One of my projects as a Planet Labs Artist in Residence is going to be commemorative portrait drawings of people that inspired others to push things far enough so that we have the ability to take photos of the whole planet from space. The first set in the series will be those that pioneered imaging of the planet in new and strange ways.
Read MoreEmperor Norton in "Views of the Pacific Coast", 1968 by HELIOS aka Ewd. J Muybridge.
Emperor Norton Stereograph
For my residency at Planet Labs, I'm researching the early history of photography, specifically aerial and sequential photography. That led me to a library book on Eadweard Muybridge. The book explains Muybridge's experiments with stereographs.
Read More2015, My Year in Review
Every year I'm a little more flabbergasted by how fast it goes. It's the very end of November as I write this and there's still a small chunk of the year left, but in a blink that will over too. Part of it is just being continually occupied with projects, I suppose. To that end, 2015 has definitely been my busiest year as a working artist. So much happened both professionally and personally. Right now I'm still riding the wave of gratitude and tryptophan from Thanksgiving, so I'm feeling introspective I guess. This year I've learned a lot about community, family, letting people in and letting some people go. It's difficult to outline everything that happened, and some stuff you wouldn't believe me if I told you anyway. Here are some highlights.
- In January, I traveled to Seattle for an incredible birthday trip that included a Ghostbusters-themed burlesque show. I did the flyer.
- In February, flew to Mexico for my sister's wedding. There was drinking, sketching and lots of "bathroom time". Thanks, Mexico.
- For Valentine's Day, I traveled to San Diego for a studio portrait session with Chase No Face, the cat without a face.
- BART, the Bay Area's rapid transit system featured my artwork in train cars throughout the system.
- I made a shirt design for a robotics conference in Hamburg, Germany.
- Arcade cabinet maker X-Arcade hired me to imagine some fictitious retro machines. I came up with "Snack Fighter" and "Space Race".
- I beta tested a new revolutionary input device called the Sensel Morph.
- I made lots of cover artwork for No Starch Press, a publisher that makes tech books fun.
- My "Drunk Tweets" paintings were featured at Gestalt bar in San Francisco
- I went to Comic Con and didn't even have to work a table this time! Instead, I sketched, walked around, and took photos.
- I dressed up at Super Mario for an event at Oakland's Fairyland.
- I made illustrations for Target featured at their D23 Expo booth in Anaheim, California.
- I exhibited at SF Zinefest and the 2015 Alternative Press Expo.
- I flew home to Michigan for my cousin Jacob's wedding and visited family, swam in a pool, and saw some old friends.
- The mysterious secret art cult I was in broke apart. Yet, somehow the best parts of it still linger.
- My hammock that secret art cult friends were lounging in broke apart. I crowdfunded a replacement. Now I have two hammocks.
- Make Magazine featured my gold/black buttons as a tutorial on their website.
- Months later, Make hired me to make a mural at the Make Media Lab.
- I made artwork for a "robot carnival" themed art show at Gallery1988 West in LA.
- The obsession with Chase No Face spawned a comic strip drawn in the style of Garfield. I call it "Garface".
- I was in a Phyllis Diller themed art show.
- I drew "Abraham" for an Oakland Animal Services art benefit. You can adopt the real Abraham here.
- I'm now the current Artist-In-Residence for Planet Labs, whose goal is to image the entire Earth every 24 hours with tiny satellites.
I've written a lot of these recaps over the years and it seems like I always end it with, "Who knows what 20-- has in store??", but this time I don't think it's ever been more honest. I honestly have no idea what's going on next year beyond parts of January. I hope it's as interesting as this year and maybe even just a little better. I wish my friends, family, and community of local weirdos the best for the coming year. I'm just glad to be here. Talk to you soon.
Resident Artist at Planet Labs
I'm proud to announce that I'm the Artist in Residence for Winter 2015 at Planet Labs in San Francisco. Planet Labs is a private aerospace company with a mission to image the entire Earth from space every twenty-four hours. Their tiny satellites even have artwork emblazoned on the exterior. You can read more about Planet Labs online here.
Read More"Bullseye the Dog" Illustrations for Target at D23 Expo
The marketing and event wizards at Manifold hired me to create artwork for Target's presence at the 2015 D23 Expo in Anaheim, California. D23 is Disney's annual pop-culture and animation festival and seems to be getting bigger every year. This year, Manifold transformed Target's booth into a gigantic zoetrope and loaded it with fun animation activities like a create-a-zoetrope photo booth.
Read MoreX-Arcade "Space Race" Cabinet
Earlier this year, I designed an cocktail arcade cabinet for X-Arcade. Photography just came back today, and I have to say that I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out!
Read MoreStormcheaters Print Back in Stock!
Do you know someone that loves Star Wars and scan-trons? Is it you? Well, you're in luck, because my "Stormcheaters" print is back in stock and ready to invade your wall.
Read MoreMy Squarespace Set-Up
I use Squarespace as my website platform and hosting service. I've been with them for over seven years and it's been great. Previously, I hand-coded html for my site and had to relearn standards every time the technology changed. Now, I just focus on the content and Squarespace keeps everything tidy.
Read MoreAloha Tiki 3-Pack Sale!
It's Summertime and, in my opinion, one should always have a rum drink nearby. To celebrate, I'm offering my tiki-themed "Aloha" prints featuring drinking birds, bugs, and fish together for $60!
Read More"Drunk Tweets" at Gestalt, San Francisco
Gestalt Haus bar in San Francisco's Mission District is playing host to a gaggle of my "Drunk Tweet" paintings this month and next. The series started out as tiny sketches with paint on novelty-sized mini canvases. For this show, however, the sketches are super-sized on 20x20" canvases.
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