Map Madness! Jan 5th, G1988 Melrose!

Getting psyched for the January show with Bennett Slater at Gallery1988 Melrose!  Here's a small version of my Empire Strikes Back map.  Each character is represented as a colored line, and follows their progress through the entire film.  The alternating colored lines represent characters traveling together who have a special bond, sometimes for only a short time like Chewie(brown) and 3PO(yellow) when Chewie is repairing him.  Han(navy) and Chewie have a bond, R2(royal blue) when co-piloting for Luke (light blue),   R2 and C3PO . . . 

     All three of the Star Wars movies will be available as full size prints (sorry, no price yet) which are 18.5"x22".  Im also doing all three of the first Indiana Jones movies.

Misaki Kawai

I love Misaki Kawai.  I remember when I first saw her work 8 years ago, and had my favorite type of reaction which somewhere between "What the hell?" and "This is genius!" - but I knew I liked it, and I still do.  It's one of my favorite people to show students to tell them that as long as their being earnest and applying themselves fully, the work will be great.  Kawai bends or discards nearly every academic rule, and yet, it works.  Picasso said "It took me four years to paint like Raphael, and a lifetime to paint like a child."  Misaki's ahead of the curve.

I even love her drawing of sweatshirt sizing.

Rumbletoid and LostAtEMinor

My friend and Philadelphia consiglieri Josh Longo is now posting for LostAtEMinor and was very generous in throwing up some of my Freddie Mercury portraits for the New Illustration section.  VIVA FREDDIE!! And thanks, Josh!  But enough about me - let's talk about Josh.  Josh is an industrial designer and teaches at Pratt in the ID studios next door to the Communication Design Dept and sometimes stops by my class on Mondays.  We share bus rides back and forth from Philly to Pratt in Brooklyn - and like schoolgirls on a sleepover, we say we should sleep and then talk the whole time.

     Josh has a pretty amazing CV based mostly on his 3D work in Longoland, but for the past few years he's been doing what most of us illustrators talk about, but never REALLY do - and that's branch out.  He's been developing his 2D work and is doing some amazing stuff.  Not to say that Josh wasn't already great at drawing - he was - but moving from drawing as a preliminary for 3D work, and doing drawing and painting as a finish in and of itself is a really interesting difference.  It's been fascinating to watch.  We have a lot of similar influences and his stuff has inspired a lot of the more recent painting I've been doing and vice-versa, which is a blast.  The way he attacks pieces and compositions reminds that it's supposed to be fun - that the if a piece doesn't have intuition, that it's probably lacking in inspiration, too.  If you haven't already, check out rumbletoid - and check out his sketchbooks.

Gala Bent

Seattle artist Gala Bent has some really beautiful work. Michelle sent me the link, and I was transfixed for a half-hour going through all the images on her site.

Jim Wright

I love Jim Wright's Japanese print meets Grandma Moses on acid look.

Adam Janes

LA based artist Adam Janes has some super work. I always like people who have a good control over vibrant color. He's got a very nice manic, but tempered feel.