Retro DV8 CD Covers

In the mid-nineties, the theme of Thursdays at Mannequins Dance Palace at Pleasure Island was DV8 from the Norm.  On this night they played retro progressive music featuring artists such as New Order, Depeche Mode, Yaz and the Cure.  This series of cds that I made from the late-nineties through 2004 featured this music.

This first cover was simply hand drawn lettering in ink.

The second cover was very like the first.  I really don't care for the way I did the lettering on this one quite as much as the first.

The third cover is the first appearance of my DV8 logo.  It was created from a Wingdings like font on an old computer that I've been unable to locate since.  The three parts of the logo represent the "D", "V" and "8" when typed in this font.  I typed each letter, enlarged them to various sizes and assembled them into this symbol, then hand drew a complete version.  The logo was then scanned and added as the background behind the digital lettering on this cover.  This year I managed to recreate my logo in pure digital form as well, removing all of the imperfections existing in the original hand drawn version.

The fourth and final cover (so far, at least) differs vastly from the others.  The black & white tones of the first three are abandoned in favor of a color photograph of one of the mannequins inside Mannequins with the DV8 logo featured prominently.

Tarot - The Emperor

The sixth in the series, The Emperor began as a 1991 photo.  This card features Angelia, myself and Susan.

Original 1991 photo.

The Emperor.

No Art Today

Well, as I hadn't prepared any art to post today, I suppose I'll have to ramble a bit.  A little background.  Last summer my partner and I split up after six years.  Shortly afterward I decided it might be in my best interest to move back to Florida where I grew up and have a large group of close friends.

This past weekend while at a toddler's birthday party a wise older friend and I had an interesting discussion.  It essentially boiled down to the fact that while she liked my ex, she could tell how much happier and creative I've been since the split and move to Florida.  This is only "news" because I hadn't really realized it myself.  So we discussed this at length and it really made me feel good.  I'm always sad when something comes to an end (especially something that I feel has reached that point prematurely) but it's so good to be able to frequently see all of my wonderful friends who lift me up in a way that no romantic partner ever has.

Now, I must create!

Disney - Big Thunder Mountain Railroad

A little sketch from the early 90's.  This was an attempt at a stylized drawing that was supposed to seem as though done by a child.  Two versions follow.

I believe this one is done in pencil though I can't say for sure because it's packed away somewhere.

This one is ink colored in with Prismacolor pencils.

Tarot - The Empress

Fifth in the series, the Empress was created from a 1992 photograph of my friend Angelia.

The original photo.

The end result.

LB-69's Album Covers

The LB-69's were a fictitious musical group comprised of a rotating group of friends and myself in high school and after.  We never actually did any singing but restricted ourselves to making music videos for popular (and sometimes not so popular) songs.  The name is based on the B-52's who were a huge influence on us in the late 80's and early 90's and our own group, the Lunch Bunch.  For the first sixteen or so videos I created artwork as if for 45rpm singles.  I also created album artwork for the six albums worth of songs that we made videos for over a four year period.  In 2009 I digitally recreated the album covers and that's what I'm posting today.  I was going to post the original hand drawn versions from the early 90's as well but they're packed away somewhere.

Hukilau 2011

Here's a little something I drew last week in memory of the great time had at Hukilau.

Left to right: Tiki, myself, Sue, James and Sherill.

Tarot - The High Priestess

Fourth in the Tarot series, the basis for the High Priestess card is from a 1991 photograph of my friend Angelia.

The original photo.

The final product.

Hukilau CD Cover 2011

For any special occasion (parties, trips, etc.) I always make a themed cd to commemorate the occasion.  Hukilau was no exception.  Gearing up for Hukilau I had been working on some tiki art anyway so I used one of those pieces as the cover art for my Hukilau cd of polynesian and surf rock music.  It began with a photograph I had taken of the Enchanted Tiki Room at the Magic Kingdom on June 4th that was manipulated and digitally painted.  With the addition of some simple text in a fun font it was complete.  The original art (without text and uncropped) titled "Where the birds all sing..." is available for purchase in my Imagekind store (link on left).

Thoroughly Modern Millie

These two drawings were both done in the mid-nineties and feature characters from the 1967 musical Thoroughly Modern Millie.  Both were done in pencil.  These probably better reflect my drawing style than the couple that have been posted thus far.  I've never been huge about shading and such.  Simple clean lines conveying the most information as simple as possible has pretty much always been my hallmark.

Carol Channing as Muzzy Van Hossmere

Julie Andrews as Millie Dillmount

Tarot - The Magician

After the first two tarot cards I was no longer taking inspiration from actual cards (except the title of the card).  The photo on which this card is based is of my dear friend Susan and dates back to 1993.

The original photo.

The end result.

Mount Mayday and Miss Tilly

Today I am enjoying the sun, surf and sounds of Typhoon Lagoon in celebration of my upcoming birthday so it seemed like a good time to post this drawing of the Miss Tilly fishing boat perched on the peak of Mount Mayday.  This drawing is from the early 90's.

Far East Party Invitation

This image was created for an invitation to a party but was never used as the theme was changed.  It's a composite of a couple of photographs taken by me of the Japan pavillion at EPCOT, an idol image from the internet and some digital painting.  I still want to have this party since the decorating would be so much fun.

Tarot - Queen of Cups

Like the King of Cups post from a couple of days ago, the photograph that serves as the basis for this image was taken on May 18th specifically for this project. 

We really decided to base the image more on the King of Cups card seen in the previous Tarot post instead of on this card.

The original image.

The final product.

Disney - Horizons

I drew this picture of the now extinct Horizons attraction at EPCOT probably about 1991 working from a photograph that I had taken.  Pencil on heavy stock paper.

The photograph.

The drawing.

Mid-Century Makeover

A little over a month ago I started working on refinishing two mid-century dressers for personal use.  I recently sold all of my bedroom furniture during my move from Atlanta to Winter Haven.  When these were offered to me I jumped at the chance to get them.  On the downside they had been sitting on a semi-enclosed porch for the last twelve years or so and had some condition and odor issues.  What was particularly entertaining to me is that they before the home that I obtained them from they had belonged to the woman from whom I obtained my last set of bedroom furniture that I refinished.

Sadly the dressers don't have any manufacturer markings of any kind so I've been unable to determine their exact age.

I took this picture on day one just after I had begun work.  The dressers had a light almost white finish that in some places was almost eaten away by weather and wear.  It looked like sanding would be pretty easy and overall it was until day four or five when my handy little Mouse sander died.  Luckily I borrowed a similar but much more powerful sander and I was back in business.

I took this picture at the end of day six.  At this point I only had the bottom drawer and the other, unseen side to sand.  This is the last picture I've taken to date.  I completed sanding the day after this picture, or so I thought.  I decided not to stain but only to clear coat to let the natural color show.  As I began staining several places showed where there were still bits of white deeper in the veneer.  That was two weeks ago.  Yesterday I sealed inside all of the drawers and my plan for today is to try to finish resanding the fronts of the drawers and maybe sealing them.  All this work and I still have another dresser to go when this one's finished.  The end product will be well worth it.

Tarot - King of Cups

The first of a series inpired by the Rider-Waite deck of tarot cards.  Each of these cards began with a photograph which I then manipulated and digitally painted to obtain the final result.  The photo for this card was taken specifically for this project on May 18, 2011 by Tracie Welser who I have collaborated with over the years on innumerable creative projects.  On this day we travelled to Hollis Gardens in Lakeland, Florida where we shot tons of pictures for both this and the Queen of Cups card.

The inspiration card.

The original photograph.

The final product.  The seahorse was a last minute addition as I was asked to add an Octopus on the Queen of Cups card and I didn't want to feel left out without a sea creature on the King card.

Hukilau 2011

So I just got home yesterday from Hukilau 2011 in Fort Lauderdale.  This was my first time going and boy was it fun.  Three days of tiki culture overload.  Tasty tropical beverages, kick-ass surf inspired rock and exotica bands, tiki and mid-century symposiums, parties, fire-eating mermaids, dancing, fantastic people, shopping and dining culminating with an evening at the Mai-Kai restaurant and Polynesian revue made this a weekend to remember.

It was an inspirational weekend from a creative standpoint. I was really happy to meet Kevin Kidney and Jody Daily of whose work I'm a huge fan.  But even besides them I met lots a great artistic people and was inspired by many of the works that were on display or for sale.  There are now several new mediums at which I would like to try my hand.  So far this year has been a great renaissance for me artistically and this weekend kicked that up several notches.

Me, Sherill Anne Gross (who is both a fantastic artist and super groovy chick) and my Hukilau roommate Sue. Not terribly visible is my Pele t-shirt which I made for the event.  It started as a photograph I took of the Pele tiki at Disneyland's Enchanted Tiki Room which was designed by the amazing Rolly Crump.  With a dash of photo manipulation and some digital painting I had a great graphic I could wear.  I'll be sure to post a better picture of that soon. 

My Hukilau roommates (Sue and Jason Tiki Tackett) and I in the Mai Kai gardens after dinner Saturday night

The Exotics rock the house while the revelers dance.

Kevin Kidney autographing my Black Magic snifter featuring artwork he created for the Hukilau.

Jody Daily waiting for his chance to sign.

Marina the Fire Eating Mermaid at the unbelievably cool Wreck Bar at the Sheraton Fort Lauderdale Beach.

Enjoying some cocktails at the Mai-Kai with Tiki.

First Post

I've been thinking for a while about adding another blog, since the three I already do don't keep me busy enough.  I wanted one that wasn't really about any specific topic but focused on whatever might be happening in my life and to use as a place to post some of my artwork from over the years.  While the name of the blog does say "Daily" there is a good chance that may not be the case but I will certainly strive to do my best.