I’ve never been much of a risk taker when it comes to creativity (Ironic, I know).  I pride myself on calculation and the predictability of the final outcome. I’m a designer, I plan then build… It’s how I work. I’m so strategic, in fact, that I’m forced to have a process for not having a process. Let me explain.

You see, the approach that I take when doing a painting is a study in contrast to the way I approach a design project.   When I’m designing something it’s usually for a client, so I tend to very methodical in my execution. Every pixel, point and character is accounted for. Everything is in its place… nothing is left to chance.

Painting is a different story.   Applying the “Laws of Chance” to a piece forces me to let go in a way that I can’t with design. Sure, I typically have a loose idea of the mood I want to convey, but that’s it. I don’t draw it out or plan the composition. I just start painting, building off each component in a very linear fashion. No looking back or second guessing the brush strokes. The painting is what it is.

As you can see above, this set of paintings can be arranged in a number of ways. I’ll leave it up to the person who hangs the work to decide which arrangement fits their taste.

When I see work like this I always wonder about the amount of planning and preparation involved, so when I saw these images on FFFFOUND I instantly started trying to deconstruct the process.  The only thing I can come up with is that the artist must be projecting the image into the space, does a tracing and then paints in the shapes.  No matter… this is done unbelievably well.

This is the original comp I provided the band:

Below is the second option I provided after discussing the dynamics of the UV paint being used.

There’s no denying the power a great album cover. It can draw you in and make you take notice of a band you may have never noticed. I can still remember being a kid and rummaging through all of my parents old LPs. I would spend hours looking at those jackets, inspecting every detail, often trying to recreate them on a sheet of notebook paper at the kitchen table. To this day I buy CD’s simply for the romance of holding the packaging and reading all liner notes. It’s almost an obsession.

A few months ago a childhood dream of mine came true when I was contracted by Windup Records to illustrate the cover for Finger Eleven’s fifth studio album, Life Turns Electric. Even though I was a initially unsure as to whether or not I could pull off such a surreal concept I was ultimately happy with the way the piece turned out… and apparently, so was the band.

When Finger Eleven started planning their tour they contacted me again to do the illustration for a giant stage backdrop. I don’t want to ruin all of the surprises that the band has in store for the stage performance, but this should give you a taste. Imagine this face twenty feet tall flashing and glowing as UV lights bounce off of it. I have a feeling it’s going to be a trippy tour.

I came across this on the iso50 blog today. It’s absolutely incredible and the best part is that because it’s basically a pentatonic scale (so I believe) you can’t really mess up. Simply click on the squares in sequence or drag your cursor across the grid and listen to the melody you’ve made.

I was curious who created it so I did a bit of research. My findings led me to André Michelle, but unfortunately it’s not open source since it’s built on the AudioTool engine.

Have Fun!!!

I’ve been blessed with a really great friend in Aaron Scamihorn. He’s the kind of guy who encourages others to do things that they always talk about doing but may never make a real priority until he gives them that little extra push. In this particular instance I’m talking about showing some of my personal work in a gallery setting. Until last month I hadn’t shown any of my fine art publicly since my high school days. As a member of a local arts organization Aaron always has the inside scoop on what’s going on in the Indianapolis arts community. I have to say, participating in the Toys Exhibit at Gallery 924 was a fantastic experience, and the folks at Primary Colours really know how to organize a worthwhile event.

If you didn’t get a chance to come out and see the actual show, be sure to stop by my good friend Nate Greuel’s blog for another opinion on the experience.

Thanks again to everyone involved and everyone who came out to support us.