"The King of Kings"
2008
When I was a kid, sometimes I'd sneak into my grandparents' room and snoop around. Their house was full of unusual antiques, figurines, books, and other treasures. On one of my explorations I found a pack of nudie cards in my grandpa's dresser. Years later I told my mother about finding the pack of cards and it turns out that she used to sneak in there and look at them too. Now I own Grandpa's "Good Luck" card set and it always reminds me of home.
Merry Christmas everybody.
2008 Year in Review!
The pigeons are getting puffy, the sky seems a little lower, and all I think about is ham. This can only mean that it's December and it's time for my annual Year in Review! 2008 is at an end and there were times when I never thought it would happen. How did it go by so fast and so slow at the same time? Let me count the ways:
Jan-April, 2008
The year started with an amazing birthday party at my art space, The Local 303:
http://flickr.com/photos/josh1/sets/72157603745177220/
Then, in February there was Wondercon, an always-epic comic book convention that brought many of my friends to San Francisco.
http://flickr.com/photos/josh1/2291747269
Also in February, I finished painting Vivienne VaVoom's cast for "Breast Defense", a Keep-A-Breast Foundation benefit auction:
http://flickr.com/photos/josh1/2301464714
In March, I traveled to Austin, TX for SXSW Interactive. I made artwork for the unofficial afterparty, 16Bit. Here's a guy holding up my poster:
http://flickr.com/photos/josh1/2325580950
Spring was officially painting season for me, as I turned off the computer and got messy with acrylic. I found all kinds of materials to apply paint to, but none more interesting than my friend Mikey's kilt. Mike tricked me into painting a Masters of the Universe design on his UtiliKilt. Below are the results:
http://flickr.com/photos/josh1/sets/72157604539252987/
In April, we had Spring Open Studios at the Local 303. I got to show off some of my painting madness and shoot the breeze with the real hardworking Americans. Friend of The Local 303 and local celebrity, "Kitten on the Keys" performed on Sunday.
Here are some photos:
http://flickr.com/photos/josh1/sets/72157610703797515/
May-August, 2008
In May, I tagged along with my RoboGames pals to the Maker Faire in San Mateo, CA. It was a beautiful weekend with lots of surreal moments, involving everything from flaming-robots to billy goats. Here's the proof:
http://flickr.com/photos/josh1/sets/72157604877095332/
Next up was the PowerTool Drag Races at the now defunct ACE Int'l Speedway. I was honored to create the flyer/poster art for this completely unique and dangerous event. More flames, hot-dogs, and mechanical madness here:
http://flickr.com/photos/josh1/sets/72157605125617150/
In June, I exhibited some painted records at "Vinyl Apocalypse" at Lower Haters Gallery in San Francisco. The group show was loaded with interesting takes on vinyl manipulation. I made an image of Ernie and Bert on a Sesame Street album from the 70's.
http://flickr.com/photos/josh1/2524926063
And my longtime roommate/goldfish Pilot died, so I made another record painting in his honor:
http://flickr.com/photos/josh1/2524926149/
Also in June was the annual Robogames robot conference/competition in San Francisco. I was humbled to be asked to create the poster artwork for the event. I really love robots. Here's what I made:
http://flickr.com/photos/josh1/2312114267
GONE FISHIN'
In July, I took a trip home to Michigan. It was an inspiring trip. The weather was beautiful and spending time with family was great. I caught a bunch of fish and took a lot of photos. Look, here they are:
http://flickr.com/photos/josh1/sets/72157606220820752/
The biggest event of the year for me is always Comic Con Int'l in San Diego, CA. This year it didn't look like I was going to have a table. I was prepared to just mingle and become one with the masses of fans. Instead, I was able to get a last-minute table in Artist Alley! I met loads of great people and made new friends in a completely different part of the convention center (probably a different zip-code as well). Here are some photos of my photos from Comic Con '08:
http://flickr.com/photos/josh1/sets/72157606428330141/
I completely redesigned my website and relaunched it in August! The new site incorporates a portfolio gallery, an integrated blog, and lots of other new features. If you haven't taken a look, please check it out!
http://www.joshuaellingson.com
Also, you can now order my art prints on my newly launched web-store. Get the same high quality prints online that you've seen at my art events! Check out the selection here:
http://www.joshuaellingson.com/prints
Sept-Dec, 2008
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This fall was full of surprises. My artwork for BOOM Studios', "Cthulhu Tales: The Rising" made a cameo appearance on TCL's, "LA Ink". It was cool to see my artwork on a show that I like.
http://flickr.com/photos/josh1/2949832929
I also got a lot of miles out of 1800 Tequila's "Essential Artists" campaign. My artwork was featured as part of an outdoor media campaign, a high-profile men's magazine print campaign, limited edition bottles, tennis shoes, in-store advertising, and a trade-show booth. I'm just happy to have a bottle of booze to celebrate with:
http://flickr.com/photos/josh1/3010994383
In October, The Local 303 got together again and participated in Fall Open Studios. We had a great turn-out and it's always nice to have new art on the wall. This Fall's show featured candy, paintings, and lots of babies. People had fun. No, really they did:
http://flickr.com/photos/josh1/sets/72157608900358540/
The Alternative Press Expo was in November this year. Despite the bad weather, the holiday, the change of date, and the anticipation preceding the election, APE went surprisingly well. It's always nice to see friends who make the trip from out of town and talk to people about art/comics.
http://flickr.com/photos/josh1/3004702714
Thanksgiving has come and gone, but I've still got lingerin' gratitude for all my great friends, family and stalkers out there. Thanks for reading along. I hope you have a pleasant winter and I hope to see you at the next event.
BONUS! Things to look forward to in 2009
-I'm bringing art to the deep south!
-I get older, and you stay pretty!
-The Local 303 turns 3!
-I drink the WHOLE bottle!
Love,
-Joshua Ellingson
Process - Twintail
Here's a little walkthrough of my general process in making artwork. This piece in particular was for a Japanese toy monster art show. This character is called Twin Tail. Here's what I did to make my drawing of Twin Tail:
1)I generally start with a sketch on paper. For this one I used some Col-Erase Pencils. I like them because each color has it's own hardness of lead. Also, if I start with one color, I can tighten up a drawing with another color and see where I've been.
2)I scan the sketch or take a photo of it and put it into Adobe Illustrator on it's own layer. In the layers properties, I choose "Dim Images to 50%" for the layer with the sketch. I usually lock this layer, create a new layer on top, and start tracing with the pen tool.
3)Once all the important lines are dropped in, I scale and manipulate the image as needed. Then, I select all the lines and turn them into outlines (Object>Path>Outline Stroke). I then manually nudge all the lines to achieve the thin to thick look that I want. This takes a while to get fast at ;)
4) Behind the line art, on it's own layer, I create areas of flat color. I also knew that for this one I didn't want many black lines, so I made all the lines a color with the intention of changing them later.
5 and 6) At this point it's really about "painting" in the details and highlights on various layers, It's important to keep your layers organized. Merge and label. Oh, and save often.
Prints Available for Sale Online
I often sell prints of my work at comic conventions and boutique art stores. In case you haven't heard, many of my prints are now available for sale on my website. Back by popular demand, my web store offers 18 different images for purchase via any major credit card. The prints are priced at $40 plus shipping and local tax. Each print shipped signed by the artist (that's me!).
Here's the description from my Store about the printing and shipping:
About the Prints
These images are printed using an Epson R1800 Wide Format Photographic Inkjet Printer on 11.7"x16.5" (A3) Epson Ultra Premium Matte Paper. The inks are Epson UltraChrome inks and are promised to resist fading by the fine folks at Epson. These prints are "open-editions" and shipped signed by the artist.
About Shipping Prints
The prints are shipped rolled in a tube via USPS Priority Mail with Delivery Confirmation unless requested otherwise. USPS Priority rates apply. $1.65 handling is added for delivery confirmation. Please allow 3 to 6 weeks for delivery although I'll try my best to get your orders out to you as soon as possible.
Descriptions added to Portfolio
I've made a few general maintenance changes to the site. My favorite improvement are the descriptions in my portfolio section. Much of the art now has a title and a brief description of the piece. Also included in the description is a link to Flickr.com, where images can be shared, commented on, or "favorited".
Here's a link to the Art Section of my site.
Heh, Comments!
Today I discovered that I have to approve comments on my blog. Heh, and all this time I thought no one was reading this! Well, a big thank you to everyone who's commented on my posts. I've approved them all. Thanks and thanks again.
My 1800 Tequila Bottle
My art was featured as part of 1800 Tequila's "Essential Artists" campaign. Part of the campaign was limited edition bottles with the artists' work. Here's mine!
UPDATE! For those interested in where to get an Essential Artists Limited Edition 1800 Tequila bottle, here's a list of locations that are carrying the bottles:
New York Metro Area
- Winfield Flynn, 558 3rd Ave, NY 10016 (212) 679-4455
- 333 Wine Heaven, 333 3rd Ave, NY 10021 (212)726-0033
- Big Apple, 1408 2nd Ave, NY 10010 (212)288-2133
- Manor House, 61 W. 23rd St., NY (646) 229-5039
- Casa Oliveria, 98 7th Ave. South, NY 10014 (212) 929-0760
- Kessler, 23 E 28th St., NY 10016 (212) 685-7651
- First Avenue, 383 1st Ave, NY (212) 673-3600
Southern California
- Valley Beverage, 14901 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks, CA 91403 (818) 981-1566
Northern California
- Liquid Experience, 1589 Haight St., San Francisco, CA 94117 (415) 255-6718
- Spencer & Daniels, 1541 Polk St., San Francisco, CA 94109 (415) 345-1623
- Blackwell's Wines & Spirits, 5620 Geary St., San Francisco, CA 94121 (415) 386-9463
- United Liquor & Deli, 2401 Chestnut St., San Francisco, CA 94123 (415) 567-0580
Miami, FL
- Cameo Club, 1445 Washington Ave., Miami Beach, FL 33139 (954) 801-7477
- Quail Roost, 18841 SW 117th St., Miami, FL 33157 (305) 252-0254
- Cellars W&S, 1739 E. Sunrise, Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33132 (954) 764-4764
- Publix #577, 2730 SW Martin Downs Blvd., Palm City, FL 34990 (772) 232-4069
Chicago, IL
- Liquorama, 4430 S. Kedzie Ave., Chicago, IL 60632 (773) 847-1166
- Sam's Fine Wine & Spirits, 50 E. Roosevelt (South Loop), Chicago, IL 60605 (312) 867-3295
- Miska 1000 Liquors, 1000 W. Belmont, Chicago, IL 60657 (773) 935-1138
Washington, DC
- Conn Ave, 1529 Connecticut Ave., Washington, DC 20036 (202) 332-0240
- Morris Miller, 7804 Alaska Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20012 (202)723-5000
- Tenley Liquors, 4525 Wisconsin Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20016 (202) 363-0484
- Metro Liquors, 1726 Columbus Rd. NW, Washington, DC 20009 (202) 265-5066
Boston, CA
- Downtown W&S, 225 Elm St., Somerville, MA 02144 (617) 625-7777
- Yankee Spirits, 376 Main St., Sturbridge, MA 01566 (508) 347-2231
- Marty's, 193 Harvard St., Allston, MA (617) 782-3250
Ohio
- Shaker Square Beverages, 3622 Mayfield, Cleveland Heights, OH 44118 (216) 381-2350
- Key Beverage & Liquor, 6542 Broadway Ave., Cleveland, OH 44105 (216) 883-1190
- Chagrin Beverage, 17122 Chagrin Blvd., Shaker Heights, OH 44120 (216) 991-4400
Michigan
- Red Wagon Wine Shoppe, 2940 Rochester Rd., Rochester Hills, MI 48307 (248) 852-9307
New Jersey
- Giannone Wine & Liquors, 55 Riverwalk Place, West New York, NJ 07093 (201) 864-9400
Georgia
- Beverage Mart, 3482 Cobb Pkwy NW, Acworth, GA 30101 (770) 529-3027
- Tower Package - Piedmont, 2161 Piedmont Rd., Atlanta, GA 30324 (404) 881-0902
Shreveport, LA
- Thrifty Liquor #5, 3101 Bert Kouns, Shreveport, LA 71118 (318) 686-8170
- Thrifty Liquor #8, 3424 Youree Drive, Shreveport, LA 71105 (318) 865-8408
More on the Campaign at:
www.1800tequila.com
APE, thanks!
Thank you to all of the fine folks who made it out for APE, despite the weather-hangover-electionjitters-economy-etc. You are all gold. It all went by so fast. The only thing I ended up buying was All-Star Superman at the Isotope party on Saturday. I'm sure I would have spent all my money on the floor if I had left my table. Just about everyone I talked with was impressed with the level of quality stuff at APE this year. So many talented people were representing their artwork. It's scary and completely invigorating. Thanks for raising the bar, jerks!
Special thanks to Scott Beale (of Laughing Squid fame) for stopping by for my annual "Josh at his table" APE photoshoot. Here I am, through the ages, as chronicled by the main tentacle himself:
2005
photo by Scott Beale
2006
photo by Scott Beale
2007
photo by Scott Beale
2008
photo by Scott Beale
More of Scott's great photos from this year's APE are here.
APE, Nov 1st and 2nd
I'll be working the table once again at the Alternative Press Expo this weekend at the Concourse Exhibition Center in San Francisco.
Look for me at table #113. I'll be selling lots of new prints, art books and sketches. Hope to see some of you there.
Case Study -Kitten on the Keys
For the past six years, I've been creating artwork for the talented performer, Suzanne Ramsey aka "Kitten on the Keys". Suzanne is a great friend and one of the best clients I've ever had. 
Photo by Mi Mi LeMeauxAs "Kitten on the Keys" she has set the bar as the go-to Emcee for burlesque/caberet events. By hosting and performing in such productions as the Miss Exotic World Pagent, Tease-O-Rama, and Caberet New Burlesque, Kitten has brought her twisted brand of sweet and savory vittles to the hungry all over the globe. It's always a pleasure to work with her on promotions for shows, cd artwork, fund raisers, merchandise, or whatever materials she needs.
Below are some of the projects we've worked on together and I hope we get to make lots more in the future:
Kitten on the Keys Merchandise Spots, 2002
The images above are some of the merchandise imagery that I put together for Kitten on the Keys after our first meeeting. I was really into 60's style spot illustration and the work of Al Hirschfeld. You can see my humble attempt to imitate those styles a little. These spot illustrations are still used on Kitten on the Keys tshirts, buttons, and other items. Both Suzanne and I were interested in vintage Japanese character design and I used that inspiration for a postcard design. The Kanji on the card reads "Happy Kitty Girl". A couple of years later, I was hired to create the artwork for Kitten on the Key's first major release, "(It's Not A) Pretty Princess Day". We decided to expand on the style and color of the postcard for the CD materials.
In 2006, Bender's Bar in San Francisco held a benefit for Suzanne's dental bills. They asked me to do the postcard and it was a lot of fun.
In 2007, Suzanne me asked me to create new black and white artwork for her "Salty Meat Girl" CD and merchandise. In addition, we made an activity/coloring book that included recipes, a maze, a recipe for lamb marinade, and a fold out poster.
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More about Kitten on the Keys can be found on her website:
KittyMusic.com