This Made Me Giggle...

You will find out if you hang around my blog long enough that I'm not necessarily the most fashion / name brand clothing conscience artist.

That's really more Ciara's department. ;)

However -- despite that, I ran across an ad for "Sketchers" shoes tonight while finishing up finals projects that actually held my interest. The over-all concept was pretty cute and it really made me giggle. Seeing as how burned out I'm feeling right now, it was just what the doctor ordered.  

I'm excited about getting past these last few weeks of school, because I have quite a few new illustration ideas that I am just burning to flesh out.  Stay tuned for that, kids. :)

In the meantime: here are Schmitty, McFunkle, and Stump for "Sketchers". 

"Lions and Tigers and Bears"

Not much of an actual update for the moment.  Right now, I am currently swamped with end of semester /finals projects, papers and exam prep.  At the moment, I just doing what I can to stay sane and to keep from drowning in a big sea of homework. ;)

In lieu of a whole lot of content for now, I did want to post this new video that I spotted a few weeks ago by Jazmine Sullivan.  This gorgeous "Wizard of Oz" inspired music video is just what the doctor ordered.  Pairing smooth r&b with a string section tucked underneath that just makes me want to  cry (in a good way ;) , I think that it's definitely one that deserves a look.....or twelve. :)

Lions, Tigers, and Bears - Jazmine Sullivan

"Mother of Violence"

So, I finally completed my most recent illustration 

-- "Mother of Violence" 

(click image for larger version)

For once, I'm going to refrain from going into too 

much detail about what it's all about. I'm going 

to leave it to you guys to interpret it how you like. 

All that I will say is that it is kind of a personal 

piece that is the end product of a good bit of

soul searching.

I hope to turn it into a series or maybe a

web comic somewhere down the line.

What I do want to do is share the song from 

which I got the inspiration for the title (and 

possibly a little bit of the imagery:)

Without further ado:

This Hits a Little Too Close to Home....

I'll admit -- I'm up way past (what should be ;) my bedtime right now.  However, this touched me so much that I just had to do a quick blog about it.

I was just about to go to bed a little bit ago when I ran across this made for TV movie, "Out of Darkness".  It stars Diana Ross as a paranoid schizophrenic who spends the movie struggling with her illness, voices, delusions, medication, treatment, work, family and real-life issues related to being mentally ill. She is shown having almost violent delusions at times (at one point she rips apart the bathroom in a half-way house she is staying at).   She also deals with the effect her illness has on her family (including a 10 year old daughter that is constantly worried that she will become sick too).  

Any of my readers who know me personally probably know were I'm going with all of this.  My own mother also just so happens to be a paranoid schizophrenic.  I'm certainly not disclosing this for pity purposes (I don't need or want it. You can keep that for yourself -- thanks).  It's just that I have nothing to hide and I am not ashamed of my mother or her illness. She's still my beautiful mommy.:)

Besides that, I can't sit here and say that there aren't some obvious parallels from this movie that mirror my own life / upbringing seeing my mother deal with her own schizophrenia.  It was a little hard for me to watch, but this is basically my story in movie form.....Diana Ross is just playing the part of my mom -- haha ;)

(I probably couldn't ask for a more beautiful woman to portray a more beautiful woman...inside and out ;)

*Ahem* Anyway -- I just felt like sharing that because it was just so strange to look up at random and see this movie that I related to so personally.  Throughout my life, I have generally struggled to find things on TV or in the movies that I could see that particular facet of my life in .As much as it hit home for me, it was refreshing to see a realistic depiction of a person living with and working through a mental illness.  I'm not saying that there are no realistic depictions of the mentally ill.   However, for every media depiction of a "functional" and non-violent person with mental illness such as schizophrenia, there are 100 more movies with the mass murdering type of  mentally ill portrayal. While I get that such people exist, this isn't every person who is mentally ill. That's how stereotypes get started and it honestly makes me pretty upset. It was kind of nice to see a representation of the day to day goings on of a mentally ill person which was a little less sensationalized.   

I have tried (in vain) to locate a copy of this to have for myself.  It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out why this movie would be valuable to me.  However -- apparently, since it was a relatively obscure TV movie, it's really hard to track down now-a-days.  That's a real shame.  Not only is it such a powerful movie for me because of my personal experience with the subject, but Diana Ross did an amazing job depicting a paranoid schizophrenic in the midst of her illness (I should know --- I've witnessed it).  I'm not sure why she didn't get more recognition for her acting here....hmmmm.

Anyway, I could go on for pages about this.  However, as I stated before -- I really do need to go to bed. :)

Good Night, folks!

Mass Media Obsessions and Curiosities

....or : "My life as a full-blown happy WHOligan" ;)

First of all, I have been having an amazing and incredibly cathartic day working on a short series of personal illustrations that deal with dread, personal turmoil, and  depression (among other things) .  It's ultimately very sad subject matter, but it's been an incredible emotional journey and release to work on this project. I've been practically radioactive with happiness over the project all day.  I'm also starting to find satisfying ways to make my cartoon characters less formulaic, so I am extremely excited about exploring new

 territory in terms of my illustrated extended family.

Since I am in such an amazing mood , I would like to take this opportunity to share something else that consistently rocks my world as a person and as an artist.  This is one my biggest creative influences and certainly of the most overall influential rock bands of all time.

I'll admit-- I am hopelessly devoted to :

Exhibit A):

Exhibit B):

See...I told you so. ;)

At any rate, I latched onto them for the first time around high school when I first caught "Tommy" on television by random chance.  I had no idea what I was watching that the time (other than the fact that the outlandish Ken Russel directed flick was certainly unlike anything I'd ever been exposed to before).

All I knew was that the music was driving, the movie was sensory overload at it's finest  and that the curly-haired guy who portrayed "Tommy" was SO damn fine! ;)

I would later find out that "that curly haired guy" with the powerful voice was Roger Daltrey and that the brain behind the rock opera belonged to Pete Townshend.  Keith Moon brought the madness and John Entwisle held down the bass with a quiet, sardonic poise.

Together, they made up The Who, and they had left an indelible impact on my creative life (as well as my ipod) ever since.

I would like to spare everybody having to read a drawn out blog full of too much more blatent rock star hero worship. I'm pretty sure  that you all appreciate that , and plus - if you really want to know the The Who's life story (beyond their impact on me) I suggest checking out this movie or this movie, or go here, or here.

What I *WOULD* like to do this evening is leave you with a couple of examples of The Who in action that have captivated me over the years and have flat out made me a very happy kid, indeed.

This first thing doesn't even feature The Who performing at all. Pete and Roger (the only two surviving original members) are merely spectators. However, this version of "Love Reign O'er Me" by Bettye Lavette is straight up breathtaking and soulful. This seriously has to be one of the most effective and startling covers that I've heard in my life. Roger and Pete certainly looked like they approved. :)

Here is an incredibly moving version of "Tea and Theater " taken from the conclusion their BBC "Electric Proms" set.

The Who at their prime -- singing "See Me, Feel Me" at the original Woodstock Festival.

Finally -- here is the infamous clip from the "Smothers Brothers" show were Keith nearly blew down the house.....LITERALLY!

This is certainly not the last you'll be seeing of The Who on "Out the Other Side" -- but this is it for right now . ;)

Time to get back to work my illustration set.... and (now that I think about it) maybe some dinner as well. ;)

Til Laters.....

The goddess behind "Little Me Design"

....and also (to a certain extent), behind "Out the Other Side" as well. :)

This is my amazing, brilliant, and beautiful friend and fellow artist, Ciara.  At the risk of sounding gushy, I just wanted to say that I cannot thank her enough for all of the help and continued encouragement that she has given me over the past months. She has been there through many a personal crisis and  she has also been instrumental in encouraging me to get "Out The Other Side" up and running.  Without her help and encouragement, "Out The Other Side" may have never materialized.  I am incredibly thankful to her for her guidance and friendship.

As I mentioned before, Ciara is an incredibly  accomplished artist, designer, and fashionista in her own right. "Little Me Design" is all her baby and I seriously encourage all of you to check that out Here , Here, Here, and, of course HERE! (Trust me -- you'll thank me for this later ;)

Dare I say her blog is a good bit more entertaining and informative than mine is at the moment, so please go check out "Little Me Design" HERE today! :)

Introducing: "Mass Media Obsessions and Curiosities"

Today I have been keeping busy with various personal projects -- including one that I have been (admittedly) putting off for too long now:  the down-sizing of my worldly posessions!

Meanwhile, I'm also trying to whip this blog into a little organizational shape, as well.  

Enter this new section of interest :  Mass Media Obsessions and Curiosities.

Further tweaking of this category will probably commence at a later date. However,  Mass Media Obsessions and Curiosities (for now at least) is going to be a catch-all for all the fun  things that inform my work and generally just pique my interest.  It's also a place me for to sound off on some of the things that catch my eye or generally make me go "huh?".

In the end - if it makes me smile or amuses me, then it goes under this headline.

So without further ado, here are a few things  that are doing it for me at the moment:

Here's a little musical flashback:

I recently discovered Stan Ridgway (former Wall of Voodoo frontman), and I completely fell in love with this track:

I had a late-night screening of this movie last night.  It's a definite favorite of mine:

I also watched this documentary last night -- which was quite fascinating: 

One last thing (for now):  If Jimmy Fallon (of all people) can have his own late night talk show, why doesn't this man (Loder - not Manson;) have a regular network show of his own? 

(On second thought -- maybe Manson, too.  That also has the potential to be pretty entertaining...)

The world may never know ;).

Okay -- I'm going back to re-organizing my life.  

Til laters....

One Pill Makes You Larger....

.... and one pill (apparently) turns you into an incredibly strange tree-like thing:

  No -- I was not under the influence of anything when I created this (unless, of course, you would like to count music  -- in which case I plead guilty to plenty of Frank Zappa, Pink Floyd, and The Flaming lips during the course of working on this illustration. ;)

Close enough for me *shrugs*. ;)

Anyway, I'm honestly not totally sure were the hell this one came from --other than a dire need to find a more creative outlet for my recently depressed mood.  Happily,  I must say that working on it has kept me in a much better mood lately -- so I guess it's already done part of what it was intended to do. :)  

As evidenced by my crappy "Sad Jessa" character (see previous blog post) , I have been getting back into my character illustrations as of late.  I've found that I tend to do that after working on larger projects because, honestly, it just gives me a mental break.  Characters are much quicker to deal with than, say, motion peices or full-scale booklets. 

 However, because they are usually faster pieces (for me at least) to work on, working on the characters gives me a fun outlet  to fully flesh out multiple ideas relatively quickly.  In other words, they give me a little more creative 'instant gratification' than say , "Memories and Hallucinations" (the production of which drug on for 4 soild months).

So what's next?  Well -- as  I continue to trudge through the rest of this semester (3 more weeks!) I really want to  give this blog some sort of format (or at the very least, a little bit of organization.)  I am also working up  a few characters for for commission -- which is always fun stuff.

Beyond that: I am also playing around with the idea of taking all of my current characters (to date) and create some sort of a "Character Yearbook". Since I'm also looking for a quick way to display a good many of my characters on this blog (so you guys get a better glimpse into the rest of my illustrated family) , I may start searching various jump drives soon for the ghosts of characters past. 

Putting together a mock-up of said  yearbook could be a fun personal project to take me through the rest of Easter Break.

Until then -- check out this video by the Flaming Lips ( this song has been on repeat on my ipod for about a week now and is slowly starting to become my own personal theme song :)

Art Imitates Life (sort of).

 So I'm not even going to lie --  for various reasons, I haven't been feeling so great about things lately.

I really don't want to bore anyone with the details...but I did want to share this illustration. (Click image for larger version)

   Lately, I've been doing what I can to take any negativity I've been feeling and put that energy towards more fruitful things....such as my art.  A couple of days ago I sketched out this character as a happy little experiment. Her name is "Jessa".

Not  only I did wind up liking her enough to flesh her a little bit more in Adobe Illustrator (CS4), but she pretty much sums up how I've felt for the past month or so.

On a very positive note, working on "Jessa" (sad as she is)  seems to have done small wonders for my own self esteem.  I can't say that I'm feeling 100% amazing right now. However, working on "Jessa" has been a nice emotional outlet.  I may wind up creating a few more characters with various apparent "emotional issues" and see if that does any more wonders my  for sanity. ;)

Movie Review: "Pedro: The Movie"

"Pedro: The Movie" (which had it's world premiere on MTV and Logo on April 2nd) is a very true-to-life account of the short life of AIDS activist and  former "Real Wrld" cast member, Pedro Zamora.   

As I said in a previous post, I was already well aquatinted with Pedro's story before seeing the movie a few days ago.   I have to say that the production values are very low on this film (and it shows) . However, that still does not take away from the fact that this is a very heartfelt tribute to a young person who  was so much more than just a reality TV star.  Pedro put a face and a personality on HIV and AIDS and quite possibly did more to educate the American public about this disease than anyone before or since.

As for the movie it self, it essentially follows Pedro's life blow by blow -- from his childhood beginnings in Cuba, to his coming of age as a gay teenager in Miami, to his time in the "Real World" house, and then back to Miami.  Despite the sometimes questionable/ overly glossy  production values (common of a lot of MTV movie productions), I was very impressed by closely the scenes  that involved "The Real World" were basically depicted as they were when they originally aired in 1994.  I believe that the set designers and costume designers for the film did a really good job with re-creating the original "Real World" house as match as closely as they could to the original.  If you go back and youtube scenes from "The Real World : San Francisco" (which --btw, DESERVES a proper DVD release!!)  you can even see that the costume directors on the film took great pains to make sure that even the clothes that Pedro wore in the house were as a close match to what was seen in the original show.  Even outfits that Pedro wore when he did his audition video for "Real World" (and later on , when he was hospitalized) were recreated to the smallest detail.  While a few events  were also altered slightly (I'm sure for dramatic effect) , the basic story line and dialogue of Pedro's life (which he insisted be caught on camera regardless of how bad off he got) stayed in tact. As a follower of Pedro's, I was extremely appreciative and happy about that.

The film not only covers Pedro's life in the Real World house , but also gives you a deeper background on his upbringing in Cuba and also his sad last days in Miami.   Because of that, you don't necessarily have to have seen the original "Real World: San Francisco" shows at all to get a real feel for what went  down there, but I also believe that you won't be entirely bored with the dramatic re-enactment's of events (including the intense confrontation with the slob/jackass known as PUCK)  if you have seen the show. It should bring back memories. :)

The movie overall is a very moving and fitting tribute to Pedro and I did a pretty good job of not bawling my eyes out towards the end.  Be prepared to be deeply moved and have a lot to think about by the end.

Bottom Line:  This film is lacking as far as production (as it was most likely shot quickly and on a low budget). Most of the actors that they got to play Pedro and his real world house mates kind of , sort of look like the original people -- but not really.  However, the emotional story of a beautiful soul whose life was tragically cut short by AIDS is one that far transcends the budget for the film.  This is Pedro's story -- verbatim and I believe that you would have to be made of stone not to be deeply effected after watching it.  I sincerely believe that it is a story that a new generation needs to be exposed to.  "Pedro: The Movie" is just something that I strongly feel that everyone should make an effort to see at least once.

Check out "Pedro: The Movie" on MTV and Logo.  You can also stream it for free at Mtv.com.

Grade:  A -

Pedro Zamora: A Tribute and Commentary

1972-1994

 When "The Real World: San Francisco" had it's original run on MTV, I was in the 4th grade.  It was 1994 and a blessed thing had occurred -- BASIC CABLE had made it's way into the Latz house (even if only for a short minute ;).  

Just like so may other ten year olds before and since, I was completely mesmerized by MTV.  I grew up dirt poor with only a handful of TV channels (most of which did not actually work) in a very culturally isolated small town.  

As I'm sure you can imagine, the existence of MTV completely changed my music collection and those first experiences seeing music videos (such as Soundgarden's "Black Hole Sun" and Green Day's "Basket Case")  no doubt spawned my love for putting images and sound together in the work I do today.

Then one day I was channel surfing one day after school  and I caught a little of this show -- "The Real World". The more I watched , the more I noticed Pedro Zamora.  He was charamatic, charming, funny, intelligent, and unbelievably handsome (I'll admit -- I totally had a little kid crush on him;).

Then I found out that Pedro had AIDS. That didn't make him any less handsome or charismatic in my eyes, but I was certainly stunned and saddened to know that he was sick.   I'll admit, even in the 4th grade in 1994, I had heard about AIDS and understood enough to know that it was a bad disease that killed you. Outside of that, I was pretty ignorant as to how HIV/AIDS is caught and contracted.  You have to remember that this was the early 1990's and on top of that, I lived in a small town that had yet to wake up to the real need for in depth AIDS education in public school. What was even more scary and sad that I was far from being alone in my ignorance.  

Pedro Zamora, however, was instrumental in changing that forever.

Pedro's background as an AIDS educator certainly gave me a glimpse into what it's like to live with AIDS (and to live with someone with AIDS) , the drugs used to treat AIDS, what a low T-cell count means, the misconceptions about AIDS transmission and  -- most imporantly -- how to  protect myself and a potential partner from getting and spreading this aweful disease.

Even more than that Pedro's easygoing and charasimatic personality and his willingness to have his his struggles documented on what is now widely referred to as "Reality TV" showed me and the world that AIDS doesn't just happen to certain people.  HIV/AIDS does not care what color you are or what your economic situation or your sexual orientation or  how nice a person you may think that you are.

AIDS can be contracted by me or you or any one of us in an instant.  One of the most fundamentally important messages that Pedro left behind is that it is ultimately our responsibility to educate ourselves about how HIV & AIDS are spread, practice safe sex , and get ourselves tested regularly (particularly if you know you are engaging in at risk behavior -- but even if you're not, you should still get tested regularly and use protection).  

  It completely wigs me out that myself (along with a lot of the country) were completely ignorant to AIDS related issues back in the early 1990's.  Since then, there has certainly more on television, in magazines, on the news , etc about how dire the AIDS epedemic is both here and abroad.  

However, it is now 2009 -- nearly 15 years since Pedro passed away and left behind a legacy of activism and knowlege on AIDS related issues.   I am  not totally sure if anyone else has run across this (and please let me know if you have  -- I would be very interested to hear your thoughts) but I have run into a fair amount of college aged kids who seem to believe that the AIDS epedimic isn't that severe and that they do not have to protect themselves.  The misconception that "AIDS can't happen to me" seems to be perforating the younger generation on an ever increasing scale and the potential consequences of this could be devastating. 

I want to stress a big point here.  I did not just put up this post merely for entertainment purposes.  While entertainmnt and the sharing of art/artistic inspiration is a big part of what this blog is all about, this goes so much deeper than all of that.  Pedro's legacy is one that is still relevant even today.  Millions of people are becoming newly infected with HIV every day in the United States.  I sincerely believe that there is a whole new generation of kids out there who may be unaware of how urgent the AIDS epidemic both here in their own back yard.

 There are are increasingly scary numbers of people who I feel are blowing off the urgency of getting tested , staying educated and safe.  With so much emphasis recently put on so called "abstinence only education" , I believe that this is only served to further the misinformation concerning the AIDS epidemic to a whole new generation.   I really hope that I'm wrong, but I truly feel that there is a new crop of young people who are destined to repeat  a lot of the same mistakes that were made in the very beginning of the AIDS epidemic.  This could, ultimately, bring about a rapid  and devastating rise of new AIDS  cases within the next decade.

A new generation may very well repeat history unless people wake up and pay attention to the fact that AIDS has not gone anywhere and that the danger is still very tangible and real.

I recently watched the recent bio-pic on Pedro entitled "Pedro: The Movie".  You obviously don't have to listen to me. I'm ultimately just one person with a little art blog and a really big mouth.

However, I feel like the movie (which will be reviewed on "Out The Other Side" in the near future) and Pedro's story are something that a new generation urgently need to see.

Pedro's legacy touched millions and even after his death, his story is still informing and helping so many.  However, I am ultimately excited and pleased that his life is being made into a movie and urge everybody to go out there to either check it out on MTV.com or on MTV .  I'm not urging this to be a walking advertisement for MTV (you don't need that...I'm sure you're fully aware of how to find MTV).  I am urging everyone to go see it because while I do not feel that by seeing that everyone will suddenly make better life decisions, I do feel like it's  a moving story that will touch you and make you connect to a current issue.  It's an issue that I feel is being too readily swept under the rug by the younger generation.  

Pedro was an exceptional human being and he did so much for the understanding of HIV and AIDS in his short 22 year life.  While I realize that he was just another face on the television screen to a lot of people, the message and knowledge he left behind surpassed his time on "The Real World" and is a message that is just important today as it was when he passed away.  

Sometimes it's a Matter of Inspiration

Lately, I have been experiencing constant sensory overload. I have recently concluded nearly four months of illustration/ animation work on a personal motion piece that can only be described as "trippy and epic". (See screenshots below)

As ultimately frustrating, fun, exhausting, and personally rewarding as it has been to work on the piece, there's a big part of me that is ultimately glad to put this particular project behind me.  Don't get me wrong -- I'm definately all about seeing creative inspiration to fruition.  It's just that I believe that the length of time that it has taken me to create this particular piece may have just outlasted the original inspiration.

That brings me to my current creative challenge as an illustrator/designer, the motivation to finally launch this blog, and the subject of this post -- INSPIRATION.

The search for new sources of inspiration and the review/discarding of old ones seems to be were I am currently at creatively.  I'm assuming that this is something that occasionally  plauges everyone who dares to identify themselves as artists. Before collegiate art classes had a chance to shape and , oftentimes, confuse my personal aesthetic, I look towards popular culture to influence my work. 

I have certainly adopted some new artistic tools and acquired some new influences over the the past decade or so.  However (for better or for worst) , a lot of what got me fired up creatively when I was 16 years old is still doing it for me today.  Inspiration sometimes comes in some of the strangest and eclectic places for me.  Occasionally I am moved by the practically mundane.  However, most of what moves me to do what I do generally falls into one of 4 categories:  Music/ music video, 1980's poplar culture, movies, and celebrity as an image and commodity.  I do not in any way restrict myself to just pop culture references to dictate were I go with my work, but I certainly cannot deny the lasting impact of being a latchkey kid of the early 1990's to whom television was a doting babysitter.

Am I deeper than my artistic inspirations? Of course I am -- and I will get deeper into my personal business as time goes on. However, I couldn't think of a better way to introduce myself than to share some of the things that I come back to in my work.  The building blocks of my work are so important to me because for me my work is literally everything.  My illustrations and work are my life and an extension of who I am as an eclectic creative person. Today, my life seems more and more about constantly figuring out what lights a fire under my little soul and turning it into work that can get a reaction out of my audience and maybe even provide a little inspiration for someone else.  What else could be better than that?

Right now I'm still creativly hungry (wait -- make that STARVING) for something new to move me enough to get my work to the next level. I believe that I am well on my way to re-discovering myelf as a creative person, and I am excited about having the opportunity to document the evolution of my body of work (even if it's for 3 people that happen to stumble across this little blog;). I am also elated about beginning some new artistic experiments in the near future and seeing were it all takes me.

In the meantime, here are some of my current personal inspirations:







Leave Me Alone - Michael Jackson


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PALLADIA PROMO






Peter Gabriel-Blood of Eden -

 Welcome to my blog and my ongoing conversation about my work (and all the things that influence my work). Here's to all of you going out to find life and passion in what inspires you as well!:)

Warmest Regards,

Christy