After the original drawing was destroyed, I debated whether I should scrap the piece or just re-create another version. The problem with re-drawing the portrait is that it needed to be exactly the same size as the first drawing, every curve, every angle, etc... if it wasn't, it wouldn't fit inside the masked area I'd made on the LP.Or I could just draw the portrait freehand inside the masked area. Since I used enamel spray paint for the background, using a pencil wasn't really a possibility. Or rather erasing wasn't- it would mar the surface. So then what's the point? Might as well just draw it using a Sharpie. Which wouldn't be a any concern if I wanted a "sketchy" loose drawing. But I didn't want that. I knew I wanted a tight, smooth contour line drawing. But to do that without one mistake? Without a reference sketch? Not really.
So without going over each step, I'll say that I did re-draw the portrait onto paper as close to the original as possible. You can see the original destroyed drawing and the second version (on pink paper) up top. I transferred the drawing onto the LP and went from there- see the pic at right. It just goes to show, no matter how routine the processes are that you're working, if you're not paying attention, it can go to shite in a hot minute.
Posted at 1:26 PM on Saturday, September 30, 2006
On the right is the original sketch for the next project: the usual start, pencil on vellum. Prior to that, I'd sprayed a few LPs in preparation of making a few more works on vinyl.
Next I thought, "I want to mask off her shape and use spray paint for the background." Seems simple enough right? I mean I'd been stenciling for awhile and got really used to thinking in terms of layers. And really, any art I do is sort of planned in steps, so yeah, seems simple enough. So I cut the drawing out, applied a bit of spray adhesive and stuck it down. Then I used black spray paint over the pink LP. Done.
Ok, so after that step, I was going to transfer the drawing inside the area I'd just masked off. I planned on doing this using some graphite transfer paper and tracing over the linework (as I normally do). That was when I realized that I'd sprayed over the original drawing with the black spray paint. Which drawing? The one I just painted over and completely obliterated? oh yeah, that one.
On the right is the original sketch for the next project: the usual start, pencil on vellum. Prior to that, I'd sprayed a few LPs in preparation of making a few more works on vinyl.Next I thought, "I want to mask off her shape and use spray paint for the background." Seems simple enough right? I mean I'd been stenciling for awhile and got really used to thinking in terms of layers. And really, any art I do is sort of planned in steps, so yeah, seems simple enough. So I cut the drawing out, applied a bit of spray adhesive and stuck it down. Then I used black spray paint over the pink LP. Done.
Ok, so after that step, I was going to transfer the drawing inside the area I'd just masked off. I planned on doing this using some graphite transfer paper and tracing over the linework (as I normally do). That was when I realized that I'd sprayed over the original drawing with the black spray paint. Which drawing? The one I just painted over and completely obliterated? oh yeah, that one.
Posted at 7:26 PM on Saturday, September 23, 2006
On the right is the finished MusicGerl record. The pink elements were done with pearlescent ink so that when light shines on it, and it's viewed at the right angle, it looks like this.
The text says, "heartbreaker, i love you ghostie." It's a reference to one of my favorite Melbourne artists, Ghostpatrol. Early on, he mentioned that he wasn't fond of the shape of her face and so I thought I'd have her profess her love to him as a result. And there you have it, she's a cheeky lady.
This week my featured artist is: Craola. Alot of people that are into street art know of him because he creates mind-blowing productions on the street. But aside from that, just like Dan Witz, his studio work is far beyond awesome. Take a minute and browse through the illustrations section of his website:
I'm Scared.
From the FAQ on his site:
"7. What is you have against rabbits? what's that you say? look into their beedy little eyes and tell me that they aren't plotting pure evil."
On the right is the finished MusicGerl record. The pink elements were done with pearlescent ink so that when light shines on it, and it's viewed at the right angle, it looks like this. 
The text says, "heartbreaker, i love you ghostie." It's a reference to one of my favorite Melbourne artists, Ghostpatrol. Early on, he mentioned that he wasn't fond of the shape of her face and so I thought I'd have her profess her love to him as a result. And there you have it, she's a cheeky lady.
This week my featured artist is: Craola. Alot of people that are into street art know of him because he creates mind-blowing productions on the street. But aside from that, just like Dan Witz, his studio work is far beyond awesome. Take a minute and browse through the illustrations section of his website:
I'm Scared.
From the FAQ on his site:
"7. What is you have against rabbits? what's that you say? look into their beedy little eyes and tell me that they aren't plotting pure evil."
Posted at 7:40 PM on Friday, September 15, 2006
After I sketched out the figure for this piece, I felt like doing her dress as a collaged element. I found a stack of discarded books of sheet music a few months: perfect! So I did a graphite transfer of her dress on to a page of the music and cut that out.
Transfered the entire line drawing onto the record, and then inked it in [using nib and ink]. After that I glued the music-dress into place and inked the details / interior linework onto the dress. Last part of this session was to add some music up top as you see on the right.
I'm thinking I may start to post about artist's that I like. You know, just to let you know what I'm diggin. So this week I'd like to introduce you to Dan Witz. Here's something I posted on an art forum I frequent:
"I agree with ya, [x.x.x.x]. At the same time though I'm seeing more and more 'traditional' looking stuff breaking into the realm of new school type stuff. I'll cite Dan Witz as an example. He does street art. A lot of street artists, hipsters you'd see attending an opening at Upper Playground here in SF, and people into low-brow art, really like his stuff. But look at his gallery work.
Very informed by the old ways. It's like it's coming full circle in some 'scenes.' A culture of fringe / street / toy / graf artists or whatever that's producing stuff built off of traditional methods and media. That to me is faaar more interesting than things like video installation, performance art, digitally enhanced work, etc, that I see in a happening in many gallery spaces."
That's a reference to his gallery stuff. But he's really quite known for his non-graf style street art. Maybe you've heard about the realistic hummingbirds painted all around lower Manhattan in the early 80s? That's him. Most of his street stuff is in Manhattan
Here's a link to his street work. Hella cool.
After I sketched out the figure for this piece, I felt like doing her dress as a collaged element. I found a stack of discarded books of sheet music a few months: perfect! So I did a graphite transfer of her dress on to a page of the music and cut that out.
Transfered the entire line drawing onto the record, and then inked it in [using nib and ink]. After that I glued the music-dress into place and inked the details / interior linework onto the dress. Last part of this session was to add some music up top as you see on the right.
I'm thinking I may start to post about artist's that I like. You know, just to let you know what I'm diggin. So this week I'd like to introduce you to Dan Witz. Here's something I posted on an art forum I frequent:
"I agree with ya, [x.x.x.x]. At the same time though I'm seeing more and more 'traditional' looking stuff breaking into the realm of new school type stuff. I'll cite Dan Witz as an example. He does street art. A lot of street artists, hipsters you'd see attending an opening at Upper Playground here in SF, and people into low-brow art, really like his stuff. But look at his gallery work.
Very informed by the old ways. It's like it's coming full circle in some 'scenes.' A culture of fringe / street / toy / graf artists or whatever that's producing stuff built off of traditional methods and media. That to me is faaar more interesting than things like video installation, performance art, digitally enhanced work, etc, that I see in a happening in many gallery spaces."
That's a reference to his gallery stuff. But he's really quite known for his non-graf style street art. Maybe you've heard about the realistic hummingbirds painted all around lower Manhattan in the early 80s? That's him. Most of his street stuff is in Manhattan
Here's a link to his street work. Hella cool.
Posted at 1:22 AM on Thursday, September 07, 2006
Took a break from the painting I'd been working on the past few weeks. Diverted my time to a smaller project... over on the right is a drawing that I transfered onto an LP. It's just pencil on vellum. You can see the graphite that was scribbled onto the backside of the drawing (so that I could do the transfer).
As for the LP, the first step was to paint it white with spray paint. After that I used black india ink to make some drippy stuff like this.
Took a break from the painting I'd been working on the past few weeks. Diverted my time to a smaller project... over on the right is a drawing that I transfered onto an LP. It's just pencil on vellum. You can see the graphite that was scribbled onto the backside of the drawing (so that I could do the transfer).As for the LP, the first step was to paint it white with spray paint. After that I used black india ink to make some drippy stuff like this.
