Not What I Meant

Not What I Meant, acrylic on wood panel, 2008. Click image to enlarge.

A few years back I came into a whole pile of these 8 x 22 inch wood panels. I think they were raw cabinet doors that hadn't been shaped and finished. Usually I paint on them vertically, so this is the first time I've used one in its wide format. Just in time for Illustration Friday: Wide.

Not What I Meant, detail view.

This panel was actually a so-so painting several years back. (In fact, it was one of a series of paintings I did that turned out so poorly that I realized I needed to go back to school and learn to paint. Hence: graduate school.) To start the painting you see here, I sanded the previous painting's surface, then added the red and blue. I scratched the fish shapes away with an exacto knife (and many many blades). It's so satisfying to transform a failure into a success.

Hey, Pal: Custom Vans for Canvas 2008

Hey, Pal. Custom painted Vans, 2008.

These custom painted Vans will be in the Canvas 2008 show, which opens 06.06.2008 in downtown Oklahoma City. Visit the Canvas site for more details.

Hey Pal, detail view, acrylic on canvas shoes, 2008.

In Soviet Russia, Vans customize you!

Here is my Canvas entry from last year:

Vans on Vans, ink and mixed media on canvas shoes, 2007.

Left shoe view.

Left shoe detail.

Vans on Vans was done by collaging Kleenex Viva towels on the blank shoes using Golden extra heavy matte gel, then drawing with Sakura Pigma Micron pens (I prefer sizes 01 and 02). The hands are tinted with acrylic wash. This piece is an homage to my old Vans Sk8 Hi-Tops. (Vans on Vans sold last year and won't be in the upcoming show.)

Dum Dum

Dum Dum, acrylic on Rives BFK mounted on panels, 2008

Dum Dum detail view.

Idiolect is now open at AKA Gallery, 3001 Paseo, Oklahoma City, through June 20. Thank you to everyone who came to the opening! In addition to the gallery's regular hours, there will be public receptions during the Paseo Arts Fest, May 24-26, and the next First Friday Art Walk on June 6.

If you got one of my postcards for this show, you might notice a similarity with this painting. The underpainting of Dum Dum became the postcard design. If you'd like to receive postcards from me in the future, head on over to my contact page and drop me a note -- I'd be happy to add you to my mailing list.

Ev(l)olve: A Sticky Wicket

Ev(l)olve: A Sticky Wicket, acrylic on canvas, 2008.

Ev(l)olve will be in my upcoming solo show, Idiolect. (Idiolect is a word that means personal language.) Idiolect opens Friday, May 2, at AKA Gallery in OKC's Paseo District. The show runs through the end of June and will be open during the annual Paseo Art Fest.

In General, In Progress, In Situ

In General, acrylic on found wood, shown in progress, 2008.

In General will be in my upcoming solo show, Idiolect. (Idiolect is a word that means personal language.) Idiolect opens Friday, May 2, at AKA Gallery in OKC's Paseo District. The show runs through the end of June and will be open during the annual Paseo Art Fest.

Here's a closer look:

In General, shown in progress, detail view, 2008