Today was a productive day all around. I finished one Mighty Lark piece, drew up another, and started four small bird portraits that Susan of Artstream Studios requested. I am very pleased with all five drawings that I worked up today.
I have frames for all of these. They are small, about 3″ by 4.5″.
And this is the next Mighty Lark piece that I started. I hope to finish it tomorrow before I go to the restaurant. Let me know what you think.
peace
Mike
Apparently people really like the Mighty Lark. I was told that the “Return of the Mighty Lark” was my most popular piece at my last show, and the other pieces that I have produced incorporating the Mighty Lark have been very successful as well. So what am I going to do about it?
I decided if it was the Mighty Lark that people want the Mighty Lark they will get. So here is the first piece that I’ve produced and I will have more to post later today.
Titled “Dancing with Myself”. Thanks Billy Idol. Have a good day folks.
peace
Mike
I’ve been working at figuring out what to do with my October show for months. In the beginning it seemed like such an easy idea, birdhouses made to look like buildings from across the world, but after two shows that didn’t say much thematically, I was getting burnt on painting more eye candy. That is not to say that I don’t like my paintings from earlier this year, but they didn’t have as much meat as I’d like.
I was toying with creating maps, Sims style, and pointing out where the birds would live in the town, but realized that that was more about human dwellings than the bird dwellings. I wasn’t making any metaphors there. So finally last night, I figured out that I was going to make very large paintings of trees, serve as imagery representing caste and social status. Then I will hang paintings of birds with their birdhouses over top.
The homeless birds, those living in mechanical and abandoned industrial sites, will be at the bottom, followed by shanty towns of birdhouses, middle class home birdhouses, luxury condo houses, and mansion type houses.
Here are a couples sketches I came up with last night, one for the homeless level and the other for a luxury condo:
I want to make these homeless paintings a little dark, kind of in a Camille Rose Garcia vein.
The top levels I want to be really bright, and idealistic.
The idea may have some holes, but it’s a step in the right direction, so I’m feeling pretty good about it. I’ll have some more sketches soon, now that I know what I’m doing.
peace
Mike
This month has been a little stressful, emotionally and also artistically. It looks like I will be leaving NH for about two months to either Minneapolis or Seattle, or perhaps I will stay and relocate to North Conway for the summer, but either way, I need a couple months alone to finish some work for the two upcoming shows. Too many distractions.
I attempted to rock out the Doodle Off this month, but the creative juices were on severe pause after the last two shows. Still managed about seventy five drawings, though I do need to post those.
All in all, things are shaping up a bit better. I’m starting to make some better drawings and that makes me feel a bit better about the situation. So here goes.
Just for fun:
I have been really into my refurbishing project that I started this month. An old school Peugeot that I am making into a single speed. So I thought the Mighty Lark should get his own single speed. That way he won’t beg me to ride mine.
Susan at Artstream Studios, where my October show is, asked me to put together some more of the small portrait pieces that I was working on last fall, so I worked up a couple sketches for that.
Gotta find some frames, but it may be a good way to get going a little more. Soon I’ll have some more sketches and whatnot up from the upcoming shows.
til then
peace
Mike
It has been a couple weeks since my show has been sent out to Cali, and now I am feeling well rested and ready to move onto the other projects that are waiting on my plate.
I am hanging in the Incredible Print Show at Artstream Studios. You can purchase my prints at Artstream’s online exhibition here. The online gallery at The Hive Gallery also has my work up. My paintings are #38-45. You can check them out here.
I have also started working on the Doodle off Competion. Which can be seen here. The image above is one of my drawings for the blog. The winner of the competition is the first to reach 150 drawings. I’m off to a slow start, but anyone who hits a hundred drawings makes the book and I think I can definitely still do that. It all has to be done by the 1st of June. Wish me luck.
I will have some more work up soon. I need to get going on my show for October.
Look back often.
Ciao,
Mike
I finished. Yesterday it did not seem possible, and now I really have to wonder how I was ever able to stay up all night trying to finish things. The only thing that I can come up with is youth, or maybe that I just didn’t care as much about the quality of my paints. I don’t really know now.
But here are two updated pieces and one which you have not seen at all.
“I Hear you Knockin’ “. Titled after Little Richard’s song. This one has come a long way since it began. Last night I just started trying to use my paint up on the surface and it started getting really thick, and before I knew it, I was just painting, and I wasn’t paying much attention to the subject anymore. This was a pleasure to work up.
“Initiation of the Young”. Not as much contrast in this piece as I might have liked, because I got a little carried away with the color. As it stands though, I’m pretty well satisfied with it.
“On my doorstep, Singing Sweet Songs”. Couldn’t help the Bob Marley reference, because as I was finishing this piece and looking out the window, Three little birds just popped in, stay puff marshmallow man style.
Hope everyone has an awesome day in the sun. Take care.
-Mike
Having trouble breaking out today. I’ve got one more show of birds and bird houses here, and the paintings are looking awesome. I’m amped on them, but mainly because I am pushing my color back to where it once was, (on the brighter side that is), and trying to be a little less anal with my brush strokes. I don’t want Murray Tinkleman finding me and telling me that I’ve already gotten constipated. FYI Tinkleman was one of my college professors, and he was awesome.
I’m making progress, but nothing is really done yet. This one is close, and is breaking up some of my stuffiness. Let me know the ol’ thoughts folks.
I’ve got three others that I am tag-teaming with this one. So expect more posts later today. We’re rolling British Bulldogs or Demolition style. Consider me Ax.
Peace
-Mike
I made it up for work after the long night of painting and I even had time to scan in the second piece that I have been working on for the Hive. I’ve been using color a little bit more unabashedly on this show. It feels very satisfactory to be using pinks and yellows. Back to the frosting paintings that my friends and I would talk about in college.
Here’s the newest. It needs a little bit more work, but not much I don’t think.
I’m also quite a fan of the bulls eye headphone look. Let me know what you think. I’ll be posting more very soon.
peace
-Mike
I got home from work tonight and started to tear up my panel. I don’t know what got into me. Maybe it is my deadline, which is fast approaching. I am not really sure. All I know is that after the Seattle trip I have zilch time to finish up this show, so I am so stoked that I had all of the drawings out on panel.
So today I finished one, and got almost there. Unfortunately, right now I’m exhausted and have only scanned in one of the two. I’ll try to drag myself out of bed tomorrow and scan the other. It’s in pieces, so not as simple as some. But until then here is the first one that I rocked out today.
I hope you like it. Definitely a little bolder than some of the stuff for Blue Bottle.
It’s titled “Up on the Roof”, though I was not listening to the Drifters during its creation. Rather a bit of symphonic metal from the Sword. Have a good one folks.
peace
-Mike
Today I threw together my first ever real digital painting of a drawing. Nothing complicated, just a little color on a sketch that I had put together the other day. Thought it actually came out pretty strong.
Going to Seattle for the week. Be back soon.
peace
Mike