My first assignment for Illustration class is to fill up one of the small Moleskine sketchbooks (the kind that come in the three pack) over the course of a week, with the idea that anything we put in it would become a visual artist’s statement. I have one full day left and only four pages to go. Last semester, I all but stopped using my normal sketchbook for “sketching,” it just became a place to take notes and draw thumbnails for school assignments and freelance gigs. No doodling, no life drawing, no plain old mark-making, and it was getting me down. I started a new sketchbook devoted to those things, but stopped again because I didn’t like carrying around two hardbound books everywhere, especially with my healing back. I think these little Moleskines are the answer to my problem. I’ve never used one before, and while the paper feels flimsy, I like how it takes ink, and its portability makes me more liable to grab it anytime to write or draw anything in it without worrying about quality. It’s been really freeing so far.

Below is this character I’ve been drawing everywhere lately. I was doodling a beard and mustache in the sketchbook (cause, you know, that’s what I do) and put a little face where the mouth should be; after that, he just kept popping up page after page. I wanted to just call him “Beardface,” but because I didn’t check the internet first, nor do I watch Scrubs, I was blissfully unaware of the handful of other “beard faces” inhabiting the world. I really have some plans for this guy in terms of prints, short comics, and even plush, so I think he deserves an official name.

Some possibilities already given to me:
- Beardhead (already taken by an awesome knit hat)
- Winky Monocle
- Phil Bunyan (Paul’s brother or cousin, although I assume Phil to be closer to normal, human size)
- Beefeater

If you have any name suggestions, let me know ‘em. I’ll probably send something cool to whoever comes up with a good enough name for this fella. I sort of like the idea that he is an alter ego of mine, so if his name happened to have the initials of BT, that would be cool too.

Speaking of contests, the Baby Otto Theme Contest is still open at the moment, so keep the suggestions coming.

Censored in case you’re reading at work…contains vintage nudity. Click the above image for full painting.

This is my piece for the Launchpad Gallery’s Third Annual “Love” Show, which opens this Friday. If you’ve clicked on the image above, you’ll know I’ve chosen “self love” as my theme. It’s gouache and photocopy transfer on a wooden panel. I think working on this painting helped me turn a corner in my work. I’ve been fighting with myself creatively lately. I feel like I’m into so many different creative venues: illustration, comics, gallery shows, art school assignments, printmaking, etc, but that I sort of have a different style and approach for each one; it’s left me feeling very conflicted, which has led me to be far less productive than I’d like to be. Experimentation is great, but I feel I’m at a point where I really need my work to feel and appear more cohesive. This has been germinating for a while now, and I’ve made some advances towards my goal, but this painting has taken me a lot closer to where I feel I want to be than anything else I’ve done recently. I’m also starting to feel much more comfortable using gouache, which makes me very happy. End of thinking out loud…

If anyone reading this happens to live in the Portland area, come on out to the Launchpad on First Friday and see a salon-style show with work by me and over 100 other artists! Click the postcard below for more info.

Late last week, I was asked to create four illustrations for the special “Drunken Issue” of The Portland Mercury, alongside a feature entitled “The Winter Drunk-A-Lympics.” This is the main illustration for the article, which introduces us to the hero of the four illustrations.

For a small article describing different international drinking games.

Taking the drunken fun outside the bar. This is my favorite of the four and I think a lot of that is due to how much I love that little dog.

And finally, hangover cures.

Baby Otto Contest

I was going to wait until June 5th or 6th to give away the theme of this volume, but there’s no time like the present. Volume Two will from now on be referred to as The Life and Times of “Hobo” Otto Zeplin.

Apparently, very few of you saw or cared about the Baby Otto contest I announced on Tuesday. The prospect of ten free comics just doesn’t go as far as it used to I guess…

Baby Otto Zeplin is finally back! If you don’t know the sandwich in question, maybe you should go back and read from the beginning. I know I promised he’d be back yesterday but I got hit with a four-illustration gig this weekend, which I’ll post later this week, so I’m running a bit behind on personal projects. But, as promised, here’s the explanation for Volume Two’s delayed start:

Throughout the ten eventual volumes of The Life and Times of Baby Otto Zeplin, I plan on having at least four “theme” volumes, where Otto’s adventures focus around a specific theme, or place, or idea for the entire month. Volume Three was supposed to be the first of these themed volumes, but looking at the historic dates in 1900 that specific volume covers, I decided it would be better off as a “regular” volume. So, everything I had already written for the original Volume Two will now become Volume Three, with a few changes, and Volume Two has been completely re-written as the first themed volume. I’m not going to announce the theme of Volume Two until it becomes obvious on about June 5th, 1900 or so, but what this also means is that once I get into the swing of doing these again, Volume Two should be followed very shortly by Volume Three; no six-month waits again.

Baby Otto Contest!
I also promised you a contest, right? As mentioned above, I plan on having four themed volumes spread throughout the ten, but the problem is I only have definite plans for three themes so far. So, if anyone wants to, comment here or email me your idea for a future volume’s theme idea. The winner will receive one free copy of each volume as it is released, and also Volume One if you don’t already own it. Now, I won’t be able to let on my other two planned themes until those volumes are released, so if you happen to come up with an idea I’m already going to do, I can’t tell you, but you won’t win, sorry. I don’t care how mundane or wacky your idea happens to be, let me have it. I will announce the winner and winning theme idea whenever I have decided.

On a totally different note, today is my first day of school this semester, and I’m so ready to go back after a month-long winter break.

Baby Otto will return on Monday, along with an explanation for the delay and a contest to win a free copy of every new volume as I release them! Besides working on Baby Otto, I have two other comic deadlines that I need to hit, both in early March: one for my school’s comics anthology (I’m the head student organizer), and another for the next Robopocalypse Comics Collective anthology, which will be ready for the Stumptown Comics Fest in April.

I never posted my final Illustration class assignment from last semester because I left the original at school over winter break and didn’t get it scanned until yesterday. Our assignment was to illustrate a “tradition.” The tradition I chose was that of the language of Russian prison tattoos, specifically of the Soviet era. I had some other tattoo-related things in mind at first, but Russian prison tattoos have such a compelling history that, in the end, I couldn’t bring myself to do anything but this specific tradition. Gouache, ink and charcoal.

A homemade printing press, plans courtesy of Ready Made Magazine. I’ve already pulled my first print on this and it turned out well. To give size reference, the metal posts on each side are two feet tall.

As I mentioned last week, due to this new press as well as an upcoming etching class, I am having a big sale on all of my older prints, all for $5 and available through my Etsy shop.

I don’t think I’ve posted this little guy yet, I drew it way back in November, but didn’t add the color until a few weeks ago. He’s about 3″ square in real life.

Now that the holidays are over, I figure I can post this little gouache and ink painting I did for a Secret Santa gift.