x.32

acrylic on Fabriano 300 watercolor paper 8" x 10"

I've been moving from one painting to another, so it's been a while since I've had a new alien to post. 

I finished x.32 last week, but I started it earlier this summer. After painting for a while, I changed my mind about what color I wanted the polka dots to be, and started another version. Then I changed my mind again, and went back to complete the original. Alien x.32 was delayed by indecision over blue or yellow polka dots.

It will be available and on display at Illuxcon 6  September 14-15th.

Aliens for sale:

I've restocked my web shop with nine originals. These are acrylic on watercolor paper - 8" X 10"   Only $150 for a piece of original art from my alien menagerie project.  **shipping is free**

x.31 - the zombie from another planet

Things get a little more gruesome than normal with this addition to my alien menagerie as I try on the idea of a 'zombie from another planet'.  My goal was not to loose too much of the character of what I hope my aliens project. They tend to be a benign bunch. When a friend of mine suggested that  a previous alien, x.30 looked to be inspired by Lovecraft, I wondered where another horror theme might lead too.

acrylic on Fabriano 300 watercolor paper 8" x 10"

Speaking of zombies, recently I went to the opening for Travis Louie's ZOMBIE show that's at Last Rites Gallery until June 26th. I really enjoyed seeing all the different solutions that the artists came up with when challenged to interpret the theme.

Several artists: Travis Louie, Stan Manoukian, Bobby Chiu, and Vincent Di Nguyen came up with botanical solutions, which both surprised and impressed. Mark Garro and Vince Natale also contributed  a couple of wonderful, off-center paintings. You can see the entire show online here.

drawing from memory

When I'm working in the world of my alien menagerie, I often draw from nostalgic inspiration in some form or other.

I was recently browsing through some older sketchbooks of aliens, and this particular one caught my eye. When I sketched this, I was working from the memory of a toy I once had.  I wasn't trying to recreate it, so much as see how it might inspire something of my own. It was a rubber finger puppet that I remember getting at checkout in a grocery store when I was five or six.  I had a pretty clear image of how it looked, but I had know idea what it was called or how to find it either. 

In the time that's past since I made that sketch the mystery of it's inspiration was resolved.

It turns out the finger puppet was a RUBBER UGLY.  RUBBER UGLIES were a spin-off of UGLY STICKERS- the rubber monster on the left was based on the sticker pictured at right. Artwork by Norm Saunders.

I wrote about UGLY STICKERS in an earlier post. They were also another memory from childhood that I couldn't quite pin down. The images were vivid, but the name of them…not so much.  

It was the publication of a book of Norm Saunders work, and the additional discovery of a website devoted to him, that connected names with the images I remembered. Two mysteries solved at one time.

~ here's alien menagerie x.30 

acrylic on Arches 300 watercolor paper 8" x 10"

enigma 1

I just received a box of postcards I had printed of "Enigma Alien 1". I painted this for the Animal Kingdom show at Gallery Nucleus. If you'd like one, email me your address and I'll drop it in the mail to you!

Tomorrow and Beyond

I'd like to make more frequent posts about influences and inspirations, and there's no better place to start than with the art book "Tomorrow and Beyond".

I bought it when it was published in 1978. My copy is in well-loved condition, and it's a miracle the pages aren't falling out.

 I had a habit of trying to learn and identify any artists work if it appeared on a science fiction novel at the bookstore.This book was a fair representation of illustrators working in the field at the time. It was divided into thematic sections such as Aliens, Astronauts, Symbolism, and Robots.

There were mainstream illustrators:  Brad Holland, Murray Tinkleman, and Wilson McClean, veterans of the genre Richard Powers, John Schoenherr and Paul Lehr and recent arrivals Michael Whelan, Don Maitz and Wayne Barlowe!

I feel it's inadequate though to mention just a few of the names, when I can post an image of the back of the book with all the artists listed.

I didn't just pour over the book, amazed by the work within it.I made a stop motion animation filming the individual illustrations, timed to the Alan Parson's Project song "I, Robot" for a high school film class. 

It was at the core of my small, but ever growing collection of art books from the genre. It sat on my shelf with "Studio", "Flights of Icarus", and Starlog's "Space Art"  traveling with me to art school, always a handy reference.

The excitement I felt when I looked at all that work, depicting strange other worlds,  is the same feeling I'm hoping to capture when I'm working on a painting today. Here are a few shots from the book.

the enigma aliens at Gallery Nucleus

Last night "The Animal Kingdom" opened at Gallery Nucleus and alien menagerie 10 & 11 were part of this show.These are small pieces, measuring 6" X 8". Working this size, I chose to focus mostly on the aliens, and keep the environment stark, aiming for a surreal tone overall. The enigma aliens inhabit dream-space, their character a mystery.

Here's a video showing progress on enigma alien 2.

I wasn't ready to leave their world behind, so I made this extract depicting an alien which was a contender for enigma 2.

I'd like too thanks Wade Buchanan for inviting me to participate. "The Animal Kingdom" is viewable online here.