Stocking Stuffers and Reefer Progress (good riddance 2009!)

Wow, its only been two weeks and yet it seems like much longer since I posted. Its kinda funny reading the last post because it feels so "pre-blizzard 2009"...Ah, those were more innocent times...

The snowpocolypse did not diminish the amount of work to be done, just the number of days that said work would be done in the scene shop. So, I was able to plow ahead on the preliminary designs for Producers...it is all in the very early stages right now, so there is not much to share, but at least we have weighed anchor and are sailing in a direction...

A few days before Christmas Haze called me and asked if I would make some "stocking stuffer sized" paintings for Trish. So, naturally, I obliged. He gave me carte blanche...so I hope that she likes Robots, monkeys and the occasional dinosaur.

Stocking stuffer paintings for Christmas 2009
0110010!, Fire Breathing Robot, Aviator Monkey
4"x5" each, Acrylic on Board

After Christmas I hosted Scenery Appreciation Nite for Carrie Potter and Christmas Twist. Thank you all for coming out. I know that many folks were away for the holidays, so hopefully there will be a few more attendees for High Fidelity in February...

KT's parents were in town for the better part of this past week...its always a good thing to see them around the holidays, and I think that they really like it here in DC

In an effort to make up for the shop being closed, we have started to hit the Reefer scenery hard this week. Tonight, we finished the "propaganda panels" that are the "legs" for the show...

Reefer Madness the Musical, "propaganda panels"

This show loads in a week from Friday, so I should have some decent photos for you next week (and perhaps a Scenery Appreciation Night date) so, Stay tuned!

All in all, I don't think I have the energy or brainpower left to analyse the past year...lets just say that I am extremely hopeful for 2010! Happy New Year!

Scenery Appreciation Night Announced!

I dont normally wait until Friday to do my weekly blog entry, and the fact that I am writing just a few hours away from the SNOWPOCALYPSE has given me a weird sense of impending doom...lets just hope that is not my final entry...

Its true, I've officially announced the Scenery Appreciation Night for both Carrie Potter and the New Moon Prom and Christmas Twist. I will be hosting a double feature (seeing both shows) on Saturday December 26th. So, please email me if you wish to attend (I will hook you up with a special "SAN" discount!)

I have some lovely pics from last weekend's Santarchy I'd like to share:

Yours truly, moments before the Santas stormed the Washington monument...

KT as Rude-olf

Apparently we need longer arms for shots like these...

Santa rocks a man-purse in front of the Department of energy...

Unfortunately, I was only able to finish one painting for the Dirty Show application on Tuesday. So, I sent Sweet Science through the interwebz to be exposed to a jury of sickos in Detroit...I hope that they find the dirtiness that I originally intended...

Sweet Science
Acrylic on board, 16" x 20"

lastly, I've been in discussions with some of the tilted torch folks about a show that they are putting on in late March called Illuminopolis...its going to be an all "lights, fire and glow-in-the-dark" themed show. They asked me to work on a backdrop for them...here are my initial thoughts in sketchbook form:

CARRIE POTTER and CHRISTMAS TWIST OPEN!

You are the type of kid that wanted to open his Christmas presents the second they appeared beneath the tree, aren't you? If you are one of those kids, then you are positively going to be tortured by the gift ArtbyJared is going to be giving you this year. Cant wait, you say? You wanna know right now? Okay, but it will spoil the surprise if I tell you...Okay then, here you go:

December 26th.

That's right, December 26th is going to be an extra special X-Mass-ey DOUBLE FEATURE heapin' helping of Scenery Appreciation Night! Landless has cooked up two lovin' spoonfuls of Holiday goodness, Christmas Twist and Carrie Potter at the New Moon Prom...and I am hosting almost FOUR HOURS of wall to wall Christmas frakin' cheer! So, get your tickets here before they sell out!

I like how the 26 is right below "Naughty"...

Dont take my word for it, check out Christmas twist in the Express!

What can you expect to see when you come to Scenery Appreciation Nite? Well, you've seen the design for Carrie Potter...but I don't want to give too much away about Twist, so I will only share with you the design for the backdrop:

"London" Backdrop for Christmas Twist
12'x12' Painted Muslin

I wanted this backdrop to double as part of Carrie Potter (you know, that part of town in the potter universe that is in that magic alley?...) but they get to Hogwarts pretty fast in the script, so it will just have to serve as a Dickensian backdrop of olde London Towne....and no, you cretins, that is not the US capitol building...its St. Paul's...you know, Christopher Wren...but it is good to know that could double for a particularly quaint part of Southwest DC in a pinch...

Slowly but surely progress is being made on Reefer Madness...This week has been largely about creating the "anti-marijuana propaganda poster" style flats. Here are some examples of the designs thus far:

DS Right Color Sketch US right Color Sketch

These babys are 14' high and 4' wide...so hopefully they will make the right statement...

And Finally, I have a progress report on the Dirty Show entries. I started to work in earnest on the Sweet Science painting...Its translating relatively directly, but I have been trying to concentrate on making it sorta "ashcan school" because of the boxing theme (and, for that matter, the horror theme of a re-animated "bride of Frankenstein" zombie) So, what you see here is a "knocked back" version...i.e. I painted the whole thing and then did a transparent burnt umber glaze to make everything darker and unify the whole painting...so this should be the darkest it will ever be...all that's left is doing all of the highlights!

Progress on "Sweet Science"
16"x20" Acrylic on Pannel

One of the joys of being in a time crunch is that I seem to make some of my best work when I am procrastinating (or watching paint dry). While I was waiting for the first coats of paint to dry on Sweet Science, I knocked out this little guy with the leftover paint in my palette. I kinda like him, and is certainly a good start for another (non Dirty Show) daredevil monkey painting...

Rocket Monkey
10"x8" Acrylic on pannel