Crest of Sir Odeon de Lyon

Crest of Sir Odeon de Lyon, 2011. Digital vector art. Illustrator CS2.

So I've had about a month of using illustrator and I have to admit I love it! I wish I had taken a few classes for it in school. This is the crest of a knight (who has gone through a name change after some research about Lyon, France) who lives in a place that no longer has war. I wrote a little intro to the story so here it is:

Atwain the apex o’ the sun
And zenith o’ the moon
Midmorn breaks it’s sunny yolk
Upon the day yellow festoon’d
Atop yon blades o’ grass
Bitten by dew
Our vernal hero trods
With challenges anew
We lay our scene in provincial France
Capitol of Gauls
Where wars doth end
Held captive to enthrall
For countryside and surround’d lands
Swim only in peace, prosperity, and merriment
All knights, soliders, and mercs must quit
Thy shore of gainful employment

The story will be told in a Sunday newspaper comics style. More to come hopefully.

Fort Couch

Fort Couch, 2011. Digital vector art. Illustrator & Photoshop CS2.

A couch inspired by the piecemeal constructs we made as children.

Steam-punk Timepiece

Steam-punk Timepiece, 2011. Digital vector art. Illustrator CS2.

This is part of the logo to a series of short stories locked safely inside my head. That is to say I will probably never flesh them out fully and write them down. The series would be called 'Times of War'. It would be vignettes about a world embroiled in battle - where a world wide shortage of combustibles have nearly brought a powerful nation to its knees. Their foes hold the last remaining fuels on the planet and bitter combat ensues. Small portions of the larger picture are painted through the eyes of the various story tellers - a solider, a nurse, a scientist etc. That's seems pretty typical. I just find it funny the steam punk genre never seems to mention what happens to a planet after all this burning of material to create that steam.

Owls Chocolate

Owls Chocolate, 2011. 10" x 10". Acrylic on canvas.

Tomatoes and Knife

Tomatoes and Knife, 2011. 12" x 16". Acrylic on canvas paper.

Le Corbusier

Le Corbusier, 2011. Digital vector art. Illustrator CS2.

Kawaii Pink Slip

Kawaii Pink Slip, 2011. Digital vector art. Illustrator CS2.

If you ever browse the new art of the website Deviantart.com then you've certainly noticed the superfluous saccharine trend in anime called 'kawaii'. This Japanese term translates into something along the lines of cuteness, precious, adorable etc. More can be read about the style -here-. To get the vision of all these uber cute depictions of sushi, ice cream cones, and rabbits out of my mind I have distorted the notion a bit by making the image a negative one. Since so many people have felt the brunt of being unemployed I thought it an economic zeitgeist. In the bottom corner is a business man grappling with the vicissitude of his career.

So now, begone kawaii; don't come 'round here no more.

Series -- Battle of Corinth (146 BC)

----- 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

Here is my first real series of paintings. It is collectively titled "Battle of Corinth (146 BC)" after the Romans fought and totally destroyed the Greek city state of Corinth. It was formerly well known for it's incredible wealth. The series includes the paintings 'Detail:Basement', 'Red Line', 'Day Dream', and 'Grecian Arms'. The set deals with themes of exile, loss and worthlessness.

Red Line

Red Line, 2011. 14" x 18". Acrylic and paper on canvas.

In architecture a 'red line' is a mark denoting something that needs to be changed. It points out an error in the drawing that the drafter must fix. In this depiction the white profile of a facade rises from the horizon. A gray skull is revealed beneath with the Red Line cutting a swath of bone away exposing brain material. A column in section is being thrust down into the mouth of the skull. Inside a desk is set ablaze. This is the final piece of the 'Battle of Corinth (146 BC)' series. It is the most violent, but continues the themes that came about after I was laid off.

Sir Osogon de Lyon

Sir Osogon de Lyon, 2011. Digital Vector Art, Illustrator CS2.

Coop Cuckoo Clock

Coop Cuckoo Clock, 2010. 10" x 5" x 3". Cardboard and glue.

Christmas Card 2010

Christmas Card, 2010. digital work, illustrator & photoshop.

This is my first attempt at using Adobe Illustrator. I put the text on the card in Photoshop. I like to read the magazine "Digital Artist" which has really excellent guides done by working artists' that give step by step advice on a piece they've created. I used one to do this wintertime scene here. Illustrator is a pretty daunting program and the other couple of times I've tried to use it I've closed the program in digust w/o any thing to show for it. But I picked up a 'classroom in a book' for the program and used a more level head to try and wade through the example from the Digital Artist mag.

I think it turned out pretty well and I'm very excited at the potential I now have with the vector based program. Hopefully more to come...

椅 (chair)

椅 (chair), 2010. 5.5" x 3.75". Digital Work.

In honor of the 2010 recipient of the Swedish industrialist and inventor _ _ _ _ _ prize awarded by the Norwegian _ _ _ _ _ Committee. This is for the Chinese people that want to know.

Bowman's Cuckoo Clock

Bowman's Cuckoo Clock, 2010. 12" x 7" x 5". Cardboard and glue.

Cover Series: Dahlia

Cover Series: Dahlia, 2010. 4" x 6". dahlia, canvas paper, acrylic 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 flowers 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.

Mini Cuckoo Clock

Mini Cuckoo Clock, 2010. 6" x 4" x 3". Cardboard and glue.

Little non functioning clock I made. Need to up the scale some because at the size it is I cannot get much detail on the border carvings.

Happy Birthday Dad

Card, 2010. 5" x 11". Digital card made in Photoshop.

Dad's birthday is coming up so I made a card with 'Pompey John' the Portsmouth Football Club's most recognized supporter.

Day Dream

Day Dream, 2010. 8" x 10". ink, oil pastel, acrylic on canvas.

I used to stare at a scene similar to this everyday for my job. Now it's just something I dream about.

Owls sleeping

Owls sleeping, 2010. 10" x 10". acrylic on canvas.

Ceremony I

Ceremony I, 2010. 15" x 15". Digital collage.

Needed to make something to cheer myself up after having been rejected by just about all the Denver Co-ops. So, I'll dance.