#46: Framing Hendrix (part 2)

This morning, the glue was dry, the staples were steadfast, so I headed to Walmart and bought some black gloss spray paint.  Each bottle of paint was $0.96, if you're looking to buy some.  :]

I sanded the whole frame to help the paint adhere.

It took about 2 coats (2/3 of a bottle).

 

I grabbed some leftover screws and screwed them into the bottom.  I grabbed two large screws and screwed them in where I wanted my wire to hang from.

 

Now the piece is finished!  Thoughts/suggestions?

 

 

 

#45: Framing Hendrix (part 1)

[Hendrix at the Monterey Pops Festival]

I completed this piece of Mr. Hendrix in late January for the "Black History Month" show at the Off Center Art Center.  After looking at it for a month, I really felt that something was missing; the piece seemed too free, too expansive.  After discussing changes with fellow artist, Jeff Filipski, and my ever-supporting girlfriend, I've decided to frame it to enclose some of the "freedom" and add some balance.  Then, in my search for balance, I decided to make some serious alterations, check it out..

Layout that Sam and I liked best after deliberating for about 45 minutes.

Here is the layout for the frame I've decided to built.  Unfortunately, I left both Sam's (the person taking these pictures) and my staple gun at my house and we're using her garage.  :/  At least I've got the layout.

"Come on baby, light my fire!"

In my quest to bring this piece to the next level, I decide to try a little deconstruction.  To add to the symbolism of the burning guitar featured in the image, I begin the burn the lower-left corner and up the left side.

I never really liked Stratocasters anyway.

Kyle Heinly would be so proud!

Above is the "finished" piece with the final alterations.  I also re-coated all the spots that I burned with acrylic glazing gel.  I'll put the frame together tomorrow.  :]

#44: Making Your Own Shadow Box! (part 2)

Step 5:  Paint it!  I just used cheap gloss Black (Walmart's brand) and some Krylon Gold for some undertones.  I painted one coat of black and really layered it on; used about the whole can.  Then I sprayed on some Gold in the center and on edges.  Then I resprayed two more coats of Black.  I let it dry for about 2-3 hours before messing with it again.

 

Step 6:  Mounting; lay the painting face-down and lay out the shadow box on top.  I had one edge that wasn't my favorite (the edge that was bowed originally) so I put that one on the bottom.  I drilled holes in the center of each side (I just used the crossbeams of the painting as references) and then slowly screwed in screws.  After screwed into the frame, the screws are still about half as long as the wood that the canvas is wrapped over so that they can hold the painting in securely.

There are screws mounting the piece across from each crossbeam.

The screw on the left will be used for wiring.  The screw on the right is one
of four holding the piece into the frame.

Step 7:  Let's wire it up!  I added holes and screws 7 inches up from the center of the frame on each side.  In the picture below, I'm using a tape measure just to eyeball the holes.  Then I used a heavy wire and wrapped it three times.  The piece is a bit heavy so some extra wire makes me feel comfortable that the buyer won't have any problems.

I used a heavy wire.  Seems to be up to artist preference;
different artists have told me different things.

Here's the finished product!  I'm very happy with it and think they buyer will be as well.  Please comment if you have any tips or contentions.  :]

 

#43: Make Your Own Homemade Shadow Box! (part 1)

Recently, I posted a picture of a completed piece to my Facebook and to my amazement, I had an interested buyer within an hour of posting.  The piece (below) is a 3' x 3' painting on canvas and it really needed a shadow box before I felt satisfied with the finished product.  I'm not super handy with tools and have little experience building things (without Legos).  In the rest of the post, I will discuss how I created a simple shadow box for my artwork.

[Untitled Sea Turtle Piece] - 3' x 3'

Step 1:  I purchased four 6-foot sections of pine wood at Home Depot.  This ran me about $12.  You will also require wood glue, a staple gun (borrow it!), screws, nails (optional), saw (borrow it!), miter box (optional), and a drill (borrow it!).  Each section was a bit more than 6-foot long, so I kept that in mind when measuring and marking.  I cut 3-foot sections, keeping in mind the extra length on each section.  Then, I put the first four sections together tip-to-inside-edge.  Take some extra time to square it up before gently putting the painting down.

Tip-to-inside-edge

Step 2:  I put the art on top of my placed pieces and re-squared them.  I eyeballed it until I felt that the art was right in the center.

Step 3:  I added the last four sections of pine.  Notice that the corners do not touch; that is the look that I desired in this shadow box.  I squared them up and checked each side before moving on.

In this shadow box, the top pieces do not touch.

Step 4:  Glue the top pieces down.  I felt that it was important to do this first to make sure everything lined up with the painting inside.  The bottom pieces are less visible than the top ones, so I wanted to make sure the top ones were lined up.

I stapled each piece of wood 3-4 times.  One piece was warped so after stapling and gluing, I added nails to help hold the two pieces together.

The bottom piece was warped so I added 3 nails to help hold it together while the glue dries.

Tomorrow I'll be ready to lightly sand all four dry pieces, glue and staple them together, and paint them!  :]

#42: So I made some videos...

I made a promo video last year one of Lomazzo's "Retro Cinemarama's" last year.  Thought I'd wipe off the digital cobwebs and upload it here.  I do not own the rights of "Welcome Home" (Coheed & Cambria) or "Supremacy" (Muse) and am not using the songs for sales purposes.

Here I have posted a short video that I made of my "box" at the Off Center Art Center (www.ocacoffcenterartcenter.com).  Sorry the awkwardness and format of the video; I made it on my iPhone and was having trouble fitting the whole box into the camera (there were other artist's boxes behind me).  I do happen to be co-owner of the music in this video, supplied by my band Fields of Saturn.  Thank you to everyone who follows my work on Facebook, Twitter, Blogger, and in person.  :]

#41: Where're you going and where've you been?

Where've I been?
Been trying to create a freaking following, and it's working.  I'm content with my success from 2013.  I've sold around 12 originals, am a member of an art gallery and studio (Off Center Art Center, Melbourne, FL), and have broken 500 "likes" on my Facebook art page (www.facebook.com/boredom.is.overrated).  Here's some of the work that have achieved happy new homes in the last 12 months:

[Untitled Tiger Painting]
36in. x 36in.

[Everyone Paints Sea Turtles]
12in. x 12in.

[Everyone Paints Space Telescopes
12in. x 12in. + shadowbox

[Birdy IV]
24in. x 48in.

[Colorado]
24in. x 24in.

Now what?
As I continue to move forward, people keep asking me about the [Birdy] series.  They say things like, "When am I going to do more?" "Those pieces are your best work." "You should keep doing those big anime paintings with the tape."  I DO enjoy making those immensely and I will probably create one or two this year, but I have to be in the right frame of mind.  I have to watching an anime; enjoying said anime; and feel a strong connection to the source.  Once that has happened, I carve out my own niche and express my own feelings and thoughts through 2ftx4ft canvas.  It'll happen when the time's right.  I'm enjoying the success of my inked pieces (as seen in the [Everyone Paints...] series).  Below is what I'm currently working; the paint is done, time for the inking...

[Untitled Sea Turtle]
36in. x 36in. - canvas

I've also decided to be a big boy and make my own shadowboxes, frames, etc.  Here's my first complete, hand-built shadowbox around my piece, [No Disintegrations].

[No Disintegrations]
24in. x 24in.

The Future? (specifically 2014)
You can find me selling my work at the first annual Space Coast Nerd Fest (www.spacecoastnerdfest.org).  Brian Benson is doing a good job getting lots of artists, attractions, events, etc. set up for the Fest and it's shaping up to be Melbourne's own little Megacon.  You can also find me at the Off Center Art Center in downtown Eau Gallie (www.ocacoffcenterartcenter.com).

#40: Florida Art

"florida art"

 If you go to Google and type in "florida art," the image above is what you will find.  13 out of the 16 images in the screenshot have prominent palm trees.  Well, I haven't gotten around to painting any palm trees yet, but I have started a "Everyone Paints..." series where I focus on subject matter that's more commonly painted in Central Florida.  I've uploaded them in order of their creation:

[Everyone Paints Sea Turtles]

[Everyone Paints Space Telescopes]

[Everyone Paints Space Stations]

This series has been a wonderful experience!  Sea turtles and anything to do with NASA are hugely popular in Melbourne, FL.  I've been able to focus on some more "sellable" subject matter in the foreground, while still experimenting and keeping my own style intact in the background.  The gold in the last image is "golden lettering enamel" that I found in a community pile at the Off Center Art Center (www.ocacoffcenterartcenter.com), where I'm now a resident artist.  That new medium has been so much fun to tinker with and creates some very wild designs.  Hope you like my newest work and keep your head in the cosmos!

#39: Why Women Are Important To Us [Men]

Are you a man?  Have you ever been unable to find what you're looking for in the fridge?  Tonight, we found a Fisher Audio Component MC-723bk for $18 at Goodwill.  (For those that don't speak in that talk, like me, it's a record player.)  I made sure to keep the receipt just in case it was totally busted.  After wondering why the cables were yellow and brown (instead of the modern red and black) and just hooking them up randomly, the system came to life!

"It's alive!"

I immediately grabbed my newest album, MUSE's "Black Holes & Revelations."  It sounded gorgeous; Matt Bellamy's vocals sounded great through the old speakers.  Nichole was making funny faces at my giddiness, so I thought I'd show off.  I grabbed my signed, unreleased Coheed & Cambria 45rpm.  Now, let me give you some background:  my other record player I bought brand new.  I love listening to records but know nothing of the hardware involved.  I know more about how the Millenium Falcon works.

Those modifications are so illegal..

So, of course, Mr. Claudio Sanchez's voice was extremely low (for him).  The music was much slower than it should have been.  I realized that I needed to find the button to switch from 33rpm to 45rpm.  I searched high and low for a button, switch, toggle.  Then I went to the master of all things, Google.  Google wanted me to buy the original manual from God-knows-what-year for $10 and had no information on how to switch between 33rpm and 45rpm.  In frustration, I just decided that I wasn't going to be able to play 45s on my new unit.

That's when Nichole walks over.  Within three minutes and with less than five text messages to her father, she has found the switch and is playing "The Running Free (Album Version)" by Coheed & Cambria.  This is a major reason why women are important.  I open the fridge and CANNOT find the sour cream.  She walks over pulls it out.  Usually it's in the front.

#38: [Auto Pilot] & [Auto Pilot II]

So, as usual, it's been awhile since I blogged on here.  I am in the process of working on about five large pieces and have finished one since I last posted.  It's called [Auto Pilot] and it is another experiment with negative/positive space; it is inverse from my [Guitar Duel] pieces.

[Auto Pilot]

In the [Guitar Duel] series, I used black for the foreground, but I decided to take a different approach with this one.  Initially, the idea was use stars as the stencil and do a recreation of the American flag.  That idea died, however, when I realized that I was unable to paint with only three colors, one of which being white (yuck).  Can anyone guess where the title comes from?  (hint: it's always music..)

Tonight I started a second piece in this new series - I hope you enjoy it!

[Auto Pilot II]
(work in progress)

As in the first piece, I made "stripes" with blue (why did I have to buy the cheapo Big Lots brand?  *sigh*) and masking tape.  Originally, this was to simulate the stripes on the flag; now it's just neato.

I'm used Liquitex Basics for the undercoat and then added Golden paints on top for that bright, expensive look that everyone who paints with acrylic and oil crave.

*Disclaimer:  I own no rights to Big Lots (it's an outlet store, if you didn't know) or Queens of the Stone Age.

#37: "I'M BATMAN!"

So, I decided to make the move into pop culture with one of my favorites, Batman.  I'm doing it in the same style as my [Guitar Duel] series and leaving the [Birdy] series behind (for now).  Here are some pictures on my current progress on [Batman] WIP.

Day 1:  This was the first time I thought I was "done with the background."

Day 3:  Spiced it up a bit - more darkness. 
I mean, nothing gets darker than Batman, right?

This will be the third time I've made this statement about the current piece:  I think I'm finally done with the background.

Enjoy.  ..and, "I'M BATMAN!"  :]

#36: "Same Old Trip"

Working on a few new pieces - currently three, [Embalmed in Memory], [BP Doesn't Need Loose Lips], and a commission.

I posted a pic on the [Boredom.Is.Overrated] Facebook page last night of [Embalmed in Memory] (you'll never get that reference.. unless you're a fan of Akira Yamaoka).  This piece is heavily influence by survival horror videogames.  I'm a big fan of Silent Hill and F.E.A.R.

Here is last night's pic (immediately below) and what I've done to it today.  Enjoy.  :]

Day 1:  Just a drawing so far.  Canvas is 3ft x 4ft. 
Bottom half is an apocalyptic city landscape; top half is a mountain landscape.

Day 2:  Just letting blue and grey do their own thing. 
I will build upon the drips later.  Letting them create their own texture
is important to me.  I can paint over anything I don't like.

 Btw, I have postcards for sale now!  Check my Facebook page and click the tab "My Yardsale".

#35: "On A Plain"

So, it's been a while since I've posted on here.  I've been home for two weeks and completed a Christmas present for a friend, starring the ever loveable Ebichu, the house cleaning hamster (whom I own no copyright to).  I'm hoping to post pictures of that work up soon.  I couldn't post any online, for fear that my friend may see them before receiving the painting.

At the moment I'm working on a (or two?) commissioned piece, currently named [Untitled].  Here are pictures of the work in progress (both photos taken with an iPhone 4S):

There are two 2x4ft panels here.  I'm painting them together to
try and keep them in a "series," even though they will be displayed apart.

At this point, I just keep flipping the panels, letting the color drip to the center.

Keep checking the Facebook page:  www.facebook.com/boredomisoverrated/
I have been giving out free prints monthly and attending art shows regularly.  Also, the website has been fully updated and can be reached here:  www.boredomisoverrated.com

Stay inspired, creative, and most of all, dreaming!  ..and commission something.  ;]
Ciao, for now.