A Permanent Statement

 

tattooed by Lastman

Drawing Beneath The Skin

Here's the rundown on my new drawing class:

Drawing Beneath The Skin is an intensive six week drawing class exploring the anatomy of the human figure. Students will learn the skeletal structure and surface muscles that are essential to the accurate depiction of the body. Each session will focus in depth on a different section of the body such as the head, hand and feet, or torso. Technical instruction will be provided, and sessions will primarily focus on drawing directly from live models. The study of anatomy is a time-honored tradition, and the basis of a strong drawing foundation. This is the perfect class for a beginner artist who is ready to work hard on an expertise in the human figure, or experienced artists who wants to brush up on their skills.

All necessary drawing materials are provided.

The class will meet Monday nights July 27-August 31 from 6-9 PM at Evocal, 814 W 19th St. Costa Mesa.

Space is limited.  Click here to Learn more and register now!

www.drawingbeneaththeskin.co.nr/

Medical Illustrations

Here are a few Atherosclerosis illustrations I did for Dr. Jeff Brown (http://jeffreybrownmd.com) showing the coronary arteries, build-up of plaque, plaque rupture, and blood clot.  My Role in Dr. Brown's project is to create visual aids that he can use to educate about the development of disease and the internal processes relating to illness.  His mission of patient empowerment is a really interesting and important outreach from the medical community to the general population.  Educational programs like this which help people understand what's going on internally can really help improve their understanding of a healthy lifestyle and the proper way to care for themselves for the prevention and treatment of illness.

Orange Element

"The Orange Element"

Commission for Orange Element Design - Fells Point, Baltimore, MD

A lot of people wonder about about my process, so I took some time to document the stages of the recently completed commission above, which I did for the office of the Orange Element Design Firm.

First I get started with a handful of small, loose sketches to start working out the composition.  This client really responded to the style I was primarily using in 2007 like "Steping out" and "Hammer Head" with tight, flat line work and dense, stream of conciseness imagery.  This style was influenced by tattoo design and closely linked to the ink illustrations I was doing at the time.  He also liked the use of maritime and marine imagery in pieces like "Rome" and "Getting Her Sea Legs" so I had an idea of what direction to go.

There were more sketched than the above 2, but they were the ones with which I started to hone in the design I was looking for.  These sketches are about 6x6 inches.  Once I had a concrete idea of what I'm going to do, I sketched out the composition full scale, 36 x 36" on the fabric surface in chalk.  Next I srart bleaching in the contour lines of the design.

Once I had all the lines in, I gave the central clownfish a touch of of orange dye.  Next I stopped by the office to see how the work in progress looked in the space, a 19th century row house that had been adapted into a modern place of business.

I took the piece back to my studio to lay in some tonal washes to make the imagery pop... and we're done!  Check out the detail images below:

If you're looking for something to hang in your home or office, don't waste your money on a movie poster or some nonsense from the mall.  Get real art from real artists.  Commissions anytime, email: will@killmecomix.com

Commencement

MICA Commencement Exhibition 2009

Groove Kings

Album Art - A design field that literally requires a synesthetic  approach.

This work is for Montreal based Groove Kings.  Working with these very talented and professional musicians was a great experience - a meeting of creative energy through which I built the visual counterpart to their music.  The album, Blood Red, is their first release in a number of years - Powerful song writing, top-notch vocals and production - I highly recommend you check it out!  Official release is June 2009 - Website is www.groovekings.ca

CD Design is as much about creating an object as it is about creating images.  We used a tri-fold digipak design, an environmentally friendly package that holds lyrics and covers.  Here are some images showing what you might experience opening up your CD.....

Life Drawing Oil sketches

Here are a few oil sketches, and one ink sketch, from some of the last sessions of the Life Drawing I've been moderating in Baltimore.  These are 20 to 40 minute poses.  

   

Subliminal messages

I sit down, with nothing in front of me, and begin to paint.  I'm starting with abstract gestural motions and picking out the forms they suggest.  Like a rorschach test, this is a method of projecting the subconscious.  How much of what you see in there is me, and how much is you?

Tattoo Studies...

4 Horsemen

A 26x36" Bleach after Dürer's woodcut.  

Car Crashes

Oil on Paper 18x24"

Oil on Paper 18x24"

Oil on Paper 9x12"

ink 8x10"

ink 8x10"

Create:Fixate

Join me for Create:Fixate June 27, 2009 in downtown LA (613 Imperial St., LA, CA 90013)   

30+ Awsome LA artists breathing life back into the West Coast fine arts

I'll have lots of little treats there for people who want some bleachy goodness to take home and love.

Visit CreateFixate.com for details...

By the way... Does anyone remember the Avanti tabletop project way back in 2007?  Never posted them on the net until now.  Here's a small sampling of those medium scale bleach pieces... The entire body of work got broken up and devoured bit by bit the public over the last 2 years, but some of these are still available.  Just click to enlarge:

   9/TV/11 (sold)                               Front (sold)                      Cosmic Jellyfish

Anarchist Astronaut (sold)                Archioptryx                   dollface

And some more recent pieces.....

  

Thought pattern 18x18"   and  Tattoo Venus 16x20"