Love is...?

I'm a creature of habit. I read the LA Times every day. I know that my wife would say that the word read should be in quotations because I actually only look at the front pages of the world and local news sections (the "real" news she says). Anyway, I do read the sports page (Page 2, TJ Simers is a must read), and the Calendar section where the crossword puzzle is (I can only complete Monday through Wednesday before I have to cheat with the internet). I save the Classifieds for last because the word Jumble puzzle is in there along side the most confusing comic of all time: Love is...
Let me start by saying that I LOATHE this comic, it mocks me daily as I work my word Jumble. The characters in it don't ever seem to have any clothes on, and they do some really weird stuff whilst naked. The whole thing is one big trite, overly sentimental piece of garbage. Yet I can't stop myself from looking at it. Perhaps because for the longest time I thought I knew what Love was; or maybe I'm just a glutton for punishment. Who knows.
Let's take this example above, exactly what is going on here? It looks like the "man" is trying to hump the "woman's" armpit. This is Love? I never knew.

RollinHatin.blogspot.com

This blog is about "contemporary art that examines the role of Dungeons & Dragons, Escapism, and Fantasy in contemporary art and culture". I'm pretty sure fellow Igloo Brother Levon would be very interested.

Sketchbook page

Bored on a plane back from Spain. More about our trip later...

Now or Later Loser

a few more pages from the upcoming zine.

New Print

This should give you a rough idea of what my new print will look like. The 3 panels are connected, the bird is on the first panel on the left, then the middle panel with the branches, then the face on the right. I'm not sure what the title is going to be, or how limited the edition will be, but i'm guessing i will print at least 12 of them. signed and numbered, of course.

Henry + Glenn

New Henry + Glenn's coming out for Comic Con in July

99 Problems/Red Balloons

Quite possibly one of the best mash-ups i've ever heard. check it out here under "Location 2": 99 Problems

a hint of things to come

these last 2 images are from a little zine i'm putting together for comic con. the igloo also has new henry and glens in the works as well as some other surprises. i'll also be debuting my first limited edition print at the convention, more details on that in the next few months.

My Exhibition History

I've got a new page set up with a selected list of the shows that I've been in over the past few years. Just click on the My Exhibition History link in the links section.

Edison Bar

just wanted to be on top of the game and tell everyone to make sure and check out the Edison bar downtown. It's on 2nd street before you hit Main Street, down an alley behind the Pitfire pizza joint. The place is absolutely incredible. It's a huge old boiler room converted into a fancy bar. Words can't do it justice, just check it out for yourself.
*Note* I wrote the above post before the Edison bar officially opened. Everything I have heard about the bar since it has opened has been terrible. Dress codes, velvet ropes, needing a "reservation" to get into a bar!?, expensive drinks, etc... all add up to a really cool looking bar for people that i do not want to be drinking with. You'll find me a few streets over at the Bar 107 (right next door to the best shoe store in LA, Blends) drinking a 24oz Pabst, or perhaps a can of Schlitz.

just a sketch

i'm hoping to turn these sketches into a little zine soon...

Igloo Book

The Igloo Tornado book will consist of 4 separate books (one for each member). Each will be 64 pages long, soft cover, perfect binding, matte paper. The sleeve that will hold them together will have our family portrait on the back and the Quadra-Penquin Icon on the front. They are basically fancy catalogs to showcase how awesome we are. They should be available for distribution by July.

My Obituary

My friend, Adam, writes for the Onion. Sometimes he inserts the names of people he knows in his pieces. Adam is so funny that I don't even try to be funny when we hang out. I just keep reminding myself that I can draw better than him.

A few things...

1. Just got back from dropping off my artwork for the show that opens on Saturday. The gallery is pretty impressive and the work looked good. I'm excited that I'm going to be a part of a show that Anne Philbin juried (she is in the latest LA Magazine as one of the most infuential people on the LA art scene).

2. Stopped by the new shoe store Flight Club on Fairfax. Holy shit. If there is a heaven for sneaker freaks, this is it. Everything is wrapped in plastic, and there are hundreds of shoes to choose from (probably 75% Nikes). It's a consignment store, so if you miss out on a shoe chances are you can find it here (marked way the fuck up, but what are you going to do?)

3. Saw an amazing show at the Harmony Gallery (Site of the Survival show) that had Kathleen Lolley Kathleenlolley.com and Andy Kehoe AndyKehoe.com in it. Picked up a few prints from Kathleen that are going to look swell on the bedroom walls.harmony gallery

Clippers Shoes

Last post on shoes for a while; gotta get back to the ART. However, Adidas is coming out with NBA shell toes at the end of the week. Guess which ones I'm gonna get....
adidasbasketball.com

Open Show 2006

I just got word that 2 of my paintings have been accepted into a group show at the 825 Gallery in West Hollywood. The show was juried by Ann Philbin, Director, UCLA Hammer Museum. She chose 61 pieces out of 1400 pieces submitted by 400 artists (at least that's what my acceptance letter says). My paintings are from the Untitled series of 4 from the most recent Igloo show (check the artwork section to refresh your memory). I'll post a link when they have something worth posting.

skip the mall

i have six new paintings for the "skip the mall" show that opens at the black maria gallery on saturday the 18th. looks like brother levon from the igloo tornado will be representing as well. unfortunately i won't be in attendance at the opening due to the fact that i will be watching my clippers destroy the 76ers from my season ticket seats

95 Degrees

Sounds like a boy band, but actually was the high temperature in downtown Los Angeles yesterday. Gotta love LA.
One new painting up in the artwork section.

Surprise

On the back of all of my 5"x5" paintings I include a little "surprise" toy.
Why?
Because I want to.
6 new 5x5 paintings for sale at the Black Maria Gallery in a few weeks.

Skip the mall

I hate the goddamn mall. So does my gallery, Black Maria, http://www.blackmariagallery.com. They are having a holiday show which will include several new pieces by yours truly. I will be posting images when I finish the work (by next Friday if you must know a date).

Halloween, Igloo Tornado Style

I am one of those people who really aren't that into Halloween. This probably is because I could never imagine a costume as brilliant as Levon's. Tom and Matthew looked awesome too. Luckily my wife did my makeup so I didn't look like a chump.

happy birthday to me

Thanks to everyone who came over to help me celebrate my 32nd birthday.
The amazing artwork above is compliments of Igloo Brother Levon.
The shoes are my new SBs. Asphalt/Aqua/Powder Blue = the least manly colors posssible, yet they still kick ass over your shoes. I'm bummed the 3 Little Bears series isn't out yet (is it?).
No photo, but my lovely wife got me an Elton Brand LA Clippers jersey, just in time for the season to begin. More on that later.

Enuff-Z-Nuff

One of the things about buying a house is that you start opening all of the boxes you used to store in the closet or garage when you were just renting. I recently found all of my old sports cards. Mixed in with the usual assortment of basketball, baseball, football, and golf? cards were these little gems. Enuff-Z-Nuff? Nuff said....

UNDFTD Silverlake

I was so busy last week with the show opening that I almost forgot about the opening of UNDFTD in Silverlake. I just happened to be in the area putting up posters for the show, so my timing was incredibly lucky.
The store itself is pretty nice, and is much larger than the other 2 stores, but there is something missing in the design and detail. It's just not quite as nice as the other storefronts. However, they do have more room (although more room does not = more shoes for some reason) and they use the extra room to display their accessories (hats, t-shirts, Nike Air-U-Breathe jackets). The clerks are super nice and helpful, as usual, and the place is always packed (the two times I have been there). I do wish that they would carry the VISVIM line at the store, but they said that they were only available at the La Brea and Santa Monica stores. In case you were wondering, yes, I did sell enough paintings at the show to pick up at least one new pair of shoes and I will be taking a long hard look at the VISVIM Skynard ring. Check the site for all the info: http://www.undftd.com

Opening night for the Igloo Tornado

Thanks to everyone who made it out to the show. Especially Matt and Betsy, who came in from Austin just for the opening. Everyone had a lot of fun, and I think that I speak for the entire Igloo when I say that I am glad it is all over and I can't wait to do it again (next year).

Hanging the show

here are some pictures of the igloo in action, hanging our work at the Black Maria Gallery.

New work for the Igloo Tornado Show

If you are interested in a sneak peek at the work I will be showing at the Black Maria Gallery on Saturday the 16th then click here losergoes1st artwork

Ladies and Gentelmen, The Igloo Tornado...

The less said about these pictures, the better.

new section for artwork

i'm going to start putting all of my work on a seperate blog losergoes1st artwork that will have only artwork with details and comments on each piece. brand new work for the Igloo Tornado iglootornado show will be up by the end of the week, so keep yur eyes peeled.

i pity the fool

this is a link to a blog that posted a few favorable words about a drawing i did of Mr. T for my friend, and fellow igloo tornado member, Levon's comic called "do you like tv?" do-you-like-tv?

what do shoes have to do with an art site? well, if i sell enough work at the show in september i should be able to afford the kicks you see in the photos above. come on people, buy some art!

portrait of the studio. i'm preparing for the big show in september (see previous post if you have no idea what show i'm talking about), so it is a freakin mess. on the wall are lined up the 8 main pieces for the show. as you can see, i'm almost finished. it will be a relief when i complete all of the work. i've put in more time, effort, and energy to these pieces than i have with any other body of work i've ever done. can't wait to see how they look on the gallery wall.

i think that my friend, mark, may like these new pieces. these are detail pictures from the nike series that i'm doing. if you know me then these make perfect sense and need no explanation. there will be 4 total pieces up for the show. i'm half way finished with two weeks left until the work needs to be finished so that i can get slides taken before the show.

this is the postcard for our show. tom has, as usual, done a fucking brilliant job with the design. good work, mate! the image of the quadrapenguin is also the image on the t-shirts that will be up for sale shortly.

this is my part of an "exquisite corpse" collaborative piece that the igloo is doing for our show in september. postcards for the show are arriving shortly, so be on the lookout for them.

this is a small home-made sketchbook that i've been exchanging with my friend chris, who lives in Austin. we work on a few pages and then send it back to each other. the pictures above are examples of the cover and some of the first pages of the sketchbook. chris's work usually puts mine to shame, but i've been stepping up lately...