Friday, December 12, 2008

Thursday, November 27, 2008

Parris, a Seattle artist. What became of Parris?




I walked down the hill to all the shops in Fremont and stopped to look at this mural. There used to be more of them in Seattle by this artist back in the '90s. The name of the artist is Parris. What became of Parris? If anyone knows, I'd love to learn what you know.

A Symbol of Hope

I was on a liesurely walk through the neighborhood this morning and I lingered on this symbol of hope. When was the last time we wanted to hold onto such a symbol? Not since JFK and RFK, no doubt. Shepard Fairey has sure come a long way since "Obey the Giant." What wonderful timing. And what a heart-felt image. I love how Fairey was amused with Obama's staff being so curious about how he managed to get this image displayed all over the country.

Wednesday, September 03, 2008

Dan Clowes and Adrian Tomine with Ivan Brunetti: Comix Sub-Heroes


The "Comix Sub-Heroes" discussion on alternative comics was one of my favorite moments at Bumbershoot, Seattle's annual music and arts festival taking place over the Labor Day weekend and going strong now for 38 years.

Cartoonist Ivan Brunetti has become quite the scholar on comics. He is the editor of An Anthology of Graphic Fiction, published by Yale University Press, with the latest edition due out in October. He was the moderator for this comix event where he interviewed Dan Clowes and Adrian Tomine.

Dan Clowes is best known for Ghost World, a collection of related stories from his series, Eightball, published by Fantagraphics, that became such a remarkable film. Adrian Tomine is best known for his series, Optic Nerve, published by Drawn & Quarterly. A collection of related stories from that series, Shortcomings, was recently published to critical acclaim.

The talk was mostly a fun opportunity to see these guys who turned out to be very generous in discussing their work and work habits. As expected, there were a number of budding cartoonists in the audience. As for words of encouragement, both Tomine and Clowes were hard pressed to encourage this activity unless the aspiring artist really loved it. Assuming that dedication to one's art was in place, the best one could say was to just do it and that was at the heart of this event, finding a way to convey what it was that a cartoonist does.

For Clowes, it seemed he'd been doing it for so long that he just lived and breathed it. At one point, he said he couldn't go a day without drawing. For Tomine, the only concern at this point in his career seemed to be to try to match his working hours with his wife's job that kept regular business hours.

Brunetti did his best to keep things moving with questions like, "How important is it to stay true to the original idea for a story?" Tomine gave a pleasant answer about the ending he came up with for a story helped create the rest of the story which, ultimately did away with his original idea for an ending. Clowes responded, "I usually start with a high concept like Die Hard meets The Office that ends up having nothing to do with the actual story."

It was interesting to just observe these two icons of alternative comics. Clowes is tall and trim with short grey hair. Tomine is a little shorter and laid back. Clowes seems ever ready to burst with a well-intentioned wise crack.

The highlight for me came when Brunetti asked about drawing methods. This inspired Clowes to explain he wasn't really much into preliminary drawings beyond a drawing in a sketchbook and then he dives in. This approach, he admitted, means it takes a few pages for the character to kick in. He remembered the development of a character named Tina who was suppose to be some sort of fish creature. "At first," he said, "she looked more like a potato which was really odd considering her first line is, 'Would you like a potato?'"

So, it seems to me that just getting to see these guys chat was more than enough for any fan. If words of encouragement were still wanted by the aspiring artists, one thing that seemed clear from this talk was the fact that cartooning, particularly creating graphic novels, could be looked upon just like any other job, at least to some extent, and that's saying a lot.


Sunday, August 10, 2008

STYLASTIC: Jude Law or Brad Pitt?

STYLASTIC is a word I created to describe my quirky comic. It took on a life of its own back in 2005 where it lived for awhile at Four Magazine.
Stayed tuned. STYLASTIC is here and will keep coming back!

Click onto image to enlarge. Enjoy.

STYLASTIC: Tiramisu Bowls!

Click onto image to enlarge. Enjoy.

STYLASTIC: Scarlett Johansson

Click onto image to enlarge. Enjoy.

STYLASTIC: iPod

Click onto image to enlarge. Enjoy.

STYLASTIC: Project Runway

Click onto image to enlarge. Enjoy.

STYLASTIC: Britney Spears vs. Paris Hilton

Click onto image to enlarge. Enjoy.

STYLASTIC: The Duster

Click onto image to make larger. Enjoy.

Thursday, July 31, 2008

Happy Happy Rainbow


Something to celebrate Summer.

Portrait: Scarlett Johansson



This is from my comic strip, Stylastic, which appeared awhile back in the online magazine, Four Magazine. It was in 2005 and 2006. I decided to let it rest for a bit. I might bring it back sometime. Anyway, I really like how this portrait of Scarlett Johansson turned out.

Monday, July 28, 2008

Illustration: Dig & Scratch magazine


Here's an illustration I did for Dig & Scratch, a pet magazine based out of New York. This was part of a series about exercising with your pet. I like this odd pose a lot. The girl is sort of resigned to her little routine with her cat.

Illustration: Dig & Scratch magazine


Another illustration for the pet magazine, Dig & Scratch. More from the exercising with your pet article.

Storyboards for Film




As I clean house and look over things, I'll be posting more random items from stuff I've done. Here are some storyboards.

Friday, July 25, 2008

World Health Organization's Stop TB campaign


I recently took part in a call for artists contest for the World Health Organization's "Stop TB" campaign to promote awareness of tuberculosis, a common and often deadly disease. I didn't win the contest but it was fun creating a mock up for their comic book and helping out. 

Comic Book Bin Review: The Dark Knight


I have provided my thoughts on The Dark Knight in my latest review at The Comic Book Bin. It seemed like a good idea to stress the fact that this isn't meant for kids despite the PG-13 rating. Warner Bros. would say it's all up to the parents which is true in a perfect world but wouldn't a clear and straightforward R rating have done the trick? Of course it would! It is a great movie, don't get me wrong. I'm just saying it's not for kids.

Friday, July 18, 2008

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Art Work at Senor Moose Cafe





Here are some more photos of my show at Senor Moose Cafe in Ballard.

Art Work: Art Shows Past and New



Well, the current show at Atlas has made me think about past shows. One of the best recent shows of mine had to be at Senor Moose Cafe which is the place to go for some authentic Mexican grub.


Monday, July 07, 2008

Art Show at Atlas Foods



I am part of the summer theme of paintings on display at Atlas Foods, a fine place to visit to get out of the hot sun and get a nice meal in Seattle's University Village. The show runs from June 11 to September 8. This is a great place for casual dining as well as a little something special. They do take their art shows seriously and I'm very happy to join in on the fun.


Saturday, June 07, 2008

Happy Drawing Day

"Coffee and Coleius"  2008  4" x 6"
"Rabbit Balance"  2008  4" x 6"
"The Package"  2008  4" x 6"

Happy Drawing Day. This is an international weekend event to create awareness of the joy of art-making. I draw all the time and love it. You can learn more about Drawing Day here.


Friday, June 06, 2008

Welcome


This is the blog for my website, www.aliceinnewyork.com, and it will mainly be a place to see more art and related items.

This is a photo from the Henry Art Gallery's Big Bang Bash, May 18, 2007, an event that celebrated the 100th anniversary of the Henry Art Gallery with an auction of art works donated by 200 artists. I donated a page from Alice in New York which is being viewed by the couple above.