.Tell.Tale.Heart Studio

2008-08-20T21:30:00.000-07:00

This is a dead web address = There will be no more posts to this blog / website.If you have this blog page bookmarked directly, you should instead bookmark http://telltaleheartstudio.com. To read news updates, click 'blogitudinal' at the top of the page.

The Adorable Disaster - opening 8/22/08

2008-08-15T18:38:00.000-07:00

a sneak-peek of the work in the Adorable Disaster show. The reception is Friday, 8/22/08 @ Cowboys and Angels Salon from 7p-10. The salon is located at 207 Powell St, #400 in SF. It's right near Union Square, off the corner of Powell and O'Farrell. Come and see the work in person! Plus there are 22 other artists in the show, too.The curator has OK'd me to offer the work pre-sale! So if you aren't

2008-04-20T19:30:00.001-07:00

F.F.F.F.F.F.F.F.fordley finished::Top 5 CDs this week:1: Trepan Nation- "banish gods from skies and capitalists from earth"2: Oxford Collapse- "remember the night parties"3: Just a Fire- "spanish time"4: Typical Cats- "civil service"5: NOFX- "heavy petting zoo"

2008-04-13T21:26:00.000-07:00

Moving along on the piece from last week, here's a 2nd state.and then here's another in the progression::Top 5 CDs this week:1: the Casket Lottery- "moving mountains"2: Fugazi- "13 songs"3: various artists- "Underground Screams comp"4: the Darkness- "one way ticket to hell and back"5: Tapes and Tapes- "the loon"

2008-04-06T22:10:00.000-07:00

Start of something new... approx. 9 x 12ish, latex and marker on wood::Top 5 CDs this week:1: Hot Water Music- "forever and counting"2: Sleepwalker Defense- "s/t"3: Small Brown Bike- "dead reckoning"4: Vandals- "fear of a punk planet"5: the Vines- "highly evolved"

2008-03-30T19:46:00.000-07:00

**NOTE= Due to circumstances outside of my control, my show scheduled for MAY 8th has been canceled. I will be on the look-out for another space to show the work. I might have another date in September as well, but this hasn't yet been confirmed.This is number 2 of 2 that I sent for collab with Burn353...His collab show will take place in St. Louis sometime this summer.oh and REKZEN!:Top 5 CDs

2008-03-23T19:40:00.000-07:00

Here's my half of a piece sent on for a collaboration with Burn 353. His collab show will take place in St. Louis sometime this summer.:Top 5 CDs this week:1: Teenage Bottlerocket- "warning device"2: Bad Religion- "no control"3: Black Flag- "the first four years"4: Anti-Flag- "a new kind of army"5: Digable Planets- "blowout comb"

2008-03-16T20:52:00.000-07:00

Live painting via Yahoo Live... log on and peep it. Here's the link to my channelhttp://live.yahoo.com/telltaleheartstudioNext session: WED 3/19, 5 PST [7CST, 8EST]+Finished. Just a cropped shot of the finished piece... show on May 8th.This one: Extensionand this one: 24th and Valenciasold at the 100 Bones show in Portland. [Thanks Paige!]:Top 5 CDs this week:1: Hopesfall- "the satellite years"2:

2008-03-10T23:32:00.000-07:00

Next session: THURS, 3/13 - 3pm PST Live painting via Yahoo Live... log on and peep it. Here's the link to my channelhttp://live.yahoo.com/telltaleheartstudio

2008-03-09T18:02:00.001-07:00

Continuing on with the painting I was working on from a few weeks prior.Black india ink and white latex::Top 5 CDs this week:1: Call Me Lightning- "the trouble we're in"2: Cletus- "protein packed"3: Hitch- "monolith"4: the Specials- "s/t"5: Cross My heart- "temporary contemporary"

2008-03-02T13:59:00.000-08:00

Live painting via Yahoo Live... log on and peep it. Here's the link to my channelhttp://live.yahoo.com/telltaleheartstudioNext session: WED 3/5, 8 PST [9CST, 10EST]+Here's something from the weekly drawing contest that happens every Friday on fecalface.com. The theme was 'plant life'.watercolor and marker on watercolor paper:Top 5 CDs this week:1: Poster Children- "daisychain reaction"2: Electric

2008-02-24T15:51:00.000-08:00

I tried something new this evening that seemed pretty neat. Live painting via Yahoo Live. I was on for about 2 hours and did a smallish painting from beginning to end [just about]. I'm gonna try to post the date/time in advance here so that if you're interested you'll know when to log on and peep it.Continuing on the piece I started last week... blue ink, black ink, text added with pen & ink:

2008-02-17T20:04:00.000-08:00

Start of something new... this is latex, marker and ink on wood- 11 x 14 inches.#1Awhile back I had this painting [done on an old chalkboard] published in a black & white art / lit / photo zine. It's put out by the Screamer Company and it looks like this. You can come hold it and touch it if you're ever at my place, otherwise the online version will have to do ya.I put a few older pieces up on

2008-02-10T17:10:00.000-08:00

Here are pieces numbers 3 and 4 form the group show at Breeze Block in Portland.#1 and here's #4:Top 5 CDs this week:1: Appleseed Cast- "end of the ring wars"2: Interpol- "our love to admire"3: the Methadones- "career objective"4: the Blacktop Cadence- "chemistry for changing times"5: the Living Blue- "fire, blood, water"

2008-02-04T01:29:00.000-08:00

Two of my lot I sent over the group show at Breeze Block Gallery in Portland.#1 and here's #2:Top 5 CDs this week:1: I Love You But I've Chosen Darkness- "fear is on our side"2: Hey Mercedes- "everynight fireworks"3: Maserati- "inventions for the new season"4: Johnny Mercury- "shake hands, shack up!"5: the Cure- "seventeen seconds"

2008-01-27T14:08:00.001-08:00

Here's a piece from last week's Sketch Tuesday. I'm part of a group show at Breeze Block Gallery in Portland. It opens this Thursday the 31st. All the work is $100 or less which is pretty sweet. :Top 5 CDs this week:1: Green Day- "nimrod"2: Criteria- "when we break"3: the Bronx- "s/t #2"4: Owen- "s/t"5: No Knife- "riot for romance"

2008-01-20T13:21:00.000-08:00

Here's a partial / cropped view of the finished piece Riot. 11x14 inches: ink, latex, acrylic, on wood. I should mention that most of the stuff I'm going to be producing over the next few months is for a solo show at the Salon here in SF. It's a salon- did you guess? It's opens May 8th. It will feature some of the recent work I've posted here, but going forward, I'm only going to show a fragment

2008-01-14T00:39:00.000-08:00

Added in the outline with india ink.After that started to fill in the figure with latex. Use of sandpaper in full effect.:Top 5 CDs this week:1: Rocky Votolato- "makers"2: the Bronx- "s/t #2"3: Rise Against- "the unraveling"4: the AKA's- "white doves and smoking guns"5: Andrew WK- "i get wet"

2008-01-06T23:15:00.000-08:00

Something new... Latex, india ink, and acrylic on wood panel Here's an earlier state before the text.Added a new LP from the last Vinyl Killers show to the sale section of the site. The Hangman LP was also reduced.:Top 5 CDs this week:1: Minus the Bear- "planet of ice"2: Against Me!- "new wave"3: Memphis- "a little place in the wilderness"4: Typical Cats- "civil service"5: Oxford Collapse- "

2007-12-30T18:00:00.000-08:00

Last stages included: -some finishing on both portraits, -adding in the bubbles, -the hand lettered text -the black border on the inside of the bevel -and some light sanding.Here's an animation of the process. And a still of the finished piece Chesterfield Queens.:Top 5 CDs this week:1: Houseboy- "1455 tamarack street press room"2: Damone- "out here all night"3: Fugazi- "instrument"4: Hum- "

2007-12-21T23:54:00.000-08:00

Before I post the finished product for the left side, I'll show you steps from the right side. Iridescent pink ink in a diagonal-like field, then india ink outline.After that I started to block in the figure: Here's the figure being built up again...fill stage onefill stage twoDid you notice the circles / bubbles floating down and away from the figures?:Top 5 CDs this week:1: Hum- "you'd prefer

2007-12-16T23:50:00.000-08:00

The background was pretty much complete after the last post. Other than that, I added a color field of iridescent pink in a diagonal-like way. You can see it pretty clearly in this pic: After that I added in the outline. And then I built up the figure...fill stage onefill stage twoand stage three:Top 5 CDs this week:1: British Sea Power- "the decline of..."2: Fugazi- "end hits"3: Fugazi- "the

2007-12-09T20:53:00.000-08:00

If you live in the Bay Area, and are the arty /crafty type, you probably know about Urban Ore. The name is appropriate I think, it's a goldmine of re-use and salvaged "junk." Junk to the everyman, gold to the arty man. I got the panels I'm using for this piece at UO.The mitered-wood edge is likely to stay as it's natural finish throughout. In the first stages I laid in some background colors

2007-12-03T00:30:00.000-08:00

Some stuff from Sketch Tuesday. This is the 3rd one I've drawn at since I found out about it awhile back. It's definitely one of my favorite things I've stumbled across since moving to SF. This weekend was the opening of Post-Postcard [which I posted about last week]. Dawn and I also went to the CCSF Printmakers Annual Print Sale at Ft. Mason which features "etching, monotypes, lithographs,

2007-11-25T21:35:00.000-08:00

First up, if you are in San Francisco, I highly suggest going to the Lab this Friday, 30th. It's the opening of Post-Postcard 11. Here's the concept:"The LAB, a 23 year-old nonprofit artists-run gallery, is pleased to present Post-Postcard 11, the eleventh annual exhibition and sale. For this exhibition, artists are encouraged to submit small format multiples--whether that be a series of

2007-11-19T00:57:00.000-08:00

Something from last month's Sketch Tuesday. Paint marker, latex, sharpie and collage on vinyl. Angie from Chicago. Something accidental made by my coffee cup and spoon: art randomness.:Top 5 CDs this week:1: Rivals Schools- "united by fate"2: the Ghost- "this is a hospital"3: Dakota/Dakota- "shoot in the dark"4: Depeche Mode- "music for the masses"5: Ted Leo and the Pharmacists- "living with the

2007-11-10T17:09:00.000-08:00

title- SEA D__THmedia- mixed media [latex, spray paint, ink, vinyl] on woodsize- 19.5 x 22 inchesHere's my latest painting from beginning to end in animated GIF form. [Clicky clicky to view it larger.] Here's a different detail of it and a still of the finished piece.:Top 5 CDs this week:1: Conflict- "employing all means necessary!"2: Join'r- "i am not well, not at all"3: Counterfit- "from

2007-11-05T00:25:00.000-08:00

Here's the second LP that I sent over to Portland for the Vinyl Killers show. Same media as the first one: latex, spray paint and ink on LP. First step: stencil with ink outlines added. Step 2: added in another layer of stenciling.Step 3: added in the outline of the figure and started the fill with white latex.Here's the complete LP: A detail of the finished piece.Pictures on the show are online

2007-10-28T14:55:00.001-07:00

This is the finished product. Latex, spray paint and ink on LP. This was sent on to the Vinyl Killers 5 show. It took place in Portland at the the Goodfoot Thursday of this week. I had one other piece that I'll post up next week. This is a detail of it: Here's a process shot while I was working on the figure.and here's the full record.:Top 5 CDs this week:1: Descendents- "two things at once"2:

2007-10-20T23:45:00.000-07:00

First few steps... stencils over LP, then some ink outlining: Figure added in, latex fill in progress.:Top 5 CDs this week:1: No Empathy- "the same mistakes enlessly repeated"2: Animal Chin- "20 minutes from right now"3: Electric Six- "fire"4: Physical Fatness Comp- "fat music vol.3"5: Sparta- "wiretap scars"

2007-10-14T23:00:00.000-07:00

A few drawings on brown paper shopping bags from the vacation trip... I wish I was on vacation again.drawing of the sunset through the deck doors: I <3 sad wildebeast: well don't you?:Top 5 CDs this week:1: Pegboy- "strong reaction"2: the Explosion- "black tape"3: Owen- "i do perceive"4: Life Sentence- "no experience necessary"5: Ikara Colt- "chat and business"

2007-10-08T16:51:00.001-07:00

Back from an extended weekend type trip 3 hours northward up the coast with some of my best buds. Good times. I had time in between drinks to make a few things while on the trip: pictures to come. Back to the arting at hand...Here's the finished piece that I'd been posting the progess on the last few weeks. Pretty much, it's india ink over the latex fill, and then alot of adjusting / scratching

2007-10-01T23:36:00.000-07:00

Fill of white latex added in. And then more drawering was done using pen & ink, which I quite like. I also like sandpaper as a art-ing implement. You see?This will be the only update this week. I need and vacation, and so I'm taking one.:Top 5 CDs this week:1: Q and Not U- "no kill no beep beep"2: Kind of Like Spitting- "bridges worth burning"3: Challenger- "give people what they want in lethal

2007-09-23T22:39:00.000-07:00

Here's the first few stages of a new painting, actually a series of paintings. This one is latex, watercolor and pen & ink so far. Here's a process shot of the background, pre-linework early on. :Top 5 CDs this week:1: Against Me!- "searching for a former clarity"2: Charming Snakes- "ammunition"3: As Friends Rust- "won"4: !!!- "louden up now"5: Birdmonster- "no midnight"

2007-09-16T18:47:00.000-07:00

Marker sketch and an old, old Muni ticket. :Top 5 CDs this week:1: Bang! Bang!- "decked out"2: the Falcon- "unicornography"3: Typical Cats- "civil service"4: Bang Camaro- "s/t"5: D Generation- "no lunch"

2007-09-09T23:32:00.000-07:00

Sketch done after a short bus ride into the Richmond. Pen, highlighter on envelope + Riverboat Gamblers lyrics. Looking forward to:the Bronx tomorrow,Maserati on Wednesday,and Deth P. Sun's show at Giant Robot this weekend.:Top 5 CDs this week:1: Logan's Loss- "riot like"2: JR Ewing- "maelstrom"3: Taking Back Sunday- "tell all your friends"4: Good Riddance- "a comprehensive guide to moderne

2007-09-02T12:21:00.000-07:00

Here's s sketch from Dolores Park with various pens and markers. It's done over the architectural plans for some building they are going to construct near where I live. It's always a challenge to try and draw someone without them noticing and thinking you're a creepy stalker. :Top 5 CDs this week:1: Swervedriver- "ejector seat reservation"2: Ted Leo and the Pharmacists- "living with the living"3

2007-08-26T22:54:00.000-07:00

Just a little bit from the sketchbook this week... pen & ink, white paint marker and collaged sheet music on brown cardstock. :Top 5 CDs this week:1: Del- "both sides of the brain"2: Bauhaus- "1979-1983 volume one"3: Effigies- "remains non-viewable"4: British Sea Power- "the decline of..."5: Beastie Boys- "license to ill"

2007-08-18T22:33:00.000-07:00

This is the 3rd of three in the altered postcard series. These are vintage Japanese postcards, circa late 50s / early 60s. Blocked out the creatures with white paint and the worked over the top with colored pencils. Here's the three together framed up all nicey-nice. :Top 5 CDs this week:1: Counterfit- "super amusement machine for your exciting heart"2: Rival Schools- "united by fate"3: AFI- "

2007-08-12T20:29:00.000-07:00

This was something I'd actually started a long time ago. One of those pieces that sits around the studio looking at me with disapproving eyes wondering 'when will I be finished?'. Today is the Day. And not the crappy band.I should've taken some process shots for the final steps, but I forgot. Some colored pencil and watercolor pencil to shade the head and neck. Big 'ol Pilot marker for the text.

2007-08-04T23:29:00.000-07:00

Finished: latex to close it out. Here's the full piece.:Top 5 CDs this week:1: VHS or Beta- "night on fire"2: LaSalle- "expedition songs"3: Pinebender- "the high price of living too long with a single dream"4: Sunny Day Real Estate- "lp2"5: JR Ewing- "calling in dead"

2007-07-29T19:38:00.000-07:00

Filled in the figure using black and white latex paint.unter dem torbogender dritte mannunter dem grauen himmel A little bit of random pen & scribble from the sketchbook.:Top 5 CDs this week:1: the Exit- "home for an island"2: John Brown Battery- "the only normal people are the ones you don't know that well"3: the Amazing Royal Crowns- "s/t"4: Circle Jerks- "wonderful"5: Van Halen- "s/t"

2007-07-21T00:53:00.000-07:00

The idea for this next project started with the purchase of a bandana for a friend. I thought "hmm that could be cool to paint on." So I went and bought a second and stretched it over stretcher bars (same way you would canvas.) I then put on a few layers of matte medium to seal it up a bit. The lettering was added with pen & ink and gray conte around the outline of the 'dritte mann'. Next I laid

2007-07-14T17:36:00.000-07:00

Finished LP that now lives in Chicago. Here's a scan for a bit more of the details.:Top 5 CDs this week:1: Just a Fire- "spanish time"2: Bullet Treatment- "the mistake"3: Trepan Nation- "banish gods from skies and capitalists from earth"4: Chapterhouse- "blood music"5: Circle Jerks- "wild in the streets"

2007-07-03T16:51:00.000-07:00

This was phase two and three of the LP from last week. More messing with the background. The pink underwent alot of layering to get it to to where I could leave it be. After that, the figure was added in, filled with a latex basecoat, and then drawn over... Here's some stuff from the Process Invisible 2 show. a slide show from Renegade Magazinemore pics from Klutch's site can be found here.[My

2007-07-01T18:34:00.000-07:00

Here's something new. An LP, the start of a background. :Top 5 CDs this week:1: Minor Threat- "discography"2: Capture the Flag- "walking away from everything"3: Hot Water Music- "live at the hardback"4: 59 Times the Pain- "end of the millenium"5: Atmosphere- "lucy ford"

2007-06-22T00:38:00.000-07:00

So after a month off, I'm back. Here's a little somethin somethin that I sketched out on the plane to Hawaii. Colored pencils and pen on a coffee cup sleeve. I also scanned this little bit in: Dan Witz shares some thoughts. I think I'd linked to his art sometime ago, if you missed out, here's a link to his website. My personal pick: click on gallery work > figurative paintings and check out

2007-05-29T02:06:00.001-07:00

No artwork this week....off to Chicago for my wedding and then a vacation.Be back in a few weeks!

2007-05-20T01:33:00.000-07:00

I finished the poster that I was working on for the Process Invisible 2 show happening in Portland. It contains a nice amount of layering and of course I left alot of my process visible as I am always inclined to do. I just realized the irony. Well hopefully my work finds someone that doesn't mind it's visible process. So yeah, this nearly 40 x 60 inches. Her head was finished with acrylics.

2007-05-12T13:19:00.000-07:00

I'm probably going to go out of order on a few projects that I've been working on over the next few posts. Allow me to skip around a bit. That's really how I work on things though: about three or four projects at once. So last post I was working on that extra-large poster for the paste-up show at Street Level Gallery. Yup. Still got that going.Started the drawing for the third postcard in the

2007-05-02T01:42:00.000-07:00

No update this week... Vegas baby, Vegas.

2007-04-27T22:35:00.000-07:00

Here's a few pics from about the mid point of this piece. It's being done for the following show:Process Invisible 2A sticker and wheat paste show. The gallery walls of Street Level will be covered in cardboard, and the stickers and wheat pastes will collaged to create a representation of the current state of street art. The first Process Invisible show took place in 2004 and is one of my all

2007-04-22T00:42:00.000-07:00

Another version of the fabled pink monster. This one was done on a front panel from a wood drawer. Acrylic, paint marker, and collage. I'm not sure what the monster is actually saying. Does anyone know Korean? Here's step 1and step 2.:Top 5 CDs this week:1: Mock Orange- "the record play"2: Call Me Lightning- "the trouble we're in"3: Moby- "play"4: the Aeffect- "secrets and lies"5: the Cars- "

2007-04-15T21:20:00.000-07:00

Here's a collage / drawing thing around the idea of Bad Luck. For Fecal Face's Friday themed drawing thing. Nice pants, eh? :Top 5 CDs this week:1: the Living End- "hellbound"2: Division of Laura Lee- "das compute"3: the Huntingtons / Darlington- "split"4: the Strokes- "s/t"5: City and Colour- "sometimes"

2007-04-03T21:40:00.000-07:00

This is on a chalkboard that I salvaged from a thrift shop. I thought it had alot of character. It had been quite used by it's previous owner. Latex and collage so far. :Top 5 CDs this week:1: Kind of Like Spitting- "bridges worth burning"2: the Police- "every breathe you take"3: Mock Orange- "the record play"4: Arcade Fire- "funeral"5: Kid Dynamite- "shorter, faster, louder"

2007-03-30T20:59:00.000-07:00

This week I finished a collaboration piece that I received a few months back. Ghostpatrol sent out about 60 of these brown kraft postcard sized drawings. The idea is that you draw on the other half of the card in your style. So it's a "you" vs. Ghostpatrol set. Someday, if he gets enough of them back, he may put together a show of the collabs.Here's GP's drawing on its own.And here's the

2007-03-24T15:19:00.000-07:00

I was in New York this week for work, so not much art making. Just a few sketches here and there. Here's a robot: the end.:Top 5 CDs this week:1: the Verve Pipe- "s/t"2: Bloc Party- "silent alarm"3: I Love You but I've Chosen Darkness- "fear is on our side"4: Interpol- "antics"5: Iron & Wine- "the creek drank the cradle"

2007-03-16T19:59:00.000-07:00

Latex, colored pencil, Sharpie on beer coaster [beer mat]. I think I might do a small series of these drawings on coasters. This is a friend of mine. She came to visit SF last year and the coaster is from one of the bars we went to. :Top 5 CDs this week:1: Oxes- "oxxxes"2: Not Rebecca- "unreleased album"3: the Velveteen- "+ - ="4: Mock Orange- "the record play"5: the Shins- "wincing the night

2007-03-10T23:37:00.000-08:00

This is a submission for a project about Photobooths and Phobias. I don't think I'll say anymore than that. I mean what fun would that be?It's a sorta collaboration with Ghostpatrol of Melbourne, AUS. Here's the supersize version if you'd like.:Top 5 CDs this week:1: Sharks Keep Moving- "s/t"2: New Order- "brotherhood"3: Appleseed Cast- "end of the ring wars"4: Rumbleseat- "...is dead"5:

2007-03-03T12:28:00.000-08:00

Here's a drawing for the FecalFace Fridays themed thing...it happens on Fridays. You probably guessed that right? It's approx 4 x 6 inches on yellow card. It's not cardboard, it's way more compressed. The surface is really slick with no tooth / texture- I'm not sure what it is exactly. I don't even remember where I got it because it's been in a box of scrap paper in my studio for about 7 or 8

2007-02-20T18:39:00.000-08:00

Did some traveling to the big Chicago this week so not much in the way of art making going on. When I was in New York in January I sent out a few postcards. I added some seriously pink monsteres to said postcards. Yes, this is serious art right here. Tru tru. Here's one in-process shot of these neon monsters.:Top 5 CDs this week:1: Bloc Party- "a weekend in the city"2: Siouxsie and the Banshees-

2007-02-16T18:16:00.000-08:00

I went back and re-worked some elements of the face and hair on a piece that I finished awhile back. It's really the companion piece to last week's painting. [Below is a detail of the re-worked hair.] The painting was based off an image of a doll that I'd thought was a mass-produced doll of Asian origin. It's actually a one-of-a-kind doll crafted by Nezumi. Check out her site. If you had trouble

2007-02-08T17:25:00.000-08:00

I finished a painting that I started about 6 months ago now. This is acrylic, sharpie and latex on wood panel. It measures 24" x 24" in size. Blood, ewww. :Top 5 CDs this week:1: Stone Roses- "second coming"2: Owen- "i do perceive"3: the Shins- "oh, inverted world"4: Duke Ellington- "the gold collection"5: Damone- "out here all night"

2007-02-01T20:59:00.000-08:00

Same deal as last week pretty much. A drawing done for Friday's themed drawing thing on Fecal Face.com. The theme was "I can do that!". It's about 8.5 x 6.5 or so. Acrylic, latex, colored pencils, and sharpie on pastel paper. Here's the uncropped version.:Top 5 CDs this week:1: Owen- "s/t"2: National Skyline- "s/t"3: Small Brown Bike- "dead reckoning"4: Anthrax- "state of euphoria"5:

2007-01-26T17:53:00.000-08:00

I didn't take any process shots of the piece below. It was turned out right quick for a weekly themed drawing project on Fecal Face.com. Fecal Face is an arty site based here in SF. This was my first submission to the site, the theme was boredom. It's about 8.5 x 6.5 or so. Acrylic, latex and marker on blue pastel paper. Here's the uncropped version.:Top 5 CDs this week:1: the Smiths- "louder

2007-01-20T18:45:00.000-08:00

Postcard #2 was finished. Sea Monster attack!!! The outline was filled in with gesso and colored pencils were used over the top of that. A little Sharpie outlining, and there it is. Awhile back I took part in a street art project organized by Posterchild up there in Canada. PC sent out blank Canadian postal stickers to various artists around the globe. The goal was to have each artist fill the

2007-01-13T15:00:00.000-08:00

Started the second in the Japanese postcard series. Sea Monsters! I mean really, who doesnt love seamonsters? Or is that just me? Below is the step of transferring the outline onto the postcard. :Top 5 CDs this week:1: the Bronx- "s/t #2"2: Iron and Wine- "the creek drank the cradle"3: Elefant- "the black magic show"4: the Riverboat Gamblers- "to the confusion of our enemeies" 5: Oscar Peterson-

2007-01-06T14:06:00.000-08:00

The final version of this piece. The blue hair was finished with colored pencils. I wanted a stylized, flattened out look [rather than realistically rendered hair] so that it would complement the dress. The dress was done with a collaged piece of decorative paper. The For Sale page has been updated.I decided to start a MySpace page for my studio. Why? Because I like to make new friends. Well,

2006-12-28T21:39:00.000-08:00

Here's some progress on that last piece I'd posted. Building up the skin tones, making her look more fleshed out, ya dig? Solidity. "Innovation not slabs of bacon" as C.N. used to say. I decided to start a MySpace page for my studio. Why? Because I like to make new friends. Well, sometimes I do. It's not on the links page yet, but you can go go go friend that flava right here: the raven said

2006-12-22T00:06:00.000-08:00

Have a great Christmas everyone! I'm heading back to Chicago for a few days. No art update this week. Why not check out what's been happening in Manhattan... 11 Spring St. One of the most important street art related events ever imo.

2006-12-15T22:31:00.000-08:00

Here's something else...jumping around from project to project quite a bit lately, no? Are you still with me? This one's on decorative paper and approximately 8.5 x 11 inches. This started with a pencil sketch on the circle-paper, from there it progressed into a line drawing like this. The next step was to fill in the outline with clear acrylci gesso. Interesting stuff. I didn't want to use

2006-12-09T13:19:00.000-08:00

I recently completed a stenciled jacket for a friend of mine. Granted it's an old stencil re-visited, it's the first time I've stenciled something in over a year. It actually took me that long, too. Why? I attribute it to stencil burn-out. Anyhow, below is the last version of Girl with Gun to be produced. This stencil has been retired [read: destroyed]. Done with acrylics since it's on fabric

2006-12-02T14:43:00.000-08:00

I went back to a painting that I started back in August. [Click on the August archive link at the bottom of the page if you're wondering.] It's one of those projects that I've always intended to finish, yet didn't feel compelled to work on straight through.This pic is just another phase of the hair: more layers, more layers... How to get a controlled drippy looking effect:*small plastic baggie

2006-11-26T15:07:00.000-08:00

So this being Thanksgiving and all, I really didn't have time to work on any new art. Oh and the shopping frenzy that followed... not me, the hordes, the hordes. Nevermind.So here's a little, mini-painting I did awhile back for some themed thing or other that I never got around to posting. The theme was Gemini. It's acrylic and sharpie on watrecolor paper. It's the same size as a playing card,

2006-11-16T14:46:00.000-08:00

Look it's the Tell.Tale.Heart Studio website! Do you see it? If not, you need to update your bookmark to my site. Bookmark www.telltaleheartstudio.com, [if you're seeing a really stripped down version of the blog, you've got the old URL bookmarked http://frankmichaelfrank.blogspot.com]. So change over! www.telltaleheartstudio.comClick around, explore, check the for sale section...This website was

2006-11-12T12:55:00.000-08:00

...Robot transferred onto the postcard via graphite rubbing, as you see on the right. Here's a clearer pic of the outline drawing done on vellum.After the drawing was transferred onto the card, I did a fill using white latex. Here's some random sketchiness.

2006-11-04T20:55:00.000-08:00

I picked up a set of 10 vintage Japanese postcards not too long ago. I've always wanted to do a series of "manipulated paintings." (ie. find a mass-produced painting of an idyllic country scene at a thrift store and paint some monsters into it.) Instead of a actual painting, I thought I'd do the same to some picturesque postcards. It was an added bonus that they're Japanese postcards since Japan

2006-10-27T20:19:00.000-07:00

And then... white latex was used for the fill inside the figure. I like the effect that latex has in situations like this because it's pretty watery and transparent as a result. Next step was t re-draw the linework with a sharpie.I used black latex in the umbrella (rather than acrylic) for the same reason. It left an uneven, textured feel in the unbrella (which I like). It didn't feel right to

2006-10-20T20:22:00.000-07:00

The start of a new rekkid... Start with pink spray paint, add black stripe with some giant Sharpie paint pen, add some text, and then some circles with a white paint pen.Got all that: this is step one. This is building a background, or so I claim.After that, I added in a line drawing of the figure. The outline was done with a sharpie, except where the drawing overlapped the black, vertical

2006-10-13T13:25:00.000-07:00

After transferring the drawing onto the LP, I outlined it with sharpie. Next, I laid in washes of latex and built up certain areas so that some are more opaque than others. Then did the linework and added in details over the top with sharpies.At one point, I thought about adding in a collage element. I cut a piece of polka-dotted paper to fill in the dress. After laying in on the surface, it

2006-10-08T23:13:00.000-07:00

No update last week because I was on vacation! But now I'm back, update this week...

2006-09-30T13:26:00.000-07:00

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

2006-09-23T19:26:00.000-07:00

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,

2006-09-15T19:40:00.000-07:00

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

2006-09-07T01:22:00.000-07:00

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

2006-09-02T18:42:00.000-07:00

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

2006-08-26T01:12:00.000-07:00

Not too much going on this week. Did a bit more on the Big Hair painting. I transferred all of the interior linework form the original vellum sketch onto the white underpainting. After that I went back over the lines with a Sharpie... and that's where it's at.All of the remaining works from the Vinyl Killers shows are being added to the Diesel Fuel Prints website for sale. There's quite a few up

2006-08-18T23:44:00.000-07:00

Transferred the drawing and then the filled in the figure with a light layer of white latex. I want a fair amount of the splattered background to show through so I was careful about going too opaque too fast. Started some other smaller projects as well.As for the handstyle of the week, Maxwell was the word.

2006-08-10T22:44:00.000-07:00

New painting in the works. Over on the right is the first stage of the line drawing that will be used. It's a sharpie drawing on vellum. I'll then transfer this onto the board you see linked a bit further on in this post. The substrate for this piece is another 2ft x 2ft plywood board. [Same as the creepy doll from the June 8th post.] It's a companion piece in some sense or another I guess. The

2006-07-25T22:02:00.000-07:00

Just a mini-update this week consisting of the cephalomagnapod you see over on the right. Yes, I made that up, so what? Don't make him bite your face off.I hadn't drawn anything with markers in a long time, I got out an index card and then I did. So there you go. I'm traveling...going to Chicago for a week, may or may not update next week.

2006-07-21T22:03:00.000-07:00

Over on the right is panel #1 of the triptych. Each of the circles has a text component and, as mentioned previously, the three are meant to be displayed as a triptych like this.The text was printed, then transferred via a graphite rubbing. After that, I inked the text using a pen & nib and some india ink. More time consuming than just using a marker (or Sharpie) but hand-lettering done in this

2006-07-15T17:55:00.000-07:00

Here's the middle panel of the triptych near complete. The only piece that it's missing in the pic at the right is the text component. Painted with acrylic, details drawn over the top with a Sharpie fineliner. Other than that, here's a postcard sized painting that I made for someone I know. Acrylic, Sharpie, and fortune (yes, from a cookie) on watercolor paper.

2006-07-08T23:41:00.000-07:00

So over on the right is panel #3 very near completion. Very near I say because there's one more element to be added later. The background and figure are complete though. Why #3 first? Well, I dunno. Just the way these things work out sometimes I guess. He was painted with warm white acrylic to have a 'ghostly,' pale complexion. The outlined / tattooing was done with... can ya guess? Oooh yeah:

2006-06-30T20:18:00.000-07:00

After all those textures were laid in, the backgrounding was done (<-nouns as verbs, watch out!). I then did some outlining of my subjects and transferred those onto the boards. Using the overhead projector, I projected a line drawing on acetate onto the board for the first image [on the right]. For this image, I didn't enlarge & project, I just used the graphite transfer method to get the

2006-06-23T22:25:00.000-07:00

So for this next magic trick, I mean painting, I decided to make a triptych. hoo hah. I started with three 13inch (or 14inch, I haven't actually measured 'em) wood circles. I picked these up at Home Depot for the low, low clearance price of a dollar each. yes, that IS a sweet deal. These discs were gessoed and then painted over with white and/or a nice mauve basecoat. Both of which were painted

2006-06-17T13:47:00.000-07:00

This is a small piece on canvas: only 5 x 5 inches in fact. Base coats of latex, with the swirls added over that.The figure is a combination of acrylic and sharpies (black + colors).That's about it, I'm on vacation this week.

2006-06-08T22:26:00.000-07:00

[image removed- michael]After I transferred the line drawing onto the background, I filled in the entire shape of her silhouette with white latex paint. From there I used mixtures of acrylic + matte medium to build up her color. Linework was then re-defined with the trusty sharpie. Here's a close-up for ya. This painting was very recently featured in an art show [Intimate] organized by Spindle

2006-05-25T22:06:00.000-07:00

OK so here's the finshed piece. Just needs some framing. [To see a finished detail image, scroll down two posts.]Sydney StencilFest opens June 1st. Hopefully a few pics will turn up...Been working on alot of other things too, but no time to post that stuff this week.

2006-05-19T20:46:00.000-07:00

Since I've been back from CHI, I haven't really had time to set up and shoot a quality pic of the finished portrait of DMG. 13 and a half hour days at work sometimes have that affect, throwing off schedules and such, grrrr... But hopefully this week at some point. In the meantime here's a little painting that I managed to turn out rather quickly based on a sketch I did while I was in Chicago. It

2006-05-06T18:39:00.000-07:00

Here's a section of the finished version. I didn't have proper lighting today to get a good pic of the whole painting, so I'll hold off on posting that. Just need to put a coat of matte varnish over it and that's it.ps. there won't be any update next week because I'll be in ChicagoRockCity.