This is Interesting

Dry July Has Me Makin’ Bacon.

Painting, This is Interesting

https://i0.wp.com/www.dryjuly.com/media/9520/what-is-dry-july-image.jpg

I’m doing Dry July. This means I don’t drink any booze for the month of July. It is all in support of adults living with cancer.

My spirit guide for Dry July is Kevin Bacon. Bacon is helping me get through this booze free month, looking at his chiseled chin and large luxurious forehead makes every day easier.

Every donation made will receive a personalised Kevin Bacon cartoon. Just make a donation, email me with your postage address and I will post you an original one of a kind hand drawn image of Kevin Bacon helping you out on a big night out. Kevin could be your designated driver, or holding your hair back while you puke, or just cooking you a nice ‘hang-over breakfast’ of scrambled eggs and Bacon. What ever you want!

Every donation counts and it all goes towards adults living with cancer. Please give generously.

IF YOU WANNA BRING HOME THE BACON – DONATE!

Here is the link to my profile.

This Is Why I’m A Tough Guy!

Painting, This is Interesting

I moved in to Sydney’s Inner West about a year and a half ago. Driving around the area I noticed the large amount of graffiti and local activism. I felt like I should be a part of the community and take part in both. My contribution ended up not quite being activism or graffiti and was hung on a local corner that seemed to be the main noticeboard in St Peters just down the hill from May Lane which is Sydney’s most notorious street art hotspot. My banner remained untouched for quite a while and my excessive use of cable-ties and weather proof materials like enamel on vinyl meant it was protected against the elephants.

As the NSW state election crept closer my banner, which was a great example of antidisestablishmentarianism, was converted into a political poster when someone grabbed a blue marker and crossed out “banners” and wrote “Labor”in it’s place. I discovered this at about 10pm so I soaked a rag in solvent to make a Molotov cocktail to throw at the blue marker factory to rub away the ink. But all this did was create a big blue cloud so I returned at midnight with a can of white spray paint to spray over the big blue mess I had made earlier. As I was halfway through spraying over the blemish on the banner a police car pulls up next to me and I act like I don’t see them so I can finish cleaning up the artwork.

ME: Oh, hello officer.

LOVELY POLICE MAN: What are you doing here mate.

ME: (Small poops filling my undies. Trying to stay cool) I put up this banner earlier and some one graffiti-ed it.

LOVELY POLICE MAN: Do you know it’s illegal to carry a spray can in NSW?

ME: No.

LOVELY POLICE MAN: Were you intending on graffitiing anything?

ME: No I just came down here to fix my banner. I thought it was okay to put a banner up here. I mean I saw these onesandthoughtitwasOK?

LOVELY POLICE MAN: What’s it about?

Meanwhile Lovely Policeman NO. 2 Is taking down my details after I gave him every piece of identification I own. He is constantly on his radio. I press my heel in to the ground to stop my knee shaking.

ME: I ah, saw a bunch of banners up in the area and thought they looked ugly so I guess mine is kind of a protest.

LOVELY POLICE MAN: Are you planning a march?

ME:(Oh gosh stop trying to justify it) It’s more of a joke really. But I though the banner was okay. I mean I see them everywhere and-

LOVELY POLICE MAN: The banner is fine. We are just trying to crack down on graffiti in the area. So we saw you with the can and pulled over.

ME: Yeah I’ve noticed. Some one defaced my protest-banner earlier. I tried to rub it away with solvent but but I just created this big blue cloud I think that spray paint would have been the easiest way to cover it up I would have taken it home butIusedtoomanycable-tiesandit’sreallyhardtotakeoff.

LOVELY POLICE MAN: Alright. Look don’t carry that spray can with you.

Lovely Police Man No. 2 hands back my wad of identification.

ME: Am I in trouble?

LOVELY POLICE MAN: No, you just can’t carry that spray can around as it’s an offence. Now ride home and be safe.

ME: Thanks guys. Sorry about that. ‘Night.

I then ride home on my push-bike with my flashing lights on and day-glow vest sipped up. It probably didn’t help that I was wearing black pants and a black hoodie that night in order to feel more bad-ass. I then went home, threw away my undies and curled up in a ball because I was caught doing something not quite illegal and received no penalty. WHAT A RUSH!

BUT NOW! Now I’m a regular street-art fiend. I went out last night for three hours with a couple of real bad dudes and we coated some walls man. We sprayed up some serious deviant art all over the completely legal designated graffiti art tunnel at Sydney University which we did after hours as so we didn’t disturb the students. I may have also had a friend carry the cans there because I DON’T WANT TO BE A FELON. I WOULDN’T DO WELL IN PRISON – I GET NERVOUS PEEING IN FRONT OF OTHERS.

Here are just some of the artworks I made that night.

Take that copperrrrrrs!

ART IS FUN ART IS FUN ART IS FUN ART IS FUN.

This is Interesting

When you travel to different countries you visit their landmark galleries and their small ones. Whist in LA in 2010 I stumbled across a small gallery called Gallery 1988 where they were having a group show dedicated only to HE -MAN. Not a group show for the benefit of He-Man but a group exhibition of artworks based on the He-Man TV series. He-Man is however an avid supported of the arts.

       

It was really refreshing to see. I presumed all artists were fans of the show and they were unashamedly painting, designing or sculpting something they love to love. A day earlier whilst in California I saw Jeff Koons’ “Michael Jackson and Bubbles”(1988) sculpture which is a high-art version of the same thing, a celebration of pop culture.

I was reminded of the He-Man show after I came across a Steve Martin group exhibition that was also held in Gallery 1988. The artworks at Gallery 1988 are by legitimate artists and the enthusiasm the artists have for their subjects in turn creates a really joyful gallery going experience.

           

A friend of mine is a Law and Order fan and he was wearing a Law and Order T-Shirt which was designed by a fellow Law and Order fan Brandon Bird who has created really funny artworks that make me LOL! His portrait of Christopher Walken building Optimus Prime is the kind of image that makes any grown man involuntarily smile like he just saw Christopher Walken building Optimus Prime. He paints what he loves and it is fulfilling for him and it’s artists like Bird and those that exhibit in Gallery 1988 that turn Fan Art in to Fine Art.

Check out Gallery 1988’s website here and Brandon Bird’s website here.

More More Moran!

Painting, This is Interesting

I was informed that my Doug Moran Portraiture Prize entry has been selected for the 2nd stage of judging. The judges were Christopher Menz and Vincent Fantauzzo which is very exiting as Fantauzzo’s work has dominated the portraiture scene in Australia in the last few years and it’s so cool to have him select my work for further viewing. The next step is having Gandalf select me in a beard competition.

The finalists will be announced on the 2nd of July.

David Collins and Daffy Duck have more in common than may first meet the eye. Artist Edmund Iffland has captured Collins’ unique mode of physical performance in the style of Chuck Jones’ 1953 classic Duck Auck – an homage in colour and style to a cartoon that both the artist and performer hold dear. Painted in Acrylic and ink on canvas this work resembles a massive animation cel.

EVERY DAY HERO

Design, This is Interesting

Superman is not the best thing for Metropolis. Ever notice that all the other major cities remain somewhat untouched but the one he lives in gets the crap beaten out of it? The Mayor of Metropolis is spending so much of the budget rebuilding the city that the the arts and schools get almost nothing. The homeless population get no support from the council and to make matters worse it’s really hard to actually see the homeless population of Metropolis because they are all dressed in suits, suits donated by an anonymous benefactor who leaves them in phone-booths all around town. Let’s face it, the best thing Superman does for Metropolis is clothing the homeless.

So if you want a real hero you should meet Sally Gyles. Sally is traveling to India to get kids out of child labor and in to schools. She needs help fundraising so if you flick her a few bucks you will in turn be helping give some really destitute kids a future. Sally is doing much more than leaving suits in phone booths. Check out her blog:

www.everydayhero.com.au/sally_gyles

The image below is the artwork I created for Sally’s business cards. Sure it’s a little dark but so are some of the factories children have to work in.

How did Clark Kent afford that many suits? He was just a reporter who rarely went to work.

Get ready. Get set.

Painting, This is Interesting

I hope you all are ready for the artwork I’m creating for a theatre SET! See what I did there? GO ahead and kill me that was the weakest pun in internet history.

Dave Collins (that dude I painted for that portraiture prize that time) is showing off his skills in comedy for the Sydney Comedy Festival!

The play is called In The Air Tonight and is showing at Sidetrack Theatre in Sydney’s Inner West From May 1st. I am lending my artistic skills to help fill the set by creating the scrawlings of two astronauts bored out of their brains on a space ship for 20 years. The set may even feature a few of the studies from my Archibald portraits.

 

Tough Competition for Prestigious Fan Art Competition.

Painting, This is Interesting

As I nervously troll though the internet to look for any other Archibald Prize entries (with the hope that I find 500 shit ones) I came across two really quite interesting approaches to the prestigious portrait prize. This brilliant portrait by Vincent Fantauzzo of Kiwi-born Melbourne-based musician Kimbra who I totally don’t have a crush on, shut up that ‘effigy’ of her I made from my baby teeth, seaweed and those pumpkins is just how I display my pumpkins okay!… The portrait by Vincent Fantauzzo is accompanied by a music video he made and it is all very, very cool.

Speaking of cool people I have a crush on, Father Bob McGuire was painted by stencil artist Luke Cornish. It uses over 100 stencil layers and it will be an interesting contender this year. Street-art is getting recognised in the fine arts more and more and Cornish proves that it is a legitimate art-form with this detailed, striking portrait of Fr Bob. Cornish talks about the process in This video article from the ABC website.

The list of finalists will be released THIS THURSDAY!

‘Good Fucking Design Advice’ Has Some Fucking Good Advice.

This is Interesting

I came across this website a little while back and it is not only full of good advice but it also is a great example of effective swearing to drive home a point.

Every page is different so keep refreshing if you feel you need more advice.

Happy designing dickbrains!

At Shelf Life

Painting, This is Interesting

In the tradition of 14th century artist Salvator Rosa and my Kindergarten teacher Mr Fagastrom. My entry for this years Shelf Life exhibition is a combination of art-forms to create something too kitsch for it’s own good. The exhibition runs until December 4. Drop by to see it in the flesh… or pasta.


“San Remo (after Salvator Rosa)” Acrylic and gold leaf on board, lasagna, shell pasta, cannelloni and bow-tie pasta.

On now.

This is Interesting

Shelf Life is an annual group exhibition held at Delmar Gallery. There are about 70 artists this years show including yours truly. I have quite an interesting work in the show that combines sculpture,painting and food. If you want to have a peek at said work drop by the gallery sometime between the 13th of November and the 4th of December.

Exhibition Dates:
13 November to 4 December, 2011

Gallery Hours:
12.00 – 5.00pm Wednesday – Sunday

Admission:
Free

Delmar Gallery
144 Victoria Street Ashfield NSW 2131