Town Town

I moved

2009-08-15T23:37:00.000-07:00

Well, my blog moved to www.bnagel.com/blog

but don't worry, it's still the same great blog.

Illustration Friday: Idle

2009-07-24T21:30:00.001-07:00

I call this one American Idle. I think it could be next big reality show.

Saint Michael House

2009-07-23T22:07:00.000-07:00

I just finished my latest house paiting for a friend that lives in St. Michael. You can tell by the snow on the ground that I am a little behind on my painting. I guess having a second child will do that.

Stuff Stuff: Marc R. Hanson

2009-07-13T21:00:00.001-07:00

one of my favorite Plein Air painters lately has been Marc R. Hanson. He has a great sense of color and very efficient brush stokes. Also, for the month of April, he did a series of 50 Plein Air paintings all around his home in Minnesota. All were great and really captured the changing season. I may have to take a class from him one day since he lives just a few hours away. You can check out his blog here

Stuff Stuff: Josh Keyes

2009-07-09T05:46:00.000-07:00

I saw Josh Keyes's work a few years ago but he has now added fire to his chopped up landscapes. There is something very scientific about his work. He dissects nature and urban landscapes and either sets up little scenes like at the natural history museum or shows a slice like a core sample taken out of the ground. Here [via booooooom.com]

Stuff Stuff

2009-07-07T20:44:00.000-07:00

I thought I'd add a little more interest to this blog by highlighting some art stuff I've found interesting lately. And in honor of the name Town Town I've decided to call it Stuff Stuff.

For the first installment of Stuff Stuff I present some cool movie posters done in a modern vintage style by the illustrator Tom Whalen (Here)

Illustration Friday: Worn

2009-06-29T21:03:00.001-07:00

As an architect, I feel I'm obligated to like modern architecture. And, while I appreciate the ideas behind it; the clean lines, and the unfussy simplicity of shapes and forms, I really don't like how it wears over time. For the most part, not enough attention is paid to how elements such as water will react to the building.

Illustration Friday: Drifting

2009-06-23T21:43:00.000-07:00

the winds in flat polar regions creates very distinctive arrows in the snow that point in the direction of the wind. These arrows can be very helpful when navigating an otherwise barren terrain.

So if you ever want to get an Eskimo lost, you should install a bunch of really big fans and point them in all sorts of crazy directions.

thanks Discovery Channel.

Illustration Friday: Unfold

2009-06-12T22:13:00.000-07:00

I just purchased a book of Norman Rockwell illustrations from Half-priced books the other day. He was an amazing illustrator and story teller. One thing that caught my eye was how every detail in the picture added to the story and the more you studied it the more the story UNFOLDed. So I figured I would try something similar with my own illustration. I took a simple scene and tried to have every detail expand on the story.

As with Rockwell's work I think its a pretty normal scene, just some dishes piled up on a counter top. But if looked at a little closer, a story unfolds.

The bottels and nipples: a new baby has recently arrived
The empty vase: the flowers sent to welcome the new baby have died and been thrown out. Time is moving on and we are settling in.
The water pitcher with filter: our tap water sucks and we use this picture with a filter to mix the formula.
The dishes in the dish rack: we live in an old house with no dishwasher
The two glasses: there are two adults in the house
The monkey plate: an older brother lives here too. Notice how he is curious but a little scared of the whole situation.
Most Everything is blue except the new bottles: we are used to having a boy, a girl is new and a little strange.

Illustration Friday: Craving

2009-06-10T14:22:00.000-07:00

I have been craving the opportunity to do some Plein Air painting but I never seem to get around to it. I guess I just have to make it a priority to do it sometime this summer.

Illustration Friday: Adapt

2009-06-03T14:45:00.000-07:00

I sketched out a stupid joke about how GM should have adapted more and put fins on the Hummer to increase sales.

But we just had a beautiful baby girl last Tuesday and now I have to adapt to having 2 kids. So needless to say, I may be a little slow on finishing the Illustration Fridays for the next few weeks.

It's a girl

2009-05-27T07:31:00.000-07:00

here are some of mom's contractions.

Here is mom and baby.

We don't have a name yet but I do have some stats.
born at 8:18pm on 5.26.2009
weight = 6 lbs 5oz
length = 19.5 inches

Everybody is happy and healthy.
we don't have many pictures yet but we will soon.

and here is a video of the first time mom held the little girl.

Illustration Friday: Cracked

2009-05-22T22:12:00.000-07:00

I grew up reading Cracked and Mad magazines. And while I owe a lot of my interest in illustration and art to the drawings in those magazines, I still have a hard time not making people look like cartoons.

Illustration Friday: Contagious

2009-05-20T21:20:00.001-07:00

It seems that the fear of swine flu is more contagious than swine flu.

green eyed bag

2009-05-12T22:55:00.000-07:00

I decided to enter another contest over at Green Eyed Moster. This one's theme is about the ECOnomy. So be sure to go to the contest here and vote for you favorite design (mine).

Illustration Friday: Parade

2009-05-10T20:31:00.000-07:00

Sometimes when I'm stuck in really slow moving traffic I like wave at the cars next to me and pretend I'm in a parade.

Illustration Friday: Hierarchy

2009-05-02T22:18:00.000-07:00

In architecture, like most art, hierarchy is very important. I believe you should be able to look at the form of a house and have an idea about the basic layout inside. For example, the important spaces should be the larger forms. But its not just about scale, its about level of detail, position, axis, etc.

With that in mind, I drew a simple little house with a large living space on one side, and a smaller garage on the other. In the center is the main entrance. The large fireplace shows its importance as the center of the home. It says that that warmth and comfort are important to the family that lives there. People may not gather around the hearth like they used to, but it shows the idea of family gathering is of great value.

You can tell a lot about what a society values by the hierarchy in its architecture. Take for instance the background of this image. The the large corporate offices tower over the old government building that is pushed off to the side. The large sprawling front lawn, the long fence and row of trees that separate the home from the work. And it the center of it all are two antennas. Hierarchy is fun.

Illustration Friday: Theater

2009-04-26T22:43:00.001-07:00

I went to the Saint Paul Art Crawl on Saturday with my son. It was a lot of fun and I saw some very cool artwork and studios. one of the coolest places was inside an artists coop in Lowertown Saint Paul. the studios were centered around a tall 7 story atrium that was crisscrossed with the existing skeleton of the old the timber frame and brick building. At the bottom of the atrium, in the basement, was what they called the theater. It was basically a stage for music and other performances. So as we walked up the 7 flights of stairs and toured all the different studios, the music lofted up the atrium and created an amazing experience.

Summit Ave. House

2009-04-11T20:22:00.000-07:00

here is my latest painting. I decided to try something with a little more detail so I just picked a random house on Summit Ave in Saint Paul. It was fun and quite challenging. The hardest part was trying not to make the more detailed areas look overworked.

earthday 2009

2009-04-07T22:54:00.000-07:00

I did this logo for a contest about Earth Day 2009 but I never submitted it. I just thought it needed something but I never could figure out what it was. The design was supposed to focus on water.

baseball stadiums

2009-04-05T22:32:00.000-07:00

Here is the latest illustration I did for Andrew's Analytics, a political blog created by a good friend of mine. This illustration is about the debacle with naming rights for the new Mets Stadium in Queens. As is sits, because Citigroup received 45 billion in tarp money, taxpayers will be paying for the naming rights of the new stadium.

My illustration tries to say that, much like the bonuses paid by AIG, some executive contracts seem to be unbreakable while those of the workers are tossed aside. Taken to the extream only the contracts to build the executive suites will be upheld while the rest of the fans must stand in the shade.

Illustration Friday: Talisman

2009-04-05T22:23:00.000-07:00

tal·is·man
n. pl. tal·is·mans

1. An object believed to confer on its bearer supernatural powers or protection.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

Illustration Friday: Poise

2009-03-27T22:19:00.001-07:00

Do you ever get one of those ideas that just pops into your head and your not really sure if it makes any sense but you just have to do it? That's what happened with this word. The first thing I thought of was a giant gaudy neck tattoo that said "Poise". It just seemed so wrong and stupid that I had to do it. I also felt like creating a more realistic drawing than I have in a while.

Illustration Friday: Legendary

2009-03-14T21:59:00.000-07:00

The Thursday night interview of Jim Cramer on The Daily Show was legendary. I kind of felt sorry for the guy because he seemed to take it very personally and never realized it wasn't really about him. It was about media in general.

I do Redo

2009-03-09T21:58:00.000-07:00

This is the latest logo I created for new start up company.

Andrew's Political Blog

2009-03-09T21:53:00.000-07:00

My friend Andrew is starting a political blog and I'm going to be providing illustrations. This is the first one for his first post on the 2010 senate races. I call it "out with old" or something like that.

White colonial

2009-03-09T21:49:00.000-07:00

My latest painting. Its a of a house just down the road from me. I used to walk by it every Saturday morning back when Alex was still in a stroller. I always like the simplicity of the design.

Hockey painting

2009-03-03T21:07:00.000-08:00

This is a commissioned painting I just finished. I think she really liked it. The ice proved to be a little trickier than I thought. It was a strange combination of very smooth and very textured with a lot of variation in tone.

Illustration Friday: Breezy

2009-03-02T22:10:00.000-08:00

This is more about hot air or a wind-bag, but it was the first think I thought of when I saw the word "breezy". Its supposed to be Rush if that's not clear.

Illustration Friday: Instinct

2009-02-21T23:27:00.000-08:00

I've often wondered if it was an animal instinct that causes us to desire a four bedroom house with 5 bathrooms and a 3 car garage. Perhaps its just cultural.

Illustration Friday: Celebrate

2009-02-16T22:29:00.000-08:00

Its a been a while since I took part in Illustration Friday.
So today I celebrated President's Day by not getting any mail.

House painting

2009-02-09T16:03:00.000-08:00

I have been trying to paint more, and since I'm an architect, I decided to paint houses. Above is my latest completed painting, done for my brother and sister-in-law. It was actually her idea to paint it and it got me thinking, perhaps I should do more of these.
So, if you have a house you would like me to paint a portrait of, contact me and we can work something out.

So

busy busy

2009-02-09T15:54:00.000-08:00

I've been a little busy the past couple of weeks with a few projects so I've not posted as much as I'd like. Below are the options for the first round of a logo design for a co-worker's boat club.
They need to be a little more "youthful" but I think its a good start to find the direction he wants to go.

Option #1

Option #2

Option #3

Illustration Friday: Climbing

2009-01-26T15:31:00.000-08:00

This is what its like to go sledding with a 4 year old.
(At least when you old and out of shape like me)

Illustration Friday: Pale

2009-01-17T23:23:00.000-08:00

I can imagine many pale faces both on the ground and on board the plane as it headed towards the Hudson River.

I won

2009-01-11T21:54:00.000-08:00

Thanks to everybody who voted for me over at Green Eyed Monster. Because of you, I was just selected as the one of two winners in the "Live Enviably" tote bag contest. Here is the final design.

So stop on by the greeneyed website and pick up a new bag (while supplies last)

seesay

2009-01-11T21:50:00.001-08:00

I finished my freelance project for the people over at Seesay.com. Its a website created to help groups of people online communicate without being hassled by unwanted comments. Its a pretty interesting concept and I hope it works out for them. My job was to create an image that explains the core principles of the site. You get material from the the web, you send it to groups of friends, coworkers, family etc. and then have private conversations with them. They, inturn, can send the content forward without any of the previous comments attached to it.

Illustration Friday: Contained

2009-01-11T20:14:00.000-08:00

Sometimes living in Minnesota we can feel very contained in our homes.

Portrait Challenge

2009-01-06T22:22:00.000-08:00

This was my first time participating in a Different Strokes from Different Folks painting challenge. For this challenge, each person sends in a photo of themselves and then receives a photo of somebody else to paint. Then you have 3 weeks to paint it. And those three weeks flew by.

It was fun, but with other projects looming, I didn't spend as much time on it as I would have liked.

But this was my first ever portrait painting and I think it turned out ok.

Green Eyed Monster Contest

2009-01-05T15:17:00.000-08:00

This is my entry for the Green Eyed Monster Tote bag illustration contest. We were asked to use the phrase "live ENVIably".

I don't think I'll win (I like a few of the other entries more than mine). But it was fun to enter and I've been meaning to enter more contests.

So check it out and vote for your favorite (mine).

speaking of belated

2009-01-03T23:40:00.000-08:00

I thought I might as well post the t-shirt I made for my niece when her baby brother Isaac was born. I think she liked it.

belated holidays

2009-01-03T23:36:00.000-08:00

This is the Christmas card we sent out this year. It was also a subtle announcement that we are expecting our second child. (notice the pregnant snow angle)

Illustration Friday: Re-solve

2009-01-03T22:12:00.000-08:00

I resolve to make more stupid jokes.

Painting Class - Week 4,5

2008-12-24T05:43:00.000-08:00

I missed last week because of a snow storm but I came close to finishing this week. Its also the last class and I'll have to do the finishing touches at home. Here is the latest update. Its coming along quite nicely. I think my favorite part is the part I was most afraid of, the trees. In fact, I think I'll go back and touch up the house a little.

Illustration Friday: Voices

2008-12-19T22:25:00.000-08:00

Here in Minnesota we are still trying to figure out what all the voices on November 4th were tying to say. Perhaps we will never really know. Also, my people are inspired by my son's Where's Waldo books. That's what I think of when I see the election officials staring at the tiny details of thousands of ballots.

Painting Class - week 3

2008-12-10T20:57:00.000-08:00

I Had my third class this week. I had a lot of fun and the 3 hours flew by. This week I focused on the ground, adding some dark areas to make the light areas pop a little more. It looks a little "paint by numbers to me right now but I think that might change when I start adding the atmosphere and background trees. I also need to soften up the grass area on the right because the contrast is a little too jarring and dark green is a little too dark. I also need to tone down the distracting oranges near the house and walk.

One thing I have been focusing on in class is mixing colors. I getting a lot better at it too. The teacher suggested 4 colors to work with:
Titanium White
Cadmium Red Medium
Diarylide Yellow
Cerulean Blue
Anthraquinone Blue

I have tried to mix colors before but they never really worked out because my basic colors (red, yellow, and blue) where horrible. Each color always had some tint in it that I could never get rid of. These colors, however, are amazing. I can make any color I want and its always what I wanted. It may take a while but it works great.

Illustration Friday: Similar

2008-12-06T23:15:00.000-08:00

whether your an optimist or a pessimist, both are quite similar.

Painting Class - work in progress

2008-12-04T19:35:00.000-08:00

I had my second full class on Tuesday and things went really well. I am finally slowing down and taking my time. I usually go way too fast I'm disappointed in the result. So far I'm not disappointed, but I have long ways to go. This image is the result of being about half way done with the 2nd stage of the painting. First I blocked everything out with light washes of color. Then I started going back over it with darker and more opaque paint. So far I have gone over the house and one tree. The rest of the painting will be much darker than it is now.

Here is the reference image. As you can see. It will look much different when I'm done.

Illustration Friday: Balloons

2008-11-30T22:05:00.000-08:00

Just in time for Christmas we have many homes Ballooning into the red.

stupid dream

2008-11-23T19:56:00.000-08:00

Let me start out by saying I am an Obama supporter. I'm very exited about the upcoming change to the white house and I think things are going to get better for our country. That being said, I had a very stupid dream last night.

In my dream, Obama gave his first address as president and it was supposed to be a huge event. Everybody was exited. We were finally going to hear how he was going to end these troubled economic times. His idea, he said, was revolutionary and would eliminate the deficite, jump start our economy and bring us into a new era. His idea was to have mail carriers also be meter readers. Thats all. The end.

People were very disapointed.

Illustration Friday: Opinion

2008-11-21T22:08:00.000-08:00

This may have come off a little more harsh that I wanted it to be.
I wanted to equate opinions with manure. Sure they can both be negative. But much like manure, without opinions, nothing would grow. Opinions allow ideas to grow. They are what motivates us to explore our own ideas and challenge others. After all, art to me, when its boiled down, is nothing but the opinion of the artist concerning the world that surrounds them. Why express yourself if you have no opinion to express?

So, I had big deep meaning I wanted to express but I drew a cow farting instead.

Illustration Friday: Pretend

2008-11-15T23:49:00.000-08:00

We sometimes have a hard time getting our 4 year old son to eat. The other night he had an idea

He said "I know, how about if I just pretend to eat my food?".

As for my drawing, I tried to push my regular style a little bit to create a child-like feeling of skewed perspective and irregular proportions. Whats not child-like is my choice of gloomy colors. However, I have been experimenting with white lately and I like how this works.

Illustration Friday: Wise

2008-11-10T22:29:00.000-08:00

In an effort to become more wise, I started taking a painting studio class. I've only had one class so far but it seems like a good start. If nothing else, it will get me painting again. Perhaps I'll post my work as it progresses.

Illustration Friday: Vacant

2008-11-03T05:51:00.002-08:00

Illustration Friday: Vacant

2008-11-03T05:51:00.001-08:00

Illustration Friday: Repair

2008-10-26T22:59:00.001-07:00

Our garage door has been acting up for the past few years. And every winter it stops working. So this weekend I called up a garage door repair guy to check it out. He showed up, told me what I could fix by myself and actually fixed a few things while he was there. He didn't once try to upsell me and the whole trip was free. I felt like buying something simply because he wasn't trying to sell me anything.

Illustration Friday: Late

2008-10-18T23:03:00.000-07:00

Its pretty cool being picked for "pick of the week" this week. I realize its not a contest but its still pretty cool. and it certainly increases my blog traffic.

as for this week. I thought I'd go with a strait forward interpritation and try to work on my people drawing skills. Someday I'll draw people without sunglasses, or folded arms. But untill that day comes...

Illustration Friday: Strings

2008-10-11T22:48:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure exactly what this means. But I like the composistion.

Illustration Friday: Sugary

2008-10-09T22:24:00.001-07:00

Illustration Friday: Packed

2008-09-26T22:09:00.001-07:00

Illustration Friday: Clique

2008-09-19T23:37:00.000-07:00

IF: Island #2

2008-09-14T22:37:00.000-07:00

Even with all the modern technology, we can be connected to the world but still an island in our own neighborhood. people can become trapped in their own homes tied to the Internet, TV, and phone. Even people walking down the street can be little isolated islands of activity focused only on their phones and ipods.

Illustration Friday: Island

2008-09-14T00:21:00.000-07:00

I just finished the book "Life of Pi" so I had illustrate my interpretation of the island featured in the book. Great book too. It definitely made me see things differently. (or at least want to)

addiction

2008-09-11T22:56:00.000-07:00

For the past few months I have been way too obsessed with politics. So, starting today, I am locking myself out. No more looking at blogs, no more talk radio. I need a break. I'm still going to vote, I'm just not going to pay attention to the horse race anymore. I think the absurdity of the "lipstick" thing pushed me over the edge.

And what do ya know. The first day of my lockout, I came up with about 5 new illustration ideas. Its like my mind is free again and I'm starting to get back to my old self. I think I'm going to like this.

Capturing the Friedmans

2008-09-09T22:52:00.000-07:00

I watched "Capturing the Friedmans" this weekend. It is an unbelievably good documentary about a truly disturbing subject. I can't do it justice right now but here is a great review at Slate.com

For my illustration I just drew the house where most of film takes place, and where most of the alleged activities are said to take place. I tried to capture the late 70's early 80's feel of the film I'm not sure if I've done it though. The main point about the illustration is that its the first time I've inked an illustration using a brush. I really like it, and I plan to do it more. My technique needs some work but I'm impressed with the types of lines I was able to create.

Illustration Friday: Clutter

2008-09-07T18:40:00.001-07:00

Sometimes, if I have to go a store like Wal-mart, where cheap crap is piled high and the isles are too narrow because they are cluttered with people and merchandise, I just pretend I'm in an ancient bazaar in some foreign land. It makes me feel better for a little bit.

Not long, but a little bit.

21

2008-09-02T22:28:00.001-07:00

I saw the movie "21" tonight. It was bad. Very formulaic. Very Hollywood.

For my illustration I did a quick, effortless attempt at the Las Vegas Skyline. The movie seems to epitomize modern Las Vegas. They took a very interesting true story and tried to add some flare, add some fake drama, add a love story, and a nicely wrapped up script with everything just where it should be. The problem is, they took out the life. They took out what makes the story and the characters unique. They did a quick, effortless and formulaic attempt. Its the movie equivalent of New York, New York, the Bilaggio, The Venician, or whatever new attraction Las Vegas has.

Illustration Friday: Memories

2008-09-01T22:13:00.000-07:00

We tried to create some memories this weekend by taking a trip to Duluth MN. We got a great hotel with views of the pool that overlooked the city. We had a great time, saw a train museum and a great waterfall, but I think the memory that will last the longest is playing Go Fish with my wife and 4 year old son the hotel room.

The last King of Scotland

2008-08-25T22:01:00.000-07:00

I watched The Last King of Scotland this weekend. Great movie and great performance by Forest Whitaker. By following the young doctor, the audience is really brought into the film and can feel and understand the optimism that blinded him.

For my illustration I focused once again on the architecture. The architecture of the film was mostly 60's modernism made of white concrete exteriors and paneled wood interiors.

It has always struck me how that type of architecture, like modern art is so often misinterpreted today. By stripping the buildings of ornament, the architects hoped to create a sense of equality. They meant to strip away the aristocracy that was associated with all the fluff of traditional architecture. They meant to start new, fresh and clean, and eliminate any preconceived notions of space, form and texture. (there was more to it, but this is what I took away from school. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.) In the end however, these buildings tend to feel cold, stark and impersonal. They do not wear well, and they tend to make the visitor feel unwelcome, and unwanted. To me, they do exactly the opposite of what was intended. It fit the premise of movie perfectly. It got carried away with the optimism and the idea and forgot the needs of the people.

Illustration Friday: Routine

2008-08-24T20:25:00.000-07:00

Every once in a while I see an image that I just can't get out of my head. This is one of them. Many years ago, while visiting my aunt and uncle for Thanksgiving, I took part in what had become a yearly routine for my uncle. Every year he would bundle up some food and take it down the road to an old farmhouse in rural Minnesota where 3 elderly brothers lived. I guess you could call them hermits. They lived there their whole lives and rarely left the farm. I don't even know if the farmhouse had electricity.

But here is where the image comes in. All of the brothers were blind. (or nearly blind) and think they were nearly deaf as well. Because they were blind, they felt around with their hands when they walked. And because they lived on a farm, their hands were usually dirty. So every wall, from about 3 to 5 feet off the ground was black with years of dirt from their feeling hands. Their daily routine of moving throughout the house had literally been written on the walls.

When they died, it was discovered that they had plenty of money but they didn't want it. They lived the way they wanted to live.

McCain

2008-08-22T21:19:00.000-07:00

The Republican convention is going to be just a few miles away in Saint Paul in a few weeks. So in honor of that I created a little portrait of McCain. Its more of a mix of Bush and McCain. It needs a little work but it might make a good t-shirt.

Illustration Friday: Detach

2008-08-19T22:02:00.001-07:00

Maybe its just me, but I find it funny that the sun is behind the solar panels.

Illustration Friday: sail

2008-08-11T22:30:00.000-07:00

Wanted

2008-08-06T22:26:00.000-07:00

I saw the movie Wanted in the theater a couple of weeks ago. It gets a mixed grade from me. The special effects and actions scenes were amazing but there were a lot of things that just didn't work, such as the entire back story of where the names came from. Maybe I'm just not into the mystical loom theology.

Anyway, for my illustration I decided to play up the ancient vs modern interweaving that went on the movie. The modern special effects, fast cars, guns, skyscrapers, etc. mixed with the rundown textile factory, the ancient story of the monks, the massive wood looms, etc. The mixture kind of reminded me of anime which sometimes mixes stories of ancient mythology in the ultra modern japan filled with robots and monsters.

Superbad

2008-08-04T21:35:00.000-07:00

Keeping with the newly created tradition of drawing scenes based on recent movies that I have watched, I decided to draw a suburban liquor store based on the movie Superbad. (I just saw it last weekend). Great movie. I wasn't expecting much in the way of a story but, along with being funny, it also had a decent plot.

Reno 911: miami

2008-08-03T21:18:00.000-07:00

I just saw the movie Reno 911: Miami and I loved it. I have watched the series since it began because I knew the cast contained a few people from The State. So it was nice to see that most, if not all, of the original State members had cameos in the movie.

I have also been trying to do an illustration after each movie I see. Its a good little creative exercise and keeps me drawing. I have learned, however, that I mostly like to illustrate the scenery and architecture instead of the characters. So thats what I did here.

Illustration Friday: Poof!

2008-08-02T21:41:00.000-07:00

This one is a bit of stretch but I had a dream last night that I owned this strange house and I spent the whole night trying to find the best light bulb for the street light. Then I woke up and poof, the house was gone.

The Bank Job

2008-07-28T22:40:00.000-07:00

I saw the movie "The Bank Job" last week. It was a good, complicated British crime movie set in London in the the 1970's. This illustration looks nothing like the movie but was inspired by the scenes of London. I also wanted to experiment with color as I've trying to to getaway from my standard blue, orange and gray.

Rambo 4

2008-07-28T22:16:00.000-07:00

I saw Rambo 4 recently and, although I wasn't expecting much, I was not very impressed. It was by far the bloodiest Rambo movie and it was alto the shortest, 77 minutes without credits. I also didn't really like the use of real footage of dead women and children in the beginning of the of the film. It just seemed to be in poor taste to use the images as entertainment for a Rambo movie.

This illustration is a quick shot of the main scene from the movie. For what seems like 1/4 of the movie Rambo has a large gun which he uses to literally cut people in half.

Illustration Friday: Canned

2008-07-28T09:33:00.000-07:00

A long time ago my family bought a small cabin from my grandfather in the small town where my dad grew up. Before we bought it my grandfather told us a little story. Apparently the previous owner did not believe in banks and and asked my grandfather where he should keep his money. My grandfather told him he would hide it in a cream can (they were farmers) and bury it under a fence post. The man died years later and he had no money in the bank and nobody knew where all his money went.

So after we bought the cabin, we got a few metal detectors and tore the place up. We found nothing. I'm pretty sure we got conned. But it was fun looking for the "canned" money.

Rapper Dickeys

2008-07-24T23:01:00.001-07:00

Its been a while since I've created a new product but I took a little time today and drew up my latest idea. Based on the Dickey (the fake undershirt that makes you look like your wearing a turtleneck) the Rapper Dickey has fake underwear sewn into the top of the pants. This way you can have your pants down low but they wont fall off because the under wear is holding them up. Yeah, its a stupid idea, but thats the point.

to see more stupid products go to my website here

Illustration Friday: Enough

2008-07-20T22:54:00.000-07:00

Sometimes it feels like there are just not Enough hours in the day

Update: Foggy

2008-07-16T22:44:00.000-07:00

I also decided add some color into my "foggy" illustration for this weeks Illustration Friday topic. I like it, but I also I also like the cool and quiet nature of the original.

Update: I like Killing Flies

2008-07-16T22:16:00.000-07:00

I updated the illustration a little. Added some more texture and changed the colors a little. The other image was way too flat. Its still a little dark, but I think I like the new one.

I like Killing Flies

2008-07-13T23:58:00.001-07:00

I watched a great documentary this weekend called I like Killing Flies. Its about a restaurant owner in Greenwich Village who has been in the same little spot for around 30 years. The thing I noticed the most was the textures in the kitchen. every surface had 30 years of wear and they all blended into one mass. It almost became like an organic space as each little nook and cranny becomes filled with something. And even though it was filled with stuff leaving only enough room enough for him and a few helpers, He knew were everything was and everything had a specific place. It was a very cool space and after being there for so long, it became a part of him, and him a part of it.

Illustration Friday: Foggy

2008-07-13T22:52:00.000-07:00

This is the way I feel most days.

Illustration Friday: Sour

2008-07-05T22:56:00.001-07:00

One of my favorite things is coming home from work, and finding that my wife bought me a new bag of Sour Patch Kids.

IF: Fierce #2

2008-06-29T08:21:00.000-07:00

Illustration Friday: Fierce

2008-06-27T22:53:00.000-07:00

Illustration Friday: Hoard

2008-06-22T20:51:00.001-07:00

Illustration Friday: Punchline

2008-06-13T23:25:00.001-07:00

This one might take a little explaining. Many years ago my brother was trying to tell a joke. I won't get into the whole joke but it was about chickens. completely about chickens. Then when he got to the punchline he accidentally (I think he had a little to drink) replaced the word chicken with monkey. The joke made no sense and left us all in a state of confusion. But the thought of that monkey in the chicken coop still makes me laugh.

Illustration Friday: baby/Forgotten

2008-06-07T13:26:00.000-07:00

Last week's topic was baby. We had a Netflix movie at home called "the business of being born" I thought I would watch the movie and see if it gave me any ideas. But the week went by and I never watched the movie. Somehow it was "forgotten". So when this week's topic showed up I figured I could kill two drawings with one. As for the movie, it was very good, and it talks about how we in America have forgotten how to have babies.

Grand Theft Auto

2008-05-30T19:12:00.000-07:00

My friend Foss purchased Grand Theft auto 4 and we played it for the first time the other night. very cool game. and, having lived in New York City (better known as Liberty City) for a while, I was mostly interested in how they portrayed the city. I have to say its pretty impressive. Its a little dark and dirty compared to the area I lived but I think thats the point. we also never got out of Brookyln (or Bonkers, or whatever its called). So I thought I would do an illustration of my general take on the game. for some reason I noticed a lot of yellow and orange.

There will be blood

2008-05-26T22:48:00.000-07:00

I just watched "There will be blood" this weekend and it was a great movie. (I'm a little behind I know). I know the acting got some much deserved attention but I really liked the story. What I especially found interesting was the duality. The two prophets; one with religion and one with oil. Both preached salvation. Then there was the duality (can't think of a better word) of the main characters relationships with their brothers. Anyway, very cool movie filled with many layers. With that in mind I decided to do a little illustration showing the church and oil as one.

Paint the town green

2008-05-24T20:19:00.000-07:00

my latest installment for the green district project is a poster (8.5 x11) meant to printed out and colored. Here is a pdf if you would like to try it yourself.

Illustration Friday: Worry

2008-05-24T18:48:00.001-07:00

Sometimes people worry too much.

Illustration Friday: Wide

2008-05-18T22:38:00.000-07:00

Illustration Friday: Electricity

2008-05-11T21:55:00.001-07:00

Illustration Friday: Seed

2008-05-03T20:00:00.001-07:00

I don't usually explain my illustrations but this one is a little strange. So much energy is wasted trying to force something into being instead of just allowing it to form naturally. If you provide the seed and give it some water it will grow on its own.

So, as usual, my drawing shows the opposite of what I mean. Instead of planting the giant seed and letting it produce fruit, the workers chip away until it resembles what they want. And in the end, it is a pale comparison of what it could be.

Illustration Friday: Wrinkles

2008-04-26T23:15:00.000-07:00