Make Out Session Success

Well the printmaking tutorial, which I call Monoleum (mono print + linoleum) Printing, with the craft group known as the Make Out Session was a success. Here are some of the prints that resulted from the group. We used water based inks on a variety of materials. Take a look.

Derrick & My Prints:

Derrick zombie-fisted the hell out of some old Reader’s Digest illustrations,
experimenting with acrylic paint. I printed with arrows and cogs.

Jen’s (group founder) Prints:

Jen experimented with her vast collection of craft materials to get some amazing results.

Megan’s Prints:

The Arrows & Bones art collective was the central theme in Megan’s prints (not shown).

 

The Return of the Returning Show!

Good news everybody! I have recently been called upon by the Central Sierra Arts Council to resurrect the exhibit of young local artists, known as the Returning Show! The collection will be hung at the newly remodeled Stage 3 Theatre in downtown Sonora, CA. Many of the artist from the previous show will be displaying new works along with some new talent not yet seen in by the art community. The show is slated to run from September 18th–October 18th so don’t miss it. The reception will most likely be on Friday, Sept 18th with more art and an after party at the Frog & Fiddle (located right across the street). Negotiations with Fantasy Metal Island are in the works for the musical entertainment. I will post any new information for this event as I get it.

Here is a glimpse at some pieces I am working on that will make their appearance at the show:

{more linoleum icons for monoprints}

{Tucker v UTL : mixed media : collaborative piece in progress}

{I… I think I just saw something in the bushes…}

 

Artist Survey #15: Travis Logan

I met Travis some time after his brother Derrick and I became good friends which would have been sometime late in my elementary school career. He is older than us and was keen to a whole world of things we had yet to discover. He has greatly influenced Derrick’s life and as result mine too. I was introduced to heavy metal, psychotic cartoons and violent comics because of the Logan boys and I haven’t been the same since. Look for some of his work to return to Tuolumne County in the near future.

{Digital Collage : Self Portrait}

{Ceramic : Constructing Deconstruction}

{Mixed : Gambling with Everything}

{Digital Art : Tibet Sweat}

{New triptych in progress : Acrylic on Canvas}

Name: Travis Logan

Location: Las Vegas, NV.

Medium(s): Oil, water, and acrylic Paint; Ceramic, plaster, steel and fiberglass sculptures; Graphite, charcoal, and ink drawing; Photography, digital and S.L.R, digital image creation, film-making and cartooning.

What do you consider yourself (artist/designer/other)? I am an artist but I still have trouble labeling myself as one. I know I’m an artist but feel that there are negative connotations as well as certain stigmas connected to being an artist.

Where can we see your work (place/publications/url)? Travislogan.net when my web page is up. Right now I’m working on updating it and have taken it down.

When did you start gaining interest in artistic forms of expression? When I was very young, maybe 4 years old.

Who/What inspired your interest? On the surface, I originally wanted to draw and make things that I thought looked cool and that others might like as well. I can’t name one individual inspiration because the list would probably be several pages long. Deep down I’ve always had the desire to create and turn ordinary items into art. Whether that is a painting with hidden images and meaning or sculpting something unnatural but visually intriguing.

Where do you first remember being exposed to art? I would say preschool. The first project I remember was tracing my hand on a plate that would be made into a dish. Of course this was something Cavemen did well before I had this idea but none the less, that got the gears turning and they haven’t stopped since.

What is your day job? Artist

Why do you create? I just have to! No matter where I am, good or bad, if I can at least draw it has a calming effect on me and gets me into a peaceful state of mind.

Is there any recurring theme in your work? I like to create images inside of larger images or objects. The idea is: nothing is what it seams! The material I use and the imagery may be different and constantly changing style but there is always a “surrealistic” dreamlike theme to my work.

What do you want from your work? A feeling of completion, satisfaction, accomplishment and pride is probably what I look for most with a finished peace.

What do you want viewers to take from your work? I would like viewers to be entertained. I want the viewer to get caught up in the image or object and truly take some time looking at it and possibly become transfixed; not just glance and say, “oh that’s nice, this would go well in the bathroom next to the shells and candles.”

How often do you work on personal projects? Everything I do is personal, some pieces are more heart felt than others but they are always personally meaningful; However I work on art projects not related to galleries or work daily. Unfortunately I have to many ideas and not enough time.

How often do you work on commissions or commercial work? In the past I have not worked on anything besides the ideas that came to mind with the exception of school projects. Recently, I have been working on paintings and some clothing designs for a couple of individuals who have commissioned me for my services. I would say fifty percent of my time is spent on projects for others.

Does your art support you financially? For the most part no, I could survive on what I make but I would have to sleep in my car and eat bugs for lunch (haha).

Do you feel preoccupied with your art, do you think about it often during the day and night and do you anticipate your next session? Yes but not in a negative way. Art is just part of life. I analyze the shapes, colors, images, and composition of every thing around me. I often wake up in the middle of the night or can’t sleep because I have to get ideas out or create something. I often feel like I have too many projects going at once and more ideas surfacing all the time. Life is too short for everything I want to create!

What do you do in your spare time besides your art? I enjoy outdoor activities like hiking, backpacking and rock climbing. I used to love to go to the movies and still do occasionally; however I can’t stop my self from criticizing and picking apart all the flaws in the plot, editing, and cinematography. Blockbuster films have far too large of  budgets to be pumping out such crap, but I digress.

Which musicians are you currently interested in? NIN, Pearl Jam, Black Crows, Mudvayne, Beastie Boys, Tool, Bob Dylan, Waylon Jennings, Frank Sinatra, Digital Underground, E-40 and Credence Clearwater. I am really interested in the Beastie Boys most of all.

Are there any events you are looking forward to attending? I don’t have anything planned but I would like to go see Dov Davidoff, the comedian, soon.

How long do you generally take on a piece? It can take me any where from a few weeks to a few years to complete a piece. If I really don’t like the way something is coming out I will put it up for a while and wait for inspiration. If it ends up I’m not feeling right about it after a while it becomes recycled in to another project.

Have you jeopardized or risked the loss of a significant relationship, job, educational or career opportunity because of your art? Yes, I guess you could say that I didn’t see eye to eye with the last company I worked for. I was framing and matting art at the time. In short, they wanted to make a profit any way they could and I didn’t think the corners being cut (No pun intended) were ethical.

Do you work on multiple projects at once? Yes, I have to work on a few at a time. I bounce around from piece to piece, partly to keep myself thinking but mostly because I have a short attention span.

 

In the Works

I haven’t been posting much lately, but I promise I have been working on stuff. The first project is a series of collaborative paintings with some other local artists. I crafted some art panels with scrap wood from my family’s and friends’ wood piles and gave one each to Megan Tucker of Arrows and Bones and Jordan de Herrera of Pop Gang. One artist creates a mark or rendering or object and passes it to another artist and another until the piece is retired and a new one is started. Three pieces were just started last week and I can’t wait to see what happens to them. One is currently being circulated around some friends at the Strawberry Music Festival! I plan on there being ten finished pieces when series is complete. Here are some starts:

{My start. Spray paint and Gesso on wood.}

{Jordan’s <Pop Gang> start. Acrylic on wood.}

The other project I am working on is cutting out some linoleum (actually old drafting table top) icons to use for monoprint and stamping purposes. I will be using these soon to teach some friends the printing process.

 

UTL vs Local Entities

I have been creating some shirt images for local groups and events through West Side Design in the city of Tuolumne. Here are are some designs/illustrations that will be walking around in the coming months:

{for Golden State Cellular}

{lumberjack character from previous artist}

 

Colorado vs. UTL

My family and I ventured out to Colorado a couple of weeks ago to visit my sister who was living in Vail. The skiing wasn’t great so we spent a lot of time visiting various towns in the area. In all we saw a little of Denver, Vail, Bever Creek, Avon, Eagle, Red Cliff, Leadville, Steamboat Springs and Breckenridge. It was a great opportunity to get a feel for each town as I have always considered moving to Colorado. From a graphic design stand point there isn’t a whole lot of opportunity in most of those towns. From a skiing stand point there is a whole lot of skiing to be done in that region. At an excess of 5000 acres, Vail is the largest ski resort I have ever skied. After half a day of skiing, my dad and I barely laid a track on 50% of the mountain. Denver excluded, all the towns we visited had a very small year round population and catered largely to tourists. There isn’t a demand for in-house designers or constant work flow. There was however a bevy of vintage signage and odd gas station names. I didn’t get a chance to explore Denver, but I am sure there is some designing to be done.

{It must have meant something different in the 1890s : Leadville, CO}

{Movie Theatre in Steamboat Springs, CO}

{My Brother and the Kum & Go : Leadville, CO}

P.S. If you are ever in Steamboat Springs check out a store called, URBANE. They sell some cool brands (Obey, Upper Playground and RVCA) and feature the work of some very interesting, young, local artists. The work that was hanging while we were there was detailed compositions made of layer cut vinyl created by Michael Benninghoven.

 

Makin’ My Trailer Purtty

I am sorry that I have been slackin’ on the posts but I am in the middle of a lot of projects and haven’t finished anything for a while. Here are my new pieces of art that I have acquired over the last month or so. First is the huge ass, completely amazing Sam Flores piece titled Flores y Zorro that I won from UpperPlayground.com. It is a massive 4ft x 6ft acrylic and spray paint on canvas. I won it by simply entering my email address on the Upper Playground site for their 10th Anniversary giveaway. Flores is a well know Bay Area artist who I first discovered in Juxtapoz Magazine. The piece was hand delivered to me by Adam Krohn, the VP or Upper Playground who is a pretty cool guy.

The next piece was given to me by Forest Stearns when he was in town for the Art Show a couple weeks ago. It is a limited edition, several color, 18in x 23in screen print which I believe is titled The End of an Era. Forest’s work is always enjoyable to look at. There are plenty of little creatures and nuances I discover every time I look at this piece.

My final piece came when I ordered Mastodon’s deluxe Crack the Skye packaging which came with a 14in x 14in lithograph of Paul Romano’s album art. Romano’s design has made a huge impact on my work since I discover him and Mastodon on a shelf at a Tower Records in Long Beach. The music is great, the packaging is great. Check it out.

Of course these aren’t in their final and proper hanging devices, but I just wanted ya’ll to see them. If anyone has a sweet baby blue frame to for the Stearns piece let me know!

 

Sonora Art Show Success!

There isn’t much to do out here in the foothills, but there is a small group of people looking to change that. Last night those brave enough to expose themselves to new music, images and ideas headed to the Frog & Fiddle in downtown Sonora. The Frog & Fiddle has become the new hot spot for interesting night life in Tuolumne County. The outstanding art of Forest Stearns provided visual entertainment for the evenings festivities. I met Forest through the Returning Show last summer. He is a great guy, terrific artist and an eager contributor to the new arts culture of Tuolumne County. Soon enough I will have collaborations and interviews with Forest to post for now if you missed out on the fantastic Art Show last night here are some images:

{Forest Stearns and Duane}

The art of Forest Stearns is always impressive and inspiring.

The DJs were doing their thing.

{LURV}

{Nisus}

A great time was had by all.

 

Calligraffiti

I have just been enlightened to the work of Niels Shoe Meulman. A street artist, designer and calligrapher out of Amsterdam. I discovered his work while researching Krink paint markers for upcoming live art events. Shoe, as he is called, started tagging in the early 80’s and has gained gallery notoriety be melding the grit and aggression of graffiti with the beauty and elegance of calligraphy. I am not one for words, so here is an excerpt from his site.

WHAT IS CALLIGRAFFITI?

The simple answer:

Calligraffiti is a combination of Calligraphy and Graffiti.

Calligraphy is about the art of writing and can have many forms. Whether it be Japanese ancient brush characters, Arabic pictorial scripts, illuminated mediaeval books or swirly quill writing… all calligraphy.

Graffiti is the art of getting your (pseudo) name up by writing on an urban environment. Perfected in New York City and now a worldwide phenomenon.

The fairly new art of Graffiti and its somewhat rigid rules prompts us to look further back into the history of writing. This is exactly what Niels Shoe Meulman has been doing since his teens, consequently starting to combine the two at the beginning of this century. Thus resulting in Calligraffiti: traditional handstyles with a metropolitan attitude.

Here is a selection of images from his Calligraffiti site, but you should really go on there yourself and check it out:

 

Return on Design

This is an article that was forwarded to me by one of my clients. The article was written by Seth Godin a marketing guru of sorts who writes all sorts of books and blogs centered around marketing and whatnot. I am not sure what she is trying to hint at but it is interesting information. Hopefully she considers me to fall under a positive return and isn’t passively-aggressively telling me to get my shit together! How do your clients think of you? Do they consider you a waste of money? Take a glance at the article and give it a think. In these had economic time you are really going to have to sell yourself and your talents to wrangle up some clients.

by Seth Godin

Return on investment is easy to measure. You put money in, you measure money out, divide and prosper.

But return on design? (Design: graphics, system engineering, user interface etc.)

Design can take money and time and guts, and what do you get in return? It turns out that the sort of return you’re getting (and hoping for) will drive the decisions you make about design.

I think there are four zones of return that are interesting to think about. I find it’s more useful to look at them as distinct states as opposed to a graduated line, because it’s easy to spend a lot of time and money on design but not move up in benefits the way you might expect. Crest might have a better package than Colgate (or the other way around, I can’t remember), but it doesn’t sell any more units…

Negative return. The local store with the boarded up window, the drooping sign and the peeling paint is watching their business suffer because they have a design that actually hurts them. Software products suffer from this ailment often. If the design actively gets in the way of the story you tell or the utility you deliver, you lose money and share.

No impact. Most design falls into this category. While aesthetically important, design in this case is just a matter of taste, not measurable revenue. You might not like the way the liquor store looks, or the label on that bottle of wine, but it’s not having any effect on sales. It’s good enough.

Positive return. We’re seeing a dramatic increase in this category. Everything from a bag of potato chips to an online web service can generate incremental sales and better utility as a result of smart design.

The whole thing. There are a few products where smart design is the product (or at least the product’s reason for being). If you’re not in love with the design of a Porsche 911, you would never consider buying it–same as an OXO peeler.  The challenge of building your product around breakthrough design is that the design has to in fact be a breakthrough. And that means spending far more time or money than your competitors who are merely seeking a positive return.

Knowing where you stand and where you’re headed is critical. If you have a negative return on design, go ahead and spend enough money to get neutral, asap. But don’t spend so much that you’re overinvesting just to get to neutral. Watching a local store build an expensive but not stellar custom building is the perfect example of this mismatch.

If you’re betting the whole thing, building your service launch on design first, skimping on design is plain foolish.The Guggenheim in Bilbao would be empty if they’d merely hired a very good architect.