Daydream Scenarios

DIGITAL HEART

2011-11-03T14:03:00.000-07:00

When I'm working on larger paintings, I often have smaller paintings that I work on while the larger ones are set aside to dry. This is one of those "while other paintings are drying" paintings. However this is a Photoshopped version of the original. The original painting is a bright, full color painting with a blue background and silver leaf detailing on and around the heart. This version feels more aggressive and raw, with colors that I feel tie in better with myself, than the subject in the painting. It gives it a definite change of perspective.

Im happy with the changes I made through Photoshop. The bright red-on-gray combination worked out nicely. It added a great deal of mood and intensity to the image.

Still, using Photoshop/ digital media with my paintings is not something I do very often. Even when it works out for the best, and I'm happy with the results, creating work digitally doesn't quite hold the same satisfaction as creating work with my hands.

ELEMENTS

2011-10-24T15:31:00.000-07:00

Today, I finally found a few minutes to take a decent picture of this painting. I finished it a few months ago. It's 4ft x 2ft oil painting with gold leaf. Overall this painting is just a fun combination of elements/materials that have, at some point in time, inspired me to create.

FLESH & FABRIC

2011-10-14T03:11:00.000-07:00

This post is somewhat of an attempt to make up for my failure to really stay on top of my blog. Here I am posting two paintings that are 98% done. Well, they are just images of parts of the paintings. When the paintings are complete, Ill post images of the whole paintings.

The top painting, is actually pretty small. It was a quick, fun piece where I felt like composing physical materials (gold leaf and ribbon..) with the contours of a friend.

This bottom image is the left half of a large painting where a tattooed figure is laying in a surreal environment made of fabric. This has turned into one of my more aggressive paintings of the past two years. Although there is room for improvement and things I have yet to learn, I think this painting shows improvement in my use of space and color contrast. Red can be difficult to work with, and I can honestly say I am proud of how I've used it in the fabric around the figure.

Currently, I have several other paintings in progress, and I'm constructing a frame for the bottom painting shown in this post. So, hopefully I'll have more to share within the next few weeks.

FROM THE HEART

2011-10-14T02:07:00.000-07:00

Finished. Matted and framed. If you go a few posts back, you'll see an earlier, "in progress" version of this painting. As mentioned in the earlier post, this started as an acrylic painting. But, somewhere along the way to being complete, I said screw it, and broke out the oil paint. There are a variety of softer tones that I wanted for this painting... tones that I find to be more effective when created with oils. So, I switched, and I'm happy with the results.
I made the top mat out of the actual ribbon that partially inspired the imagery. It was an experiment that turned into a fun way to finish the painting.

This painting is to be one of many paintings that focuses more on the importance of materials and elements that have inspired or moved me to explore and create as an artist. Although, this idea opens up all sorts of mixed media options (which I play with a little), I see these paintings as an overall celebration or tribute to what I consider to be foundation elements of my personal artwork. With that said, I see it only fitting that my original love of painting plays narrator for the imagery. If that doesn't make any sense, thats okay. At least I know what I'm talking about.. ha.

MINNESOTA MOON

2011-07-26T22:07:00.000-07:00

This is the promotional image I painted for Youngblood Theatre Company's upcoming production of MINNESOTA MOON by John Olive. This production will be playing around the same time as Youngblood's production of GRUESOME PLAYGROUND INJURIES by Rajiv Joseph. Both plays are definitely going to be worth looking into.

GRUESOME PLAYGROUND INJURIES

2011-07-18T20:13:00.000-07:00

I painted this just the other day. It is the promotional image for Youngblood Theatre Company's production of "Gruesome Playground Injuries" by Rajiv Joseph.

www.youngbloodtheatre.com

Blue Skies

2011-07-02T13:49:00.000-07:00

These past few months have been kind of insane. A bunch of ridiculous events, sometimes for better, but more often for worse. So, with that said, I have not seen much of my studio, or that area of Milwaukee for that matter.
However, lately things have more or less slowed down, and I've found a few nights to spend some time on the many paintings I have started. Although I do have some large, intense oil paintings in progress, I have also started a bunch of smaller, more playful acrylic paintings. These were started with the understanding that my time to paint has become less available to me. (At least on non-commission terms...) And right now, in what seems like a sea of unfinished work, a finished piece can really restore the motivation to keep the other paintings going strong.

Here I've posted an acrylic painting i have started. Although similar in content to the previous portrait I've posted, this painting gives a greater role for the ribbon in the composition, while not taking away from the beautiful individual wrapped up in the ribbon. For a while now I have been in love with that light blue, and I find myself using it where I can. I don't have a specific outcome for this painting yet. All i know right now, is that of so far, I like where it's going.

NEW PORTRAIT

2011-03-30T20:51:00.000-07:00

I finished this earlier today. While waiting on larger paintings to dry, I decided to do a small painting in a more traditional portrait composition. I have more, larger scaled, full figure paintings of this model lined up. So, until then...

ARTWORK IN "LONG-TERM LIVING" MAGAZINE

2011-03-18T11:02:00.000-07:00

I was hired by Aptura (an interior design group part of Direct Supply) to create and install a few decorative surfboards and a mural outside of a mock surf shop in Vienna Square, a new assisted living facility. If you wish for more information on the artwork, have an earlier post about the work from back in August, when I drove down to Winter Haven, FL to install everything.

"Long-Term Living" Magazine featured Vienna Square, with an article explaining everything, as well as showing pictures of the interior design and the artwork I created for it. I'll add the link to this post that takes you to the "long-term living" magazine website, where you can check out the article.

It was a good surprise when I was told the article was going to happen, and it is definitely fun to see the artwork I created in a magazine. Vienna Square turned into such a great building with lots of fun and creative elements all over. I am glad I got to be part of it.

http://www.ltlmagazine.com/ME2/dirmod.asp?sid=&nm=&type=Publishing&mod=Publications%3A%3AArticle&mid=8F3A7027421841978F18BE895F87F791&tier=4&id=B61E12B9306F407BB4C1FD5BD22406BB

SKYGARDEN IN SHOREWOOD

2011-03-16T22:27:00.000-07:00

SkyGarden has moved its studio to Shorewood! It is such a great location, and it's near a lot of great people. This is a very fortunate change for the company, and I hope to see many positive things come of it. Right now things have been moved in and set up, at least to the point where I can (and I have..) start projects in the studio.

I'm very excited to take advantage of SkyGarden's new home, and I am anxious to explore its possibilities.

Heaven & Hell. Finished.

2011-02-14T17:20:00.000-08:00

Here is the final product of the painting in the Alchemist Theatre stairwell. Hopefully this will get some attention and people will realize they should be looking forward to Alchemist Theatre's production of FAUST: An Evening at the Mephisto Theatre.

Between the rough lighting, and the fact that its in a stairwell, Aaron did a decent job piecing together a usable picture for me to post here.

This was a fun painting to do and I hope it's enjoyed. If you haven't been to Alchemist Theatre, definitely take some time to check it out.

Heaven and Hell (Painting in Progress)

2011-01-31T00:57:00.000-08:00

Coming up in Fall of 2011, Alchemist Theatre is putting on their Production of FAUST. I am currently creating a large Heaven and Hell themed painting down the stairwell of the theatre, as a fun way to make people aware of the upcoming production. So, if you find yourself at Alchemist Theatre, check out the stairwell.

I didn't take any pictures of the bottom half of the painting yet and the posted photos aren't very good quality because I only had the camera on my phone. But, these pictures at least give an idea of where the painting is going.

Buy Tickets to Youngblood Theatre Company's production of Red Light Winter (which is currently coming up on its final week of performances at Alchemist Theatre!) by Adam Rapp. That way you wont miss out on a great play, and you can check out the painting as well as learn more about Alchemist's production of FAUST. It will be worth it :)

For information on either Faust, or Red Light Winter, check out the Alchemist Website:

www.alchemisttheatre.com

A Good Find

2011-01-31T00:11:00.000-08:00

So, I was working my way through some folders and files of paintings I had done in the past. I was excited to stumble across this painting. Its an old one. I believe, this is the first "from life" figure painting I did freshman year of college. So, that would be at least 8 years ago. I'd say this image is a good find, so I decided to share it.

The girl in the painting is beautiful, Lindsay Petrick. She is an artist with a gorgeous collection of work. Definitely take a few minutes to check out her website: www.lindsaypetrick.com

Red Light Winter (2011): Reviews

2011-01-23T16:06:00.000-08:00

http://thirdcoastdigest.com/2011/01/youngbloods-red-light-winter-sexual-emotional-intense/

http://www.jsonline.com/entertainment/arts/114452024.html?referrer=facebook

http://www.examiner.com/theatre-in-milwaukee/raw-humanity

http://www.expressmilwaukee.com/blog-6348-returning-to-winter.html

http://www.wisconsingazette.com/theater/red-light-winter-explores-obsession.html

http://www.onmilwaukee.com/myOMC/blog/show/4748

Honey

2011-01-21T18:12:00.000-08:00

Straight up oil on canvas. Finished this painting a couple days into 2011. It's a painting I had been holding on for about a year. I'm very happy with how the colors reflect the different temperatures at play. They support an image of security and a sort of nurturing comfort-- Mid winter, afternoon light reflecting off a warm body taking care of loved plants. I don't know what the future holds for this painting, or if more like it are on the way. But for now, I thought I'd share it for whoever had interest in seeing it.

SUPERHERO WEDDING

2011-01-21T11:49:00.000-08:00

Engaged friends asked me to help out with the program for their wedding. With the groom being a huge fan of comic books, I was asked to create illustrations of the wedding party as superheroes. Also I included sketches of the church and the location of the reception, to add to the illustrated theme. Comic book illustration is an area in which I've never really explored. I always enjoy new challenges, so I did some research.

Aside from working in a new style, there was a lot of challenge in creating superhero identities for a wedding party full of people I didn't really know. I was sent a few pictures of each of the wedding party along with simple explanations of interests or personality traits. I really wanted each member of the party to be their own original character, rather than representing a character that is already part of the comic book world (..such as superman or spiderman..). But with there being practically millions of comic book superheroes already created, it was hard to completely avoid using superhero traits already explored by others. The only superhero identity completely taken from something else, was "THE PLEASER" (the guy with the smiley faces). That costume was designed by the bride of this wedding, for a performance of the play SPIRITS TO ENFORCE, written by Mickle Maher, and put on by Youngblood Theatre Company.
I don't know how dead on I got each character, but from what I heard everyone was happy with the end results.

To create each character, I started with sketches. Once I created a sketch for each character that I was satisfied with, I pulled out the tracing paper, and traced each of my sketches, refining and cleaning up all my lines. Once completed, I cut out all the characters so that I could move them around and find a composition I was happy with. Once in place, I traced those drawings on to one sheet of paper, in their final composition. After that, I scanned the drawing onto my computer. If I have the option, I wont use a computer until I really feel I have to, so everything was done by hand up until it was time to add color. Then I ran it through photoshop. Another reason for doing everything by hand, was that I felt the hand-drawn quality was important to the asthetic of the final product. All the non-illustrated parts for the program (such as text and location-sketch placement) was done by the groom. He had an original vision in his head of how he wanted it to look, so I provided him with the illustrations, and he put the final touches to give the program the look of a comic book.

It was a beautiful wedding, designed and decorated by both the bride and groom. Not only that, but the bride made her dress as well as a few others by people attending the wedding. It was very impressing. Congatulations to the newly weds!

Found Sketches

2010-11-25T03:21:00.001-08:00

Rummaging through some of my older sketchbooks, I came across a few sketches I had been happy with, and forgot about. It's rare that I find time to sit down with a live model and actually accomplish some figure drawings, so I don't often have the option to post any. So, upon rediscovering these, I decided to post them. ... and, well, here they are.

FREAK SHOW Concept Rendering

2010-11-25T02:44:00.000-08:00

Youngblood Theatre Company's Fall production of Carson Kreitzer's FREAK SHOW ran for it's final weekend ending on the 20th. The show had a pretty good turn out, and received several good reviews. It's great to know that everyone's hard work and enthusiasm was well received.

Maybe later I'll upload some photos of the set, but for now, I thought I'd share my original concept rendering. Those who saw the show would see that there were some changes made on the actual set, but overall, this is a good example of what the set looked like.

Next up on the Youngblood Theatre Company agenda is a remount of Adam Rapp's RED LIGHT WINTER in January, so definitely keep an eye out for that.

Turning Blue

2010-11-03T01:18:00.001-07:00

I've started a handful of small paintings creating figures with only blue and ivory paint. And, of course, working in gold leaf stripes and different types of lace (for this painting, thin and hot pink..). This is by far the most stripped down I've allowed a painting to be in a long time. Probably because I feel this painting was an experiment as well as a beginning. A beginning to a much needed body of personal work. I'm not quite sure what to make of it yet. All I know right now, is that it feels good to be involved in personal work again. I intend to make the most out of whatever free time I have.

FREAK SHOW

2010-10-26T15:26:00.001-07:00

This Friday (the 29th), Youngblood Theatre Company is opening their production of Carson Kreitzer's FREAK SHOW. Definitely check it out. I spent a great deal of time in the Lincoln Warehouse in Milwaukee, constructing and painting this set. This time around, set construction has been more of a solo project, but I had some help painting from cast member April Paul, and some construction assistance from a couple members of Pink Banana Theatre Co. I'm always appreciative of the help.

Aside from relearning the basics of a sewing machine, this set involves a lot of faux wood grain, and dying large amounts of fabic in my friend's bathtub.

There is a great cast, and a strong group of Designers for lighting, costume and sound.

The picture above is the promotional image i created for the play. This might be my favorite promotional image that I've done for Youngblood so far.

For more information on the show check out the Youngblood website:

www.youngbloodtheatre.com

Vienna Square

2010-08-12T14:27:00.000-07:00

Back in February, SkyGarden had a project that required making surfboards. (For details on that, you can go back into my blog archives and look for the entry "Surfboards," posted on March 18th). The surf boards were half of a project, the other half being a mural. Both of which I installed this week in a brand new retirement community in Winter Haven, Florida. The community/facility is called Vienna Square. The building's interior is set up to feel like a resort, with mock store fronts, fun custom signage, and bright colors.

I started my drive to Florida last thursday night, stopping in Richmond, KY and Jacksonville, FL (and a few rest stops) along the way. I got to my hotel on Sunday night, settled in and looked over plans and sketches. First thing on Monday I installed the surf boards and from then until today I have been painting. Here are pictures of the mural and the surf boards in place.

It was a good week of painting, but I start my 20-some hour drive back tomorrow, so that I can get to the sacrament paintings that are waiting to be installed in a church in Edgar, WI.

P.B. ONE ACTS: Title Painting

2010-05-30T23:43:00.000-07:00

Pink Banana Theatre Company is currently showing a collection of One Acts. The theme is "Sex, Drugs and the American Way". I was asked to help design and paint the set. When I find more time, I will post details about the design collaboration and detail painting I did for the set. For now I thought I would post the "title" painting I created for the top of the set.

Discussion on the desired theme and feel for the show, led me to suggest a large painting for the top of the set. I wanted to create a fun painting supporting the theme, with reference to a 40's style pin-up girl positioned on a giant pink banana (.. pink banana theatre co.). 8ft x 3ft, this was only a two day painting, and made for theatre. So for my usual figure painting, it's a bit rough, but it turned out really nice for the stage.

I've recently been in the habit of posting "in progress" photos, so I thought I would keep with that for this painting.

I started out by roughly blocking out the composition of the painting with red paint. There's usually no reason for what color I block out a painting with. I used red this time because it was the color I had the most of. I used acrylic paint so I wouldn't get held up waiting for other types of paints to dry.
I have inks sitting out in this picture, but I really only used ink for areas I wanted black.

This was definitely a first time painting half this imagery. I think that might be part of why I had fun with it.

Like I said, when I find time, I will post the rest of the set. I don't know when that will be. Hopefully soon.

VIA DOWNER

2010-05-29T16:50:00.000-07:00

A new restaurant in Milwaukee opened recently. VIA DOWNER was created by the owners of Transfer, a great Milwaukee pizzeria, in the Walker's Point area. VIA DOWNER has an open yet cozy atmosphere, and good food.
And of course, the reason I am talking about this restaurant, is not only because of how great it is, not only because you just might get a Younblood Theatre Company Co-founder as your server, but because you can find paintings and collages of mine hanging on the walls. A few older paintings, some of my Stripes Series paintings, and a new large mixed media painting made specifically for the restaurant.
Also, mixed in with my work, the restaurant is displaying some paintings from my former studio mate, Nicholas Buchel. His work is a brightly colored mix of abstract and realistic imagery. Some of it contains elements of collage. Even though his work has fun elements to it, his work is very specific and well thought out. They are definitely paintings worth exploring.

So, if you get a chance, check out VIA DOWNER.

I'll end this post with a link to an article on the restaurant by Ann Christenson for Milwaukee Magazine.

http://www.milwaukeemagazine.com/dish/

SPIRITS TO ENFORCE: the design

2010-05-29T15:09:00.000-07:00

So, now that the play has come to an end (a few weeks ago) and I have finished a few other projects, I can sit down for a little while and share some images of the Spirits To Enforce set.

Rather than just showing the finished product, I thought I'd post some "in progress" images as well.

YoungBlood Theatre Company chose the location for the play because of the size and feel the room had. It was long and cramped, good for creating an interior of a submarine. That being said, not a lot was changed to the shape of the room, and the build didn't require any ridiculous planning.

Josh and Adam, assisted with set construction, just as they did in Youngblood's Production of Red Light Winter. Here they are assembling the 24ft table. If you look behind them, you can see the only modification I made to the space. I brought the two sections of wall closer. I didn't like those sections of the wall being so deep.

These next two pictures are of the completed set. All the characters props are there. I finished painting everything, and even though the stage lights aren't on, Jason Fassl had placed all the lights and everything was ready to go. There are a fair amount of pipes installed into the set, but you can't see the majority of them in these pictures. Most are placed at the submarine's control console, that isn't in any of the pictures I've posted. If you saw the play, you know what I'm talking about.

My goal was to touch on comic book imagery, but to hold on to realism to keep the overall set, low key (not distracting). The actors, set, and audience are so close to each other, I wanted the three to visually mesh and transition well. I got some good feedback on it, so hopefully that means I did my job right.

SPIRITS TO ENFORCE: reviews

2010-04-26T17:54:00.000-07:00

Here are some more reviews of the play. They are all great.

Milwaukee Express (Russ Bickerstaff review part 2):
http://www.expressmilwaukee.com/blog-5231-actors-super-heroes-and-shakespeare-spirits-to-enf.html

ThirdCoast Digest:
http://thirdcoastdigest.com/2010/04/review-youngblood-theatre-runs-deep-for-laughs/

OnMilwaukee.com:
http://www.onmilwaukee.com/myOMC/blog/show/4116

Milwaukee Magazine- Culture Club:
http://www.milwaukeemagazine.com/cultureclub/default.asp

SPIRITS TO ENFORCE

2010-04-23T12:41:00.000-07:00

Last night was Youngblood Theatre Company’s opening night for SPIRITS TO ENFORCE. A play written by Mickle Maher. In a nutshell, the play is about 12 superheroes in their secret submarine, telemarketing to raise funds for their production of THE TEMPEST. Clever and layered writing, and a strong, amazing cast, not only led to a great opening night, but it also made for a great environment during the creation of this production.

Creating the Fathom Town Enforcers’ (the team of superheroes) secret submarine was my job for this production. Designing a set that appropriately fit an enormously long table for 12 actors. The bizarre found space is located at the Miller and Campbell Costume shop in south Milwaukee. My good friend Josh (technical director of Pink Banana Theatre Co.), and his brother helped me construct the set. Well, I guess you could say, I helped them construct my set. I completely take over when the painting begins. It has made for a good partnership. Josh also was of great help with constructing my set for Youngblood’s last production of Red Light Winter, by Adam Rapp. As well as the set I designed a while back for Pink Banana’s production of SOMEONE WHO’LL WATCH OVER ME, by Frank McGuinness.

This set for SPIRITS TO ENFORCE is different than most, in the way that there really isn’t much for blocking, and there’s no actual scene change.. So it was more about designing a stationary space that functions visually with the play.. SOOO… for this play, that basically means it has to be fun. So I looked for relevant imagery in comic books, and made small hints and comparable elements from THE TEMPEST.

If you haven’t seen the show, you definitely should. It’s very different and a lot of fun. And hopefully you’ll enjoy the submarine interior I have created.

The image towards the top of this post is the promotional image I created for the show. I, at one point, had an interest it graphic novel artwork, so it was fun to play around with that sort of imagery.

check out the show:

www.youngbloodtheatre.com

Russ Bickerstaff review:

http://www.expressmilwaukee.com/blog-5229-spirits-to-enforce-reviewed-part-one-accessibly-inaccessible.html

Red Light Winter

2010-03-19T01:35:00.000-07:00

Directed by Benjamin James Wilson, Red Light Winter by Adam Rapp, was the opening play for Youngblood Theatre Company's current season. The play was really well casted, and opened strong on the 21st of January at Alchemist Theatre in Milwaukee, WI.

The set I designed for this play was so far the most complicated set i designed. The first act being in a cheap hotel in Amsterdam, and act two taking place in a cheap apartment in New York, the change of location during intermission needed to be quick but definite. The play was very prop heavy, so the less you had to do to change the space itself, the better. I designed the set so that it was only a matter of moving two hinged walls. It was a tricky idea, but with Fjosh Redbeard, Technical Director of Pink Banana Theatre Company, helping with the construction, we were able to pull it together.

This is the promotional image I made for the show. I feel like I've seen this image just about everywhere by now...internet, tv, etc... Its okay though. I was happy with it when I made it, and it was fun to make.

Surfboards

2010-03-18T22:50:00.000-07:00

Alright, so when I say that SkyGarden "focus's on, but is in no way limited to, Painting..," this project is a good example. Hired by an interior design firm, my job was to make 4 surfboards. A strange but intriguing project for a Midwesterner.

This was a new challenge for me. But it was a great experience, and I learned a lot about materials I don't usually get to use. These surfboards are made for the purpose of being mounted on walls outside of a gift shop/mock surf shop, in a building located not too far outside of Orlando, FL. Though they wont actually be used for the purpose of surfing, I still made them as though they were- using the same materials, and executing the same processes.

The designs on the boards were created to work with the colors and patterns used in the wallpapers and upholstery chosen by the interior designers. I also referred to the abstract elements of nature... the the shape and movement relationships with in landscapes...

I will try to get some good pictures of them in the future when they are installed, along with the mural I will be painting next to the boards. The mural will keep to the same theme.

Tomas and the Library Lady

2010-03-18T21:12:00.000-07:00

Tomas and the Library Lady (by: Jose Cruz Gonzalez. based on the book by Pat Mora), this season's addition to First Stage Children's Theater's Multi-Cultural Assembly Tour, ended just the other week.
Tomas and the Library Lady, is a story about a migrant boy who travels from Texas to Iowa with his family. Tomas has nightmares about his school teacher and his struggle with English. Upon moving to Iowa, he makes friends with a librarian who teaches him english and how to read, as well as stand up for himself. Its a fun story, and children really enjoyed it.

This was my first time working with First Stage Children's Theater, and my first time designing the set to a traveling show. It presented a lot of new challenges, but it had exciting end results. I also met a lot of great people.
A lot of my projects tend to usually contain more mature/serious content, so this was a chance to play around with my not-so-obvious interest in children's book illustrations. It also allowed me to step out of my usual mindset.
Tomas and the Library Lady was a play originally designed for the use of projectors as a way to change scenes and bring in extra characters. The Director of First Stage wanted to avoid having to deal with technology and the never-failing troubles technology causes while on the road. So we created two set pieces that started as book shelves and had panels that moved and opened up to reveal different places and characters, not only making travel and clean up easier, but it cut out all the technology other than sound recordings. It was convienent enough for the actors, and the children reacted to the moving panels really well.
For the design/imagery, I decided to play on the idea and visual characteristics of Mexican folk art. It was culturally fitting, and keeps a nice story book feel.
The actors did an amazing job, and director was great to work with. I am glad they asked me to be a part of it.

SkyGarden LLC

2010-03-18T20:11:00.000-07:00

EXCITING NEWS:

As of Late 2009, I officially have my own company: SkyGarden LLC. A company that focus's on, but is in no way limited to, Painting and Design. It is, and will continue to be, a lot of work. But this is something that I've really wanted. It's something I have the drive for. And I intend to really make the most of it. Painting and creating is what I love, and it's what I am best at. I can only hope that everyone supports SkyGarden and allows me to show them what I am capable of.

As this blog continues, I will update information on projects and events with SkyGarden, as well as continue to update information on personal artwork and theatre projects.

GOD BRIDGE

2010-03-18T18:51:00.000-07:00

Running from July 24th to August 2nd 2009, God Bridge (written by long-time friend, Benjamin James Wilson), was the last of three plays from Youngblood Theatre Company's first season. Ben asked me to create the set for God Bridge, so I did. It was a strong play, with an amazing, devoted group of actors and a good tech crew. and because of that it was not only a great play, but it made the creation of this set very enjoyable for myself.

Along with the next-to-nonexistant budget, this set had its share of design challenges. the venue for God Bridge was a room within the UWM Kenilworth building. Being that, I wasnt allowed to alter or screw into any of the walls or the floor. So, it made for an interesting game of weight balancing and supporting pieces of the set with other pieces. That got to be a challenge because a lot of action happened on that set - fight sequences, jumping around, leaning on walls. I needed to depend on the set pieces to not slide around or wobble. It's concerning when your pretend concrete walls are wobbling around...
I had two other people helping me with the construction and priming of the set, and then I like to keep the painting and detail work to myself... which is usually how it works either way. Mostly because I prefer to work through the night, while everyone else is sleeping.
This play was/is a big deal to me for many reasons, so I don't mind that this entry is REALLY late, I just wanted to make sure it was posted at some point.

Red

2009-10-08T21:50:00.000-07:00

This is actually a painting I did last winter. One of the few paintings from my Stripes series I haven't taken the time to really show anyone. I've always liked this painting, but it's one of those paintings I appreciate more after being put away for a while. I thought about this one too much while I was working on it. Now I am able to look at it as a whole, rather than a canvas polluted by a bunch of tiny concerns. I can find flaws, but I can also see where my constant re-evaluation of this painting paid off. This painting has a lot of color and texture relationships I hope to repeat in future paintings. If you ask me, even though the clothing is provocative, the sexiest part of this painting is glow of that red sheet.

Review

2009-07-14T00:21:00.000-07:00

These past couple months I've somehow found my way back to theatre. It has kept me very busy, and if I stay busy, I stay happy, so things have been good.
Working with Pink Banana theatre company, I have been involved with a new and great group of people. Frank McGuinness' Someone Who'll Watch Over Me opened on the 9th of this month and is still running for a few days longer. It's a really well written play, and I enjoy the performance from the actors. I just thought Id post a few pictures of the set I did and a recent review of the play by Russ Bickerstaff.

if you are interested in seeing the play, check out www.pinkbananatheatre.com

review: http://www.expressmilwaukee.com/blog-3985-impressions-of-pink-bananas-latest-show.html

Button Garland & Ink Bottles

2009-06-02T12:17:00.000-07:00

I was looking at some watercolor paintings by an artist that has had a strong impact on my work recently. I don't often look at his watercolors, but when I did, for the first time in years I was inspired to find my inks and pull them from the heap of my forgotten art materials.

I did 3 small paintings in my sketchbook. I haven't painted anything in my sketchbook since like 2 sketchbooks ago. Since then and until now, it had been all writing. I decided to post the last painting for everyone to see. I'm very happy with how it turned out... a fun and successful exploration with a medium I had abandoned. Luckily, I also discovered that my sketchbook pages support wet mediums...

More Stripes...

2009-02-13T01:57:00.000-08:00

I have been fighting my cold apartment, trying to finish up the paintings I have started for my Stripes series. Although I will remain working with this series, I have plans to take the work in a new direction and take a break from the detailed oil paintings.

This is probably the smallest painting of the series, and probably one of my favorite oil paintings that I have done recently. It isn't completely finished, but its awful close and I've been anxious to post it. I'm finding myself very excited about this series, and even though I'm happy with the paintings created so far, I see them only as foundation works for the Stripes series projects yet to come.

Sunflowers & Finches

2009-02-13T01:45:00.001-08:00

I, not too long ago, painted sunflowers and finches on the back wall of a dining room. These are just some images I've been meaning to post.

New Painting!

2008-12-22T22:38:00.001-08:00

This belongs with my "stripes" series. I am happy to say that its finished. well, almost. I plan on going over the painting with a clear varnish. This painting will be the oddball of the series. I say this because this is the only painting that is clearly a portrait. In all the other paintings (in progress), the foreground and the background share more equal roles. The picture I took of this painting isn't that great, mostly because it's still wet, so theres a lot of glare. I plan to take better pictures of it, when its is all dry and varnished. I didn't want to wait until then to post it. My schedule has been ridiculous and very busy, so I'm very happy that one of these many paintings I've started, is completed and I wanted to share it.

Unfinished Business...

2008-12-20T01:45:00.001-08:00

Right now I'm in a location with a lot of unfinished work, and no materials or space to do anything about it. Which I guess is okay for now. Although I am excited to work on them again, I think some time to think them over might be good.

This first piece is about 3 years old now. It started as a vertical 6ft. tall collage, and was later reworked and cut in half, the other half was reworked as well. This piece was at the beginning of my college senior thesis. My main material for my senior thesis was etch a sketch, and this piece was an early experiment where I was attempting to work etch a sketch images in with other materials and mediums... one of my experiments to remove etch a sketch drawings from its red frame, and work them more like fine art material. I have always really liked this collage, but I never got it to a stage where I could consider it complete. Right now I am thinking I would like to remount it, and possibly create a companion piece to it. Possibly create a diptych. I haven't decided yet.

This little painting I happen to be pretty happy with as it is. I just haven't really decided on if I want to re stretch it or not. To be honest, I really just felt like posting this one.

This painting I started about a year ago. I had plans for it, but for whatever reason I wasn't into it after too long, and I started something else. Looking at it now, I'm seeing a lot more possibilities, and I think I have a direction planned out for it. Maybe something a little more playful and surreal.

I don't have much to say about this. I don't plan on changing the composition much, if at all. What I am sure of right now is that I want to take that figure and possibly push it to be more realistic, and give the negative space around her more depth.

Before last summer, this collage, was actually three different collages. All three collages were about taking roads/paths in one way or another. Now it has become more of a reflection piece of where I have been, and the 'on the road' lifestyle I've been stuck in the past couple years. Its coming along. And, although I'm content with it now, I can see myself altering it in the future.

Gesture drawings

2008-12-20T01:39:00.000-08:00

Just a few of my gesture drawings I found..

A Bad Case Of The Stripes...

2008-12-12T20:24:00.000-08:00

This piece, right here, is one of several new paintings I'm working on. The focus of these paintings are figures and fabric, but the theme is stripes. Although its not intended, I can see that my recent focus of religious art, due to my job, has influenced this painting as well as a few of the other paintings in this new series.
I was ready for change. Change in size. Change in materials. Change in focus. I am still painting figures, but my attention is on the fabric and pattern, and how those elements play against the figure. With the selective colors and materials, I have found these paintings to be strangely decorative a contain a slightly twisted elegance.
I dont have too much to say about this painting right now, but I'll try to post the progress as my stripes series becomes more complete.

Fall

2008-12-07T09:17:00.000-08:00

Today, I found this image of a painting/collage I had done in sophomore year of college (about four years ago). It was 6' wide and 3' tall, and it was made up of oil paint and wax medium, along with twine and paper that had been soaked in a water/glue mixture. So it had a lot of texture to it. At the time this painting was a big deal to me, it was the beginning of my transition into mixed media/college work. I feel like that transition completely recreated the way I make art, and it finally put me on a path that that kept me motivated and productive.

As of this past summer, the painting no longer exists. Like many of my paintings, I saved a few pieces of it and scrapped the rest for parts for future paintings.

AND, as it turns out, today happens to be the Birthday of the girl in the painting, and seeing as i randomly found this image today, I thought it made sense to post it and write a little about it. So, here it is.

Father Mazzuchelli

2008-11-08T11:01:00.000-08:00

Here I've copied a painting of Father Samuel Mazzuchelli (1806-1864)- Declared Venerable by Pope John Paul II in 1993. He's kind of a funny looking guy, but he has a pretty impressive resume.
This was assigned to me by the company I work for. I don't do a lot of painting in this style, and my reference image of the original painting was about 1.5 inches tall. So, this provided me with plenty of challenges.
This version I did, (I was told) is significantly larger- 2x3 ft. I have made some small changes from the original. Most, intentional with the purpose of creating a copy, but hoping to keep it's own image. I am happy with the results and I think it will be put to good use.

Through the month of October, I have been working on several smaller personal choice paintings, and im hoping that i can finish those up sooner than later so I can post some. It a new series for me and i like where it is headed.

Two Men and a Dove

2008-07-29T04:41:00.000-07:00

Well, this is what I have been working on. The painting belongs to Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Kewaskum. It was pretty gross with dirt, dust and animal feces. It was missing a fair amount of paint down the middle of the canvas, and the wooden frame was in bad shape. I made a new wooden frame for it and tossed out the old one, so now its clean wood and the painting should be somewhat lighter. I cleaned the front and back of the painting and patched the few existing tears and weak spots in the canvas. With the amount of paint that had come off the painting, it was fortunate that I only had to rebuild a hand and redefine the red fabric.

The rest was color matching. It was still time consuming, but it kept me from having to use too much imagination and allowed the painting to keep very close to its pre-damaged state. I know the pictures I’m providing aren’t very good for detail purposes, but they get the point across with pretty clear differences between the before and after states of the painting.

Now comes the part where I watch paint dry and wait to apply varnish and give it back to the church.

Collaboration

2008-07-11T11:50:00.000-07:00

Friend Elizabeth and myself completely reworked a giant drawing I had made/used as a backdrop to an installation I had created about a year ago. I enjoy the results, so I thought I would share some "in progress" images.

Conclusion to Kewaskum... almost.

2008-07-11T11:03:00.000-07:00

Here are some images of the finished Holy Trinity Catholic Church. Free of its previous shades of pink, it now has a tan and cream color scheme, holding on to similar gold highlighting along the curves and edges of the architecture. The new replacement gold has a much brighter shine to it, which I am happy with. Especially in the lines along the walls and ceiling. The new colors make it a relaxing atmosphere to be in, and the shine in the gold along the walls sparks a bit of life into everything. there is a dark clay type red used as an accent color, and I did a bit of gold leafing on areas like the crosses at the bottoms of the arches.

The Church is done, but Im not quite done with Kewaskum. details on that will come up when i complete that project... and if i get around to posting it... This company is keeping me busy, and when I stay busy I usually stay happy.

New Places

2008-05-08T19:05:00.000-07:00

Okay so here are a few images of Holy Trinity, the current church I am working on. Although these images are from earlier, right now its at the point where we have repaired and primed the walls with a completely painted sanctuary. Later on I will get around to taking and posting those pictures. This is a really nice church, and I feel like end of this project will have promising results. Though, there is still plenty of time to change my mind. Ha.

The pictures above are from the oyster roast/silent auction/leukemia benefit at Sprecher Brewery. I donated a landscape I painted in Maryland for the auction, and I was one of four artists that was asked to bring in work to show/sell. I had a lot less work than everyone else because i work 3 times as big. But my work was also completely different. I basically walked passed the older guys with their smaller still life paintings and put up a huge painting of a bare-assed girl with dreads. haha. I didnt sell any of my big paintings, which I'm completely content with for many reasons. But, my donated piece did sell, and Im glad it did. That landscape was one of a few on-site Maryland landscapes that I have really held on to. So I hope that who ever bought it enjoys it. I talked to a lot of people, all which were a lot of fun to talk to, so it turned out to be a good night. It was good to get my work a little exposure, something I dont attempt to do very often.

Replacing Angels

2008-03-27T03:27:00.000-07:00

I have spent the last week and a half living in the studio, painting like crazy to finish the two winged ladies to replace the two that were peeling off the ceiling in Holy Redeemer. these would be the old paintings (I dont know who did them):
Turns out that these two paintings were painted with oils directly on to the layer of latex paint on the ceiling, so they didnt last long at all. I went to remove the loose flaking paint spots and within one shot, half the painting came off. So, rather than patching up dying paintings, I created new ones on canvas. I painted them to better match the original paintings placed on the rest of the ceiling (signed by J. G. Schmidt). I painted the same angels with the same instruments, I just changed up the composition, and gave them more youth. I also increased the amount of detail since these two angels are viewed at half the distance of the paintings done by J. G. Schmidt. That guy really knew what he was doing. And even though I will say that my paintings are great improvement to the previous angel paintings, my paintings in no way compare to those done by J. G. Schmidt, and I didn't expect them to. But I am still very happy with my angels.

As of tonight I have finished painting the second angel, and with the help of a friend I finished the gold circle design around the first angel.

Angel #1:

Angel #2:

haha. I like this image of Nic making use of our studio.

While I finished up the second angel today, Andrew helped out and started the gold ring on the first angel. He saved me about 7 hours of work. If you ask me, thats awesome.

So I finished the last bit of gold that Andrew didnt get to, and this is what the first finished angel looks like. I think today was a pretty successful day to add to a pretty successful week and a half. when the second angel dries it will get a gold ring like the first, and I will have both angels varnished, cut out and I will be on my way back to madison to install them where they belong.

Thoughts For A Serious Etch A Sketch Artist...

2008-03-11T20:29:00.000-07:00

If you check out my googlepages website, the page displaying images of some work I had done with an Etch A Sketch (http://evan.crain.googlepages.com/etchasketch), there is an explanation of why I choose/chose to work with an Etch A Sketch. As of recently, I have discovered that you can find that page in a search through google, which I didn't think was possible before (I have no problem with that, I am making more of a matter-of-fact statement). But, the reason I bring that up is because some guy who seems to be very enthusiastic about Etch A Sketch art, and creating it, happened to come across my that page of mine and respond with an email. There is something about that email that I find problematic. He quoted me on my disliking of main stream Etch A Sketch drawings and imagery shown over the internet and T.V... such a small line of such a large paragraph of an explanation as to why I chose to create work involving Etch A Sketches the way I do. He proceed to introduce his work with "I guess you haven't gotten around to looking at my stuff?" I'm just not sure how to read that. Maybe he's being cute or introducing himself in a playful way... BUT, maybe hes arguing with my feelings towards main stream Etch A Sketch art using HIS work as ammunition. Where do I go with that? My main reason for being uninterested in the work you'll find online or on T.V. programs, is the lack of advancement in the use of an Etch A sketch (Something I stated in that paragraph on my site). I'm not referring to the skill of drawing with the toy, but where people go with that skill.. People don't think to push past that glass screen and red frame. I believe the Etch A Sketch singles out "the line", places the line on a pedestal free of other forms and mediums. Everyone spends hours making images, working hard to hide the line. Sounds pretty ass-backwards to me. I'm not saying that images of people and places can't or shouldn't be drawn on an Etch A Sketch. I'm saying if your going to use a drawing device that works purely off one line, show how the line is part of that image, how it moves through the figure. Show why the line is important and emphasize that. I definitely encourage non literal ways of approaching that as well. If you don't feel the line is important or if you're one of those people spending hours to hide the line... why the fuck are you using an Etch A Sketch? Paintings are cool too.
Don't think I'm saying I'm any better or any worse. I use the Etch A Sketch with all that I have been saying in this post as goals, and what I hope to accomplish when I do use it.
But, getting back to that email, I looked at his work, he definitely has the coordination, but his work still looks pretty much the same as all the other skilled Etch A Sketch artists that you'll find interviewed on late night talk shows or in newspapers. Its still lacking the originality to blow me away. He has skills. But I think he has settled with the standards.

So you know how to use the thing... where you gonna go with it?

Discovering Older Paintings

2008-03-07T23:30:00.000-08:00

I recently found some pictures I had taken of some paintings I did in high school. I was excited to find them. But I just realized this evening that Jessie, the girl in the paintings, had copies of the pictures of these paintings and had posted them a long time ago. Haha. I most likely knew that and forgot, so finding these pictures wasn't such an amazing discovery after all. But thats okay, finding old work is always something I enjoy. Theres an energy or something vibrant and positive about these high school paintings that doesn't appear so much in my post-college figure paintings. I need to find my way back to that stage where i block out technique and just enjoy pushing paint around. If I can find my way back to really enjoying the medium, the the image,(in one way or another) will work itself out in the end.

Plans to Improve

2008-03-06T13:25:00.000-08:00

Given to me about 2 months ago, i am finally getting around to planning a way to fix up this Squier Strat. Although the friend that gave it to me bought it for cheap, I still think he paid too much for it. the body actually looks like it was made from Pine. It has poor soldering, and theres a nice sized crack running through the inside area of the body. Everything would benefit from a good cleaning as well. I Thought about scrapping the whole body and making a new one from scratch, and though i totally haven't ruled that out yet, I'm probaby just going to make some repairs to the original body and strip it of damaged finish. Id really just like to focus on the decoration and reassembly, and if I keep to the standard body size it will be easier to replace the needed parts. Some of the hardware has rusted, but the pick ups sound good and the neck is in good condition. Rather than using my artwork to decorate this guitar, I have asked an amazing artist/friend to come up with some artwork for it. If she follows through, the outcome of this project will be pretty awesome.

Beginnings

2008-03-01T21:13:00.000-08:00

Today was a day of possibly a new beginning, and what better way to document it than to start my first blog entry. 2007 pretty much cleaned me out... emotionally, creatively...and financially. But I decided to restore my optimism for 2008. A new year, a new beginning, and excitedly waiting for a show of my work in mid Jan.

Although the show left me with bittersweet feelings, and little to come out of the effort put into it. Overall the opening night was a lot of fun (though I was really sick and loaded on pain meds) and there was a great line up of bands that came and played without out any compensation in return. I was really lucky. Not so lucky with the owner who did next to nothing. He didn't even take down the old work that was on the walls.

TODAY is an example of a way the show actually did pay off. Through someone I met at the show, I met a Milwaukee painter. I talked with her, and shared work for a little while this morning. Shes young.. 2 years older than me, but living life as a painter and doing well for herself. It was great to finally meet someone in Milwaukee who actually knew how to accomplish something.. someone that actually works towards what she wants rather than just talking about it. Finding that in Milwaukee is a rare thing, and I feel somewhat relieved that i know at least one person like that around here.

BIG NEWS (for me anyway):

I finally have a studio space. Its in a cute building in the Bay View area of Milwaukee. Its a good deal, and a positive working space. I have keys and everything, tomorrow I will go and fix it up and bring in some materials so it can be waiting for me when I get back from work in Madison next weekend. Nothing these days move very fast, but I really think this could be the beginning of something good.