finger-paint and figure out the rest later.

East Wall… Not too much change here… looks like there’s a little leg poking out… and another right next to it… Watch out Mr. Big-Color-Blob-Guy!!!! Your standing on electricity!!!

A Dragon Emerges – I’ve been painting a lot of dragons recently… Dragon Reaching, Dragon Snake, Dragon not quite sure as to why… perhaps one of you psychology undergraduate types might have the answer…

Dragon wing detail.

Dragon Body Detail

Hi Mr. Snake Bird. How are you today?

Mr. Snake bird meet Mr. Bird Snake.

Dragon Becomes Unicorn – These things will happen, I guess.

here’s what happened:

East Wall: See… red does make everything prettier :)

South Wall: RED!!!!! RUM!!!!! (actually, A couple cans of PBR to be exact)

West Wall Left: Going a little crazy here – it’s actually starting to resemble something that I might paint.

West Wall Right: Not much action here. Feel free to scroll back up to the previous pic or down to the next.

North Wall: – gettin’ horny! – sexual innuendo for Hethur – whom I haven’t seen in about three years. She has the most creative potty-mouth on the planet… I mean even the word “innuendo” somehow turns into in-your-end-do… brilliant, absolutely brilliant I tell you :)

Show opens on August 14th. There will be free music and over 100 other rooms with art it them. Portland City Art, Mile Post Five.

Here are some shots from the session:

East Wall. Pretty much all Mom on this one.

South wall. Mom on left and under the window. Me on the right.

Public Service Announcement: All artists in the show… notice that radiator in the left-hand corner? See how it has a flat, shelf-like top? This should be removed and stored in the closet before you do anything!. “Why?” you ask. Let’s just say that if you have a cup full of paint water + an open half-gallon of black paint sitting on there and you apply a small amount of uneven pressure to any edge of the thing.. you’ll end up with a crotch full of paint water and spend 20 minutes trying to find a mop in that god-forsaken labyrinth of a building. And take my word for it…. there is no mop.

Alright, back to pictures:

West wall left. This is pretty much all my fault. Note to self… never leave the house without red paint!

West Wall right. Another Mom + me collaboration.

North Wall Mostly Mom… I did a few accents in light blue. Really like the sun she has going in the lower right.

Here’s the gist of it:

Over 100 artists have been invited to turn the yet-to-be-renovated rooms of The Studios building into three floors of installations and exhibits. This 10-day festival will include live music by local bands, theater and performance art, artist round tables, and daily guided tours of the 100+ exhibits.
Milepost Five

What’s this place like?
I got a chance to check out the building last Monday while it was opened for artists to choose rooms and the place is eerie as hell. The third floor totally reminded me of one of those creepy dream sequences from A Nightmare on Elm Street.

How I got wrapped up in such a thing
I was asked by Chris Haberman a few months back to be a part of this and was reluctant at first as usual. I mean, large-scale art projects really aren’t my thing… the largest thing I’ve ever painted was under two feet square… What the hell am I gonna do?!?! I quit bitching when I realized that this was a pretty good opportunity to see what I could do on a larger scale. I get an entire room to do anything I please with…. anything.

What the hell am I gonna do?
I’m still trying to figure out what I’m going to do while not thinking about it too much. The backbone of my creative process relies solely upon not knowing the outcome beforehand, rather making something entirely new out of complete chaos. This will be challenged, I’m sure. I’ve already started taking notes and drawing pictures in a secret notebook. Basically doing things that I have never had to do before. I don’t know how much will actually make it up on the walls. Only time will tell…

Contents of the “secret notebook”
So far it’s just random thoughts + reflections on the concept of duality and how it’s presence can be felt through every aspect of the human existence. One strong image that comes to mind is that of the scale of justice and how it only has two baskets. This implies, to me, that even the most complex of situations are meant to be broken down to two parts and balanced… Just been thinking about things like this – there are about 30 or so things like this that i hope make it into the room…

To find out more about The Manor of Art, please visit Portland City Art.

100 BONES @ Breeze Block

What it is: It’s the second annual 100 Bones show at Breeze Block which features artwork that is $100.00 and under.

Why you gotta check it out: I’ll be showing 4 brand new pieces 8″ x 8″ priced from $40.00 – $100.00. Plus – there will be a grip of really cool artwork by other folks. Breeze Block is a great store + gallery that recently moved from Alberta-land to East Burnside. They have rad handmade stuff from local creative-type-people, cool art books and zines + fashionable fashion-stuff. The creatures sewn from bicycle inner-tube rubber are among my favorite things one can find here…

When it is: Friday, February 6th from 6-10pm

Breeze Block Gallery
1847 E. Burnside, Ste. C
Portland, OR
breezeblockgallery.com

Featuring: Mildred, Michael Frank, Paul Estrada, Meg Adamson, Justin Lovato, Ashley Montague, Joe Polillo and Me.

HAND CRAFTED

(curated by J. Shea)

What it is: It’s the first art show at a great little cafe on the corner of SE 39th and Lincoln ( Lincoln is halfway between Hawthorne and Division).

Why you gotta check it out: I’ll have a brand new piece in the show + there will be wicked-awesome stuff from a great selection of local talent.

When it is: Saturday, February 7th from 6-10pm

Fine Grind Art Cafe
2035 SE 39th Avenue
Portland, OR
pdxfinegrind.com

Featuring: Blaine Fontana, Bryon Schroeder, Chris Habberman, Chris Wellock, Christofer Ross, J. Shea, Jason Brown, Jesse Reno, Lesley Reppeteaux, Ryan Bubnis, Tim Karpinski, Tom Keating and Me.

Voyeur @ The Love Show

(curated by Anna Todaro)

What it is: The Voyeur show consists of pieces of eyes that stare out from the painting at the audience. The Love Show is a group showcase of works focusing on the topic of love. This year, the Voyeur Show will be a part of the Love Show… One might deduct that it will be an exhibition of lovely eyes… perhaps it will!

Why You Shouldn’t Miss This Show: This show will consist of a collection of work created by individuals who organize art shows/websites/books/projects. Plus, Voyeur will be contained within the ginormous Love Show which will have like a bazillion pieces. Not to be missed!

Opens: Friday, February 13th from 7pm – Midnight

Olympic Mills
107 SE Washington Street
Portland, OR

Featuring:

• Flora S. Bowley curator of “Thirty!” Shows
• Jason Brown curator of The Goodfoot
• Paul Fujita curator of Zeitgeist Gallery
• Chris Haberman curator of Olympic Mills and East Bank among other things
• Kaebel Hashitani curator of Sequential Art Gallery
• Ben Pink curator of Launchpad Gallery
• Kelly Rauer of Portland Art Center
• Eric Robison curator of Backspace
• Richard Schemmerer editor of pdxart
• Beth Ann Short co-founder of 100th Monkey Studio
• Jeremy Tucker curator of Rake Art Gallery
• Cathy Joy Young curator of Vino Paridiso
• Me editor of Invision series

Why is the flier spelled wrong: Hmmm… yes I did make the flier, yes there is a hideous spelling mistake on it. Now, I’m inclined to blame symmetry, or perhaps my lack of a proper education, but no… neither of these are right. I blame the fact that my sketch book lacks a spell checker. I mean come on people, this is the 21st century and all….