Secret Still

James Jean is one of the most prolific artists ever, if you look at the drawings, sketches, paintings, illustrations, comics covers, etc., and he’s also super nice and very calm. Lucky for us, the plethora of work that he produces also means that he has to update his website fairly often to stay current. Just such a thing has happened, and you should take some time out of your busy schedule of masturbating and eating nachos to go check out the slew of new work he’s dropped on the unsuspecting internets. His sketchbooks alone should keep you occupied until sometime around dawn.

James Jean

A little illustrator-y goodness for you this morning, in the form of Iain Macarthur. Combining photorealistic drawings with doodles and squiggles, Iain manages to make two styles of illustration into a seamlessly connected new one. What I like even more, is that he gives depth and dimension to the doodle portions of his illustrations, not a difficult extra step, but something I don’t see often that gives the drawing so much more. Take note, doodlers, if you shade some shit, you can make things more interesting to look at. You’ll still be miles away from Macarthur’s glory, but you’ll be one step closer to your own.

Iain Macarthur

Those are some sexy ink lines swirling crazily over some beautiful, classical paintings. If I were the kind of guy who fetishized artwork, I would be very, very aroused right now. Lucky for you and most of my co-workers, I only get turned on by photos of cheeseburgers being stepped on by women wearing swimfins. I say most of my co-workers, because I’m sure some of them would be into me having to do a sexy dance around the office to relieve my sexual frustration. Where was I going with this? Oh yeah, Steven Tabbutt is fucking rad.

Steven Tabbutt

If you’re looking for a way to kill the last few hours of the work day, or the first few hours of the non-work day (for those of you not in PST), then consider them dead and gone because Narwhal Projects has a giant preview of Gary Taxali’s new show, “The Taxali 300,” available for your viewing pleasure. That’s right, 300 paintings/drawings from the prolific and amazing Gary Taxali, the Canadian wonder. You can also buy them, but I don’t want to pressure you into something like that. You haven’t even had dinner yet. Get comfortable, relax, get out of those work clothes, and then maybe we’ll talk about buying some art.

Gary Taxali: The Taxali 300

How have you not been on my radar before, Graham Robinson? With your birches, boats, and beards, it seems like we should’ve been acquainted a while ago. Well, it’s nice to meet you now. You keep that good shit coming, and I’ll make sure you’ll always have free beer when you’re in San Francisco. That’s what friends are for.

Graham Robinson

Burt is just not a first name you hear much anymore. Everyone is naming their kids after cities and states or famous dogs and bears from movies:  Madison, Dakota, Marley, Gentle Ben etc. Burt is the name of a regular guy, whose parents didn’t pull his name from an atlas. Wesley Burt’s first name clearly isn’t Burt, but it still has the effect of making me think that he’s just a guy who drinks some beers and maybe is a plumber. But Wesley Burt isn’t a plumber (that I know of), he’s an artist and a helluva good one. His drawings alone are worth my weight in gold, what with all the layering and dramatic groupings. So maybe it’s good that his first name isn’t Burt, because that could’ve resulted in his drawings being replaced by really well done pipe fittings. We all lucked out on this one.

Wesley Burt

Recycling is great, and using recyclable or biodegradable materials in the first place is even better, but what about all the products out there that are neither recyclable nor biodegradable, and don’t look like they’re going to change anytime soon? Take for instance the humble styrofoam cup: light, insulates well, cheap to manufacture, and basically won’t break down until the sun goes white dwarf. People are going to keep using them because they’re lazy, so what can be done with them? Draw on them. Boey does just that, and does it well. Whether intricate or open, the line work is always on point (not a pun). And better yet, by turning them into art, the cups have been removed from the waste cycle. They can sit and be enjoyed by someone for centuries. Trash into treasure.

Boey

Let me share something with you: I don’t own a TV. I’ll wait until you recover from shock. Better? Ok. What I do have is a computer, which these days equates to a TV in most cases, meaning that I still watch TV. The thing is, I don’t like to. I don’t have a TV, because I don’t want to spend all my time watching one. What do I do instead? I read books. Books are the TV of the mind, and I read them like crazy, especially comics because they provide the added layer of great art. So, with an impending week long break coming up for the holidays, do you think that I’m anticipating catching up on all the shows I’ve missed? I’ll tell you, I am not. But what I do have is a nice stack of comics to read both digital and analog, and a dog to sit on my feet while I do so. If you can tell me of a better way to relax, I will probably sock your face in because you’re a liar. And sitting like a gem at the top of my comics stack is the work of Luke Pearson, mostly because I haven’t gotten the chance to read a lot of his comics, but also because his work is fucking top notch. His style is variable but always beautiful, his subjects interesting, and there is a dandy balance of wit and pathos. You can bet your ass that one of his comics is worth at least one episode of Lost, even if the comic occupies less time. So, in the coming weeks when you find yourself bored to tears while waiting on your drunk family members to stop fighting, pull up a few of Pearson’s comics and engage your mind. It’s that or stare at Dick Clark’s dessicated android corpse.

Luke Pearson

Women have been the most popular subject matter for drawings/paintings/sculptures about as long as anyone has been making drawings/paintings/sculptures. Women have been represented in every style and form imaginable at this point. Rather than talk about my theories on why women are so popular as a subject, which is boring, I’ll tell you about one of the ways that women are painted/drawn that I hate, which is provocative. I hate the fashion illustration style. The pencil drawn woman with strokes of bright color to fill in. Do you know how many illustrators there are in France alone who work in that style? A lot. However, no matter how similar that sounds to the work of Barcelona artist Conrad Roset, that is not how he is painting. His women aren’t being fashionable. They’re being sexy and coy and beguiling and innocent, which are maybe the best qualities that women possess. They’re being beautiful. And with stylistic hints at Schiele, Roset has given me reason to enjoy a little pencil and a little paint and a look into what magic women have that ensnares the mind. I can only say what I have wanted to say for a long time: Suck it, French fashion illustrators. Man, it feels good to get that off my chest.

Conrad Roset

Secret Still Best Friend 4eva Israel Sanchez hit me this morning with the news that the second annual Hey You Guys! charity art event and auction (previously mentioned) is going on. A grand slam roster of artists has once again come together to create works inspired by their favorite movies and then sell them to you with all the profits going to DonorsChoose.org to help school children get the materials they need to learn and create. Think of the children! The online auction is already live and will run until Sunday, December 13. If you’re in the LA area, you can bid on the items in person on December 5 at the Rialto Theater in Pasadena, where they will also be screening Ghostbusters. Even if you lose you win. If I was talking instead of typing, I would be yelling and spitting all over the place, that’s how excited I am about this! Note exclamation point; nuff said.

Hey You Guys!