2 NEW EDDIE VEDDER 2011 TOUR 5 COLOR SCREEN PRINTS

I'm so grateful for the tremendous response that was given for my first Eddie Vedder poster for Sydney. It is truly an honor to work with Eddie and his team again on the posters for Eddie's tour stop in San Diego which happened earlier this evening.

I was thrilled to have San Diego assigned to me. Long ago I was a resident of SD for three years during my first games job, but I remembered going to visit Shamu at Sea World a few times as a kid so it felt natural to include the Orca in the image. The first sketch I sent Eddie and his team was Shamu jumping unconfined and free off the waters of San Diego. Eddie gave it a go, but then he also wanted another poster to contrast the first and to make a statement. Something darker that commented on how Shamu is not in his natural setting at Sea World, kind of sad and dejected. So the second poster shows the whale being still in its stage area and I added an Orca shaped cloud jumping like the first poster, as if Shamu is dreaming of being free. It was a wonderful idea to have two posters that can comment on that and I enjoyed the ease of collaborating with Eddie on these thoughts. Big thanks to Eddie and to Chris for this amazing opportunity, and to Frank and Roberta for all their help!

Posters will go on sale this coming Friday, noon PST on my Big Cartel page. Here are the images, and I hope you enjoy!

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.

INLE

My next show will be at Gallery1988 which is based on the Black Rabbit of Inle, a character from the novel Watership Down. The show is curated by Greg Simkins and the lineup is insane. There are so many artists involved who I have looked up to even way before I got into showing at galleries. A big thanks to Greg for the invite.

Here is my piece "Shady":


It's been a while since I have painted a tree and I've never painted a rabbit before, so I really enjoyed painting this one up. Got some clouds back on the canvas as well. I will be attending the show tomorrow night, and I hear many of the artists involved will be too. Come out an make it if you can! Check out this crazy good list:

Aaron Jasinski, Adam Hathorn, Alex Garcia, Alex Pardee, Amanda Louise Spayd, Amy Sol, Angry Woebots, Annie Owens, Anthony Ausgang, Anthony Filo, Attaboy, Audrey Kawasaki, Augor, Axis, Beast Brothers, Bob Dob, Brandi Milne, Brian Colin, Brian Despain, Buff Monster, Camilla d'Ericco, Carrie Ann Baade, Charles Wish, Chase Tafoya, Chet Zar, Chris "Devious" Gliebe, Chris Ryniak, Christian Rex van Minnen, Colin Christian, D. Ross Scribe, Dabs & Myla, Dan May, Dan Quintana, Daniel Danger, Dave Correia, Dave Flores ATC, Dave Pressler, David Choong Lee, Deph, Dytch 66, Eric Merrill, Eric White, Fred Harper, George Thompson, Graham Curran, Greg "Craola" Simkins, Gris Grimly, Gunnar, Haste, Jason Daquino, Jason Limon, Jason Maloney, JAW Cooper, Jean Labourdette (Turf One), Jeff McMillan, Jeff Soto, Jeffery Page, Jen Lobo, Jenny Mollen-Biggs, Jeral Tidwell, Jeremy Fish, Jeremy Sutton, Jersey Joe Rime, Jesse Smith, Joe Capobianco, Joe Hahn, Joe Ledbetter, Joe Vaux, Johnny KMNDZ Rodriguez, Johnny Vampotna, Jon Beinart, Jordan Buckley, Josh Keyes, Joshua Clay, Kevin Knight, Kevin Dickinson, Kevin Peterson, Kris Lewis, Logan Hicks, Luke Chueh, Lyte, Man One, Mark Bodnar, Martin Whitfooth, Matthew Bone, Maxx 242, McEvoy & Rodriguez, Meggs, Mia Araujo, Michael Page, Michel Gagne´, Mike Mitchell, Mike Stilkey, Misha, Miss Mindy, Molly Crabapple, Naoto Hattori, Nate Van Dyke, Nathan Pearce, Natoe, Neko, Nicholas Charles, Nicnak, Nome Edonna, Peekaboo Monster, Persue'/BunnyKitty, Peter Gronquist, Poor Al, Rabodiga, Rask Opticon, Retna, Revok, Robert Bowen, Roland Tamayo, Ron English, Rory Keating, Sam Flores, Sas Christian, Scott Belcastro, Sergio Hernandez, Shaun Kasl Singer, Shawn Barber, Skinner, Skot Olsen, Sram, Steven Daily, Tara McPherson, Thomas Lynch III, Tim Hendricks, Tomi Monstre, Tony Curanaj, Travie McCoy, Travis Louie, Tyke Witnes, Vic Back, Werk, Yosuke Ueno, Zoso

Oceanic Awareness Collaboration Art For Awareness Auction

I will be having 2 paintings available at this event up for auction. Auction will be held Saturday evening, February 26 at Andi Campognone Projects in Pomona, CA. The auction is designed to raise awareness and motivate change about the pollution gathering in our oceans, and it also benefits children in financial need. Both paintings are 12" X 12" acrylic on wood panel. You can find more information on their website here: Link

Check out the amazing line up of artists contributing to the show.

"It's Bull"

"Not Rite"

NEW MOON 2011 ART SHOW

My first show of 2011 will be tomorrow, February 11 at MyPlasticHeart in New York City. The show is based on how artists will interpret the Chinese Zodiac. What's exciting for me is that this is my first opportunity to show a piece of art in NY, so a big thank you to John Wong from me for the invite.

I decided to choose the sheep for my piece. It's a fun departure from my aquatic theme, but I still managed to get it in there somehow. I do plan on branching out to other types of animals, so this is a great springboard for that. My piece is called "Portrait Of A Happy Thought". The line-up is awesome. You can see all the work with this preview link for those interested: Link Here is my piece:

RUEL PASCUAL SOLO SHOW

I am very excited to post that my artist bud Ruel Pascual is having his first solo show at Van Eaton Galleries Saturday, February 19. Opening reception is from 6:30-9:30. Ruel has been putting in the work for this show and it's going to be amazing. This is not one to miss, so please check it out if you can. Here is the postcard info: