It’s time to say do svidanja to 2015! If you’ve been here a while, you know I’m something of a Russian traditionalist, in that I take the weeks leading up to New Year’s Eve seriously. Resolutions, deep–cleaning wherever home is at the moment, purging whatever is no longer needed – I’m into the lot of it. I love big fluffy holiday ferns and presents, and end-of-ear blog posts, too. The past twelve months have been so intense, writing this was no small feat. Get cozy, comrades, this is …
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Friends and fellow space rats, the stars smile on us this day because the first-ever high-res download of an Alien Botany paste-up is here, absolutely free! As promised when I launched my Patreon page last month, I made an easy-to-print PDF of the Mimus Candentis specimen, with not one, not two, but three (three! three!) pieces for you to beautify your room or street with, each at a different level of complexity. Right-click + Save: How It’s Done Have 12 …
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Spring is here and my intergalactic flower garden is blossoming. Here is a sneaky peek to tickle your eyes while Ada and I work behind the scenes (and maybe duck around the corner to let out a happy squeal, but didn’t hear that from me, no).
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Click the images to see them bigger, or click here for photos of the original drawing. Alkonost 8.5″ x 8.5″ Archival gicleé on velvety, acid-free, 100% cotton fine art paper $40 The Alkonost is, according to Russian mythos and folklore, a creature with the body of a bird but the head of a beautiful woman. It makes sounds that are amazingly beautiful, and those who hear these sounds forget everything they know and want nothing more ever again. (Source.) A few weeks …
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Click image to see her bigger. Alkonost || Tattoo design* for Claire This was incredibly fun to work on. Little-known fact: I drew another graphite Alkonost a few years ago for an unrealized project – it was never posted anywhere because… Well, it sucked. Having a second chance to explore the theme of one of my favorite Russian mythological creatures was pure redemption and delight – I actually want to draw more of these now, but have to work on …
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Here is a first look at Dendrophylax Lindenii – my lil’ 8×8″ violet graphite piece for Travis Louie’s “Zombie” group show, opening on May 25th at NYCs Last Rites gallery. Click the image to see it bigger. Having just finished an Aeon Flux tribute diptych for Gag Me With a Toon 5, I’d been on an Egon Schiele (one of Peter Chung’s bigger influences) kick. Those of you familiar with his work probably recognize the hint at the pose from one …
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In November, I was part of the Skulls exhibit at Kat Von D’s Wonderland gallery. Close to one hundred artists reinterpreted acrylic skulls we received in the mail. Mine is inspired by Russian lacquer art, my Alien Botany research and gilded grills everywhere. After painting one of my specimen in gold leaf paint on the skull, I collaborated with graffiti artist Seraphix on the script (thanks, Antoni!). A bunch of pictures were taken before I sent the finished skull off to Wonderland, but I haven’t had the …
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It’s October, in theory my favorite month of the year because of Halloween and the idea that fall is here, in the wake of the late September autumn equinox. I say “in theory” because here in LA we’re still melting in 100-degree heat, but skull-shaped goblets are readily available in drug stores, which means that Halloween is, in fact, approaching, despite this decidedly unglamorous heat. To celebrate, I’m making the ladies of the Gibson Girls Print Set available individually. This means that you …
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Big art news this morning, and a massive post to match! To start, the Spacefriends sticker set I promised on my Facebook page a few weeks ago is finally up in the shop, along with a ton of original art, rare prints and drawings. I recently decided it was time to make room. Specifically, to let go of the art I’ve grown too attached to and to make room for air, light, cash money and new work. As such, I’ve …
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This week, on Friday the 13th, I’ll be exhibiting three ink drawings at Veneris XIII – a group exhibit held at Skotia gallery. For this show, I’ve revisited the ladies in Snake Charmer, Silent Starlet and Stork Whispers, cutting out and mounting the original drawings on black – the way I always imagined them but didn’t have the chance to actualize before. They’ll be hung alongside the work of Kent Williams, Jason Shawn Alexander, Kevin Llewellyn, Stephanie Inagaki, Brandon Boyd, Suzy O’Mullane, …
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My piece for the Gag Me With a Toon 4 exhibit: Cheburashka’s Holiday 8×10” color pencils on paper. Sold. Cheburashka and Krokodil Gena are Soviet era characters from a stop-motion animation. They’re not especially well-known in the West, but Japan adores Cheburashka almost as much as I do! Here is the original, feature-length Cheburashka, for when you have an hour to spare.
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It’s been one hell of a year, folks, and I’m rolling out the goods to see it off in style. As such, in addition to the phenomenal offer below, I’ll be clearing the Biorequiem shop of everything you see there now at the end of the year. This means that if you’ve been putting off ordering any of these items, the clock is officially ticking. Out with the old and all that. Now, without further ado: Starting now and until …
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I took time off painting this week to let the oil dry and to work on tattoo commissions. This one is for a patient, lovely Canadian who first contacted me well over a year ago, but was lost in the email abyss. She initially wanted something heavily biomechanical yet feminine. When I began to draw though, inspiration kept shoving me back to the minimalicious autoreids in Ergo Proxy and the iconic cyborgs in Bjork’s All is Full of Love video. Fortunately, …
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A recent client had his commissioned design inked and sent me a few shots of the process. I’m told this is almost finished, with one more session to go. If you’re interested in commissioning an original tattoo design, email me with your idea for a quote!
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A few weeks ago I was asked to create a custom, detailed, feminine take on the Heartless symbol from the Kingdom Hearts video game (click here to see what the original looks like). I took inspiration from medieval etchings of crests for this project, so the research was fun, especially when I came across the occasional griffin or unicorn hidden in swirling filigree. The inspiration was purely visual, though, as actual crests usually include banners, mottos and other specifics. My finished …
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