See Red Dots, Meet the Artist, Eat Popcorn!

Art-o-Matic has been good to me this year. Many of my paintings have acquired the auspicious red spot. In order to give you, loyal BTT reader, a last look at the sold paintings before they are tucked away in private collections, I have posted images below:

Coconut Monkey 2007
Acrylic and Cut Paper on Board 8"x10"

Cortez 2007
Acrylic and Cut Paper on Board 5"x7"

Monkey Vespa 2007
Acrylic and Cut Paper on Board 11"x14"
Creature Feature 2008
Acrylic on Board 16"x20"

I also have sold the small painting Moai in the Next Ice Age...but I don't have a good picture to share of it yet. You still have some chances to purchase some Art By Jared of your very own this Friday (5/16) at Meet The Artist Night. I will be giving away popcorn (the cuisine of choice for most movie going monkeys...) and perhaps even offering MR.TIKIHEADs for sale at special Art-o-Matic discount prices! (of course you can always buy them online here)

Other than the Art-o-Matic opening night (at which I worked the UBER-CRAZY 11th floor bar) the other major triumph this week belonged to Scott Brooks! His very successful solo show at Longview Gallery opened on Saturday...lots of great new work (he's been busy since Italy!)Scott with new work Nativity on Demand

My personal favorite painting from the show, Cannibal Cub Scout

Lastly, I have refined the set Design for Debbie Does Dallas the Musical for Landless Theater. I needed to scrap the individual lockers idea, and go with a low locker/bench combo...the kind that Ikea used to sell...but doesn't anymore. Shout out to Pam for finding it on Craigslist for me!

Debbie Does Dallas the Musical Set Design first draft
Photoshop and Pencil

I start actual construction for Debbie... next week, so you can expect some progress photos then!

ART-O-MATIC IS HERE!!!!

Its come true, your favorite semi regular artistic free-fer-all is back and badder than ever! Tomorrow is the grand opening, so be there or be square. If you miss Friday's opening, you get a second chance at hi-jinx with all the artists on "Meet the Artist Night" on Friday the 16th.

Here is the ArtbyJared space in all of its glory:

11th floor, NW side, Art-o-Matic 2008

Did you know that Art in America mentioned Art-o-Matic in this months issue? It's true. About Halfway through the article and its listed in the "In the Galleries" section of J.W. Mahoney's Report from Washington D.C. which is not available on the web, but Lenny posts some discussion of the piece here. And, I have decided to transcribe a "good parts" excerpt:

...The other institution, Artomatic, established in 1999, is fluid in every respect. Its an annual - sometimes semiannual - resolutely non-curated exhibition of Washington area artists, a pay-for-space proposition open to anyone at all who wants to show something they have made. It takes place anywhere large enough to accommodate the deluge of art that comes in, making exhibition spaces out of anything from a former children' s museum to two floors of an office building, to an enormous empty laundry complex. The presence of so much amateur work is overwhelming. Prompting the Washington Post's chief art critic, Blake Gopnik, to compare visiting Artomatic to an extended dental appointment. But the beauty of Artomatic's aesthetic anarchy is its abundant innocence, not in any obviously savvy consideration of contemporary art issues. And, critically viewed, some surprisingly serious, innovative work crops up in unusual places, just around some unlikely corner of the show.

My suggestion is to go buy one at the newsstand, because the article articulates the D.C. scene fairly succinctly...even though it leaves out many deserving folks (certainly it leaves out any mention of lowbrow)

This week was dedicated to getting the Art-o-Matic space in order, and ready for the public on Friday, so there is not much to report on the artistic front. I did, however, get to pose for a portrait for Todd Gardner. He has been working on a series of 50 24"x24" portraits of people he knows...yours truly is number 39:

Jared by Todd Gardner
Acrylic on board 24"x24"

ART-O-MATIC LOOMS....

Just so you know, the eleventh floor is the rockin' place to be...Not only will you get to see your's truly's space...but I am right next to the rock star of last years Art-o-Matic: Greg Ferrand! Oh, and he's right next to Alan Defibaugh, Emily Liddle, Candy Keegan, and Peter Harper, just to name a few...AND, I hear the eleventh floor has a bar!

Art-o-Matic this year has kinda taken me by surprise. I haven't really had much time to work on ole' fashioned paintings lately, since I have been swamped with Yuri's Night. And, I am looking around to change up my game a bit, when it comes to painting. I want to examine the role that some of my working methods have developed. I am struggling to get away from, or around, my need to make cut paper paintings. I also want to explore the suggestive nature of black and the silhouette, just to name a few things I have been exploring lately. But all of this takes time to actually realize, so I am afraid that there will not be much that is "new" at this Art-o-Matic from me. But it will be a great opportunity to purchase some artwork that others have foolishly passed on!

To give you an idea of what I am talking about, when it comes to my "examination" pieces, I have a really crappy camera phone shot of one of the more encouraging pieces in the process:

Experimental painting
5"x7" Acrylic on board

I have been trying to get my paint to be more sculptural, and also looser...while keeping the hard edge...so, it is really hard to see here, but I think I have found the beginnings of the way to achieve that without resorting to some sort of mechanical reproduction process...Stay tuned!

The other development this week was Lil Dutch's Dutch Oven at the Palace of Wonders. I used this opportunity to repaint some Halloween scenery to help her celebrate Uno De Mayo!

Uno De Mayo set piece for the Dutch Oven
Acrylic on Luan, roughly 5'x5'

So lastly, I am usually pretty hard on Photography, anyone who has asked me about photography whilst I am drunk can attest to that. However, I have always been a fan of Chris Chen, of My Life As A Contact Sheet fame. I was looking through his Flickr account recently, looking for documentation of one of my previous gigs (a widely underestimated service he preforms, I may add) and I noticed that I had gotten my own "tag" in his photostream. That's where I found this very poetic and moving photo taken at the end of the 2007 Halloween party...somehow it really captured the feeling at the end of that party in a way that no painting could...great job Chris!

SEE YOU ALL NEXT FRIDAY (5/9) AT THE ART-O-MATIC OPENING!!!!

Debbie Does Dallas the Musical Set Design First Draft

So, now that Yuri's Night 2008 is officially in the books, I have no more excuses for procrastinating on getting to work on post-YN projects. First at bat is Debbie Does Dallas the Musical, for Landless Theater.

Debbie Does Dallas the Musical Set Design first draft

Photoshop and Pencil

Hopefully my Internet research on cheap astroturf has not lead me astray. Landless has traditionally tight budgets, so an extravagance like, well, scenery, has been difficult to obtain. I have seen Home Depot advertise the "outdoor carpet" for under $4 a square yard...I'll need at least 32 square yards for this show...

There are lots of little surprises in the design that I have not put into the rendering, so, providing that they survive the scrutiny of the director, you will get to see them in person when the show opens on June 5th.

The other major development that I have been avoiding is Art-o-Matic 2008. I have a space, and will eventually pull something together...but I haven't really put the nose to the grindstone about that just yet (in fact, I haven't even been back to my space since site selection on the 12th!) I have my first volunteer shift on Sunday, so next week I will be able to report more fully on the status of the show.

Yuri's Night 08 | World Space Party PHOTOS!

Thanks to everyone who came out to Yuri's Night 2008 at Art Whino in Alexandria!!! We all had a great time, and it shows in the pictures:

As promised, the final result for the Neptune Bar

Chris Bishop and Cosmonaut Jared are "thumbs up" for launch!

Dustin, Kirstra and Lindsay all enjoying the Venus bar

Gary Gutter and Lil' Dutch take in the moonlight (or should I say moonshine)

At one point we were boarded by imperial troops under the command of Lord Vader...fortunately, we were able to get some of our droids into escape pods...

Master Uranus chats up the tin foil dress twins and an actual astrophysicist, Ethan

Cosmonaut Jared enjoys a coke with Mouaz (I just hope they have air conditioning in space)

Some of the Gilded Lilly gals showing off future fashions

Vulcan gang signs by petty officer Weldon, Mrs Saturn and Mab

KT and Scott Brooks (six eyes between them!)

Kirstra and Jaya on Mars

Ellen, KT's Mom wondering how Barbarella keeps her hair perfect in space...

Flash, Booger and Red Vinyl spacebabe

Scott molts, Robert is amazed

Master Uranus and KT

Kirstra and Sara...frustrated cigarette girls, because in space, no one can hear you smoke...

KT letting you know that in the future the silver sequin will be a precious metal

Miss Saturn and an audience assistant

KT's Dad trying to keep cool in the hullabaloo

Mike proves to Alan that being probed by an alien isn't all bad

These red Ikea chairs became sentient during the party...they are plotting our demise!

DJ Red Pancho Space Bear keeps Flash Gordon and the space tunes spinnin' in the Mars room

Petty Officer Weldon and First Mate Heidi keep order in the transporter room

Yes, we sold lots of tickets...

Bambi and Paco keep it surreal on the dance floor

They never knew it was coming!

Shane admits he may have a drinking problem...

The jump to hyperspace was unexpected at the Neptune bar...

Mr. Moccasin sets up to play

Spacebabe Queonna is happy to keep you hydrated during the flight!

Thanks again to everyone who made this party possible...Please send me any and all photos that you have of the party! See you next year...T Minus 358 days and counting!

T-Minus 24 HOURS and counting to YURI'S NIGHT 2008!

If you haven't gotten your tickets yet, you are cutting it really close...we will be ending presale tickets at 12 (noon) on Saturday (tomorrow) So if you want to save five dollars, go immediately to:

www.outofthisworldparty.com

And for your insiders peek (this will be a short post today, because I am immediately going to Art Whino to install the final details for TOMORROW, right after this posting) I have a picture of Chris Bishop standing in front of the backdrop for the burlesque show at Yuri's Night. He (Chris Bishop) Scott Brooks and I knocked this baby out in record time!

Do you think its spacey enough? (click for larger image)

Okay kids, I expect to see every single one of you tomorrow!!!!

T-Minus 8 days and counting to YURI'S NIGHT 2008!

"I COMMAND YOU, PUNY EARTHLING, TO GO TO
WWW.OUTOFTHISWORLDPARTY.COM
AND GET TICKETS FOR NEXT SATURDAYS YURI'S NIGHT PARTY!!!!"

So, as you can see, even the our alien overlords are planning to attend the party...

As promised, below are the progress shots from the different "planet bars". First we have the finished product for the Venus bar:

Venus Bar for Yuri's Night 2008

Acrylic on Luan

I think she turned out pretty well. I was, and am always, concerned about making women's faces look convincing, yet somewhat nontraditional. Since I don't have any specific models to copy, I aim towards a direction for beauty and hopefully get there. I started out, in the sketch, with a youngish, innocent type for Venus. So, I started going in that direction. In the end I probably wound up hitting a "Molly Ringwald" sort of beauty (with a hint of vixen)...needless to say, I know how to quit while I am ahead...

The next planet from the sun (excluding earth, of course) is Mars. After an aborted start, I decided to try working out all of the other connotations of Mars....

Mars Bar for Yuri's Night 2008
Acrylic on Luan (still in progress)

The little green men idea seemed to be thing that inspires me most about Mars. So, I just decided to throw all the best little green men together. I really hope that the cease and desist orders don't start coming in...I want Warner Brothers to know that I grew up with Marvin, and I have the utmost respect for his visage (it has been over used at every flea market in the world) and only try to represent him here as a sort of homage to a great character. I hope that the lawyers out there will realize that I am in including him as a Renaissance painter would have included John the Baptist in a painting about Jesus...Speaking of "Jesus", that role is being played by another copyright skirting visage, The Head Martian from Mars Attacks! I really couldn't see Yuri's Night that I put together without a reference to this great set of trading cards painted by Norm Saunders! AKK AKK AKK AKK!!!

Photo of both bars in progress at the shop

I am still trying to make the Saturday deadline for completion of Neptune...here's the sketch:

Neptune Bar Sketch
Pencil and Photoshop

And here's the progress so far:
So, Hopefully, I will get all these done in time to begin painting the ArtWhino Space all next week. I will post progress on the backdrop and other party prep as it becomes available...