The facade of the visitor

Talisman series #14 - The facade of the visitor"

This is a variation on an earlier piece I did the shield of the visitor.

It is a mixed media wall-hanging sculpture. On this piece the whole thing is covered in a self-leveling pourable epoxy. It gives the piece a glass, or ceramic appearance.

Acrylic, wood, glitter, epoxy, bling, plaster.

14"H. 10.5"W.

Crucifetish # 2, 3 & 5

This is a series of wall-hanging sculptures I'm producing. They are variations on a theme. In this case the cross is really just something to hang paint on, a clothes horse for art materials. There is obvious loaded meaning to a cross that may apply to the end user though. The content does come into it when I combine the concept of "the Cross" and "fetish" although it's really just me being playful. I'm into mimicking the look of different materials on these; cast aluminum, leather, rivets, steel.

Wood, acrylic, glass, steel, sculpey, bling

all pieces 13"H. 9"W.

Click on detail images below to enlarge

Number 10

This is another wall-hanging relief piece titled "Number 10".

It's content is the tension between a bird in flight and the static quality of it being frozen in a metal surround. In addition to that, the formal contrast between the bright red and the cool metal finish.

Acrylic, Sculpey, wood.

12"H. 9"W.

The shield of the visitor

Click on above image to enlarge

"Talisman series #11 - The shield of the visitor"

This piece is another mixed-media, wall-hanging sculpture. I was shooting for a duality of reading between a predatory head, and a wood and metal shield.

I had a thumbnail in my sketchbook of an animal's head, with a single eye, that I tentatively titled "The Visitor."

This seems to be another defensive themed piece. I'm trying to delve deep for my imagery, so the specifics of the iconography and theme are not clear to me.

Acrylic, Sculpey, spray paint, wood.

15"H. 8"W.

Inspired by Terminator 2: Judgment Day

click on above image to enlarge

 

This is a piece from what I could call "the crazy crap series"

This wall-hanging sculpture is inspired by the film. More specifically, the title sequence of the film, (stills are shown below). I assume the connection would not be evident to the viewer, although the concept "Judgment Day" and the iconography of this piece might make sense to the viewer... (dead rising?)

But, since I have the ability to give the backstory here, I will...
I've always thought it was a good title sequence. The film itself was epic. Not high-art, but a heavy hitter of pop-culture none the less. In the 5:32 long title sequence, a playground is engulfed in a firestorm, accompanied by Brad Fiedel's languid Terminator theme. (see images below)

I make no claim to be a sculptor. As an artist though, I do think reaching out to different materials make for a unique set of challenges that one would not otherwise encounter. Does the material itself have meaning? What content lends itself to one medium and not another? The conceptual issues are so different when you decide to execute something in 3D verses 2D.

Acrylic, gold glitter, cell phone bling on wood (...don't make me get the macaroni out)

9.5" H. by 6.5" W.

click on image to enlarge

Cover art for Consumer Reports

Click on image to enlarge

This art is for the cover of the June 2011 issue. I worked with Tim La Palme, Design Director at CR to make this image for the cover. It was probably intended to be half content, half backdrop for the text, as is the way magazine covers go sometimes.

All-in-all... went fast, smoothly, and is a nice visibility job.

This is the unedited artwork I provided to give a more complete picture, uncropped and sans text.

Predator - digital portrait

This was a fairly quick piece to do. It's straight forward environmental portraiture. I don't know if I would call it a study or not. (I may make prints of this to sell) I do have a thing lately for anthropomorphized animals. In this piece I'm less emphatic about weird and witty content.

I'm trying NOT to do work right now that is overly ambitious. This can bog down the discovery process. This piece is all digital. I'm using a Wacom tablet and stylus for the first time here, so it's sort of a new media exercise.

I found myself leaning toward illusionism on this, and when I do that, I always ask myself: Why?

Illusionism has its own sort of "rules," and there are no rules in art, so I'm conflicted. The rules of illusionism, IMO, are to be easy on the eye of the viewer, so they suspend disbelief.

If the reason to go this way is simply to display ones "skills," then I think that is a less interesting reason for making art. If however, it is to convince someone of your vision of reality, then it is serving as infrastructure, and that seems to be a good reason for going down that road.

If I do shoot for convincing illusion going forward, then I hope it is for the latter reason.

These are some detail shots to show the textures of the piece

Folk art style.

Here are 2 pieces from several years back, when I was on a folk art kick.

I was definitely more conservative with this work than the look I'm currently going for.
Both these were framed and exhibited by Troy Tatlock at Raven gallery in Pewaukee Wisconsin.

Buy these now at my Etsy store.

"Summer"
click on images to enlarge

Detail shots

"River Music"

Detail shots

The Executioner

I'm going back to 2D thinking for the moment.

This is a digital file titled "The Executioner."

It's a long story but,  it's about death being meted out by unlikely individuals.

I have a limited edition of 100 giclee prints on canvas of this available at my Etsy store (right side of blog)

Talisman series #9 -- Bejeweled head

I had this vision of jewels attached to a shaven head as giving a sort of shaman-like appearance.

Each jewel representing an element of the brain's cognition. Each jewel as a protective talisman.
So in a way, this piece is sort of an illustration of that concept.
Title: Talisman series #9 -- Bejeweled Head
11" W, 15" H, acrylic and cell phone bling on wood

Click for a larger view

The side photos show the slight relief depth of the piece

Click for a larger view

The Alpha and the Omega from Beneath the Planet of the Apes

This flaming silver sword is named after the doomsday bomb in "Beneath the Planet of the Apes" This movie has mythic status in my childhood memories …watching it on a little B&W TV in the late 70's. A blacker movie you will never find.

The flaming sword images I have dancing in my head seem an apropos metaphor for a doomsday ICBM.

The hot pink flames …radioactive fire.

The fake jewels …fallout

Title: "the Alpha and the Omega from Beneath the Planet of the Apes"

Acrylic, silver leaf, Sculpey, glass, and cell phone bling on wood.

10.5" H., 5" W.

A detail shot of the hilt. I love the rubber finish of black heavy gel.

It has a finish duller then patent leather, but glossier then latex.

Here is the thumbnail out of my sketchbook.

And a screenshot of the actual ICBM in the movie.

And a screenshot of Nova just cuz......   wow.

Set of two Vampire themed wood daggers

This set of 2 knives is the first thing I did messing around in my studio in January.

They both have kind of a vampire theme to the markings. And following the vampire thing, they are made out of wood, but painted to look like metal.

They are mixed media on wood, about 15" long.

The 2 detail shots are the front and back of one of the knives.

1/64 Scale Photoshop files

These were some fun digital files I made last summer. The first is a little custom Hot Wheel Nissan Skyline. It has a tint, wheel swap, and custom "bayside blue" paint job.

The background is the parking lot of Southridge mall in Milwaukee. A combination of digital and analog diorama.

Below is a custom Ferrari F430 set in some random night parking lot. Custom paint and wheels, and again set in a digital and analog diorama.

Imagery of Fantasy -- sword & shield

This is a two piece set I did about late January. I was experimenting with the look condition and materials I wanted to use going forward.

These are meant to be playful. Not shooting for high art or anything. They measure about 10" H. x 7" W. each.
Acrylic, Sculpey, and cell phone bling on wood.

Inspired by my memories of "The Legend of Zelda" video game from 20+ years ago.
The title is "Talisman series #4 & 5 -- flaming sword and shield"

Below are some images that I have found inspiring from the movie "Legend" by Ridley Scott. This is the scene where Tom Cruise finds the treasure chamber. In the background, a wonderful little melody by Tangerine Dream is playing. Very 1985.