Quieted

A couple of pictures I took recently in the Portland Art Museum. I don't know if you're allowed to take photos in there, (or any art museum?) but I figured no one would mind if I was mostly focusing on a stairwell. The light was so lovely and bright and calming and blue, I wanted to commemorate the moment.

Kenny vs Shark

My friend Jeryl just introduced me to the work of Ryan Berkley, a pretty awesome illustrator based in Portland. He likes to do animal portraits (not the kind where he does a picture of your pet terrier) and superheroes and sharks and bears.

Berkley also has his own superhero named Kenny. Kenny is some kind of hairy beast wearing tiny shorts, who shoots rainbows out of his chest. AWESOME. Here's a picture of Kenny at bathtime:

Ryan Berkley, Kenny Bath, pen and ink

Ryan Berkley, Kenny vs Mashrik, marker drawing

Ryan Berkley, Polar Bear, pen and ink

Ryan Berkley, Kenny Eagle Blast, pen and ink

Ryan Berkley, Brown Bat, pen and ink.

You can probably get a better idea of this guy by looking at his etsy page, and you can also buy some affordable prints if you feel like it. Personally I wouldn't mind having a framed print of Kenny bathtime up in my bathroom. I would like to feel that awesome when taking a bath. Also I would like a floaty shark.

Growing Smarter Day by Day

Some brand new prints, ta dah! I hope no one is getting bored by my work that I keep posting. Please tell me if you are, and I'll get back to putting up pictures of Chuck Bass.

These are two colour silkscreen prints, a brighter colour over grey. I printed an edition in the light blue you see below for a class portfolio exchange.




I also wanted to see if any other colours would work better over the grey, so printed some variations in 6 more colours. I think the purple is good, the silver/white looks surprisingly effective in real life (kinda shiny) and the lighter green isn't bad. Yellow clearly does not work, and the red looks gory to me. I actually think that the light blue I printed in originally works best. What do you think?









Oh by the way, the theme of this portfolio exchange was taken from a fortune cookie. Mine said "You are growing smarter day by day". I suppose I took that to indicate some vague ideas about complexity and cities and the future.

Pandas and Anteaters and Yaks

Another awesome artist I came across via Kitsune Noir, man I love that site! (Tim says that KN is past his best, I cannot speak for that but I still go there for my wallpapers.)

Jing Wei, Big Bear, woodcut, for The Believer

This illustrator is named Jing Wei, born in China but lives in Brooklyn, with her cats. Usually when people say in their bio that they live with their cats, they are the whimsical type, and so it proves to be with Wei, to a certain extent. She has a macabre sensibility that largely cuts through the whimsy, although she is obsessed with some fashionable animals, such as bears, pandas and deer. Oh actually, she prefers yaks to deer. Anyone noticed how deer are in vogue right now? Especially antlers. Antlers and tentacles, if you have them screenprinted on your American Apparel hoodie you are on the money.

Anyway. Wei has really amazing printmaking technique that really makes me jealous. Wonderful woodcuts, and she has a neat technique with mixing ink and woodcut. Sometimes these are too clean for my taste, but the one below where the texture/pick-up shows through is exquisite.

Jing Wei, woodcut and ink

Jing Wei, 3 Pandas, for Der Freitag

More here at her website!

For Those of You Who Are Print-Inclined and Live in PDX

I don't know how many that is. BUT, check out this awesome event! It's called No Bones For Halftones, what happens is you go along and there's a party and free screenprinting and free booze! Take in your tshirts or whatever and a selection of neato printmakers will put a fantastic design on it. It is also a fundraising venture for various good causes, including the plight of artists during a recession, a ha.

It's from 5PM to midnight, March 22nd to the Red Sea Community Center (8911 Leonard St. Portland, OR 97203).

Here's the website.

Birdies

I'm just going through all the work I have scanned and stored on my computer, in order to put them all up on Flickr. I didn't realise I had so much stuff! A lot of it is too rubbish or too weird for public consumption, in my opinion, but a large proportion will be up there for all to see. Course a lot of my sketches, prints and so on is on this here blog also; readers here will get the benefit of additional rambling commentary.

Anyhow, here are some drawings I had forgotten about, which I had a lot of fun with. Scale is enjoyable! From 2008 maybe?