A wonderful commission in progress. I am in love with this piece already. I wanna rub it on my chest. Buy it dinner. Sleep beside it at night … etc
There's something you may not know about me Joe Rogan ... I smoke rocks!
For about 25 long years of my existence, I never used paint. Ever. Pure pencil – and rarely, I’d use ink. I felt that the aliveness, or energy of the raw pencil lines were the most important part of my drawings. In some cases, that is true; but ultimately it was my reluctant nature to travel into a new expressive style. Being a hardcore graphic novel fan can do that to you.
This is my first painting. This was the beginning. Now, when I say painting, I mean the first painting I’ve done that wasn’t a colour study or gradient project. This was the first painting I made where it was just me and some tubes of gouache. It was love at first sight. The way the paint took to the illustration board was like watching two soulmates make love for the first time and then; symbiosis. Ectosymbiosis to be exact. Then, just to test things out I traced the outer lines with blue and red ink from micron pens and the ink held and soon dried perfectly. I was sold. I haven’t stopped since. My second painting was actually that of Dr. Gonzo – which is on this blog somewhere. These paintings were created in 2005 or maybe 2006. I’ve re-painted Dr. Gonzo since then, but the background remains untouched. For this painting I was inspired by Katsuhiro Otomo’s Akira. I was actually trying to replicate the animation style as if youcould actually see the squid moving in your mind like that of Tetsuo’s transformation in the movie.
I love gouache. Imma marry it.
From an exhibit last year devoted to monsters and villains. A CHUD is a mutated carnivorous animal living beneath NYC’s streets. It feeds on homeless people and the occasional small dog. A good ol’ fashioned 80′s monster movie.
11 x 17 G&I
The final piece I did for the GYATM show is of a clan of Tusken Raiders gathering around to hear the story of War and Peace (Война и мир) by Leo Tolstoy.
The show had a great turn out with a tremendous positive vibe flowing all night. Thanks to my friend Afo, everyone had their pieces hung on time.
The painting is 11 x 17 in my usual medium. Never digital.
Illustration by Andrew McNeil
Edited by Mike Ellis
http://function13.ca/2010/10/05/get-your-ass-to-mars/
On October 14th I’ll be exhibiting some pieces for the Get Your Ass to Mars show at Function 13. This show was originally set for September, but … yeah. Stuff happens. There’s a bunch of new artists set up for the show, as well as familiar faces. I’ll post the details later. In poster form. For now; here’s a sneak peek brought to you by Nolan and myself. We collaborated on this a while ago and it turned out awesome.
11 x 17
Gouache and ink
I was asked to do a portrait of Ganesha, son of Parvati, but put my own spin on it. Ganesha’s large ears are to listen more, his big head is used to think about the bigger picture, his small eyes are for concentration, his broken tusk contrasting the full tusk symbolizes keeping the good and letting go of the bad, his trunk symbolizes high efficiency and adaptability. Ganesha has four arms as well, so represented that with the four hands.
It was a fun painting and it will be featured in the Get Your Ass to Mars show in September.
11×17 gouache and ink
I had an assignment in second year illustration at OCADU questioning the contents of my fridge. My answer was this abstract piece. Basically, samsara, and additives.
Gouache and ink
fridge
11×17
This is a flier I’ve been working on for an event I’ve been organizing that will happen in September about the final frontier. The date and time are currently unconfirmed, but hopefully it will be at Function 13 on Kensington within the first week of September. It’s an illustration show with a few sculptures and toys thrown into the mix. All OCAD talent and some of the best/brightest future/present illustrators in Ontario.
The colour of the text is still a work in progress, but overall, this is exactly what it will look like – minus the artists names and info. Of course, once the show is on it will be scanned so I can show it with better resolution along with my submitted pieces nah mean jelly bean?
Goauche and ink
11 x 17
There’s a show coming up in August. Right now, that’s all I’m going to say, but I am happy that I’ve finished two 11×17 paintings for it already. Here’s a sneak peek at what’s coming at you … a few roughs.
The last piece entitled Bossk and Soda was later redone as a collaborative project with fellow illustrator Nolan Pelletier. He’s a nice guy.
