Skotopoi.com

Full story here.

This story’s awful and just a little bit funny. I’d get burned pretty badly if I posted a comment on their page saying it was funny, but I’ve seen a lot of crappily pirated stuff in my time; and a publisher making a book from nothing but low-res web graphics and trying to sell it for $100 amuses me. That said, it’s awful that the artists involved have no real recourse at this time - the bookstores carrying the book have, as of this writing, refused to take the books off the shelves.

I said I’d post something today. I don’t know whether I like the overall colors better than the straight inked version, but it was a fun little sketch, and I enjoyed playing fast and dirty with photoshop, even if I didn’t do anything grand. Let me know what you think!

Just added a bit more texture. Maybe it’s getting somewhere. I’ll know when I’m done.

Sorry I haven’t put up any new art lately. I will soon. I just started a loose, quick pencil to brush pen thing that I’ll hopefully post tomorrow; but my hands were becoming unsteady rather too quickly to get it done in one go.

I worry that I’m not cut out for this at times; what does it say about an artist that he has to stop mid-drawing because of his unsteady hands?

I was just reading someone else’s thoughts on being unable to commit. On being a pussy. And while it’s something I worry about, I think I’m ok with never quite feeling that I’m on “the path”. Being sure of who you are and where you’re going is a precursor to personal rigidity and the kind of harsh, steely strength that turns pillars among men into, well, assholes.

(I’ve had a theory for a while now that the laws of the prophets can basically be summed up thus: don’t be an asshole.)

The point is, I hate myself sometimes for doubting even my most cherished goals and wishes. Maybe I won’t manage to realize any of the dreams I’ve had so far. My inability to commit fully to a goal may be the same bastard cynic part of me that fails to commit to another person.

I’m proud to live in this middle ground. This is freedom from all security and stricture taken to a ridiculous extreme.

Don’t mean to let these posts take on such solemn tones. I’ll put up a fun deep sea diver tomorrow…

Granted, it was bound to be a polarizing show; but still, I am all for freedom of speech. I just disagree with the content”? Really?

Read http://www.metroland.net/back_issues/vol31_no11/art_murmur.html.

On a side note, a silly drawing I did for a friend who plays music here in Austin made it onto his show flier. My friend Alicia’s using it as her profile pic for now, so have a look.

Finished another round of revisions. The revisions were really light this time, so I’m not going to bother reposting anything here but the link to threadless. I’m feeling fairly good about it.

And I think I’ve figured out what my next personal, blog driven project will be - a customized igoogle theme.

And my website is almost done transitioning to a new server so i can start work on that can of worms.

Really content-light blog today. This weekend was Staple Independent Media Expo (read comic convention), and, although I shot myself in the foot by being hung over and irritable Saturday, I did manage to meet a few really cool creators.

Notably Paul Maybury, who lives in Austin and whose book, Aqua Leung, comes out on April 9th (I think). It’s pretty. Also Nikki Cook, who has a book coming out sometime with Brian Wood called Dog’s Day End.

All this by way of saying, it’s embarrassing bitching about losing eight pages of work to people who turn out to make beautiful art like a kids eating candy. I’m sure it’s hard work for them too, but wow. So I’m trying to get back to writing this afternoon, and it reminds me how much I miss being in school and having some guidance. I need to find a writing group and join some live drawing classes.

Did this yesterday, afternoon/evening. I was a little frustrated with some of the drawbacks of speed painting. For instance, I painted a lot of really thick wet into wet, so it’s going to take forever to dry and any mistakes I made (there are plenty) are going to be immortalized in big, raised brush strokes. Probably could’ve avoided it if I were a better painter, but still, overall, I’m happy with it. I’m hoping to get it over to Austin Figurative Gallery in time for inclusion in their self portrait show. The show automatically admits anyone who brings a painting, so I don’t get any special bragging rights there; but it’ll be a good way to meet some local artists.

Here’s what I’m working on right now. It won’t be too fancy, it’s on a pretty crappy particle board surface and not primed very well, but it’s good practice. I’m going to put up the occasional WIP.

Help me polish up my design!

I’d like this to be my first real Threadless submission, but I want to give it a serious workout on the critiques page. So head over to the critique and let me know what you think!

Here’s the exact same image you’ll find there…