SEA NO EVIL BENEFIT SHOW

I will be participating for the first time in the "Sea No Evil" show which benefits the efforts of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society and to help raise awareness of conserving our precious oceans and the life contained in it. The auction is this Saturday night, June 25 which is being held at the Riverside Municipal Auditorium. Doors open at 6pm.

I am extremely excited to contribute to this show. Those of you who are familiar to my work know that many of my images depict sea creatures telling stories close to my heart. My affection toward the beauty of sea life came early in my life and is something I hope to continue with my children. The horrendous acts aimed toward these peaceful creatures jeopardizes the opportunity for future generations to enjoy them the their ability to thrive.

My piece is called "Bearing" which was created specifically for this show. I chose the word bearing for a few reasons. The image shows Captain Paul Watson's fleet being represented by flying whales "bearing down" on the so called research vessel of the Japanese fleet. Watching Whale Wars, it's all about putting pressure and searching, so finding ones bearings in the vast ocean is another play on the title. Also, the men and women on these ships voluntarily bear a great responsibility as champions for these creatures.

"Bearing"

Flier for show

I had the opportunity earlier this year to have my children go on a whale watching trip during vacation. We were able to observe many Humpback Whales and they enjoyed this experience thoroughly. Through efforts of the Sea Shepherds and benefit shows like this, hopefully we will have many opportunities like this and for many generations to come. Here is a pic of my boys holding on to the rail and checking out these magnificent creatures:

GET TO GIVE ART BENEFIT

The backpack company Ark Collective is hosting an art show tonight which is aimed to raise money for their designated educational charity and spread awareness on how poverty affects our youth's education. 100% of the proceeds from the show will go to the charity. Here is the info:

The concept was a fun one. Some of the backpacks that Ark Collective produces are not fit to go to market, so instead of getting rid of them why not make art on them for a great cause. Each artist was given one of these packs with the opportunity to do anything to them. Here are some progress pics of my pack along with my finished product.

Here we have the pack, piece of wood that I shaped using a table saw and an electric sander, and my boy's puzzle sea horse that they don't use anymore which I gessoed over to paint on. I cut out some of the pack so I could insert the shaped piece of wood.

Used screws to fix the wood panel to the pack

Lay in of the drawing and sea horse before paint

More drilling. I have here three different sizes of wood pegs. I wanted the piece to be somewhat playful and interactive so you can place the sea horse on the drawing at different heights.

Here is the slots that were built in already for the seahorse and pegs, and here is the hole I drilled for the pegs.

Sea horse pegged in and elevated

"Spam"

The guys at Ark did a mini interview on me for the show. Stuff you may already know from past interviews, but there is some fun information on what I will be up to next year which I am really excited about so maybe check it out if you have a chance. Here is the link.

Really a great cause that Ark is doing, so if you are in the area please go check it out! Will be updating again soon with the "Sea No Evil" benefit show later this month as well.