Radio Star Avoids Video’s Thirst for Blood in the year 3033!

Design

The Year: 3033

The place: Sydney, Australia

The population: ZERO! Maybe zero… We haven’t looked very hard yet. I mean, I just went to Homebush where the Sydney Olympics were 12 years ago and that place is a freaking ghost town. This place is quieter than a John Cage encore. I dropped $20 and no one picked it up. It just blew away so I threw the rest of my money on the ground and after that blew away I transferred all of my savings to a Nigerian businessman, drank poison and watched the Big Momma’s House trilogy. THE FUTURE IS BLEAK MY FRIENDS!

“Earth 3033” is a radio play series by L. J. Ike who also wrote a series of short stories called “The Third Man – And Other Stories”. I have designed the cover design for both works. Here is the latest design for Earth 3033…

To listen to Ike’s first two episodes you can check them out here.

You can also check out his writing here.

The Waiting Game: Still Not As Fun As Hungry Hungry Hippos.

Painting

Today I dropped off my Moran Prize portrait of Dave Collins for the final stage of judging. Tomorrow was the last day to deliver paintings for round two so naturally I left it ’til the second last day.

I find out on the 2nd of July if I am in the list of finalists. This means Dry July may be broken early because I drink Champagne or Dry July may be broken because I’ll be drenched crying in the shower again.

If you want to see the full list of semi-finalists click this link.

If you’d prefer to wait to see the show here is a link to a skater falling off his board and crunching his nuts on a pole.

YOU CAN ONLY PICK ONE!

And here is a photo of me delivering said portrait at 12:42pm for your enjoyment, also for an alibi… look how happy and murder-free I look here.

A big thanks to Jessica Bellamy for helping me deliver the painting.

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.

Hulk Smash Expectations!

Design

So it’s your friends birthday and you still haven’t got them a present? You need to get your act together man!

I forgot to get my friend Freddy Friendshipson a birthday present last year and after I told him I had bought his present (I hadn’t) and it was in the mail (it wasn’t) he was rummaging though my letterbox on a daily basis. Turns out that it wasn’t in order to see if I was lying but instead he was committing major identity theft and the next step was stealing my skin so he could wear me like a full body glove and get all the perks that come with being me… like owning a full license and having a perfect library record (you can’t get late fines if you never borrow books! Suckers!). Buuuuuuut  after I gave Freddy one of these personalised comic book covers where I drew him as Mystique from X-Men he felt a little bad about the whole identity/skin theft thing and we are good now. RIGHT FREDDY?!…

The image above is my latest personalised cover done for actor Bjorn Stewart. I secretly found out a few things that make him hulking mad and incorporated it in to the design. I then made him a lot greener and added a few more muscles and hey presto! He received a very cool, very personal birthday present. Get one today!

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.

Who’s the Monolith Now?!

Design

The design featured above is of three ‘characters’ from Stanly Kubrick films. The design is of Jack (The Shining) and Alex (A Clockwork Orange) beating the astro-crap out of the Monolith from 2001-A Space Odyssey so much that that shiny brick will think it’s 2010 again – The Year we Make Physical Contact. The design is called ‘Kubrick’s Killers’ and to all of you who question who the Monolith killed please remember that Hal would have never had the opportunity to kill a small crew of spacemen if the monolith didn’t kill all of these scientists on the moon –  N00B! Nobody thinks of the scientists!

…also Monolith hates being photographed with space tourists.

I’ve Got It Covered

Design

This yin-yang of bat-bird is a book cover I designed for author Fleur Guenther. It was great to sit down with Fleur after reading an excerpt from her novel and discuss what she wanted for the cover art.

So Fleur informs me that this is some kind of internet book. She says I can read her book or any other book on my computer – Even Vin Diesel’s autobiography “In Like Vin”. She says I can read it anywhere at anytime. That’s all well and good Fleur but how the funk am I supposed to lug my Commodore 128D to the beach to get my daily fix of sea air and Vin musings or as I like to call it ‘Diesel Fuel’?

If you want to download Fleur’s book here is the link

Vin Diesel is set to bring out a second autobiography after the success of Fast five called “Next of Vin”.

I have entered the Moran Prize for portraiture (not to be confused with the Moron Prize for thinking penguins are fish). The Doug Moran National Prize for Portraiture is an annual competition for portraits of Australians by Australian Artists. Last years winner was a portrait by Vincent Fantauzzo of Baz Luhrmann trying to pull his eyeballs out.

I entered the two final portraits of Dave Collins with a few alterations. With the two works next to each other, both with vast white backgrounds, I decided that it may appear to be two versions of the same work so I went full-coldplay on one artwork and repainted the background yellow. I like how the image still retains a dark mood with such a vibrant colour dominating the work.

Entries close on the 21st of May and the winners are announced on the 17th of July. Also the Prize money is $150,000. That’s more than gameshow money! I could renovate a house and lose 70kgs after making a flan so good Delta Goodrem will tell me I’m “what this competition is all about” AND STILL…STILL I would win more money than gameshow money.

So once again I am very proud of my portraits of Dave and it’s a real luxury to be able to submit both works in to the competition. Stay tuned. Hopefully I wont have to photograph myself crying in the shower again.

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Painting