Spooktacular XV "Apocalypse Wow" Photo Round Up

Spooktacular XV "Apocalypse Wow" Photo Round Up...Not all the photos, just some of the best...

How I stopped worrying and learned to love black velvet.

Things have been chugging along with the Spooktacular XV prize production...I have only one painting to show you this week (I start on the last of the six scheduled prize paintings tomorrow) and it's theme is the nuclear apocalypse...one of my favorite characters in film from one of my favorite directors: Stanley Kubrick's Dr Strangelove. (sorry folks, he was snatched up in the first hour, so you can only win the 2"x 3" versions at the party!)

Nuclear Apocalypse, Dr. Strangelove. 16" x 20" Acrylic on Velvet (5 of 6) SOLD

Three More Apocalyptic Velvets for the Spooktacular

The march towards the Spooktacular continues with my painting three more (four of the six completed now) apocalyptic velvet paintings...the bad news (for you) is that two are already spoken for before the party...

Zombie Apocalypse (Skullvis), 16" x 20" Acrylic on Black Velvet (2 of 6) SOLD!

Kaiju Apocalypse, 16" x 20" Acrylic on Black Velvet (3 of 6) SOLD!

Ape Apocalypse, 16" x 20" Acrylic on Black Velvet (4 of 6)

 If you would like to purchase them before the party please click HERE.

BUG Opens and the set gets a good review! (so does the rest of the show)

Normally I don't like posting pictures of the set of a show that is running, because I feel that it can detract from the experience if I already know what I am going to see. However, this time I am making an exception because of this wonderful praise for the set:

So, really, this means that if the show is the "6th character" then showing pictures of it is like showing pictures of the actor in the show. Showing a static picture doesn't take anything away from the performance, because the actor changes and unfolds the role during the course of the show. So does this scenery in this case. So, please enjoy these glimpses of the set, and hopefully it will whet your appetite to actually come see the show THIS SATURDAY (10/11) for "Scenery Appreciation Night"! Get Tickets HERE.

SPOOKTACULAR XV VELVET PAINTINGS HAVE BEGUN!

As you know by now, I paint a series of paintings for our annual Halloween party (The Spooktacular, now in its 15th year) and I award them as prizes when you play the "game" at the party...(click HERE to see last year's crop of Creepy Clowns). In the past few years I have made 25-40 different pieces of art for each party. I intend to do the same this year, however, I will only be releasing 6 paintings before the party that will be for sale. The other artwork created will need to be won at the party.

This year's theme is "Apocalypse WOW!" So I will be creating six visions of six different apocalypses. Today's is a little fellow from the alien apocalypse...

APOCALYPSE WOW #1: ALIEN. 16" x 20" Acrylic on Velvet.

If you would like to purchase him, you can go to www.artbyjared.com (in the "store" tab) and click on the blue link in the description. I'll be back in a few days with the next apocalypse. BOO!

Sketches and Photos from SWEENY TODD: Prog Metal Version

This has been the longest lapse in ArtByJaredBlog postings ever. Well, the dry spell stops TODAY! Below are two images of one of the big projects from this past Summer (BTW, Summer is gone y'all) and I am hoping to get everybody caught up over the next few weeks as we ramp up for HALLOWEEN!

So, in keeping with the Halloween spirit, here are the sketches and set photos from Sweeny Todd: Prog Metal Version (Landless Theatre Company)

Set Design, Sweeny Todd, Pencil and Photoshop

Production Photo (sorry I dont remember who I got the photo from) Andrew Baughman and Nina Osegueda pictured

Imagination Stage's Childrens Ball and the Three Amigos

Since Yuri's Night has closed I have been busy working on Imagination Stage's Children's Ball, which happened this past Saturday...below are the set designs and then event photos of the final product...the theme this year was essentially paired with their current theatrical production, a hip hop version of Cinderella.

 A big thanks goes out to Jason Krznarich for building from my photoshop wizardry...Rachel Garmon for making it all happen on the I.S. tip, Pavlos Karalis for the event photos above and big ups to my long-suffering wife who was instrumental in the design process.

Also, I should mention that I participated in the "El Mundo De Los Luchadores" show with Art Whino (at the DC Fairgrounds) and a lucky couple was able to walk away with my luchador art...

Los Tres Amigos, Acrylic on Masonite 48" x48"

I was perhaps over-thinking the project...but basically, I was envisioning a hopeful sign painter in the 1950's in the small town of Santa Poco, having been told of the exploits of these strange gringos that saved the town in the 1930, and the rousing speech of Lucky Day that said that we all have our own El Guapo to face in life. Since luchadors often have a civic role and a positive message for communities in Mexico, I thought that a second generation of luchadors might have modeled themselves after the three amigos. The hand painted sign was never taken down and got 60 years of weather on it....and then I added the tromp l'oeil Christmas lights for effect...
 

C2YN 2014 Thank You!

I'd like to take the opportunity to thank everyone that came out to C2YN 2014 at the Anacostia Arts center last weekend. It was one of our best shows to date. I will be collecting the photos from the event and posting them over the next couple of weeks. Please, if you have any good photos, please post them to the Astro Pop Events Facebook page.

In the meantime, I will be working hard on recovering from the blowout (I still have to put the many many rockets away). I'd like to remind everyone that the art show, Space Truckin', that accompanied the C2YN event is still up, and will be up for the remainder of the month. Below are my additions to the show:

Moon Scootin' Monkey 8"x10" Acrylic on Board (sold)

Bombs Away 36" x 48" Acrylic on Canvas

The Giving Tree

Oh, I guess before I tell you about how Mardi Gras turned out, I should show you the project that was running concurrently...

Before that, however, I would be remiss if I did not mention the C2YN Countdown Clock:

T-Minus 23 Days Until Countdown To Yuri's Night 2014!

Okay, back to the giving tree event. Well, it was actually a benefit for Children's National Hospital, called the Heroes Curing Childhood Cancer Gala, held at the Four Seasons Hotel in Georgetown. The reason I have called it the giving tree event is because they were basing the theme of the even on Shel Silverstien's book, the Giving Tree. They wanted something that referenced the book, but did not a direct copy of his artwork (which is one of the first things I brought up at the first meeting). So, I whipped up this sketch:

 They liked the tree concept, and the light up heart carved into the tree, but they thought that it was too thick in the middle...so I whipped up a second version with a thinner trunk, after consulting with Walt to make sure that I wasn't making it too skinny to support itself:

 They approved of this version, and added a pair of portals to the order, using the art from Shel Silverstien.

 So, in the end, Walt did a fantastic job of making the armature and branches. He wired up 100 sets of leaf groupings with a small LED that would twinkle when plugged in. The photos I have below do not do the installation justice because A) they were taken with my phone B) the twinkle LEDs are not lit up C) the rest of the room is not set up or lit because these photos were taken at 2am the night before the event....I show them here to give you an idea of how close we got to delivering what was in the design...

Stay tuned for next week, when I show you the final product of Mardi Gras!

WATCH AWARD and Part One of DC Mardi Gras

Right off the bat I should mention that on Sunday I received a WATCH Award for outstanding set design for a musical 2013. It was for Dominion Stage's Avenue Q. It was my tenth nomination. Thanks to everyone who made it possible, especially my wife Kate, Dave Moretti and Arlington County Cultural Affairs.

Before I start this weeks blog post, I should also kick off the the C2YN countdown...
 

Countdown to Yuri's Night Countdown Clock: 

T-Minus 30 days. 

Be sure to get your tickets early...here


So, it's impolite to show designs of a project that is still in progress, because much of the magic of live theater is, well, seeing it live and not a few weeks beforehand on the Artbyjaredblog. So, now that the 2014 DC Mardi Gras is a distant memory, I can share some of the early false starts and progress sketches...

So the client is the DC Mardi Gras, which is the "Expat" New Orleanians annual version of Mardi Gras here in DC at the Dupont Circle Hilton. I have helped design elements for this event off and on since 2002, particularly redesigning the portals for Thursday and Friday nights last year.

This year they wanted me to redesign the ceiling of the main event, Saturday Night. There was not much to go on, other than that they wanted something different and less "Tinseltown"...so in late September, I made a first sketch that I knew would be rejected, simply to "start the conversation". I proposed a giant crown, that would light up, rotate and have large fabric swags:

So they did not like this because it was too similar to what they had in the past, and was still too "Tinseltown". So, I went back to the drawing board and came up with a couple variations on a theme.

The puppeteer jester would be a giant sculptural jester puppet that also had puppets he was controlling...so, he'd rotate and move his arms to control the puppets...below is the sketch showing what he would look like in the space:

I also made a version that would be much larger...

And if they didn't like that, I had a "Jester Band" sculptural centerpiece up my sleeve:

But, as it turns out, these were not what they were looking for at all. So, it started to dawn on me that "Tinseltown" meant something significant to them... These designs were all very "Contemporary" Bourbon Street. That is, they were the type of thing you would see covered in glitter and going down the street in today's Mardi Gras. What they wanted was something that was much older looking...classy...not glittery and gaudy...not "Tinseltown"....Next week I'll show you what came of that epiphany, and actually made it on to the floor of the Hilton...