Now It's ON!

      It's getting down to 'crunch-time' regarding my upcoming show. As part of the Arts Weekend, I'm confident that there will be no shortage of meandering strangers to come accross my portion of the show, but just to play it safe, I'm sending a few of those massive e-vites. Here's what I came up with.

       If your a Chicago reader (pun!), feel free to swing by and see the show. There'll be wine, snacks and good conversation to ease into. Hope to see you there!

Painted Into a Corner

      Deadlines are awesome. As much as I struggle with them, I cant help but love them. There is an element of catharsis to a deadline - a knowing sense that what you put in directly affects the public's reception of your workmanship, your dedication, your skill... That, I think, is what makes them both so fun and so harrowing. My deadline is a week away, the big show, opening night, and here I am, blogging instead of painting. Here's what's happened this weekend (among the many, many distractions).

Pencil, Ink... Paint Still to Come!

      It was a long weekend, and the work got did. I started on the (so far) LARGEST piece for "the show," as I've come to call it. It's just around four feet by two-and-a-half-ish, and is going to be quite pretty, I think. Here are some process pictures of the beginning and middle. The end, the paint, comes tomorrow... and the next day, and the next. The first step is always the longest. the drawings take hours, and sometimes, like this one, days.

       The ink come next, in a painting like this. 'Red' mixed with 'Brown' concocted this tone. I love the names of inks... they're so concrete. This stage took maybe a full four hours... and the fun is yet to come!

       Check back in a few days for a finished image!

99 Red Balloons? Nah, like twenty-seven, probably.

      Every year, lovely little Lawrence, Kansas plays host to The Red Balloon To-Do. Every year that I lived in Lawrence, I went around from store to house to the next store/house/alley (venue) designated by the Red Balloon Gods, seeing the good, the bad, the ugly and the extraordinary. This year, I'm finally in it! The paintings are in the mail, the nails are in the wall, and this weekend, if your in Lawrence, you're more than invited to stop by Astrokitty Comics and More to check out my pictures. Here are a few close-ups to wet the pallette... PUNS!

 Stop by!

-Ben

A Weekend On The Floor...

This past weekend, I was fortunate enough to have Friday off, AND Monday off. This makes for an awesome four days. Granted, I had commitments, obligations, nuisances to get in the way of all the lounging and fun... but I still got some painting done! I started this bad-boy after Martha fed me an image ripped form a magazine. It was a line drawing with flowers and faces, and she wanted something like that for our humble abode. Here's what I came up with. Please ignore the bike pump. And the lamp... and the rug.

Also, this happened.

 I'm not complaining, but it happened, and I was distracted. For a long time.

 ... And I liked it.