SPOOKTACULAR XI IS NIGH!

Yes...all of the pieces are starting to fall into place...

Being an Evil Genius is Hard Work...

Yes, being an evil genius is hard work. In fact, it keeps you from blogging. (its hard to hold a plasma cutter in one hand and blog about it with the other...) Fortunately, I had the help of some part time minions this past weekend, and was able to complete the final phase of my diabolical plan...

Since it is an evil plan that will be unveiled during Spooktacular XI, I can only leave you with this enigmatic photo:

Minion J adjusting sensitive equipment in the semi-secret lair

Artisphere opens this weekend!

Hey, I haven't been near a computer for the better part of the last week, so I am sneaking out during a break in the action to get this weeks post out. We are only a few hours away from opening the Artisphere...Tonight's gala is for the black tie crowd...like $150 a plate... Saturday is "Burst", and Sunday & Monday are the grand opening galas for the general public. You should come on out, there's lots to see and do!

To give you a very tiny glimpse of the size of the Artisphere, you can check out this photo I took on Monday of the Ballroom (it is much more complete now)

The Ballroom of the Artisphere under construction...note the stage in the middle of the room that folds up into the wall...

With all of the Artisphere craziness I have had little time for any other artmaking, but I was able to squeeze out some time on Sunday to put the first coat of paint on the Evil Dead (Frederick edition) scenery. (opens October 15, tickets here) Big ups to Amanda, Melissa & Mimi and Mark for helping get er dun!

Painting progress for Evil Dead the Musical (Frederick Edition)

The Villainous Velvet Villains of Villainy, Part 2

Okay kids, so I am uncharacteristically posting a day early because I will not have the time to post anything (or make any art, really) for the next two weeks. Why you ask? Well, I am one of the core staff that will be outfitting the brand new Artisphere with all of the audio, lighting, video, risers and stage management in the big push to get it open (once we have our certificate of occupancy *fingers crossed*eyes rolling*) by the numerologically significant date of 10-10-10...(not to mention the fact that we will have two full galas, a press conference and an advisory board meeting all before 10/10...but who's counting?)

Anyway, long story short, I will be busy. In the meantime you can take a gander at the 5 new Velvet Villains that I have made for the Spooktacular giveaways...(BTW, big shout outs to Kirstra, Jei, Brian and KT for being my sweatshop monkeys over this past weekend...they did an excellent job preparing all 48 (!) velvets for painting...thanks guys!)

The Playboy
Acrylic on Velvet, 8"x10"

Helmut Von Chaos
Acrylic on Velvet, 8"x10"

The Cannibal
Acrylic on Velvet, 8"x10"

Faux Destro
Acrylic on Velvet, 8"x10"

Darth
Acrylic on Velvet, 8"x10"

So, yes I succumbed to the dark side and did a Darth...but I am only doing 4 (the rest get 5) so that he is a special gift for the particularly geeky...

The Villainous Velvet Villains of Villainy

Its been an exciting couple of weeks since I last posted to the blog. We have started to hone in on what the Halloween party will look like, and I have honed in on what Evil Dead the Musical at the FCAC will look like as well.

Every Spooktacular has had certain elements that have become...traditional...For example we introduced the idea of a theme in 2006 (Haunted Vegas) and every year since we have had a theme (2007 El Ocho, Mexican Day of the Dead...2008 Heart of Darkness, jungle theme...2009 X-marks the spot, Pirate theme...Ya know, to be fair, 2005 was the the first themed year, our wedding, haunted mansion) And some other elements have become traditional too...Karaoke Hell, Backyard Photo Op, Margarita Machines, a Game and Prizes/Giveaways....well this year we have decided to make the giveaways a bit more fancy than in previous years...

In keeping with the theme (Villains) I have endeavored to make a "Rouges Gallery" of small (8"x10") velvet paintings of different villains. What I will be doing is painting multiples of the same painting, in the hope that I will have 25-48 of them done by October 30...check out some of my progress so far:

The Egyptian
Acrylic on Velvet 8"x10"

Hubris Von Whothathrot
Acrylic on Velvet 8"x10"

The Kingfish
Acrylic on Velvet 8"x10"
Doctor Bubble Skull
Acrylic on Velvet 8"x10"

The Dragon Lady
Acrylic on Velvet 8"x10"

I think I have five more designs to go...which means I will be doing five of each of these (am I crazy?!?) Perhaps we should make the game really hard this year...

Okay, here's a question for you loyal BTT readers...Should I include Darth Vader? He is perhaps the most recognizable super villain in the last 100 years (other than Time magazine's runner up for man of the century, You-know-who, of course)...and Darth would look wicked cool on velvet...But, thus far, I have been making these villains as amalgamations of villain tropes, and not very specific, which is kinda cool too...also, I would be avoiding the whole copyright thing seeing as I am giving them away...So, what do you think? To Darth or not to Darth?

Also I have been plugging away at getting the FCAC version of Landless' Evil Dead the Musical designed and ready to go...here's the first draft of the paint elevation:

BEAUTIFUL MINDS THIS WEEKEND with DIY MINIONS

I was able to finish the DIY Minions painting just in time for the Beautiful Minds exhibit opening this weekend (Beautiful Minds is part of a larger festival opening the SE Waterfront, near Nats Stadium...click on the link here for more info) I hope you all can come out on Friday or Saturday to see the painting in the flesh...In case you cant make it, I will give you a sneak peek below:

DIY Minions
Acrylic on Board, 20"x16"

I really like the way it turned out, and I think that this painting really pushed me into some new territory technically....still trying to find that balance between "loose" painting style and "tight" draftsmanship...

The 4 other pieces in the show are a mixture of things I have shown before, like the Devil and the Broken Man, and the Birdman and the Magic Cow...but I polished up some newer pieces that seemed ready to be shown, like Revenger Monkey:

Revenger Monkey
Acrylic on Canvas, 20"x16"

Revenger Monkey was part of my villainous monkeys series...I guess I see him as an evil Avenger...so Revenger seemed like the proper title...he also owes a good deal to the Penguin, I suppose.

Kung Fu Monkey
Acrylic on Canvas 16"x20"

I don't know why this painting has been so hard to photograph...it's not particularly glossy in real life...anyway, what more explanation do you need? Its a Kung Fu Monkey...KUNG FU-CHOP!

Aside from the prep for Beautiful Minds this week, I have moved a bit closer to a final redesign for Evil Dead:

If you can read a floorplan, you will recognize that I have flipped the location of the kitchen and the trap door from the DCAC version...also, due to sight line issues, I am putting the kitchen on the "ground floor"...much like a cabin that has a sunken living area...I suppose you see that in larger "lodges" (rather than smaller cabins) and also you would likely see it on cabins built on the sides of steep hills...Anyway, its going to be somewhat different than the 2009 DCAC version, but that's okay, right?

EVIL DEAD AGAIN, LOGOS AND MINIONS

Well, the Fall season has, er, fallen like the leaves off of a diseased crabapple tree...(I never really was that good with similes) that is to say that I have hit the ground running (despite this incessant "summer cold/sore-throat-for-three-months" thing!) and I have made some strides toward making it through to Christmas with my sanity intact.First, Landless. I meet with the Evil Dead production team tomorrow to hash out the details of the remount...I even provided this example "optimum blood spray pattern" drafting showing where we will need to place the blood sprinklers in the FCAC.
Also for Landless, I started sketching logos for some of the shows they are considering doing this season...

they haven't made the official announcements yet, so I am just showing you the most promising sketches...

I have been working on getting my mind wrapped around the theme for this years Spooktacular...Villains (preferably the super kind) So in order to double up on my "research" I have started working on a painting that deals with the theme of Super Villainy...If one is to become a Super Villain, how is one to recruit henchmen? In this case, you simply order them and assemble them yourself! I've converted my sketchbook sketch into a blueprint in honor of the theme:

Blueprint sketch for "DIY Minions" (working title)
Pencil and Photoshop

I will be showing more sketches and progress on this painting in the coming weeks...(And they said I was MAD! BWHahahahaaaa!)

Oh, and I may finish DIY Minions just in the nick of time to show it at the BEAUTIFUL MINDS Art Exhibit at The YARDS PARK in SE DC (near the ballpark) Next Friday and Saturday September 10 & 11...you can get more info from ArtWhino Here

NYC and the Calm Before the Storm

Hey there, I just got a second...I've been traveling with KT to NYC this past week, and I don't really have much to show for it except for this drawing I made while visiting the MET:

I had a few hours to kill while KT went to a gift shop convention...so, I found some early modernist sculpture adjacent to the cafe to draw...

This time of year always feels like the calm before the storm...I am excited that it will be fall soon, and terrified of the deluge of work that fall entails...Stock up on sandbags and I'll see you next week!

True Love and Villainous Monkeys

Its not often that my art becomes an arrow in Cupid's quiver...but last week I found out that it was exactly that. I got this email from a schoolteacher in Michigan, and she explained to me that she was looking for an anniversary gift for her husband. Turns out that they met on a blind date and sat in a booth at the tapas restaurant Sangria in Royal Oak, Michigan. Back in the Spring of 1999 I painted about 7 paintings for Sangria. Four of which were cubist(esque) still lives representing the four seasons. Well, as it turns out, the schoolteachers first date with her future husband was underneath "Winter" painted by yours truly.So, she contacted me and asked if I would be able to paint her a reproduction of the painting as a gift to her husband for their anniversary. (Awwwww) So I obliged her with a 1:16 sized replica (the original was 4'x4'...so this one was 12"x12")

Sangria "Winter" 2010
12"x12" Acrylic on Canvas

Needless to say I have grown a bit as a painter since 1999, so it was weird "forging" myself...

August is the calm before the storm of September/October...but the calm got just a tiny bit more quiet this past week. I found out that I cannot attend (and sell my wares from a tent) the Adams Morgan Day festival! Which means that I don't have any "kick-in-the-pants" deadline to work towards (which is how I work best). Because of this minor setback, I have decided to start working on a short series of "Villainous Monkeys". I want to start injecting my work with some more expressive brushwork, and a generally looser style. So, I have set out to create a rouges gallery of monkeys. Below are all unfinished (but close) paintings started early this week (I apologize for the really bad glare on these...they are progress shots, so they aren't intended to be high quality anyway)

Kung-Food Monkey (working title)
20"x24" Acrylic on Canvas

X-ray Monkey (Working Title)
20"x24" Acrylic on Canvas

Revenger Monkey (Working Title)
24"x20" Acrylic on Canvas

Let me know what you think about these guys. I don't know how far I will take them, since the tug of Daredevil Monkeys is strong...but I'd be interested in hearing what form you think monkey villainy should take....

Merry Christmas to All, and to All a Good Night!

Thanks to everyone for such a great Sketching with Santa at the Palace of Wonders! The jokes were bad, the trivia hard, the models hot and the sketching plentiful! Devonshire Cream not only did us the honor of performing, but she is a top notch photographer to boot...Check out some of her photos from last nights event:

Santa, of course...

Gigi Holliday making all of the other Christmas trees green with envy...

And Devonshire Cream backstage (she cant really take photos of herself onstage, can she?)

If you have any more photos to pass along, please don't hesitate to get in touch! Come to think of it, if you sketched last night, and have a scan of a sketch you are particularly proud of, send that along too!

SKETCHING WITH SANTA NEXT WEDNESDAY! and willful ignorance...

NEXT WEDNESDAY!
Sketching with Santa at the Palace of Wonders! How could you miss the opportunity to:

A) Sketch beautiful women WHILST drinking beer
B) Have a private audience with SANTA six months before anyone else!
C) SAVE CHRISTMAS!

ARTISTS! SANTA NEEDS YOUR HELP! Snickelfritz, the "naughty" gift designing elf has taken ill, and Santa needs some fresh sexy designs for this holiday season. For inspiration, Santa has brought you two fresh burlesque performers to sketch. Bring your sketchpad, your sick little mind...and COME SAVE CHRISTMAS!
Christmas in July drink specials all night long! Hey, no artists materials that are too wet or messy. Leave the dirty stuff to us!

If you really need a FB invite, you can go here: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=136698756364178

To be honest, this Sketching with Santa gig has been a major component of my fever dreams during my recent bout of swine flu (turns out it was strep)...I would lay in bed, sweating through the sheets, imagining that I was stuck in a chimney, and that the gremlins were coming to get me!!!
Needless to say, I haven't been working on very much while I was sick. But what meager offerings I have are worthy of a bit of discussion. First, I started working on a new drawing that was going to be a preparatory drawing for a larger piece.

Bat out of Hell study
Pastel on Prepared Paper 14"x11"

I had the idea of making a real chaotic hell scene (the fever dreams again) where there were devils flying biplanes inside a cavern coated with suffering souls. So, I thought that one way of getting some movement into the piece was to have the planes follow a "flight path" through the cavern, with the foreground plane as a framing device for the rest of the scene. Unfortunately, the pastels are far too clunky for me to get the level of detail on such a small piece of paper. So this remains a study for a larger picture...

The other piece is really an experiment. I had been getting the notion that perhaps my work was losing some of its spontaneity and life. So, I decided to go back to some of my roots. That is, when I started making "art" with a purpose, in late high school, I would make things with a certain wonkyness. Really it was an attempt to convey a sense of aggression and expression to the mark making because I was riding high on all of the abstract expressionist art history I was absorbing...plus it felt good to stab at the canvas, and make bold marks. In the intervening years I dropped this method of mark making in favor of a tighter style (which is probably a consequence of feeling that I needed to prove that I could draw and paint more than I needed to prove that I could, er, emote) So, recently, I got the notion in my head that I should take a whack at trying to recapture that same feeling in my work now. I began working on a full sheet of 24"x36" BFK in pastel, directly from a still life I hastily set up (the skull with the fez is my "go to" still life setup...its cliche, even for me, but it dispenses with the "meaning" of the objects in the still life so I can get right down to business) and I began to attack the paper in the old way, without regard for proportion or draftsmanship.

Still Life with Kraken
Pastel on Paper 36"x 24"

In the end, I don't really know what to make of these results. I enjoy the directness of the process (I knocked this out in an hour and a half) and I even like the "willful ignorance" of the application of pigment...but there is, something about its lack of sincerity despite the fact that I was trying to be very sincere! I particularly like the passage with the bottle...its just enough to give you the idea that it is a clear bottle, while letting the viewer fill in the blanks...Expressionists and impressionists had results like these, but they were supposedly working from a framework of theory that gave their work a reason to look the way it did. I don't have any theory to fall back on (well, conscious theory) and yet wouldn't this somehow be a more "pure" expression of my mental state? Seeing as I freed my mind completely and went solely with "what feels right"?

Anyway, I'd be interested in what you think...does this mode of "expressionism" say something to you? Should I embrace the wonkyness? Am I barking up the wrong tree entirely?

I had swine flu...and lived!

That's right, I had a mean ole case of the swine flu* that laid me up for the better part of the week. So, sadly all I have to report on is the film project that was using my backdrop...I was able to visit the set of the finale sequence. You can see my work in the middle of the photo (I'm told that it will look much larger on camera)


The other thing I should remind everyone about is going to see Carrie Potter at the New Moon Prom during the fringe festival. It got some good press from the Going Out Gurus...you can get tickets here!

*Jared did not actually get a diagnosis of swine flu, it was just so horrible, that he assumes it was...

THRILLIST DC PROFILES ARTBYJARED

Wow, I really didn't see this coming...I did a phone interview in March, and promptly forgot about it (I was a bit busy with Yuri's Night at the time, you know...)

I've taken the liberty to cut and paste the article below, but if you would like to visit the source (Thrillist DC) you can find it HERE.

Jared Davis Art

Former highbrow artist monkeys around

Critical acclaim is great, but at some point, you want your art to be admired by people on your own level -- sure, the Emmys, Oscars, and Grammys were great for Jeff Foxworthy, but eventually he just needed to touch those 5th graders. Now making art his friends can actually understand, sort of: Jared Davis.

Formerly a contemplative abstract expressionist, Davis started cranking out playfully lowbrow acrylics -- generally centered on daredevil monkeys, tiki culture, and sci-fi -- after realizing that he wanted to paint for his friends and not "some Swedish guy in a black-turtle neck", prompting a mid-career style shift, and a lifetime ban from Ikea. For no particular reason, many recent works focus on primate daredevil "Fearless" and his goading counterpart "Floyd", including the latter shooting the former out of a circus cannon, a rollerskating Fearless strapped to a rocket, Jackass-style, as well as about to engage a naked woman in a boxing ring in "Sweet Science", although there's no homage to the sweetest science, i.e., the chemical engineering responsible for Fun Dip. Similarly unexplainable randomness includes sci-fi inspired joints like his newest, "Genius and a Dandy", with a well-dressed computer-monitor robot taking tea with an 8-track player, and tiki-tributes like a dancing Polynesian statue, and a depiction of a stern-faced, blue-glowing drink mug painted on black velvet, guaranteed to give you that little boy smile aesthetically approving grin.
Because much like a sci-fi primate, his creativity won't be bound, Jared's also got a slew of uncategorizable pieces, with the standout being a massive oil of a pouncing cat titled "White Tiger Attacking Roy", proving that he may be crazy, but not like a Fox.

Aside from that amazing piece of investigative journalism, I also finished a commission for a film that is shooting in this area. I cant really tell you more than it involves cheerleading and features one of the main actors in three men and a baby...below you can see the backdrop they commissioned...

SKETCHING WITH SANTA ANNOUNCED! LOTERIA ON THE 7th!

Last week I showed you the flyer for Sketching with Santa at the Palace of Wonders (July 28th) with some incorrect information...but this week I can show you the flyer with the correct, new and improved information! I realize that you will be bombarded with different requests to come to this event, from Facebook, Twitter, Yelp, CNN...so, I am giving you loyal readers of BTT the exclusive "first glimpse"...so MARK YOUR CALENDARS!

ARTISTS! SANTA NEEDS YOUR HELP! Snickelfritz, the "naughty" gift designing elf has taken ill, and Santa needs some fresh sexy designs for this holiday season. For inspiration, Santa has brought you two fresh burlesque performers to sketch. Bring your sketchpad, your sick little mind...and COME SAVE CHRISTMAS!
Christmas in July drink specials all night long! Hey, no artists materials that are too wet or messy. Leave the dirty stuff to us!

The other show that you should be looking at for the Palace of Wonders is Loteria De Amor (July 7th)...I have submitted the design for the Diablito Card, and will be represented alongside 53 of DC's best artists!

Loteria is the Mexican version of bingo and instead of being played with letters and numbers it’s played with pictures. For Loteria de Amor we’ve asked 54 celbutantes from the DC/Baltimore art world to either do their take on a traditional Loteria image or to come up with an image of their own invention. Among the local artists contributing images are: Tim Tate (el Corazon), Victoria F. Gaitán (la Sirena) and Philippa Hughes (la Surfista).

In between games, the Metro area’s biggest burlesque and vaudeville stars will perform acts based on the Loteria images. Loteria de Amor Numero Uno will feature Malibu, Mistress of Fire, Baltimore’s Boylesque sensation, Paco Fish (www.pacofish.net), and the star of DC’s Gurly Show, Coco Monroe (www.myspace.com/misscocomonroe).

New Directions, New Drawings

First off, I'd like to apologize for not getting a blog posting out last week. KT was in Chicago, and I was having a rough time getting work done because of missing her (ouch! I think I just caused a bit of tooth decay, due to extreme sweetness) Anyhoo, I had some time to think about my working practice, and actually do some experimentation, and I think I may be on to something...
I started to think about what bogs me down as an artist. There are two major things, Time management and presentation. My issue with time management is normally due to the fact that I am working on several shows at once and I find it hard to set aside time to make 2-d art (paintings and such)....well, I have started to realize that I need to start gearing my work towards the three hour window of time between when I get up in the morning and when I need to leave for work. If I cannot complete a major part of the artwork (if not the whole thing) in that three hour window, the project will probably not get done (that is, it will linger unfinished in the studio) So, I need to start thinking about artwork that can be completed in short bursts...

...which has led me to the idea of drawing. It works for me in short bursts and it doesn't require the kind of set up that painting does. I have made a few over the past week as a "proof of concept" and I am really liking the results. They may not be fully formed pieces of artwork just yet, but they are doing wonders for helping me organize my thoughts...and may eventually become paintings...

El Diablito (for the Loteria D'Amor at the Palace of Wonders)
Pastel and Color Pencil on paper 8"x10"

The first drawing I made was for the Loteria D'Amor at the Palace of Wonders starting on July 7th. Its going to be a game-show-come-Mexican-bingo-burlesque-event where local artists have created the images that are traditionally on the cards...I chose El Diablito (the Little Devil). I think he works on a number of levels, and was really fun to make. I should say a word about the technique here, I am kinda using a recipe that Scott Brooks hipped me to...I am using Fabriano paper, which is the same stuff my screenprints are made on, but I am preparing the ground with burnt umber watercolor. (Scott takes the extra step of adding stiffeners to the paper...I am still experimenting with that) and then I try to use that watercolor wash as the midtone in the drawing (between the dark of the black pastel pencil and the light of the white charcoal)

Untitled Tiki
Pastel on Paper 8"x10"

Here's an example of the midtone being the watercolor...whenever I start to experiment with a new process (or when I try to rediscover an old one) I can always turn to tiki....

Diablito with Grinder
Pastel and Color Pencil on Paper 8"x10"

Here I am experimenting with a much darker application of the ground. With obviously darker results. I kinda wanted to make a very old Europe looking drawing...kinda like an old Red Skelton painting...but intentionally creepy...

Draft of the flyer for Sketching with Santa at the Palace of Wonders

I also figured that I would try using this new technique for the flyer design for my upcoming show at the Palace of Wonders on July 28th...THIS IS NOT THE FINAL DESIGN...that is, the information on this picture is not the final, correct text (for example, I think it will be $10 at the door) Anyway, I think it sends the correct message about Sketching with Santa...it will be Christmas in July, and you will get to sketch burlesque beauties! Also, the "sketchy" look of the drawing gives artists (the ones for whom this event is targeted) an inspirational sketch...kinda like the drawing that is printed on the cover of a sketchbook...

So, lets see if I can keep running with this recent epiphany...Hopefully, I will have more to share with you next week!

Life's a beach...when you're a pirate

During my first week back from staycation I have been largely absorbed with KT's pirate project. That is, she is organizing a Pirate themed open house for Imagination Stage, and she has asked me to help provide decor (as well as be a "grumpy pirate") So, I have obliged her with this groundrow that will be a photo op in the lobby during their show How I became a pirate.

Progress shot on the pirate beach photo op
Acrylic on Luan, aprox 13'x4'

I am also working on a Kraken for their wishing well...but I haven't started it yet...I best be leaving, so I can get kraken on it! (I am so sorry...)