Staycation Part Deux---new and improved, with MONKEYS!

Week two of the staycation and I have actually got some painting done. I was able to knuckle down and create two more watercolor sketches for my continuing series of Daredevil Monkeys!

40,000 Pounds of Bananas
Watercolor on Paper, 5x7

This is a tiny bit of a departure from the Daredevil Monkey formula, because I am using a gorilla instead of the familiar monkey/chimp for Fearless. A gorilla feels more appropriate for an eating contest... Floyd is himself, keeping tally of the number of bananas that Fearless has consumed (or is he counting the money they are going to earn from this latest stunt?)

Barrel Monkey
Watercolor on Paper 5x7

In this painting Floyd is the ambiguous one. We cant tell how he is going to profit from Fearless' act of daring-do...He's actually inspired by some research into the subject of people going over Niagara falls in a barrel. From the Niagara Falls Live web page:

October 22nd 2003 Kirk Jones from Canton Michigan becomes first stunter in the history of Niagara Falls to survive the plunge wearing only the clothes on his back. Kirk's idea had been in the works for a number of years. While here on a visit with a friend, Kirk made the decision. They purchased a used video camera to record this historical event and went to the Horseshoe Falls on the Canadian side of the river. Kirk entered the water about one hundred yards upstream and began swimming out into the swift current. Eight seconds later Kirk made the 175 foot (53.3m) drop and swam to shore while passing up a free ride with the "maid of the mist" tour boat. Kirk was treated for minor bumps and bruises at local a hospital and released only after promising to return for court. For his stunt Kirk was fined a total of $2,300.00 dollars and banned from entering Canada for life. Unfortunately Kirk and his friend had been imbibing in alcohol before the stunt and Kirks friend couldn't figure out how to work the camcorder and the entire stunt went unrecorded!

So, I thought that it would be funny to have Floyd fumbling around for change to put into the viewfinder, just like Kirk's friend with the camcorder...

Hey Kid's, its Yard Sale Time again!...come on out this Sunday, 8 am - 2 pm at
3210 38th St NW Check out our Craigslisting here.

Staycation...

I have been on staycation for the past week...so there is not much to show. KT believes in these semi-annual "purge" events that spruce up the house, knock things off of the honeydew list, and assemble things to sell at the yard sale (Sunday June 6th!). We did, however, knock out a proposal for Conner Contemporary's *gogo program...Its a total shot in the dark, but I have had this wacky idea for a while now, but I have never attempted it before because I haven't had a place to display it...here's a "visualization" of the project in their space:

I don't want to go into detail about the project, because I am afraid it may jinx it...but lets just say that it involves a giant oil painting and burlesque performers...stay tuned!

MORE MONKEYS! S.A.N. and PEREZ REVIEWED

This week I will start with the Monkeys. Below is the next (number 2 of a proposed series of 12) Daredevil monkey painting watercolor sketch:

Watercolor Sketch of "Highwire Hi-jinx" (working title)
Watercolor on paper, 5"x7"

I am hoping to make twelve of these kinds of paintings. Mostly in order to stock up for Arts on Belmont (Adams Morgan Day) in September. Unfortunately I am the type of person that needs a deadline, so without a "show" to work towards, I just don't get anything done. So, hopefully I will be able to make 12 of these types of Daredevil monkey paintings by the 4th of July!

I have been starting with watercolor sketches in order to work out both composition and color scheme. I think that the major issue with this piece is that I needed to demonstrate that the monkeys were really high up...so I thought the inside of a tent, punctuated by tiny flags on the lowest register would help create a sense of height...and at the same time, be pretty neutral so that the background doesn't detract from the monkeys...Unfortunately, Watercolor is kinda unforgiving, so I wasn't able to tweak the background as much as I'd like. But it helps me get the problems identified, so I can work them out in paint...

Did you know that Scenery Appreciation Night (SAN) for PEREZ was this Saturday May, 22nd? Well, you should if you are a loyal reader of BTT...and you already have your tickets, right? If not, here's the address one more time: WWW.LANDLESSTHEATRECOMPANY.COM

We also have been getting some good reviews...particularly from DCTHEATRESCENE.COM

..From here, saving the universe doesn’t sound so far-fetched after all. It doesn’t hurt that the set by Jared Davis – a scenic little panorama of Los Angeles and its iconic landmarks – only comes up to waist-level, endowing the actors with Godzilla-sized stature. Talk about looking down on high society.

And also some praise from the actual writers of the show:

In terms of the physical production, we really loved the brilliant light-up Christmas village version of LA and the fun theatre tricks they were able to pull off in that small space! My favorite type of theatre is done for $100 on a stage the size of a postage stamp, so this was right up my alley.

Hope to see you on Saturday! And remember, we are going to the Girls Gone Gutter show at the Palace after PEREZ for the traditional "post show discussion with set designer Jared Davis"...

PEREZ OPENS, KNOEBELS and MORE MONKEYS!

I got a chance to watch the final dress rehearsal for Perez Hilton Saves the Universe or at least the greater Los Angeles area last night (while taking some photos) and I have to say that this will be a fun show to watch. Mostly if you are fan of the tabloids, like TMZ...or cant stand the cult of celebrity...It should be entertaining for both ends of the spectrum...

Here's a photo of the set at the DCAC (complete with Lady Ga Ga photo):

Perez Hilton...Production Photo
DCAC, Landless Theatre Company

So, just to hammer it home one more time, Scenery Appreciation Night is going to be Saturday May 22nd! And as a bonus, we are having the "post show discussion" at the Palace of Wonders, during the 11:30pm "Girls Gone Gutter" show! Hope to see you all there!

The rest of the week was dominated by last weekends mini-vacation to Knoebels...never heard of it? Check out their website or you can see all of the awesomeness they have to offer from their park map:And you can see that KT and I were having fun on the Ferris Wheel......despite the ubiquitous rusty bolts and whatnot, we managed to survive!

Now that I don't have any impending shows to design, or build, or paint...the first time in more than a year(!) I have started to think about making paintings again! In order to get back on the horse, I have decided to continue right where I left off with my Daredevil Monkey paintings!

Monkey Moonshot Watercolor Sketch
Watercolor on Paper 7"x5"

I have started to take KT's suggestion that Floyd (the monkey in charge of Fearless' exploits) be a tiny monkey. It changes the dynamic between the two characters a bit...More like the small dog and the big lug of a dog in the old Warner Bros cartoons. But, I'm okay with that...The two monkeys haven't really ever been the exact same two monkeys from painting to painting anyway. I like the idea that they are mailable, and can look different in each painting...It keeps these paintings from becoming too repetitious or cartoon-strip-like...

PEREZ Scenery Finished...Scenery Appreciation Night Announced!

As promised last week, the fruits of this week's labor is the second half of the PEREZ set, laid out below:


This is roughly how the flats will be laid out during the show (you can compare them with the rendering from last week here) You cant really tell from this photo, but the larger buildings are going to be rigged with Xmas lights, so that they light up when that location comes around in the story.
Here are closeups of each flat:
The Capitol Records building, Griffith Observatory and The Motel Valencia...(the motel is where the terrorists will be staying in the show)LAX, Randy's Donuts, the 405 and the Hollywood Bowl...Kathy Griffin's Lair, Beverly Hills sign and the Hollywood sign...The Church of Scientology, Olive Garden, In-n-out Burger, Grauman's Chinese Theater (and downtown, perhaps with the police HQ...)

The idea was to create Los Angeles in the DCAC...so I was going for that "tourist map" kinda look...Its a bit weird because living here in DC, there are lots of places that I could point to in order to make a tourist map...you cant swing a dead cat and not hit a monument to something around DC...but LA is a bit different...there's no "Statue of Liberty" or "Capitol Building" or "Eiffel tower"...so this set proved to be a bit of a challenge in that respect...

The Show opens next Friday May 14th! You can get your tickets HERE.

I would also like to announce the PEREZ Scenery Appreciation Night (SAN)! You will get a chance to see that show and have a post show discussion with the set designer himself on Saturday May 22nd! Email me for the special code for SAN attendee discounts!

On a personal note, this week I became an uncle. My brother's wife, Wendy gave birth to a 6lb baby boy named Thaddeus...in China! So, I wont be seeing the lil' bugger for another year or so, which is fine by me because I am not too big on the infant thing anyway....bring 'em to me when they are talkin' and walkin'...

Perez marks the last scheduled show I have until the fall, so I am looking forward to a very productive painting agenda this summer...More about that next week!

PEREZ Preview in Frederick and set design

The preview for Perez Hilton goes up in Frederick tonight. I spent most of this week building the first half of the set. I spent the remaining time designing the rest of the set...which I will spend all of next week building...Anyway, below is the perspective rendering of the set, as it will be seen at the DCAC when Perez opens on May 14.

Perez Hilton... Set Design
Pencil, Watercolor and Photoshop

Perez was also picked as a "best bet" for May...check out the link below...it even mentions my name!

A Theatre Lover's Guide to DC/Capital Area Theatres – May 2010 Offerings 2010/04/30:

PEREZ HILTON REBOOT

The weeks after Yuri's night always tend to be an emotional roller coaster. While it was a great party, you start to dissect what went right and what went wrong in order to not make those mistakes next year...Next year, you ask? Yep, we have already started talking with venues about next year. So mark your calendars for April 9th 2011!
In these post Yuri's Night days I have also started to take a hard look at what other events we are going to be doing this year, and how my calendar will be shaped by those decisions...for example, do we start thinking about a New Years Eve party right now? Tiki Party in the Summer? People have already started asking about the theme for this years Spooktacular!

Needless to say all of this introspection has not produced very much artwork for me to share with you...except for the impending Frederick preview of Perez Hilton Saves the Universe or at Least the Greater Los Angeles Area...The design for Perez has been taking a back seat to Yuri's Night (and Producers...which strikes this Saturday!) lately, but no longer! The deadline rolls forward on this production and I need to meet it head-on! Unfortunately, all I can offer right now is the floorplan...which might seem a bit cryptic (since hardly anything is labeled), but I know that you loyal readers of BTT actually crave suspense...So, I will simply leave you with the floorplan:

YURI'S NIGHT AFTER...

Countdown to Yuri's Night 2010 is in the history books now...THANK YOU FOR COMING!...you can relive the memories by going to our Party Photo Gallery at www.outofthisworldparty.com and of course we are always looking for more photos, so if you attended and have awesome pics, send them our way!
Here's the set for this years show...complete with the "Tardis"...which was actually a darkroom revolving door...

The set for Countdown To Yuri's Night 2010
(note that the ceiling tile had to be popped out to accommodate it...turns out that the ballroom is 6" lower on one side)

I haven't been able to post anything in the last few weeks because of the zaniness of the buildup for Yuri's Night at for The Producers (at the same time!) so, you will have to forgive the lack of posts and the lack of pictures...I simply have been too crazed to do anything as mundane as a blog posting!

For example, here is a photo of the set before it was painted (the day after "homie help day")


But Producers (you know, that other show that took up my whole life) is in full swing right now, so I think its safe to release some of the photos of the designs and artwork from the show...

Set designs for Max Bialystock's office and Springtime for Hitler...

Backdrop for "Bavaria" (the scene just before Springtime for Hitler, which masks the set change)

I'll be showing more photos of Producers once the company photographer sends them to me...

The other big news this week was that I was profiled, along with several other DC area set designers in the Hill Rag...check out the article here!

I am going to be thrown headlong into Perez Hilton Saves the Universe soon, so please watch this space for updates! You can always get your tickets at Landless Theater's Website...

WIRED.COM PROFILES COUNTDOWN TO YURI"S NIGHT ARTISTS!

Check out WIRED.COM's Coverage of COUNTDOWN TO YURI'S NIGHT 2010! Click HERE or the screenshot below to be taken to the article directly

Big shout outs to all of the artists profiled! They even quoted me!

...The show brings together Pop-Surrealism, Post-Pop and Lowbrow stylists who “frequently and freely embrace the imagery of science fiction and mid-century tropes,” according to Countdown lead organizer Jared Davis. “Countdown to Yuri’s Night is an excellent excuse to feature their more sci-fi inspired work.

“Whether it’s Scott Brooks’ nightmare vision of a future where Cupie-doll robots battle for Thorazine, Steve Strawn’s photo journalism from the great robot wars or Sherill Anne Gross’ green pinup girls, they all create a vision of the future of humankind in space. Whether it’s an accurate prediction is beside the point — what matters is that they are having the conversation and leaving room for any one of a million possible futures.”

Like I have said before, this show will sell out, get your tickets now at www.outofthisworldparty.com

IT'S ELECTRIC FINALLY OPENS TONIGHT!

That's right, IT'S ELECTRIC finally opens tonight. After being snowed out, and numerous other snags and barbs we are finally getting our robots out of the lab and on to the dance floor of the Electric Maid! Come on by 7pm-11pm TONIGHT!

This week has seen lots of great progress for Yuri's Night...I finished a floor plan of the Capitol Skyline Hotel (yes, we can fit 200 people into the Hall of States, thank you) and we spend last weekend shooting a promotional YouTube video...Which will hopefully premiere tomorrow night when I, and perennial Miss Universe contestant, Southern Hemisphere, will be interviewed on the Larz from Marz show...

Yet another year goes by without a clear Lucite trophy from the WATCH Awards (that's 7 nominations and no wins for those of you counting)... We'll get 'em next year!

Oh, did I mention that High Fidelity will be extending their run....at the Warehouse?! Its true, check out the screenshot from their website:


So, if you wanted a second chance to see this great, Helen Hayes Recommended show, here it is!

I also spent my day off this week driving to and from Lyndhurst NJ in order to get a great deal on Gridwall. What is gridwall you may ask? You've seen it before, its a steel grid mesh that comes in 2 foot wide and 7 foot tall sections used by craft fair artists everywhere to hold up their art for display...so now, the artists of Yuri's Night can be secure in the idea that their work will not be sitting on the ground during the show!

And of course, last but not least, I finished painting the drop for Illuminopolis:

Illuminopolis backdrop
Acrylic on Black Velour, 12'x10'

YURI"S NIGHT FLYERS ARE HERE! 30 DAYS TO LIFTOFF!

The flyers from Yuri's Night have arrived! Thanks to the stellar effort of Alan Defibaugh, or designer, for getting all that text into one slick package! We do have lots of stuff going on at this party, just check out the back of the flyer:

So, look for these around town....and buy your tickets today!

Countdown to Yuri's Night
T-Minus 30 days(!)

The other big news this week was the announcement of the rescheduled IT'S ELECTRIC show at the Electric Maid in Takoma Park. Since we were snowed out the first time, we have had to reschedule for Saturday March 20th. In anticipation of the re-opening, I have started to create some new black velvet robot paintings...

Black Velvet Robot, Red
Acrylic on Black Velvet, 8"x10"

Also, this week I will start working on the backdrop for Illuminopolis, the light inspired burlesque extravaganza presented by Yuri's Night performers Miss Joule and Malibu. You can get tickets and info here.

Illuminopolis backdrop sketch
Pencil and photoshop

See you next week when I will have more robot paintings for IT'S ELECTRIC, as well as photos of the finished Illuminopolis drop...

CAPTION CONTEST for Yuri's Night Painting

Yuri's Night Countdown: T-Minus 37 days

I think I need your help with a caption for the painting I am planning for Yuri's Night. Well, to be fair it is not really a "caption contest" per se...What I need is something snappy to be put on a sign in the painting. Here, check out the watercolor sketch first:

The Skeleton and the Visitors Watercolor Sketch
Watercolor on Paper 5"x7"

Okay, so the gist of the painting is that we are on a planet in the future, and that the robot in the smokey bear hat is showing some younger robots an ancient archaeological site with the skeletonized remains of an American astronaut, while the wreckage of his rocket looms in the background. So, the help I need from you is: what should go on the sign in the lower right? I have toyed with these answers, perhaps they will inspire you:

• Ancient Archaeological Site
• National Park, Mars
• 00101001010001
• Extinct Meat Based Life Form

I don't really have a prize to offer, its more of a cry for help...I look forward to your answers in the comments...

The other thing that has taken up most of this week has been the painting (and completion!) of the "Springtime for Hitler" drop. Unfortunately, I cannot show you the whole thing because the producers wont let me...but here is a small element to whet your whistle:

This weekend is the G40 Summit in Crystal City...you should really try to make it out to what can only be called a "mini artomatic" (I'll have four pieces hanging on the 8th floor)....the opening is this Saturday...Check out this Link for more info

I'll see you next week, where we will celebrate the "less than a month" Countdown to Yuri's Night...

44 Days left in the Yuri's Night Countdown...

T-Minus 44 Days Until Yuri's Night

We have had another breakneck week with Yuri's Night...but I wont bore you with details...I'll wait until March 10th for that (one month to go by then)...The only thing I will say is that you better get your tickets now because we are likely to sell out (plus you will save $ if you don't try to buy them at the door...) Click on the Yuri Logo above to get linked to the party website

High Fidelity has been open for a week, and the reviews are good! Check out DC Theatre Scene's review of High Fidelity or the fact that Metro Weekly Calls my set "...Incredibly Clever..." Scenery Appreciation Night is still set for this Saturday 2/27...but I think that the show might be sold out!

We completed the Producer's "Little Old Lady Land" drop this week...here are some tease shots from the completed drop (the producer said that I shouldn't post the finished product on my blog...so by giving you a peek I am being naughty)

Roosevelt smiles down on the old ladies...

...And it looks like Estelle McSherry is in for $50,000.00!

HIGH FIDELITY OPENS, YURI'S NIGHT and LITTLE OLD LADY LAND

Landless Theater Company opens their second show in the SEASON OF THE DAMNED, High Fidelity. If you are a frequent reader of BTT, you know that we like to present scenery appreciation nights for landless shows during the second week of the run...so, without further adieu, I would like to announce that:

Scenery Appreciation Night for High Fidelity will be on Saturday February 27th! (Type "Jared" in the vendini discount code box for your SAN discount!)

And, here is just a tease of the set design, for those of you who cant wait until next Saturday!
I guess its about time to institute the Countdown to Yuri's Night Clock again:

T-Minus 51 days until YURI'S NIGHT!

Tickets are now officially on sale at WWW.OUTOFTHISWORLDPARTY.COM

The other development this week was that I solidified the design for Producers "Little Old Lady Land" Drop:

Little Old Lady Land Drop Painters Elevation
Photoshop and Pencil

In fact we have started painting it already...we are painting over the "jukebox" from Bye Bye Birdie, which is causing some slight complications. The jukebox was a purple arch that went around the cut opening of the drop. Purple is a notorious color for bleeding through whatever you paint over it (and it is doing exactly that right now) so, my workaround is to make a "cheque rainbow"...The concept, for those of you who are not familiar with the show, is that Max Bialystock is sleeping with all of the little old ladies in NYC in order to get them to become investors in his show. So, naturally, the backdrop for the scene is of springtime in central park, except everything, much like the fabled tootsie roll disorder, looks like money!

Question of the week: should I post progress shots of the backdrops for the "Springtime for Hitler" scene, despite having large swastikas on them?

SNOWBOTIC APOCALYPSE!

Only historic snows could have stopped IT'S ELECTRIC! from happening...So, we have decided to take another swing at opening the show in early March. Details will be passed along as they come into the newsroom here at BTT HQ. (of course the snows couldn't stop Matt and Dana from getting married...congrats!)

But, it occurs to me that you haven't seen the other two paintings in the show yet...so, here they are (photographed poorly to incentivize you into coming to see them in the flesh)

The Birdman and the Magic Cow
Acrylic on Canvas, 24"x20"

The Genius and the Dandy
Acrylic on Canvas, 24"x20"

One of the good things to come out of the snowpocolypse is that KT and I made huge strides on Yuri's Night. We are planning to have the official announcement of all artists and performers (and some surprises...psst, don't tell anyone...moonbounce!) in the next two weeks! I guess I will start the official Yuri's Night countdown clock next week!

IT'S ELECTRIC! and REEFER SCENERY APPRECIATION NIGHT

I'm as excited as the jerk in the photo above that tonight is Scenery Appreciation Night for REEFER MADNESS! So, if you know what's good for ya, you'll come on down to tonight's closing weekend shows! You can get tickets at the door or from the Dominion Stage Website.

This weekend I will be gearing up to finalize the last two paintings I am creating for It's Electric. What's It's Electric, you ask? Here's the flyer:

Chris Griffin curates a Robo-Art Show featuring the works of local artists Michael Auger, Jared Davis, Todd Gardner and Steve Strawn. The opening reception is Saturday, February 6th from 7:00 - 11:00 PM. There will be 'botting poppers Gwo and Frequency and DJ Anne Dreud (yep, rhymes with Freud) will be spinning! Please come and boost your "arti"ificial intelligence!

The deets:
It's Electric! Opening Reception
Saturday, Feb. 6th 7:00 - 11:00 PM
The Electric Maid
268 Carroll St., N.W. (a short block from Takoma Metro)

I will give you loyal BTT readers a sneak preview of one of the three pieces in the show:

The Devil and the Broken Man
Acrylic on Canvas, 24"x20"

I don't know why blogger seems to make this image much darker than any other program does...so, you will just have to come see it with your naked eyes in order to get the full impact!

The build for High Fidelity has just started, and I have progress on a major piece of the scenery to share...Its a counter for the record store "Championship Vinyl" that figures prominently in the show.One of the good things about High Fidelity is that it is getting a lot of good buzz. We already have been getting previews from the likes of DCBroadwayWorld.com DC Broadway World previews High Fidelity

REEFER REVIEWED, HIGH FIDELITY AND PRODUCERS BEGIN

Its been a busy week, which has been made even more frantic due to the illness. I speak of the illness that gripped the cast and crew of Reefer Madness...which eventually caught up with yours truly (and currently running its course through KT!) and knocked him out for the better part of the three day weekend. But I'm all better now, and I have good reviews of Reefer to share with you. First you might check out this favorable review in the Gazette from Monday. But really, you should read the one in the Washington Post because it specifically mentions the scenery:

Jared Davis's scenic design makes economical use of the Lee Center (sic) stage with vertical flats festooned with comic book graphics and inventive, movable set pieces allowing rapid scene changes.

While it's not gushing, its an honor to be mentioned...even if they did get some of the facts wrong (its the Gunston Theater 1, not Lee Center...and I don't usually make my last name plural by adding a second "S" after the apostrophe...)

Anyhoo, you should start making your plans for next week's SCENERY APPRECIATION NIGHT for Reefer Madness on Friday January 29th. Get your tickets Here

We are leaps and bounds closer to announcing a venue for Yuri's Night...Fingers crossed!!! I will announce it as soon as we have confirmation (perhaps as early as Monday!)

The illness this week was not just me, KT and the cast of Reefer...it was also the Isuzu. I spent precious time getting the darn thing fixed (the headlights were not coming on at night and it was badly in need of new rotors) And the worst part about the whole thing is that they never really did anything to fix the lights...they started poking around and they magically started working!

I whipped up a logo for the upcoming Landless Show HIGH FIDELITY:

Yeah, its a bit cheesy and old school...but hey, so is the show! You can see the graphic in action on the Landless Website. I also made major headway on the set design for High Fidelity:It may not look like much right now, but trust me, this is going to be one rockin' show! I'll start building sometime next week, so you can expect more pictures soon.

The other leap forward this week was for Arlington Players production of Producers (which opens the week before Yuri's Night!) I started trying to unscramble the crazy set changes in that are called for in the script, and I began to make initial sketches...Here's a sketch of the office of Max Bialystok:

As you can see, this sketch represents only about a eighth of the show...in any other production this would be THE set...Anyway, expect way more of this show to pop up on BTT between now and April!

I almost forgot...this week the WATCH award nominations were announced and I was nominated TWICE! Overall The Arlington Players Follies was nominated for twelve WATCH awards:

Outstanding Set Design in a Musical: Jared Davis

Outstanding Set Painting in a Musical: Jared Davis

Outstanding Set Construction in a Musical: Bill Wisniewski

Outstanding Set Decoration and Set Dressing in a Musical:

Outstanding Costume Design in a Musical: Grant Kevin Lane

Outstanding Makeup Design in a Musical: Avery Burns

Outstanding Hair Design in a Musical: Bette Williams

Outstanding cameo in a musical: Kathleen McCormick as "Buddy's Blues Margie"

Outstanding Choreography: Christopher Dykton

Outstanding Music Direction: John-Michael d'Haviland

Outstanding Direction of a Musical: Christopher Dykton

Outstanding Musical: Follies - Arlington Players

REEFER MADNESS OPENS FRIDAY & More Epic Science Fiction Watercolors

In honor of Reefer Madness opening on Friday, I am going to announce Scenery Appreciation Night, three weeks ahead of Schedule. Friday the 29th of January will be Scenery Appreciation Night for Reefer Madness! I haven't completely ironed out the details on the SAN discount yet, but if you are interested in coming (and getting the discount) just drop me an email. If you are willing to pay full freight (which you tightwads should anyway!) You can go to the Dominion Stage Website for tickets.

When I wasn't engaged in the final push to get Reefer Madness on stage this week, I was plugging along on my Epic Science Fiction watercolor sketches. I completed three more this week, and I think I am nearing the end of the "watercolor sketch" phase of the process. So, perhaps one or two more, and then I will pick the best 4 to turn into full fledged paintings that will be exhibited in It's Electric on February 6th!

Genius and the Dandy
Watercolor on paper 10"x8"

When I made the Genius and the Dandy I stepped back and realized that I had unintentionally made something eerily similar to the "Androids" of Andrew Wodzianski...But, I must confess, it is my favorite so far...Its not going to be very much fun to paint, because it will require me to have lots of precision in order to keep the clean, late 60's British talk show look...(I also chuckle when I see the punch cards!)

Prophet of Doom and the Visitors
Watercolor on paper 10"x8"

This is perhaps the most heavy handed...or, really I should say its going a long way for a joke. But when I was presented with the Prophet of Doom and the Visitors, it was hard to find someone or something that was as "prophet of doomy" than Al Gore...I also get a kick out of robot dolphins (there is some spooky stuff out there if you google "robot dolphin", trust me)

Minotaur and the Old Man
Watercolor on paper 8"x10"

I was kinda stuck on this one for a while, and while I think that the resolution isn't perfect, its pretty close. I didn't want the "old man" to be a steampunk robot, because that seems too obvious...so, I started thinking about what would be "old" to a robot. Well, it wasn't too long before I started thinking of video games, and what game would fit a minotaur really well? Perhaps one with a maze? So, a 3-d Pacman world was a good fit. I have been trying to make these paintings about the environment that they are in just as much as the characters. So, a "Tron"-like setting was a good fit...The technical problem with this watercolor (remember these are just sketches!) is that there are a lot of straight lines in the electronic world. So, if I am to render this as a painting, I will probably need to find some mechanical way of reproducing the background.

The thought has crossed my mind to take these sketches out of the sketchbook and frame them individually for the show (instead of choosing 3-4 to make into paintings) What do you think? Should I choose 3-4 and paint them larger? Or should I spend the rest of the time I have making a bunch more watercolors?I have about 30 pairings of epic archetypes total, so far, so I could add quite a few more...but realistically, I could churn out about 3 more per week...getting about 8 or nine more...I'd be interested to hear your opinions on the matter in the comments or email...

EPIC SCIENCE FICTION WATERCOLORS!

Chris Griffin, (no, not the Family Guy character, you cretins) who is ever the busy bee, has seen fit to include me in a small group show at the Electric Maid in Takoma Park. Its going to be a robot-themed show called "It's Electric". I will have some paintings there hanging next to the work of Todd Gardner, and Steve Strawn. The opening will be on Saturday February 6th, 8-11pm.

Unfortunately, I don't have any robot paintings on hand (they sell like hotcakes, and the last ones I made went for stocking stuffers) but I have decided to take up the challenge to make more Robots! Its actually kinda fortunate, because I was already gearing up to make some Science Fiction paintings for Yuri's Night. You see, I came to the realization that Science Fiction is best when it is telling an epic story. Star Wars is a prime example. It is well known that George Lucas was highly influenced by Joseph Campbell's "Power of Myth" Books. The epic story, with its archetypal characters and universal themes is what made the backbone of Star Wars so strong. Not long ago, I decided that I wanted to incorporate this idea into my Science Fiction paintings. So, with this Robot show coming up, I began to implement the plan. First I decided on some of the archetypal characters (e.g. the hero, wise man, sea monster, etc) and then I started pairing them off in order to see what sort of pictures were inspired by the combinations...I did some quick sketches, and then started a watercolor sketch in my sketchbook as a study for what might become a final painting. The first of these pairings was The Birdman and the Magic Cow:

The Birdman and the Magic Cow Watercolor sketch
Watercolor on Paper, 10"x8"

Since I am working towards making paintings for the Robot show, I have been doing my best to make all of the roles robot-oriented. I don't know why this was the image I saw when I put these two characters together, but somehow a winged cereal eating robot on a craggy planet, getting his milk from a giant flying robot cow just seem right...

The Devil and the Broken Man Watercolor Sketch
Watercolor on Paper, 10"x8"

This paring seemed to me like an obvious one, because you can always link the Devil to temptation, and temptation is how most people become "broken". In epic terms the "broken man" is the private detective who is too drunk to take the case, but sobers up just in time to solve the crime...perhaps someone like Han Solo, who has lost (perhaps never had) his idealism...but in this interpretation, the robot in the sidecar is more like CP-3O in Empire Strikes Back, being toted around, literally in pieces, by Chewbacca. I allude to the sin/drunkenness by having the robot arm in the basket holding a liquor bottle, but that might be too heavy handed. The Devil as "trash picker" is appealing for the obvious reasons, but I particularly like the glee (and style) with which he is willing to facilitate the removal of the broken man...

We have been doing a full court press on the space search for Yuri's Night...we might wind up with a very swanky event this year...stay tuned...

This week has been crunch week for Reefer Madness. You can get all sorts of cool insights on the show from Dominion Stage's Reefer Madness blog. Be sure to check out the videos of work in the shop...there are some really cool time lapse videos of the scenery being painted. I'll announce when Scenery Appreciation Night will be next week!