Mike Bilz makes art and stuff ...

new paintings on display this saturday...

2011-11-11T13:00:00.001-08:00

"Last Outpost"

"Bass"

"Treble"

These three pieces will be on display this Saturday at Rothick Art Haus as part of an awesome new show called "High Plains Pussycat", featuring new works by Candy and a slew of awesome talent. Rothick never fails to put on an awesome show, so I highly recommend you try and swing by.

staycation...

2011-09-25T22:57:00.000-07:00

"Staycation"

My apologies as always for the rather substantial gap in postings. Next month Rothick Art Haus will be hosting their second annual Monstoberfest show.

If your in the Anaheim area you should definitely try to stop by, there are some awesome contributors, and Rothick always puts on an amazing show.

of roses and elephants...

2011-07-10T12:42:00.000-07:00

"Pauline"

And here we are again, with something like a month between postings. Sorry about that. The painting above was one of my first ever commissions, which I completed a few weeks ago for a lovely lady in Northern California. I think it turned out pretty nice, if I do so so myself, which I do, gratuitous comma break.

Additionally, I finished up a project for the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) recently, building an e-card maker for one of their latest openings "The Gifts of the Sultan" with my teammates at Zumwinkle.com:

The Sultans of old where big fans of gifts, gifts such as elephants.

You should totally check it out, and send your friends a gift: giftsofthesultan.com

The show itself is awesome, and features a huge collection of Islamic art, which is some of the most detailed stuff I've ever seen. Also, Islamic calligraphy melts my face off. If you get a chance I'd definitely recommend taking a look. Plus it's right next door to the big Tim Burton retrospective, which is also amazing. Gifts of the Sultan is on display at LACMA till September 5th, and I think the Tim Burton show runs through Halloween.

In any case, my continued apologies for never posting anything. Not that that's likely to change, but I like to think that it might.

more toys...

2011-06-04T00:38:00.000-07:00

"The Wolfman"

"Pretty Little Dead Girl"

Sorry for the long break between posts. I don't really have an excuse, but I do have some new toys for you to look at. Aren't they fancy? I actually painted these as gifts for my Mom and my Sister, and I'm pretty happy with how they turned out.

toys, I paint them ...

2011-04-30T18:26:00.001-07:00

My girlfriend found these awesome little keychain toys and asked me to customize them for her. I ended up making her a tiny fishy-dragony-dude, and a tiny Donetello (because he's her favorite). I really like working on toys, it's really challenging and requires me to work in a completely different way. Plus it's a great excuse to play around and paint ninja turtles.

By the way, I just wanted to say a quick thank you to everyone who reblogged my Cthulhu dolls. (I've seen them posted all over tumblr and art blogs like Super Punch) You guys are awesome, thank you so much for sharing my work with your fans. It's always the biggest honor for me to know that people like what I do.

a dark denizen...

2011-03-30T09:40:00.000-07:00

"Hornhelm Endbringer"

Working on this painting made me want to play Magic: the Gathering again. Ah, nerdstalgia.

Hornhelm here is my entry into The Hive's "New Avatars of Hiveland" group show opening this Saturday. This show is part of their sixth anniversary celebration which will also include a "Best of the Best" curated group show.

He's also my entry in a small side bet with The Prince of Cake. The bet is fairly simple, we're both submitting a piece to the show, so best piece wins. What will we win, and how will a winner be decided? Excellent questions for which I have no answers. But what I can tell you is this: both of us have agreed that if our painting sells we'll be donating our profits from the sale to benefit relief efforts in Japan.

So if you are going to be in the Los Angeles area this Saturday night swing by The Hive and check out their Sixth Anniversary Extravaganza, it should be pretty epic.

even dead gods can dream ...

2011-03-24T01:41:00.000-07:00

"Cthulhu Fhtagn"

What can I say, I'm a sucker for Lovecraft.

These little beauties are my submission to next month's "Doll Haus" nesting dolls group show at Rothick Art Haus. From largest to smallest we've got an Idol to the dread Cthulhu himself, a Shogoth, and a cultist (still clutching his Necronomicon).

I strongly urge anyone in the LA / Anahiem area to come check out the show April 9th. The work I've seen so far has been excellent, and Rothick always puts on an amazing show.

another trip down the rabbit hole ...

2011-03-04T11:55:00.000-08:00

"Time For Tea"

This Saturday, by which I mean tomorrow, is the Hive's annual "Alice in Wonderland" group show. I made the clock above for this year's show, and I think it came out pretty good. I'm trying to get more into background and environment, since some of my recent work has been a little devoid of setting.

The Hive's Tarot deck will also be available at the show for $15. You can even get your fortune read using the deck, which I always thought was pretty awesome. Check out my card "The Chariot" in its awesome new digs:

So if your in the LA area this weekend, swing by the Hive and check out all the awesome Wonderlandia on display. It should be a blast.

An Interview with Loupe Magazine ...

2011-02-07T09:38:00.000-08:00

My first ever interview went up today on LoupeMagazine.com! A big thanks to Kira and everyone else at Loupe for the opportunity, and for being patient through what I can only imagine was a grueling process.

You can check out an amazing introduction to my work here, as well as the full interview with Loupe Magazine here.

Thanks again to all involved, this is a huge honor!

lucky number 7...

2011-01-07T20:50:00.000-08:00

"Chariot"

This Saturday marks the Hive's second annual Tarot Card Show, and I was asked to illustrate the seventh major arcana: the Chariot. The Chariot is a very complex card dealing with conquest or struggle and the union of opposites. The original Waite/Smith illustration is packed with symbolism and I did my best to try to recapture those points in my own interpretation.

One of the coolest things about this show is that the Hive will eventually be making a Tarot Deck using these illustrations, so keep an eye out for that.

This Saturday's show will also feature new works from Yoko D’Holbachie, Dean Fleming, and my buddies Asia Eng and Eric Hamm. Hope to see you all there.

space tikis...

2010-12-02T10:13:00.001-08:00

"Comedy" and "Tragedy"

Two new paintings for your ocular perusal. They are tikis, which are apparently in space. I tried out some new ideas on the backgrounds of these paintings, and I kinda like the results. I don't often use black so this was an interesting experience, it certainly helps you establish contrast. Plus it was a chance to do some crazy lighting, which I always enjoy.

These two paintings are for this weekends "Price...Less" Christmas show at the Hive. The show features a ton of paintings available for under $250, quite a deal if you ask me.

of misconceptions and marathons ...

2010-11-12T11:01:00.000-08:00

"Pomp" and "Circumstance"

So as it turns out those pieces I'd been working on for the last few weeks will not be in this show. Surprisingly enough, that's good news. Good news because it means I'll get to continue working on that project and hopefully show off a much larger set of those pieces sometime next year.

So instead, I'll be displaying these two dapper fellows above at tomorrow's "Shimmer and Rot" show at Rothick Art House. This being a Kustom Kulture show, my other pieces would have been a bit out of place. This is where the marathon comes into play. I didn't realize my mistake and start these new pieces until Friday night, hoping to turn them in Sunday afternoon. And unlike my usual fourth quarter heroics (read procrastination), these pieces were done completely within that time period, from first sketch to final varnish in about two days.

I'm not sure if I should be celebrating that or not.

In any case "Shimmer and Rot" opens tomorrow, and I can not recommend it more. The show will feature a huge new batch of work from Big Toe alongside work from 20 other contributing artists. If you're in the area you need to stop by, Rothick shows do not disappoint.

Art Show next Saturday in Anaheim!

2010-11-04T16:28:00.000-07:00

Next Saturday, the 13th, I'll be displaying a set of brand new paintings alongside some amazing talent at the Rothick Art Haus in Anaheim. That's a preview of some of the new pieces up top, I decided I'd wait until the opening to show you guys the new pieces in their entirety.

The show includes a big set of new work from Big Toe, as well as a group show including myself, Sam Gambino, Tom Vadakan, Candy, Juice Lee, Sara Haase, LD Grant, Juan Muniz, Kent Reppert, Patrick Hammerlein, Amy Kaplan, Tim Shelton Danny Beck, Romina Hayag, David Lozeau, Dave Burke, James Owens, John Bell, Keith Weesner, Scott Fisk and Daisy Church.

Rothick always puts on a great show, so if your in the Anaheim area next Saturday this is definitely going to be worth a look. Hope to see you there.

fan boys unite!

2010-06-01T13:02:00.001-07:00

"The Fastest Thing Alive"

So this Saturday the Hive gallery in Downtown LA will be hosting an all video game art show called B3, and I can not even begin to tell you how excited I am. Because I'm a nerd. Given the opportunity to paint a video game character, I decided to go for Sonic The Hedgehog. Working on this painting actually made me super nostalgic for my old Genesis, and I think the rest of the show will give me a similar euphoria. So if you are a fan of video games and also of art, I highly recommend you drop by the Hive this Saturday.

punk freaking rock ...

2010-04-29T12:29:00.000-07:00

"Bite the Hand that Feeds"

Quite a delay since my last post. First off, I'd like to thank everyone who made it out to last month's "Room and Board" show in Anaheim. The show was awesome, tons of solid work and a great crowd. Plus my deck sold, which always brightens my mood.

The classy fellow above will be on display this Saturday at the Hive in Downtown LA. If your in the area I highly suggest you drop by, the Hive puts on a great show.

a heads up for next saturday...

2010-04-04T19:58:00.001-07:00

If your in the Anaheim area next Saturday you should come check out my new piece at the "Room and Board" show at Rothick Art Haus. My skatedeck will be on display with a ton of other custom decks, and paintings by Randy DeLeon. Hope to see you all there!

By the way, check out this fancy new background! Nice, eh? Just trying to class the place up a little for you, like you do ...

insert clever bee pun here ...

2010-03-29T21:14:00.001-07:00

"Survival of the Fittest"

This Saturday is going to be the Hive's big 5th anniversary show, featuring the return of the Denizens of Hiveland. The only real stipulation for this group show is to somehow bring it back around to bees.

I think this painting is probably the most bee-infused of any that I've done for this show. I particularly like her Bee-Skull helmet, and stinger based weapons. True, bees don't really have skulls or even teeth for that matter, but his is one of those occasions where coolness outweighs trueness. Be sure to come by the Hive this Saturday night to see all the denizens in action, woot!

Skatedeck Finished, and still untitled....

2010-03-21T16:54:00.001-07:00

Still viscously difficult to photograph one of these decks with any kind of quality result. But I think the photo does it decent justice. Still don't have a title for it though, any thoughts?

current fiddlings ...

2010-03-14T17:45:00.000-07:00

this is what I've got going at present, for an all skateboard deck show at Rothik Art Haus. I've never painted on a deck before ... it offers a lot of unique challenges.

I haven't really come up with a title for this one yet, what do you think of "Dark Harvest" (wow that sounds silly once I've typed it out), I was also considering "The Gate". Hmmmmm, maybe I should just focus on getting it done first, eh?

A Wonderous Land ...

2010-03-09T11:54:00.001-08:00

"Off With Their Heads"

Sorry for the incredible delay in posting this. This piece is actually on display currently at The Hive Gallery in Downtown LA as a part of their "Alice in Wonderland" group show. The work at this show is stellar, and if you get the chance I highly suggest you pay it a visit. My good friend The Prince of Cake is also a part of this show with eight new pieces, though not Wonderland related they are definitely worth the trip to check out.

Updates, and such ...

2010-02-11T10:47:00.000-08:00

"Peace"

Hey, so uh ... yeah, I did this recently. Its currently up at the Hive gallery in Downtown LA, you should go have a look.

Also, I finally updated my website. Its got this piece as well as the three new pieces from my last show. You know, if your into that sort of thing.

back from the dead ...

2009-12-04T13:17:00.000-08:00

Almost three months without a post, thats pretty tragic, I won't even try to rationalize my absence or fabricate an excuse. Instead, I will give you what you came to see: arts.

Theres a decent chance I showed you some earlier work on this piece, since I was working on it for a few months. Why so long you ask? Mostly the size, and also to do with work and my recent cross town move, but these are starting to sound like excuses so suffice to say I did eventually finish it. Kind of. Really I got to a place where I could stop, and then I set it aside, only to pick it up a month later and do this:

"Birds of a Feather ..."

The additions are kind of hard to see in the small scale, but basically I added a background and a second light source. Ironically on a painting that took me months to finish these corrections only took one day.

While that painting was incubating, I got to work on two other pieces:

"A Stitch in Time ..."

and

"Just my Luck"

If this last one looks familiar, its because it's based on one of my word of the day sketches

So, whats with this sudden torrent of images and information you ask?

These paintings, as well as three others and a large smattering of "words of the day" will be on display tomorrow (December 5th) at The Hive Gallery in Downtown LA. I realize that this is just about as late a notice as I could humanly give, and for that I do apologize. But if your going to be in the area, you should come say hi. The show is going to be amazing, featuring a large group show called "Price ... Less" with all works being under $200. Plus the mighty Mia will also be showing some new work, alongside other featured artists Brian Robertson, Ching Ching Cheng, Christopher Umana and Ichae Ackso.

Check out the Hives Blog for more info on the show. Hope to see you all there!

Pile of late is go!

2009-09-11T02:54:00.000-07:00

Sidereal, grotesque, compurgator, phishing, bodacious, frenetic, omnibus, syncretism.

whammy, connoisseur, jocose, nomenclator, and haggard

2009-09-02T12:34:00.000-07:00

palimpsest, vicious circle, obtain and schadenfreude

2009-08-28T17:46:00.000-07:00

Best. Word. Ever.

By the way. if your keeping score at home, this is officially my 150th post. Which would be more of an accomplishment if I was actually uploading with any kind of regularity. Oh well, still neat I suppose.

implacable camaraderie, réchuaffé benison

2009-08-24T13:55:00.000-07:00

Firstly, check out what else I've been working on the last couple weeks. I just got the tree "finished" yesterday, but there are still a lot more elements to add. I'm hoping to have it done in the next week or two. This painting is going to be one of at least five (fingers crossed) pieces for my featured spot at the Hive in December. I haven't quite gotten my rhythm back yet, but hopefully I'll hit my stride soon. By the way "rhythm" might be the craziest spelling of a word ever, I actually googled it to make sure my spellcheck wasn't lying to me. And on that note: have some words ...

"not placable" ? really dictionary? thats the best you've got?

or "respect knuckles" for the cool kids

a very classy way to say leftovers

and the superfluous splatter monster.
Okay, off to real work now.

stories to tell ...

2009-08-20T21:23:00.000-07:00

So, I'll start by asking the question I'm sure at least one of you is asking out there: Ten days?! WTF Bilz, did you die or something? Well technically thats two questions, but I'll let it slide. The answer of course is no, but I might have cut it a little closer than I usually like. To put a long story short, mostly because there are parts of it I don't remember, I went out on Saturday to see the greatest band of all time, Arnocorps (and, no, that is not hyperbole, it is in fact the title of there first album). Needless to say libations were consumed, in vast quantities. Which had the interesting side effect of me catching a summer cold. Add to that the three days I owed you out of regular no-excuse-at-hand laziness, and you get the nice round ten days of overdue visualized vocabulary. Apologies all around, I'd like to say that it won't happen again, but that would be a lie, and lying is bad. In any case enjoy your belated vocabulary lesson ...

slapstick, exponent, myopic, goober, prothalamion, harangue, antediluvian, omphalos, and shoestring ...

Personally, I really like how myopic and antediluvian turned out, with omphalos a close third.

avoirdupois ...

2009-08-12T00:37:00.000-07:00

Laziness becomes me ...

2009-08-11T02:15:00.001-07:00

somnolent, berate, thank-you-ma'am, engender, prodigy, catercorner, and qualm. Enjoy.

muckety-muck and such ...

2009-08-04T02:55:00.000-07:00

I like this one, he seems very regal.

A weeks worth of words for your internet perusal. Muckety-muck, condign, propaedeutic, august, pelagic, and fletcher. Enjoy.

archipelago, peregrine, bully pulpit and foist

2009-07-29T03:54:00.000-07:00

By the way, we recently finished the first draft of a major project at work, and I was wondering if I could get some of you to take a look and maybe do some beta testing for us. Nothing too intensive, I promise, just play through the module and then email me your thoughts.

So what is this project? An Opera. kind of. Well, "an interactive animation to teach children about Opera" is probably a better way of putting it. Basically, you are made director of a 12 minute production of "Hansel and Gretel", and you get to make all manner of decisions about how it looks and operates.

If your wondering, I was the illustrator, the animator and one of the programmers on this project. So if I sound a little boastful its only because this thing was my baby for the last couple months. But I definitely couldn't have done it without everyone else at zumwinkle.com

So, without further ado, go check out Design your own Opera. Then if you have a minute let me know what you think at mikebilz (at) yahoo.com, or just leave a comment here on the blog. Thanks.

spiel, catbird seat

2009-07-24T19:05:00.000-07:00

I always though it was "schpiel", but I realize upon typing it that that is far to many consonants in a row to be right.

Lame? Perhaps. Oh, and if anyone out there in the ol' interwebs is counting, these are the 200th and 201st sketches I've completed for this crazy experiment. Quite possibly the longest I have ever actually stuck to New Year's Resolution in my life.

eccentric, kangaroo court

2009-07-23T01:26:00.000-07:00

gadfly...

2009-07-21T02:42:00.000-07:00

Masquerade, you say?

2009-07-19T18:14:00.000-07:00

Indeed, the secret project I mentioned earlier was in fact costumes and masks for a Masquerade. Specifically The Labyrinth of Jareth masquerade ball, and it was bitchin. Imagine a few hundred punks, goths and renaissance faire enthusiasts all got together to hang out in fancy costumes, and your halfway there.

So the sketch above was by costume concept, and somehow my girlfriend made it happen. On top of making her own dress no less. Check it out:

A detail shot of us in the masks

So my contribution to this whole undertaking was the masks. I think they came out pretty good for only spending a couple days on them. The whole look and design of the costumes was inspired by crows, so i took that into the masks as well. I figure we did a pretty good job overall, since people we didn't know were asking to take our picture. I'd say that in general thats a pretty good sign your costume kicks ass.

By the way, I owe you all some sketches. Please enjoy:

(don't know if I properly conveyed the sense of force I was hoping for)

devolve, cowcatcher, verdant ...

excuses will be forthcoming...

2009-07-17T11:36:00.000-07:00

jehu, exculpatory, nictitate, stanch, abstain, parable, fecund, olla podrida, boycott, supersede

So, lets just say I've had a very interesting and active few days, into who's exploits I will delve further when I post todays word sometime this evening. I'll also be posting images from an awesome secret project I was working on with my girlfriend. Okay, not exactly secret, but a project none the less. Till then, enjoy this week-and-a-half's worth of overdue sketches.

lampoon, belvedere, canicular, and atrabilious

2009-07-07T02:09:00.000-07:00

dolorous, regale and irascible

2009-07-03T01:55:00.000-07:00

This ones for the ladies, ah yeah. Sammiches.

prescind...

2009-06-30T01:04:00.000-07:00

portentous...

2009-06-29T00:02:00.000-07:00

It can really only get worse ...

2009-06-27T15:24:00.001-07:00

I refer of course to my steadily slipping punctuality, I will save us both the dishonor of an apology or a promise to get better. In other news, on thursday I went out and saw Luche Vavoom, and it blew my fucking mind! Quite possibly the coolest thing I have seen in a long time, high flying Luchadores AND buxom burlesque dancing girls all hosted by Spongebob Squarepants! It was freaking killer, although the 30 bucks I spent on two drinks was kind of a bummer.

by the way usance, immaculate, hackneyed, scrutinize,and nebula.

more like word of the week ...

2009-06-23T01:14:00.000-07:00

deem, stereotactic, fungible, terrestrial, callow, and rhadamanthine.

Yeah, sorry as always. I never intend to let these stack up like this, but by the same token I'm never really proactive enough to avoid it either. Dilemmas, dilemmas.

confrere, grubstake and elucidate

2009-06-17T03:04:00.000-07:00

chunk-o-stuff ...

2009-06-13T23:26:00.000-07:00

"Sugar High"

So this time around I figured I'd give you the reveal first and the BS excuses second. This piece is a large part of me not posting for the last two weeks, sorry about that by the way. The toughest part of this was just getting a drawing I liked. I scraped four half-finished drawings before I hit upon something I liked.

If your wondering, this piece is for "Candy Coated Canvas" at London Miles Gallery, yes that London. The show will be going up next month, but I had to get it done early so that I can ship it there, hence the rush. I'm really excited to be showing in London, that makes two international showings this year, hopefully next time I'll get to go.

On a separate note, have some doodles: conscientious, wetware, Nimrod, postlude, sinuous, bildungsroman, epithet, officious, inveigh, and anfractuous. Enjoy.

nonpareil, chockablock, erudite, asunder and raillery

2009-06-03T16:13:00.000-07:00

Here you are, the weekends work plus those I missed on the post-vacation vacation.

have some belated stuff ...

2009-05-29T18:50:00.000-07:00

démarche, visceral, purview, and benedict the conqueror. as per usual my computer is debating with me on the spelling of many of these.

"Inspiration"

Plus, have a look at this brand new painting for the Hives next group show. Pretty classy, eh? Look for it next weekend at the Hive, for about $125.

Oh, and I'll be missing the next couple days as I venture northward to Saratoga. Toodles.

superannuated, carouse, madeleine and natatorial

2009-05-25T19:19:00.000-07:00

eXtreme grandpa!

An excellent new word for drinking ...

Sorry, as always, for being late with these. I was down in San Diego celebrating my buddy's graduation, and much carousing was done by all.

parabolic ...

2009-05-22T01:21:00.001-07:00

inviolable ...

2009-05-21T01:55:00.000-07:00

patina farceur ...

2009-05-20T08:49:00.000-07:00

Hooray puns!

Pardon my narcolepsy, I totally had these done last night but passed out on the couch waiting for them to dry.

kirgigaboom ...

2009-05-17T19:37:00.001-07:00

aphorism, mouthfeel, habiliment, obverse, efficacious, sawbuck, and restaurateur. If your wondering why I wrote them out, I actually get a lot of random traffic from people google-ing obscure words like habiliment. Also they're just fun to say. Sorry for the delay, its been mercilessly hot at my apartment which makes me more lazy than usual (which is a staggering concept). Vegas was bitchin' by the way, Phantom may be one of the single coolest things I've ever seen, plus I won some money playing roulette (which I promptly lost the next day playing roulette, but thats beside the point. Hooray vacation!

BRB, gotta get my Vegas on...

2009-05-11T18:25:00.000-07:00

I'm going to Vegas tomorrow, so don't expect new posts for a while. And wheres todays post, you ask? Also in limbo. Don't question it, just believe. Believe in a me, who believes in you.

refluent and scruptious ...

2009-05-10T17:32:00.000-07:00

He's really enjoying that cookie

crucible, equanimity and protocol

2009-05-08T16:19:00.000-07:00

Robots are GO!!!

a juanty collegium at ablution, notice a tantara's decrement

2009-05-05T21:29:00.000-07:00

Yeah, collegium, isn't that one of them there sky-whales I've heard so much about?

Yeah, sorry for the hold up on these. I had a few of these started earlier but just couldn't get them uploaded till today. Also I visited ye olde Renaissance Faire, which was awesome but cost me another day of lateness. You should definitely go though, I think you'd like it.

A long awaited development ...

2009-05-01T14:03:00.000-07:00

So, after years of slacking off and making excuses, I have finally published my new website! So now you can check out all my paintings in one place, without having to wade through throngs of doodles. And even better, the site is super easy to maintain so I'll actually be able to keep it current and up to date! Woot!

So go check out www.mikebilz.com if you haven't already. It's magically delicious!

foozle, dégringolade and perfonctory

2009-04-30T15:44:00.000-07:00

Honestly, one of the most amazing things about this project is that I don't make any of these words up. Foozle is a real word, even if my spell checker disagrees.

hierophant...

2009-04-28T02:40:00.000-07:00

compunction, stalwart and effusive ...

2009-04-27T02:12:00.000-07:00

This last word is amazing. It can mean either "that guy over there is way to happy" or "that thing over there is oozing lava". Fantastic.

Bonapartism ...

2009-04-24T02:52:00.001-07:00

ergonomic and pluvial ...

2009-04-23T03:11:00.000-07:00

By the way, if you missed my epic performance as an audience member is the price is right, you can totally check it out here. Though if your computer is anything like mine, it might be a bit taxing on your system. In any case enjoy, I sure did.

auriferous and cursory ...

2009-04-20T11:06:00.000-07:00

Hello all, I bring you tidings of vocabulary and doodle-sketches. Also I'd like to remind you all that I will be appearing in the audience of The Price is Right on tomorrows broadcast. So be sure to tune in to CBS tomorrow morning at 10am to see me make a complete ass of myself of national television. I shouldn't be hard to spot, I'll be the 6'5" yeti in the bright blue T-shirt flailing my arms like an epileptic octopus (an excellent band name BTW). So yeah, go check that business out, and then post your reactions here if your so inclined. Huzzah!

syncategorematic quip ...

2009-04-18T23:02:00.000-07:00

That is a freaking mouthful. Not to mention its more a term than anything else, not something you could ever really work into a conversation, unless you were an english major or something.

And no, I don't know what the hell this is about. Its kinda fine artsy, i guess.

mulct, inexorable, and raddled ...

2009-04-16T19:21:00.000-07:00

these pens are so awesome, they totally work like watercolor. Very classy.

sylvan and olfactory ...

2009-04-14T00:28:00.000-07:00

I went and saw Tessar Lo's solo show at LeBasse Projects on Saturday. It was pretty bitchin. It made me wanna play with more color in my sketching, as vaguely evident above. I decided to root through some of my older supplies and stumbled upon some waterbased markers, which do all kinds of crazy stuff when you splash some water on them. I also found some crayons, so be on the lookout for that. Kirgigaboom.

nexus ...

2009-04-11T23:58:00.001-07:00

By the way, I added one of those fancy pants blog followers thingies. You should totally add yourself. All the cool kids are doing it.

inculcate ...

2009-04-10T13:49:00.000-07:00

a blandish miasma, a ponderous challah ...

2009-04-09T17:59:00.000-07:00

Bonus nerd points to anyone who knows who this is, and why its funny ...

I had the hardest time figuring out what to paint for challah, so I decided to in the end to paint giant monster toast. Challah kinda sounds like a monster name to me, like godzilla, only in toast form.

xeriscape ...

2009-04-05T21:53:00.000-07:00

the return...

2009-04-04T17:54:00.000-07:00

"Latronis at Play"

Sorry everyone, I've had a rough time getting back into the swing of painting. I took a little time off after my show opened and for some reason it was really hard to get myself back into gear after that. I spent the majority of this week working on the image above as a part of The Hives big anniversary show. Last year some of the Hive's regulars were asked to design themselves an avatar for the fictitious world of Hiveland, and this year we were asked to expand upon our character further with an action scene of love or war. Obviously I chose war.

This painting was actually a lot harder to do than I had originally estimated. I ended up reworking the drawing something like four times to get everything how I wanted it (and even now there are a lot of things I'd like to change). In the end though, doing stuff like this gives me a chance to play with new techniques and ideas. The background for example was a neat trick I found online, where you use plastic wrap to create shapes in paint washes. Plus the blood lasers were a ton of fun to do and actually made me giggle throughout the entire painting process ( although that could have been the sleep deprivation), I love the way blood fires out of wounds like a geyser in samurai films and anime and I thought it was a fun image to use in a painting.

But as you may have guessed, I ended up way behind on my words of the day. On at least one day I have a legitimate excuse (of sorts). On wednesday I went with my girlfriend and a few friends to a live taping of THE PRICE IS RIGHT! which was a world shattering experience. I highly suggest you go if you're ever in the area, sure you have to be in line at like 5:30 in the morning, and tapings not til 1:30, but whatever, you get to be on TV and act like a total spaz which is exactly what I did. Seriously, tune in to the Price is Right on April 21st to see me flail around like a coked up yeti all over your tiny television screen. It should be hilarious.

Anyway, here's all the scrabble-fodder I missed out on this week. My apologies for the delay ...

I should be returning to a more predictable updating pattern shortly, but don't hold your breath.

felicitous ...

2009-03-30T00:41:00.001-07:00

succinctly abide ...

2009-03-28T17:00:00.000-07:00

orotund henotheism...

2009-03-27T02:09:00.000-07:00

deliquesce...

2009-03-24T23:11:00.000-07:00

picaresque truckle...

2009-03-24T00:13:00.000-07:00

ingenuous mantic...

2009-03-21T19:11:00.000-07:00

Hooray, dumb jokes!

claque...

2009-03-19T23:31:00.000-07:00

tah-dah!!!

2009-03-18T23:16:00.000-07:00

So I ended up ten days behind, which gave me quite a bit of work to do today. Fun though. These were a lot more popular than I would have originally expected, people seemed to really get a kick out of them.

By the way the show got a quick write-up on a couple of blogs, so I just wanted to say thanks to everyone at A Sketch Pad Site and Spanky Stokes for all the support. If you know of anyone else posting about the show please post a link in the comments or send me an email so i can thank them as well.

In case you missed it...

2009-03-16T19:32:00.000-07:00

So firstly, I should probably apologize for the whole not posting in a week thing, I've been trying to get my show up and running. Speaking of which here's some pics from the show:

Hanging the show:

We also hung the "Word of the day's" I've been doing this year, which brings the grand total of pieces up to around 72. The "Word of the Day's" are also for sale for a very reasonable $10 bucks a pop, we sold quite a few of them on opening night.

Hanging with the parentiles:

We had quite a crowd as well:

We even sold a few of Ashley's posable 'Trickster' plushies. Here's one happy customer:

So, yeah, if you didn't get a chance to see the show on Saturday do yourself a favor and go check it out, the show will be up until April 8th.

Also expect to see a huge batch of "Word of the Day's" sometime this week as I'm about 8 days behind. Til then I'm enjoying my day off. Toodles.

panoply ...

2009-03-08T22:40:00.000-07:00

babblative, savvy?

2009-03-07T15:13:00.000-08:00

consanguineous ...

2009-03-05T23:45:00.000-08:00

updates and apologies ...

2009-03-04T13:37:00.000-08:00

Okay, I've got an excuse for missing at least one of these but missing two is a little excessive. If you're wondering I missed the first update busting out a 6 foot by 4 foot piece for the Alpha Cult window display. Thats right I said feet. About 10 hours of solid painting got it done, and it looks pretty good for a live painting I came up with on the spot. But in more interesting news ...
The flyer for my show is out! It looks awesome and I can't wait to start passing these out. Check out the roster for this show: Aaron Kraten, Asia Eng, Bill 13:11 McEvoy. Brandon Sopinsky, Chuck BB, Gideon Boomer, NC Winters, the Prince of Cake, and Will Weigand. I can't wait.
Plus, you can has MERCH!! There will be pins and postcards given away to the first 150 or so who ask, and super-limited-edition poseable 'Trickster' plushies made by my awesome Girlfriend Ashley. I'm thinking these will go fast so you may want to get there early. Woot!

banyan day ...

2009-03-01T20:10:00.000-08:00

equivocal ...

2009-02-28T00:54:00.000-08:00

crambo ...

2009-02-26T23:10:00.000-08:00

lambent ...

2009-02-25T23:01:00.000-08:00

"A Future We'd Forgotten"

Woot! Although it took a bit longer than I'd originally planned I've finally got this piece in the bag. I'm still gonna try and crush out a couple more paintings in the last couple weeks before the show opens. We'll see how that goes.

imprimatur and dithyramb...

2009-02-24T18:13:00.000-08:00

kablamo!

eponymous, utmost, etc...

2009-02-22T17:32:00.000-08:00

paroemiologist ...

2009-02-20T23:55:00.000-08:00

askance ...

2009-02-19T23:52:00.001-08:00

scaramouch...

2009-02-18T18:22:00.000-08:00

You know, like in Queen's 'Bohemian Rhapsody': Scaramouch, Scaramouch, will you do the fandango! Which is now playing on a loop inside your head, your welcome.

an Augean stable of catachresis ...

2009-02-17T21:46:00.000-08:00

When in doubt, draw pikachu.

peroration ...

2009-02-15T22:56:00.000-08:00

belated ...

2009-02-14T14:46:00.001-08:00

Ironically enough, one of the few images I get in at a reasonable hour. Happy Valentine's day internet.

fructuos ...

2009-02-13T23:41:00.001-08:00

emancipation ...

2009-02-12T22:35:00.000-08:00

rebarbative sciolism ...

2009-02-11T18:31:00.000-08:00

Sciolism is an amazingly ironic word to put in a "Word of the Day" calender, since its sole purpose is to superficially boost one's vocabulary and thereby help one win bragging rights in scrabble.

hew ...

2009-02-09T19:23:00.001-08:00

not to be confused with hue ...

scarify the pococurante ...

2009-02-08T23:22:00.000-08:00

Some of these words are almost aggressively obtuse, as if they're challenging us to shoe-horn them into a conversation. I'm not even sure I can intelligently pronounce 'pococurante', which by the way my computer's auto-corrector assures me is spelled obscurantists.

Though I'm sure your sick of receiving them, I will again extend an apology for missing yesterdays word. So here is a photo of the piece currently on the table. I just finished the background this evening.