Christmas GIF ts

Violence of Medea II: Mermeros and Pheres

Violence of Medea II: Mermeros and Pheres, 2011. 28" x 34". Acrylic and charcoal on cardboard.

This painting is a continuation of the Jason and the Argonaut cycle I have been working on. The work here centers on Medea and the result of her infanticide. Medea, the Scythian raven, with murdered children in tow, escapes to Athens aboard her celestial chariot. In Euripides' play Medea the Chorus is transfixed upon the events around her with morbid fascination. Much like the trial of Casey Anthony that engulfed the American media recently we are equally drawn to and repulsed by this macabre dance.

More discussion after the break!

American House Now! #2 Neighbors

American House Now! #2 Neighbors, 2011. 14" x 8" x 8". Cardboard, gesso, wood, and plastic.

Made with very rudimentary, refuse type items this sculpture depicts a house frame covered by plastic. This can conjure images of anything from a death shroud, blanket, snow, body bag or a child's ghost costume for Halloween. The act of covering the basic architectural model, made in a style similar to a child's scrawled drawing of a house, suggests I am putting it to sleep. This is a continuation of a running theme I have in my work of protecting items. By burying it or covering it with a sheet it is akin to placing it under the ground or tucking it into bed. It's safe now and monsters of the world can no longer assail it.

Please read more after the break! Lots more pictures and ramblings!

Pattern: XO Lace

XO Lace, 2011. Digital vector art. Illustrator CS2.

This is a really effeminate design HAHA. I've had it for a while partially finished and needed to get it over with. I guess after quite a bit of masculine work (the Argonaut stuff) it is forgivable.

Balotelli

Balotelli, 2011. Digital Vector Art. Illustrator CS2.

A sketch of Mario Balotelli, everyone's favorite Italian bad boy who plays for Manchester City. A quote that was said about him, "He is perfectly balanced - a chip on both shoulders."

American House Now!

American House Now! #1, 2011. 12" x 12" x 10". Cardboard, acrylic, pencil, oil pastel, pen, and cloth.

Made with very rudimentary, refuse type items this Rauschenberg invented Combine of painting and sculpture depicts a house covered by a sheet of cloth. This can conjure images of anything from a death shroud, blanket, snow, hobo's make-shift domicile or a child's ghost costume for Halloween. The act of covering the basic architectural model, made in a style similar to a child's scrawled drawing of a house, suggests I am putting it to sleep. This is a continuation of a running theme I have in my work of protecting items. By burying it or covering it with a sheet it is akin to placing it under the ground or tucking it into bed. It's safe now and monsters of the world can no longer assail it.

Please read more after the break! Lots more pictures and ramblings!

International (family history)

International (family history), 2011. 18" x 24". Pencil on paper.

Series -- Lost in a Forest

----- S C I P I O G A L L E R Y -----
400 Zama Street / Denver, CO 80238
Friday 7-12 +++++++ Sat & Sun 12-5

This series is titled after a song called 'A Forest' by the Cure. The other titles of the paintings come from lines in John Keat's poems 'Ode to a Nightingale' and 'Addressed to Haydon'. The work's focus is on being lost in life without direction and still being able to find the beauty therein. At times it is scary and tumultuous, this disorienting sojourn we walk through our existence, hopefully it ends well. I have seemed to experienced a fullness and privation in my short life and as I cling to art to hide from the loss of a life that might have been in architecture, art has liberated that shackled architect buried deep inside Elysian fields and my being.

Through Verdurous Glooms

Through Verdurous Glooms, 2011. 15" x 20". Acrylic, oil stick, pencil on cardboard.

In Pathless Wood

In Pathless Wood, 2011. 15" x 20". Acrylic, oil stick, pencil on cardboard.

One Sandal

One Sandal, 2011. 18" x 10" x 9". Acrylic, oil stick, pencil, cardboard, cloth, glue and newspaper.

This sculpture is the lost sandal of Jason. It was written that a man wearing a single sandal would overthrow the false king Pelias from Iolcus. Pelias had usurped the throne from Jason's father Aeson and Jason returned to Iolcus to legitimize his rightful place with the crown. In his return Jason came upon a haggard old crone sitting by a river. The old woman asked the youth to take her up on his back and bare her across. Very nearly Jason ignored her but some words of advice from his tutor, Chiron the centaur came back to him and he helped the woman across the fast moving body of water. This wretched woman then transformed into a towering beautiful goddess, it was Hera and she blessed Jason in his journey.

More pictures continue after the break; please:

Taipei Art Museum Competition

New Taipei City Museum of Art Competition, 2011. Work done for As One Architecture.

I had a very meager role in helping As One Architecture put this project together and get it off for an international competition. The web-site for the comp can be seen -here-. And the Boulder, Colorado based firm of As One Architecture can be visited from this -link-. My involvement in the museum consisted of the CAD drawn floor plans. I used a new program I had never used before called DraftSight which is very much like autoCAD from Autodesk, but it is FREE! I also did the small lines on the diagrams in Illustrator.

Portrait of the Artist as Jason

Portrait of the Artist as Jason, 2011. 16" x 25". Acrylic, oil stick, pencil, wax on wood planks.

This painting is another in an artistic cycle inspired by the Jason and the Argonauts mythology of ancient Greece that I have been preoccupied with. In the story Jason goes off in search of the Golden Fleece, the fabled pelt from a flying ram, to legitimize his rightful place on his father's usurped throne. There are links between Jason and I in my trying to legitimize my place in the art world. We both have embarked on a quest to substantiate a life we feel can be ours. In the portrait Jason seems to peer off into the nebulous distance from his ship, Argo, trying to ascertain his future.

Read more after the cut; see a detail also!

Gobs of Squabs

Gobs of Squabs, 2011. Digital vector art. Illustrator CS2.

Birds (class Aves) are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic (warm-blooded), egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from the 5 cm (2 in) Bee Hummingbird to the 2.75 m (9 ft) Ostrich. The fossil record indicates birds evolved from theropod dinosaurs during the Jurassic period, around 160 million years (Ma) ago. Paleontologists regard birds as the only clade of dinosaurs to have survived the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event 65.5 Ma ago.

Crew of the Argo

Crew of the Argo, 2011. 6' x 8'. Acrylic, oil stick, pencil on cardboard.

Taking imagery from old handwritten ship logs of the crew that had boarded this painting renders the names of those voyagers of the Argo. A line taken from the Greek epic poem Argonautica by Apollonius of Rhodes running up the right side reads:

"And then the rollers groaned under the sturdy keel as they were chafed, and round them rose up a dark smoke owing to the weight, and she glided into the sea."

Two sketches of boats can be found on the bottom of the panel. One shows the aforementioned scene of the boat being slid into the waters to venture off to storied Colchis. The other boat on top of Jason's name foreshadows his ultimate demise where the dilapidated Argo, decaying in dry dock, falls onto the sleeping hero.

The Symplegades

The Symplegades, 2011. 6' x 8'. Acrylic, oil stick, pencil on cardboard.

Inspired by Jason's quest for the Golden Fleece aboard the Argo this painting depicts the passage through the narrow straits of the Bosphorus at a place called the Clashing Rocks. These cliffs, the Symplegades which were also called the Cyanean Rocks, would come booming together and demolish any ship careless enough to try passage. The Argonauts were saved from this harrowing fate by Phineas who told them to release a dove into the thoroughfare. If the bird of peace made it past the crags then they should row like madman.

Please, please, please:

Small Nymph

Small Nymph, 2011. 5" x 8". Dragonfly, acrylic, oil stick, wax on cardboard.

Flower

Flower, 2011. 4" x 6". Orchid, oil stick, pencil, wax, newspaper on cardboard.

Lost in a Forest

Lost in a Forest, 2011. 20" x 26". Acrylic, oil stick, pencil on cardboard.

Shoe

Shoe, 2011. 18" x 24". Acrylic, oil stick, pencil on paper.

New Business Cards

What do you think ? 
Whoa-ho. Very nice. 
Look at that. Picked them up from the printer's yesterday. 
Good coloring. That's bone. 
And the lettering is something called Silian Rail. 
It's very cool, Bateman, but that's nothing. Look at this. 
That is really nice. 
Eggshell with Romalian type.
What do you think ? 
Nice. 
Jesus. That is really super. How'da nitwit like you get so tasteful? 
I can't believe that Bryce...  prefers Van Patten's card to mine. 
But wait. You ain't seen nothin' yet. 
Raised lettering, pale nimbus... white. 
Impressive. Very nice. 
Hmm. 
Let's see Paul Allen's card. 
Look at that subtle off-white coloring. 
The tasteful thickness of it. 
Oh, my God. It even has a watermark. 

A Naiad

A Naiad, 2011. 5" x 8". Dragonfly, acrylic, oil stick, pencil, wax on cardboard.

The cover series comes from rituals I had a child. Bed time for me as a kid was stressful on my overactive mind and involved a mantra that I would repeat each night. Sometimes the recitals changed, but the general theme remained the same. So to deal with being so scared of the dark I would say things like, "Nothing bad will happen to me", "Mom and Dad are right outside", "The faster I get to sleep the faster I'll wake up". Before I got into bed I had to remove all the evil action figures and toys from the room and place them in the hall. That meant Skeletor, the Rancor monster, Cobra Commander et al were relegated to outside.

The ritual could end once I was under the safety of the sheets. The cover series stems from the removal of fear after I got into bed. I felt that nothing bad could reach me. Blanketing the objects in this way keep them from harm, keep them from death. It's a way for me to provide shelter for something the way I felt the act saved me as a child. Though the object may be hidden by paint, it has something the others will never have; immortality. Like a reverse fossil the outline of the object remains. There is also irony in the fact that it is already dead.

If I am ever fortunate to have my own studio I have bigger plans for the cover series.

Auto Defenestra

Auto Defenestra 100,308, 2011. 23" x 34". Acrylic, oil stick, pencil on cardboard.

Defenestration is the act of being thrown out a window.The word comes from the Latin de- (down or away from) and fenestra(window or opening). It came into fashion in the 17th cent. after a series of defenestrations were the catalyst of the Thirty Years War in Prague. Given the term's history it has connotations with political dissent. However it has also come to be a popular form of suicide, so called self-defenestration.

The work came out of a re learning of Cy Twombly's work since his recent death. I seem to have some sort of requisite dyslexia, called basic stupidity where I am forced to call him Ty Cwombly. But, despite the asinine workings of my muddled mind I have been seeing his work with older eyes and a greater understanding of why he painted what he did. Another object that has stayed with me was the pictures of the Falling Man from the September 11th attacks. The haunting image shows a real man leaping into bright firmament, choosing to die by falling through the heavens to escape the fiery hell inside the WTC buildings. My life took it's own nose dive through turbid vapor after being laid off on 10.03.08 which is the ultimate content of this piece.

Uncle Remus Triptych

Uncle Remus Triptych, 2011. Digital vector art. Illustrator CS2.

As a child my mother used to read me the Uncle Remus stories which are an amalgamation of West African tales and Cherokee folklore. Brought over by slaves to the southern United States the tales center around Br'er Rabbit (Brother Rabbit). This blending of African, White, and Indian cultures make up a great many memories I have of my childhood. We grew up in the town where 'Gone With the Wind' is set; and learned about the indigenous Creeks and Cherokees that once lived in the surrounding areas.

Be sure to check out the each of the characters designs:

Uncle Remus

Tar Baby

Brer Rabbit

Uncle Remus

Uncle Remus, 2011. Digital vector art. Illustrator CS2.

As a child my mother used to read me the Uncle Remus stories which are an amalgamation of West African tales and Cherokee folklore. Brought over by slaves to the southern United States the tales center around Br'er Rabbit (Brother Rabbit). This blending of African, White, and Indian cultures make up a great many memories I have of my childhood. We grew up in the town where 'Gone With the Wind' is set; and learned about the indigenous Creeks and Cherokees that once lived in the surrounding areas.

Four Young Men on a Beach at Night

Four Young Men on a Beach at Night, 2011. 30" x 36". Acrylic on canvas.

Commedia dell'arte all'improvviso. The saltimbanques Colombina, Pierrot, Pantalone, and Arlecchino. La Commedia è finita!

Olympic Torch -- London 2012

Olympic Torch -- London 2012, 2011. Digital Vector Art. Illustrator CS2.

I'm not a huge fan of Barber and Osgerby's recently unveiled design for the London 2012 Olympic torch so I digitized one of my the sketches I made earlier this year. The torch comes conceptually from the English longbow.

Chimney Clock

Chimney Clock, 2011. 7" x 10" x 2". Paper, cardboard, clock mechanism.

I made a Steampunk themed clock with components from a steam engine train.

Jongerius' Pattern

Jongerius' Pattern, 2011. Digital Vector Art. Illustrator CS2.

Pattern that I digitized from a Hella Jongerius textile I saw in a recent Dwell magazine.

Father's Day 2011

Father's Day Cards, 2011. Digital Vector Art. Illustrator CS2.

Some Formula Un (1) helmets I made for my father in law (top) and the Vader to my Luke (below). I applied brands that had personal significance to them. My father has shaped me in so many indelible ways; I could not exist as the person I am without him.

Adeptus Mechanicus Purity Seal

Adeptus Mechanicus Purity Seal, 2011. Digital Vector Art. Illustrator CS2.

I am a huge fan of the Warhammer 40,000 universe. And given my background in architecture I feel a close kinship to the Adeptus Mechanicus of Mars. So I felt compelled by the Machine God to create a purity seal to protect household items like my fridge, the computer, anything I want to keep running. The idea was sparked after seeing the collector's edition of the upcoming video game Space Marine which contains among other goodies a lifelike purity seal!

Footbal Club Bauhaus

FC Bauhaus Crest, 2011. Digital Vector Art. Illustrator CS2.

In college I played a fantasy football (soccer) game online called ManagerZone. You had to create a team and I came up with FC Bauhaus. I imagined Gropius, Breuer, Klee, Kandinsky, Mondrian, and Albers all vying to put an absolute blooter into the back of the ol' onion bag. As it turned out I didn't get to name my players, but I had fun designing this stuff below when I should have been working on something for class. Here's the originals from 2003:

Forest Face

The Forest Face, 2011. Digital vector art. Illustrator CS2.

This is inspired by my childhood in the woods of Georgia.

Forest Obsequy

The Forest Obsequy, 2011. Digital vector art. Illustrator CS2.

Evil Merwench

Evil Merwench, 2011. Digital vector art. Illustrator CS2.

Slug sucking little two faced mermaid. No one would want to kiss this girl.

Pattern: Dark Garden

Dark Garden, 2011. Digital vector art. Illustrator CS2.

I have really gotten into pattern design all of a sudden. I checked out a book from the library to see some William Morris works and also got inspired by the designs from the 1950s. Here are some of the inspired works.

Pattern: Glity City

Glity City, 2011. Digital vector art. Illustrator CS2.

I have really gotten into pattern design all of a sudden. I checked out a book from the library to see some William Morris works and also got inspired by the designs from the 1950s. Here are some of the inspired works.

Pattern: Sea Urchins and Trumpets

Sea Urchins and Trumpets, 2011. Digital vector art. Illustrator CS2.

I have really gotten into pattern design all of a sudden. I checked out a book from the library to see some William Morris works and also got inspired by the designs from the 1950s. Here are some of the inspired works.

No Christian Symbolism in Digital Flowers

No Christian Symbolism in Digital Flowers, 2011. Digital vector art. Illustrator CS2.

This is a work I copied from a Dutch master that I can no longer find the name of. (I'll edit this when I locate the painting and his name ***edit*** The painter's name is Jan Frans van Dael.) The work was done in Illustrator and you can see I became more relaxed with the program as I went along. I started in the bottom with the roses, worked upward and I feel the flowers at the top of the still life came out looking more natural.

Religious images were forbidden in the Dutch Protestant Church, so flowers and other items in paintings took on symbolic meanings to get around this. These synthetic images of flowers contain no hidden meanings.