Hello folks! Here is the newest edtion to my "Psycho-city" (working title ;) series -
"The Sharkbait Tango".
(Click image for larger version)
Beyond that, I don't have a whole lot to gab about at the moment. I am currently visiting with family for the next few days -- which unfortunately means that I'll have limited internet access until next week.
However, I have several new projects (in various stages of completion) in the works right now and and many more ideas clicking around in my noggin' that I can't wait to get started on. It has certainly been nice to work on my own personal projects for a bit (as apposed to doing class assignments). It's been pretty liberating ;)
I recently completed this illustration sample as part of a commission and thought that it was time to share it with the rest of the class ;)
The newest installment of my "sad rainbow" series is also getting ready for it's debut, so keep your eyes peeled for that as well. (Click HERE and HERE if you don't know what I mean by "sad rainbow" series ;)
By the way , the "sad rainbow" series (as I keep affectionately referring to it) may be getting an official name soon.
Let it be known that I am now completely in LOVE with Brooklyn's own White Rabbits (click here to visit their official site). I caught this high energy performance last night while doing some illustration work (and nursing my umpteenth cup of coffee of the night, of course ;). Since then, I haven't been able to get their newest single, "Percussion Gun", out of my head. It's a little bit of awesome in what can now sometimes be a predictable pop/rock music landscape.
I just thought that I would share my fun little discovery. ;)
In other news -- Happy (late) Birthday, Pete Townshend! The brains behind THEWHO just turned 64 yesterday! :)
Anyway, this last week or so since the end of what I like to affectionately refer to as "the semester from Hell" has been more or less a positive one. Outside of the last couple of days (where my family has apparently mistaken yours truely as their very own private, unpaid , one woman IT service center), this last week at home has been relatively calm and drama-free (which is just fine for me, thanks;).
That's not to say that I haven't been busy , though.
I've been looking into jobs and internships -- mainly just putting out some feelers for the future for now. I've also been busying myself with not only an major upgrade for this blog (i.e., the new header) but also a new edition to my "sad rainbow" illustration series (still in process) as well as a new promotional background for my Twitter page (see my "Sober Man" illustration above). In other words -- I'm currently doing what I can to raise my professional profile, get some new eyeballs onto my work and shamelessly plug, plug, PLUG "Out the Other Side".
What better way to spend a hot n' sweaty summer during a recession, eh? ;)
I'm happy to report that while my current campaigning to find some work has yet to net me a regular illustration/design gig (not that I was really expecting that this early in the game during recession anyhow) it has already netted some possibilities.
So far I'm looking at a little bit of long distance contract illustration work and a possible internship (creating and maintaining a website for a local tattoo shop). Hopefully these opportunities will either pan out , or else there will be some more doors opening up for me in the future. Wish me luck!:)
Meanwhile, I've been taking this downtime to revisit the work of some of my favorite creative minds.
I've been a fan of Mark Romanek's work every since I first caught the haunting video he directed for KD Lang's "Constant Craving" as a little kid. However , it wasn't until I saw the graphic clip for Nine Inch Nail's closer at the age of 13 before I became completely seduced by the man's work . I was pretty much a changed kid from then on out. :)
Romanek has obviously moved on to doing even more high profile music videos for the likes of Jay-Z, Nine Inch Nails, David Bowie, Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson, Madonna and many others. He has also expanded his creative scope to directing commercials ( ESPN, Cadillac, and Apple are just a few of his clients), as well as motion pictures ("One Hour Photo").
However, I randomly decided to spend a rainy day looking up some of the lesser known music videos from early on in Romanek's prolific career. All I can say is that the man certainly had a unique vision for how he wanted to bring together film and music. A Mark Romanek video can always be counted on to be a little off kilter and extremely entertaining. Romanek is one music video director who pushed (and continues to push) the music video medium and was one of the directors in the 199o's who helped futher elevate music video into a valid work of art all unto itself. As a matter of fact -- two of Mark's videos ("Bedtime Story" by Madonna and "Closer" by Nine Inch Nails) have become permanent pieces at the MOMA gallery in New York City!
Here are some of my personal favorite (and in some cases - lesser known) Mark Romanek clips:
First of all -- here is a clip by Pop's Cool Love entitled "Buzz". Created in 1986, this was apparently Mark's very first music video (and no -- I really don't know what's up with the VJ at the beginning with the funny shorts on. It was the '80's, folks ;)
Next up is the gorgeously filmed Keith Richards clip, "Wicked as it Seems" (1992).
Here, (looking absolutely yummy, I might add ;), is Mr. David Bowie in the super soulful "Black Tie, White Noise" (1993).
Yet another utterly fabulous early '90's (1993) David Bowie clip curtesy of Mr. Romanek: "Jump They Say" (this one has long been one of my all time favorite David Bowie videos , as well:)
This next one is a relatively new discovery for me (which is odd, because I am huge fan of not only Romanek but also Lenny Kravitz. I'm really not sure how I missed this one for so long.) At any rate, here is the fantastically funky (and slightly freaky) "Is There Any Love in Your Heart?" (1993)
In Iggy Pop's "Beside You" (1994) , Romanek helps bring out a tortured sensitivity in everybody's favorite real wild child that I thought was incredibly beautiful and heart breaking. I absolutely can't believe that this was never included on the Mark Romanek "Directors Series" DVD. This is definitely a must see!
Finally -- I remember stopping dead in my tracks when I first saw this video for Macy Gray's 1999 single "Do Something" . I was just completely amazed! I still believe that it's not only one of Mark Romanek's greatest (and possibly underrated) creations but also one of the coolest music videos EVER (it definitely makes my top 5, anyway ;). Hey -- any video that features something that looks like a gigantic gummy bear can't be all bad ;)
So summer "break" has officially begun for yours truly...but things are just heating up here at
"Out the Other Side"!
Oh yes -- the spring semester has officially come to the end (and I couldn't be happier about that)! Although part of my summer will be spent applying for internships, researching universities (I'm thinking about a possible grad/second bachelor's degree after I graduate) and networking , I'm now free to tackle some commission work as well as devote some more time to personal projects and assorted fun stuff. This is making me a pretty happy artsy-fartsy chick. :)
First things first -- I've finally given this blog a new header (see above). Since I've had a little bit of time to relax and recoup from a crazy semester, the artistic ideas have been flowing. I've been drawing a lot, looking at a lot of cool art, and I definitely have a lot of cool stuff planned for this summer -- so keep your eyes peeled for that, kids! ;)
.... especially at 2am when I'm trying pack the contents of my life so I can get a break from campus for a month or so. ;)
This, however, was just one of those random gems on Vh1 Classic that was just too good not to share.
The name of the song is "God Blessed Video" by the 80's hair metal band, Alcatrazz. Apparently -- it originally came out in 1985 (hmmm.....makes sense ;).
Look, I'm not trying to completely hate on Alcatrazz. Although I have never previously heard of them prior to stumbling over tonight....they can't be all that bad (Steve Vai apparently used to shred his axe with them back in the day)
However -- I don't know if it's just me (or the late-ish hour of this particular post ;) but this video looks more like something that would have been directed by Jonathan Demme for The Talking Heads and not.......um.....Alcatrazz.
Even better -- It looks like something that maybe I would direct .....that is if I were making quirky music videos in the 1980's instead of quirky illustrations in the '00's ;)
Bottom line: The aesthetic is very quirky and weird -- but I love quirky and weird so I actually kinda dig it (even if it's a bad 80's video).
What do you want from me? Sometimes it doesn't take a lot to make me happy. *shrugs* ;)
....who are the two foxiest graduates of them all? ;)
Two of my favorite people, friends, and fellow artists just graduated today and I couldn't be prouder of them! Amber and Ciara are not only my sisters in art but also they two of the greatest human beings and friends that I could have ever asked for. We've had a lot of good times, created a lot of cool art and we could probably fill a book with all of our little inside jokes and assorted silliness. ;)
I'm going to miss the hell out of both of them. :)
It's been fun and I wish them both all the best as they move on to pursue their respective careers as artists/designers and all around beautiful babelicious professional women.
They are both amazing and fabulous artists soooooo.....
So let me start out by saying that I am *OFFICIALLY* done with all of my paper writing......at least for this semester ;)
Oh yes, it really is that time of the semester. I'm already into the mid-point of my bi-yearlyfinal exam stress-out / freak-out extravaganza! *cues the fireworks* ;)
Thankfully, despite being up to my neck in take home exams, projects and paperwork for the majority of the week....death has not quite befallen yours truly just yet. ;)
Having said that though -- I am ready for a good old fashioned distraction right about now. Outside of maybe my Contempoary Art exhibition catalog, I currently have no real time to put into creating anything particuarly inspired at the moment (which is kind of a bummer). I'm still counting down the days 'til I've actually got a little time to breath and make art just for the sake of making something that I love/ am passionate about (*gasp* -- what a concept, huh?).
In the meantime, I will just console myself with a few happy little digital distractions.
As I mentoned before, I'm pretty happy about how my exhibition catalog (see front cover above) has shaped up. I had to research and write about three contemporary artists and create a catalog revolving around their work and process. Seeing as how I'm am primarily an illustrator by trade, I focused my entire project around some of the most prominent and hardworking digital illustrators currently in the business. The artists that I picked for my catalog were Takashi Murakami (inventer of the "Superflat" illustraton style that I'm oh-so-fond of ;), Kam Tang (creater several very awesome /recent album covers; including the cover for Gnarls Barkley's "St.Elsewhere"), and Aaron McGruder (creator of "The Boondocks" comic strip and television show).
Given the fact that every artist I picked either designed for popular music, fashion or television (or some combination of all of the above) I had a really good time writing the text for the catalog. It was so interesting researching these guys that it didn't actually feel like "work"-- which was nice. :) I think that working on it has actually planted a few seeds of inspiration in my little noggin. If nothing else, it made two things clear to me:
1) Illustration is not only my passion but I'm really artistically turned on by studying other great illustrators.
and....
2) I really need to get my butt back in front of my sketch pad, pronto! ;)
Other than that , here are my other current favorites:
More Kam Tang! This guy completely rocks my world right now -- and here is just a few of the reasons why ;)
"Wax on Radio"
"Obey the Giant"
I am *SO* in love with the new (and FREE!) screensaver that Toki Doki now has on their website. It gave me a real giggle while I was being a little final exam zombie, at least ;)
Finally, I have recently been watching old Kurt Loder interviews (because I'm a dork like that ) and had stumbled across a pretty awesome one that he did back in 1994 with The Rolling Stones. This , in turn, not only had me missing my old copy of "Voodoo Lounge"....but also made me want to re-visit the video for "Love is Strong". I had honestly forgotten how much I really loved this David Fincher directed clip. Even though it's roughtly 15 years old (God, really?!) it still holds up and it's just as sexy as ever *ahem*.
It's almost good enough to make The Stones more of a classic rock obsession for me than TheWho.
....almost ;)
Now enjoy as Mick and company sex it up in this classic video flashback ;)
Finally finished my latest and (due to final exams next week) last personal illustration for a while.
As I finish up a semester that can only be best described in one word as being "INSANE" (which is now being gloriously capped off by ridiculous allergy attacks and last-minute family dramatics), I have have gotten some creative relief by continuing this weird (and oftentimes - morbid) series of illustrations . Dark as it is, Im really loving this series. I'm excited to dive full blast back into it during the summer, so stay tuned for some new content in the same visual vein as what you see above (click image for larger version).
I'm excited about starting on some new and totally different digital projects as the summer gets underway. I'm also itching to pick up a paint brush for the first time in literally years and work on a few pop art-type paintings.....so stay tuned for that as well. :)
In other randomness, I recently got the sudden urge to dust off and re-visit my much beloved copy of the funky Prince driven flick, "Under the Cherry Moon". It's one of my favorite movies (and certainly a favorite one to escape into when Im feeling as frazzled as I do currently) so I'm sure that it will come up again on this blog.
I also dig Prince - like - A LOT! (more on that later, kids ;)
In the meantime, check out one of my favorite moments from "UTCM" as well as the live video for "Anotherloverholeinyohead" (a favorite track of mine from the "UTCM/Parade" album:).
Ah yes.....just a few of many reasons why Prince just straight up rocks my funky little world 24/7. ;)
Take care folks -- and I'll see you all on the other side of final exams!:)
A quirky, fun, occasionally self-deprecating and terminally awkward turtle who just so happens to drink too much coffee, sleep too little and make artsy-fartsy stuff all day long -- that pretty much sums me up.:)
I'm an illustrator, cartoonist and designer with a strong interest in music, music videos, non-fiction books, pop culture, movies TV and abnormal psychology (among other things).
I try to keep my artistic aesthetic as varied as my music collection and as random as my overall train of thought.
I'm also a horrible cook but I'm an okay singer (available for weddings and bar mitzvahs in the event this whole "working artist" thing doesn't quite pan out ;)
