Ben Rumback's Art Blog

Stamping My Heart Out

2012-01-30T14:44:00.001-06:00

I fully intended to send you all a Holiday card this past December, and if you didn't receive one, it's only because I didn't make any. Honesty is the best policy, and in this case, the truth is, I failed to find the time between other projects and commitments. I bought the supplies to make a linoleum stamp and prints some cool-looking cards, but I didn't have the time to learn the skill until mid January, and by then it was too late. What's a guy to do? Valentines, of course!

So I sat down about a week-and-a-half ago and got drawing. I came up with three or four clever designs, which I paired with sappy, silly messages, then dug out my carving kit and blocks. A few days later, I had carved out four stamps.

This heart is the result of my first and most obvious idea. I always enjoy it when artists and designers use an anatomical heart in place of a traditional cartoon heart. I started with a hard linolium block mounted on wood, but found that I could get superior detail (and results) with the pink speedy-carve blocks. They are softer rubber and, for me, much easier to cut. The first heart was a little rugged for my tastes, but I really like the second one (pictured), which is a nice meeting between anatomical and cartoony.

It took me about five minutes carving (the arrow) and two seconds of thought to finish this design up. This is by far the most distinctly 'Valentiney' of the designs - I feel like the others will be okay to use all year round.

This was my second idea and second stamp. On the inside it reads "YOU TICKLE ME." Har-dee-har.

The original caption for this one was going to be "you brighten my day," but the brilliant and beautiful Martha took one look and said, "Nope, it's got to be 'you turn me on.'" Needless to say, she was right.

These hearts were test prints on watercolor paper, but I captioned them as an experiment. I think they could work as 'postcard style' greeting cards.

After a bit of fooling with the words, I came up with this as my brand stamp. It's supposed to read "(hand) made by..." but I think it still works if people don't see the hand as the word hand. That sentence is a mess. originally I had it as "made by (hand) by Ben Rumback,' but without reading the (hand) it was easy to read 'made by by Ben Rumback,' which made me sound stuttery.

this last one was just something I made while practicing carving and stamping. It has no message counterpart, but I liked the look of it. These cards and maybe more will be on sale soon at Green Genes in Chicago, and in my ETSY shop!

Have a Dolly, Jolly Christmas

2011-12-26T15:41:00.006-06:00

From the weeks before Hallowe'en to December 23rd, I didn't get much of a break. I'm not complaining, but between costumes, craft shows, and Christmas commissions, I've stayed busy. I completely forgot to post about my latest craft show experience, at Water's Elementary School Artisan Fair, here in Chicago.

Above: Cocoa Cuddle Buddies

It was a great turn out and a wonderful experience - a complete shift from my only other craft show experience with Renegade. I feel now like I have touched both ends - the largest and the smallest, and now can use what I've learned to work the 'somewhere in between' market. Here are some of the new pieces that I started in Wisconsin, where Martha's brother and his wife Erica hosted an amazing (and delicious) Thanksgiving for us, Martha's parents and our amazing neice, Erielle.

Below: Cozied Up

I applied three days after the deadline, and the Artisan show was chock full of talented locals. A few weeks passed, and while munching appetizers on Thanksgiving, I got an email informing me that a drop-out had free'd up a space for me. Needless to say, the day after T-day, I braved Eau Claire's black friday mania to get stocked up on supplies from Jo-Ann fabrics.

Above: Mousy Christmas

I was able to finish three new pieces in time for the show, outside of my time teaching the children. In fact, some of my three year old pals helped sew the grass on that fox's bed.

Below: The S'more the Merrier (not new, but un-blogged from September)

below: Autumn Owl (also from September) (please excuse the copyright marks, these are from my etsy file).

Then... THEN... then... came the Great Christmas Commission flood of 2011. I got three emails on the same day, all of which asked the same question: "Can you make a set of nesting dolls in time for the holiday?" I, of the belief that sleep is for the week and that deadlines prove your worth, accepted all three, and haven't slept.

The Daly's are a family I have known for a few years, and host the preschool in which I teach in their garden apartment. Dad, Dan asked me to make a set for his family.

Miles (the boy) and I agree that Robin is one of the best people ever, and duly, Miles dresses like Robin every chance he gets.

The family turned out great, right down to the baby sister and the puppies. Every set I make turns out better than the last, and this one holds the bar pretty high. It's always a pleasure to do my best work for the customers I know personally.

Next came the family of the owner of Kustom Kribs, where I had my last retail show. Chris (the dad, but not the grand-dad, pictured here) is a heck of a guy, and it happens that we both studied at the University of Kansas (rock, chalk, GO KU!), which just happens to be a bonding point. He messaged me late one night between turkey and dumplings, and we were on board for his family's doll set.

The odd thing is, the only aspect that challenged me in this set was the glasses. It is incredibly difficult to symmetrize a pair of glasses on a rounded form.

Looking good, family!

The smallest dolls are about one inch high and about 3/4". This can be challenging to make a likeness. More often than not the smallest dolls are reserved for family pets - this set called for all humans, so I did what I could. They turned out great, if I may say so.

Lastly, I got a commission from a nice fellow in Minnesota, who had, for me, a bunch of furry family members, as opposed to their fleshy counter-parts. This set was the challenge of the year, for me, as a craftsman.

Painting people? I've done that time-and-time-again. Painting animals with accurate markings and features? That's a whole new thing. I pulled it off, I think, (he did, too), and they turned out looking quite like the animals, whose photos he sent.

According to Eric (the client) they were spot-on. When you get right down to it, that's what matters. He was able to give a meaningful and merry Christmas gift. That's what I strive for, as a service person, in the end.

Detail of the beagle

Tails UP!

Happy Chanukah, merry Christmas, winter-well-wishes, have a flattering solstice... I'm going to go take a nap.

The Spooky Time of Year

2011-11-14T19:18:00.001-06:00

Oh, man... I love Hallowe'en. I love autumn in general, and I feel like Hallowe'en is the apotheosis of the falling season. In the lower midwest it always seemed to come too early, and it was many-a-year too darn warm for my elaborate (read:HOT) costumes. The years that we have spent so far in Chicago have granted us with reliably brisk Hallowe'en weekends, and I for one am grateful for it. I just can't seem to come up with a costume idea that doesn't leave me cooking ten minutes after dress-up time!

This year, before I could get down to working on (or even thinking about) mine, I had a few orders to fill. A couple in Canada has commissioned Futurama costumes from me two years running, and I couldn't be more happy to bring to life these characters that I know and love. Here are the source images I used for Calculon, the soap-opera-acting-bot, and Coilette, Bender's trans-gender, Olympic-sweeping persona.

Last year, i was so tied up with other things, the fine couple up North didn't receive their precious costumes until the DAY OF the party to which they planned to wear them. I was determined to make amens for the stress from last year, and so, got a nice early start. I sent this sketch off after a few emails about dates and monies, and they came back with a resounding 'great! Get to work!' and so, I did!

I started off in my comfort zone, the heads. Making a costume like this is a lot like making a "muppet style" puppet, which I have been doing since high school. I knocked these robo-helmets out in one night, then started on the bodies the next.

Long-story-short, here are the (nearly) finished costumes! These aren't the Canadians modeling, by the by... I couldn't afford to fly them in. Thanks to my lovely friends Patti and Josh for being the same size and shape as the clients, and for being available for a fitting on a Saturday morning!

Now down to brass-tacks, as my father says (though I have no idea where such an expression started). Our Hallowe'en party was a smash, and our friends came through with amazing costumes, as usual. As mentioned above, I tend to stay warm in my costumes. I went as a monster this year. Everyone loves a good monster.

Martha and Mallory went as 'Cool Cats.' go ahead and say it, Martha looks exceedingly more cool than I, especially on the bus. Like that is anything new. C'mon.

Amber hit a home-run as Marceline the Vampire Queen from Adventure Time (more on that later). I don't have a good shot, but her guitar, made by her shiny new husband Cary, was spectacularly crafted. Also, awesome sweater. Go Amber! Josh represented nerd-style as Nathan Drake, which was awesome, even if he didn't think so. If you've played any of the Uncharted games, you know how cool N to the D is. Josh was busy all week making Patti this awesome Sheera: Princess of Power costume. I had a Sheera doll, back when I was about four. There are some scarring memories involving my doll, a pair of scissors, my two older brothers and a ransom note. Let's move on.

What a bad picture of Cary's awesome costume! I wish I had a better one, but this is what you get, people. He and Amber made a great pair, as, in case you didn't know, he is dressed as Finn, also from Adventure Time, which is great. Go, go to YouTube and then come back.

Aha! There's that other Cool Cat. So happy that Mal could make it all the way from Kansas, but we missed her fellow Geoff! Fist bump, Geoff! Medusa showed up, and I thank the gods that I only viewed her through a camera. I'm assuming Medusa has the same rules as a Basilisk... Anyone have the rule book handy?

As the night wore on and the drinks got tossed back, my very sweaty costume kind of got around. This picture is too damn cute not to post. I think I'll have to loan it to Amber next year.

Then Colin got all fresh. Watch it, buddy...

Smokie: NOT IMPRESSED. Also: PUT ME DOWN!

I was worried that if I wore it to preschool I would scare one of the kids. Clearly not a problem. In fact, all they wanted to do was beat the monster. Tiny fists... So many tiny fists...

Thanks for reading! I hope you had as fun a holiday as we did!

Micro-Show-Boating

2011-10-03T20:13:00.001-05:00

Man-o-man, i've been having the hardest time keeping this blog up lately. It seems so obvious an concept: write about a show, even a micro-show, BEFORE the show! That way people can come if they want to. To be fair, though, this one was out in the suburbs, and even though I only had about two weeks notice, quite a few of my lovely friends came out to say hi. Thanks to Martha and Rachael, Amber, Cary, John and everyone who came. Special thanks to my pal Kati, who set it up.

'The Strawberry Thief' is, for now, my favorite piece. I have been really feeling the autumn weather and color palette lately, and it lent itself to this piece with ease. While sewing (these things take time), I built a story around this one. I imagined that some unlucky farmer (or rabbit, or rabbit farmer) has been holding this strawberry all summer, keeping it watered and plump, and then, BAM! Sneaky raccoon for the win. Poor rabbit farmer.

This little guy, which I impulsively titled 'Autumn Owl,' was finished about thirty minutes before the scheduled events started at Kustum Kribs in Park Ridge. They had their fall fashion show, in which one of my former students modeled with the gusto only a four year old can muster. When they asked me to produce some new work and add an art-show angle to the day, I jumped on the fall-themed band-wagon (or is it a hayrack at this point?).

I bought some little wooden plaques at the craft store recently, and whipped up a few paintings on them for the show. I had planned to title this 'Pity the Fool,' but I figured the reference might be lost on the 'new mom' audience I was catering to. He ended up being called 'Sleepy Tea,' which works just as well, if not better.

This little guy was simply called 'OW!' It's totally autobiographical, if you were wondering. Want to help my teeth?! Buy some art!

This is Martha's favorite thing I have ever made, I am pretty sure. That girl loves her some marshmallows. From the moment it crossed my mind, this title was permanent: 'The S'more the Merrier!'

I know I just posted this one in my last writing, but I had to include it, as I feel it's a great companion piece to the 'S'more.' I rearranged the show a dozen times, but knew from the start that the S'mores had to be hung above the fire, no matter what else moved.

Martha and Rachael, my biggest fans, took a sit-down after the crowd thinned out a little. Midday champagne and wine left us all feeling a little wimpy as the day tilted into evening. We took the Metra back into town, grabbed some food and took in an easy evening at home. The show was a lot of fun, and I really appreciate everyone who was able to make it and stopped to chat with me. Thanks for reading!

Campfire Friends step-by-step

2011-09-27T19:00:00.002-05:00

Some of my favorite things I have made are my embroidustrations, which I started in the early summer of 2010. Aside from a few commissions and tiny side projects, I hadn't revisited the medium until this month, in preparation for the mini show I had last week at Kustom Kribs (a kids boutique in Park Ridge). I was thrilled to get back into it, because as time-consuming and hand-cramping as all of the sewing can be, of the varying media I work with, I think these have the most unique look.

Here is a step-by-step series documenting the creation of 'Campfire Friends,' one of the new pieces for the show.

This piece has a lot more thought in the layering than most of the others, all due to the composition of the over-lapping logs and flames. In the end it was worth the grief, but boy-howdy was there GRIEF!

You can't really see it in these photos, but the 'meat' of the logs (the inside, lighter tones) actually filled the bark. With as much over-lap as there is in this piece, I had to piece together the 'inner logs' to make the top levels of felt lay on the same level... ISN'T THAT INTERESTING?! Sorry - back to photos...

So much stitching...

Viola! I'll post all of the new work soon. Oh, and thanks for reading one of my more poorly writ posts!

That Show I Had, Way Back Whenever...

2011-08-24T21:34:00.003-05:00

It was a real hoot! Thanks again to everyone who turned out to drink the drinks and look at my doodles. Special thanks to Nick and everyone at AlleyCat Comics for putting on the lights, the music, and above all, the AIR CONDITIONER.

Also, thank you, dear Kaitlyn McQuaid, for taking these lovely photos. Kaitlyn is a talented photographer of food and other things. You really should check out her lemons. She offered to snap pictures of my reception, and I must say, the art and the Ben have rarely looked better. Please excuse the vanity of the first image, she made me a little collage, and I thought it was too nice to not include.

An important note regarding the reflections in a few of these off center detail shots: not the work of Kaitlyn. That's all Ben. The good photos are the ones that deserve a high five.

See? See the quality of these two? The soft focus, the lack of reflections... McQuaid? More like McQuality!

Well, that's about that! It was a great turn out, evenly composed of friends and strangers. Lots of happy faces and great conversations. Isn't that the point of it all, anyhow? Thanks again, all.

Custom Nesting Dolls in Five Easy-to-Follow Steps!

2011-07-27T15:17:00.001-05:00

Not to sound too self-gratifying, but I make a lot of things. I've been known to make stuff, junk, and even trinkets. One of my favorite things to make, and probably the one that gets the most attention, are custom nesting dolls. I've made five of these over the last few years, and, as mentioned before, they weren't my idea from the start. The brilliant idea was that of my cousin Margo, when she asked me to make a set for her mom, for Christmas. From the first, I feel like my process is a little more refined, and the product so much better for it. This is the latest set, which was commissioned by my friend Lakshmi, as a father's day gift for her husband Prasanth. The report from the front is that he has them, loves them, and I can blog about them, as they are no longer a secret. I took process photos, which I always forget to do, and figured you might like to see them, if you are here anyway.

The first and most common (and ludicrous) question people ask is whether I buy them or carve them myself. First off, I have never used a lathe. Second, if these were hand whittled, the price would rest in the five-to-seven-hundred range, instead of the two-to-three-hundred spot that they currently occupy. I buy them online; The secret is out. Once i have the blanks unpacked and inspected, pencil comes first, of course.

Next I address skin tone, which this time was more fun than usual, as all of the dolls I have made have been caucasian (disregarding the Alice in Wonderland set I made last year). after the skin is the right color, I paint in the whites of the eyes and teeth. This terrified Rachael, who was watching, and really didn't like it when I slowly pushed them toward her end of the table chanting "One of us... One of us..."

Working the highlights and shadows into the skin adds an amazing level of 'life.' i didn't discover this until i had already completed a few early sets, and it boggles my mind that it wasn't always part of the routine. They do become remarkably more friendly with the addition of pupils and iris', don't you agree?

The next step is the biggest, as it sums up the majority of the paint work. Clothes, hair, highlights and shadows. Once this part is finished, the only thing that remains is the ink.

Ah the ink- my love and my enemy. As you may have guessed, there is no erasing at this point. I have been known to break a healthy sweat in the coolest of temperatures when applying the ink details on a set of dolls. The ink I use is India ink from a micron pen, so until it dries, it can be smudged, and once dry, is there to stay. Luckily, I had no twitches or sneezes while inking these, and they turned out really cute. I LOVED the double sided cat, though he/she is kind of hard to appreciate here.

Thanks for reading!

Showtime! 2011 edition

2011-07-09T10:38:00.001-05:00

Hey friends and fans! Sorry, I don't mean to assume that you are a friend or fan just because you are tuned in and reading this, but I try to be positive. I would like to assume very few enemies or haters are reading this just to plan revenge or scoff at my general ambition.

ANYHOW! There's a social event coming up, hosted by me and the good people at AlleyCat Comics, in the charming village of Andersonville. Here is the general info, and a peek at one of the new paintings I'll be debuting at the show!

That's the latest work, tentatively titled Intergalactic Bromance. 7 to 10 on July 21st. You bring your feet, I'll bring the beer and snacks! See you in two weeks!

Art Camp! 2011 edition

2011-06-27T10:59:00.001-05:00

A few weeks ago, I travelled to Kansas for my annual young artist's retreat, cleverly titled Art Camp! (insert year here). This was our third meeting, and, as usual, our group was mostly composed of students I had the pleasure of teaching back in my Kansas days, at Raintree.

There were a few new faces, but after three days, I felt like I had known them all as long as I'd known myself.

There was a lot of nerdy content in our collection, particularly Pokémon and Halo, as well as a lot of Star Wars talk, so naturally, I felt right at home.

Check out the photo spread below to see the fantastic work produced by Drew, Gabby, Rhiddi, Aidin, Eliot, Payton, Macy, Izzy, Julia, Madeline and Erik!

On the final day my BIL (brother in law) Joel stopped by and regaled the kids (and gave me time to clean up) with a string of terribly hilarious knock-knock jokes. The kids loved it. I loved it. Joel is an absolute peach.

And he can sew one heck of a taco!

Thanks again and again to the parents who make this possible. Without your lunch provisions, snack supplies and last-minute-runs for the supplies I left back home, it would have been a tear-filled misery-camp. You all rule, with much vigor. Really, truly, so much fun. See you all next summer!

NERD!

2011-06-09T14:24:00.001-05:00

Yeah, you heard me, nerd! Oh wait, pot, kettle, all that hullabaloo. But, to be fair, I can only assume, being as you are all up in my site, that you are some degree of nerd; art nerd, science nerd, fantasy, sci-fi, comic book... We take all types around here. Speaking of nerd, check out what I did to my helmet!

I admit it- I've gone Imperial. It was the first thing I thought of when I bought the new helmet. Now when I'm on my bike and cars get in my business, all I can think is, "There's on! Set for stun!"

N E R D

It's again been too long, and I have no excuse.

2011-06-03T08:18:00.001-05:00

It's hard to keep up on an art blog when art production slides to a halt. Well, a halt might be a little dramatic, but between my day job and the onset of spring, I have been spending VERY little time at my desk. The commission jobs that I have been working on have been sparse and are still in production, so there's almost nothing to report!

So, you, my good and fainthful reader, get to bask in the glory of unfinished character sketches for an upcoming project that I'm ALMOST ready to talk about. Officially, I mean.

These character designs were drawn in my sketchbook and inked in that Adobe ipad thingy I told you about months ago, back when I was a better person, who kept up on his blog. It realy is THE best for digital 'ink' lines. Just look at those edges!

Also... He has, um, a cat. *shameful kitty cat sketches EXPOSED*

Sometimes, You Gotta Spoil Yourself

2011-04-04T21:14:00.005-05:00

In this particular case, the spoiling came in the form of an ipad 2, and was justified in that I honestly believed (fingers crossed) that it could be used as a completely portable art-making interface! At the very least, it could serve as a color sketchbook with one sketchbook forever, and one pen forever. It's been two weeks, and the results are, so far, promising. The hitch in the ipad-as-an-art-kit get-up is the lack of a perfect arts app that covers all bases. As of this writing, I have to spread most of my projects over three, with separate but equal strengths and drawbacks.

The first one I picked up, and the most popular among the online artists I stalked to get opinions, is Sketchbook Pro by autodesk inc. It costs $6.99, supports up to six layers, has a seriously great UI, featuring multi-finger swipes and commands that really speed up the menu-juggling that comes with any toolbox as robust as that featured by SBP. Wolverine up above was sketched, inked and colored as separate layers in SBP, in about half an hour. Down below is the 'painted' layer of a carrot car concept, clearly unfinished, but it nicely illustrates the ability of SBP to emulate paint and brush strokes in a really nice way.

Next up is Adobe Ideas, by, er, Adobe. The big benefits here are that it's FREE (!), but you have to pay a fiver to utilize layers, which is kind of a must. The bread and butter of this one is that it is vector based, which means, while you can't do any blending or gradients in this one, it makes GORGEOUS lines, which have no fixed resolution, and you can export to your main computer as a .psd with layers intact.

To be fair, al of the three programs mentioned here can export in a variety of formats, most usefully .psd.

Adobe's got something of a learning curve, and far less features than either Art Studio or Sketchbook, but for boundless resolution of line work, it can be pretty valuable for the artist working on the go. See the carrot-car inks below for an example of what Adobe Ideas can do.

Not surprisingly, Adobe (finally) came out last week and demoed a (mostly) full-fledged ipad-friendly version of photoshop. What they DIDN'T tell us is when it comes out and how many dollars we'll have to fork over once it drops. For the time being, and for just a few bucks, photoshop-friendlies can make due with the admittedly unattractive UI of Art Studio. From app icon to the static loading image to the font they chose for the title screen, this app is goofy looking. The icons for each tool don't give up their names, even when hovered over, and the icons themselves often don't convey clearly what the tool will do. It is my opinion that a user unfamiliar with photoshop, it's tools and it's menu system, might feel lost in Art Studio.

All design complaints aside, of the three apps I've been using, it is easily the deepest and most usable of the three. You just have to get past the design and learning curve. Check out my version of Rooster below.

It's my proudest and most finished ipad-artwork, and, after the initial sketch (which I did in Sketchbook and then imported into Art Studio) made completely on ipad, in Art Studio. It's a great program, it's $2.99, and offers the highest resolution available of the resolution-based apps I'm familiar with.

High five, ART STUDIO! Now let's get an update and fix that user interface!

Once I got my hands on the apps, the stylus (Targus brand, available everywhere, and the best thing until Wacom steps up and makes a REAL stylus) and, of course, the ipad itself, all I needed was a good case. I can't be trusted with anything fragile, and this thing has a big glass pane on the front, and lots of fragile little computers living inside. I scoured ebay, amazon and etsy, and found a lot of cool cases, sleeves and binder-type housings, but nothing that really struck me. THEN I remembered the amazing work of my friend Teressa, of the blog and ETSY shop, Food, Fabric and Paper. And in less than a week, with almost no notice, look at what she came up with!

My only request was "muted colors, preferably grey wool." What a gal - and just look at how well it fits! Tessa went online and got the exact apple measurements, mocked up a foam-core... mock-up... and made a case that fits like a glove.

She even has adorable custom tags... in her own handwriting!

So cute.

Thanks, Tessa, for keeping my big, clumsy self from breaking my new toy. Er, work device. Art tool. Um... video game/internet/drawing/whatever thingy. It's totally justified, right?

Making and Faking

2011-03-30T21:07:00.002-05:00

Due to the lack of commissions or big ideas lately, I've been doing a lot of 'technique work,' or in a more pragmatic phrasing, PRACTICE. I'm a firm believer in the idea that learned skills atrophy over time, just as muscles do, if left unchecked. Here are some of the pieces that have come from my continuing efforts to improve my techniques in acrylic and gouache painting.

For a few days in January, all of Chicago was dumped on by a history-making, school-cancelling blizzard, and thusly, Martha and I were going through a little cabin-fever. We set out on day one, after the monumental snow fall, and walked the streets of what seemed to be mostly a ghost town. Nary a business was open, except Starbucks, and we ended up there with the rest of the adventurous idiots that morning. After dipping my stagnant brains in hot caffeine, I came home and painted the snowy picture seen here. I'd been wanting to do a Hoth scene for years, so it was good to get it out and onto paper.

A while later, I went to see True Grit. Due to a general love of the Coen movies, and a penchant for western lore, I went into a complete whirlwind of cowboy culture. I returned to my GOTY pick , Red Dead Redemption (treating it like a full time job, and roping Cary and Joe back into the old west for some online play), listened to a couple of great western books by Cormack McCarthy (The Crossing was my favorite, and is part of his Border Trilogy, which can be read individually, as they are part of a thematic trilogy, not a single story), and filled my ipod with the best contemporary and classic country I could dig up on my hard drive. And there was also a cowboy frog playing the harmonica, which I honestly think might be the best thing my two hands have ever crafted. It's intended to be a concept for a larger painting, in which there would be a whole team of rowdy anthropomorphized animals playing various camp-fire friendly instruments, but that is yet to come.

The next step was a backward one, back into my Nintendo fanboy-art that got its start in 2007. No matter how many times I draw him, there's always room for another Link picture. This one is distinctly more Wind-Waker than my others, but not too close to still be considered original.

And now for something COMPLETELY UNORIGINAL! Back in school, when we wanted to emulate the techniques of a certain artist, we were encouraged to do a copy, and to do it right, really spending the time needed to NAIL it. One of my favorite illustrators of the current age is Amanda Visell. She did this painting, and I've always loved it. I was laid up with a CRAZY fever a month or so ago, and I spent a day of medicated tom-foolery making this copy. It's close, but not a perfect copy. I do feel like I learned what I set out to learn; that being, how she achieves those great dry-brush and solid line textures with acrylic paint. I was lucky enough to meet her last summer at Rotofugi, here in Chicago, but was too nervous to seem cool. She's a pretty amazing illustrator. Click her name and fall in love.

Commission: noun

2011-02-27T09:26:00.004-06:00

Definition: Getting some money for making something wacky that you never EVER would have thought to make, if not for the money.

That's my latest understanding of the word, anyhow. Here are some wacky things that I never would have thought to make.

First up, Captain Alaska! I took the job via email from a group of friends in New England. Their friend (who the Captain is modeled after) just got his professorship, and they thought he could use a puppet.

Apparently he is something of an environmentally-minded person, who jokingly goes by the alter-ego, Captain Alaska! Or was it Alaska Man? I can't quite remember. He makes a great puppet, though!

I tried something new with this guy. I had done a half-beard (or five-o-clock-shadow) before, and just stippled it on with Sharpie. I wanted to do something nicer, something tactile for this guy. The bits of felt took all afternoon to glue on, but the end result was totally worth it.

With the hair, I also wanted to try something new. I've been trying to move away from using faux fur for hair. It seems a little too common, and I like to think that my puppets have a signature style. I don't know what that signature might be, but I always try to give them that little something more, that extra inch of 'hand-made-ness.' I loved the hair on this guy.

Next, we turn to my most returning client, Heather of Green Genes. She came back to me for another gift for her well-loved wife, business partner, and Wonderland obsessor, Tina. You may remember the Alice painting, the Looking Glass nesting dolls, or the cute-cute-cute family of peg people. Heather is a great business partner, a better friend, and my most frequent client. Always a pleasure!

On a similarly different note, Heather and Tina employ one worker-bee at Green Genes, the magnificent Rachael! We became acquainted through my dealings in the store, and then she became great friends with both myself and Martha, my loving wife. Long story short, Rachael's sister got married, and she wanted to get them a weird something to commemorate their nuptials.

That, my friends, is the ULTIMATE wedding gift. The bride and groom floating over the reflecting pool in Washington DC, dressed as Wonder Woman and Hellboy. Nothing, I repeat, NOTHING says congrats like a superhero wedding portrait.

This shot shares the moment I completely RUINED the painting! In all the excitement of finishing the picture, I grabbed a wax medium instead of a heavy gel gloss. They have nearly identical labels (unless you can READ), and almost the same 'wet' look. One dries clear, though... the other, opaque, like bee's wax. Not ideal. I let it dry and, sweating, sanded off the wax with a rotary sander. And somehow managed not to ruin it! Hooray!

In The Navy... sing along!

2011-02-27T08:41:00.003-06:00

My dad, that is, is in the Navy. He's a part of the cleverly labeled Seabee's (Construction Brigade, C.B.). They've been around since WWII and have the particularly cool slogan, 'We Fight, We Build, Can Do!' I think it's cool, anyhow. My dad asked me to step in and design a logo for the annual gala event, the Seabee Ball. I did a tee-shirt design a few years ago, and was happy to help out again.

I recently learned that Walt 'The Man' Disney himself had designed a number of mascot and logos for the armed forces during WWII, and had a hand in the original Seabee design. I decided to go retro disney with the design, with a shout-out to Steamboat Willy in mind.

After the ball logo made the rounds and got approved, dad asked me to redesign the logo for his personal partition of the navy, NMCB 15. They call themselves the Bat Out Of Hell unit, and that too is a particularly cool title... so I agreed to draw something up.

Like I mentioned, the Seabees are centered on construction and combat. The bee is famous for always having in hand a hammer, a wrench and a gun. I decided to stick to the same type of mood for the Bat piece, crossing a hammer and an M1 Garand (a shout out to the WWII origins) behind the bat. Then I added lots of rope. Every navy logo I could find has lots of rope behind it, I guess as a shout out to the days of sails and boat tethering... or whatever it's called when you tie down a boat.

I scanned the ink drawing into photoshop, and BOOM! Colored the bat. And the other stuff. Looks sharp, no? But! This is supposed to be a bat... OUT OF HELL! This bat seems to be coming... out of a photography studio, or the matrix, or something very, very white. This bat, may even be, dare I say it, a bat out of HEAVEN! Scroll down for hellishness.

Yeah! Now THAT is a bat out of hell! Mwa-ha-ha! Thanks to Spoon Graphics for the free spray-paint photoshop brushes! Those guys do good work.

That's it for me and my government work. To be clear, I'm still a pacifist and don't support war... I just draw stuff for my dad. And I do it for free. Don't judge me!

-Ben

Oh, my gouache!

2011-01-30T19:52:00.002-06:00

False! The above headline is bred of lies! This painting is in watercolor. It's true. But all of the rest of this post will be about gouache. The rest of this post will also be spooky, because I'm on a spooky streak. Let's go!

I drew this little girl about two years ago. I was listening to a scary book, but I don't remember the title. I liked the idea of a kid witnessing something distinctly wrong and just walking away, not going the encourage-able route and finding an adult, and just being spooked. Does she look adequately spooked?

Speaking of spooks: Boo! I think it's a ghost. This is one of my latest gouache painting exercises. I bought a set about a week ago and have been training up. I love the texture - you just can't get that with any other medium (well, I can't, anyway).

These two are my current favorites, for opposite but equal reasons. The above is the simplest of my gouache outings, and below is my most elaborate. Both are deliciously cute and spooky. Macabre as a button, they are. I hope you like them, as well.

Bananaman is the very first gouache painting I tied. Upon buying the set, I wanted to dive in full-tilt and see what happened. I liked the outcome so much I gave it to my friend Lucas for his third birthday! He thought it was funny, but later told me, in a bout of hurt feelings and as the result of a time-out, "I don't like bananas anymore."

this post was presented in a distinctly chronologically backward fashion, and if it was confusing, I apologize profusely.

The Reason for the Season

2011-01-08T12:59:00.004-06:00

Well, okay, commissioned artwork isn't the REASON for the season, as my rate of income has no correlation to the onset of winter. But, me getting steady work this time of year is the ONLY way my loved ones manage to get nice Christmas gifts. Here are some of the cool things I made for OTHER people's loved ones, this season.

Way back in May of oh-ten, my friend Kati started asking me about a set of nesting dolls for her grand-mother, Big Sue. She had it in mind early in the talks to make a set of all of the ladies in the family. They turned out pretty great, and reports from the front-lines indicate that they were a big hit. I wanted to take this chance to make a really quality set to serve as my sample set on ETSY, and I wasn't under a very harsh deadline. As a result, they are head and shoulders (round, bowling-pin shaped shoulders) above previous sets in detail, likeness and style.

There's Kati, down front, on the left. Doesn't she look excited?! She usually does.

These were a commission for Mary's cousin-in-law, Derrick. He's a bit of a Trekkie, and when he and his wife were visiting Mary here in Chicago, he took a liking to my little peg people. I have since been informed that I painted the wrong type of phaser in Captain Picard's hand, but I think I got away with it. Thanks a lot to Josh for ruining my confidence by being a better nerd than me.

Next on the queue was Heather's awesome (ahem) gift for her wife Tina, who is an Alice obsessor. These took some time, and turned out REALLY cute (pat me on the back, quick)! Speaking of backs...

Boo-yah! White Rabbit!

The Caterpillar turned out really cool. I took a lot of cues from the Disney design, but still tried to bring my own aesthetic to each character. It was a unique opportunity to do my first set of these doll's not designed to look like any real life persons. As a result, these look more like 'my art,' than any of the likeness-styled dolls, in my opinion.

Sneeeeaky kitty. Tina loved them - Heather was thrilled. Mission accomplished!

These last two aren't gifts or holiday related in any way. I was tapped by The Infamous Commonwealth Theater of Chicago to design their season of posters. Above is the poster for A Doll's House, and below is what I came up with for The Fifth of July.

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

2010-12-26T12:36:00.001-06:00

If there is an arts and crafts Super Bowl, I guess it would have to be Hallowe'en, assuming that you are a good person and you make your own costumes and decorations. If that's the truth we are working from, then I guess Christmas time must be the Stanley Cup of craftiness. At least the ice fits with the theme, which helps. I'm yet to knit a sweater, and I haven't outfitted our chimney with hand sewn stockings (maybe someday), but I DO get into the spirit, and I fully support the use of lethal amounts glitter. Here are the things I made at both home and preschool to get the Holiday vibe kicked into high gear.

As the cold started to creep in at playgroup, we busted out the space heaters and gathered around them to read books. I looked around upon the lack of Dickensian holiday cheer, and found it to be more something akin to Anderson's Little Match Girl, what with all the blue-lipped and shivering preschoolers surrounding me. So the kids and I got to work and built a fireplace to house our space heater! Don't worry - we never leave the heat source unattended in it's very flammable housing. Henry seems to like it!

In an attempt to get revved up for the impending slue of holidays (all while remaining as secular as I could manage), i strung these construction paper lights all around the school, and hand drew and cut each one. I was going for a distinctly Seussian style, as the story of the Grinch is one of my favorite winter treats.

Next we took a cue from an episode of Martha Stewart that I had watched years ago, in which she cut and decorated these adorable little towns and trees from cardboard. Here's were arranged in rows and with depth on the table top, as well as being outfitted with battery-powered lights. Ours were a notch or two further down the crafting totem pole... but they look great in the windows, and the kids LOVED dumping on the glitter.

All Hallow's Eve ( the there-abouts)

2010-11-10T22:42:00.006-06:00

It's gotten to the best time of year for me. I ride my bike whenever I can, and anyone who has ever set foot in Chicago knows the joys and pains of the CTA, which is why, although if just for general mood, springtime rules, it's wet enough to be considered generally unreliable. Summer is grand, but I've always argued cold over hot weather, as you can always put on another sweater, but once your naked, that's as cool as it gets. I am so much more a fan of autumnal attire (read: layers).

Also, as if I almost forgot, HALLOWE'EN! It truly is the MOST wonderful time of the year. Dark beer, the start of pie season, two to three shirts on any given day. All that and this bag of chips: it's the only holiday that TRULY hinges on arts and crafts, and how good you are with a glue gun or sewing machine. Which, if you are like me, is a lot more gratifying than throwing down in basketball or a push-up competition, or, you know, ANYTHING MASCULINE. Here are the things I had the pleasure of making this year!

First up: The Canadians!

I got an email via my ETSY shop, and took the commission because, one: flattery and an inflated sense of self-importance (INTERNATIONAL FAME). Two: The order itself... I love Futurama. It never gets old.

I made Leela's eye and armband, and Zap's whole costume. I sent some boot covers that they ended up not using, because even laced up tight, they were too loose.

I just hope this guy had a voice to go along with the costume. I can only dream of the fun of dropping Brannigan quotes all evening.

"Kiff! Have the boy lay out my pants."

"In a game of chess you can never let your opponent see your pieces."

"Men, you're lucky men. Soon you will all be fighting for your planet. Many of you will be dying for your planet. A few of you will be forced through a fine mesh screen for your planet. They will be the luckiest of all."

So many great lines!

I spent a little time tarting up their package, to make it more exciting.

Martha had some words with me over the excess of red velour fluff floating around the innards of her sewing machine after this one, but she had no IDEA what I was going to put that thing through once I started on my costume!

Which brings us to Sesame Street! Or, more accurately, the Muppets in general.

I went with Oscar after thinking on which much-loved Sesame Street resident was both aweomely cool, and wearable. My first thoughts were on Grover, then SUPER Grover, but I moved away from it on the realization that most of Grover's charm lay in his round head and thin, flailing arms. Same deal with Kermit. I knew it's have to be a muppet with 'fat hands,' and I always was a little afraid/intrigued by Oscar, the only homeless on sesame Street. So I went for it, and it was great. So many people thought I was Kermit, though. Maybe Kermit fallen on hard times? I htink it was just because I was rolling with Martha.

Martha, here in Piggy guise, whose original plan was (awesomely) to be the always distinguished Ms Piggy, as Tippy Hedron from the Birds (one of Martha's favorite movies). The concept was eventually scrapped due to time and investment. She made a great pig! Don't tell her I said that... wah-wah.

From left to right you have Me as Oscar, Mary as Big Bird (brilliant), Martha as the ham, and the always fantastic Rachael as Dr. Teeth, magistrate and leader of The Electric Mayhem!

Before Hallowe'en, heck, before Renegade, my oft-mentioned pal Heather put in an order for some adorable little peg people of her and her wife, Tina, her parents, and her sister and the sister's husband.

They turned out totally cute, and she reported family wide swooning over my tiny brushwork. They stand two inches high, and each has a personal accessory on display to add a little personality.

Beyond that, I shipped both Bender and Calculon off to the state of Washington after letting them both out about six inches, took the job to make some theater posters for a troop here, and started talks with a puppet show in it's infancy. I like making puppets, so we'll see where that goes.

here are some bonus photos from our Hallowe'en party and outing. Our friends rule at costumes!

The talented and hilarious Stephen stole the show as a chair. To really experience it, you had to see him transform from 'guy hanging out', to 'chair'. It was, like Stephen himself, a beautiful thing to behold.

The ladies of the partay. Jenna (with the umbrella) was a wonderful jelly-fish, and like her counterpart Stephen, so much better in motion. She really made that thing swim, Also, LED's, and greatness.

Muppet love!

There was almost an epic battle of history-bending proportions, but they chilled out and high-fived instead. Thank the jeez - I don't think our renter's insurance covers epic battles. Great costumes.

Oh! And I updated my ETSY shop with abunch of new and semi-new things for sale, so check it out if you're short on gifting ideas. Only forty-three shopping days left!

To close - a little something for the ladies!

Notes from Renegade Craft Fair: Chicago 2010

2010-09-17T09:38:00.004-05:00

I'm still so pleased that I was lucky enough to be accepted into the top third of applicants to this summers Renegade Craft Fair. Being as it was my first art/craft fair, I didn't know what to expect. Being that it was Renegade, easily one of the most hip and largely attended in the City, I was caught COMPLETELY unawares at how exhausting it would be! What fun, though.

Check out our tent! I split with charming and talented Heather Muenstermann, owner of Green Genes here in Chicago, and possessor of the crafty-goodness of Big Girl Art, her catchy name for all her wonderfully stuffed things.

That's Heather on the right, womanning the booth with my lovely wife, Martha.

Heather's Sweater Dudes, Gals and Pals made a real FUZZ at the fair. They really WOUND UP the competition! Really made them SWEAT! She was the KNIT big thing! Haha... heh... sorry.

Ahem - Mary helped on the first day. She hates this picture, but I wanted to give her a shout out as my continuously most reliable side-kicks. We forgot the rain flaps on the morning we were to set-up, and good old Mary went the extra twenty miles round trip to get them from my dining room. Thanks, Mary! We couldn't have been even REMOTELY dry without you!

Martha came along to lend a hand on day two, when things really got moving. I couldn't BELIEVE how many people were at this thing - it was shoulder to shoulder all day Sunday.

There's a closer look at my little set up. People really liked my super-hero and Harry Potter inspired prints.

The peg people were popular, too. They really drew people into the tent. I mean, come on, they're so CUTE! The great and amazing Rachael Burs also helped on day two, and proved yet again that life is less awesome without Rachael around. Thanks, buddy!

Renegade turned out to be a great learning experience, and a little lucrative to boot. I'll definitely be applying again in the future. Thanks to everyone who braved the rain-or-shine to make it out and check out our tent - we really appreciate the support!

The FINAL COUNTDOWN!

2010-09-02T07:33:00.008-05:00

Or at least, the LATEST countdown. That seems less dramatic, though, somehow.

Renegade Craft Fair (Chicago Edition) is fast approaching, so I've been up late every night getting as much done for the sale as I can manage. Now we're almost down to a week, I had better redouble my efforts, as the British chaps always say in old war movies.

Here are some of the latest pegs I've been working on, and a sign for my booth, (I think) cleverly titled Ben There! Pop Nostalgia.

Some more substantial 3" Potter Pegs!

The dementor was the idea of my brilliant co-worker Jake Minton, playwright extrordinairre . He was right - take the scary (Dementors), slap some cute on it (squee!) and it rule(Z).

This is the latest piece of commission work I did - it's a wedding gift, for a couple out in San Diego, from their very generous and thoughtful friend Simone. That's the bride as Batman, The groom as Supes, and yes, they are under the sea... Which, I was very suspicious about, when Simone requested it, but it turned out pretty DARN cute.

Just look at those jellyfish!

Signing off! I'll write again after the fair! Come see me, September 11 and 12 in beautiful Wicker Park!

A Long Time Ago, In This Very Chair...

2010-07-15T22:45:00.012-05:00

... A man regularly updated his art blog. This, my friends, is the future! It's been a BUSY summer! Please do excuse my neglect, dearest readers, as I think of you often, and fall into deep wells of guilt at my long lapses between posts. Here's what's been going on...

Way back in April, my dear friends Mallory (then) Frye and Geoff Wright made with the 'gettins hitched.' It was a great, pretty, fun wedding, and Geoff had a sweet pocket watch and chain incorporated into his groomliness that made the ladies want to scream, 'all aboard!' But, alas, he's a husband now, ladies! This was one of their gifts from Martha and me.

On a similarly marriagey note, our friend Lauren (once Arnold, now Mitchell) purchased this robo-mantic illustration as a first wedding anniversary gift for her husband Phil. Data indicates that it was well received, and I loved painting it.

I hosted my second annual art camp for the children of Lawrence, Kansas! It was an absolute scream, resulting in lots of cute little plushy guys. It was eight against two, girls to fellows, and Drew and I had an almost tangible sense of solidarity, as the only bros in the room. We had a lot of fun - those kids were the best! Here are some photos.

Also, I applied and was accepted to be a seller in this years Renegade Craft Fair! So, um, look for me nowhere but MY DESK between now and September 12th! I'll be selling original paintings, print sets, embroidustrations and MORE!

Lastly, and arguably the most exciting bit of news (and the one that has kept me the busiest I've been in some time) is that I'm illustrating a book for writer and LGBT activist Jennifer Carr! You might not know that name now, but give it a few minutes, and when someone says, 'who's Jennifer Carr?' you can be all, 'that author that hired Ben!', and you'll sound really in-the-know. I'm giving you that one for free...

Here are some behind the scenes shots of the books production, and follow the links above to check out the details on the soon to be break-out, trans-gender phenomenon, Be Who You Are!

As always, look for more, soon(ish) to come! And thanks for reading!

A Peg a Day, Something Something Something.

2010-05-16T20:24:00.003-05:00

In preparation for the upcoming Renegade Craft Fair, I've been trying to do a peg for every day. Sometimes I make that goal, sometimes I don't... either way, the results are unanimously decreed CUTE! Here's a shot of a few finished ones, and a few with a lot of potential!

Below, you'll see that the size difference allows for a LOT of difference in style! The big Harry ('big' being 3") is far and away my favorite - he's just so much more 'toy' than the others. I've also, in the last few weeks, switched to a satin finish, water-based varnish, so they'll be safe for the kiddies to gnaw on from this point forward. I purposely left one Harry out of the shot, as to illustrate one of my very favorite chapters EVER: The Seven Potters.

This shot, on the other hand, has less resonance. I don't remember ever regarding 'The Six Chewies as an important part of a great adventure. But then... maybe!

Oh, my... beep-boop-blip!

Quick, SPIDEY! Whallop that zombie!

The last photo was taken on my sun porch, where I do my spraying, because of all of the windows. I thought it was pretty, and it looks like it's from Where the Wild Things Are (the movie, not the book).

DIG! More news soon!

Happy Star Wars day!

2010-05-04T12:59:00.002-05:00

Here are some of my newest (and most celestial) pegs!

So Tiny, But So POWERFUL! (OR) " Judge Me By My Size, Do You?"

2010-04-25T17:08:00.007-05:00

This morning I finished painting the trio of tiny wizards that I've been working on for a few days. If I may say so, they're pretty funking cute! Here are some close-ups!

Hermione!

Won-won!

HARRY POTTER!

OMG! PETS on BUTTS!

I was bothered by the wasted space on their backsides. What's the point of a piece of 3-D art if it's only cool on one side. Then it hit me: pets. Better still, pets... on butts.

Each of these little guys stands 1 and 1/2 inches tall, and is totally cool in every way. I hope I'm not over-hyping them. :)

As for the pegs, I get mine from an ETSY shop run by a super friendly, prompt and courteous girl named Amy. Here's the link to her shop, My Friend Amy, where she sells pegs, twine and many other neat things. Just this week I picked up a really cool needle keeper (to keep my needles), a set of the slightly more substantial 2" pegs, as well as a handful of the 5" pegs, which I'm REALLY looking forward to painting!

The Cuteness!

2010-04-21T20:00:00.002-05:00

In the days AFTER my much talked about recent show (talked about by ME, of course), I finished up an order of custom order of Russian (or) Matryoshka (or) nesting dolls. This is the second set I've done, and I'm going to open them up for online commission soon. People seem to think that they are adorable, and I can attest that at least this particular FAMILY that these were modeled after, is, in fact, adorable. Let me know what you think!

Ubiquitous artsy shot below!

The parents here, Matt and Maria, asked me to paint the two of them, their daughter Zoe, their two cats, Pong and QQ, and a fictional pet monkey, as little Zoe loves monkeys so very much. The set was a gift to Zo for her fifth birthday.

Here's a proper shot for scale. The biggest one is about seven inches, and the little guy is about three-quarters of an inch, all are wood, which I stain to varying degrees to attain a natural looking skin tone.

I asked Zoe, after she had been carrying them around protectively for a few hours, which one she liked best, and she said 'All of them. But could you paint Pong (the black cat) over again, to look less evil?' Hilarious.

The act and the aftermath

2010-04-12T21:25:00.006-05:00

Oh, the indescribable feeling of loss, tension and relief that comes and goes and comes again the night of a show. The turn-out was great, and thank you all, deeply, for coming. I'm happy to say I sold three pieces saturday night. Foxy, Hoop the Moon and Bibliodile all left the store with smiling new owners, destined for a reverent spot on a beautiful wall in some caring home. *Sigh* Oh, the joy of sending one's young out into the world! Here are a few shots of the madness, courtesy of Heather, co-owner and proprietor of Green Genes, where the event was graciously hosted.

Here are some close-up shots of the work that I was holding back for the big party. First is 'Oh, Switch Off!', featuring the preeminent droids of the Holy Trilogy, and of that other kids' trilogy that we all paid to watch more than once. Measures about 9" in diameter.

This little guy is 'Stormy Day,' and is self evident. About 7" wide.

My new favorite, and my second Harry Potter inspired piece, 'Owl Post,' showcasing the faithful mail servants of the Rowling-verse. These guys gave me calluses! Look at the feather-work! That all happened the day of the show! ... Sorry, didn't mean to shout. Aren't they funny?

I may have typed too soon, calling 'Owl Post' my new favorite. The owls may be tied with this guy, and his sad but TRUE story, 'Forbidden Love.' Because, dammit, ROBOTS CAN'T EAT CUPCAKES! Thus, begging the question, is life without cupcakes a life worth living?! 8"

Ah, LOVE. If there was a theme to the show, I think it's be this. This one is called 'Blind Love.' After much tinkering, I figured the story best told here is a love based on something beyond looks. They're a couple of cutie-pies, eh?

So, that's that, and it was super fun. All of the pieces featured here are still for sale, except for the moon, so give me a shout if your curious. Other pieces featured in the show can be seen below, including Foxy, Princess Sparkle, Love Birds, Dentalsaurus Rex and School of Stitchcraft.

Come one! Come all! At least one!

2010-04-04T09:36:00.005-05:00

Howdy, friends and neighbors! That magical time has come again. It's the time in which I'm at my most productive, and most insane, and the time in which sleep is seen as a treat oft neglected, and taken mostly by accident, at the most inopportune of times! That's right, kids, it's SHOWTIME!
Saturday, April 10, in the year of the kitty, I'll be showing off (and hopefully selling a few) of my latest nerdlepoint pieces. I've titled the show EMBROID-USTRATIONS of a WILD IMAGINATION.

There is some degree of parallel here to my on-going collection of paintings, titled Heroes and Villains of a devoted Youth. I just love titling things, and I love the H&V title, but it didn't apply well to the subjects in my more recent work, as I never admired a Unicorn or a little fox. That is to say, I never saw them as 'heroic.' I suppose I do admire them, though.

At the risk of blogger redundancy, Here are larger, unaltered versions of the photos I used on the postcard above. There has been some confusion regarding shape of these pictures. All of the pieces for the show are in their original hoops, and their circular shapes are prettily preserved.

Any title ideas for the Unicorn piece should be transmitted in my direction. It's the only one I'm drawing a blank on! And I LOVE titling things. Amanda said, once, that one particular title was giving the artwork a run for its money.

While I haven't got it QUITE right yet, this one will be close to School of Stitchcraft and Stitchery. Now that I type it, though, it seems repetitive. Sewery? Sounds too much like 'sewer.' That will need some more thought.

Love Birds seems apt, obvious and fitting.

This one is almost right, titled DentalSaurus or something to that regard. I don't want it to reflect in any way, the idea of dental sores... and that's my only hang-up with it, currently. Finalizing the titles is on the top of my list of things to do today.

I think it was my pal Mary who pointed out the beauty and rarity of round wall hangings. So many right angles! These are rectilinear because that's the shape of my camera. Ooh... now I wonder if there is a camera out there that takes circular pictures. That... would be amazing.

Funny pictures and things with depth.

2010-03-15T18:42:00.006-05:00

Firstly, primarily and foremost, this is our long un-blogged 'save the date.' We sent them out ages ago, and we've now been married for months, but I had completely forgotten about this picture. While stuffing and addressing envelopes with Martha and Mary, I snapped this photo, after inadvertently dropping a stack of cards on top of a David Sedaris book, completing our faces in an inadvertently hilarious way. Hoo-boy! Now, on with the arts and crafts!

My latest hoop is covering one of my most well-worn subjects, Mr. Harry J Potter (who is awesome) and his little pal Hedwig (who rules... oh, HOO-rules!), standing before the castle Hogwarts (jealous). So cute!

Here's a closer look. With this piece, I ventured away form the regular, even stitch. I used the thread to add feathery details on the wings, and used a thicker, orange embroidery floss to sew in the owl's feet. Also, if you can see, the border stitches are both longer and tied closer to one another.

Next was the latest puppet for The Felt Show. This one isn't a made up character like most of the others, but made in the likeness of Paul Santos, my good friend, and the founder/leader of the troop. Hey Paul!

Prooofiiiile!

And finally, a little more Potter goodness! I received my order of wooden pegs in the mail today (exciting stuff, no?), and hustled over to my desk, threw desk-things on the floor, and busted out the acrylics. I think my plan is going to work... I feel like some geeky peg people might sell kind of well!

Just in case you were wondering, that's supposed to be the Marauder's Map in his right hand. So cute!

One for my Homey

2010-03-02T23:55:00.002-06:00

My buddy Amber is going through some trying times, recovering from what has been a pretty serious illness. Needless to say, she's racked up some pretty heavy bills. It's fundraiser time, people! Here's the flyer I made for Amber's upcoming event. If you have a big huge heart and at least a medium sized wallet, check out the flyer and contact Cami to do your part!

Stitches and potential threads

2010-02-19T22:59:00.005-06:00

The potential threads first. This is the piece I entered in the cafe press LOST contest. I love LOST, and have long intended to make the doodles in my sketchbooks into finished pieces. This opportunity came to me through my lovely friend Amber. I know the odds are against me, but I couldn't resist staying up super late and turning in an entree to nab two tickets and four nights in beautiful Hawaii! Link to my tee shirt here, and a higher res glance if my piece below!

Next up, a valentine for my sweet, darling wifey. Finished on the day itself, mere hours before she came home from a hard day at the flower shop!

Here are the latest 'public' felties, my projects from the last few weeks! First, the LaCollegiate! I think there's a pun in there...

This one remains temporarily without title. Foxy? Red Scare? I don't know.

And finally, the newest and most elaborate so far. Also stuck on a title. Drink Break? Unihorn? Again, stumped!

I was in a coma or something

2010-01-30T11:23:00.012-06:00

Hey Reader! I can't believe that I haven't posted in so long. It wasn't laziness that kept me away for so many long months... I was dead... but, I got better. Okay, fine, that's a damn lie, and I admit it. In the time since I last posted, I have become a husband, and done a lot of other stuff that kept me from blogging. Namely, I played a lot of video games, made some art, and continued to sculpt the young minds of greater Chicago. Here's some of what happened!

In October, Hallowe'en becomes my main focus (even with a wedding 46 days away). This was may way-awesome costume this year. I was Bender, again (it happened in 2005 as well, but this was a far superior outing).

Good ol' Mary was the amazing and diabolical Dr. Horrible, and Audrie wore my Dino costume from last year. Martha went as Phillip J Frye (making us the awesome-est couple ever), but I can't find the picture! I'll dig it up and post it, soon!

... And THEN, I got to marry THIS beautiful, charming, amazing woman. I shrug a COSMIC shrug in explanation... I think she just likes to laugh. I lucked out, for whatever reason. Amazing.

Sniffles and tears aside, life went on a week after the nuptials, and little had changed. Martha went back to school, and I started getting my annual Christmas projects. Here are the commissions.

My pal Tyler ordered a portrait, I went with the simple elegance that is graphite, and sent it out to California, 2-day express, as I shipped it on the 21st of December. It made it on time!

These and the Octo-puppet (below in the post) tie for my favorite commissions EVER. My cousin Margo had this great idea - Russian nesting dolls of her family, as a gift to her parents! I'm getting the marketing together to start taking orders - these turned out so nice, I have had a few people asking about ordering alreay!

Hey Kansas! Mallory hit me up for this Wizard of Oz painting for her husband-to-be, Geoff. I loved it, so did Mallory. I'm planning on adding prints to my shop on etsy.

Holy shiz - look at that crazy thing! Hands down, my favorite puppet that I've ever built, followed closely by the zombies and the obese ginger. This was for my pal Kati, for her husband, Josh, in an amazing act of wifitude. Apparently, he once mentions, sleepily, in bed (pillow talk!), that he'd like an octopus puppet. Great idea, Josh. I loved bulding it.

He's just so charasmatic!

And, we share interests. Who doesn't love thie internets... and a jar... of rice? Weirdo.

This one is a non-holiday commission that just happened to fall into the same crazy schedule. Turned out Cute, so I thought I'd post it. thanks for the work, Diana!

Also in the chaos months, I was lucky enough to make a puppet of Marguerite (blog), one of my favorite people, and who's husband, Ted the Rabbi, married us. Magical people. Great move, Dora, on envisioning Marguerite (website) in her true form: Puppet. The hair... God, the hair... took SEVEN hours, the night before it was to be gift-wrapped and delivered. Here she is, mid-weave...

... And, complete!

On to the gifts! I made this illustration for my Grandma Isa. In the background, you can see the bigger version, started for me mum last year, and ruined by rain during a freak rainstorm in June. I left the windows open, and, though it dried out with no visible ruination, when I went back to paint it in, I found that the paper wouldn't take the paint properly. Damn you, supersaturation!

So, my dear mother got this one instead, painted on the night before Christmas (classic, ain't it), and survived being checked in baggage for the flight back to Kansas. A Christmas miracle!

Aaaaand then, last week, I started doing some hybrid appliquae, embroidery and illustration. My instincts drove me to Star Wars, naturally, but I have plans to do some classic fairy tale stuff for sale. Han and Chewie! Hraaaaaaarrgh!

I went all 'gothic-cutsie' on the secnond piece. Still whittling out the process.

For the third, it was back to Star Wars (if it ain't broke? That is the second use of the word 'ain't' in this gigantic post... ew). Look! Sparkles!

I like details...

I stuck to the 'Star Wars, not Star Wars, Star Wars, not Star Wars' pattern, and made some cute little songbirds in love today. I'm getting really picky about even stitches... gotta keep the pattern, or it's distracting!

Like I said... details.

And HERE'S THE END! What a long post. Let me kow what you think, dear reader(s?). I'm curious and nervous for reactions to the craft-heavy artwork I'm doing currently.

Love,

Benny

Photo Evidence... of Fun!

2009-10-11T21:13:00.004-05:00

Hey dudes and broads! Here are the shots from the new show, which opened October 2nd. I'll post more shots and etsy listings soon!

Looney - 6" by 8" - 2009 - ink, watercolor and gold

The Keeper of the Keys - 5" by 9" - 2009 - ink and watercolor

The Happy Couple - 6" by 8 1/2" - ink and watercolor - 2007

Contents Unlisted - 4" by 4" - ink, watercolor and gold - 2009

Breaking News - 8" by 10" - ink and watercolor - 2009

Boo-Boo of Destiny - 7" by 9" - ink, watercolor and guache - 2009

The Castle Guard - 4" by 4" - ink and watercolor - 2009

Droid Season - 5" by 8" - ink and watercolor - 2009

His Mother's Eyes - 6" by 8 1/2" - ink and watercolor - 2009

I'll also be posting new prints as they become available (after the original sells).

-Benjamin J Rumback

Peek a Sneak...

2009-10-02T01:03:00.003-05:00

Hey folks... good GOLLY I'm tired out. I've just, as in, this minute, finished framing the new work and touching up and tightening the old frames. All toldt, I'll be hanging 33 (!) paintings tomorrow... half old, half new. I hope people like it, I love it all... but then, I'm biased. Here are some sots of the old and new, getting cozy together.

SHOW! A SHOW!

2009-09-27T20:20:00.003-05:00

Hey, remember that time, when there was a blog here? Right here, in this very place... and it was regularly updated, even? Nope, me either. Let's move on. A SHOW! Check it out, Chicago!

NEW CARDS!

2009-08-05T22:11:00.002-05:00

Check out my new cards, from moo.com! They're high quality, sturdy as all-get-out, and, frankly, a little H-O-T. Dig!

Harrier than before

2009-08-05T22:06:00.002-05:00

It just keeps happening. Harry Potter has taken over. Fear not! I'll be back on Nintendo and Funny books before long - I just have to get through the initial collection of ideas! Here are three new ones.

Like I'm Under A Spell...

2009-07-07T10:29:00.003-05:00

I posted, a while back, that I was way into the idea of doing a couple of Harry Potter illustrations... and, I must admit, this obsession thing is like a rash - the more I scratch it, the more it spreads! Gross! I apologize for my choice of analogy, but i will NOT apologize for these...

GEEK OUT!

Work, Work, Work...

2009-06-07T23:02:00.002-05:00

But I'm not complaining... I like doing this! Get pumped for the show! I know I am.

Little, Mini, Campish Thing...

2009-06-04T08:22:00.004-05:00

Just wanted to drop this out there publicly for anyone who might know someone who would be interested. I'm teaching a little three day art retreat for former students (or whoever) in Kansas. I've limited the age range to "8 and up," but I'm guessing the cut off somewhere around twelve or thirteen. Email me if you have any questions, I'm SURE exceptions will be doable. The dates are there on the flyer, June 24- June 26, 9am to 12:30pm. I have a few slots left open, so email me at benrum@gmail.com if you're interested... and I'll bring the supplies!

UPDATES!

2009-05-29T14:12:00.003-05:00

For anyone interested in seeing my 'Pretty Things' in better light and such, check out my website, which I just updated with a new batch of photos I took last weekend to better represent the paintings. I set up in the back yard to get even light with little or no reflections. Check it out! Also, I'm posting about the upcoming show again, just so it will be here, at the top of the blog!

It's a little POTTERY...

2009-05-25T00:03:00.004-05:00

Any one who's ever talked with me for more than a word knows that I am a geek. I'm a geek in the truest, most devoted sense. I'll grab onto something, be it Star Wars, Stephen King , Tolkien or zombies... and INDULGE on it until I am satisfied or exhausted. I've researched the speed classes of imperial fighters, watched ALL of the extras on the LOTR extended editions, and, here it is... read the Harry Potter books at least three times each. Don't even get me started on Batman.
The current obsession is, for the umpteenth time, Mr. H. Potter - the fella' in the cupboard under the stairs. I've just audio-booked my way through books six and seven and I'm back to the Sorcerer's stone. The thing that always happens is , when I get completely inundated in some fictional world, some collection of work, be they books, movies, illustrations... It directly affects my sketchbook. Seriously, check it out: below, we have the man in black himself, Lord Voldemort! And BOY does he look fussy!

Next is the cutest of cute, Hermione Granger. These are all on the same page, a series of sketches I made with thoughts of a series of paintings. Please ignore the crabby L.V. in the upper-right-hand corner...

And here's the prize winner - the sketch that nabbed the honor of becoming a painting. What you can't see in the sketch is the original idea for the title, 'Ouch.' I don't know if that's going to last, though, might be too vague. This was the first effort - what I consider an 'advanced sketch' or a 'trial run'... I wasn't happy with it, to be honest. The colors are too shallow, and I thought our one-year-old Harry Potter looked a little too much like an indignant forty-year-old man who's just smelled a fart in a public place. Also, the smoke on the freshly seared scar looks too loose and wispy for my tastes...

Now THIS, on the other hand, is what i had in mind! A cute little baby Harry, just after the killing curse bounced off of his pudgy, little forehead, looking singed and more than a little freaked out. The details are there, from the Gryffindor pajamas to the owl snuggly... This is what I was aiming for. I hope y'all like it as much as I do! Look for more Potter-y here in the near future!

SHOW FORTHCOMING

2009-05-22T11:55:00.003-05:00

Here's a postcard for an upcoming show... If you're in Chicago, I hope you can make it!

Felt-a-palooza III

2009-05-22T11:01:00.002-05:00

Here's the latest flyer for The Felt Show's talent/comedy show FELT-A-PALOOZA! I recently discovered that I have been spelling flyer wrong my whole entire life... I'd been saying 'flier' all over the place, until a helpful cousin talked smack on facebook. thanks Margatroid!

Strengthening My Online Presence...

2009-03-24T18:02:00.005-05:00

I've long considered this my website, but wanted something more to show my stuff online. I answer a lot of emails and craigslist ads with a link, and the problem with a blog is that the 'front page' is whatever was last written, and that's not always, well, good representation. So now, behold the mighty www.benrumback.com! It's a stable outlet for my portfolio and such, and this here blog can continue it's ever useful blogginess! Here's the screengrab - hit the link to check it out in real-time.

A return to old comforts...

2009-03-23T11:09:00.007-05:00

It's been two years, almost to the day, since I started drawing superheroes and video-game characters for a collection of work entitled 'Heroes and Villains of a Devoted Youth.' It was the most fun I'd had thence (thus in past tense?) far, and it sold pretty well too! My friends and acquaintances enjoyed it, too, and I recently started selling prints. This return to older wrk got me going again, and I'm officially started on 'Heroes and Villains II,' and thought I had better share some peeks at the new stuff. I feel like the style has matured a lot in the years passed... what do YOU think, reader? I'm assuming there, that there's only one reader... maybe a little too honest...

Here is a look at the Superman piece I started a few days ago. Once colored, I think it will be more clear that he's ditching his clothes at top speed. No title ideas yet...

This one is tentatively titled 'The Call.' It's the first finished for the new series, and has waaay more story than the art from the last collection. They were mostly portrait style - very little background, which is what I'm trying to use to differentiate the two collections. Details below...

This is the beginning of a painting that MIGHT be called 'Bad-Ass.' I can't decide yet, though... I'd like to name it something with a little narrative, maybe from the perspective of the viewer, as a thug, who's just been cornered...

Pretty NEW Things

2009-03-23T10:18:00.004-05:00

These are the four new pieces that I finished in time for the show last month. They added to the 'Pretty Things' collection, and the most recent one, 'Goldfish Are Friendly' became my new favorite. Here are some pictures. Oh - and I painted a boy this time too!

Goldfish Are Friendly (detail) 1' by 3' oil and pencil on wood - $350

Mr. Blue Morpheus - 6" by 6" oil and graphite on wood - $100

Tulip Lover - 6" by 6" oil and graphite on wood - $100

Looking Back - 6" by 6" oil and graphite on wood - $100

Goldfish Are Friendly (detail)

Goldfish Are Friendly (detail) 1' by 3' oil and pencil on wood - $350

The Call of the Nerd

2009-03-09T10:01:00.009-05:00

In the past year I've spent a lot of time talking about brushing up on my comic book style, sharpening my pencils and stocking up on illustration board, and not doing a whole-hell-of-a-lot about it.

It's getting better though - after the show at Pause, I decided to take a break from the girly paintings and get the portfolio going, on the serious comics side, as well as the other.

I'm getting started on a new collection of superhero/video-game inspired pictures (the first two of which I'll be posting soon), and revisiting the older stuff from ought seven.

I've got prints ready to go, and they'll be on sale at Astrokitty in a few weeks. As for right now, check out my etsy shop!

Friday Night Opening

2009-02-09T22:30:00.005-06:00

Hey friends and neighbors, I'm having a little show this Friday, the 13th of February. I thought I had better get word out in case any of you good people were looking for something to do that evening!

This is the cute little advertisement I put together for the show. Hope to see you Friday night, between seven and ten at Pause Coffee, 1107 w. Berwyn, right beside the red line stop.

my new felt show flier is... ah, NEVERMIND.

2009-02-03T13:55:00.005-06:00

Get it? There's a funny joke up there... if you're quick enough to catch it!

Aaaand here is the final, which is censored. Below I've added the illustration and final flier for the audition call for the talent show. These are the first two I've digitally colored, even though only one is "in color."

Also, to close... Yes, the typo here has been brought to my attention, and I'm ashamed. I'm usually quite conscious of my grammar, punctuation, conjunctions and all. It still looks great, right?!

One post, say, every month or so... that oughta do.

2009-01-11T19:09:00.004-06:00

Blogging is fun, but I'm pretty bad at it. I finally have a few pages worth of postings, and please, feel free to look through the older posts, but ignore the dates... I'm a fickle guy! This has been the longest lull since I started, but it's not all my fault! Almost all of the work I've done in the interim was comissioned for holiday gifts! Check them out here... a couple puppets, an Alice painting, and some very cute gift-wrap for Martha's Christmas present!

Holidays... merry, bright, all that biz.

2008-11-23T17:38:00.003-06:00

They're here, they're here! Get your santa hat, break out your credit cards, and eat waaaay too much! That's what we're getting ready to do this weekend. Martha's parents AND my parents are coming to Chicago to get their thanksgiving on... it's going to be cuh-razy. Also, I'm starting up the portrait promotions to make some nice gifts/extra holiday cash. Let me know if anyone needs some drawing done! I'll never stop being amazed by how excited people get when they realize I do animals as well. Draw them, that is.

Email me at benrum@gmail.com for price queries and deadlines.

The Puppet Business

2008-11-07T07:17:00.007-06:00

In college, in an acting I class, I met a man named Paul Santos. It's because of Paul that I've become so undeniably involved with puppets. When I lived in Lawrence, I was working side-by-side with Paul on his reason for being: The Felt Show. Our friendship hinged on his paying me to make puppets. His adamance for deadlines and my (then) predilection to procrastinate almost derailed what friendship we had, in those early days. Now, though, we get along like elephants and dandelions... which is, I assume, really well. We stay in touch as friends and as coworkers, since Martha and I moved up to Chicago. I miss working with Paul firsthand, and I miss puppeteering, from time to time, but the man keeps me in projects, like these below. I sill make the puppets, and I'll post some pictures of them

sometime. For now, my favorite fliers.

This election day poster is my very favorite that I've ever done. A lot of time was spent in photoshop, aging this baby up... and people really liked the result, according to Paul. That's how I end almost all of my statements: According to Paul. Not really.

Until the election poster, this was my favorite, if for no other reason than because I'm a nerd. It was really fun drawing a few of my puppets into the classic star wars poses. And asking a trash can to stand in for R2 is always funny to me.

Paul has the good ideas. Our flier designs are almost always hashed out in one discussion over the phone. Paul says he needs a flier for this date or that, and we start talking themes. This show was a musical, or at least music heavy, show, so we talked album covers for maybe ten minutes, and agreed on this fine looking spoof.

The College Sucks flier was one of the first ones that I really got into, on the illustration side. Before this, the drawings were fine, if not a little bland, but this one signified the shift between drawings and illustrations. At least it did, to me. Oh yeah, and, According to Paul.

It's no great pumpkin... but it'll do.

2008-11-01T21:04:00.007-05:00

Let's start this thing right. We got a LOT of attention on the bus last night!

The people who know me best could tell you, or, I guess I can tell you, as I'm the one writing... I take Hallowe'en very seriously. I love (almost) all things spooky, creepy and macabre. More than anything, I like the dressing up part! Over the years I've built up the expectations of my friends and family with my passion for making a better costume than the year before. This year, I did pretty good, I think. We'll start with the sketch:

I dove right in after working out the details on paper, and, as always, had to make a LOT of changes and sacrifices along the way. Rather than take up line after line with detailed description of my long quest of fleece and foam, I'll just hit you with a work collage to summarize.

And then I became THIS BEAST! It's a little warm in there, but, lucky for me, it was plenty chilly outside this weekend.

Here's a better shot of my fine-looking tail.

I included this one because it's a funny shot. Happy Hallowe'en!

A Handful of Illustrations

2008-10-22T14:36:00.005-05:00

Below are a few things I've drummed in the last year or so. I uncovered a folder today in a very ambitious moment of tidying up, and thought them fit to share. Everything here is ink and watercolor... with maybe some pencil showing through.

I want to be a funny booker.

2008-10-18T18:18:00.007-05:00

From a young age, I thought I would draw comic books, as a grown up. Now, here I am doing little jobs here and there, no big artistic career moves, aside from shows and a regular influx of jobs every holiday season. It's all I can do in between these high points of productivity to fuel the artistic oven... and I think I'm reverting to my childish ways and grasping at the straws of past comfort zones, because lately... ALL I WANT IS TO WORK IN COMICS! So the thirst is there, that's a good thing, but I'm dry on material and practice. So, for this week at least, that's the plan... brush up on my comic book skills and get my ass HIRED! Here's the practice I put in today.

And here is a closer look:

The big guy looks like a doofus, but that's the idea. And if the kid looks like a terribly annoying little twerp, then I've done my job. These are some characters I'm kicking around for a short graphic novel idea. I'm trying my damnedest to look like a professional here, so let me know what you think.

Too Much Time On My Hands

2008-10-09T21:32:00.007-05:00

Well, for those of you waiting in suspense, my show and Andersonville Arts Weekend as a whole went really well.

I sold a painting to someone I respect but don't know very well, which is a good combination. In my mind, it means he actually likes my work enough to buy it for his own reasons, not just to support me or as a very generous compliment.

I know that's probably not the case, but when someone close to me either commissions or straight-up buys one of my pieces, the thought always crosses my mind. Here's an example of that situation.

Granted, I know Laura really likes Superman, so it's not that hard to believe that she would actually want the painting.

The opening was a lot of good fun with some friends and a lot of nice strangers. Some of the families I work with were gracious enough to come out and see the show, and one of my favorite five year olds in the world described it in a whisper as "one of the greatest things I'd ever seen." In my book, that's a good review. Below are some better shots of the paintings as presented in the show.

This one will serve as a shameless means of getting a picture of me in here. All of the others were taken at the close of the evening, and I had been thoroughly be-sodden with wine, and had become understandably less respectable looking. And I like how productive I look here.

Now It's ON!

2008-09-29T07:45:00.004-05:00

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

2008-09-25T00:24:00.005-05:00

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!

2008-09-15T23:40:00.006-05:00

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.

2008-09-02T22:16:00.009-05:00

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...

2008-09-02T21:49:00.006-05:00

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.

Funny Book Practice

2008-08-27T22:31:00.007-05:00

Something like two months ago, I found myself bored and sitting around with nothing to do, when Wizard World Chicago tickets went on sale. I grabbed one and hit the convention, not before pausing to ask myself, "I wonder if I should bring samples of my work?" After bouncing the idea around a few times, I decided (now to my chagrin) that it would be the comic book equivalent to giving your favorite musician a demo of your band and expecting them to take you seriously. Sadly, every artist I met that weekend - EVERY ONE - asked if I had a portfolio on hand, one even going as far as to lecture me in the 'this is how I got MY job' style, which hurt. So, living the last two months in regret, I've decided to take it seriously for next years convention. My coloring is still lacking, to the point that I won't post it (yet), but here are some ink drawings of some characters I've been practicing on.

Ever since my first viewing of the MASTERPIECE that is The Dark Knight, the Joker's been in my head. Here's my rendition. It's more 'Joker' than 'Heath,' but I like the way it turned out.

If your looking for a super-good time (Gawd...) check out Tom De Haven's It's Superman! Not only is it a fantastic Superman novel, it takes place in the pre-WWII, Sky Captain type of mythos. Very good, somewhat steam-punk, in my interpretation.

Last and certainly not least, The Escapist! The focus character of the AMAZING book I'm almost finished with, The Escapist is one of the best plot-devices I have had the pleasure to encounter. The glory, the outright HUMANITY of the story of messieurs Kavalier and Clay has me tight in its grip. While sketching the actual protagonists has little draw, the product of their imagined imaginations has been littering up quite a few of my sketchbook pages lately. Also, it's got me wanting to draw like the old golden age masters... fewer lines, fatter pens, realistic anatomy... bee-yoo-tee-full!

Is a gallery not a gallery when... in a bank?

2008-08-24T13:03:00.009-05:00

A month or so ago, I was invited by to participate as one of four artist to display in my bank's seasonal art show, cleverly titled, Artists Among Us. My self and three others had a month or two to get some work together to show (and hopefully sell) at the bank. As you might gather from this 'daily' blog, I struggle with deadlines and upkeep. I almost always hit the deadline, but, more often than not, its a becomes a scramble the week preceding said deadline. But, I made it, and here are the pictures to prove it. Besides the obvious ink jobs, these are charcoal on watercolor paper. The inks are on watercolor and bristol.

Here's the whole spread, in the big office. Oh, yeah, they gave me the big office.

A glum looking Martha

This is my pal Brenna, in india ink.

Marthy in inks.

Another good friend, Jason, looking very Roman in charcoal.

Working for the weekend... And it's only Tuesday!

2008-08-19T22:13:00.008-05:00

The "plan" for today's "post" was to "draw" some batman "pages" for my portfolio. Sorry about all of the quotes. Anyway, I need to get my portfolio together for the comic book people. Seriously. What happened instead was that I worked a long day and then had a few early evening obligations to see to, then watched too much of The O.C. (season 2) to get anything else done. But, don't worry, dear reader(s?), today wasn't a complete loss!

One or two days a week, I work with a

mural and faux-finishing studio. Today, we fauxed all day in a big crazy mansion. It was exhausting, and involved a lot of smearing and pressing with a trowel and a couple of metal spatulas. The house was unbelievable huge and VERY fancy. Oh, and, just so you know... my hands are still crusty.

That's A-GLAZE-ING!

2008-08-18T14:19:00.004-05:00

The finishing touch for my current series of paintings has eluded me for the six or so months that I've put in. Having finished the paintings, I first thought letting the natural wood texture show under the paint a good idea, but I kept bouncing back and forth between thinking it charming and distracting. At the time (February?) I had decided on a satin finish polyurethane... which, it turned out accentuated certain grains and let others lay flat, leaving me with an inconsistent finish. After some research and test runs, and many discussion with gruff paint store regulars, I settled on this magical stuff.

It's a little pricey, but man-oh-man, check out this sheen! This is after a six hour dry time. Check out that lamp! In a larger picture, you can even see me and my phone in the reflection!

Of course, I had to do some pretty crafty dry-box building. I don't even have a picture of the mess that is the dry box for the larger paintings! After such a wait and investment, I'm happy to say that I adore the look it achieves, and hope everyone who sees them will agree.

2008-08-16T19:31:00.001-05:00

I'm having a show the first weekend of October at Marguerite Gardens, a flower shop that's serving as a gallery during Andersonville Arts Weekend. I'll put something more detailed up, as the details take shape. Here are a few pictures of some of the paintings that will be featured.

The Ol' Switcheroo

2008-08-16T18:30:00.002-05:00

Benrumback.com has fallen into disrepair... in fact, it was never very hot to begin with. This is the new benrumback.com, just have to get the domain transferred... for now, it'll just be what it is. Here's the first entry into this brave new blog: a sample from my portfolio for you, dear reader, to ogle.