Sneak Peeks

These are images from a project I started back in August and have returned to in the past week. The time away from it has been good for it I think and it will be better than if I'd finished it back then. I'll leave details for completion.

Pop and Strut

This switch plate is SOLD!

But I will be vectoring it in the future so you will see this stomping vixen popping up elsewhere for certain.

Next is the song she's stomping to. It stomps. Then it waves a finger at you in a "Tsk Tsk" kind of way. Then it skips and bounds right out the back door and leaves before you even realize your car keys are missing.

I've started writing lyrics and melodies to a lot of these songs. They always felt like they were little stories but now it's time that I make them more concrete and potentially ruin them forever.

But I can't wait and I'll always have a fondness for their original unsung state.

Enjoy!

POP AND STRUT by ROMANTIS


It has also been placed in the SOUND ADVICE DEVICE beneath the header for your convenience

The Bookmarks

They've finally arrived. Six Bookmarks printed from the original 8 x 3 inch plexi-glas pieces on heavy archival matte paper. The colours turned out great. The sass of these beauties remains.

Let them guard your page!

For sale at the CYCLOPS AND OWL STORE

Departure, Fulfillment, Return

I had so much fun at this show. I met a lot of talented and friendly individuals who I hope I'll be seeing more of in the future.

Here's the blog for the event: http://www.movies-and-makers.blogspot.com/

Above is my display at the event. Some of the stuff in that shot is hot, hot, HOT! As in new and as in saucy. They will all make a proper appearance on the blog and be for sale at the Cyclops and Owl Store very shortly.

This was my first sale and it was a real delight. Nothing sold like hotcakes but I never expected that. What I did expect, and what I got, was an up close and interactive experience with the public. It was exhilarating. With gallery shows I've found the interaction with the public is rather passive. You are not standing right next to your artwork (and it would feel so awkward for you and the viewer if you were). In the setting of the sale you are literally standing behind what you do. I was absolutely chuffed.

I'll save sharing the myriad reactions to my things for later but they were pretty satisfying. And I don't just mean the most receptive ones. Some of the best responses were rooted in confusion.

I had not really taken stock of the pieces I had amassed over the past while. It felt great to address the family as a whole, I guess. And I was proud to stand by them. I was also proud to have my cohort forever stand by me. She is my marvelous muse and it was totally icing on top to have her there with me.

I'm definitely going to chase this wonderful feeling of getting my world more exposed in the real world. So simple, right?

Thanks to all involved for putting on this show. Especially Lisa Pijuan-Nomura of Girl can Create and Andy Willick and Daniel Demois of The Fox Theatre.

"...If you're a PRO" Coloured Print

Prints, prints, prints!

Prints of the above illuminated manuscript will be available at the Movies and Makers arts and crafts show.

This phrase seems kind of silly out of context. It's fairly silly in context, actually. But it's a pretty satisfying ideal. Look, if you're going to be serious about something fucking buckle down and sharpen your steel. Have some finesse, though. Don't be a clutz. Stay graceful. No one likes a butterfingers. Firm grip. Be decisive.

Maybe I'm reading too much into it.

MOVIES & MAKERS!

I am very proud to announce that I will peddling my wares at the Fox Theatre in Toronto on Nov. 21st in the first ever Movies & Makers arts and crafts show.

Here's the blog with all the details: http://www.movies-and-makers.blogspot.com/

The big finale of the day is a screening of "Handmade Nation", a documentary chronicling the rise of the DIY, arts and crafts movement across America. I saw it when it made its Canadian debut and it is not to be missed. It features among many other DIY luminaries, The Little Friends of Printmaking.

I'll have originals, prints, switch plates, bookmarks and one of a kind buttons.

So please, come by and pick up something with a sexy lady on it and stay for a fantastic film that will leave you with fingers itching to create!

The Visitor and The Ranter

So first up is a commission for my friend, PJ. It's a depiction of his dream which he described to me so long ago he had forgotten it. I embellished it a bit. In the dream he said that he had a tinfoil hat and people started bringing him things. All PJ requested was that a wolf be involved. So I made his tinfoil hat extra extravagant and had him intercepted by a gift-giving messenger from some wolf-riding amazon race.

For the people out there who have dreams they would like interpreted please contact me about doing a commission. Much of my work is inspired by dream-like worlds. Worlds where pants aren't always necessary and there's nothing but trouble to get into.


Next is a clip from the field recordings I make while en route to work or home or wherever. Candid crazies, arguments, or any sound I happen upon that gives me pause.

This particular clip is from a very lucid ranter I heard on the street car. He seemed to be addressing not only those on the street car but the city of Toronto as a whole.

TORTURED---


I've provided a transcript of the rantings below so you can follow along? Just in case his genius was not immediately evident.

"...somehow are awarded some of my qualities unto yourselves? I don't think so. I think you're vile. All my qualities tell me you're vile. I tell you I'm being tortured and your like, 'that's what I said. You know?' There's a frickin' difference actually. I have a ludicrous pain tolerance, you might not, eh?"

"No, no, you're not allowed to make fun of me, eh? You're only allowed to send me those fake concerned looks that are more insulting and scarier than anything imaginable. 'Look at me! I can fabricate a fake concerned look. I'm like a George Bush.' Eh?"

"I've been studying reasoning my entire life, Toronto. My entire life. And your arguments as a population are moronic at best. And it would require torture for you to nod 'yes' to those moronic arguments. Are you being tortured, Toronto? Are you just sick and pathetic? Uh? You're just greedy little bastards. I kind of fantasize about being tortured instead of being greedy little nothings."

And then he got off. Wow.

The Queen's Accusation REVISED!

So this is an older piece posted before that has been revamped. When a friend came over and thought the queen was a fly I knew she needed to be updated. It's one of those weird mindset's you get in where something seems like it should be obvious but is clearly just a projection. So here she is, with an addition that, I hope, makes her more bee-like.

She's also on sale HERE at the Cyclops and Owl etsy store.

What a rental.

Alright. I'm not one to be loyal to brands but I love Budget when it comes to renting a car. I love Budget because I hate Discount.

When I arrive to claim my reservation at Discount they say they do not have the car I have reserved but they can offer me a Mini Cooper or a BMW, both of which can not be insured through Discount's insurance policies. They say I will have to call my credit card provider and arrange my own insurance which will, no doubt, be more expensive than the Intermediate car.....which I RESERVED. They say they MIGHT have some cars coming in later, maybe --- they never know. Yes, that's what they said. So I took the subway to the place I had initially planned on driving to. Then 4 hours later they call saying they finally have a car for me. The above was drawn on the subway on my way back across town to pick up my quaint little Chevy Cobalt with nostalgic manual locks (they still make those?) The drawing made me feel much better.

I apologize for the rant but if one person steers clear of Discount then it was worth it!

As a comparison, every time I have reserved an Intermediate car from Budget in the past year they also didn't have that particular car ready for me when I arrived. But THEY gave me something like a Dodge Charger for the price of the Intermediate car every time. The End.

Got their hair did #6

#6 in the series of 8. The ol' Swoopty-Floop.

#5
#4
#3
#2
#1

Got their hair did #5

#5 in the series of 8. B-b-b-b-bangs!

#4
#3
#2
#1

Got their hair did #4

SOLD!
#4 in the series of 8. No Bump-Its here. Bouff-Its, maybe.

#3
#2
#1

Also, this is apparently my 100th post! To celebrate I will try to get to sleep before 3 tonight. I'm not promising anything.

Got their hair did #3

#3 in the series of 8. Pop them collars, you clever minx!

#3
#2
#1

Got their hair did #2

#2 in the series of 8. There must have been some serious hairspray tycoons in the 60s. Good-bye Ozone!

Full story here

Got their hair did #1

Over the years I've accumulated a lot of unique surfaces that I have left unfinished or unbegun. It ends now. From an old Operation game board to a raw matryoshka nesting doll, (both now in progress, thank heavens) they start to haunt you. Once they were fiercely inspiring but left to grow dusty on the shelf they become ugly goblins, mocking you as you stroll by.

What the piece above (about 2.5'' square) was painted on is definitely from the crypt. This series is painted on half the stained glass pieces from a salvaged hanging lampshade. It was grabbed one night on a walk--- from what was technically garbage (garbage picker!). I brought it home and quickly dismantled it with some tin-snips. The pieces have been in a drawer long enough to be moved to a new apartment and I moved almost 2 years ago, so, SHIT!

60's Hairdos!

There are 8 in all. They will be sold separately in the Cyclops and Owl etsy store once the hangers are applied.

The Cyclops and Owl Gentlemen's Club: Vonnegut

Did I say daily posts? Such is life. Quit living in the past.

Now. Here is the first of a series. The Cyclops and Owl Gentlemen's Club. Inductees drawn in sultry red with my parallel pen.

The first is a posthumously inducted juggernaut of the written word, Kurt Vonnegut Jr. I fell in love with Vonnegut rather late in life. In highschool my only exposure to his genius was the short story "Harrison Bergeron" which I loved but was merely a inkling of the love affair that was to come over a decade later. I wish I had his novels to escape into back then. Instead I've gorged myself on his novels over the past 3 years and I'm still insatiable. There's just no one quite like him. So it goes.

All of the inductees will be made available through my etsy store eventually so stay tuned!

Twila's Practice

Well this is what it's all about, right? Honing your skills, and loving every second of it. I don't want to count my chickens before they've hatched but I expect to see some more sword toting so-and-sos in the coming month because, why the hell not?

Sheepish Submarine

Alright so I love alliteration. Sorry. Get used to it.

This is another revival. It was originally sketched as a thumbnail for a piece I never completed back in the Procrastitaceous Period. Years later when I had been laid off I was trying to diversify the ol' portfol' so I came up with some faux companies to do draw things for. I repurposed the fluffy fellow above to be the logo for Sheepish Submarine Hydrotherapy. I imagine this company provided sense deprivation chambers and other forms of aqua themed treatments to help you deal with any anxiety or phobias. The rehabilitation process, of course, began by being lured in by the sheep's serene expression.

Boggle Sketch Dinosaur

This ugly brute was sketched between rounds of boggle one evening. I think I was going for a "dinosaur with jowls". I'm unimpressed. Incidentally, the first real job I remember REALLY wanting was to be a paleontologist.

Periscope Tug Champion

This is a forgotten sketch I did about 3 years ago. At the time I was good at drawing the chassis of a lady but unsatisfied with the faces I was drawing so I would often save myself the risk of butchering a face by throwing on a fancy helmet. I've thankfully overcome this obstacle, to some extent at least, but I still love drawing girls with crazy masks and such.
There was also the fact that I was often running into issues at work where the people I was drawing were perceived as unattractive and not fresh-faced enough for the client. I had just heard we were going to be working for a corporate lingerie giant. Out of my initial brainstorm sketches came the drawing above and Kendo Chat Noire.

...If you're a PRO

I drew this character while on the flight down to California. The text is a direct quote from a conversation Amy and I had with her Dad. He was showing us a knife that Amy's little brother found in the bushes around their house (scary!). He was also showing us his flicking and unflicking skills with said knife. Anyway, I thought it was one of the coolest sentences I'd ever heard.

Ahoy, Past Self!

So I'm overdue (again) for a post. Well, I just got back from a vacation in California spending time with Amarina's family, so that counts for a bit of my tardiness. It also gave me a chance to see a rather important drawing I did over 3 years ago. The swashbumbling fellow above was drawn for Amy's little brother, James. He was having a pirate birthday party. I couldn't attend but I sent this along. It's an important drawing for me because it ushered in a return to drawing. At the time I wasn't in the habit of drawing at all which was really troubling. And the less I did the more I built up apprehension over starting again. This was probably the first thing I had drawn in months which, thankfully, has become something that is completely unacceptable.

I can't quite remember what I had named this character but the story was that he was the sole survivor of the crew and was going completely bonkers floating around in the crow's nest.

UPDATE: * Lonely Fish-Faced Gerrard *

The captain who went down with the ship and came up with the crow's nest. (Thanks, Shona!)

Next week I'm starting daily posts because even though I'm drawing more now than 3 years ago I'm still not drawing enough. There. I've told the universe. I HAVE to do it now.

Portrait of a Pair of Parrots

A quick apology for the unacceptable distance between this and the previous post. Obscene. I feel awful about it. I'm currently gathering the gumption to start doing daily drawing posts for my sake as well as yours. Stay tuned.

This work is a bit of a departure for me. No sexy ladies or sci-fi wonders, just two lovely birds. Meet Dexter and Penny, two green-cheeked conures. Dexter, the flatheaded male, passed away recently and I thought my friends deserved a portrait of the two together. Penny is definitely the softy of the pair, Dexter, a spirited curmudgeon beyond his years. I hope this portrait captures an inkling of the strange bond between these mates.

Dingo Ground-Sloth

An older drawing that has no provenance other than I bought some new micron brush pens and just dove in. I didn't have a plan. Something furry was the prime directive, I guess. I really like these. They are the same ones that I later used to put the finishing touches on the "Tomorrow Never Knows" poster. I learned that the tip is virtually the same as Amarina's liquid eye-liner. Fun fact!

Greatest Misses: Soft Underbelly

Here's another installment in the ongoing switchplate series. This robot is getting a little bit grabby and unfortunately his priority processor has made a tiny error and caused him to grab the knife-less hand. It won't end well.

Available here at Cyclops and Owl

Tomorrow Never Knows

This is a poster I did for my friend Eva, a sweetheart with a ridiculously savvy eye for vintage clothing. She's sifting through dusty bins of bygone treasures, just for you! They are all here at her Etsy store:

neverknows.etsy.com

She also keeps a blog chronicling her inspirations here:

http://www.afinetoothcomb.blogspot.com

Pay attention! This lady has enough vintage wears to choke a rutting rhino. Get a silk scarf for your sinfully naked neck or a sassy Lucite clutch to stash your ivory handled derringer. You won't be disappointed.

Crow Calliope

So here is a drawing I love. A drawing that I submitted to a T-shirt design contest that shall remain nameless, though some of you know about it. I submitted it about 5 minutes past the deadline. Now that I've seen the 30 finalists AND the fact that none of them get ANY exposure whatsoever, not even their name or a single link ie: Thomas H's design (!), I'm totally pleased that I'm not a finalist. Now it's MINE and mine alone to use. Here it stands, debranded and looking better for it.

Greatest Misses: Room For Kaboom

Truth is, Crushida (CRUSH-ida) is all about finesse, despite her name. She could have knocked the bullet back at this towering douche-bag but she prefers to juke and move in for a jab to the his mechanical jugular.

Available here at Cyclops and Owl

ROMANTIS

Well, well, well. I am, to say the least, happy with this. It slides on like a nice pair of racing gloves. Balanced, like a jade handled riding crop.
It was uttered by my cohort in a random act of brilliance. At first, she laughed, but the laughter dissolved into a crystal clear confidence. ROMANTIS. Yes.

Cauldron who?

Portrait of Brad Pitt's Insecurity with Wonk Eye

Here is my botched portrait of Brad Pitt. At the most it has essence of Pitt or a mild form of Pittness. Amarina thinks it looks like Charleton Heston which I think is more true than I fully realize. Whoever this fellow is he has "Marty Feldman eyes" and I love him for it. It's funny, doing this portrait reminded me of a period in my wee youth when I would try to draw popular cartoons of the time, for example, Garfield, but there would always be something a little off that I could never quite resolve. I would then be done with it and say it was "Garfield's cousin." So perhaps this is Rodney Pitt.

ACK!

So, yeah, there's a heavy metal band from Toronto named Cauldron. Great! I'm sooooo happy for them. Two of them were from a band called Goat Horn. So one of the three guys leaves and they have to rename the band....of course!

KeeeeawoOOO (sound of angry puma)!

Fine.

New name to be announced at a later date.

CAULDRON

Alright, I'm going to try not to make a big deal out of this. I make music. And right now I'm going to unleash my moniker: Cauldron.

There.

Did it.

Now the hard work is over.

Check out the new track "Unwieldy." Its a joyously rumbling crackle-gram to all the rump shakers out there. Find it after "Baroness" in the Sound Advice Device.

PS- Cauldron is so much better then the name I came up with at age 20, Rondayvoo, which actually stimulates my gag reflex. Of recent years I'd taken to calling myself Prime Eva. Loved that one but it never stuck.

CAULDRON! CAULDRON! CAULDRON! CAULDRON! CAULDRON!

Falconer of New Tonkhil

You may be asking, "why the detachable head?" which was a question I asked myself when I was drawing it. Now it's completely obvious. She isn't satisfied with a second-hand report from her avian friend. She prefers to send the bird with her noggin in tow up into clouds for a first-hand view of all that can be surveyed. And then back to her throne for some grapes!

PS - I don't know why this colour always digitally boils like this. Shame. I wish I knew how to compensate for it. Until then!

8" x 3.5"
Spray paint and sharpie marker on acrylic sheet

The Beyondress

All you do is say, "scope that out over there," and consider it done. She enjoys the work. She enjoys nothing more than the snoop. Her peepers are picture perfect prying machines. Beware though, for what she has seen she can never unsee.

8" x 3.5"
Spray paint and sharpie marker on acrylic sheet

Court Advisor

I don't know what to tell you. She sees it all. Everything. But do not question her methods. Unbelievers will be smitten with her beauty and smote by the imps beneath her gown.

8" x 3.5"
Spray paint and sharpie marker on acrylic sheet

Commence the Dance, Hence

Count your lucky stars. The dance has begun.

Check out the Sound Advice Device. There is now an announcement track and a new song called Baroness which I think is particularily sexy. Shake your limbs!

8" x 3.5"
Spray paint and sharpie marker on acrylic sheet

The Bubblecraft Brigade

Who is on her tail? If they're an enemy she doesn't look too concerned about being bested. She should really watch where she's going though. Despite the bubbly appearance that is a vehicle to be taken seriously. Bubble-power is deceivingly more volatile than horse-power.

8" x 3.5"
Spray paint and sharpie marker on acrylic sheet

She's a Keeper

WOah! 3 weeks since the last post. SHAME! Well's it's not so bad. Unlike past post droughts this one wasn't for lack of postables. And let this stand as an example of what I'm doing when I don't return phone calls on time, or at all, or send ghostly emails 3 weeks later. I'm usually drawing. Or thinking about what I'm going to draw. But mostly drawing. The last few days have brought about the next three posts.

"She's a Keeper." It's what I think about this girl. It's what this girl is thinking about each of her little sproutish finds. Careful concentration is required to pull the blossom out of the stalks with bulb intact. A blossom without a bulb is, well, just not the same.

8" x 3.5"
Spray paint and sharpie marker on acrylic sheet

Mickey Rourke

So here's the first of what I'm hoping will be many celebrity portraits with the Parallel Pen. Mickey Rourke, the actor turned boxer turned actor playing brutes, savages and other ne'er-do-wells, is kind of enigmatic. In the past he has been described as a nightmare to work with but in recent years he has forged a street cred that is almost impenetrable. Going through his wikipedia page makes for some interesting "what ifs?" when you look at some of the massive roles he apparently turned down. Tom Cruise's role in Rain Man, Eliot Ness in the Untouchables, Axel Foley in Beverly Hills Cop (WTF?!?!) and Christopher Lambert's role in The Highlander.

The portrait is drawn on Bienfang Graphics 360 Translucent Marker Paper. Love it! No Bleeding! Not even bleeding through to the next page.

New Toy!

Well I'd been eying this thing for a while at Job #2. It's Pilot's Parallel Pen, in particular the broadest one, 6.0 mm. The parallel bit refers to the nib which unlike most fountain pen/calligraphy nibs has no top or bottom and is instead made up of 2 identical plates which sandwich the ink. The drawing above was my first crack at using it. I am head over heels in love with this pen. The colours are vivid and it allows me to work a lot looser which is a welcomed change from the meticulous line work I usually employ. The ink is begging to get out but it never really gushes or pools. It is very versatile. You can use the full width for broad traditional calligraphy strokes or you can use the just the corners of the blunt square tip to get the thinnest of strokes.

My aim at present is to do celebrity portraits in this style...the first of which is already completed...stay tuned.

This is drawn on 100 lb. bristol paper with vellum finish (Strathmore).

"Too high, Bug-eater." PART 2!!!

Another installment of the Greatest Misses switch plate series.....kind of. This is the sequel to the previous installment seen HERE. It started as a suggestion from my friend Yves and was further promoted by my eternal cohort, Amarina. I'm so glad I did it.

This amazon made short work of her avian foe. Yikes on bikes! That is one sharp elbow. POW!

Available here at Cyclops and Owl