Daily Draw Update

Well, I haven't managed to make a drawing every day, but I want to and I feel bad when I don't.  I guess that can be considered progress.  Here are a few of the recent drawings I've made.  Unfortunately, some are still self portraits.  Oh well.  Here it is:

Truck Pen on paper

 Black and White  White colored pencil on black mat board

 Post Color Run  Mixed Media on glossy cardstock

New Desk  Pen on Glossy card stock

I should have some more in the next few days.

Thanks for reading,

Raygun

Lethargy and the Daily Draw

Ok.  I took the summer off.  Literally.  I pretty much accomplished zero things I had planned this summer, and I feel like quite a bum for it.  For some reason, when I'm out of work for the summer with nothing to do, I have very little motivation.  Therefore, I'm going to try to get into a routine in order to stay productive.

Introducing the daily draw.  I anticipate making (at least) one drawing a day.  I don't care what it is, I just need to draw.  My hold up has been a lack of ideas, so I'm just going to draw what I see.  Hopefully, the images will be random enough to ensure that the only theme will be, "things I see in my day to day life".  Who knows, it may help my ones of readers get to know me better. 

Anyhow, like any obligation, it may be short lived.  I'm going to try my hardest to keep up on it, and force myself to create.  I encourage anyone and everyone to do the same.  I'd be more than happy to post the results here.  I may even go back and re-envision some of the word challenges from earlier in the blog's history (go back to the first few posts if you have no clue what I'm talking about).

If you see anything here that you would like to have, drop me a line at artwithstrangers at gmail dot com, and we can work something out.  These are all going to be fairly small drawings, so I wouldn't expect much.   Suggestions would be: five bucks, multiple high fives, buy me a beer, barter with a piece of your own artwork, etc.  Anyhow, here are the first handful of drawings.

 Floating Tara with Geometric Dress 4 3/8"x7 3/4" Mixed Media on Paper

 Ramble Inn Still Life 4 1/2" x 6" Pen and Paper

Hellhound 4 1/2" x 6" Pen and Paper

As always, thanks for reading.

Raygun

"Kids" The Second Half

Here is the companion drawing to the "Kids" piece I posted earlier.  This is another ballpoint pen drawing on glossy card stock.

Thanks for looking,

Raygun

New Drawing: "Kids"

Had a little fun and made this drawing of kids wearing masks.  I find it playful, yet slightly disturbing.  I will have a second one coming in the next day or so.  Enjoy.

Thanks for reading,

Raygun

Dirt Cheap Prints For Sale

I came across a stack of "Blue Squid" prints that I made in 2011, and decided to sell them ultra cheap (random dog hair not included).

 Blue Squid  water based ink linocut on acid free paper.  Image 4x6, paper 6x8 

Each image is a truly hand pulled print (baren printed, not run through a press), and therefore will vary a little bit from one to another.

 If anyone is interested in purchasing one, feel free to contact me via email to set something up.  My email is artwithstrangers at gmail dot com.  I have 17 signed and numbered prints from a series of 20 that I am selling for $10 each.  I also have 5 slightly imperfect artist proofs that I am selling for $8 each.  I will charge $3.25 for shipping in the United States (USPS double padded envelope, cardboard backing, 1st class shipping).  If someone would like to purchase one from outside the US, email me and we can figure something out.  If you order more than one, I will send the prints together so you only incur one shipping charge. To ease the transaction, I prefer to use paypal.  Other payment arrangements can be made if necessary.  If you choose to purchase a print, please email me so I can give you my paypal info and obtain all shipping information that I need.  Prints will be shipped the next business day after payment is received.

This post will be updated if prints sell out.

Thanks for looking,

Raygun

Insomnia 2: A Short Story

The pungent scent of freshly lit tobacco hit my nostrils.  I didn’t even remember pulling a cigarette out of the pack.  I glanced at the clock on the dashboard and took a mental note of the time.  My adventure started five hours earlier as a ten minute trip for gas and cigarettes.  I shifted my gaze to the left of the dashboard clock and saw that the orange needle had grown uncomfortably close to the capital letter  E on the fuel gauge.  Everything after my stop at the gas station five miles from home was a blur.

Within minutes, the old Chevy began to sputter and cough, begging me to find a gas station as soon as possible.  I knew that I had to find refuge soon, or place yet another embarrassing call for a rescue out in the middle of nowhere.  It was always so much easier to find a place to stop when I wound up somewhere familiar.  This was not one of those times.  I was surrounded by farm land.  I scanned the landscape and saw the twinkling of sunlight on metal in the distance.  The effect was very similar to far off water in an expanse of hot, arid land.  A perfect metaphor for these situations in which I constantly found myself.

The old pickup was finicky but reliable.  I knew if I pointed it at the distant signs of civilization, gently pushed it up to sixty miles per hour, then dropped it into neutral, it would stall but coast another three quarters of a mile on flat ground.  Longer if I was on a down grade.  Once the truck came to a stop, all of its momentum exhausted, it would miraculously start up again as if nothing had happened and allow me a second go at the same process.  It would do this without fail, and on more than one occasion, it had let me perform this maneuver a third time.  Whether or not the third opportunity presented itself that day, I knew I was going to come up just short of the town ahead.

Being a strange, fairly out of shape man pushing a truck up a subtle grade in an unfamiliar town tends to gain the attention of the locals.  Luckily, by then I had seen the Shell logo hovering over an ancient gas station a few blocks from where I stalled.  At least now I knew where I was pushing the truck without having to stop and ask for directions, thus sacrificing all of my forward momentum.

I had become somewhat of an expert at guessing whether I could expect help pushing my truck to where it needed to go.  I was in a quaint, friendly farming town with a welcome mat at every front door and a “please come again,” on every business sign.  There were plenty of people walking up and down the sidewalks, most staring at me or making comments to whomever they chose to walk with on that particular day about not wanting to be in my shoes.  I knew I was pushing my truck the last few hundred feet myself.

The entrance to the gas station was slightly downhill, so I hopped behind the wheel as the truck rolled on its own.  I needed both hands on the wheel to steer past the kerosene pumps and move the truck up to one of two gas pumps at the completely desolate gas station.  If it wasn’t for the attendant leering at me through the window of the convenience shop, I would have assumed the place was abandoned.

The townsfolk had lost interest in me now that I hadn’t dropped dead from a heart attack, ran myself over with my own truck, or lost control on the subtle downhill grade, crashing into the pumps, causing an explosion that engulfed their quaint little town in hellfire.  I shoved the gear selector into park and hopped out of the truck.  I went to the back and sat on my rusty, homemade bumper, pulling the pack of cigarettes from my shirt pocket.  One left.  It seemed as though my smoking habit was subconsciously linked to the fuel economy of the truck.  I put the cigarette against my lips, flicked my lighter, and inhaled another dose of the heavy, pungent smoke that marked the conscious beginning of this adventure.

The cigarette couldn’t have been lit for more than thirty seconds before the attendant was out the door of the convenience shop and screaming at me for smoking by the gas pumps.  I felt like an idiot.  The attendant continued to scream, explaining that the last person at the pumps had spilled their gas can right where I was resting.  I looked down half believing the story was a lie to make me feel worse. It turns out that the locals were very close to getting the explosion they were watching for when I rolled in.  I apologized and walked to the back side of the convenience shop.  The attendant followed and continued his verbal abuse.

The man stood uncomfortably close as he told me that they didn’t have a service station and that I couldn’t leave my broken truck in front of one of his pumps.  The smell of garlic was strong on his breath, and I spent most of the time during his rant pretending to listen while I made guesses about whether he was the owner of the gas station, or a retired part timer.

 I assured him that the truck was just out of gas and not broken.  Sharing this information did not seem to alleviate any of his concerns.  He went on about how I was blocking his pump for other paying customers, and about how loitering was a crime.  I played dumb and apologized long enough to finish three quarters of my cigarette.  I looked around for an ash can, found none, scraped the cherry off the cigarette on the ground, rolled up the butt between my thumb and index finger, and flicked it into the garbage can.  The attendant threatened to call the police.

I walked back to the truck and filled both of the tanks.  The pump registered fifty gallons of eighty nine octane.  I walked inside and bought a carton of the attendants most expensive cigarettes.  I paid for the fuel and the cigarettes with cash.  This transaction apparently had more calming power than any apology I had given earlier.  I took the opportunity to ask the attendant what town I was in.  He told me, but the name was unfamiliar.  I was well aware that if I asked what state I was in, the peace treaty that I has just bought with petroleum and tobacco would be over, and the attendant would be back to making threats.  This time I imagined he would have called the nearest mental health facility as well as the local authorities.  I told him thanks and walked out the door glancing at the community calendar board full of fliers.

The area codes on the fliers let me know that I had crossed the state line and was now in Ohio.  Again.  I fired up the truck and drove it around to the back of the convenience shop, a haze of blue smoke chasing me the whole way.  I could see the attendant through the window and again, he was glaring at me with mean, un-trusting eyes.  I opened the glove box and pulled out a ragged, dog-eared Ohio map that came with the truck.  I got out and climbed into the bed of the truck to get a better view of the streets around me and lit another cigarette while looking at the map.  It took thirty seconds to find my location on the map, another twenty seconds to plan my route home.  I pretended to look at the map for another two cigarettes.  Each butt was flicked carelessly into the lot beside the convenience shop for the sole purpose of annoying the attendant.  I left when I saw him pick up the phone.

Self Portrait On Cardboard

Not much to say here.  I made a new self portrait.  I'm getting bored of these and feel it's time to move on.  I want to start making portraits of other people, but I've noticed lately that I draw myself better when I'm looking in a mirror as opposed to a photograph.  I would like to have people sit for me, but it's an odd request and I'm horribly awkward.  Anyhow, I have an abstract piece in the works, and I plan on doing some more printmaking soon.  For now, there's this:

As always, thanks for reading.

-Raygun

Insomnia 1: A Short Story

“Would you like some more?”


“Sir, would you like some more?”

I came to as the waitress hovered over me holding a pot of coffee in her right hand.  I looked down  and saw that my cup was mostly empty.  I nodded.   She expertly filled my cup with a hand that had performed this task tens of thousands of times before, leaving just enough room for cream should I choose to add some.  Her voice was familiar, but her face was not.

I remembered coming here, sitting down, ordering, and pulling out my sketchbook.  There had been a different waitress helping me then.  It was still dark out, so no more than two or three hours could have slipped by.  My burger and fries were room temperature and untouched.  The sketchbook page was also empty.  There was a burnt out cigarette butt resting between the index and middle fingers of my right hand. 

I glanced at the faded, nicotine stained wall clock above the door of the diner and wrote down the time and date in the upper corner of the sketchbook page, closed the cover and pulled out my wallet.  The waitress came back and asked if I needed a box for my burger.  I shook my head, and left a large tip with instructions to give part of it to the previous waitress.  I doubted that my first waitress would see the cash.  This happened almost every time I was there and made the servers very reluctant to help me when I first walked in.  I didn’t hold it against them.

Not Dead, New Art

Hi everyone.  I apologize for my lack of updates.  Sometimes life makes it difficult to do the things on which you really want to focus.  I have been creating, just most of it I deemed un-blogworthy.  I did manage to commit myself to entering a piece of artwork into a local gallery show.  In true Raygun form, I managed to wait until the very last minute to finish my piece.  I just had it framed, and it is currently hanging on the wall in my living room.  The entry due date is tomorrow at 5pm, and I anticipate rolling in to drop it off between 4:15-4:30. 

"Why do you wait so long," you may ask (or maybe you don't).  Well, it has been historically proven that I do my best work when I am under pressure.  I started early, and things went terrible.  When I say terrible, I'm talking about, "resist snapping the piece in half and lighting it on fire" terrible.  I stewed for a couple weeks while the piece stared at me from my ragtag studio in the corner of my modest kitchen.  I grew to hate it, but I also wanted to make sure I didn't cop out on my obligations.  I haven't shown any work publicly for almost four years, and I didn't want this piece to be my excuse to back out of my commitment.  I sat down, came to terms with the fact that it may be a complete do-over, and got to work.

About an hour into the second run on this piece, I started seeing the possibility of obtaining the end result  I was hoping for.  During the first attempt, I had too much time to think, and not enough time to get frustrated about finishing, ergo, motivation to just get it done quickly, and correctly.  It then took about two more days, mostly letting layers dry completely before it was 100% finished.

The most interesting part about this new project, is that I like this piece.   I rarely make things I find suitable for my own walls.  My aesthetic eye for creation is completely different than my aesthetic eye for things I want to own.  This may seem odd, but there is nothing more uncomfortable to me than a house full of my own artwork.  There have maybe been three or four pieces out of everything I have made, that I am okay with having up in my house.  So again, this piece is a rarity for me.  I'd really like to see this guy get sold though.  I'm trying to slowly make a transition into a pseudo professional practicing artist, and nothing says motivation like good feedback and money to help buy supplies for the next project.*

Anyhow, onto the artwork.  There was no particular theme for this project.  However, all pieces must use a mixed media approach.  I'm still struggling with content, and I've been doing a lot of selfies lately, so it only made sense to do a self portrait.  I decided against doing a straight up portrait.  This project needed to say something, not just with my artistic style, but also with the image itself. 

In the recent past, I've been feeling very down on myself.  I have had a hard time mastering many of the things I have set out to learn.  There are many things I daydream about doing with my life, and when I get a chance to try my hand at them, and am not immediately awesome at doing whatever it may be, I feel like a failure.  It's unreasonable and silly, but it's a truth and something I've struggled with since I was a teenager.  I felt that this portrait needed to show that frustration. 

Sorry for the poor quality photo, I'll try to put up a better one later.

Sometimes I Feel Like a Disappointment  Mixed Media on Wood 14x18" 

So there it is.  It's a picture of me with the top of my head missing, while a banner of incomprehensible technical illustrations flies about labeling my frustration, as I look on dazed appearing no worse for wear.  

So that's it.  I'll try to update more frequently as the work flows out a bit more naturally.  As always, thanks for reading.

Raygun

* My earlier statement about making money from my art is meant solely for my desire to continue my favorite pastime, without going broke.  I have no intention of becoming rich nor famous from doing what I do.  It would just be nice if it would pay for itself, and not leave me with a spare bedroom full of unwanted artwork.

Wacom Tablet for Christmas

Hi everyone.  Sorry it's been so long.  I am feeling the need to create, so there should be new artwork to look forward to when you check back. 

The holidays have come and gone, and I am now +1 Wacom tablet.  My wonderful wife bought me a Bamboo for Christmas.  It's like she read my mind, because I had recently considered picking one up to try out.

I've had a very odd relationship with computer based artwork.  The first two years I spent in college, I was actually studying commercial art and graphic design.  I did a significant amount of my work on computers.  I did pretty well, but never got the feel for working at a computer.  Back then, I felt limited with what I could do (keep in mind, these were the days of slide/negative scanners and zip disks, so I actually WAS fairly limited with what I could do). 

I see this as trying out a completely new medium since I actually get to use a pen to create my image.  I am using the included, essential versions of the software that was included with the tablet, so until I get a feel for it, the pictures will be fairly small.  I can't increase the resolution enough to make a legitimate print of any work, so I've decided to just play around a bit.

Here is a piece I worked on today. 

View From My Kitchen Window, Facing Northeast  digital

I'm still learning and playing, so please feel free to send any feedback or suggest any programs I should try out.

Thanks for reading,

Raygun

New Portrait

Sorry it's been a while since I've updated.  It has been a crazy couple weeks at home.  Not a whole lot to update on, but here is a new self portrait. 

Green Self Portrait  9x6"  Color Stick on Discarded Student Artwork

A Developing Style?

So here's my newest self portrait.  I think I'm developing a multi-layered style that I actually find enjoyable.  I may do a couple more self portraits in then style to hone it in a little more, then start doing some other content.  Most likely a bit larger and detailed.  Anyhow enjoy the pic.

Untitled Self Portrait  8x8in Watercolor and Color Stick on Corrugated Cardboard

 

 

As always, thanks for reading.

 

Raygun

Blue Self Portrait and Small Update

Well, I know I've been slacking lately here on the blog, so here's a self portrait.  My students took a little too much paint today, so I had them set it aside instead of washing it down the sink.  It was interesting modding their pre-mixed colors into a useable pallet for a self portrait.  I'm really fond of working on surfaces that are salvaged now.  I think I will be venturing out soon to see what I can find out in the wilderness (and by wilderness I mean garbage cans and thrift stores). 

On a side note, I've temporarily suspended the random word every two week project.  It's been over six weeks, and I haven't had a single submission.  On top of that, I have only half finished one project myself.  Mot of my free time has been devoted to self portraits, restoring my 1961 VW, and all of the awesome chores that come with being a land owner with numerous trees during the autumn months.  Expect more later.  The gears are definitely turning, and some new stuff will be up soon.

Anyhow, here's the self portrait:

      Blue Self Portrait  4x6in Tempera and Color Stick on Discarded Student Artwork

As always, Thanks for reading.

Raygun

Ecce Raygun: A Rant About the Value of Art

Behold, It's me!  I'm here with another personal blog update.  For those of you with sensitive eyes, there will be swearing.  For those of you who are offended by the defacement of artwork, or the destruction of religious iconography, you may want to read on...or not, I guess it depends how open minded you are.  I'll assume that you know where I'm going with this rant.  If not, read this article and come back.  It's okay.  I'll wait.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/24/world/europe/botched-restoration-of-ecce-homo-fresco-shocks-spain.html

Okay.  Now that we're all up to date, please allow me to bestow upon you my opinion about this botched restoration job:  This is one of the best damn things to happen to the art world in years.  Allow me to explain my thought process in three stages.

1.  The proper preservation of artwork is now more of a concern than it was a few months ago.

Obviously, this was an important enough painting to grab national attention once it was defaced.  If one of my pieces of artwork had "Potato Jesus" painted over the top of it, not one person would give a shit.  I mean, I would.  But I'd probably be too busy laughing my ass off to get really upset.  So here's the question:  If it was so important, why didn't the church do a little preventative maintenance during the many years of neglect, or at least mention to the parishioners, "yeah, we know the frescoes are looking rough, would you mind putting the word out to help us raise money for a restoration"?  Nope, instead the head of the church let a little old lady with no artistic training take a crack at fixing Jesus up.

Now there are talks of lawsuits against the little old lady.  Churchgoers and art buffs all over are the world are up in arms about the entire incident.  I've even heard one report claim that the painting is beyond repair, will be painted over, and a reproduction of the original would be hung in its place.  To me, this is what the art world should be up in arms about.  I would offer money, and the replacement value of the plaster to have this NEW iconic piece of artwork in my personal collection

Anyhow, because of this incident and the worldwide attention it garnered, people are looking at old and deteriorating pieces of art in a different way.  I think that this one incident helped raise awareness about what one should and shouldn't do to a piece of art...even if they have permission from the person who is temporarily in charge of its well-being.

2.  Cecelia Gimenez may be the next Picasso.

Seriously, Check out this sketch the Pablo Picasso made in 1946:

http://www.pablo-ruiz-picasso.net/work-210.php

I see a lot of similar qualities between the two works of art.  Granted, by 1946, Picasso was an old pro with hundreds of pieces of art under his belt.  The "Ecce Homo" restoration is a first attempt at an artistic venture for Ms. Gimenez.  Granted, it wasn't her working from the ground up on an original piece of artwork, but she still created something new and exciting.  I'm sure she feels terrible about the whole mess, since it was her favorite image of Jesus, but hey, it's not every day that you create something that winds up on t-shirts, hats, coffee mugs, and almost every website out there.  Do you realize how long I've been making my own art on purpose?  I've never even come close to being offered a gallery show (yet),  let alone have millions of people talking about and seeing my artwork on a daily basis.

My point is, she made something that is important and widely acknowledged as significant.  Whether it's good press or bad press, people are talking about it.  It's is solidly engrained in the collective pop culture mind of the world.  I would also be willing to bet that I'm not the only person that would speak up and support the preservation of the new painting.  Because seriously, how many of you even knew this painting existing before it became awesome?  Painting over this would be like painting over a Banksy (on a side note, I'd like to mention I'm not a huge Banksy fan)

On second thought, maybe she's the next Modigliani:

http://www.artchive.com/artchive/m/modigliani/modigliani_guillaume.jpg.html

3.  This painting is funny as shit!

I mean, if you can look at this and not laugh, you are way too serious and need to lighten the fuck up.  Take all religious context away from it and look at it strictly as an image.  It looks like Fisher-Price finally got around to making a monkey themed Mr. Potato Head.  It's all over the news because this thing is absolutely ridiculous.

How many religious paintings have you seen in your life?  If you've ever taken an art history course that focused on art before the twentieth century at a Catholic university like I did, I'm going to hold firm and say that at least 50% of all the artwork you've ever seen (including print form), contained religious overtones.  It's just what people do.  There are many reports out there claiming that this was not a particularly valuable or rare piece of artwork.  In a couple years, I'm guessing that even the parishioners and citizens of this town, will talk about this and laugh.  I'm sure there is the embarrassment issue now, but seriously, I bought a t-shirt of this painting.  Before this, I didn't know anything about this church, this town nor this painting.

Okay, I'm ranting.  I like this Cecilia Gimenez's rendition of "Ecce Homo" so much that I had to make a self portrait based on it.  Here it is:

"Self Portrait after Cecilia Gimenez" or "Ecce Raygun"  9x12in Crayon, Pencil, Ballpoint Pen on Discarded Paper

So there's that.  Sorry for the swearing and all, but I really love this fluke in the course of art history, and have to speak with passion.  I have my favorite artists and I like to see new things by them, but every so often I'll see a piece made by someone who has no idea what they are doing and it inspires me.

Afer all, taking art too seriously was what led me to quit making it.  If it wasn't perfect, I stopped and gave up.  Now, I have gotten into the habit of making quick pieces, mostly on discarded pieces of paper during my lunch break with basic office supplies, and I couldn't be happier.  When I spent a fortune on supplies to create a "perfect" piece of artwork, I rarely liked the end result.  Now I have a ton of old artwork with quite a bit of money sunk into it taking up space in my house.  Oh yeah, and I can't stand to look at it anymore, and no one has ever wanted to buy it.  My new stuff gets a lot of attention from my friends, and I'd be more than happy to give it to them if I knew that they would appreciate it and give it a good home.  To me this is the value of art.  I am a man that has to create.  I have to create for myself based on my aesthetics and personality, otherwise creation just becomes a non-paying job.

So yeah, thanks for reading guys,

Raygun

New Self Portrait

I found another no name gem of student artwork in the scrap box today.  The student made a whole page of skin tones (most likely by accident), with the exception of one giant blue spot in the upper center of the page.  I saw this, and knew it was begging for a close up self portrait.  I think I'm going to start hanging some of these projects in the classroom to help motivate students to take second looks at their projects, and not give up on them so easily. 

 

 "Creeper"  9x12in  crayon and ball point pen on discarded student artwork

The eye seems a bit massive, but I had to work with the giant blue spot I was given and still include enough additional features to have it read as my face.  I'm pretty happy with the result.

Thanks for reading,

Raygun

Random Art Word: Smoke

It's Wednesday.  Time for a new word.  The art work has trickled down a bit since I started restoring my 1961 VW Beetle.  Still getting to it though.  More stuff to come.

Here's the word and I'm sure you don't need a definition:

Smoke

So, yeah.  You guys know the rules.  If you feel like making something, send it to artwithstrangers at gmail dot com

Thanks for reading,

Raygun

Another Round of Portraits

Here are two more self portraits I made today.  The green portrait was from an older photograph and the yellow portrait was made while looking in a mirror.

Green Self Portrait: 5x7 in  Tempera, ball point pen and Sharpie on corrugated cardboard

Yellow Self Portrait:  3x4in  Ball point pen on yellow construction paper

As always, thanks for viewing.

Raygun

Self Portrait #2 and a Piece of Random Art

Made a couple quick sketches today.  I'm enjoying making smaller pieces of artwork on discarded pieces of paper.  Since I teach art, I have a lot of students that will crumple up their "unsuccessful" projects and throw them in my scrap paper box.  Since I know for a fact that the students will avoid a crumpled paper like the plague when there are tons of non-crumpled options, I will usually root through the pile, see if there is a name on the wadded up piece, then place it in the proper bin.  Today, I found a wadded up, barely started, self portrait in the box.  Of course there was no name.  If there was, I would give the student partial credit, since they are the one that determined the shape of my head in this portrait.

The other piece was drawn on the back of a random pizza shop flyer that was also cruising around work today.  I did these drawings while I was on my lunch break.  The view is from my classroom into a small park that leads up to a neighborhood.  Anyway, here are the drawings:

Self Portrait #2 Ball point pen, marker, pencil on discarded student artwork

 

View From My Window at Work: Ball Point Pen and Marker on discarded pizza flyer

Thanks for reading,

Raygun

Self Portraits: Day One

I have decided to start posting random, quick study self portraits on the blog.  This is intended to be an exercise in which I loosen up a bit, since I have been taking my work way too seriously.  To break away from the frustration, and hopefully help me solidify a style, I've decided to make frequent quick pictures of myself.  I will be posting the results here, whether I find them appealing or terrible.

Since today is the first day of this venture, I figure I'll share a little of my artistic timeline. The first image is a wood block print entitled "Incognito".  I made this image in a printmaking class in 2009.  Please excuse the quality, as the images were taken via cell phone camera circa 2009.

The second image is from the same printmaking class.  This print is actually the basis of this entire blog.  This was the project that required me to take two randomly drawn words, and come up with a visual solution.  My words were, "shotgun," and "haven".   This is an aquatint /chin colle made in 2009 entitled "Git".

The next image is a tiny color study I did based of a random photo my wife took of me acting like an ass.  I intended to make a painting from the color study, but again, I couldn't get it to come out the way I wanted, so I gave up.  This picture was created earlier this year (2012).

And finally, here is today's quick study.  This is a pencil drawing on computer paper.  Today's date is August, 29, 2012.

So here's to the start of a new venture.  I swear the next updates won't be nearly as long winded.

Thanks for reading,
 Raygun

Project #4: Nexus

Here we are at another random word posting.  Drawn at random today, we have the word Nexus.

Here is the dictionary.com definition of the word:

noun, plural nex·us·es, nex·us.
 

1. a means of connection; tie; link.

 

2. a connected series or group.

 

3. the core or center, as of a matter or situation.

 

4. Cell Biology . a specialized area of the cell membrane involved in intercellular communication and adhesion.

 

 

Starting today, there will no longer be a timeline for finishing your submission.  If you have an idea and want to share it, get it to me whenever you can.

 

I will also be putting results in this posting.  There will no longer be a separate post for the submissions.  

 

As for the submission guidelines, those are the same.  Email me at artwithstrangers at gmail dot com to submit artwork or random word ideas.

 

Thanks for reading,

 

Raygun