Spacation

Spacation series 18 x 24 acrylic on canvas

If you see the post below, you see I have a few disappointments to deal with in regards to getting off our watery third stone from the sun called Earth. I've also wondered why we've never really named our planet yet. We just call it the same thing as what we stand on, the earth. Earth or dirt only makes up less than 20% of the planet, maybe should've called it "Water"instead.....just saying. We named every star, planet and asteroid in the galaxy pretty much, and some of you may even have been gifted with a star named after you! But alas, Earth it is.
Anyway, here is the the continuation of my "Spacation" series. I've moved to the planets now, and will have 4 more paintings coming this year. In the meantime, work on that name thing terrans....

Moon Travel? I'm still waiting...

As a child, I grew up in a great time to believe that there was "more out there" that just the place I stood. The space program was well into play, and the USA led the way! Science fiction really blew up in the late 70's and I was wrapped up in the hype that told that "Yes, you can go to places that've never before explored". Well yea.... I grew up and realized there wouldn't be moving sidewalks, flying cars, or any kind of interstellar shenanigans for me to have. Well, I've been sitting on those disappointments for years now, and I felt a need to bring awareness to these serious issues.  I started to create some "Spacation" illustrations not only to better deal with my disappointments, but to also remind society that this could be the next big thing if a bazillion dollars comes dropping out of the sky. I studied many references of the elegant early 20th century travel posters, and looked at my many books of old science fiction toys and paraphernalia and went to town.

Bigfoot

Sasquatch 12 x 24 acrylic on canvas
Growing up in America, no child can escape the mythic tale and the warm fuzzy qualities of the Sasquatch. As a child, I couldn't go into the woods without looking for Bigfoot prints, or wondering if this magnificent creature actually exists. I wanted to portray our friend as a benevolent server of our small warm blooded friends of the forest, so I created a messenger bag for him to fill with nuts and such, so his friends could find something to eat on those cold winter days.

Shiny, Happy Robots!

both are 11 x 14 acrylic on canvas

I dislike the idea that most robots in movies and TV are always out to destroy things, so I am fronting an effort to show that robots can be fun, peaceful, things of the world too! Motor on my fiends!

Watercolor robot

 Autophagy Robot 9 x 9 watercolor on paper

Very occasionally I'll do a watercolor painting just to keep my chops up. Watercolor was my first color medium and I learned quite a bit from it and have parlayed that into my acrylic work. This will be for the cover of Autophagy magazine, a science journal for the University of Michigan. A patron of mine is a professor and we've been working quite a bit to collaborate microbiology and art to better illustrate these 'invisible" processes. In this piece, I tried to illustrate the "the building of " a human cell. The robot assembles various parts of a cell (labeled behind him) into a sphere (a cell). I wanted to give a retro future vibe to it, so I made the robot look like he was from the 1950's. I got my reference from my books of 50's cars, household appliances and toys, and jumbled it all up!

Tortoise and the Hare

Tortoise v. Hare 12 x 24 acrylic on canvas

Children's literature has always been an inspiration to me. Simple parables and twisted analogies to help guide us humans along our way through life. In this case, the slow but steady and trustworthy turtle, against the sleek, but overconfident rabbit. My spin is too simply put science fiction elements in there to make people rethink traditional ways they've been presented things, and to surprise them when familiar content in new contexts.

Robots v. Cowboy

Cowboy v. Robot 16 x 20 acrylic  
As a child, I'd been left in front of the TV a lot, especially during those long Michigan winters. I've probably seen every old western movie ever made by watching Bill Kennedy at the Movies, a Detroit TV staple for many years. When I hit 9 or so, I was introduced to Science Fiction, and my world took a bit of a turn. Since then, I clearly favor my science fiction, but still love my western roots. I always loved the look of the simple wooden architecture, big clouds in the sky, and the"action scenes" of those old westerns so I had this idea, and here you have it.....

Don Quixote Redux

I have always been fascinated by the legend of Don Quixote and have been enjoying the many takes on his legend in books, movies, and art. After pondering concepts for a year or so, I came up with my own take that was painted with acrylic paint and measures a whopping 24''x 48''. I snatched a few photos of Spain from my wife's photo album to keep the landscape of Spain fairly accurate, and then I brought the technology of Mr. Q either way forward, or way back, depending on your point of few.....

Quest of the Bumble...

I have been craving doing an environment piece, so I tackled this mountain landscape and couldn't resist dropping a character in there to give it a bit more story to this painting. The size is 8''x24''. I love that size canvas too, it is a challenge in design to space the elements out accordingly to keep it visually interesting.

Gnomes

Well you know what they say, "When in Rome, Paint a Gnome" I think thats how that saying goes...hmm, maybe not. ANYWAY, yeah garden gnomes, natures little helpers are some cool cats for sure. The legend comes from the Nordic folk, and they swear by 'em, and who am I to question how nature takes care of itself. I just wanted to capture them in their natural beauty, so I grabbed my brushes, layed down in the grass and waited for something to happen, and this is what I found. Funny litttle people, wicked sense of humor, but their language matches their suits, very blue....... Expect more gnome paintings soon, they're having another party this weekend, so I think I'll sit down and have a very small drink with them. CHEERS!

Fine Art Festivals I'll be at the rest of Summer

Just for your information, I am going to be in several more Fine Art shows this summer if you are in the Detroit area you can come by, say hi, and maybe get something free for stopping by- thats right, I said FREE. I am in the Brighton Fine Art Festival on Aug. 8-9th hours are 10-6. I'm at the uber-cool Funky Ferndale festival Sept. 19 and 20th. I'll also be in the Birmingham Fine Arts Festival on Sept. 27 and 28th. Probably have a few more too over the fall but don't have solid dates on that yet. Here is a link to a ultra-cool video that was shot at a show I was in last month called the Shadow Art Fair. Check it out !!
http://vimeo.com/5721887

Sock Monkeys in Space

So I'm sure all of you know that monkeys were the first ones in space, so this is my warped perception of what that might have looked like if they truly had their way up there in the big blue!

custom painted toys

I am beginning to delve into the 3-D world of painting toys. I picked up some blanks at San Diego Comic Con last year and just started to paint them. This first one is for my cousin Josh who lives out in LA and is doing much work behind the scenes in the TV world. This piece was to warn him of the dangers of going in the big blue Pacific on his days off. Good luck, Cuz.