artsmear

SCULPTURE PICS

2011-08-06T17:27:00.002-04:00

BACK BABY

2011-08-06T15:47:00.006-04:00

Hey all... I have been very busy these last MANY MANY months since I haven't been posting. One project in particular I wanted to share is this guy... He started out as a large-ish canvas I created for my son's preschool auction.

Being in love with the concept, I created this guy in Zbrush...

Then I bit the bullet and had this company print me a broken up 3D print of my digital sculpt.

All broken up ready for casting... Stay tuned.

ILLUSTRATION FRIDAY: EQUIPMENT

2010-05-18T14:40:00.002-04:00

This was a sketch I did a while back. I am a big fan of the colonial period of US History and of the American Revolution in particular. One of the things that always amazes me is the amount of "accoutrements" that an 18th century soldier requires. The gun itself requires constant maintenance and attention if it is to remain in good working order. Anyway, I thought this would be a fitting submission for the topic given how much equipment this fellow is carrying.

ILLUSTRATION FRIDAY: FEARLESS

2010-05-12T16:02:00.002-04:00

This is a value study I did from a discarded sketch... I kind of think it fits the theme of "fearless" in that we have our little explorer undertaking the EXTREMELY hazardous task of exploring the dark depths of the sea... Anyway, this is my first post in a while. Thanks for looking!

THE SAD GIANT

2010-01-30T20:56:00.002-05:00

Here is the latest color comp... I just sketched this up in painter. Trying to maintain a loose touch with this piece. I like where it's headed but I think it still needs some detail. The giant looks a little plain. I am working on maybe some new greeblies for him--visual detail/elements. We;ll see. Anyway, I'll post more as I move towards the final piece. Thanks for looking!

ILLUSTRATION FRIDAY: CLUMSY (CONCEPT)

2010-01-27T22:36:00.005-05:00

Okay, not a finished illustration but a concept... I am working on doing some new pieces for the old portfolio and I very much am steering towards a fantasy focus with some of the new pieces. I love fantasy art and I happen to think that some of the best illustrators working today are fantasy illustrators (but that's another post altogether).

The process... First, I made a rinky dink model in Lightwave which I placed in a basic environment with some basic lighting. I am not looking to get too dramatic. I just want to give a sense of space and perspective. I just need a wireframe set to work on.

Then, I import the basic wireframe sketch into Painter and then draw/sketch on a separate layer set to multiply--so I can see "through" the layer beneath. I don't do this often but creating simple "sets" in a 3D program can help me work out problems with composition, placement as well as provide a more believable structure to work with. There are dangers to using this technique however. It can sometimes make the illustration look flat and almost TOO believable in how the objects are placed. It is still necessary to apply some "flair" to the elements to give them a little more character. I did this because I wanted to really mess around with the perspective a bit.

This is another sketch I did... You can still see some of the model underneath... Looking at this now, I see that I have a pretty good start but I need to refine the building AND the giant a little more. They need a lot more character. He needs to look a lot more like a big petulent baby and the woman below needs to be set in the scene better so that she stands out a little more. Still, I am pretty happy thus far. Stay tuned folks!

LITTLE BOT FINAL

2010-01-15T15:21:00.003-05:00

I changed the color of the cricket to stand out a little more... I think it works better but I need to look at it a little more. Anyway, let me know what you think!

LITTLE BOT: WET VS. DIGITAL MEDIA

2010-01-12T19:44:00.002-05:00

Okay... So I spent some time the other day messing around with this image--in an attempt to try and combine wet media and digital elements. One problem... My studio where I do most of my painting hasn't gotten above 40 degrees in the past two weeks. I made a valiant effort at starting a painting yesterday but ultimately decided that, for now, I'd have a lash at doing this completely digital.

You see, the problem I have been having is that most of my digital work looks too polished and, well, flat. My sketches and pen work seem to be very vibrant and energetic--but when I attempt to render one of those sketches in color, it seems to go limp. So, I am still struggling with how to bring the same energy and organic quality to my full color illustrations that exists in my sketch and line work...

I don't know... I mean, I am very happy with the result here but I still can push it a little more I think. Or maybe I need to just own up to the act that I am just a draftsman and not a painter?? No... I am not willing to throw in that towel just yet. I'll figure it out...

Anyway, here I treated this just as I would a watercolor. I started with a tight pencil sketch and then slowly added washy layers of color starting from the background and working back to front. The last areas to work on would be where I finally add the lighter highlighted areas--which, were I working in wet media, I would just add with guache or acrylics.

Really though... I am continually frustrated because I don't really feel like I am comfortable or confident enough in any media... I am trying to break this tendency to be tentative. The upside is that, drawing every day is making me better at all of it. It really is a muscle that has to be exercised. Now, if only I could burn calories by drawing...

IF: CONFINED

2010-01-10T15:36:00.002-05:00

Jumping out a little early on this week's Illustration Friday topic...

For gentlemen like me--that is, those that find men's fashion "confining," I think this might have some particular significance.

NEW PIECE: COLOR COMP

2010-01-10T11:53:00.002-05:00

This is a new piece I am about to start on. It was born out of many of doodles done at preschool board meetings where I serve as the health and safety chair. Let's just say they can run a little long. Anyway, I have been pushing this idea around in my head for a while--even from about four years ago when I did an illustration of a little bot looking at an ant. I don't know why, but I am fascinated by the story possibilities involving tiny robots and insects.

My plan is to render the final image in guache/watercolors. We'll see what happens. Currently, it is way too bleedin' cold to even be in my studio so I am moving the whole painting operation inside. It's funny, I think I have been crutching on digital software to create these images lately. Why? Because it's 1. Faster 2. Easier to make changes. 3. Cheaper 4. Easier to publish. Still, I have seen some illustrators get some fantastic results from combining wet media and digital media. Again, we'll see. I am interested to see the results myself.

CHRISTMAS CARD

2009-12-18T14:48:00.002-05:00

Happy Happy Holidays everyone!!! I have lots of things on the horizon for after the holidays so please do stay tuned! Til then, have a happy and safe holiday!

ILLUSTRATION FRIDAY: ENTANGLED

2009-12-01T22:40:00.003-05:00

Just whipped up this render of a sketch that I had posted previously... I think it suits the topic.

ILLUSTRATION FRIDAY: MUSIC

2009-11-24T22:03:00.003-05:00

This is a style of illustration that I love to do--simple pen and ink (well, digitally simulated pen and ink anyway). Some of my favorite illustrators of all time have been masters of this media and, strangely, many of them were most prolific during the late 19th and early 20th century. Heirich Kley, A.B. Frost, Charles Dana Gibson, Thomas Nast, Arthur Rackham, John Tenniel... These are all masters of the line and their influence has crept into the very fabric of our popular culture.

This illustration was done to test some of my brush settings in Corel Painter. I am trying to get the look of a hard crowquill nib--one that doesn't give a lot of variation in the line but is still fluid and loose. I yanked this sketch out of the sketchbook and went to work... Anyway, please let me know what you think!

KRISMISS CARD SKETCHES

2009-11-20T14:39:00.007-05:00

These are some sketches for this year's Christmas card... I have been struggling with ideas this go-round but still managed the get some pretty good sketches from the sketchbook. I think I am leaning towards the dog and kitty.

I have started working with wet media again. It's been a little bit tough, but I really do like the look of wet media--watercolor and guache being my media of choice for renderings. As I knock this together, I'll be posting some images soon.

SKETCHBOOK DROPPING OF THE WEEK

2009-11-03T16:53:00.003-05:00

Just wanted to share the latest bit of insanity from my sketchbook... I am going through an "octopus" phanse right now. They're kinda fun to draw. Anyway, this just struck me as hilarious--of course I am probably the only one who will think so. Still, if I can't amuse myself, what's the use of being an artist?

ILLUSTRATION FRIDAY: FAST

2009-10-26T21:37:00.002-04:00

From the sketchbook... Thought it was perfect. Working on something for Halloween.

BOOYAH...

2009-10-23T22:40:00.002-04:00

Back on the blogosphere people after a wee break. I have been getting out the old sketchbook and have been doing a wee bit of drawering here lately. Lot's of pencil work and keeping the chops nice and frosty. I have a few nice gigs coming up--a piece in Highlights magazine and a series of illustrations for ETV for a summer production. Yes, that's right Wavy Davey and I will be back at it--bringing everyone some more historical-themed "visualizations" for everyone. This production deals with SC colonial figure Charles Pinckney. Pinckney was a signatory to the Constitution and a former Governor of South Carolina. It should be a hoot since the colonial period is my favorite period in US history. Anyway, I'll holler when she's set to pop. In the meantime, I apologize for my absence and hope folks will stick around to see what I am up to! Cheers...

FOR LEO: THE KING IN SPACE

2009-07-27T16:27:00.003-04:00

A while back Leo and I were playing in his room in a small tent which was serving both as a castle AND as a spaceship. I kept asking why it was a spaceship AND a castle. Without missing a step Leo said, "Because the king is in space Daddy..." Too right. The king IS in space. Never underestimate the imagination of a three-and-a-half year old!

ILLUSTRATION FRIDAY: TANGO

2009-07-21T12:30:00.003-04:00

Just jumping out early on IF this week. Lots going on...

ALIEN ORCHESTRA

2009-07-20T22:42:00.002-04:00

Here is another piece for my "Alien Orchestra" series. I love creating characters more than anything. I always have. I just pulled these guys out of the sketchbook and painted them up in Corel Painter.

These are part of a larger portfolio of wok I am hoping to show to children's book publishers. Creating the work is easy... Self promotion. That's the hard part. Stay tuned.

ILLUSTRATION FRIDAY: HOLLOW

2009-07-16T11:59:00.002-04:00

Well, the drum is hollow right? This is a taste of a larger portfolio I am working on. Getting ready to make a big push to get my portfolio/website/marketing materials together. I hope to have everything up off the ground by September-ish (my birthday). Anyway, I will post more updates on this effort soon...

This particular piece is part a series I'm calling, "Alien Steam Punk Orchestra" along with a few other alien, steam punk-inspired pieces. These are fun to draw and paint and I can do them all day long (who wants to stop when you're having fun, right?). He started as a pencil sketch which was then imported into Corel Painter where he was finally rendered. I'm going to post more of these lovelies as I get them done. Thanks for looking!

ILLUSTRATION FRIDAY:CRAVING

2009-06-11T13:07:00.001-04:00

For all the smokers and FORMER smokers out there...

ILLUSTRATION FRIDAY: ADAPT

2009-06-03T15:27:00.004-04:00

BRACE FOR IMPACT! ALL HANDS! This image is a tribute to all the incredibly STUPID things I did as a youngster. I had an old beater of a bike that I took off of any manner of ramps and jumps--most of which went horribly wrong resulting usually in very sore bits "down there." I never tried the wings admittedly, but I thought about it. This piece obviously depicts a much older dude, possibly a shell-shocked former fighter pilot who is feeling an urge to take to the skies once again but is lacking the necessary "vehicle."

DEALING WITH BLOCKAGE

2009-06-02T15:17:00.002-04:00

Creative blockage is a real nasty hang. It can eat at you and before you know it, you find yourself completely paralyzed and afraid to put pencil to paper. Well, for those of you who suffer from occasional blockage, here is a great blog entry by Dani Jones from the blog Danidraws.com. There are a list of projects that an illustrator can do to hone his/her chops and create some nice pieces for the portfolio...

ILLUSTRATION FRIDAY:CONTAGIOUS

2009-05-21T15:14:00.002-04:00

This is too obvious I know... But, what the hell... It's been a busy week.

MORE MOVIE SCREEN PAINTS

2009-05-17T22:12:00.002-04:00

Two quick movie scene sketches. A scene from Time Bandits and one from Brazil--two of my favorite Terry Gilliam movies in terms of aesthetics. I love the lighting, the colors, the use of skewed camera angles. Terry Gilliam is a master.

Anyway, I do this from time to time to help me work out some kinks in my rendering abilities. I am pretty confident in my drawing--given that I have had the most practice in that area. Working with color and rendering, however, require me to use a whole different part of my brain. So, every once in a while, I will do this quick color sketches of screen grabs from some of my favorite movies. I try to pick scenes that I like or that present some particular challenge for me. These two were just two very different types of scenes--very different in terms of set-up and color... It's a great learning tool actually.

SUP FOOL

2009-04-30T15:40:00.001-04:00

I just though this was funny.

ILLUSTRATION FRIDAY: THEATER

2009-04-29T16:08:00.002-04:00

I had this sketch of Cyrano for a while so I thought I would just do a quick color-up for IF.

THE LION AND THE MOUSE

2009-04-10T16:59:00.002-04:00

Just finished this last night... It's from Aesop's fable, the Lion and the Mouse. Still working some of the kins out of my style... I am trying some new things and am hoping that something will click! Let me know what you think!

JUST FOR FUN

2009-04-07T17:10:00.003-04:00

This was a quickie image I did to show to a prospective client. I wanted to demonstrate that I could handle doing dynamic images of vehicles. It's a little different from what I normally do but it was a fun exercise.

RUMPLESTILTZKIN

2009-03-26T20:13:00.007-04:00

This was an image I just completed as part of a series on Grimm's fairy tales... I guess I am going to a little bit of a dark place these days--still working out some issues and trying to find a style that more reflects my personality. Really, the best thing for me is just to keep sketching--keep the pencil on the paper. Some good stuff happens, but not always. It's about patience and persistence. Funny thing though... I almost prefer the illo on the right--the less polished one. It looks more lively and has more character than the one I spent hours on. Fancy that...

GPCP AUCTION PIECE: TRY AGAIN JAMES

2009-03-24T19:46:00.003-04:00

Okay, so the first painting idea I had (the take off on the Obama "Hope" image) was a stupid idea so I jettisoned that idea in favor of this one--which I kind of love. This was a sketch that I just sort of blew up on the canvas and then pretty much just loosely roughed out with acrylics. Once I had all the colors blocked in, I went back in with pastels and then added accents. Total working time, about 4-ish hours (including the time for making coffee, talking on the phone and pulling Daily Show and Colbert up on Hulu).

GPCP AUCTION PIECE: DOG

2009-02-28T16:28:00.003-05:00

This is going to be a large-ish canvas that I am planning for the GPCP auction benefit. Of course, it's a play on the whole Obama/Shepard Fairey image that was so ubiquitous during the campaign. Iam thinking a bigger canvas--nothing too huge. I basically found a stock image of a dog and did my own little paint-over in Photoshop. It doesn't make me Duchamp or anything but I thought it made for some pretty nice satire.

Anyway, what I plan on doing is to basically create a pasted collage background and then paint over that on canvas... We'll see. Not really sure how it will come out. You never know with these things, you know? They kind of take on a life of their own. Stay tuned!!

ILLUSTRATION FRIDAY: INSTINCT

2009-02-26T10:32:00.001-05:00

I love to eat them birdies. Birdies what I love to eat. Bite they little heads off. Nibble on they tiny feet.

SKETCHBOOK DROPPINGS: NEW STYLE

2009-02-25T15:29:00.003-05:00

I have been adapting a style lately that more accurately reflects my personality and how I work. In the past, I have tried so hard to polish my style--to create works that are "gleaming" in their finished appearance. The ironic thing is that those pieces generate nowhere near the positive reaction that my looser, less polished pieces generate. I have shown my portfolio to people, watched them flip past all of the pieces that I was so proud of because of their polished finish only to have them stop at gaze at some sketch. I don't know what that says about me but I think I am going to explore this for awhile.
Here is another piece from my sketchbook...

ILLUSTRATION FRIDAY: CELEBRATE

2009-02-17T20:25:00.003-05:00

Pretty much all I have had time to blog about these days are Illustration Friday topics... I have been busy with work and taking on other projects... It's been hard to stray too far from the work stuff. But I was able to knock together a fun sketch for this topic...

ILLUSTRATION FRIDAY: TIME

2009-02-11T15:54:00.003-05:00

This is another loose color sketch for the Illustration Friday peeps. I don't know what I'm really trying to say here. Maybe nothing. Honestly, some of my sketches lately have seemed a little out there. They're not really anchored in anything except nonsense--which, oddly, I kind of love. I love the organic nature of sketching for fun... I think I need to embrace the nonsense more.

MORE SKETCHES

2009-02-10T15:14:00.006-05:00

Some more deposits from the sketchbook. I thought this was a funny sketch. Not really sure why. I just think it's funny...

The other one is a sketch depicting a scene from Rumplestitzken for a series I was planning a year ago on Grimm's Fairy Tales. I never finished it because I don't really think I am saying anything "new" with this image. It's sort of too familiar. I kind of abandoned the whole project due to my inability to stretch... Time permitting, I like the composition though. I might noodle around with it some later...

ILLUSTRATION FRIDAY: FLAWED

2009-02-03T15:25:00.003-05:00

This is my latest entry in Illustration Friday. I noodled this out last night. It's a "flawed" snapping turtle/dog. Of course, the inspiration is definitely Michael Gagne's Insanely Twisted Rabbits.. His character designs are truly twisted and beautiful and look like nothing I've ever seen. Check out his site for more examples of his wonderfully insane art and designs.

I truly need to spend more time sketching. It's so hard when I am staring down the barrel at daily deadlines and other projects, but it's so important to keep those muscles honed and fit. I can really tell when I have been too long away from the sketchbook... My draftsmanship gets very flabby.

TALES FROM THE SKETCHBOOK

2009-01-30T16:12:00.003-05:00

Lately, I have been taking a break from work and other stuff to look at old sketches and came across some from a while back when I was thinking about The Jungle Book. I was wanting to create a Shere Kahn design that is less Disney and more "Terry Gilliam." Anyway, I like these tigers a lot. Big cats are a lot of fun.

2009-01-23T12:00:00.002-05:00

I posted this on conceptart.org in their critique center and got some amazing feedback... One of the major points was that folks felt that there needed to be more variation in the colors overall--that is, adding more warmer colors, browns, golds, oranges. Others felt like it needed some more atmospheric touches to the background--maybe add some more cooler greens. I even desaturated some areas in the background to provide more of ma feeling of depth. One artist did me the honor of doing a brief "paint-over" on the image to better demonstrate his suggestions. I loved it so much that I tried to recreate the wonderful touches he added--though, of course, I added my own spin.

I attempted to do a "do-over" of this image--basically to flip the axe with the blade down (one critique was that the axe looked a little unnatural posed upright). I also did some revisions to the figure as well. I ultimately felt, however, that this piece was, overall, much stronger. Anyway, I had some printed today and they look amazing. I am pretty pleased with this--although, I see a lot of changes I want to make already. I am most likely going to be doing more pieces on Sir Gawain and the Green Knight as time permits. Stay tuned!

2009-01-14T21:32:00.002-05:00

Just finished this illustration that I've been picking at since before the holidays. I really do love fantastic art and have long wanted to try to tackle some more challenging subjects... The above image is my depiction of the Green Knight from Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. I read it many years ago in Medieval Lit class in college and always thought it would make an interesting illustrated text.

Overall, I am pretty happy with the illustration--although I would like to try and re-work the character a little bit. We'll see. Time permitting...

LAST ONE

2008-08-22T22:14:00.002-04:00

I did this animation test using Lightwave about 4 years ago. I was messing around with doing Inverse Kinematics--a term used in 3D animation which just signifies a particular method for animating a character's arms, legs and body. It actually sort of works the same way a marionette works.

SOMETIMES I AM SILLY

2008-08-22T16:44:00.003-04:00

Me being silly...

I ILLUSTRATE. SOMETIMES, I ANIMATE.

2008-08-22T15:35:00.006-04:00

This is a rotoscoped animation I did a few years ago when I was producing a documentary for South Carolina Educational Television about the American Revolution. Wavy Davey, my co-producer, and I had toyed with the idea of doing several rotoscoped animated sequences to serve as visualizations for key points in the story. What we didn't realize was how truly TRULY time consuming it all is. This, coming from an illustrator--not an animator. An animator will tell you, "Well, Duh!" But still. I thought this looked pretty cool--and not bad for about a day's work.

This was another rotoscoped shot with some particle simulated sparks and smoke courtesy of Lightwave 3D. Crude in some ways but I was learning so much. I would video myself and then import the files into Premiere. I can't remember how I output the files to facilitate drawing on them in photoshop but... Anyway, then I converted the Pshop files into vector images and then colored them in Illustrator. I think I used Flash to animate and then AfterEffects to compose? I can't remember. It's been awhile. Of course the person bears a striking resemblance to me:)

This is the exact moment where I decided I was losing my mind and had to stop... It was taking way to long to get up to where we needed. Of course I was on another deadline at the time.

Anyway, I'll publish some more as I go through these...

MORE MOVIE SKETCHES

2008-06-01T21:51:00.002-04:00

This was a quick 20 minute photoshop sketch I did of a scene from Last of the Mohichans--one of my all time favorite historical movies. Below is a detail/closeup:

When I say 20 minutes, that is to say I was really screaming fast and didn't even try to capture Wes Studi's likeness. Had I been trying to get a likeness, I would have spent much more time working on the drawing. This is really more of an exercise to try and nail down some lighting and value issues I have been having lately. Being largely self-taught as an artist, I am constantly realizing how little I actually know about color/value/composition. I have been sort of faking it--intuitively feeling my way through. Most of the time it works out but I often find myself struggling with some basic stuff as an illustrator--stuff most artists probably work out in art school.

Of course, the trick is to keep drawing. I am going to plan on doing several of these--as many as I can, a week. We'll see...

MORE PROJECTS I CAN'T TALK ABOUT

2008-03-16T22:04:00.001-04:00

It's frustrating but I can't post anything about the cool stuff I am doing right now. Hopefully, I'll be able to soon. In the meantime, be on the lookout for some sketchbook stuff in the near future! Happy Palm Sunday...

TOO MANY PROJECTS

2008-03-02T21:58:00.002-05:00

It's funny how the old wheel turns around. A little over a month ago, I was ready to swan dive off the nearest overpass due to the SEVERE lack of any meaningful freelance work. As many of you know, my fulltime job is fine, but let's face it, it's not what I want to spend the rest of my professional life doing and I've been doing it for eleven years. Of course, in that time I have been very lucky to branch out here and there with several side projects like the CHASING THE SWAMP FOX documentary and subsequent picturebook... Still, those projects have been few and far between and last fall was terrible. I was considering going back to school--which to me, felt more like an act of desperation than anything else. I mean, what would I study? And I'd be in exactly the same boat when I got out of school, only this time, I'd be in A LOT more debt! It was really starting to scare the ever living holy hell out of me. The idea that I was going to be this sad, bitter 50 year old scraping together one little gig after another... When faced with the alternatives of either shitting or getting off the pot. I chose to get off the pot and get moving. I can shit later...

Now I find myself awash in cool freelance projects and am even turning some down here and there. I am bound by a confisentiality agreement I signed not to publically discuss some of them but they are pretty cool and I am hoping some of these projects grow into something bigger. We'll see. I also submitted some Illustrations to the Spectrum Fantastic Art annual. We'll see if I got in or not... I should know this week whether I made it. I am hoplessly hopeful that I made the cut--but I won't be disappointed if I don't. It's a very presitgious annual and you have to really bring it if you want to make it in. I'll just keep submitting and see what happens...

Anyway, hopefully this trend of business will continue and I'll be able to post some preview images soon!

POLITICS

2008-02-25T23:12:00.003-05:00

I am for Obama this November. I think he represents the best hope for our country to break the cycle of destructive "dynasty" politics. I also like the fact that he is, at once, critical of where we've been as a country--and yet is openly and genuinely optimistic about our country's potential. That is a most progressive virtue.

One thing that is getting me riled though is how he is being attacked as being "unpatriotic" for not wearing a flag lapel pin. This is a talking point that originated from the orifices of the right wing media and some of the festering lie suck-holes at CNN. All I have to say is this: If George Bush's little play-time dress-up photo-op on the deck of the aircraft carrier (mission accomplished!) is the measure of a patriot, I think we could all do without that kind of patriotism for awhile. Obama is hadling it very deftly though, by simply refusing to dignify those attacks with any sort of substantive reply.

Here's to Barack rocking on to the nomination...

OOH ROCK ME AMADEUS!!

2008-02-19T22:04:00.002-05:00

Some fellow parents at my wife (and son's) preschool and I are currently reforming our cover band, The WIpes, for a May gig. It's a chance for us to play some cool tunes and generally act silly in front of a bunch of small children--who, in turn, look at us like GODS. For those of us who never played in a band, it's a chance to live out every fantasy we ever had about being a real ROCK STAR. And, by fantasy, I don't mean the ones where you wake up in a vomit caked hotel room with a four day hangover and a vicious case of the clap.

Well, tonight we had our first rehearsal--well, meeting. We didn't play much. We basically just talked about some of the songs and tried to figure out who's playing what and whether we're going to have a bassist and whether the gig is going to be outdoors and whether children will get all of the nuanced sexual innuendo in Pat Benatar's "Hit Me With Your Best Shot." It should be great. We have a good little set so far. I'll post it later as we get it honed and pared down.

Personally, I would love to do an all country set. It would go like this:

Mama Tried by Merle Haggard
Still Doin' Time by George Jones
Hickory Wind by Graham Parsons
I Walk the Line by Johnny Cash
The Winner by Bobby Bare
Feelin' Better by Hank Jr.
He Stopped Loving Her Today by George Jones
Whiskey River by Wille Nelson
Help Me Make It Through the Night by Kris Kristofferson

Rounding out the set would be Willin' by Little Feat

But, I don't think the kids at the preschool are ready for that. It might be a bit much.

DON MUECK SCULPTURE

2008-02-04T20:40:00.000-05:00

A friend sent me a series of images depicting the work of Australian sculptor Don Mueck. I have been a fan of his for awhile now--ever since I saw his sculpture of the Pope being crushed by a meteor. What I love about his work is both its hyper-realism, and how he plays with scale. It's more than just "making it large." It is taking something familiar and removing it from it's familiar space. The above sculpture is just a simple representation of a young boy. Nothing very remarkable about that in and of itself--but when seen with the small viewers in the foreground, the scale creates tension and drama.

I am pretty determined to spend a fair portion of my summer sculpting. It is something that, in truth, feels more natural to me than drawing. I feel better able to let go of the world around me when I am sculpting--more apt to disengage (in a healthy way) from external stimuli. It's the closest I've ever come to true meditation. Sculpting is, to me, much purer. My illustration work seems, at times, to be weighted down by my insecurities and my self conciousness. I don't have any of that with my sculpting work. I am sure that would change if I were to ever sculpt for a living... Maybe that's a can of worms I am happy to leave closed--for now.

THINGS I CAN'T TALK ABOUT...

2008-01-29T20:56:00.000-05:00

Because I signed an NDA, I can't talk about these projects but I did want to post this terrible-quality montage to give folks an idea of what all I have been up to. I have had a couple of good freelance gigs lately--which is great. I also had to turn a couple down, which sort of sucks, though in some ways it doesn't... It's always better to be too busy than to be curled up in the fetal position chewing my toenails--in mental agony because nobody wants to hire me and I'll be lucky to be designing urinal cakes when I'm 40 which is only four years away... Oops, my internal monologue slipped out a little didn't it? Anyway, it's good to be busy!

ILLUSTRATION FRIDAY: LITTLE THINGS

2007-12-09T22:47:00.000-05:00

I know I have posted this on the blog before, but this is too perfect an image for this category. I love robots... It's the STAR WARS thing in me I guess. I don't know... Anyway, this is an illustration for a long-abandoned book project that I started on my own about a year an a half ago. I just couldn't find anything to build a story on. Hopefully, I'll figure that one out soon.

ILLUSTRATION FRIDAY: EXCESS

2007-12-04T21:26:00.000-05:00

Too many apples! You might say, eating apples in EXCESS! I am trying new techniques--trying to combine elements of the digital with various studio techniques. This illo was done very quickly, in about a day and a half (sort of off and on). I am also trying to push values a little bit. Areas in shadow do a lot to provide a sense of drama to an image.

Anyway, let me know what you think! Comments are, as always, welcome!

ILLUSTRATION FRIDAY: ZOO

2007-11-30T08:23:00.000-05:00

Okay, so maybe it's a wee stretch, but frogs are found in zoos aren't they? And some of those frogs might be (though I would concede that it's probably NOT the case, but still) princes awaiting the kiss of fair maiden!

Actually, I missed the IF topic this week and was hoping to sneak this in under the wire for today. Thanks for your patience and understanding!! Ta Ta!

MACHINERIES OF JOY

2007-11-28T20:55:00.000-05:00

Um, yeah... I know it's been too long since I've last posted but I am just too busy punching cows to be bothered sometimes.

Anyway, this is a piece I just finished... I am submitting this to the Spectrum collection this year. We'll see. I am hopeful. I have never submitted to this collection before so we'll see.

Trying to stay inspired... It's a full time job. There is so much great work out there--so many reasons to be excited by what I do. It's just hard when you feel saddled by WORK to push the outside of the envelope, you know??

ILLUSTRATION FRIDAY (WEDDING)

2007-09-18T16:26:00.000-04:00

Another Illustration Friday topic! This was a lot of fun to do--which is strange because I wasn't thrilled with the topic at first. But then, that's the point isn't it? To challenge yourself! This really went quickly too--basically from sketch to final in about an hour and 45 minutes!

BILL MAULDIN AND THE TROOPS

2007-09-15T16:02:00.000-04:00

I am a big fan of Bill Mauldin, having read and re-read his book Up Front like, a million times. As a correspondent/cartoonist for Stars and Stripes during WWII, Mauldin was in a unique position to comment on--and lampoon the military because, well, he a soldier himself. He was attached to the 45th Infantry which saw action in just about every major theater of operations in Europe.

Mauldin gained noteriety by openly challenging the "spit and polish" attitudes of the military during wartime. His irreverence, as shown in the above cartoon, earned him a face to face meating with General George S. Patton, who threatened to jail him for spreading dissent until General Eisenhower intervened on his behalf. Eisenhower understood, I think, that Mauldin wasn't tearing the army down as much as he was trying to build up those who were doing the fighting. He created the characters of Willie and Joe to represent every G.I., or dogface, and their trials as fighting men in a seemingly never-ending war. His cartoons gave voices to those brave men. It also provided them with a much needed chance to laugh at themselves and their situation--as well as those who were commanding them.

I was thinking a lot about Bill Mauldin today as I was reading through a couple of blogs of servicemen serving in Iraq. As someone who vehemently opposes the war in Iraq, I find so much hope in reading the words written by these brave folks in uniform. There isn't the same kind of chest thumping, rah rah rhetoric that you hear from politicians and pundits stateside. Instead, there is an empathy and a genuine desire to create a better life for the people of Iraq. There is an awareness, a feeling of reckoning with many of them. I was thinking how each of these bloggers, in their own way, is like Bill Mauldin hunkered down with his bottle of ink and brush. They are watching and thinking and taking it all in--even as the world is on fire around them.

Just as Bill Mauldin brought a gentle humanty to G.I.s during WWII, so do these bloggers in Iraq. My hope is that some of our leaders will see that humanity too and bring them home soon.

SOME NEW PICHURS

2007-09-13T20:19:00.000-04:00

Still working on this picture book--which is no easy task given how busy I am. I am hoping to have this done so it can print this spring--maybe this winter. It's just going so slow!! Anyway, here is the latest establishing image of the father and son as they prepare to explore the zoo! I'll post more as I get them done. As I said, it's going SLOWLY!

ILLUSTRATION FRIDAY (MOMENTUM)

2007-09-10T17:01:00.000-04:00

I am happily posting again! I have been so busy with a big promo push, getting ready to update the website etc... So I haven't really had the time to devote to the cool stuff.

Anyway, I fired off this sketch today between deadline crusnches. It's not really a good likeness of me but this is sort of how I see myself these days... I really need to get into the gym.

A TRIP TO THE ZOO

2007-07-09T18:19:00.000-04:00

Here is an illustration--finished I hope, from a new book project I am working on. I am still sort of tweaking the style a little bit. We'll see what happens. I am shooting for a very rich, colorful look in this book--a lot more loose than how I usually work. I'll post more soon!

TOUCHING BASES

2007-06-30T23:11:00.000-04:00

Just got back from our beach vacation--still wishing I were ON vacation. But, life does go on, no matter how much I'd rather be fishing...

Anyway, my rep got her website updated last week. I think it looks great and I am very happy to be in with such a talented and diverse group of professional artists! Next up is my PictureBook ad which will be an ad in a major childrens' illustrators directory. Hopefully, this will translate into some steady freelance work coming in.

This coming week, I have to play a little catch up. Still working on the childrens book and I also am starting a new sculpture project. Lot's to do! I'll post some progress pics soon!

NEW ILLUSTRATIONS

2007-06-21T22:27:00.000-04:00

Here is a work in progress for a new book project I am working on for my mom and dad's publishing company. It's basically about a father and son at the zoo and all of their misadventures... Anyway, this illustration was started in pencil using good ol' pencil and paper. I spent a lot of time trying to get the look of the people right and I am still sort of toying around with some other different looks. I wanted the characters' faces to have a very VERY dynamic look. It's probably a little broad but I can always pull back if I need to.
The process is basically to take a pencil drawing and scan it. Then I bring the image in photoshop and make some adjustments to the contrast. The sketch is just a guide really, I'll keep little of the original sketch. I then bring the sized and adjested sketch into Corel Painter and basically "paint" over it with the painting layer set to MULTIPLY. That way, I can still see the pencil drawing underneath. I can toggle back and forth so that I can actually see the painting without the line work. It looks a little strange at this point becuse I am painting back to front and some elements are sort of just hanging in space waiting to be filled in. Still, I think it's off to a good start.
I want this book to have a very solid, painterly look to it. I am trying very hard to allow myself to work loose and fast while using large brushes. It's easy to zoom WAAAAAY in and work on every minute detail. I think this way, the characters look more alive. Well, anyway... We'll se. I am pleased so far.

HANNIBAL RISING?

2007-06-13T21:27:00.000-04:00

More like, HANNIBAL SUCKING.

I just finished watching HANNIBAL RISING and man was I disappointed. I mean, I had read the reviews and I sort of expected that the movie would be weak but GEEZ! This was just sort of pointless.

The great and cool thing about the character of Hannibal Lecter (as portrayed by Anthony Hopkins), what made him the greatest screen villain since George Sanders voiced Shere Khan in THE JUNGLE BOOK was his steely charisma. Not to mention his biting--and somewhat surprising sense of play. Hopkins's scenes in SILENCE OF THE LAMBS are, with due respect to Jodie Foster, why I watch that movie over and over again.

This HANNIBAL RISING however turns Lecter into some Euro-trash sleaze with an indistinct accent and a persistent smirk. I couldn't understand what he was saying half the time either. The supporting characters are equally pointless. It's almost as iff they wandered in from other WWII era movies. This ponderous movie doesn't really provide any new insights into this beloved bad guy. Instead, it feels sort of thrown together. It's just sort of a bleak revenge story.

I always sort of pictured Hannibal Lecter as a priveleged young man in Baltimore. He probably went to private school where he became famously well liked for cooking exotic gourmet meals for the gang at the residence hall.

I don't know... I guess I just had high hopes for this movie.

FUN WITH DADDY

2007-06-11T21:19:00.000-04:00

I am currently working on a project for my mom and dad's small publishing company Warbranch Press. It's basically about a father and son's day at the zoo. The really cool part is that we live VERY close to ZOO ATLANTA (sometimes we can actually hear the lions roaring from our house!) and Leo and I have been taking trips to go and do some research. It's been amazing... I'll post some sketches soon. Nothing is really gelling yet but I have some time. I am really wanting this book to look different--to show some growth in my drawing and composition. So far, I am still crutching on old habits--over-drawing and not pushing the design elements very far. Everything is still too "SAFE." This is a great opportunity for me to try some different things.

I'll be able to explain more as I begin to post some drawings but really, what I want is for this whole book to be dynamic--more reflective of the kind of work that inspires me as opposed to what I think people WANT to see. I don't know how successful this attempt will be but I hope to post some preliminary studies soon. As always, stay tuned!

A NEW LEAF

2007-06-06T21:24:00.000-04:00

I have decided that I am going to make a firm commitment to post on this blog AT LEAST once a week--hopefully TWICE a week. I have a been slack assed shit these past months and have not really had the energy to write. Well, that's actually not really true. The truth is I haven't felt much like sharing these last few months. We've had sort of a lot of thrown at us and I truthfully have been all too happy to focus on work...

Creatively things are full of promise--well mostly. I just finished a pretty cool sculpting assignment for a toy company out west. It was sort of an audition and I hope I made a good first impression. I got the gig after someone saw some of my work on this blog actually... Hopefully, I'll get some more work from them. Toy design is a lot of fun. I also have the possibility of some more illustration work once my ad goes into the Picture Book Annual for Children's Illustrators. We'll see what happens.

As I hear more and as more things come rolling in, look for more news on this blog...

Cheers y'all!

THANKS EASTER BUNNY!! (Bock Bock)

2007-04-07T23:22:00.000-04:00

Okay so I know I need to replace the picture on my profile. I had some kind of snafu with earthlink and I lost some stuff. I'll get around to it...

Still thinking like crazy about Mandy's mom, Susan. I really do miss her. I was just looking at old photographs and seeing those old pictures of her surrounded by her family... It's bittersweet. She was always smiling and joking about something--a big one for gallows humor. She could find humor in anything--cancer for example. Mandy has really been having a hard time letting go. Luckily, we have some of her old journals--well ALL of her old journals. It's funny reading back about her impressions of holidays and visits. It's also very sad to read about how scared she was of dying. I think back to one of the last really deep conversations we had. It was a Saturday morning and I was lying on the floor in her bedroom talking and reading a New Yorker magazine while she sat in bed and watched television. This was a popular morning pastime when we came to visit--all of us gathered in her bedroom, me on the floor (usually reading and participating in the conversation in small fits) and Mandy lying in bed with her mom. Anyway, Susan asked me what I thought heaven was like. Without really thinking much I said, "Well, I like to think of it as a never-ending fishing trip on the intracoastal waterway." I was just thinking about what makes me happiest--where I really lose myself. I wasn't really thinking about cchosing my words carefully or anything--I mean, a dying person asks you what heaven is like, you'd better have a good answer. I don't know, I hope my answer was good. It was honest at least.

I don't know about Heaven. As a Christian, I have to believe that there IS a heaven, but what it looks like, I don't know. I do know that God is good and His grace is a blessing the touches us ALL, EVERYONE OF US... I like to think that Heaven is a reflection of that grace. I don't know. I just hope that if heaven IS an eternal fishing trip on the intracoastal waterway, that I'll have room for an eternity's worth of beer in the cooler.

PASSING

2007-03-31T08:36:00.000-04:00

Mandy's mom passed away a few weeks ago, and I have been avoiding blogging about it for some reason. Possibly, because it's still pretty raw and close to the surface for us. We're doing better but there is a lingering sadness. We were all able to be there as she passed--holding each other and holding her hand as she took some of her last labored breaths. It was a horrible, wonderful, blessed, scary, terrifying, beautiful day/week. Mandy seems to be doing well--better anyway. Looking at her mom's journals has been a healing--though sometimes hard, experience. Some of the family set up a blog to honor Mandy's mom, Susan. Check it out here.

OVER-DRAWING

2007-02-12T21:24:00.000-05:00

This is a new self-promo piece I am working on. I have a rep who is going to put more of my work out there so hopefully this will mean more work coming in. The only downside is that it will mean...MORE WORK. I barely have time to complete the projects in the pipeline now!! Still, more work means more money and that's always good.

One thing I have noticed in my work is that I have a tendency to over-draw. I heard an old drawing teacher tell a fellow student a long time ago that he was "over-drawing." I guess I thought he meant that he was drawing on top of something he shouldn't have been. I later learned that he meant that the student was using too many lines in his work--almost as if he were digging for the image with his pencil. The best drawings, he explained, are drawings that have "economy of line." These drawings come together with just a few simple lines. He was fond of saying how one of the best drawings he'd ever seen was a nude figure created with only three brushed lines. I thought this was just bollocks for a long time.

This past weekend I was looking at old Calvin and Hobbes strips and I noticed how simple-and how brilliant the drawings were. I then looked back at what I was working on which was a crossed-hatched, pencil nightmare. It had none of the weight, or soul of the simple drawings in those wonderful strips. My mom, an illustrator/cartoonist herself used to tell how Peanuts creator Charles Schulz once said of C&H creator Bill Watterson, "He draws the best night tables of anyone in the business." I don't know how accurate that quote is but it sure is the truth. I suddenly realized what my old teacher meant.

I am not a cartoonist by any means. I have far too much respect for cartoonists to call myself one. What they do requires a special kind of artistic skill and a finely tuned sense of humor. But I have TONS to learn from cartoonists like Bill Watterson, Mort Drucker, Jack Davis, Jeff MacNelly, and the list goes on... Lines are what hold a drawing up--the scaffold if you will. Everything else is just sauce for the goose. I spent a hell of a lot of time perfecting the skill of crosshatching. Now I think it has ruined me as an artist because I have gotten so wrapped up in the hatching that I have neglected the most important part. The Line...

Anyway, I am working on it...

2007-01-28T17:56:00.000-05:00

FEELING DOWN?

I was feeling really shitty until I saw this... If this don't make you laugh, you are a horrible awful person...

NOT SO FAST

2007-01-26T22:00:00.000-05:00

Well fuck... I believe I may have mentioned a thing or two in my last post about Mandy being pregnant. Well, she isn't anymore... She had what we found out was an ectopic pregnancy as seen here in the above image. Last week she went in for a routine checkup with the midwife and FOOM! Next thing I know I am in the recovery room comforting my wife after surgery to remove the pregnancy.

That was exactly a week ago. I haven't felt much like doing anything this week really, let alone posting on some stupid blog. The big plans we were making about selling our house and moving into a bigger house are now a million miles away. I have been trying to help out as much as possible--housework and daddy overdrive. It has been a challenge--especially since Mandy can't pick Leo up for aw while. There is a lot of tension. I think both of us are struggling with feelings that have only just started to rise to the surface.

For me, I am feeling incredibly guilty. Guilty because it took me so long to even come to a place where I was the least bit excited about having another child, and now... It's like I willed this to happen somehow (I, mean I know I didn't, but...) I think about how long we tried to have our first baby and all the sacrifices that we made to make that happen. I think about how spectacularly selfish I am sometimes and how I can be so blind to the blessings that are right in front of me. The air is thick with what might have been that sometimes it closes on me so tight that I can't breathe. If I am feeling all of this, you can imagine how Mandy feels...

I should point out however that there is a very HUGE silver lining in all of this. We can still get pregnant again. We just have to make sure that Mandy is monitored closely. Apparently, and surprisingly, ectopic pregnancies are pretty common in IVF patients. We just have to be careful... We are also talking about how we feel and we're healing some. Mandy has more physical healing to do, obviously. I will continue to try and help as much as I can.

Through it all, Leo continues to be our greatest source of joy. Even when he is playing in the toilet and pulling all of the books off the shelves and refusing to sit in his car seat... He is still the greatest and most amazing joy in our lives. I look at him and I simply disappear--like I am ether and I am just right there floating in the moment. It sounds like some kind of bullshit daddy dearest stuff I know, but I can't help it. Anyway,... Life goes on. Thank God, it does go on...

ALL IN THA FAMILY

2007-01-14T20:41:00.000-05:00

Mandy's PREGNANT!! For those who don't know... Needless to say, I am excited--if a wee bit freaked. More to come...

WHAT'VE I BEEN UP TO?

2006-12-15T18:19:00.000-05:00

Very simply, I have been working on a few freelance projects here and there--this on top of my "job" job. It's a never ending process and I am starting to get frustrated about projects that I WANT to be working on and those that are putting food on the table. That's another gripe for another post for another day...

Today I want to talk about the joys of daytime television. As a part time stay-at-home-dad, I sometimes have the television on while doing household chores or while playing with Leo. Usually it's something innocuous like "Frasier" or "The Golden Girls" and, yes, I have gotten addicted to "Days of Our Lives." I'm not proud of it. Long gone, though, are the days when Leo was an itty bitty infant and I could watch "Saving Private Ryan" while giving him a bottle... Now he actually watches TV when I have it on so I have tried to drastically limit the time that the TV is on during the day.

When I do have it on--and if Leo is awake and in the room, I will have it on PBS. Well, the other day this show called "It's a Big Big World" came on. It's kind of a "Henson-esque" show with puppets--animals that all live in a big rainforest tree. Chief among the "World Tree's" denizens is Snook. Snook is a Sloth and he spends much of his time hanging upside down sleeping--that is when he isn't consumed with the goings on in the tree. I actually started watching this show about a month ago, but now I am actually paying attention to it and there are some details that I have become aware of--mainly concerning the main character Snook. First of all, Snook talks like a lot of people I knew in college--people who also spent a lot of time sleeping upside down if you know what I mean. He talks in this sort of Dead-head, surfer drawl like, well, someone who spends a lot of time baked out of their mind. He's real easy-going--a little TOO easy going sometimes, very "Heey there duuude... What's going oooooon?" He is also very chubby--like he's been hitting the Lucky Charms and Mac and Cheese a little too hard, and when he walks it's in this kind of stoner half-step. Ive seen it all too often--like at the local Taco Bell at one in the morning. His hair is unkempt and shaggy and his eyes, well, you can't even make out the white parts. There's just a hint of red around them. There was also one epsiode where he was "drinking" from a long bamboo "cup" with a straw in it. The first thing I thought was, "That big ol' puppet's got a bong." Then I remembered this was a kid's show. That's when the big hairy bastard took a long pull off that straw and there came a bubbling sound out of that bamboo that sounded a little too familiar if you know what I mean (and I think you do).
Besides Snook, the whole show has a sort of "Phish-Widespread-Panic-Are-you-kind?" feel too it. There's lots of pull away shots of the tree that are a little trippy and the supporting characters are all a little out of their minds too. I mean, looking back at some of the stuff I watched as a kid, including Seaseme Street, I HAVE to think that weed was just everywhere back then. I don't know... This show though... I know there are some folks off camera laughing together at what they think is their clever inside joke. As the end credits roll, Snook sings the ending song which sounds a little like something we sang in the stairwells in college--bombed within an inch of unconciousness. At one point in the song, he invites the kids to "Give me five." It's like he sees through the screen!!

I do like the show though...

THE GRADUATE

2006-12-04T15:22:00.000-05:00

stymie.jpg
Originally uploaded by stymie924.

This past holiday, we were in Clemson visiting my family and my mom thought it would be fun (which it was) to watch my old high school graduation. She also was kind enough to put it on DVD for me--which is an added bonus since Leo will be able to watch and laugh for many years to come!

Seriously, this video was a real trip dow the ragged old path that some like to call memory lane. As I look at this picture I can think of how badly I would like to be standing next to this child as he prepares to be vomited out into the world. I would tell him which women he should steer clear of in the future. I would also tell him that tequila should never be "swigged" right from the bottle. I might mention also that it would be a good idea to lose the mullet RIGHT AWAY as opposed to keeping it for another year.

Ours was the last graduation ceremony to be held outside in the football stadium--due in no small part to what can only be described as horrobly inapropriate behavior on the part of the hundred and fifty or so graduates present that hot June evening. Stink bombs were set off. Beach balls were blown up and batted around. And, in what was the greatest stunt of all, a huge blow up doll in the shape of a male stripper was also smuggled in, blown up, and tossed back and forth during the valedictorian's speech. The many administrators, teachers, coaches and sheriff's deputies in attendence seemed either unable or unwilling to intervene--even when the huge doll was vaulted over the front row of graduates and landed right in front of the speakers podium, its large plastic ass sticking straight up in the air. Oh wel...

While the good times were certainly rolling onscreen, I couldn't help but be saddened to see the faces of some friends and classmates who have since either died or been beset by a tragedy of one kind or another. Still, they were smiling on that day. The sun was shining bright and everyone was happy and hopeful about what lay ahead. People cheered and shouted encouragement when your name was called and it felt good to be in the moment--to be happy in the moment. Everyone was a friend--whether you liked them or not.

I still wish that I had done something about that fucking mullet! The sad thing is, I got my hair cut that very day!!!

SOLD!!

2006-12-04T15:12:00.000-05:00

canvas7.jpg
Originally uploaded by stymie924.

This painting, one of the first large canvases I attempted, sold this week at Gathering Grounds. This canvas probably held the most sentimental value for me--mainly because I think that it reflects more of the "child" in my personality, the child that loves old airplanes. I knew that I ran the risk of losing this piece when I put it up for sale but I felt like I would be okay with it as long as it went to someone who could appreciate it. Well, someone DID buy it and not only did they bbuy this one, they bought another of the pieces that had a lot of sentimental value--and, as it turns out, he's a good bloke with a little girl about Leo's age! So, anyway, that makes it a little easier to part with.

2006-11-12T22:25:00.000-05:00

HERE I GO AGAIN...

Came across this little beauty on good ol' YouTube today. Figure I better enjoy the good stuff before they start cracking down on copyrighted material. Before long, all you'll be able to see is videos of people doing that stupid mentos-diet coke trick.

Anyway, Whitesnake--what a band. Sort of like a sleazier, whiter, Zepplin--but with THREE, count em, THREE keyboard players!! Also, they have that Tawny Katain (or whatever her name is) dry-humping two Rolls Royce's at ONCE!! I mean, that's just GOLD!!

Yes, I did listen to a little Whitesnake. My musical tastes in high school were a veritable potpurri of depressive angst and unbridled, car-humping sexuality. I remember this video in particular because supposedly, there is a part where one of Tawny's nipples peeks out ever so slightly. You know, back in the day (before the internet that is) we teenagers had to take our nipple-sightings where we could find them. Seriously though, my tape collection went from the truly somber (The Smiths, The Cure, New Order) to the "alternative" (REM, The Femmes, Camper Van Beethoven) to redneck, hair metal (Metallica, Ozzy, Whitesnake, Crue, Def Leppard) to classic metal (ACDC, Zepplin) to Southern Rock (Skynyrd) to Rush (I don't really know how to categorize them--geek rock?). I listened to it all--that is when I wasn't listening to U2--which I was most of the time. Sometimes I think that if they were to re-make The Big Chill with people from my generation (who the hell would want to see that?? Anyway...) the soundtrack would include this kind of stuff... God I feel OOOOOOOLLLLLLDDDD...

Anyhoo... Please take a minute to view this awesome blast from the past--and maybe you coould spot the nipple!!

ART SHOW

2006-11-10T09:55:00.000-05:00

My Paintings are actually hanging and they look great... They seem to compliment the surroundings and color palette of Gathering Ground's decor perfectly. We had a small but lively reception last Sunday with the little ones providing quite the floor show. My good mate Raj from Clemson and his handsome family showed up to share in the festivities as well. It was great... And, actually, I have had a few people express a little interest in buying a couple of pieces. We'll see what happens.

This has been sort of a strange experience for me actually--mainly because I don't paint on canvas usually. I am used to my work looking back at me from the computer screen. It's funny how I invest so much energy in trying to make digital images look like wet media--when I could just use the paints and canvas and all that mess and go for the real thing. Why don't I? Well, firstly because paints and materials can be expensive and messy and especially costly if you are prone to making mistakes as I am. Also, since most of what I do is for print and the web, it's WAAAAY easier to manipulate digital media and images as opposed to taking a large canvas, photographing it and then having to color correct it.

Still, I do enjoy painting on canvas when I can. It's hard work but well worth it! I hope y'all will toddle on down to the Kirkwood community to visit the kind folks at Gathering Grounds and check out the art as you sip a Latte...

ART SHOW COMING UP

2006-10-24T21:35:00.000-04:00

canvas1.jpg
Originally uploaded by stymie924.

I know, I know... I have been long absent from the blogospehere. I have actually been working like a demon--full time job, part time stay-at-home dad. It's just crazy man.

Here's what's what. I am prepping an art show at a local coffee shop called Gathering Grounds. I have a ton of paintings in various stages of undress. I need to get them finished and looking spiffy and ready for hanging. This is my first show ever and I don't really know how to price my paintings or even really what to include. It's strange--but exciting too. I am not really expecting to make, like, a ton of money or anything. It's just so nice to have a place to show my work for w couple of months and if somebody likes it, GREAT!!

The paintings are really an interesting lot. They aren't really a series per se, but they do all seem to have a certain quality in common--that is, I guess they have a nostalgic feel. For some reason, I seem to have an affinity for things from the early twentieth century. I don't know why... Anyway, painting is something that I don't do enough, something that is amazingly comforting and solitary--yes, sometimes lonely. And I really do feel like there's a little piece of me in all of these pieces. They are have a certain sentimental value. I am going to have a hard time parting with some of them. Anyway, I am excited.

In other news, I am exploring a new way of creating illustrations. I'll post more on that I promise!!

MORE THINKING...

2006-09-13T22:55:00.000-04:00

Which really isn't all that good for me I guess. I am turning 35 in a a week and I am feeling a little anxious about it all. I am having one of those "EVERYBODY HATES ME" days. I don't know what my problem is. I guess it could have somehting to do with how hard I've been working lately--OR that I have not been getting enough sleep these days because Leo is cutting teeth and making our lives difficult in the sleep dept.. Just feeling a little paranoid.

I am feeling the burn of my thirty-something years. I look back on things I've accomplished and things left un done or abandoned. I still believe that my most productive years lay ahead--but the trick is finding time to realize those ideas and dreams that I have whirling inside my noggin. I have this grand idea for a story that I keep pushing off to the WAAAAAY back burner--in the midst of all the other stories I have. It's a story I want to do for Leo, one that we can add onto together when he gets older. I won't give away any details but I will be posting some of the sketches soon...

I don't know... Maybe I should head off to bed.

JUST THINKING

2006-09-09T23:33:00.000-04:00

I am sitting here, just sitting--listening to the house settle, listening to my neighbor's party break up. Car doors are slamming and people are heading home, their radios thumping into the night as the rest of the 'hood seems to slip away under the full moon... Things are feeling strange, almost hyper-real--close to the bone. It's 11:30 and Mandy has gone to bed. Leo will no doubt be up soon for a midnight feeding.

I was hoping to get some work done. I have a deadline to meet and I am worried I may have overextended myself a little with work these days. So as I write this, I know I should be working. I just can't. There is so much stuff swirling around upstairs that I can't be bothered with something as silly as work. And yet I can't go to sleep. It's not that I am anxious, it's almost like I am just aware, calmly aware.

MY LABOR DAY SUCKED--AT LEAST SOME OF IT...

2006-09-04T18:56:00.000-04:00

Oh sure, we spent some great quality time with my family in Clemson--which is always great. We all got to sit and visit and of course everyone got to have some great QT with Leo. Mandy and I went for a walk with my dad (who happens to have a PhD in Agronomy from Clemson) in the woods where we were introduced to the lethal pokeweed. So that part was great...

The shitty and really suck-ass part of it is that Steve Irwin died this morning in a freak encounter with a stingray. Steve Irwin, the "Crocodile Hunter" was a true freak of nature, a wild-eyed man-child who would hurl himslef at all manner of dangerous animals and then, as he is holding said animal in front of the camera, deliver a hurried monologue as to the animal's lethality and why it deserves our respect and protection. He was like some bastard cross between Marlon Perkins and my crazy uncle Bill who once grabbed a massive rattlesnake by the throat and killed it because he heard they "were supposed to be pretty good eating."

We used to watch Irwin every Saturday morning in bed... He attacked the world like some mutant three year old--full of wonder and excitement. I will miss him...

2006-08-29T22:17:00.000-04:00

WKRP - Thanksgiving Turkey Drop

Quite possibly the funniest episode of any television comedy ever. EVER!! This was always one of my favorite shows growing up and this episode... It still makes me laugh hysterically. This clip is from the last six minutes. Watch it until the end for the final line. Priceless...

Oh yeah, I am supposed to be working now. This is more fun.

ANOTHER SKETCH

2006-08-26T23:40:00.000-04:00

deckard_sketch.jpg
Originally uploaded by stymie924.

This is another sketch from a screen capture of the film BLADE RUNNER. I actually prefer this sketch to the last one because I think I have a better handle on the lighting in this sketch. The face is also rendered better in this sketch than the last. It really goes to show you how lighting can really make the scene.

Another important lesson to learn from this process is how different skin tones look in different lighting conditions. There are so many subtle differences in shading and value that come together to make the face pop out.

I have to give some mad props to Ridley Scott. This movie... Every scene is like a work of art. It is breathtaking and it still holds up after all these years.

Anyway,... I hope to do a sketch a day. These are great workouts! Like power-lifting or windsprints for artists! Ha!

QUICK SKETCH PART DEUX

2006-08-25T17:37:00.000-04:00

boy_face_sketch1.jpg
Originally uploaded by stymie924.

I created this sketch in photoshop today from a screen capture from THE PATRIOT. I am working on some illustrations for the portfolio that are much more dramatic and use different lighting techniques.

I am not particularly happy with the boy's face. I think it looks flat--primarily because there is no light shining directly on the face to provide differences in value--light and dark. It's all about learning though. Stay tuned! I'll be posting some cool stuff soon!

2006-08-14T21:33:00.000-04:00

U2-GLORIA

I found this little nugget of nostalgia on YouTube.com tonight and wanted to share it with all the faithful 'smear readers--few of you as there are.

This Band defined my high school life pretty much. I listened to War driving back and forth to school every morning. I watched the Under A Blood Red Sky concert on MTV when it came out. I made pitiful, "high schoolish" attempts at romance to Unforgettable Fire... I wore out the Joshua Tree LP until it skipped and fuzzed through my favorite songs.

I still find that my love of U2 holds up after all these years. Not the new music so much--mainly the EARLY stuff. Boy, October, War and of course Unforgettable Fire. I love Joshua Tree too, but that's the last album I fell in love with.

Anyway, if you're a fan of old music videos, they probably have them on YouTube. Check it out,,,

JOHN THE BAPTIST

2006-08-07T22:08:00.000-04:00

john_baptist2.jpg
Originally uploaded by stymie924.

This is a very quick Photoshop sketch depicting the baptism of Jesus by John. I am working on a few biblical themed illustrations here and there to market to Churches for use in worship multimedia presentations...

Obviously, this is a pretty rough, unpolished sketch... The reason I stuck with this image is because I had been noodling over the idea that John the Baptist was possibly black. I don't know why, but I started to really put it together in my head that this was possible. I know that, according to scripture John was related to Jesus and was, in fact from the same town of Nazareth. Still, suppose, his father Zacharias had married a Jew from Northern Africa... That could explain it... Maybe??

Who knows. I do think it's safe to assume that Jesus and his contemporaries didn't look like Def Lappard...

In any case, I abandoned this sketch because it really is lousy and I can do much better. I see promise in this piece, though, in that it is forcing me to look at my faith in a different way--through different eyes. I truly feel like it's important for me to challnge, through art, the commonly-accepted view of scripture as completely WASP-ish and Euro-centric. That is, I want to try and visualize scripture in a more appropriate historical context... We'll see what happens.

IN PRAISE OF OPPOSABLE THUMBS

2006-08-04T15:49:00.000-04:00

I just replaiced the hard drive in my Mac Powerbook... No small feat, considering the teeny tiny parts and screws. So far so good!!

SKETCHING

2006-07-24T21:28:00.000-04:00

sketch3.jpg
Originally uploaded by stymie924.

One thing I try to do as often as possible is to sketch. Sketching from life, from television, from my imagination...

A particularly fun thing I enjoy is taking favorite scenes from films and attempting to recreate them as quickly as possible in color using Photoshop. This keeps me sharp--sort of the drawing equivalent of doing windsprints. I also cannot rely just on draftsmanship, I have to be thinking in terms of color, mood, light...

This scene is from The Mission starring Robert DeNiro. I wasn't after a likeness, rather, I was trying to quickly capture the overall palette and feel of the scene as it appeared in the film.

HOWARD PYLE

2006-07-21T22:55:00.000-04:00

pyle_book.jpg
Originally uploaded by stymie924.

I came across this book today while doing some online research on Howard Pyle. Pyle was, and is, considered to be one of the greatest American Illustrators that ever lived. N.C. Wyeth was a protoge' of his, as were several other illustrators who lived and worked during the early twentieth century.

I love Pyle's work for its simplicity, its technique. I also admire his ability to place the viewer right in the middle of the action. It has to be said that nobody paints pirates like Pyle.

Tonight I was back at it, painting on canvases again. It's a different animal from digital art. You have to work--execise, almost. Some days it's easier than others...

THANKS KRISTI

2006-07-15T22:16:00.000-04:00

I AM BLESSED-with a beatiful, funny, quirky wife and a movie-start cute kid! I also have the best dog in the world. To have a job doing what I love.

I WANT-to be liked.

I WISH-I could take a year off and do nothing but sculpt. I were a better painter.

I HATE-That I am so sensitive--that I read too much into people's interactions with me. That I need to be liked. That I sometimes talk to much. Bill O'Reilly.

I MISS-South CArolina. Camp Cherokee. Playing soccer. Doing theatre.

I FEAR-Cancer. Losing my wife, my son.

I HEAR-The air-conditioner in my office. MVY radio online out of Martha's Vinyard.

I WONDER-If illustration is what I was meant to do... If I'll get any better as an artist. If Leo will be an artist or will he rebel against all things creative.

I REGRET-Not going to art school. Some past job interviews.

I AM NOT-Untalented. Skinny. A redneck. Black.

I DANCE-better than my wife.

I SING-in church every Sunday at 8:45.

I CRY-more than I am comfrotable even admitting...

I AM NOT ALWAYS-a good Christian. Happy. Sad.

I MAKE WITH MY HAND-art. Lots and lots of art.

I WRITE-like a child with a crippled hand.

I CONFUSE-Chipotle and cilantro...

I NEED-Friends close by. Something to draw. My family. My wife. My son. To be appreciated as an artist.

I SHOULD-be inside with Mandy. Get a new hard drive for my mac. Get my iPod fixed.

I START-illustrating a book on Monday.

I FINISH-very few ambitious projects I start on my own..

MEN WITH HATS

2006-07-11T17:22:00.000-04:00

canvas3.jpg
Originally uploaded by stymie924.

Yes, I know I have been way absent from the "blogospehere" but I have been consumed with work/fatherhood/general malaise. I have been grappling these past months with a wee bit of the old depression--otherwise known on the street as, "the pity party." I apologize to any and all faithful readers of the 'smear who have been missing me. I am back, for now...

Yes, I have been a-wallowing in the pit of semi-despair (more like semi-sadness--or whiny-ness) of late. However, art continues to be an area of comfort for me and I am happy to have some time to try something different--painting on canvas. This is something that I enjoy doing--though time doesn't always permit it.

This is an as yet unfinished large canvas in a series of canvases entitled "Men with Hats" since I somehow always end up painting men in the 1930's style with those fedora hats on. I don't know why, it's just something that I have always done. Subconsciously, I guess it's all about what I grew up with. My Grandfather was always wearing one of those hats (never indoors!!). In all the pictures I saw of him over the years, he had the same stern--yet placid expression on his face and a-top his head was always one of those hats. Later in life, it was a Tom Landry/Bear Bryant-style hat--the kind with the little feather in the side of the brim. Anyway, y'all let me know what you think...

ILLUSTRATION FRIDAY (ROBOT)

2006-04-25T17:05:00.000-04:00

mech1.jpg
Originally uploaded by stymie924.

I did this sketch a while ago in my sketchbook. It started with a doodle of an eye and grew into this wierd robot/mech face. I just found the pencil sketch and dropped it in Painter and fixed it up a little...

FLIGHT OF FANCY (MORE JOYS OF SELF-PROMOTION)

2006-04-20T15:30:00.000-04:00

airplane_kid2.jpg
Originally uploaded by stymie924.

Here is another image I did for self promotional purposes. It sort of illustrates how I feel at the moment with my work--somewhat detached and upside down with the world. Having a young child has changed my world view so much and I am really feeling like I want to crawl deeper and deeper into my creative self, that is, even as I play daddy. Also, I hate dealing with the reality of rejection. I sent a portfolio to Lucas Arts last month and just recieved a rejection via email. Email... What a way to get rejected. I am not even worth wasting paper and postage on. I get the form-written email that says "Thanks but no thanks..." Still, rejection is as much a part of what I do as drawing. I have to accept it and learn from it and move on. It is hard though... I tend to take it personally--probably because I invest so much of myself in my work. A couple of weeks ago, a friend who had previously said they wanted me to do some work for them decided to use someone else. I was actually shocked at how hurt I was. I mean, I know it wasn't personal or anything and I know it isn't like they hate my work. Still, my feelings were really hurt--I guess because it sort of hit me where I live. My ego is most tender and vulnerable when it comes to my work.

But, as I said, you move on... Now I am working on a bigger, more comprehensive portfolio which is going to KILL!!! And if it doesn't, I just gotta keep drawing--keep going.

GHOST ORB??

2006-04-19T23:24:00.000-04:00

ghost_orb1.JPG
Originally uploaded by stymie924.

I was just going through some pictures to send to folks of Leo's baptism and I came across this picture of my mom with what appears to be, at least according to people who study this stuff, a ghost orb on her head. Apparently, spirits, ghosts, or entities will sometimes manifest themselves as an "orb" in photographs. Anyway, that's what I have read on some websites and seen on TV.

Now I am not sure really what to believe actually. Truthfully, it could be an errant speck of dust or some kind of moisture phenomenon. Who knows? I will say that this "orb" doesn't appear on any of the other pictures taken that day. It's also more than a little creepy that it seems to have settled right on my mom's head.

Our church is a hundred years old this year and is rumored to be haunted. This past fall, I volunteered to stay at the church overnight as we played host to some Katrina evacuees. One night as I was drifitng off to sleep, I did have a distinct feeling that someone was in the room with me and I bolted up awake. The feeling persisted for a little while and I had to leave the room. I walked around in the fellowship hall and got a soda. I read for a while and eventually drifted off to sleep... It did freak me out though.

I don't know, it's most likely a piece of fuzz that happened to float by. It is an old church as I said and prone to collect dust. It is fun to speculate though. I mean, I think about 99 percent of this stuff is bollox but you never know. As Hamlet says, "There are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of in your philosophy..." Indeed...

EVOLVE OR DIE!!!

2006-04-17T22:48:00.000-04:00

charlesdarwin.jpg
Originally uploaded by stymie924.

This is a caricature of Charles Darwin I just finished... Strange that I should finish this the day after Easter--when we Christians celebrate the resurrection of our Lord and Savior by hunting colored eggs and eating ham. Why is that by the way? Why do we Christians eat ham--essentially, pork, on the day of Easter?? Is it sort of a final "screw you" to the Jews?? I don't know.

We had a great Easter. I helped with the sunrise worship service which was held this year, as every year, at historic Oakland Cemetary. It was a gorgeous morning and we had a huge crowd. Afterwards, I went home to change into some nicer clothes and help Mandy get Leo dressed for church. He had this WONDERFUL little outfit. I can't believe it... His first Easter!

After church we went to our friend Linda's for an AMAZING meal! Yes, we did eat ham. Following lunch, we all came home and promptly passed out. It was just a great day!!

ILLUSTRATION FRIDAY (MONSTER)

2006-03-28T10:43:00.000-05:00

angry.jpg
Originally uploaded by stymie924.

This was an illustration I did a while back as part of a larger series. It was all supposed to be for a picture book called "THE BIG BOOK OF MOOD." I still may finish it one day. Right now, I simply have too many projects to finish and too little time to do them!!

YOU'RE GOING TO PUT THAT WHERE??

2006-03-22T09:05:00.000-05:00

colonoscopy.jpg
Originally uploaded by stymie924.

Well folks, friends and family, I went and had the old colon examined yesterday... First things first, I am all clear and have a nice big healthy colon.

The day started off with me laying on the couch with Leo--unable to sleep. I was pretty nervous with the effects of the previous day's prep still rumbling down below. Leo an I lounged on the couch for a couple of hours in the early morning. I was debating whether I should take him to his momma for a little ealry morning feed while I jump in the shower and have another in a series of anxiety attacks... I opted for the shower.

At around 8:15 our preacher and good friend Susannah showed up to care for Leo. We ran through his routine, etc... while I continued to worry and fight the unbelievable urge to run to the bathroom. Why am I so worried? I wasn't worried the day before, or the day before that. I was pretty well settled that everything was going to be fine. Now? Who knows... Anything could happen. I run through all possibilities--one of them involved the doctor coming in after the procedure and showing me a strange piece of hardware. "We found this. I'm not really sure what it is. It coould be an alien probe of some kind. We're sending you to the Jet Propulsion Lab for further analysis. Don't bother getting dressed."

9:00 we arrive to check in and I look around the waiting room. I am the youngest person there by about 25 years. Everyone has the same look of dread and impending discomfort. Some people are clearly there under the duress of their spouse. One older man, as he is being escorted back is asked, "How are you feeling today?" he replies, "Don't know yet..."

At about 9:30 my patient beeper thing goes off (sort of like what they give you at Red Lobster) and I am taken back to where the magic happens. The admitting nurse is amazed at my vitality as I sprint around the corner. I explain that it's all an act, I just want to get this over with. She replies that she hears that a lot.

An IV is administered despite my freakishly small veins. They ask another series of embarrassing questions and then I am wheeled into the "chamber." When the doctor comes in, a gentle looking Chinese man, he remarks, "My god, you're just a baby! What are you DOING here?" I am asking myself the same question when the nurse asks me how much sedation I prefer. Are you kidding? I want TOTAL SENSORY DEPRIVATION!!! I am watching as she injects something into my IV. She has a knowing smirk on her face. While I am waiting to feel comfrtably numb, I look over and see the endoscope being "prepped" and I wonder, just how much of that long bastard are they going to stick up there? I am pondering the possibility of perferation when I am suddenly semi-alert in the recovery room. I guess it's all over! Mandy is there looking alternately embarrassed and as if she is sick from laughing. Apparently I shouted "Far out man! Far Fucking Out!" as I was coming out of the anesthesia. I then cut loose a barrage of roaring farts that would have blown the walls off an abrams tank--which prompted a feeble "Bravo" from one of the nurses in the recovery area. The Doctor eventually comes in and gives me the whole play by play which culminates in an "ALL CLEAR!" He says I shouldn't need to come back until I am 50. I couldn't be happier.

I spend the rest of the day in a relative daze--but somehow manage to put together a portfolio for a prospective client. Go figure. Anyway, here's to good colon health!!

COLONOSCOPY JOY

2006-03-21T15:33:00.000-05:00

All done and all clear... More detailed post to come after the effects of the anesthesia have worn off.

COUNTDOWN TO COLONOSCOPY

2006-03-16T19:52:00.000-05:00

In less than five days--well, let's just say next Tuesday, I'll be having a camera snaked up my you-know-what to see what, if, anything is up there... Of course, I am scared. I am scared, not of the actual procedure per se--although it doesn't sound like a day at the beach, but of the possibility that there might be something seriously wrong. My gut tells me (no pun intended--really) that there's nothing to worry about. Rationally, I know that I am a young man--reasonably healthy, if a bit overweight. I know that the chances of me being eat up with colon cancer are less than average--rationally I know all this. I haven't had any other complaints or symptoms. Still, you never know...

Still, I can't help but worry. I can see the doctor coming into the room, his brow furrowed with concern. He struggles with the words, "We found something, this area here (shows me the picture). I took a biopsy. We'll just have to wait and see." In the meantime, I am swallowing the giant lump in my throat. How will I break the news to my family? How can I support my wife and child with a tumor up my butt? I imagine the months of treatment to follow, the awesome journey of self-discovery--worthy of it's own movie of the week on Lifetime. I see myself swimming into the Atlantic ocean toward the end. I look to the sky and shout to the heavens, "I want to LIVE!!!" I think that may have been in another movie I saw a long time ago... Anyway...

I'll keep you all posted.

MAKE BETTER MOVIES INDEED

2006-03-15T20:41:00.000-05:00

Ward-O-Matic has a great post about what movie theatre owners are telling Hollywood... MAKE BETTER MOVIES! I thought I'd weigh in myself as a self-avowed movie geek.

First, there is a ton of speculation as to why people have been staying away from the movies this past year--Entertainment Weekly did a great little piece on it a few weeks back. Bad films, expensive concessions, cell phone madness, CRAZY ticket prices... These were all cited as reasons why the film industry and theatre owners have lost audiences. I tend to think it's a combination of all or some of these factors.

1. Let's look at quality. Do movies stink any worse now then they did last year? Ten years ago?? Twenty years ago? I'm not sure how to quantify that exactly--although I'll go out on a limb and say probably not. I will concede that I have been less excited about going to the movies lately--nothing much interesting me. From my own experience, I can tell you that the movies I have gotten excited about in the past five years were blockbusters, LORD OF THE RINGS and, yes, the STAR WARS films. Now the STAR WARS movies were good eye-candy but not what I would call "really good." But LOTR was and is something I will watch again and again--which brings me to a central point, repeat viewing. One way that theatre owners make a lot of money is by letting a blockbuster hang around for a long time while people see the movie again and again. Say Bob goes to see KING KONG on opening day. He loves it and that weekend he goes again with some friends and maybe those friends each see it again and so on and so on. Think of the concessions sold... That's just a theory I sort of thought about--nothing I know for sure. I have heard that that is one of the reasons TITANIC did so well was that people were just seeing it again and again and again. These days, one only need wait a few months before the director's cut is released on DVD and they can watch it at home--complete with the key grip's commentary. I don't know. I don't think movies are especially worse now than they were, say, five years ago. I just think that people are going to think twice about plunking down $30.00 for tickets and concessions for a movie that, I don't know, might be okay but do we really need to pay all that just to catch a glimpse of Angelina Jolie's bare nipple? I mean, I got cable... I'll see all the nipples I want at home!

2. Concessions. They are just outrageous. Next.

3. Cell phones. This is a particularly sore subject with me. I have seen people answer their phone in the middle of a movie and then threaten the life of the poor bastard who complains. Conversely, I have seen an entire theatre practically disembowel another poor bastard who forgot to turn his phone off. In this latter example, the guy just frantically fumbled with the phone as it screamed the theme from Shaft--all while his fellow moviegoers were cursing him with language that would make Mamet blush. Personally, I HATE it when somebody's phone goes off. It makes me crazy. I heard today on NPR that some theater owners are trying to get the FCC to let them scramble cell phone signals. Wha? That seems a little excessive. I think I would prefer a more direct ad campaign. Picture this, before the FEATURE PRESENTATION, Jack Black or some other popular actor, comes on screen and simply says, "If you don't turn off your cell phone now, YOU ARE A SELFISH DICK!!! Thank you and enjoy the show."

4. Couples. I recognize that this post is less about quality movies and more a rant about what annoys me at the movies... So what. I'm rolling. Now, couples. You know who you are. You are the ones who put up the arm rests at stadium theaters and snuggle and coo and smooch and feed each other popcorn and share your one big coke and basically make the rest of us want to, first, puke, and then, kill you. Let me say this. SHUT THE F**K UP. Sit in your seat and watch the screen and keep your hands in your lap.

5. Movie talkers. Again I say, SHUT THE F**K UP!! What makes people think that it's okay to speak AT ALL during a movie? What? Tell me? I'm serious. I've had people I love run their mouths the entire movie AFTER I have told them to shut it. I am not interested in your commentary. I like to be totally immersed in the complete movie experience and when you start in with your running color comentary it kills it for me. And for those of you I don't know, shut your suckhole during the movie. I'd like to insist that you shut it during the trailers--which I love--but I realize that's asking a lot.

6. Late arrivals. This is more of a nagging annoyance. I realize that not everyone needs to see the previews and not everyone really cares about where they sit. I like to get there early. People who know me, know this about me and love me anyway. It drives me nuts to go to the movies with people--I show up to pick them up and then they screw around until about fifteen mnutes before showtime and then say, "What are you so worked up about? We have PLENTY of time."

I don't know... I guess I just needed to get all that off my chest!