Art & Love

So, I have approx. 2 months to really get things going for the Art show I managed to snag. What Art show, you ask? Why the Art show I have in October at Coffeeslingers in downtown OKC. No, for real, I finally have my own show. At first I was nervous, but then I was like, nah, I can do this, & then I was like, I need to think about what I want to do, and now I'm like, Holy crap!!! I have an Art show in two months!

I must admit, just having one has spurred on the creativity. Slowly it creeps back from the depths it was been pushed down to by retail & the pointless creative-less redundant workplaces. I feel it rising, slowly pulling itself up to stand on its own two or four or sixteen feet again. It feels so nice. Hell, it feels. There was a time where I was afraid it was dead. I was afraid it was broken or dead. It's not.

It's been a weird experience though. I've never really thought so much about what I paint. My stuff isn't exactly the kind of stuff people want to hang on their wall. It's all emotionally based reactive art. By reactive, I mean based on my reaction to things. Not shock art. So much of it is about things we, as a whole, don't like to look at. Oil spills, war, theology, politics, social issues & inner conflict & turmoil. Not flowers or hay bales in a field. I look at it & think, "Are they going to let me hang this?", "Will this cause the coffee house owners to have to put up with crappy comments from customers?" I certainly hope not. Then again, it would be creating conversation & perhaps an exchange of ideas. Still, I'm not trying to incite negativity, just thoughts. The negative/positive depends on the viewer really.

It's a little scary. I don't expect people to "like" my work. I do want them to see it though. If it sets off just one person's brain, then I'll be happy.

I used to be too scared to show anything to anyone other than my friends. Afraid the world out there would think I was crazy & lock me away or dismiss me altogether. Luckily, one of those friends that has been over a hundred times, has never stopped encouraging me to try. That's really amazing. To keep encouraging me for the last 15 years & never giving up. Over & over again, trying to talk me into it. Sending me articles or links to little shows here & there. I can honestly say, I owe this show to her. To her & T. T for just putting up with me for 14 years. It's not easy living with an Aspie (person with Asperger's), but she's done an amazing job of teaching me how to communicate & be more social. I've also got some really amazing people in my life. People who are still fighting to make their dreams come true. We gather together at least once a month & vent our frustrations & share our desires & support each others attempts. I know, in my heart of hearts, that one day, we will all be where we want to be. These people are too amazing not to make it happen. All of us just have to cast off all the BS we were taught & keep working toward the goal. Happily ever after is possible. Look around. It's there. You see it all the time. Society tells you it's only the lucky ones, but the one's telling you that are the ones that gave up. Never give up. Never stop trying. There are millions, let me repeat, MILLIONS of people living their dreams.

Seriously. I'm not kidding. Think about all the singers, songwriters, screenplay writers, special effects artists, painters, writers, guitar players, dancers, orchestra directors, zoologists, entomologists, and millions of other occupations that people do & love. Sure, maybe you don't know their names & maybe they don't make a million billion dollars, but they are happy & pretty well off. They are doing what they chose to do with their life & they love it. For every JK Rowling or Stephen King, there are hundreds of thousands of writers you've never heard of. All of them successfully selling book after book & paying their mortgage. Society tends to only focus on the mega stars. Being famous or a mega star isn't what it's about. Doing what you love is. Don't let them scare you. Never let anyone tell you that you can't do something you dream of, & only surround yourself with people that love & understand you.

I'm blessed to have so much love in my life. And understanding. I'm not an easy one to understand sometimes.

Now, back to the painting. I only have two months to get this all together!!!!

The Return of Futurama: A Critique

Good news everyone...

Well, June 24th marked the triumphant return of my favorite TV show to the airwaves. How was it? Awesome & meh. The first episode was pretty good. It did however feel a little different. I can't quite put my finger on it yet. Things just seem a little off. The Planet Express building, New New York, & other familiar places seem a little unfamiliar. It's like walking into a house you lived in for twenty years after someone else has lived there 5 years. It still looks like your old house, but things aren't where you expect them to be. The walls are a different color & someone put wood laminate down where the orange & avocado shag carpet used to be.

The character Leela seems to be completely off. All the other characters seem exactly the same, but not Leela. She's weaker & dumber. Which makes me really sad because she was a really strong character. Sure she had her ditzy moments, but she had very clearly defined character flaws that now seem completely lost. The second episode was completely unbelievable for me because Leela didn't just shove off the log & kick Zapp's ass. She let Zapp pretty much call all the shots & she seemed easily controlled. There was absolutely no sexual tension between the characters & she gave in way too easy to a guy she supposedly hates. The Fry/Leela relationship is also very muddy right now. Are they? Aren't they? Fry's reaction to the Leela/Zapp thing was also unbelievable. All in all it was a very uncomfortable episode to watch & left me with a bad feeling in my gut. That "be careful what you wish for" feeling.

The third episode was better. We got back to addressing pop culture issues which Futurama always did so brilliantly. Still though, the toilet/juvenile humor is much more than it used to be. I liked the smartness of Futurama. The way the show was so good at addressing political, theological, & relevent social commentary. The cohesion of the plot is very lacking & they seem to be trying to get out all the proverbial "fart" jokes they can due to being on Comedy Central, a network that allows more of that sort of thing.

If Futurama doesn't smarten up & lessen the crude humor, I think it's headed in a bad direction. They need to pull the plot together by addressing one or two issues in the sarcasticly smart fashion of the original, find Leela's original personality, & drop the frat boy attitude or it's going to crash & burn.

I know they can do it. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Here's a preview of the episode from this week:

Futurama	Thursdays 10pm / 9c
e-Waste Delivery
www.comedycentral.com
Futurama New Episodes Futurama New Episodes Ugly Americans

Sleeping Beauty Collectible

Wow! This is gorgeous! This is a box inspired from the movie Sleeping Beauty. In the movie the three good fairies hid their wands inside a box like this so that Briar Rose would not find them. It is sculpted resin with wood grain finish and is about 8'' H x 6'' W x 4 1/2'' D.

There is also a Beauty & the Beast box, shown here:


And a Cinderella collectible/box along the same lines, shown here:


These are all just gorgeous! The Sleeping Beauty one & the Beauty & the Beast one are both around $85.00, while the Cinderella is a bit more affordable at $70.00.

You can find all of these awesome collectibles at THE DISNEY STORE.

All Eleven Doctors!!!

Wow! This is an awesome offering from Underground Toys & Entertainment Earth ! All Eleven versions of the Doctor in one Tardis shaped package! Available in August for the price of $99.99! Not too bad a price. That's less than $10.00 a figure! Figures are about 5" tall.

Also, check out this nifty Tardis. Yes, I said nifty. And bow ties are cool.



It floats in mid-air. How clever is that? Brilliant, I say! The Tardis measures a little over 3" tall. If only it had a button to push that would play the theme song.
This little do-hicky will run you $35.99 over at Entertainment Earth. It is available for pre-order & should be shipping in August.

Sideshow Gamorrean Guard Figure

Available now for Pre-order from Sideshow Collectibles is this 12 inch finely detailed Gamorrean Guard. For those of you who already have the Jabba, his throne, Han in Carbonite, etc., you are going to have to pick this one up to complete the scene!

Sideshow has them priced at $119.99 with the option of Flex-Pay so you can pay it out in two installments of $60.00.

If you want one, you'd better get over to their site & pre-order it now, Sideshow Star Wars figures don't last long.

Gentle Giant Greedo Statue

Hey Star Wars fans, Gentle Giant is gearing up to release this really cool Greedo Statue sometime in December. They are taking pre-orders now, so head on over to their site & check it out!

New Gentle Giant Star Wars collectibles

Straight out of Star Wars: A New Hope come two fan favorites, Muftak and the small little bat looking creature Kabe. Sure to add that fanboy/fangirl touch to any room! Which from my perspective is a good thing. Hand crafted and Cast in high quality poly-stone these small collectibles are quite detailed . Muftak and Kabe measure 7" and 5" respectively.

These limited classic cantina creatures are shipped together in a 2 pack box, both with matching edition numbers and a certificate of authenticity. They will be available as of February 2011, but you can get your pre-order on now!

Gentle Giant collectibles, from a collectible stand point are a good bet. They are usually a pretty low number as far as edition size, and seem to only escalate in price once they are sold out. So, if collecting something that gains value is of interest to you, you will most certainly want to pick these guys up. The pre-order price is listed as $129.99.

Have fun & May the Force Be With You!

Thundercats make a return!!!

That's right! Thundercats are on the move, Thundercats are loose! Warner Bros. Animation in collaboration with Studio4°C, have announced they will be re-booting the series for Cartoon Network.

Check out all the articles about it here, here, & here!

Maleficent Painting

Check out this beautiful print of Maleficent! It is a great tribute to the sorceress from Sleeping Beauty. It comes with the frame as well.

Here is some info from Sideshow's site:

The 'Accursed Gift' Fine Art Print features:
Limited Edition Giclee on Canvas
100 piece hand-numbered edition
Signed by the artist Steven Daily
Comes with Certificate of Authenticity
Print measurements: 19" H x 24" W
Size (Including Frame): 24.5" x 30.5"

Go check it out at the link here: "Accursed Gift"

Artist Michelle Vaughan

So, I stumbled across an artist I wanted to share with you. Her name is Michelle Vaughan.

I LOVE her ant drawings.

Go check out this one: Ant Drawing #4

Enjoy!

New music Thursday feat. Lissy Trullie

Lissy Trullie is a native of Washington, DC. In high school she and her mother moved to New York. A kid of divorced parents, she spent the mornings sifting through her dad’s large record collection as he schooled her in the ways of Motown, Surf Rock, Folk, Soul, and Classical. In the evening is was her Mother's copy of Tommy that got all of her attention.

Later, she was an art school graduate who dabbled in music, but still hadn't found the confidence to really immerse herself in exploring her own musical talent.

Finally, with the support of friends & anyone who heard her play, she went for it, writing & making her own original tunes.

Her first release was with an indie label out of Brooklyn called American Myth. This label allowed the band to expand & control their own way artistically.

Self-Taught Learner came out February 17, 2009 & Lissy & her band continue to play out & tour all over the US.

Go check her out!

Myspace

Blog

Website

Website Wednesday feat. Coopstuff.com

Do you know who Ed "Big Daddy" Roth is? Do you like motorcycles, tattoos, roller derby, hot rods, pin-up girls, punk subculture, Psychobilly, Rockabilly, Mod Subculture, surf culture, Pop Art, Surrealism, Kustom Kulture, or DIY? I've got an art site for you then. Posters, paintings, books, clothes & more.

If you said "YES!" to any of these, then here is a website for you! http://www.coopstuff.com/Coop

There is an excellent selection of things to buy on this site. From art work to t-shirts, belt buckles to zippos, if you like this style of art, you are sure to find something you want.

Ed "Big Daddy" Roth's art was an influence on me when I was very little. My brother had picked up a "Rat Fink" car model & I was fascinated by the art on the box as well as the model itself. I really loved the bright colors he always used that made the stuff seem to really pop. Coop does the same thing.

Coop is a hot rod artist working from Los Angeles. He was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma in 1968, and describes his occupation as "Insensitive Artiste". His work consists primarily of barely clothed Bettie Page-style 1950s soft pornography and/or B-movie monsters, with the female characters often taking the role of "Devil-Women". The artwork up top is Coop's.

Go check out the site!

Art Tuesday feat. Jasonchanart.com

Happy Tuesday to you. I stumbled across a cool artist I like while browsing around on ConceptArt.org. Jason Chan. His Star Wars art for Wizards of the Coast really caught my eye, but his other stuff is really wonderful. There is an abundance of fantasy based artwork. Beautiful stuff. Go check him out. He has a blogspot blog & a page on ConceptArt.org.

Jason's Blog

Movie Review Monday Feat. Breakin' & Breakin' 2

That's right, this Monday I'm going old school with the movie review. Somehow, all through the 80's, 90's & 00's I managed to never have the privileged to enjoy the films "Breakin'" & "Breakin'2: Electric Boogaloo". Both movies were released in 1984 by Cannon Films. Both films incorporate street dancing & the emergence of rap music. Ice-T appears in both films. I absolutely loved these movies. I'll be honest, it's easy for me to love anything that I feel really captures the feel of the 80's & I really feel like both of these movies did. That feeling that dance or music or art could bring the world together & community centers & love could get people off the streets, set them on the right path, & change the world for the better always reel me in. Definitely feel good movies. The street dancing is really cool to see. I was quite the break dancer myself in 5th & 6th grade. The films are a pretty average 80's formula. Rich dancer girl unhappy with where she is at meets cool urban street dancer. She is pulled into a world of dance she never knew existed, where people feel what they dance & are real, unlike her fake greedy money hungry world. Confused by her feelings & feeling like a bit of an outsider she returns to her fancy dance school where her dance instructor forces himself on her. She pushes him away & runs back to the street dancers. They form a group, TKO, which stands for a combination of their street names, Turbo, Special K, & Ozone.

I want a cool street dancer name.

Anyhoo, the movie then becomes about trying to get the uppity dance companies & show producers to recognize street dance as a legit art form. It is also about looking past stereotypes & what our parents have told us about the "bad" side of town. We are all people with dreams, wants & desires.

Seriously...I absolutely loved this film. If you love Flashdance and/or Xanadu, you will probably LOVE it as well. If you do not like either one of those movies, then I don't recommend Breakin' or Breakin 2 to you. You just aren't the kind to sit back & enjoy a fun movie. I guarantee, you will not be able to sit still. Before you get to the end of the film you will find yourself getting up off the couch & breakin' yourself.



The second film was just as good & went with the community center threatened by rich white people who don't get it plot. For as cheesy as it is, funny how this plot is still true & happening all the time. I've always wanted to save a place by dancing & getting the whole neighborhood to dance the bulldozers away. It would be so cool to pull off in real life.

So, if this summer, you find yourself bored & in the mood for some cool 80's dance & feel good vibes, don't hesitate to pick these two films up. I bought them for about $6.00 a piece at my local retailer.

Action Figure Friday feat. Universal Monsters

New from Diamond Select, Old school Universal monster figures. These figures stand 8-inches tall with over 14 points of articulation and cool full cloth outfits. They very much resemble the old MEGO figures of the 70's & 80's. Very cool.

The first set of figures in the series include the lumbering Frankenstein Monster and the ravenous Wolfman!

You can Pre-order them from Entertainment Earth right now, or you can wait & see if your local comic shop or retailer can order them for you.

music Thursday Feat. Lena

Lena Potapova is from Russia. If you know me, you know I love Russia & Russians. I don't know why, other than Russia is so very old & lots of crazy & cool things have gone on there & the people are survivors. They don't seem spoiled or lazy. Now, to be honest, I've never been there. I have no idea how it really is. All I have to go on is the few Russians I've met & stories from my friends that have experienced Russia.

Lena is the perfect example of a survivor. She has been beat up, charged as a Russian spy & locked up, managed a restaurant in Tibet, almost been sold into a brothel in China, and finally managed to make it to the good old USA. You'd think things would get better, right? Nope. The USA just treated her the same way as the rest of the world. She has been stigmatized for being an immigrant, abused & even raped. All of this has not stopped her.

She writes & sings music, blogs, and has a column with Shankbone. She is very opinionated about sex & has a very unique perspective. Go check all of it out. I really like some of her stuff.

I think for me, she's one of those people that I look at & think, wow! she is living her dream despite everything that has happened to her. I really have no excuses.

Website Wednesday

IRIS. It's a cool little earthquake tracker. It shows you were things are shaking up & when. I look at it daily. I tell ya, Chili has yet to stop shaking. They have had close to a 5 or bigger every day since the big one. Why wasn't Chili as big a deal as Haiti? Where is all the American aid? Curious.

IRIS

Art Tuesday

Here's something I am working on. I drew a whole slew of weird aliens one night after watching a thing on concept art for character development. I wondered if I could come up with some cool looking aliens. I just started sketching and this is one that I created. It was just a pencil sketch, but i scanned it in & have been playing around in CS3 with it. So far I like it. I really want to get some texture going on the skin though.

I think I'll name him Ceros of the race Metapenas.

Movie Review Monday

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus. Terry Gilliam. Terry Gilliam is one of those people that I absolutely love, but think should not write screenplays. His imagination is amazing. The ideas & visuals he comes up with fantastic! His plots & stories are thin & sporadic. I can't say I didn't like this movie. I can say I wasn't satisfied with it. There were so many directions & plot lines to follow. What I wanted to see never manifested itself. All the actors were great & again, the visuals were awesome, even inspirational to a painter like myself, but overall, I once again had to question why Gilliam never seems to really dig deeper & follow through. Sure it had a main plot, but just like in his previous films, sometimes the main plot isn't the most interesting plot. It's not the one, as the viewer, you really want to explore. If you like Gilliam, then you'll like this movie. If you don't, then skip it. If you aren't big on plot & don't mind plot holes & multiple plots all running at the same time, have at it. I really think this could be a fanfic writers dream. There are so many things you could take & run with in this story. I'd give it a C. Not wonderful, not terrible, visually pretty, & inspiring story ideas.

What a great weekend!

Wow. I feel like I had a weekend. A REAL weekend. T & I had been so busy that the house looked like a hoarder's house. There were piles of laundry in various places, dishes piled to the ceiling & trash on the kitchen counters, so Saturday we woke up,, went & hunted down our FREE comics on FREE comic day, went to Tarahumara's for lunch, shared a Pina Colada with our meal, headed home, put on some tunes, dug in & started cleaning. Good thing, too. Later on in the day our friends called with a brilliant idea. To come hang out at our place! Hooray! We hung out on the patio, had some drinks, talked about life & lit the fire pit. It was a beautiful evening & night.

Sunday found us sleeping in until 1:30ish. Even Leela slept in. As soon as we were up & around it was off to Hideaway for some delicious pizza. Once our bellies were again stuffed, we came home & walked the dog for over an hour. She's such a good little dog. She was quite happy. It was then time for a supply run. Off to Target we went. I found a clearance hammock to replace my old torn up one! Score!

We did manage to miss getting Leela's food at Petsmart. They were closed by the time we got there at 6:04pm. I always forget they close so early. So she had to try some Newman's Organic Beef. OMG it smelled horrific, the texture was gross (think hot dog before it is shaped into a hot dog), but she ate it up.

T decided she loved the vanilla pudding we made (not-instant) that she wanted to make chocolate & butterscotch this time & make them into pies with organic home-made whipped cream on top. Well, who am I to argue with that?

Sunday came to an end the same way we always end Sundays, piled on the couch watching British comedies on PBS.

A wonderful happy weekend.

I hope everyone has a great week this week! Oh, and remember, May 4th is Star Wars day. May the 4TH be with you!