Live Mural Art Dopeness!

Last night saw Tony Tyrant and I throw down in our Live Mural Art Battle at Eli's. We had a blast! Lots of friends showed up to support us, hang out, have a couple drinks and give us a hard time! I got there a bit early, loaded in, had dinner and started sketching. About 15mins of scratching away in the sketchbook and I had my loose plan. Started doctoring up the boards right @ 6pm. It was a great set up as it allowed people to float in and out, get food and drink. Saw tons of great friends that came out to support us. I stopped working just about 12AM. As soon as I decided I was finished, my body just about shut down. I packed up, hung with a few friends til about 12:30 and headed home to bed! Here are some photos from the evening:

Dougy Fresh popped these:









My photos:


-Tony's piece


-My piece


-Two tired artists...


-The arsenal.


-Crew.


-3 fast guys right there.


-My boy Ad-Rock and his fiance Kanani rolled through.


-Showing Kate how my camera works. Impromptu self-portrait.

Click here for Tony's photos.

Inked Up!

Couple pieces inked up. The last one was a little ink sketch over on the side of my pad. Kind neat. Check it:


-click for larger...


-click to supa-size...


-click to...ahhhh you know the drill.

Mural Art Date Moved!!

Hey everyone! Quick note: Due to the prediction of rain of biblical proportions, Tony, Eli's and I decided that it would be best to move the event to our rain date of July 30th @ 6PM. No art tomorrow evening. Hope to see you next week!



-click to super-size...

Quick Flyer Piece

Had to do a quick flyer (because of overwhelming resistance to the original one I put together) instead of working on my current pieces. Oh well, gotta promote! Here's the new one:



-click for larger

Please feel free to print a copy for yourself if you dig it. Better yet, print a few and post 'em up to get some more folks out to the battle! See you on Thursday!

Ink

Dropping some ink on my tattooed head-phone girl.



-click for larger size

Photoshop Magic

Next time you see that hottie in your favorite magazine or online, think about this...

"We oughta make 'em tell 'em the truth, from what the camera shoots, and use the negatives for evidence provide'n the proof." -The Procussions

New Sketch

Another fresh piece coming together. There are some proportional issues I need to work out, but another sketch nonetheless.



-click for larger image

The mural battle is on! Tony Tyrant and I will be slinging paint and hanging out next Thursday, July 24th starting 6PM at Eli Cannon's in Middletown. We're chill'n on the back patio and gett'n our art on til close. Come on through, have a drink with us, socialize, meet some cool new people and enjoy some live art! Good times!



Also currently stoked on the new From Monuments to Masses that's coming out shortly. They've been posting videos on their myspace of some of the recording process. Annnd their producer is none other than Matt Bales (who produced the last Mastodon album)! Super stoked!

New Drawing

Started a new drawing yesterday. I started it as just a quick kind of sketch, like what I've been working on lately. But I really like the way it's turned out so far so I think I'll take it to a clean finished product. Here are the pencils so far. I might get to start adding some ink tonight. We'll see how things pan out.



-click for a larger version.

I really pushed the contrast in photoshop cause the pencils are so light. But this gives you a good idea of what's happening. Pretend it's a top-secret spy photo.

Talked to my homeboy Ad-Roc to day. I don't want to jinx anything, talk about anything too soon before it happens, or let the cat out of the bag, but he and I are in the infant stages of something big right now. Big like something that CT hasn't seen before. I'm super-excited! I think this has some huge potential. Can't wait to see where it goes. All in due time.

Other than that, been going riding a bunch. I watched what was almost a really horrific collision between a couple of cyclists and a car. I swear that most people's IQ's just plummet as the pace increases. They're so deadset on passing each other (on a damned CLUB ride!) and are so competitive that they don't check over their shoulders for cars. I watched two guys literally swerve out in front of a car after 'Car Back' had been yelled out. And I watched some dipshit try to blow up the group, sprint out, lose steam, and no one would let him into the paceline, sit right in the middle of the road with a car behind him. It's no wonder why motorists hate cyclists so much. Sharing the road doesn't mean taking the lane when a car is trying to get past. Don't be an asshole.

Still training for cross season. I don't really have a benchmark for where I'm at so I'm not sure how things are going to pan out. I feel like I'm caught between the A's and the fastest B's on our group rides. Once things start going up, I can pass most folks like they're standing still. But there are a few guys I can't keep up with. No matter whether they're on hills, especially when they're on the flats. Had a lot of knee pain tonight too. I think the combination of cooler weather and pushing 20mph for 35mi kind of added up together. I feel like I have to embrocate unless it's stupidly hot out or constantly wear knee warmers. The cooler weather really knocks the shit out of my knees. I hope I can keep up this pace of riding right through cross season and that I don't get burned out. Just have to keep it fun, think right and "I got my PMA...we got our PMA!" Word.

Racing Is War.

Another sketch. Playing with textures, practicing my hand-drawn fonts (they need LOTS of work!, and working off the top of my dome. Keeping the creativity flowing. I think the bombs on the bottom are my favorite part of this one.



-click the image for the huge version.

I had a visitor stop by the studio last night as well. He was here just long enough to zip around the joint, provide some entertainment and terrorize things a bit. I shot some video that I hope to have up by this weekend. Stay tuned.....

More Artwork....

I've been pretty much MIA for the past couple weeks. Here's what I've been up to. Been riding a bunch. Still not drinking beer. I feel like I'm slimming down a bit...getting a little leaner. Hopefully I'll be ripped for cross....but if not, I won't feel like I failed. Been drawing much more frequently. Getting ready for the "Art Battle". Feels pretty good...I feel like I'm learning stuff a little quicker. Knocking out a bunch of sketches/semi-finished drawings per evening. Here's a little taste:


-a semi-classic pin-up bike mechanic for the service boys at work.


-I used a photo from David Perry's Hot Rod Pin-Ups 1 for this portrait. Trying to brush up on my speed and proportions.


-Still really stoked on Todd's tattoo...so here's a girl and her friendly, fire-breathing robot pal...notice the other robots she's chill'n on...the ones that her pal "took offline".

These are still pretty much sketches...nothing is really finished, 'cept for the portrait one. I may post updates as I tweak them more.

Amazing Movie...

Saw this on Defgrip and thought I'd share. Just a really well shot, edited little movie. Pretty amazing.


Martin the Tailor from Ed David on Vimeo.

Sketching...

Here's a new sketch...kinda sorta finished look to it.

How Do You Unwind?

As I was helping close up tonight, got a text from my man Tyrant to head down to our local waterhole (ie: second home) and grab some drinks and food. Rode Lurch down in the rain, grabbed a spot at the bar and hilarity almost immediately ensued. Our presence was graced by my friend/co-worker/boss-man Bill. He hung out, had a couple pints, shared some stores about kids using washing machines to defend themselves against pissed off cougars, critiqued my artwork (we'll get to that in a second) and generally had a great time. Feeling a bit bored and wound up post-work, I busted out my Sharpie and got to work on the place-mat in front of me. (Tony Tyrant is responsible for all of these photos...thanks Tony!!)



-I love it when a plan comes together...



-The finished product.



-Super fun!

So after I posted the piece up on an air-duct, our good buddy/bar-manager-extrodinaire LT busted out a present given to him from one of the Sierra Nevada reps. Not wanting to let a few dares get the best of me, I retreated to the safety of the men's room to check out this gift in private...



Now I'm a pretty solid Pearl Izumi size large in both shorts and jerseys. Size XL in Giordana. That skinsuit turned out to be a Castelli in size Medium! For those who don't speak cycling lycra, it means that it's about 2 sizes too small for me. I couldn't stand straight up or I would have blown the crotch clear out...hence the Spiderman-Jazz-Hand stance. Mike was pretty sold.



Heading back to the bathroom I wound up having to wait to change because the men's room was occupado... A table full of rather attractive women said "Just use the ladies' room". To which I replied, "I'd love to but my clothes are in the men's room." I tried to get a photo op with them, but was turned down...always the bridesmaid. How'd your night wind up?

Photo Shoot.

I hung out with Josie yesterday, and she brought her camera/gear with her. She's got a project going on where she's shooting her friends, portrait style. I got a good laugh when she opened the trunk of her car, and her Mark II was just chill'n in the netting, no case, not even a filter to protect the lens. "What? You've gotta let the shit breath once in a while", was her response. Nice! So we shot a bunch of somewhat traditional portraits, and then she was kind enough to do an impromptu Ghostship product shoot for the newest shirts. Not only was she super easy to work with, she made me look pretty damn good to boot (if I do say so myself). Head over to her site and check her work and hit her up if you want your headshots to look supadope!: www.josaleethrift.com. Check out a few of the shots we ended up with:


-I think this is one of my favorites.

Rhode Island

Went to Rhode Island today with Todd and his crew to catch Explosions In The Sky. We killed a bunch of hours by hanging around in the mall. It's pretty large. 3 stories. Malls aren't really my thing, but there were some cool stores there. People watching was great too. Had a HUGE lunch from an Indian place in their food court. I was kinda sketched out by it at first, but everything they cooked was fresh and tasted amazing! A definite surprise as mall fair goes I guess. We left the mall for a bit and walked around downtown Providence. Went to a couple sneaker shops and bookstores. Snapped some random photos. We met up with some more folks (in the mall), some ate dinner, and we left to downtown yet again. By this time, I was jonesing for some caffeine pretty badly, so I set out on my own. With the help of some of the crew from Lisa Lampinelli [sp?] (i guess she was in town doing comedy at another theater), I found a Starbucks a little ways up the street. Headed back with caffeine and waited for the rest of the crew outside Lupos.

The show was sold out...good thing we had tix already. Watched the show. The band was pretty good. Not the type of show I'm used to going to. Was hoping for more of a show, but they played well. They turned down an encore, I'm still not sure what to make of that...what kind of fucking band turns down an encore?!?! Maybe they're all a bunch of nancy-boys? I thought everything was bigger in Texas (they're pretty proud of their Texan heritage but.....that shit might get revoked!) Here's some random shots I took. Enjoy.


-Todd at dinner.


-Me. Coffee deprived.


-Bad. Ass.


-Used cassette tapes in a used bookstore.


-Quick, 5min drawing during dinner. Have I mentioned how much I hate my digital camera. Shit said it was in focus....piece of garbage.

Easter.

Easter saw me drive to NY to see family. A quick 1.5hr trip to Ma Dukes to have dinner, play with (read:torture) the cats and spend the night. The next day, a 2.5 hr trip to my sister's in LI. Dinner, see my nieces, hang-out. Was planning on hanging out with a friend and taking the ferry home, but the ferry was booked. So make another 3hr drive back home. Too much driving for one day for sure! But good to see family and take the day off from worrying about what project is due next. Check out some photos I took here.

Favorite Things

Here're a couple of my favorite things.

Well Worn...

I love old tools. There's something about their soul that speaks to me. Just looking at how well-loved they are makes me think about who's had them prior, what kind of projects they've used them for, a great history I guess. This is a pneumatic chisel that belongs to our service manager, Spencer. He told me a quick story about how he launched the chisel end once, about 20' at full blast. Luckily, there was no one on the receiving end....yikes!


-Well worn. Well loved.


-Check out the great engraving! They don't engrave anything like this anymore! So much soul!

Winter Cross Ride

Took the cross bike into the woods today to blow off some steam, get some exercise and get refocused. Changed the spring in my Singlator to push down. I've had so many issues with it pushing up I figured I try something different. Put the rear tire back on, scrounged up an extra tube, co2 & cartridges, and tools (everything I usually use is somewhere in the mid-west with my track bike, according to FedEx). Changed and went out. Rode up to Wadsworth trails and found the trailhead I was going to use was a swamped out mess. Went a different route and found a mixture of trails too mucky to ride (although it appears a few have...shame, shame!) and some that were dry and fun. Walked around the really mucky stuff and ripped around for about an hour. I'm about ready for the nicer weather.


-mucky, nasty trails.


-how do I really feel about the mucky trails?


-the Falls were movin'...


-dead leaves and a fast trail.

So Over It...

I'm sick of it. All the bullshit. The mixed messages, the un-straight-forward-ness, unreturned calls, non-communication. It's tiring. I don't understand what's so difficult about expressing feelings. Just tell people how you feel. Be straight up. I feel like there's a lot more that I want to say, but it's all just convoluted garbage that's difficult for me to form into coherent expression and it has no real bearing on the important aspects of life. So I'm refocusing. Turning my frustration towards something productive. Getting more focused on art. Making music. Taking photos. Screen-printing. Being creative. Focus on the important stuff and fuck the bullshit. Ok....I'll step down off my soapbox now.