Vicious Circle

It's been a busy time right now...what with getting the necessary things in line for launching my clothing line, Nineteen...raising the baby...trying to catch up on sleep...and figuring out my next move artistically. However, I am excited for what the future holds. I plan on putting a lot more stuff on Etsy...probably some one-off original clothing items that have been embellished. I'll also have some more artwork up there soon as well. We'll see, but I'm hoping we start seeing a upturn in the economy as well as traffic placing orders for prints of mine.

Back With A Vengeance

It's been awhile for this blog and it's time to resurrect it. Back from the dead like a zombie, only without all the grisly details.

A lot has happened. My son, Gunnar James, was born without incident and has gone on to become a genius baby. Growing ever more cute, he is now a force to be reckoned with in baby world. Becoming a father is not only life-changing, but easily the best thing that has ever happened to me. A true joy no words can accurately express. On the business front, Nineteen Clothing Company creeps closer to becoming a reality, and should be available for all your purchasing needs very soon. In the meantime, I have also just opened an Etsy.com store to showcase and sell my fine art! Please take a moment to stop by and see what's going on with it.

Many things are happening, and now is the time to seize the day my friends.

All Quiet On The Western Front

I gotta get better about keeping up with my blog! Our pregnancy is coming along nicely, although I really wish my wife's ankles would stop bloating up (and I know she does too). Gunnar is doing fine and growing like a healthy little guy should be, and that's a comforting thought. We're both getting so excited about his arrival...lots to do. Speaking of lots to do, I am getting closer and closer to my clothing company hitting the open market, so keep an eye out in the coming months for Nineteen Clothing Company! "Clothing For The Aggressive Human". I cannot wait...I really feel it is a wonderful expression of my illustrations talents and I know that given the right opportunity, it should take off and fly. Some of my esteemed illustration colleages and I are also looking into the prospect of opening our own design studio together, and my wife is busy conceiving a business of designer couture baby onsies. Yeah...BUSY!! :) But busy is good.

Lovin' That Recession!

I've been thinking about retiring from paintball as a hobby and sport for some time now. Generally, when I seem almost convinced of doing so I drag myself back into the idea of playing...even though my "consistent" years of playing were at least five years ago. By consistent I mean going more than twice a year! I have been playing it for going on 15 years this fall, and have even pursued it all the way to the level of playing small local and inter-state tournaments with my friends. It's just these days, my friends and I have all changed our lives so much no one really has time for it anymore. I mean, we could MAKE time, but we don't. We all have much busier lives than we used to, and we don't take the time to go out and play a game like that anymore. Plus, the recession biting into people's discretionary income doesn't help much either.

Speaking of this lovely recession, I think a lot of casual or discretionary things are going to feel the bite. Tanning salons, paintball, tattooing...anything that's fun and costs money is going to give way to seemingly more "important" stuff like having gas to drive to and from work and buying groceries. It's interesting (and not unlike nature) in how one thing causes a ripple effect in the pool of society and effects everything else around it. People should really take note of this and apply it to their life and how they effect their surroundings...but I digress.

Perhaps if I do finally decide to hang it up in paintball it will give me more time and motivation to pursue other outlets for my creativity and athleticism. Like, for one, getting back into shape to begin with. Two, learning to play guitar. I have always wanted to do that and being an artist and a paintball player (not to mention a middle class income) has always made that impossible all together.

Salutations From The Trenches

I got some really good advice from a fellow Illustrator, Brent Watkins, a long time ago. He said, and I quote, "Make sure you draw what you like because you're going to be doing it a lot". Well, OK, that might not have been the exact quote, but it was close. Essentially the message was clear...figure out what you like to draw and make sure that's what you focus on. I couldn't agree more. In this odyssey called my art career, I sometimes feel like I have artistic ADD. I tend to do certain things in a style for awhile and then find myself looking to tweak it, or change it altogether. Perhaps that is my style...ever changing.

I know the personal growth is a good thing, but I guess I never have yet taken to the wisdom above. Generally, when I illustrate something, I tend to figure out what it's about just before (or more likely) in the midst of doing it. This is very difficult to produce something because their needs to be that advance research on the topic. But it is the topic itself that I struggle with I guess. I haven't quite figured out what it is I want to constantly illustrate...and furthermore, what to do with it. :) Some of my big influences growing up were artists like Drew Struzan, Hajime Sorayama...people who's main focus was the human body and in Sorayama's case, the female form. I do know that is of great interest to me...always has been...so perhaps that is where my content should lie.

I truly enjoy illustrating in the style I perform now, however I do feel it has further to be pushed...perhaps even into a 3D manifestation. I would like to incorporate my 2D work into 3D sculpture. That seems to be the biggest missing factor to my work now...that hands on feeling of actually doing some by hand. The computer is a wonderful tool and allows me to do many things, but I still crave the hand made aspects of it all.

These Guys Suck

On The Move

This past week has been a blur of work, driving, heading home and being at the hospital with my wife. I feel like I've been going 95mph the whole time...but it's all worth it to help her out and keep everything managed and under control. The doctors are still trying to ascertain what is going on with her, but I personally believe they had it right the first time (gall bladder). It seems every single woman I've spoken to has had their's removed at some point in their lives, and the symptoms she has been enduring seem very similar to what happens with gall bladder attacks. We are all hoping that they find something out today and formulate a plan of action for treatment. I know she doesn't want to be in the hospital any longer, and I don't blame her.

Our little guys, Gizmo and Salem, are definitely ready for momma to come home. Our cat and dog are very co-dependent and don't do very well when they don't get some mommy time in their day. I understand that...I don't either. :) Other than trying to be there for my wife as much as possible, I've finally begun to put in some serious hours on some freelance work and that's been very helpful. Extra income is always a good thing.