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Blatch 14 Redux

A commissioned re-creation of the cover of Blatch 14– It’s been almost exactly 20 years since I did the first one, and it was very odd and enjoyable revisiting this art! For a look at the 1989 version, check out this scan on Len Callo’s comicartfans gallery–

Eyeball Fatigue Opening Night Photos

Wall Of Sound has posted a nice Flickr set of photos by Mark Sullo from my Eyeball Fatigue artshow opening night shindig on January 9– I was humbled by the fine selection of Seattle luminaries who showed up– That’s a grinning Charles Krafft (and some unknown long-haired freeloader) in the shot above– Big thanks to Jeff, Michael, and whoever donated the 2 Grolsch mini kegs!

Elvis Presley

Pen & ink portrait of ’68 era Elvis Presley for the annual music issue of Oxford American magazine– Buy the ink original here

Alice Coltrane

Commissioned pen and ink portrait of harpist Alice Coltrane– Get a poster print off this portrait here

XNO’s Newave! Cover (color by Jim B.)

Brownfield Press/Starhead Comix guru Michael Dowers asked me to add color to XNO’s splendid black & white art for his mini comix collection Newave!, and it was a pleasure– This book is out now from Fantagraphics–

Ike Turner

A commissioned pen & ink portrait of the great Ike Turner– I had the privilege of seeing Ike live at the Experience Music Museum in Seattle shortly before he died, and the man could definitely still shred on a guitar at age 70–

Bear In Water

A pen & ink piece I did as a Christmas gift for my folks– 

Charles Bukowski

A painting of writer Charles Bukowski which hung at Greg Lundgren’s cozy “art bar” The Hideout in Seattle for a year or so– Acrylic on hardboard, 40 X 40 inches–

Pharoah Sanders

A commissioned pen & ink portrait of saxophone master Pharoah Sanders– This art was done for Richy Boyer, who plays drums in the band Police Teeth, and who used to run a great punk rock record store in Bellingham, WA called Viva La Vinyl–

Anna Nicole Smith

A pen & ink portrait of Anna Nicole Smith which appeared on the cover of Seattle alternative weekly The Stranger–

It Was Fifteen Years Ago Today…

Of all the pranks I’ve been involved with, the one I’m most proud of is attaching the 700 pound ball and chain to the Hammering Man in front of the Seattle Art Museum on Labor Day, 1993 (That’s me with my arms raised above my head in the photo)– I was good friends with Jason Sprinkle and Rob Shealy, who built the giant ball and chain, and when Jason asked if I would help “install” his inspired creation, I gladly agreed– We did a practice installation without the ball in Seattle’s Ravenna neighborhood the day before, and when it came time to do the real thing, it went very smoothly– Jason Sprinkle went on to create many other giant metal sculptures and illegally install them in downtown Seattle, and I helped with a few of those, too– Sadly, Jason was killed by a freight train in Mississippi in 2005– There should be a book, movie, or website documenting all his work, but unfortunately it hasn’t happened, yet– For more info, here’s an article from The Seattle P.I.

Flaming Skull

This painting appeared at my Class Of ’06 show in Bellingham– Acrylic on 20 X 20 inch hardboard– Get a small diecut sticker here

The Dt’s Hard Fixed Poster Art

This art appeared on a fold-out poster for the Hard Fixed CD by my wife’s band, The DT’s– Yes, it’s a total cop of R. Crumb’s Cheap Thrills LP cover– More at The Dt’s Facebook page

Bruce Lee

Commissioned painting of Bruce Lee– Acrylic on 40 X 40 inch stretched canvas–

Freddie King

Commissioned graphite portrait of blues guitar monolith Freddie King–

Duke Kahanamoku

Commissioned graphite portrait of celebrated Hawaiian surfer, Olympic swimmer, sheriff, and Hollywood character actor Duke Kahanamoku–

Slim Pickens

Commissioned pen & ink portrait of Slim Pickens–

Thirsty Pig Vs. Rocket Dog

It’s nice to get a postcard from S. Clay Wilson– They are always funny, weird, and impeccably lettered– The latest one he sent is the above photo of a pig flying through the air (He added the beer mug sticker)– The reason he sent it is because the pig reminded him of my Smooth Fox Terrier, Lucius, whom he dubbed “Rocket Dog” after seeing him soar off my backyard deck–

Zappa Comix No. 1

A fake comic cover featuring Frank Zappa with the fabled Fender Stratocaster once owned (and smashed!) by Jimi Hendrix– This art was created at the behest of Len “Shavin’ Rosie O’Donnell’s Back” Callo, whose choice and diverse collection of comic art can be seen at his gallery on the ComicArtFans website— Buy a poster print of this art here

Bikini Irony 101

The good folks at John Wiley & Sons, an Australian publisher, have seen fit to include an illustration from my Glam Warp book in Retrospective, their latest 11th grade History textbook! The art is used to illustrate a chapter on nuclear testing in the Pacific islands– It even includes a sidebar question in which students can expound on the “message” of the artist– What a wacky world!

New Paintings At Tigertail March 4 – May 4

I’m delighted to be showing over a dozen new paintings on stretched canvas at Seattle’s Tigertail bar and Pan-Asian eatery– The show will be called Emblema Psychopathia and will have a 2 month run from March 4 through May 4– Tigertail was founded in late 2007 by my pals Carl Carlson, who ran Seattle lowbrow gallery Vox Populi, and Tim Hayes, ex-proprietor of Fallout Records— Their new bar is very swank yet comfy and located at 704 NW 65th Street, in Seattle’s Ballard neighborhood–

Django Reinhardt

A commissioned pencil portrait of mythic Belgian jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt–

John Chandler From The Young Savages

A commissioned graphite portrait of character actor John Davis Chandler from the John Frankenheimer film The Young Savages– 

Camilo Cienfuegos

A commissioned portrait of Cuban revolutionary Camilo Cienfuegos, who swung with both Che and Fidel, and died in a mysterious plane crash– Acrylic on hardboard, 8 X 18 inches– For more on Cienfuegos, see his Wikipedia page

Young Jamie Johns In Squiggles

I get asked to do portraits of people’s children a lot– As a general rule, I turn them down– But I couldn’t resist this request from my main man in Sunderland, U.K., Jamie Johns, who sent the childhood photo from the 70’s that this art is based on–

Fred Bradna

A commissioned pencil portrait of Fred Bradna, the Equestrian Director and Ringmaster of the Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Circus for over 40 years–

Les Barany’s Carnivora

I’m stoked to be part of Les Barany’s ambitious Carnivora book and traveling art show– The subject of this project is “the dark art of automobiles”– The Carnivora book will be published by Scapegoat Publishing and the art show will debut January 12, 2007 during the International Auto Show at the ©Pop Gallery in Detroit– The roster of 92 artists includes H.R. Giger, Anthony Ausgang, Robert Crumb, Frank Kozik, Coop, Glenn Barr, Mark Motherbaugh, Stanley Mouse, Zdzislaw Beksinski, and Trevor Brown– I’ll have 3 pieces in the book, and 2 pieces in the art show–

 
 

My Work Lair In Panoramic VR

Bradford Bohonus takes richly detailed panoramic photographs of all sorts of things, including Northwest artists in their studios– The photos can be viewed with Quicktime or Flash on Bradford’s website, and you can navigate around the photo in any direction using your mouse and an on-screen cursor– It’s a total trip to play with and I must say a little terrifying to have such a precise 360 degree photo of my work space up on the web for all to see! Back off, man! This technology is very cool and so is Mr. Bohonus–

Bob Dylan 1965

A pen & ink portrait of Bob Dylan I did for the 2007 Music Issue of Oxford American magazine— Get a poster print of this portrait here

Billy Joe Shaver

Commissioned graphite portrait of Billy Joe Shaver– Get a giclée print of this portrait here