The Stuff Dremo's are made of...

I would like to first apologise to a few (really, very few) people who were not included in my (rant induced) list of subscribers. There. Are you happy, Mom?

Anyway, on to this weeks wrap up. On Friday, I had a preliminary meeting with a representative from the Spooky Action Theatre Company. They are attempting to adapt the classic sci-fi book Lathe of Heaven into a play. Unfortunately, they are not finished with the adaptation as of yet, and there seemed to be some infrastructure issues with the group. It actually made me cringe a bit, but I actually said "no" to a project, for once. (well it was "maybe", but I doubt that I will ever see the completed script)

In preparation for my painting classes, I decided to get a new paintbox. Having to schlep my oil paints around has always been a real drag for me, but I thought I could bolster my enthusiasm for the class by getting a fresh new paintbox...well I'm here to tell ya, they don't make em like they used ta. I just don't understand why the selection is so small for paintboxes. The way I figure it, there are hundreds of thousands of people taking painting classes every semester. Why are we all forced to all use the same shoddily built pine paintboxes? I give the one I got until mid March until it falls apart...

The Counter Cultural festival went off pretty well on Saturday. While sales were not brisk, they were decent. I was in the odd position of finding that I had some of the most expensive stuff there...Anyway, it was a chance to meet the fine folks of DC Conspiracy, and many other great artists. One of the disappointments of the evening was having to break down our booths at 7pm. I realize that it was to give the bands a chance to play, but I think that many folks were there strictly to shop and drink...and as I have said before, my stuff gains an audience when people are drinking (they suddenly connect with all the pink elephant paintings...)

Closeup shot of my wares at the Counter Culture Festival
Dr. Dremo's, Arlington VA

I am so lucky to have some of the best sales and marketing teams on the planet, KT and Jaya

After that we stopped by Flux. It really reminded me of a Detroit opening, with the grungy "found" space and the attempts at sound art...it felt like any moment the place was going to become a rave (sometimes I miss Detroit)

On Sunday I had a production meeting at Hexagon's shop where I unveiled this design for the "kick":

Kick Scenery sketch Hexagon
Pencil Sketch, Photoshop

It's a retread of scenery that they have laying around the shop. Some of the painters (and carpenters) have been getting nervous about the amount of things to left to do, so I tried to make the kick scenery as simple as possible while still maintaining the directors vision of "smoke and mirrors" and "the center of a carousel". Using real mirrors on stage is kinda a nightmare, so I have limited the number of them to just 6 Ikea mirrors. The rest of the "mirrors" will be CD's glued to the yellow strips...with enough light bouncing off of it, the number should look pretty cool.

One of the things that was accomplished on Saturday was the declaration by the carpenters that the carts are done. That is, the carpenters have finished making the pieces of the carts, so the painters can paint them. These are photos of one of the prototype carts.

"Mock up"of one of five circus carts at the Hexagon Scene ShopThis will be the most assembled any of the five carts will get until we load into the theater. Notice the "fleur" on the bases of the uprights...imagine a whole lot more of that...

There has been movement forward on the Art in Heat show. We have been able to secure the services of Lobsterboy, and will attempt to make his show a major part of what is fast becoming a mini-festival...We are very close to having a graphic for preliminary postcards too. You loyal readers of BTT will be the first to see the graphics when they ready.

I apologise for not having photos of the progress on my Portrait Painting Class, but I have forgotten to take pictures of it every night this week. I'll do a twofer next week!

And lastly, as I write these words, Rep Stage's production of Two by Pinter opens, bringing to a close the nightmare that building and painting that monster was. I look forward to my check, and my mornings back.

Corcoran Mondays

So, my interview with the MICA folks only went so-so. They just don't seem to "get it" there. I was told as much, actually. They said that they "didn't know what to make of my theater work", and couldn't visualize where my work would go. That in combination with the fact that when the "mentors" look at the candidates, they would choose people who they think that they could work with (read "This guy is too much of a pain in the ass because he doesn't fit our expectations, or fit into our mold of what an artist should become, and taking him on would be too much work for me") What I took away from this meeting was that if I wanted to be accepted into their program, I would need to: Drop the theater work, become less "design" oriented, and provide more emotion in my work...I am really starting to think that the benefits of the structure of this program are not worth sacrificing my identity, process and treasure (60k is no laughing matter!)

But exposition on why grad school sucks is not why I am writing this blog, and its not how to keep my three subscribers reading every week (hi Scott, Sara and Greg!) perhaps I should shoot myself and just get it over with.... :)

On the positive front, I started my Continuing Education classes at the Corcoran on Monday. The first class is "14 Paintings in 14 weeks"...which is an ironic title, since we did not paint on the first week...perhaps I will have to paint two paintings in one week in order to catch up!

The second class of the day is "Academic Portrait Painting", in which we at least drew. Below is the product of the first day of class. Academic Portrait Painting, First Session. Charcoal on Canvas.

This model sat down and immediately cast her eyes at my easel. She then seemed to find it hard to keep her eyes open...so that is why she looks kinda sleepy while kinda confrontational...I tried to take a cameraphone picture of her at the end of class (to compare my drawing to) but she insisted that I would have to pay her for 2 hours of modeling if I take a picture. I told her that "If I'm paying for two hours, I'm going to put her in a pose that I want". The next step is to spray fixative, and then paint on top of the charcoal. I'll send along more shots as the painting progresses...

And Finally, Please come out to Dr. Dremo's in Arlington for the Counter Cultural Festival on Saturday. I'll be one of the vendors, and be soakin' up the scene all night! More info go to: www.dcconspiracy.com

Portfolio Assemby Complete!

I have just completed one of those tasks that is never really complete. I updated my portfolio. It takes forever, is never as cool as you would like and starts your subconscious on a "gut check" about your career. But its so good to have it done. I will soon be able to offer you an in depth glimpse into said portfolio, online. That's because I have been feeding discs, with portfolio images to Bennu Enterprises, to update www.artbyjared.com

Other goings on this week involved a Hexagon meeting about the "kick" number, and what its scenery (as well as content) will entail. I also made some designs for the "frills" of circus wagons, which are coming along beautifully.

Trixie and I have been going back and forth about making a new sardine can to replace her current one which looks less and less like a sardine can. So I did this quick redesign:
You are all sworn to secrecy about the inner workings of this piece of scenery. (its not really like a magic cabinet, so you can see the inner mechanisms...which are really just there to make it easy for her to transport)

I also have been making stabs at getting a good proposal for a valance for the Palace of Wonders. Here's a design that didn't quite make the cut......Which is kinda frustrating, because I don't think that they understand my process...I don't start by making "great art", I try to provoke a reaction, so that a dialog gets started...its just a sketch...

This was also the weekend of Mark and Amy's disco party. They really know how to throw a shin-dig. I also got to use the Elvis suit one last time (this month!) because it happened to be thematic! (although Elvis was not really "Disco"...I like to think I added a bit of rockabilly to the evening with my presence)

On Sunday KT and I caught Sleeping Arrangements at Theater J. It wasn't really my cup of tea, but I did come away with one good sentiment from the play:

Most problems in life can be improved by a stay in an expensive hotel room.

The other remarkable thing about the production was that the set designer got her MFA from Wayne State University...GO TARTARS!

This week also started my next stint at Rep Stage painting the set for some Pinter play. They are woefully behind on construction at this point, and it is going to be a stressful build, but I am up for the challenge!

I also have been trying to "make friends" on Myspace, so if you are reading this...won't you please be my friend? You can contact me on MySpace here:

http://www.myspace.com/artbyjared

Well, I guess you should wish me luck at my portfolio review on Friday. I hope that all of this work on the portfolio makes a good impression!

What do you mean my content sucks?

You have to know that I have been busy lately. And yes, I did promise to write more. But I have not been on the "introspective" bent lately...its been more like "retrospective". You see, I am making another grab for the grad school apple this year, which means I need to get my portfolio together. But in these Post-post-post-modern times that we live in, that means a lot more than it used to. I have to get my work together on my computer, in order to make prints at Ritz, to put into a bound "portfolio" book. But I also need to take those same images, and send them off to be made into slides. I also need to contact my web guru to get my website updated. And finally, I need to post some of that (with witty commentary) on my blog. Which is were we are right now. (At this point I would like to point out that merely assembling the images on one computer is a challenge enough...let alone making the critical decisions about the quality of one over the other as a proper representation of a piece of art...or maximizing on the data in a poor photo....but I digress)

So, without delay, I am posting some things I never got around to doing as they happened:

Pirates of Penzance, Act I
TAP 2006

Pirates of Penzance, Act II
TAP 2006
I knew you wouldn't be happy with just the Treo Camera phone shots...

And in an effort to get ahead of the game, I have a small photo of the model for this year's Hexagon production, Strike while the irony is hot:

Yes, that's a false proscenium in front of the actual one...the model is 1/4"=1' so its easy to lose perspective on how large this thing will be, but its going to be a very large undertaking when it finally gets into the theater. To give you another sense of scale, the "circus carts" in the middle, are about 10 feet high...

Blogger 2 upgrade

Hey there, I just have time enough to point out that the changes in color and format are due to the upgrade to Blogger 2.0...whatever that means...I just hope I can figure out how to get ".blogspot" off of the URL. They say it can be done. Wouldn't you rather be going to "Betweenthetines@artbyjared.com" anyway?

HAPPY NEW YEAR! Welcome 2007!

HAPPY NEW YEAR! Welcome 2007!

Looking back at 2006's posts, I noticed that the amount of commentary started to slip as the year waned...Well, I am going to carry over old habits for one more post, just for old times sake. I make a "New Years Resolution" to write more about the goings on in this painter/designer's world... I'll start right after I show you some pictures of the Lobsterboy New Year's Eve at the Warehouse!

The 2006 set in its final two hours!It was the only thing funny I could think of for the number "6"

The fire act "Miss Joulie" showing offLobs burnin' through his 2006 datebook of jokesKitty Victorian doing a traditional fan dance... (If you look really hard, you can see Tinsel's butt)

That's how you get gigs in this town...butter up the headliner!The hardest working monkey in showbiz...This show is so badass...its got MONKEY BALLS!HAPPY NEW YEAR! 2007 (the "7" and the "!" opened up at the end, but in the confusion, few pictures were taken...)

Lobs doing his duty as a patriot. Smoking indoors for the last time in DC...

Watch this space for designs and reportage for the Lobsterboy April Fools show at the Birchmere!
(Thanks again go out to our friends at furcafe.blogspot.com for the photos)

Just a few things before the new year...

I have been working on the Lobsterboy New Years Eve all week, and I just wanted to share some photos before I get back to it...

First, Heres the Post Article that came in the Weekend section:

Anyone recognize that snazzy backdrop?

Next, I want to share some of the photos from the Xmas Show, all taken by the wonderfull people over at www.furcafe.com

Saw Lady in front of "Sparkle"

Lobs doing his "doodie"
What the dog ate

And Lastly, I'd Like to give you a taste of what NYE will look like...See you next year!

December is just too crazy!!!

Hey there, just got back from LA, and everything is crazy. I have too many projects all of a sudden, and I am barely keeping up...So you will have to forgive me if I don't have a rundown for you just yet...I'll try to give an honest rundown before the year is out!

Oh, despite all the craziness, I still was able to pull together a rudimentary MySpace page...(sorry no link, haven't figured that out just yet!) so you'll just have to look me up ( I was surprised how many Jared Davis' there are on myspace...So try "artbyjared"...)

P.S. Come to the Lobsterboy show this Saturday!

Hot dog for Thanksgiving

I will be jetting (no really, KT has got me on a plane to go back to Detroit...I've taken an "online fear of flying course" and I think it actually helped) to Motor City for Thanksgiving with the fam (that is, my parents and KTs parents and my new Ohio relatives) at Hal and Ellen's new digs in Royal Oak.

But always looking ahead, I have already started to think about Xmas, Lobsterboy style.This is a Vectorworks rendering of the stage (floorplan and elevation) at Chief Ike's Mambo Lounge. The space is very small, and they usually don't have any scenery, but I think that some scenery helps make the place seem, well, more special.
This is the first sketch of the "portal" idea for the Xmas show (which BTW is on Saturday, December 16) Its a wiener dog, with "Lobsterboy Revue" shaved into his side. He's eating tinsel...and...Well, you can figure out what happens after that... This design is rooted in one of the most traumatic memories I have of Christmas. My friend, Don, had a Shitzu with this problem. And it was a very festive Xmas indeed!

Lobs wants to show some films at the show, so part of the challenge is to find out how much room I can use for the Dog, while still providing access for the projection screen...More developments to follow...

Before I leave you, I just wanted to touch on some of the other developments that I have not been sharing with you...I am the Scenic for Rep Stage's production of Your a good man Charlie Brown. It has been taking up my mornings...and I could write a whole book on the goings on there...I have made very halting progress on the Velvet Animals project...The Palace of Wonders Valance is slowly getting into Sketching step II...I have had several meetings, including sketches and a white model, for Hexagon's Strike While the Irony is Hot...and I am flying to LA next week, for a week of fun (mostly being part of the "wide eye" posse, for the group show that Scott Brooks is in at the Luz de Jesus gallery)

Have a great Turkey Day!

Velvet Revolution

I finally got around to taking a treo photo (BTW, I have the Treo 700 now...Its a really long story) of the "Roy being attacked by white tiger" velvet painting I did for the Halloween Party:

Roy Being Attacked by White Tiger, 2006
Oil on Velvet 48"x60"

I really like the way it came out, and I am thinking of making more work in this vein. It is thematically identical to my earlier "versus" obsession (remember the poor astronaut being attacked by a lion?) but the velvet gives this one a permission to take itself too seriously... Unlike the astronaut, which, being watercolor, had a "trying too hard" feel...

Anyway, this realization has prompted me to do some prepatory sketches for more velvet paintings...with animals, doing un-animal-like things...
This bear is my favorite...He's a sloth bear, the kinda bear you want to buy a beer...The hardest working monkey in showbiz!who could leave behind a bear on a bike?

These are all white colored pencil on black paper (treo photos). I am hoping to get an idea of how they might look on velvet, but the black paper gives them a haunting...perhaps ponderous, or worse...Gothic...feel. I don't quite know what to make of them just yet. What do you think?

Too much Burlesque?

Looking at all the projects I have lined up, I have to step back and ask,"have I gotten too deep into burlesque?" You see, I am involved with adding a valance (the thing that goes above a curtain) to the Palace of Wonders "stage", Hexagon wants a "Sequin Circus" theme, Lobsterboy is doing back to back shows in December, and my personal painting projects are starting to explore the Victorian/Edwardian poster genre (when I muster the motivation to get them out of the sketchbook and on canvas)... I am a bit concerned that I am engaging in a "passing fad" with the whole thing...I mean, lots of people who embraced this sort of work in the 90's are not "freaky" enough these days to turn a buck (who wants to see someone hammer a nail through their tongue now when every 13 year old girl has a tongue piercing?)

Setting all that anxiety aside for right now, here are some initial sketches I have cooked up for the Palace of Wonders (sometimes known as the "Showbar")Photoshop sketch...Before I saw the space...
Keeps with existing "old timey/surrealist" theme

Photoshop Sketch with Treo Camera Phone photo of actual space (vectorworks dimensions overlaid)
This one is a bit more (unavoidable pun ahead) "in your face"

I will be making a few more sketches tomorrow, so that I can present a variety of directions that this piece can go in...

Back from the Dead

Well, its been a few weeks, but I am officially back from the dead. The Halloween party was a blast. As you can see from the photo below, KT and I were both Elvis.The Karaoke basement (technically called the "Spooktacular Spooktacular Karaoke Floorshow") was a big hit. The skeleton Showgirl cutouts went a long way towards setting the "Haunted Vegas" theme...Below, Kirstra and Sara show those skeletons who the real headliners are!

We also made out wedding...er...stage, into a wedding chapel/funeral home, for the party. The velvet Elvis paintings all went, by party's end...And even the "Roy Attacked by Tiger" painting went...(I'll have pix as they become available)

The party was so great, that writing about it wouldn't do it justice...So lets just say that you are going to have to start looking for a costume for 07 right now!

One bonus I have to share is that we finally exhausted the film from the spongebob squarepants camera, and I found some Hot Rod Hula Hop 2 booth photos...
And Vern Came through with a good photo of the Trixie to Dine for event:
And I finally got some photos from NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD...
After a such a productive time, I have started to organize and take stock...Which means that a few more "here are pix that I didn't get before" postings will be coming down the pike...

The Fall Collection...

Token Cup Designs for SPOOKTACULAR VII
Sketch, Photoshop, 3"x7" wrap around

The fall collection refers to this weekends shopping extravaganza. I do, on occasion, need to clothe myself in new garments, thank you very much.

Anyhoo, I have been doing the "reset" button on my thang since the last posting. I got my phone back, I was a zombie (twice) and I cranked out a cup design for the SPOOKTACULAR...I am going to be doing a skeleton showgirl theme for the basement, so it seemed like killing two birds with one stone, by making the cup design coordinate...The cups are going to be green, with black ink. Which of the above versions do you like best? Hurry with your comments, cuz they are going to the printers on Monday!

I have also been amassing a bunch of library books in preparation for the HEXAGON show, as well as research for the velvet painting of Roy (of Siegfried and Roy) being attacked by a white tiger!

And Two weeks Later, still catching my breath

I have been focused like a lazerbeam on a few projects, that have given me very little room to breathe; until now. Its really a paradox (a most ingenious paradox...More on that later) that whenever I am over-worked and hyper productive, I feel like I am slacking off and should be doing more...I guess its just the over-achiever in me (I guess there is a fine line between self-flagellation and over-achievement...)

Part of the reason for the lack of postings has been my piss poor documentation of late. I have no good photos of CANNIBAL!, TRIXIE's TO DINE FOR, PIRATES or NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD....But I will make up for it soon...To appease your visual needs, I do have some crappy cell phone photos:

Painting the Backdrop for PIRATES of PENZANCE
50'x20' muslin backdrop painted on the floor.

It really seems like a few months ago, but it was really just since the last posting that we were painting this puppy. It really went fast due to the cleverly constructed cradle that was made by Pete S. to use the projector. This technique was instrumental in getting unskilled labor to execute the same "English woodcut/engraving" texture that I designed to run throughout the show.

Once this drop was finished, I grabbed my wife and we made tracks to the Nissian Pavilion to see the Dark Side of the Moon show. It was great, But Nissian Pavilion really sucks from a getting there/parking perspective.

So, Pirates load in went well, and I was able to use Jared R. to take portfolio shots (he bought a new camera and wanted to send it through its paces) Unfortunately, I don't have those photos yet, since he couldn't get them into a format I could take away that day. SO I am still waiting for them, but when they arrive, they should be pretty good. In the meantime, here is another crappy phone photo:

PIRATES OF PENZANCE Act II

Arlington Players, Thomas Jefferson Theater
(note the backdrop from before)

In the brief respite between the completion of PIRATES and the beginning of the build for NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, I was able to develop a "logo" for this years Halloween Party. It is (hopefully) a beginning step towards a giveaway at the party, mini velvet Elvis'...With a Halloween theme...

"Skull-vis" logo for Spooktacular 6 Evite

Drawing, photoshop, Illustrator

And then just like that, I was building NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD. It took me a total of three days to fabricate and paint the thing, all by myself. Since I rarely build what I design, it really took a lot out of me. But I think, given the constraints the DCAC has on LANDLESS THEATRE (no screwing to the stage, remove everything every night, no setting or moving lights, a shoebox to store the scenery in...etc) It is the best set they could ask for. I did not, however, take any pictures...I need to do that soon! BTW, it opens tonight...where I will be starring as a ZOMBIE EXTRA!

My Phone died. I couldn't hear or be heard on it. Radioshack needs to send it off, and then "they" will send it back and make them give me a new one...It's a real pain in the butt. It is a bit unsettling how much separation anxiety I have over not having my phone....(which is also a camera, PDA, MP3 player and so much more....)

This week marked the first official HEXAGON production meeting. The theme is something I think will be a very productive theme..."Sequin (sic) Circus" is what the director seems to want to push...I wont even begin to think about the thing until after the Spooktacular.

I saw Tim Gunn last night at the Corcoran. He is one class act. If fame were ever set at my feet, I pray that I would have the poise and grace of Tim Gunn...

To Dine For Photos and the Finger

Here's the first bad camera phone shot of the "To Dine For" event. But you can still make out a naughty monkey...

Trixie Doing her Thang...

And the final result, without all those pesky Burlesque performers.

The "To Dine for" event went really well. I even sold a painting...And its always a good feeling to get some more mileage out of the old Toxic Tikis.

Speaking of Lobs...Look for this on a T-shirt soon:The rest of this week has been Pirates, Pirates, Pirates....in fact I need to stop writing now and help with load in!

Pirtates have taken my Sphadoinkel

PIRATES has really hit a full head of steam. As I write this I am worried that we will not get the whole thing painted by load in...But I did paint the Trixie portal, and I took it to Charm City this morning. Here is a shot of it at the shop....See you at the event on Saturday! (I'll even have some paintings for sale...) I'll post pictures from the event, next week!Center pannel of Trixie's "To Dine For" Portal.

8'X4', Luan, Foam, Leopard Print fabric

Left and Right Pannels of Trixie's "To Dine For" Portal

Each 6'x4', Paint on cut Luan

Really been slippin'

Hey there, looks like the end of summer, and I have been slippin' on the whole blog thing. Here is the most succinct account of the past two weeks events I can muster:

Fire at the CANNIBAL! Dress rehearsal
Fantastic party at Amy's
Shipped Paintings for MotorCityTiki3
Painting begins on Pirates
PLANET ARLINGTON
Art festival mural project went south
Prep for Meat and Greet party
And finally,

Trixie Little's To Dine For event portal
Digital Sketch. 1"=1'

More next week, I promise!