with hands and hair and eyes and bones and knees

At Night I Lay At Home With My Sheets Soaking Wet

noreply@blogger.com (matthew) — Fri, 02 May 2008 06:31:00 +0000

Okay, I will be the first to admit it: I am a jerk. I haven't posted in this thing for nearly a month at this point, but at least it's for good reason....I just haven't really had anything to post. Nothing and everything has changed all at once. Spent some time in the nega-zone known as Indiana, spent hours and hours drawing wallpaper for the still secret project, fell in love a million times, had terrible allergies, rearranged my studio, had the past break my heart, realized that I have had the shit kicked out of me for so long that even the death of a family member barely affects me, carried a ziploc full of moss across state lines, was blown away by The Mist, seriously inflamed my arthritis with rock band, etcetera, etcetera.

Here is a pretty simple job I did for ESPN Magazine a few weeks ago, that came out really nice. It was the first time in a long time that I felt like I actually accomplished something through my inks:

Once again it is time for an Art-Dept promotion book. This season the theme was Reel, which meant that each artist was to pick a movie to create a movie poster for. I spent a lot of time thinking about what movie I would want to make a poster for, from The Sixth Sense, To Pee Wee's Big Adventure, 12 Monkeys, and Children of Men. I ended up on In The Mood For Love, which I have based worked off of before, but never so bluntly. It is in every aspect my favorite movie I have ever seen, and I would even go so far to say that 90% of the work I do anymore is somehow directly inspired by the movie.

I have been becoming increasingly disinterested in my colors anymore. It seems like I have been using the same crutches for a couple of years now, and quite frankly it just isn't fun anymore. I figured this project would be a good time to experiment with some different palettes and different techniques, and I think they came off pretty well. I broke the image up into two pieces to put on my website, the actual "poster" is both of these images stacked on top of each other:

I think I could spend the rest of my life only listening to Bruce Springsteen covers.

My Obsession With Victorian Ornamentation

noreply@blogger.com (matthew) — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 23:20:00 +0000

I am currently in the midsts of a very exciting project. Unfortunately, I don't know how freely I am able to talk about the project...but hell, when am I ever? The project will be taking me a good chunk of the summer, which is a definite plus considering my quickly growing stress about the "slow season". And to be totally honest, I can't think of more of a dream job for me. Basically I get to spend all day drawing ridiculously detailed furniture, clothing, wallpaper, hairstyles, etc....it's like I was meant for the job. Not to mention the fact that I get to draw silly mustaches! Here are some rough line work drawings of what I am working on. Chances are, I don't have to be putting as much detail into everything that I am...but I can't really hold back at this point:

The show on Friday was....well, it was good. But odd, and confusing, and depressing, and amazing, and terrifying. I met a lot of nice people, and a few REALLY nice people (one in particular). A lot of nice things were said about my work, and I ended up getting entirely too intoxicated for my own good by the end of it. Though, none of this has changed my ideas about having work in galleries....it still seems like a whole lot of bullshit and competitiveness, neither of which I am too fond of when it comes to just doing my work.

Tonight a few of us are going to see John Twells play. Normally I would be all for this...but considering that it's at a douche bag bar, on fucking St. Patrick's day....I can't really say I am looking forward to it. Lord have mercy on us.

Sometimes I wonder when I write things like "Lord have mercy on us", do people on here actually take me seriously? It was brought to my attention a long time ago, that people take a lot of ridiculous things I say on here seriously.

It looks like in the near future I will be having a steady stream of work to post on this blog. Imagine that.

Into The Mouth Of The Wolf

noreply@blogger.com (matthew) — Sat, 08 Mar 2008 07:42:00 +0000

For those of you in Chicago, I found what time the reception for the "Into The Mouth Of The Wolf" show that I am in at Lloyd Dobler Gallery starts. And for those of you too lazy to scroll down a bit here is all the information again:

Lloyd Dobler Gallery
1545 W. Division 2nd Floor
Chicago, IL 60622
312.961.8706

"Into The Mouth Of The Wolf"
March 14th - April 26th

Opening Reception
March 14th, 6pm - 10pm

Here are some inks I just finished for a spot illustration for Nextbook, on an piece written by Joe Hill (son of Steven King). I have developed a love / hate relationship with drawing typewriters, though I am a little obsessed with how the back of old typewriters look like awesome robot heads. Also, apparently I have lost the ability to draw birds well.

After a good deal of email correspondence with the amazingly talented and beautiful Audrey Kawaski, I have decided to try my hand at oil painting again. There is just so much stuff I want to do that I know I can't accomplish through inks and photoshop, and just quite frankly don't have the skill to do in water color. And on a side note, Audrey kind of makes me want to be strangled in my sleep.

I have four deadlines due on Monday, and then a small handful more scattered throughout the rest of the week. Not to mention that I have to prepare my piece for the show at Lloyd, and somehow figure out how to use a jigsaw in my apartment without cutting my furniture in half. Somebody slap me if I complain about not having enough work any time soon.

The Widow of The Man Who Never Loved You

noreply@blogger.com (matthew) — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 02:02:00 +0000

So, after nearly two months I finally finished the big secret project. And in all honesty, I really couldn't be more pleased with it. It is so rare when the image I have initially in my head actually looks like the final product. I have been staring at this thing for weeks, occasionally adding minuscule touches here and there, but I would say I have probably put almost 100 hours into finishing this. There were even a few points where I would wake up in the middle of the night to work on it ( I was convinced it was haunting me for a while ). How in god's name did this take 100 hours you ask? Well, because it is on a 4' X 4' hunk of wood. It is fucking huge. Not the biggest thing I have done, but certainly the most detailed and time consuming. I was getting so tired of laying half of my drawing abilities to the side to do client work, that when the opportunity came for me to work on this, I put everything I had into it. Coffee washes, tea washes, graphite, colored pencil, and brush and ink. Make sure you click on the images to get a full-sized, because this thing is ridiculously detailed. I have a habit of not slacking on the detail, no matter how big the piece is. And yeah, I used the exact same sized brush for this that I used on everything else.

I was asked to do a piece by the ole' Lloyd Dobler Gallery gang for an upcoming show entitled "Into The Mouth of The Wolf", which is a collective of horror art. Now, when someone asks me to do a piece for a horror show...I hesitate. People are talking all the time about how I make horrific and macabre work, but in reality I never agree. I like to make work that is uncomfortable to look at, but not exactly "scary". So I decided to go a different route with this, and actually make something that I thought was scary....and hell, it worked. I have been having problems looking at this straight on since I started it. This is also the only piece I have ever done exclusively for a gallery show, and chances are it will probably be my last.

Into The Mouth of The Wolf is next Friday, March 14th at the Lloyd Dobler Gallery:

1545 W. Division 2nd Floor
Chicago, IL 60622

and features the work of some fantastic artists including some of my old friends; Helena Kvarnstrom, Brendan Larsen, and John Twells (aka Xela). Three of the only artists out there who's work actually scares the hell out of me sometimes. If you are in Chicago you should absolutely stop by, chances are you will find me somewhat intoxicated on Schlitz and doing my best not to make eye contact with my own work ( let alone anyone that happens to show up ). Oh and if you cant make it during the reception, the work will be up for at least a few weeks...though I am not positive how long.

Also, I am considering selling this piece when the show is over. I don't exactly know who would want a 4' square hunk of wood with a melting woman on it, but if you are interested (and seriously so) please feel free to contact me.

To Pass The Time 'Til You Return

noreply@blogger.com (matthew) — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 21:20:00 +0000

This took me nearly 2 weeks to finish. I am amazed I stuck with it so long, usually when work intervenes I totally completely ignore personal work. I haven't done a lot of self portraits recently...and well, because quite frankly I haven't had to. Self portraits have always been some pretty strong therapy for me...though, this is a pretty poor representation of that. The melt-face is a precursor to something ridiculous and gigantic that will soon be revealed (though, I can't imagine that anyone will care to any equivalent as to how excited I am).

This blog has gone to shit. I barely post in it anymore, and when I do I rarely show work, and barely ever post anything other than finished illustrations. I keep getting emails about my process, and I want to say "just go look at my blog" but in reality there has been really no mention of process for months. I also keep getting emails wondering if I do all my work in vector....and christ, I wouldn't even know how to do anything in vectors if my life depended on it. I barely know how to use photoshop, and what I do know how to do is apparently "ass-backwards". I use photoshop like I used to watercolor, if that makes any sense. And for those wondering if the above image is vector, IT IS NOT. Brush, ink, graphite, photoshop. I have been doing textures with pencil over my inks recently which seems to work out pretty well, though it makes the original work on the paper look like total shit. I keep worrying that some day someone is going to catch on to the fact that I only use like 3 wallpaper patterns ever.

My life has been in shambles recently, though not really in a terrible awful negative way. I just cant seem to keep up with anything. Phone calls have not been returned, bills unpaid, friends ignored, I still haven't put the shit up on ebay that I have been meaning to get to for weeks, invoices have not been checked up on (pay me, please?), I keep forgetting to shave...and well, sleep and eat. I think the true identifier that I have lost control of my organization is that I received a taxidermied finch a few weeks back, and still have yet to put it anywhere other than in the box that it came in. I keep getting emails and text message from people asking me if I am alright. I guess the only positive out of this is that I am on the edge of some extremely exciting jobs. I finally feel like maybe I am starting to get the work I have always wanted.

And a follow up on my last post; yes, I am a total complete fucking idiot in every sense of the word.

A Girl Named Salvation

noreply@blogger.com (matthew) — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 19:38:00 +0000

My section over at Thumbtack Prints has been updated with a good handful of new/old pieces. I believe I went from 4 prints to 16, which is a pretty nice change. Not to mention the fact that looking at them now, I am pretty pleased with the selection. Hopefully there is something in there for everyone....there were a lot of people that wanted things that I just couldn't print, due to ownership rights and such.

Due to my new-found Mac technical savvy and a good handful of chance, I was given about 30 gigs of music last night. A good chunk of which I have never heard of....and considering my oh so modest musical knowledge, I am pretty impressed. There is something to be said for someone who includes Vietnamese covers of Johnny Cash songs in their music collection. As well as a Bill Callahan album I have never even heard of. Life just got a little better.

I have been having an increasing number of nightmares recently. The most recent addition being a dream in which I was locked in a bar while my ex-girlfriend ridiculed me, and then attempted to "win me back". The worst dreams I have had in the last 9 months are when my ex tries to win me back, immediately elevating these dreams to nightmare standards. Fuck, maybe I have just been thinking about Sartre too much recently.

In other news of unfortunate slumber: I do not own curtains. This has become irritating to a good handful of people...but for some reason I like it. I don't even have curtains in my bedroom which leads to two major problems; a) people can see whatever is happening in my bedroom from the building across from mine. And b) as soon as the sun comes up my bedroom is super super bright. The other day, I nailed a very heavy wool sheet up in my bedroom window. It is now pitch black in my room 24 hours a day. This in combination with the remarkable silence of my house (considering my upstairs neighbors have slipped into drug induced comas), my bedroom is now a tomb. I quickly coined the phrase "Lazarus Chamber" to describe my bedroom...but I feel that that is an inaccurate name, for if my bedroom does anything...it sucks energy out of you. ( I spent a good 10 minutes looking for a decent link for "Lazarus Chamber" but have come up empty handed. If you do in fact get this reference, I owe you a cookie. Though in my searches I did run across this amazing image. I hope Becky is laughing somewhere because of this)

I have realized over the last few days that I am incapable of making a mix cd if it isn't about being pathetically lonely or breaking up with someone / being broken up with. I am beginning to find this extremely irritating.

Did I meet a girl? I think I might have...but maybe not. Who knows anymore? I hope I did, but I probably didn't. Though I must say I haven't even considered thinking "have I met a girl?" in an incredibly long time. I am over-analyzing this. I am freaking out. I can not pronounce French words. I am an idiot.

I Know Nobody Can Do Me No Harm

noreply@blogger.com (matthew) — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 22:31:00 +0000

Before my love of ghosts, before my love of birds, before deer, before tattooed women, and yes even before my love of the physical embodiment of death...I had a love, that started it all. It made me fall in love with zombies, camp outings, boat houses, taxidermy, sound effects, grainy images, people with bags over their heads, girl's in their underwear, jeeps, and underwater scenes. Friday The 13th has single handedly ruled my concepts of aesthetic beauty for as long as I can remember.

Now, I would say...I probably think about Friday The 13th everyday. But for the most part my fascination and obsession grows too strong to bear, and about once a year I will watch all 8 in a row (yes, that's right...8. the others don't count, and everyone knows it) much to the chagrin of whoever I am dating/living with at the time. I sit in utter silence, watching every movement, listening to every sound....if I were to have a religion, it would be Friday The 13th. Though, oddly enough...it's not Jason Voorhees that I am obsessed with (though I do have a soft spot for mutant freak-boy Jason, as well as any shot of Jason without the mask/bag on), it's everything else in the movies.

Now over the years I have attempted to make lots of art about Friday The 13th, even braving through a short comic when I was 10. The truth of the matter it, it is impossible for me to put what I love about the movies down on paper. The closest I ever came was about a year and a half ago...I was decently pleased with it. My girlfriend at the time however, was not. Funny when I think back on it, and realize that the girl was jealous of me drawing girls in their underwear...or hell, maybe she was jealous that I would always love Friday The 13th more than her:

Now, like I said...this was "close" to what I thought was a good adaptation of my love for these movies. But there was something still off about it. So well, I just forget about it.

Flash forward to last weekend, where I was going through all my image files looking for work to print. And what do I come across? The abandoned ode to the 13th. I took some time today to go back over it, and re-color it. And I've got to say...I don't think I will ever come much closer to showing my love for Jason and the gang...and really, when you look at it.....it has nothing really to do with Friday The 13th. Only in my heart of hearts do I know the true emotional force bursting through this rather thinly-veiled ass shot:

Speaking of obsessions with movies; I highly recommend The Return of The Ghostbusters for a truly impressive fan-film. They made an earlier movie called "Freddy vs. The Ghostbusters" which is almost hard to watch...but TROTG is a huge leap forward. And it also proves as I have believed for years; that carrying an ecto-pack on your back through the streets of any city, still looks cool even in the 21st century.

Robin and I will be going to see Romero's Diary Of The Dead tonight. I am rather excited, but also hesitant...It is kind of hard to forget the true piece of shit that Land Of The Dead was. ( and yes John Leguizamo, I blame you!)

NEWS FLASH! : Found this article on Steve Rolston's Livejournal. Now, I assume your average housewife would look at the news of three human feet washing up on the shores of Vancouver islands, as mere coincidence. But I would like to point out that Max Brook's would probably disagree....this is pretty clearly an indication of a Class 1 infestation of the Undead. Watch out Canada! You're in for it!

I Can't Keep Track of Each Fallen Robin

noreply@blogger.com (matthew) — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 17:39:00 +0000

Ghostco is fully updated, with a few new images and a completely different layout. Probably my most simple design of all time, but also one of my most successful. I have already updated it like 7 times on my own server, and it is as simple as can be...hopefully this one will stick around for a while, and everyone will be able to use it as easily as I have hoped.

I have sent in 12 new prints to Thumbtack. I am not sure as to when they will get around to having them available, but I will be sure to keep everyone updated. Most of what people asked for to be made into prints, will actually be made. Usually I just would print what I would want to see, and while some of them are...the majority are "fan favorites" for lack of a better term.

Valentine's day? What the fuck...

Edit: I spent a good chunk of today creating a PDF portfolio for myself, which is now available on my website as well. I didn't really know what I was doing...or of course what images to pick, but I guess it ended up alright. There isn't anything on there that isn't on my webpage, other than some pretty ridiculous "press" notes written about me across the magic world of the internet.

My Love Is Like A Cyclone In A Swamp

noreply@blogger.com (matthew) — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 20:57:00 +0000

It's that time again, when I post a blog about absolutely nothing...with a remarkable lack of new artwork.

I am currently in the process of a secret project. I have been working on it for about 2 weeks, and its looking like I have just about the same amount of work to finish. What is it, you ask? Well, that would be the "secret" part, wouldn't it? It's for a gallery, and not a client...which leaves me with a lot more freedom in doing it. Let's just say its on a 4'X4' sheet of birch, and involves very little ink. Oh, I should probably also mention that it may be the best drawing I have ever done, if not surely the most disturbing. None the less (I feel weird writing that as one word), I will post it on here soon.

So, after selling prints with Thumbtack for almost a year...I have decided that it's about that time to put some different pieces up there. Problem being, I have absolutely no clue as to what of my work people actually like. I have already gotten a few emails about making the current main image on my website...which is definitely an option. But really, what do you guys want me to make available as prints?

And while I am asking questions to the general public: I have also gotten a few comments about people actually not being able to see anything on Ghostco. I have no idea what these people are doing, or what browsers they are using....but still, people can't see it and that's no good for me. And quite honestly, I am not very happy with how the whole thing turned out. Are people into the fancy java image pop-ups? I have been considering totally ignoring my idea of the "single page" website and putting everything in frames, which seems to work really well for a lot of illustrators.

You would think I would have more to write about after weeks, but really I don't. If I am not working, I am playing Medal of Honor: Heroes 2 online which has become a complete pastime obsession. I have however, been watching an ungodly amount of movies which included ALL of the extended Lord Of The Rings this weekend....12 hours of magic, and I still don't really understand who exactly The Lord Of The Rings is.

Physical Activity, Emotional Strain, Cellphone Technology, and Motherfucking Cloverfield

noreply@blogger.com (matthew) — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 05:50:00 +0000

Let's make a short list of things Matthew loves: Scenes of people laying in grass; lifeless. Poorly executed military tactics. Emotional devastation with the loss of loves ones. Abandoned subway tunnels. Modelesque women looking like they have been through the third world war. Bleeding from facial orifices. The collapse of civilization. The Black Keys. Survival tactics. Destruction of iconic buildings and other man-made structures (never forget). Leviathans. Oh yeah...and let's not forget fucking monster movies!

Like Matt over at X-Entertainment, I really wanted to wait to see Cloverfield twice before I said really anything about it to anyone. And really, I can't think of a movie I have enjoyed more. This almost even put Jurassic Park to shame, which is quite a task in my book. It had absolutely everything that I hold dear in life, and executed it phenomenally.

And for those of you who have complained about lack of plot, character development, critical explanation....seriously, go fuck yourselves. It's that same lot that complained about The Legend of Zelda: Windwaker failing merely because it was cute, and made it so that my next romp through Hyrule had me being a god damned wolf with an earing that was somehow supposed to be "tough". Again, go fuck yourselves. You ruin the one thing that is nearest to the hearts of nerds like myself; extensive internet research.

For those of you who complained about the fact that the whole movie is based around an idiotic move to go back for that truly unrealistic flit of a girl named beth...or the nauseating camera movement, and stomach churningly loud sound effects....okay, yeah well at least those complaints are valid. But christ, we need some sort of cinematic kick in the teeth every now and then.

In other much less life-changing news, I helped my friend Robin move on Saturday. Seems pretty simple, right? Well, it wasn't...considering the fact IT WAS 3 FUCKING DEGREES OUT ON SATURDAY! And no, I am not exaggerating. 6 hours, in 3 degree temperature with wind chills nearing 20 below, moving fucking boxes and couches. Needless to say, Robin owes me big time. I don't know if I have ever been in so much pain, and even this morning when I got out of bed my knees made the sound of eggs hitting cement when I stood up.

The Woodson brothers were all about killing themselves physically this weekend. On the other side of the country my brother ran some ridiculous length in a marathon, in some equally ridiculous short amount of time. Honestly, I would have rather been freezing my ass of moving boxes than doing what he did.

My new cellphone/pda/wonder-machine/life should be arriving tomorrow. So goodbye Sidekick III. Goodbye pretending to be a 16 year old suburb girl / 18 year old Japanese mall-punk. And the saddest of all; Goodbye late night phone calls with Paris Hilton....I will miss our long chats about global economics and new sidekick accessories.

Everyone seems to be getting married, or I seem to keep forgetting that people I know are already married/engaged/pregnant/parents. I feel like a waste for the most part...at least when it comes to romantic interactions. I got yelled at so much in my last "real" relationship for being so emotionally dependent on the other person, that now I think I have turned that part of my brain off. I could go weeks without seeing or talking with another person...and be totally fine with it, no concerns, no lack of relationship-enthusiasm. And this fact makes me a total mutant in the world of 20-something dating...and probably for good reason. But fuck...who needs relationships when you have monster movies and google image searches for "paris hilton sidekick"? This paragraph was supposed to me meaningful and intimate....instead, it just turned into a piece of shit.

Lack of humanistic emotion quote of the day:

Robin: Did you hear that Heath Ledger died?

Me: Does he star in Cloverfield? No. Therefore, I don't care.

And Winter Has Only Begun

noreply@blogger.com (matthew) — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 19:53:00 +0000

Amazingly enough as promised, Ghostco has been completely overhauled. There are a few new pieces on there that I don't know if really anyone has seen. And finally I have wriggled my way out from under the oppression that is Lightbox JS, only to find myself underneath a more stylized but just as crippling javascript. I am finally at the point with css where I realize what is does what....and considering I have made very few attempts to keep up with website coding since 1996, that's a pretty big step.

I had said a few weeks ago that I would disembowel a newborn to see Cloverfield, though it looks like I will get to see it tonight without any harm coming to any children. I need to not be so excited about this movie...I learned a long time ago that for the most part I am let down by movies (yeah that's right Sam Neil, I will never excuse you for Jurassic Park 3!). But I cant avoid it...I am excited, beside myself in fact. But hell, chances are the damn movie will give me moving sickness like every other big budget movie seems to do these days (and I cant imagine that it wont, considering the whole thing is apparently hand-held).

So, my sincere apologies to anyone who is incredibly bored about the following text:

I have used the word "ghost" rather loosely in the past...stating it in an attempt to convey the idea of loss, or of memory more than anything else. But the truth of it is...if there is one thing that I obsess over more than anything, it's ghosts. For christ's sake I have been putting "the physical embodiment of death" in the interest categories of online profiles since I was like 16. But the more I think about it, the more I realize how stupid it is for me to be fascinated with ghosts. I have been a devout atheist for longer than I can think, I don't believe in the afterlife...nothing of the sort, I am a "dirt in the ground" sort of guy, I believe in science. So I have basically spent the last year reading my ass off trying to find scientific explanations for ghosts....anymore I am sticking pretty hard to the theory that iron records physical actions like a vhs tape and some people are more capable of seeing the recorded "replay", but still...this is pretty insane. This is the stupid shit that keeps me up at night.

On a side note I realized that the grocer closest to me carries Apple Cinnamon Cheerios (this link apparently has something to do with the cereal. Squirrels and I have more in common than I thought). For those of you not in the know, ACC have become rather elusive in the last 5 years and it is kind of rare to see it anywhere. I have eaten my weight in the stuff in the last 4 days, and not to mention the fact that I have completely trashed the one pair of pants I wear by spilling milk in my lap while typing this post.

I Just Can't Face Myself Alone Again

noreply@blogger.com (matthew) — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 00:42:00 +0000

Spent a good part of today working on this as a tattoo for a friend. I had about 70 pictures of water towers, but none of them really struck me as interesting. Ended up 90% of this thing out of my head, and nearly killing myself in the process. No wonder Brian Wood barely ever draws his own comics anymore...this urban shit is hell to draw. And while this pales in comparison to my last drawing , I have at least remembered why I loved ink so much.

Two days before I leave and there is so much to do. Have to go out to Lincoln Square tomorrow to get razors, because I am tired of nearly gnawing my face off daily with Walgreen's generic double edged. Hopefully they will also end up carrying a mustache wax that doesn't melt when it is snowing (or when someone kicks snow in your face).

I am hungry, thirsty and tired. I am still recovering from my multi-week "hell week". Going to Indiana is going to be a well needed (and hopefully deserved) break. And the first thing I plan on doing when I get back is to update this whole website, as well as finish some long-over due projects for myself (and yes, that includes the ectoplasm drawing).

I have become completely obsessed with the Bonnie 'Prince' Billy and Tortoise's cover of Springsteen's "Thunder Road".

Turn The Radio Up And Throw My Ashes Out The Window

noreply@blogger.com (matthew) — Sun, 16 Dec 2007 23:36:00 +0000

So, I am going to do something I haven't done in a long time, and that is do a process post about the new Type album cover i did for Matthew Mitchell. The only real art direction I got (which is a lot, considering the client) was that "Mitch" just wanted a closed-in shot of his face half-decayed. Needless to say, this was right up my alley.

After spending almost a month figuring this thing out and finally getting it on paper, I was extremely happy with the inks. So there lies a problem; how can I not fuck it up with color? This has been a struggle of mine for years, and i finally now feel like I am actually getting a hold of it.

First I laid the flat colors down, nothing too fancy here. For some reason I felt that this was really going in the right direction, even though it was no different from what I normally do. Now looking back it was probably the satisfaction of making a layer folder called "dead-eye".

I then did a few multiply layers for the "dead" sections of the face. I did this the same way I used to ink templates for color, but digitally (if you don't know what I am talking about, go back a few months in my posts). I had a hell of a time picking out what "dead" colors would be. trying to get a good balance of green, blue, and grey.

So, let's forget about the dead side of the face for a minute. I knew I wanted to have four variations in every color; a flat middle tone, deep shadow, light shadow, and highlight. I have done this on the last few images I have done, and been rather pleased with the results. I laid out each template layer in a separate color, using the same "ink template" that I was just talking about and used layer opacities to see where I was going. Doing color templates like this kills my hand on a wacom, and I wish I could just do it with ink but quite frankly I can't afford using 15 sheets of paper for every fucking drawing.

The first color layer I put in was the light shadow, just to round out the features and to give myself an idea of where to go next. ( I became obsessed with the chin a little bit)

Now I added the deep shadow (making sure it wasn't TOO deep) and the highlights. Basically the main colors were done.

I laid the "dead face" layer folder back over to see how it was going, and finished up the glasses frames.

This is always my favorite part, and is made better by CS3. I laid in some circles under the eyes, and rosed up the real fleshy parts of the face. It looks really pink here, but thats because I knew I was going to desaturated the entire image with a hue overlay in the end. I also threw in some white highlights to make a few parts pop (I hate that term..."pop"...makes me cringe everytime an art director says it).

I then threw down the overlay gradients; browns, blues, and whites to fill everything out a little more. These are all controlled by different layers of opacity for multiply, screen, and lighten layers.

Finally I put in the lenses of the glasses. I saved these for last because I knew that dulling the colors around the eyes was going to change the image a lot, and I wanted to make sure everything was in place before I put the lenses in. And as I mentioned in the last post, I LOVE DRAWING HIGHLIGHTS IN GLASSES LENSES! And to top the whole thing off, I laid a blue hue layer over everything to desaturated some of the brighter colors.

This may in fact be the best thing I have done in years. Initially John and Mitch wanted me to do a back cover for the album, with the back of Mitch's head. But after finishing this, I realized that nothing I could do on the back would come close to matching the front and it would just be overshadowed in the end. Everyone agreed to just keep the front cover and add nothing else. I still can't look at this thing without beaming. I can't wait to see it run off on a 12" record sleeve.

And now all I can do is hope that the next thing that I end up doing even comes close to this.

____

In other news, Alex from Head Bang Image ( a salon in Chicago) asked me to think of some ideas for their new store. The whole look of the place is an odd mix of glam and modern rock n' roll...not the easiest things to work with without making everything look cliche and overdone. So far I whipped up these two roughs. I am super pleased with how the girl turned out, but really need to work on how the text lays on her head to make it look more "shaved in". And the text on the bottom one is just atrocious, and if I ended up doing this one for the final I would absolutely be hand drawing the hair. I still can't stand how hair looks done with a wacom, on my work or anyone else's.

I am a busy little beaver, and only have 3 days before I climb on a bus to southern Indiana. I can't believe how much I have gotten done in the last few weeks.

The Trees Forgive Me, The Pebbles Forgive Me

noreply@blogger.com (matthew) — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 20:13:00 +0000

Finished this the other day for More Magazine, on an article about Reeve Lindbergh (daughter of Charles Lindbergh; Spirit of St. Louis, the Lindbergh baby, etc). It was a quick job, but it made me feel that at least to some degree my colors are starting to really match well with my line work. I could have done all the line work with my wacom in a few minutes, but since it seems like ALL I EVER DO anymore is use my wacom, I decided to do this in ink. I really enjoy drawing the reflections on glasses.

I was going to wait and do a progress post about this, but couldn't really stand not showing anyone immediately. It is for a cover for a new Type album....and I have got to say, this kind of makes up for all the shitty work I have been doing recently. Matthew Mitchel (of Skallander, who's album this is for) just pretty simply wanted a drawing of his head decaying, or aging, or something along those lines. I kind of went out of control with this thing, and it took me almost a month to actually get down on paper. The original is like 15" X 15" and I can't stop looking at it.

In other news, I am obsessed with the new Snapple Green Tea and yesterday found two new flavors I didn't know existed. Mango is pretty iffy, nectarine is amazing, and I haven't tried the pear yet. I think I just prefer the regular green tea the most though.

And in other pointless news, I watched 6 hours of Lost the other day in preparation for the new season. I would have watched more, but Rachel "Cabbage-Patch" Adams had to go to the gallery and do some work. Quitter.

Speaking of, the button show that I was making is tonight at Lloyd Dobler Gallery from 6-10. Apparently there are button grab-bags? I don't really know what is going on with the whole thing, I just know I will be there. If you are in the city, you should try and stop by:

1545 W. Division. 2nd floor

t: 312.961.8706

Shadowgate

noreply@blogger.com (matthew) — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 19:53:00 +0000

I am in the holiday spirit. I don't know what did it...maybe it was talking to both my brother and my mom within an hour of each other, maybe it was putting the final touches on my holiday wish list, maybe matt from x-entertainment has finally come up with a computer virus that infects his readers with Christmas glee. No matter how it happened, it happened nonetheless. And for Christ's sake, SANTA IS COMING!

My family handles Christmas oddly...we don't really celebrate anything, we open presents and eat donuts, and that's about it. We used to get a tree (and once a tree that needed to be taken out of our two story living room by cutting it down) but we haven't had a tree in at least 5 years. We used to eat turkey, but for the most part we have all succumbed to vegetarianism in one way or another...so, that's out of the picture too. We basically have a day around Christmas that is for the most part just another birthday for the 3 of my family members.

I don't really have many good holiday memories...I remember some ridiculous presents though. I remember my dad buying a new tv every other year for most of my childhood, saying that it was a gift for the family when really he was the only one that ever watched them. I remember watching my brother play Little Nemo for NES straight through on new years night. But in all reality, most of my memories of Christmas are making fun of other people in my family...this is how we work. Sky blue sweaters, expired packs of carrot seeds, visa card holograms, bedazzled sweaters, that weird throw thing my grandfather sent. Oh, and I also remember that damned Ghostbuster's Firehouse play set...but I am still far too scarred to ever talk about that.

But my brother earlier today reminded me of by far the most confusing thing that happened in my childhood Christmas memories. My brother wrote the following email to me after I had edited my wish list:

"in this family, the more you ask for it, the less likely you will be to get it. i.e., shadowgate"

And the story goes like this:

In the winter of 1989, the thing my brother wanted most in the entire world was the NES game Shadowgate. Now, my brother was 12 at the time..and basically all he cared about was videogames. He was OBESSESED with videogames, and Christmas was usually the Nintendo jackpot for the both of us.

He mentioned how much he wanted Shadowgate probably every day of the 24 days of December leading up to Christmas. My parents would smile and say "oh, you want Shadowgate?" and my brother would almost piss himself in excitement. I remember my father taunting him almost relentlessly about it, which basically meant that the game was already bought and my brother had nothing to worry about (in my family if you ask for it, you get it). My father went so far as to draw pictionary style notes on post-its, taunting my brother even more about the now holy gift of Shadowgate. My brother was out of control with anticipation.

Christmas finally came; my brother at this point was nearly in tears to get his hands on the game. We opened all of our presents, but there was no Shadowgate to be seen. Was this some sort of trick? My father was known to hide gifts until the last minute. But alas, there were no more gifts. My brother and I were apparently the only ones who seemed to have even remembered that the game was ever asked for. I don't really remember my brother's reaction to this whole thing...but since he brings it up on an almost yearly basis, I assume it pissed him off pretty good.

We never really figured out the real reason as to why Shadowgate never appeared, my father died before divulging the mystery. My mom says that they just simply couldn't find it (this was back in the day when Nintendo games were literally stripped off the shelves during Christmas season). But as to why my father relentlessly taunted my brother is unknown to everyone in my family.

This still sticks in my memory as one of the most confusing things my father ever did. Was he just simply being unthoughtful? Did he think it was funny? Did he know damnwell that he would never find the game, or did he assume that it would be no problem to locate it? As far as I can tell, now 18 years later...this was very plainly child abuse.

The following is what my memory serves as the pictionary style taunt that my father had drawn of Shadowgate. Now mind you, I was 6 at the time. I can't remember much of anything from when I was 6...and I am still waiting on my brother's confirmation that this is at least similar to the original drawing. But as far as I can tell it's pretty close:

Some men take secrets of buried treasure, family secrets, murders, etc to the grave. My father took the secret of why the hell he ruined my brother's Christmas 18 years ago. This is one of those things that I clearly have marked in "what not to do to your kids" folder in my brain.

The Moon & Nothing More

noreply@blogger.com (matthew) — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 18:11:00 +0000

Made these on a whim last night for Lloyd Dobler's button show. I wasn't really all that happy with my last designs for the buttons, at least not what the end result looked like. I wanted something iconic, that still you wouldn't expect to find on a 1" buttons, and this is what I came up with. I have been obsessed with the concept of small moons ever since a Piers Anthony book I read at the age of like 10-11, where a character had a small moon that spun around her head all the time (we're talking smaller than a golf-ball). Jesus, Piers Anthony? Harry Potter? What is this blog coming to.

That's pretty much all I've got for you. Hell week is still popping it's head up, but nothing unmanageable. And now I have started having terrible dreams about having no money, which are totally not awesome in anyway. Maybe if I stopped making buttons at three in the morning and started doing real work....

I Hate Perspective (in any form)

noreply@blogger.com (matthew) — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 23:10:00 +0000

For Penthouse on an article about a director sleeping with his actresses. I don't really know what happened here, but at some point while doing this thing i became very unhappy with it. Though, I am pleased with the actual drawing...well, at least the perspective. Doing Perry Ellis made me re-learn perspective, which I had forced myself to unlearn over the years (though, the really dope apartment interiors that I did never made it to the final cut). And now at this point I can basically do perspective drawings without thinking....what is this drawing here? 3 separate horizons, each with 2 points? Two years ago I would have torn my hair out doing that. Also, i blame the shear ecstasy of color and gradient love on the door and frame on CS3. Also, my apologies for miserable self-exploitation in deer drawings.

The week of hell is coming to a close, with a few new things popping up along the road. My back hurts from leaning over my drafting table so much, my dog is pissed because I haven't taken him out enough, I am under-slept, under-hydrated, and under-fed. And the sad part is all I really want to be doing is reading fucking Harry Potter. I am a pathetic person. (I should also add here that doing a google-image search for "harry potter costume" was maybe the most entertaining thing I have done in a long time)

Survival Tactics and First Snows

noreply@blogger.com (matthew) — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 02:47:00 +0000

Two posts in one day, both with new work!? What's happening to the world? This is the fourth and final illustration in a series I did for a client. The story was about a couple who got stranded in the frozen north. Due to the quick turn around on work, I ended up doing this all on the wacom...and uhh, a bit sloppily I might add. This is the best one by far, but thats probably due to how much I love drawing starved wolves. Photoshop CS3 is the best thing that ever happened to me...it handles gradients so so smoothly. And this whole thing also reminded me how much I love drawing snow scenes, or maybe just using white...I'm not quite sure. I am also super happy with the colors on this particular image...though, I didn't do anything I don't normally do....so I am going to blame that on the awesomeness of CS3.

And speaking of snow scenes, today is the first decent snow we have had in Chicago. 2 inches in a few hours, and no sign of it stopping. I don't think there is anything I really like more than working while watching the snow fall outside. Took Ichabod for a quick walk in the snow...which surprisingly he loved every second of. This may be the first time he has seen snow in his 5 years. They raced him in Florida, so who knows kind of weather the big guy has seen. He totally freaked out, and ran full speed (okay, not full speed...considering full speed is FULL SPEED for a greyhound) dragging my clumsy ass behind him. I didn't get my boots resoled this fall, and I am now paying the consequences.

And now speaking of boots. I was making a list the other day of things I love in art (illustration, comics, literature, traditional art, etc). There is a part in Pope's "Heavy Liquid" where S is making his way to his ex's to ask her about doing the statue. Somewhere in there, his ex talks about how he looks the same, and is still wearing the same boots that he just keeps getting resoled over and over again. I have always loved that part.

So, the work continues. It is only Tuesday and already I am looking forward to a few days off. I have a slew of deadlines from all over the place, all due before or on Friday morning. But it's not all bad; one is another piece for Penthouse, and another is an album cover for Type Records (unless John has forgotten all about me, due to my constant tardiness with Type deadlines).

One Inch Buttons

noreply@blogger.com (matthew) — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 17:43:00 +0000

Did a set of 1" button designs in a rush last night, for my friends over at Lloyd Dobler Gallery. Nothing too exciting, but still fun to do. I only really like the girl and the cat.

Ended up getting Photoshop CS3, which has basically fixed all of my complaints about every Photoshop in the past. I am still trying to work everything out, and get all of the settings to be what I am used to...but so far so good. Oh, and I totally forgot how much I love Adobe Bridge.

Remember my broken iPod? I spent a good half of the day yesterday with Sharlene trying to fix it...and after the use of super-glue, a cut up eraser, a balloon animal air pump, a box cutter, dentistry tools, and a set of glasses screwdrivers; we resurrected my old beat to shit iPod from the grave. And while, it doesn't really work all that great, and sometimes you can only hear out of the left-side...it is still a start.

I realized a few hours ago how desperately in need of money I am. Biggest complaint about being an illustrator: the 60 day grace period between finishing work and receiving payment.

Lots of Fauna, Not A Whole Lot of Flora

noreply@blogger.com (matthew) — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 19:10:00 +0000

Every time I do one of these Art-Dept promo pieces, they always end up a lot better than anything else I do. I guess that is a good thing, considering they are used to promote me. But it still gets on my nerves a little bit....I haven't done an actual job in a while that I am particularly happy with the outcome of.

I somehow did all the colors for this in one day (after photoshop totally crashed on me Sunday night). After staring at the amazing Jillian Tamaki's work for probably too long, I attempted to go a different route with how I actually laid the color separations...and while it ended up really successful, next time I am going to do it on a job where I have a little bit more elbow room when it comes to deadline. This thing nearly killed me.

I haven't given up on the ectoplasm drawing, just been sidetracked by work....or well, but a lot of things (and no, none of which are Super Mario Galaxy). I need to figure out a place to board my dog so I can go home for the holidays, and this seems to be much more of a daunting task than I was expecting.

I am starting to get irritated with everything again (top of the list is online personals). I think I need to take a break and just draw until my fingers cramp. Thankfully I have a long list of unfinished jobs to help me complete that goal.

It has officially gotten cold here, and there is supposed to be accumulated snow within the next few days. My short stint in St Louis somehow sucked my tolerance for cold out of me, I have even considered buying a coat (something I have never owned after 6 Chicago winters). I keep thinking about St Louis a lot, how it never really got cold...nothing ever really changed, and how I would wake up almost every fucking day wondering if it was humanly possible to asphyxiate yourself at well just by holding your breath.

Cheese Cloth & The Innards of Sheep

noreply@blogger.com (matthew) — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 00:21:00 +0000

So, since basically all I have been posting on this blog is crap for a while, I figured I would give you something a little better. I have had this drawing in my head for a few weeks now, after my new found obsession with turn of the century ectoplasm photography. Initially it was going to be much less gruesome, and more tied to what they actually used as "ectoplasm". But once I started drawing, I couldn't help but just tear the shit out of my own face. Though, this is far from even being a finished under drawing....the crap to the right looks far too smokey and squishy to be how I want it to look. God knows what I am going to do with this in the end.

In other news, Super Mario Galaxy is probably the most soul-sucking time-consuming thing ever invented. Though the magic of the third dimension can be a bit nausea inducing, i swear to god I would take a bullet for that little Italian.

Capitalization is the best!

Feet And Their Accesories

noreply@blogger.com (matthew) — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 17:18:00 +0000

So, after being totally confused by a client for over a month, it was brought to my attention that I had been doing something completely different from what they wanted. With the deadline being December 3rd for the final work, it became painfully clear that there was no way in hell I would be able to give them what they needed. It's the first time in a long time where I actually feel like I failed at something....and I am still trying to figure out if it was my fault or not. At least I drew some good looking shoes:

Aside from this job, I have another major job involving drawing feet (which thankfully I haven't fucked up). Needless to say, I am getting pretty tired of drawing anything involving feet.

The party went well (or at least my part of it did). Though I can't say that it was necessarily a GOOD party, which can be proven by my entirely blown out speakers and my quickly fading black eye. I did however love DJing, and am still trying to remember why I quit it in the first place. Since Saturday, every time I hear a song I sit and think about what would be a good follow up....unfortunately, my dream song never comes true. And I am still compulsively trying to come up with a decent name for myself.....thought of DJ Me You & The Holy Ghost last night, and I can't really say that that would be the best route.

This will be my first Thanksgiving alone ever, and quite frankly I don't really see the problem with it. I am starting to think we all get ripped off having the winter holidays so close together. Why don't they spread this shit out so we can go see our family twice a year, instead of trying to decided which holiday is more convenient to visit? Total bullshit. I am going to start a petition with my family that we move Thanksgiving to like June, though I doubt it is going to fly.

I was threatening to close the 2007 Dating Season, but am now having second thoughts. Fuck, I have no idea what is going on....which anything, to tell you the truth.

I have also made a decided effort to work on my proper capitalization of words and the beginnings of sentences, so that people that read this won't think I am totally out of my mind. And to tell you the truth, writing in all lower-case is a bitch of a habit to break.

neanderthals had rocks, we've got beats

noreply@blogger.com (matthew) — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 22:07:00 +0000

so here is my incredibly poorly designed flyer for the party i mentioned earlier.

it is a benefit to help raise money for the Lloyd Dobler Gallery, which two of my best friends run. And as the flyer says, i begrudgingly settled on DJ Stab. If you have nothing to do on saturday night and have 5 bucks to spare, you should absolutely head down. i have a ridiculous line up of music sure to make you loose control, should be a hell of a lot of fun.

the address is:

1545 W. Division, on the second floor.

right off the division blue line stop.

and no, saying you know the DJ will not save you $5.

we've got to get ourselves back to the garden

noreply@blogger.com (matthew) — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 01:00:00 +0000

My good friend Kate asked me to make her a new business card since she just started at a new salon. I had a lot of fun with this one...nothing better than silhouettes and helvetica. If you are here in chicago, i would highly recommend getting an appointment with kate, she is ridiculously talented and easily one of the best stylists in the city. i have had one person other than myself cut my hair in the past 7 years, and it was Kate....easily the best haircut i have ever had. all the kids agree.

I spent the evening making homemade mustache wax, and bathing my dandruff stricken dog. The mustache wax either turned out fantastic, or terrible...i can't really tell yet. it is amazing what kind of recipes you can find online.

i have basically spent the last week making a total ass of myself. first this whole online personal thing, then poorly worded myspace messages, and last but not least dancing myself into an asthma attack and then the next night taking part in a dance-off at a bar in which i have never seen anyone dance in preparation for the following day's chili cook-off. now, dancing may seem like an every day sort of ordeal in the hipster bars of chicago...which it is. but personally, i have never once danced in public....EVER. and now after this weekend i have officially danced at least 6 hours, and had about 13 shots of either maker's mark or black label. take that pneumonia!

in somewhat related news, i have been asked to DJ a gallery party. this is all pretty exciting, since i haven't had a thing to do with the world of disc jockeying in years. there has been some excitement in coming up with a stage name, it is currently a toss-up between "DJ Stab", "The Grey Ghost", and "DJ CHITOWNDAZZLE". choices choices choices.

some albums i have rediscovered and been listening to on constant repeat all week:

Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young - Deja Vu
Blanche - If We Can't Trust The Doctors
A Hawk And A Hacksaw - Darkness At Noon

Text Messaging, Personals Ads, Pneumonia, Mustaches

noreply@blogger.com (matthew) — Fri, 02 Nov 2007 17:18:00 +0000

Another finished piece for Penthouse. This one was about sexual text-messaging, and my idea was to show fantasy in the every day life. can't say i am super happy with the outcome, but at least my palette is changing a bit. still have a huge amount of work on my plate, and the speed at which i am going through it is painfully slow.

so my "flu" symptoms ending up being bacterial pneumonia. now taking 800 mg ibuprofen, antibiotics, codine, and SUPER decongestants i am starting to feel better. unfortunately i have nearly 2 weeks left of the antibiotics and have to eat every time i take them....i still barely have any appetite at all, which makes this all the harder. thank you quaker oats, for your magical oatmeal square cereal!

the only real plus out of this illness has been my ability to grow an amazing mustache which now has to be groomed daily and waxed. this may sound ridiculous to the average reader, but to me its the best thing since Polaroid film. This all has influenced me to start dressing a little more...i don't know...victorian? a little later probably. slicked back hair, velvet blazers, wool sweaters. it's all pretty fantastic if you ask me. i have so far been compared to Nikola Tesla, Jac k The Ripper, and some sort of carnival worker....none of which i have any complaint about. Revel in all that is 19th century mustaches.

speaking of making a total ass of myself, i have been recently putting myself in front of the firing squad that is known as internet personals. apparently the only people that i have anything in common with, are people that have no preference for anything.