This was a collaborative effort with “Frenchy Pink.” We decided to go eco-friendly this year and decorate something we had around the apartment rather than wasting a perfectly good tree. That or we’re just too lazy to go out a buy a tree… a fake tree, of course. BTW, this is a 10 foot aluminum ladder. Makes for a great Christmas centre piece.
Filed under: not quite sure, photographs, real live art, Tangible art, upcycling | 3 Comments »
Pardon me sir, but do you have the time? Yes I do, it is art time.
I don’t do real hand drawn art very often, so I thought I’d post these two items. They aren’t at all recent, but hey they’re new to you so who cares. These pieces were drawn with regular ball-point pens on letter size paper. It’s a lot of ink and takes a damn long time.
The idea for this originated from random doodling with black pen during a class many years ago, and I decided to keep it going and eventually filled the whole page. A few months later I started a new one with blue ink and eventually finished that one too. Feel free to psychologically interpret my sanity based on these drawings:
Black
Blue
*********************************
Updates:
“A psychedelic, multi-coloured version of one of these would look amazing.” – Rob Nagy
“…I agree with Mr. Nagy on the rainbow action.” – Matthew Reynolds
Challenge accepted… Twice!
After some digital modifications I came up with these two images:
Rainbow mod 1:
Rainbow mod 2:
P.S. With these two additions, this post now officially qualifies for the “unicorns” category.
Filed under: digital manipulation, not quite sure, sketches, unicorns | Tagged: ball-point, groovy, lines, maze, paths, pen, psychedelic, rainbow, shapes | 8 Comments »
Imaging a world where Bill Cosby is the powerful leader of a large country.
What would the currency look like? Probably something like this:
When Cosbucks were established as the currency for his country, Bill Cosby historically declared that one Cosbuck shall be equal in value to one Pudding Pop.
So what would it look like to have a lot of money? This, I assume:
That’s a lot of Pudding Pops.
————————–
Origins
Cosbucks were originally created as cash for my character who was scripted to carry around a case full of “acquired” money in an 80′s themed murder-mystery party, hosted by Rob Nagy and “frenchypink”, of art-time fame. The intention was for a splash of mildly clever comedy at a party rather than the creation of a quality art piece… but some of you might enjoy it anyway.
Construction Details
The Bill Cosby image was extracted out of it’s original and a second layer was added for the hands to extend over top of the oval, which I think I drew in powerpoint. Multiple copies of the One Hundred Cosbuck bill surface were printed as well as a few pages full of horizontal lines which were created with powerpoint… (because that’s the best I have for vector type art at the moment). The stacks were built from large cardboard blocks that were originally received as packaging protection for a recent online purchase and had to be crudely cut down to size with a rusty, dull, hand saw. Cosbuck surfaces were taped on the carboard blocks and the printed line paper was taped to the sides to cheaply simulate the appearance of stacks of paper. Blue paper was cut, wrapped, and taped around the blocks to look like those bands that hold stacks of real money together.
The resulting stacks were very rough and imperfect, but considering the one-time minor use of the Cosbucks, that was plenty enough time investment for it’s purpose.
Filed under: digital manipulation, not quite sure | Tagged: 80's money, Bill Cosby, Cosbucks, Fake Currency, Fake Money, Pudding Pops, Pwoodin! | 1 Comment »
Oh hello, this is my first official art-time submission! My name is Travis, and I like to ruin other people’s art or photos. In other words, I play with photoshop to transmute a thing or combination of things into something else, sometimes something completely different. You may already be familiar with my ruined version of Tom Nagy’s “No Go Solo” painting, but now I’m here officially, muahaha.
Guess what, it’s Rob’s birthday… so for my first submission I’ve decided to ruin his art! (Alright, so it was a week ago but I was ready on time. I just didn’t have the user rank to upload and post images until today.) I enjoy Rob’s infamous Awkbird™ painting, which to me is a perfect example of classic Rob Nagy artistic styling that I remember from many years ago.
So here’s what I did with Awkbird, it’s called “Mother Awkbird“:
(please clicky for high resolution)
Mother Awkbird found hungry baby birds and she’s feeding them with a regurgitated rainbow, the spew of choice for awkward animals. Clearly not the same species, but Mother Awkbird doesn’t mind because her maternal instincts have kicked in. She has also provided honorary baby party hats for the baby birds so that she doesn’t feel weird being the only one wearing a party hat.
why Travis, why?!
Awkbird reminded me of how awkward baby birds look in their nest when they’re eating regurgitated food from their mother. They’ve got long necks with chicken skin-like textures that they stretch as high as they can, with beaks open wide like a snake, with their lack of significant feathers, squawking away in unison.
I’ve seen a drawing or three of animals puking out rainbows, notably a unicorn, and I’ve found that it makes them look awkward and awesome at the same time. So the idea came to me that it would be fun to draw baby birds in their nest being fed by a bird spewing out a rainbow, and no better bird than Awkbird is up to this task. (despite being wingless)
Original images used without permission, because that’s how I roll:
Rob Nagy’s “Awkbird” painting, the nest, the baby birds
boring technical details
optional options that were optional
Even larger resolution than the linked high res image is available on request. Modifications are also possible without much difficulty.
My alternative idea for the nest was to go even weirder and use the Bird’s Nest Stadium from the Summer Olympics in Beijing, which would then make the birds giants. I was also considering using a heavily modified Awkbird to create the babies, or twiggy looking stick figure baby birds, but I decided to go with real baby birds. Another crazy option was to give the babies velociraptor heads, but that might have been enough awesomeness to cause injury to viewers so I didn’t want any potential lawsuits.
Filed under: digital manipulation, not quite sure, unicorns | Tagged: awkbird, awkward, baby birds, mother awkbird, nest, party hat, photoshop, rainbow, ruined, tribute | 7 Comments »
I know this first painting was done by Esther Yoo because I was present during it’s creation, but I’m not sure about the rest of ‘em. Feel free to claim your rights to these arts in the comments section so I can then edit the post and add your name in there or something.
Filed under: not quite sure, paintings, sean gadoury-esque, sketches | Leave a Comment »
Finally got around to posting this. This illustration/painting is what I managed to come up with during the first art jam session. It wasn’t exactly what I was going for… in fact, it turned out to be nothing like what I had in mind when I started it. Regardless, I’m fairly satisfied with the results. This is what happens when you try to make art while watching Christmas on Mars.
Filed under: not quite sure, paintings, sketches | 3 Comments »
“Grand River Delta”
“Untitled”
“Untitled”
Filed under: manipulated, not quite sure, photographs, real live art | 5 Comments »
I apologize for the poor photo quality. You should just come and see it sometime.
The inspiration for this piece was revealed to me from shade cast by the foliage of a Chinquapin Oak (Quercus muehlenbergii), a tree far from common in our area. Among the objects seen in this include an axe handle, a dog’s head, an arrowhead, a facial profile, and a man leaning against a wall.
Filed under: noise, not quite sure, paintings | Leave a Comment »
The large pods of the Kentucky Coffee-Tree can make a very unique canvas for acrylic paint tribal patterns. Here is my first attempt: not great, but I am pleased.
Filed under: not quite sure, paintings, real live art | 2 Comments »
Boredom can do many different things to people, and this is a repercussion of such an experience.
Filed under: not quite sure, real live art, verse | 8 Comments »
Every one, tricked
Do not be foiled
With fathomed obligations
And a scientific diet
Sense the art of our lords
That is all around and us
React naturally
To survive
Here, on this land
Maybe one day
The Universe
Will still be at peace
And people in cities
Will stop
To notice
Filed under: not quite sure, verse, wallpapers | 1 Comment »
is it so wrong?
i think she’s beautiful when she cries
liquid seeping through her eyes,
from glass
to eyelash starfish
and it scares me;
to feel nothing;
when i know i’m about to run;
but i’m so uncontrollably distracted
by her face
in the unforgiving bathroom light.
Filed under: not quite sure | Leave a Comment »
One more shift at the café. I’m outta here soon. No, I am not excited… please stop asking me that. That’s not what I seek. I am happy. I am happy now, here at home, more than I have ever been. I am also happy to leave. Excitement is not the right word. Not that excitement is void, it’s just in no more excess than any other day. I don’t know what I’m doing, really, but I know what I seek.
Last night I went with a good friend of mine to drive golf balls off the top of Mnt. Nemo in the wee hours of morn. His idea. We let the dog run free like he ought, we hiked for hours, and we watched the moon crawl across the sky. I forgot the trail-mix in the car. There were no houses, just fields, so we whacked. Turns out I suck at golf, but I got a few good long-shots in. The long ones really crack, quite satisfying. I actually cracked the head of the club, it was because I hit a rock though. The balls were only visible for a second before disappearing into darkness, seconds later they became momentarily audible. By the time we walked back to the van we knew that the moon would set, it had no choice. I was hungry for home.. so there I went. Only a few more nights like these before I go have nights like these elsewhere. Luckily for me there are only a handful of people who I can really, truly love, and I get to see them whenever I want. If you think I love you, it’s because I do.
Filed under: noise, not quite sure, unicorns | 2 Comments »
give a wo/man a fish, s/he’ll be happy for a day,
give a wo/man a fish-terrarium, the happiness is ever-lasting.
Filed under: not quite sure, wallpapers | Leave a Comment »
Johnny Bebrilliant hunkered alongside a polished-blue running-river someplace amidst the mountain-tops and the sea,
He smiled some tears and cried a laugh, thinkin’ he’s the happiest that he could be.
Along came Jim who sat down beside him, eating some bits n’ bites.
John whistled a tune while Jim played the spoons
and the two kept up the birds all night.
This is how it went:
“You suck, most of you guys,
most of you guys really suck,
you guys are totally not cool,
cause you suck, most of you guys,
totally not cool, not cool,
you’re lame, you guys,
most of you guys suck,
you guys, fuck you you guys,
you’re not cool, really not cool,
you guys really suck cause you’re not cool,
you guys suck, most of you guys,
fuck you, most of you guys,
you’re totally not cool,
most of you guys,
most of yoo-oooou guys,
you’re totally lame, you guys,
you guys are not cool, not cool, you guys,
most of you guys,
you really suck, most of you guys,
most of you guys fuck you,
you guys suck most of you guys,
you guys are totally lame”
And they lived ever-after, albeit happily.
Filed under: not quite sure | Leave a Comment »
They can never know they’re cute.. it seems like they do sometimes though.
We personify non-human creatures much more than we know… or maybe they’re not so different after all.
They have senses that we don’t.
It’s just a big joke on us.
We’re slaves to their adorability.
I often feel that my dogs deserve everything in the world for no reason at all. (Because they do.) It’s a form of mind control.
And I am totally on-board with this western phenomena of touching each furry little creature in sight. You just want to, right?
It’s a white-people thing. (heh.)
Animals have a strange place in this place.
Including us.
4/8/2009 3:37 — i’m at work… scoring psych tests… one of the tests requires an evaluation of how supportive the patient feels that their spouse is when it comes to their physical pain. the one that i’m scoring right now, the patient claims her “significant other” to be her “one small dog” because “there is no one else.” is this not perhaps the most pathetic thing you’ve heard all day? it is innocent, adorable, sweet, honest and absolutely pathetic. btw. on a scale of 1-6, the patient rates her dog a “5″ for “how supportive is your significant other (this refers to the person you indicated above) to you in relation to your pain?”
Filed under: not quite sure, real live art, unicorns | 2 Comments »
A one page “brain sunny-day” of what we’re working with here:
(We being myself, of course. Down with exclusivity!)
๛Everything cannot be art. If everything were, nothing’d be.
๛Great artists are not highly regarded geniuses in every time and land.
๛In many cultures everyone is an artist.
๛Many artists do not consider themselves so.
๛Art’s usefulness is it’s uselessness.
๛”Beauty” and “ugly” are relative terms.
๛Art-school is a glorious, useful tool; art-school is a glorious, useful *tool*.
๛Serious is alright, sometimes.
๛Lots of things are a silly joke.
๛Offhand, anger is often simply unnecessary.
๛Emotions and politics should not be an artist’s primary focus, that takes away from the art.
๛Again, art is supposed to be useless.
๛If you’re singing, you should also be listening.
๛Life doesn’t have punctuation!?…
๛Conclusions have layers whether you dive shallow or deep.
๛Look at it again tomorrow.
๛Although not everything is art, anything is.
๛Don’t be mistaken, this is not art.
๛Being naked isn’t shameful.
๛Neither is art.
๛Everyone’s soul once inhabited a unicorn body beyond the dark side of the moon and ate forks and swallowed knives before tumbling into a giant sears brand microwave oven set to defrost (#9) and was blasted, and thrashed, and radiated about in one enormous run-on-sentence down… all the way down, to Earth — poisoning all mortal life forever (and ever) with horrible, terrible cancer disease.
๛Haha; shit, now this is art.
๛I seriously didn’t mean for that to happen.
๛Or, perhaps I did.
๛Irrelevant, and silly.
๛Did you like it?
Filed under: not quite sure, unicorns | Leave a Comment »
darren
Emma Smith
frenchypink
kaleidoscopeflux
Jesse Black
Rob Nagy
Mathew Reynolds
garbage juice
Cosmetic Plague
seangadoury
senecaantony
shitisbadnews
norm
thylacinereports
Tom Nagy
Travis C
