Photography

(Ed Hopper Metropolis pt.1)

This was done for my photography/photoshop class. It is mainly inspired by Ed Hopper paintings, only with a twist. If you look carefully, this is actually an intersecation, and all four streets can be seen in this photo. A panoramic view with a gradient ranging from a lonely street to that which is busy with cars.

So I started school at the Toronto School of Art recently. And a few of us got together on the weekend to do renovations for the student lounge. We painted a Mural (based on the tattoo design in the previous post) and the walls.

This is a panoramic-styled photograph. The room is actually quite small and has four equal walls. Like a box. That's where we hangout at TSA, a box. Fun times.

Tattoo?

So this is a tattoo design my friend had asked me to do for her about 1.5 years ago (or more). I started roughs but never really felt inspired, and as a result, hated the ones I came up with. That is, until recently, when I stumbled upon some very cool cherry tree designs. I never thought to put the heart of the design into the trunks until I saw these examples. Using these examples I learned to draw the trunk a certain way. I would have actually copied the tree trunk from said examples, but its too damn hard. Much easier to learn the pattern and do it yourself.

Next time you watch a film or television show, and the characters are at a fast food place, pay attention to what they order. No matter what they get, the "drink" is always a milkshake of some sort. Am I wrong? Why is this important? Aside from the fact that mixing a desert like a milkshake with greasy burgers and fries is just plain wrong; people on tv will always ALWAYS order a milkshake with their meal, but do you ever see anyone in real life do it? Most people get a coke or other forms of pop, but never milkshakes.

So why is it that TV wants us to think that's what we should be ordering? Are the people who invented milkshakes paying television off, so their product can make a comeback? I was just at a mcdonalds the other day and this discussion came up, thought i would post it here. If you don't see an update on this blog, it was the milkshake people that got me.

What I've been reading...

First time I read this was about 2 years ago, when I bought the first issue of this short series (about 24 issues altogether). The first issue was pretty good, but I lost track and forgot about it for a while. Buying comics every month is a lot of work, so I usually just wait till the entire series is complete and download the whole thing. It sure beats waiting a whole month to find out what happens. And that will be very important, because this series is really hook-worthy.

If you are a person that is turned off by comics because it has to do with superheroes, don't worry, I am the same. I read a lot of comics, and almost none of them have to do with superheroes (except Watchmen, but that is about so much more...).

Girls is interlaced with a lot of witty and subtle humour mixed with some sci fi (sorta). Its a great story; I have just began reading, and already I am going to try to ration the series as it is short and I will be sad when I have nothing left to read. If you want, you can download the whole thing at: http://comicscollection.blogspot.com/2006/04/girls-comic-collection.html
If you have the dough, I suggest you buy the whole thing off ebay or something. This will tie me over till the release of Craig Thompson's upcoming Habibi.

I was downloading the Danger mouse/Sparklehorse/David Lynch collab album (awesome btw) recently, and the album art reminded me of the Bats for Lashes video, which reminded me of Donnie Darko, which caused me to come up with some concept art, which is prompting me to do my next painting.

Amy if you are reading this, I haven't forgotten about that painting I promised to do for your birthday so very long ago (happy extremely belated birthday btw).

Much belated Halloween post

So this is what I ended up looking like for Halloween. I didn't make a torso for it because I had to carry a lot of alcohol on my back that night and the forecast predicted rain (WRONG!). Oh well, it was pretty cold that night, so I am happy I had a jacket. Next year, I might make a torso, or even go as the Gender Bender, if I decide to stick with this costume again.

However, this potential costume might give people the wrong idea...not that there's anything wrong with that.

Halloween

So I decided to be everyone's favourite alcoholic robot for Halloween. It was an idea I had about a month ago, but did not put into motion till last week. I only have a few days left to finish this costume off... but this is what I have so far...

This is what I had last week.

This is what I had as of yesterday. Still need some finishing touches on the helmet, and a torso (although I might not wear the torso for Halloween because it would be a nightmare at a crowded party). Maybe I will keep this one for the comic conventions, if I ever go to one again. Next year, maybe I will do Zoidberg.

Do make say think

At the frontier for Canada's indie/post-rock scene, Do Make Say Think has just finished a new album called Other Truths. This album has the usual moody, spacerock atmosphere, with sparse horns blowing in the background at approcpriate times, to create a dramatic anthem mood. This album features only four songs (Do, Make, Say, and Think); all ranging from pretty long, to extremely long in length.
When I heard their EP Besides, I was somewhat disappointed. But this album has really Blown me away. You can download it if you are broke or new to this band, or go buy it. But make sure to go see them live if you can (and like their stuff), and support them financially.

Here's a sample if you have never heard them before.

Recommanded for Post-rockers that like a touch of originality and a spice of amazingness in their music.

Bee inconspicuous (alternate version)

The pg-13 version of a design I am about to submit to threadless. I like this version more (where his hand is hidden), but it maight be too crass for Threadless' taste. I will have a link from the voting page to this version, so the voters can decide for themseleves I guess.