Tractor Weirdo #2

"Yes, you too can grow your own soul harvesting harbinger of doom.  It's just like a chia pet, with overtones of apocalyptic terror.  Call in the next ten minutes and we'll include the riding lawnmower kit for FREE!"

10x14 inches, painted in HUMAN SOULS!!   I mean watercolor.  Right, watercolor.

Available at Daily Paintworks.

Warglobe #2

You too can create your very own cybernetic submersible engine of destruction.  First, you need to find the world's biggest gumball machine...

11x14 inches, painted in watercolor.  Available soon at Daily Paintworks.

The Fishensteins

A couple pieces inspired by an earlier piece, The Bride Of Fishenstein.  I see the head of Fishy and I think that it'd make a cool balloon.  Then of course, it occurs to me he's going to need some company.  Maybe I'll add a Dracula to the pile someday.

Both pieces are 9x14 inches, painted in watercolor.  Available at Daily Paintworks.

Warglobe #3

Sometimes, you look back on an idea and ask yourself, "Where the hell did THAT come from?"

11x13.75 inches, painted in watercolor.  Available for purchase at Daily Paintworks.

Aerial Weirdos #17

What's the story here.  Is this an innocent repair operation, or sinister sabotage?  Or is it just a painting of a hitchhiker who's been to the hardware store?  I just don't know.  Nice car though.

This is the third time I have painted this particular wagon, although this is the first time I've painted it airborne.  It's sort of evolved into this strange, pseudo-allegorical "good vs. evil" with a light peppering of "Don't jump to conclusions."  Can't wait to see the fourth one.


11.5x15 inches, painted in watercolor.

Bad Dog 5

They're so adorable when they're little.  Once they grow up...

I don't think Mrs. Woodhouse is going to be much help here.


10x14 inches, painted in watercolor.  Available here.

Surf Weirdos #16

I believe an artist should have at least one giant eyeball painting in their portfolio.  It rounds out one's body of work in a way that a still life can't match.

This is my 101st blog post.  My, how the time flies.  It only seems like yesterday since Blog Post Number One exploded onto the scene like an armored car through a pyramid of soup cans.  I have to find some confetti and an alcoholic beverage to celebrate.


8.75x13.75 inches, painted in watercolor.

Smile For The Camera

The sophisticated family size hybrid sea monster, with room for your whole menagerie.

14x10 inches, painted in watercolor.  Available here.

Surf Weirdos 15

"There goes the neighborhood."

10x16 inches, painted in watercolor.  Available at Daily Paintworks.

Her Majesty's Royal Flying Weirdos

Hard at work, protecting the realm from the disembodied tentacles coming in from just out of frame.

10.5x14 inches, painted in watercolor.  Available for purchase.

Friendly reminder - time is running out to get your very own issue of Traditional Rod And Kulture Illustrated #34, featuring my work.  New issue's coming out soon, get that one, too.  It's going to be awesome.

Surf Weirdos #13

Uh-oh!

It appears that while an altered wheelbase gasser with fat slicks is absolutely brilliant for a quarter mile long strip of tarmac, it's not so good for surfing.

I don't use purple much when painting cars, but it seemed appropriate here.

10x14 inches, painted in watercolor.  Available on Daily Paintworks.

The Primitive #5

"Scientists now believe that the post-apocalypse wasteland will be a mashup of Mad Max and One Million Years, B.C. They are recommending people take better care of themselves now, so they don't miss it."

Many years ago, I drew a Jeep FC with a suicide front end, but kept the engine under/inside the cab.  I thought it might be a good way for a welder or frame builder to showcase their skills without having an engine in the way.  Not the most brilliant scheme, I admit, but that's where this idea came from.

8x14 inches, painted in watercolor. Available at Daily Paintworks.

Surf Weirdos #10

The only valid reason to get the undercoating option.


10x10 inches, painted in watercolor.  Available at Daily Paintworks.

The Bride Of Fishenstein

This piece started out as a small volleyball pinup sketch.  Through a series of refinements and redraws, it gradually evolved into what you see here.  How and why this happened is difficult to explain.  I suspect it has something to do with the subconscious's ability to store, sift and assemble vast amounts of useless bits of data and imagery.  Sort of a solitaire of the mind, played with a deck of a million cards.

Mr. Fishenstein there has been recast in another piece I'm working on.  It appears being decapitated hasn't kept him from getting ahead.  (Badum Bump!  Zing!!)

14x21 inches, painted in watercolor.

Surf Weirdos 11

When I'm done with a painting, I usually set it aside for a week or so, hidden out of sight.  Then I dig it out and look at it with fresh eyes and do final adjustments as needed.  Usually, these adjustments don't amount to much; a little detail here, a color tweak there.  For example, in this piece I repainted the wave on the left to make it more imposing and added some sea spray around the car.  I also darkened the red of the car below the waterline.  Maybe I'll go back again and make that wave bigger yet, or save that for the next piece.

Here's the previous version for comparison.

8x21 inches, painted in watercolor.  Available for purchase at Daily Paintworks.

And now...

My artwork is being featured in the current issue of Traditional Rod n Kulture Illustrated magazine,  one of the finest hot rod mags around.  It's so cool it comes with two front covers!  The good folks at R&K have managed to make me seem like a moderately coherent member of society, which all by itself would be worth the price of admission.  Production values are top notch, from the writing and photography to the print quality.  Even the advertising is cool, and that's just impossible.  So go pick up a copy, and gain some insight on the evolution of these paintings, and then stick around for the gassers, rods, customs, and pinups.

But wait...

There's more.  After you've read the magazine cover to cover, go on over to Set to Stun Productions and look up the Friction in the Static podcast, episode 172.  Yes, that's right, you can hear me ramble on about my work, the evolution of the Weirdos, and melting all my crayons.  And thanks to the miracle of post production, I sound like a perfectly ordinary human (mostly).  Then, after you've listened to me butcher the English language, you still have at least 171 other Friction podcasts to enjoy.

Hand Drawn T Shirts

This is something I've been dabbling with for about a year now.  I draw the image on a t shirt using a squeeze bottle filled with screenprinting ink, and then use a piece of cardboard to move it around to create grays and patina.  The ink is a water based textile ink which softens a bit after being washed, so the image has a sort of "lived in" look.

They're fun to do, as I get to be a bit messy, and I can draw the same thing multiple times and never wind up with two identical images.  For instance, the next time I draw Truck Monster, maybe there's someone behind the wheel, or perhaps I chop the truck.  They also finish quickly, as it's supremely difficult to be fiddly when you're essentially drawing with a glue bottle and a spatula.  You have to go with the flow, which can make for some interesting results.


I've put a few of these drawn shirts up on ebay.  The shirts are all Hanes Beefy T in classic white, different sizes.  Quantities are, naturally, limited, though I do plan to add more designs as time marches on.

Beached Weirdos #5

It's funny, the stuff you find sometimes when walking along the beach. Most of it's pretty unremarkable.  Bits of agate, broken seashells, a starfish or two.  But once in a very great while, you spot something a little more... interesting.

7x20 inches, painted in watercolor.  Available at Daily Paintworks.

Flotsam

Because it makes perfect sense to put a seafoam green car in the sea, doesn't it?

7.5x14 inches, painted in watercolor.  Available at Daily Paintworks.

Unleashed

Fear Me!  Fear Me and My Unstoppable Engine of Destruction!  Soil yourselves in Terror as we Lay Waste to (dammit, there goes the back tire again.  Stupid cheap lug nuts.)!

FEAR MEEEEE!!!!!!!!

14x19 inches, painted in watercolor.  Available at Daily Paintworks.

Miriam

It's not all automotive weirdos here in the studio.  Sometimes I mix things up with a landscape or a small portrait of a horned woman with a green Mohawk.  If you're going to grow as an artist, you have to stretch yourself, go off topic.

5.5 inches square, painted in watercolor.  Available here.

Marine Weirdos #11

Sea monster wrangling, the brand new hobby that's sweeping the seven seas.

Painted in watercolor, 12x14.5 inches.  Available here.

Truck Monster 3

Or, Attack of the 5 Foot Woman.

I find white painted trim, like grilles and bumpers, a little more difficult to render than chrome trim.  For chrome, you just paint the sky in the upper surfaces, and the ground in the lower surfaces. (This is a gross oversimplification, but it gets the point across.)  But white bumpers and trim require a subtler approach.  you have to balance the need to convey depth against the color of the bumper.  Go too far with the light reflection from the sand and you'll wind up with a yellow bumper.  Use too much blue from the sky over that yellow, and you've got some ugly green color.  Over rendering can lead to fuzzy edges, which are not so good for representing a glossy painted surface.

How-ever, I believe older trucks, like this Ford, look more truck-like with the trim painted.  There's a utilitarian feel to painted trim that chrome lacks.  Chrome is fine for the car, which, for some people, serves as a badge of status and identity.  It's basically bling, or a silk tie.  Trucks, on the other hand, were traditionally built and bought to do work, and chrome does not enhance payload capacity or stump pulling power.

Don't misunderstand me, I love chrome.  The lack of chrome on modern cars is partly why they're mostly boring to look at.   But if you want to emphasize the working side of a vehicle,  less chrome does the job nicely.

10x16 inches, painted in watercolor.  Available at Daily Paintworks.

Surf Weirdos #9

 Cruising back to the beach at a leisurely pace.  No rush, no fancy stunts.  Just the wind and the salt spray in your face.


I'm mostly happy with this piece, though maybe the '59 Caddy tail light is a bit much,  especially since it's partially obscured.

10.5x12 inches, painted in watercolor.  Available at Daily Paintworks.

The Interlopers 2

"All I want is a bit of peace and quiet while I lay here and work on my tan.  Is that too much to ask?"

10x14 inches, painted in watercolor.  Available here.

Oh, No You DON'T!

"Interstellar relations got off to a shaky start today when space aliens tried to swipe Veronica Maeus's car from her driveway.  Ms. Maeus apparently utilized a baseball bat during the ensuing 'negotiations', successfully persuading the visitors to return her roadster.  The aliens were reported to have said 'Ow!' before flying off."

Painted in watercolor, 10x14 inches.  Available for purchase here.

Sea Monster Repair

"Not everyone who owns and operates a sea monster is a mad scientist or super villain. A growing number of ordinary people have taken up sea monstering as a hobby. Since most of these enthusiasts are building their briny beasts on a budget, they generally start with a derelict vehicle bought for cheap, and save their cash for the tentacle drives and cyborg brainpans, which are difficult to scratchbuild with found parts. The results can be interesting, if not exactly pants-wettingly terrifying. Most hobbyists don't mind the lack of a fear factor, and say they're not in it to take over the world."



We'll see.

 6.5x9 inches, painted in watercolor.  Available here.

The Tractor Weirdo

In next month's Mechanical Super Genius Digest, we show you how to transform that beat up farm tractor into a badass sea monster. Gasoline, diesel, and LPG tractor models are covered, as well as multiple options for delivering power to the tentacle hub.

If you have a steam tractor, please refer to our 1962 Boiler Plate And Brimstone Special Issue for conversion plans.

6.5x10.25 inches, painted in watercolor.  Available here.

The View From Here

"The view from up here is phenomenal!  Now, how do I get down?  Now I think about it, how the hell did I get up here?  This doesn't exactly look like an off road vehicle."

For my first Toyota painting, I went to the mid '60's and got a Stout, which I lowered a bit. Then, I put it on top of a stone plinth for no reason. And then I painted the girl's hair flowing upward; again, for no apparent reason. Such is the fickle wackiness of the creative process.

About 7.5x11.5 inches, painted in watercolor. Available at Daily Paintworks.

Weirdos On Other Planets

Planetary probes launched by the National Space Program have captured images of weirdos on Mars, Venus, and Mercury.  This is the first evidence we've seen suggesting that weirdos are a contagious phenomenon.  Scientists have yet to explain how the contagion spreads between planets, though some have hypothesized that weirdness may just naturally occur on planets with certain qualities.  This hypothesis has become unofficially known as "spontaneous weirdening".

10x13 inches, painted in watercolor.

Surf Weirdos #4

I have a theory about 1960's vans.  It states that a '60's van looks best when painted the color of a Skittle or an M&M.  Supermarket M&Ms only, please. No special order colors allowed.  Except Electric Green.

The exception to this rule is if you plan to put a Star Wars or Battlestar Galactica. montage on your ride.  In that case, the appropriate base color is Licorice Black.

I would further recommend that the shag carpet interior be done in earth tones, but it's not absolutely required.  And for Pete's sake, bolt down that lava lamp!

Painted in watercolor, 8x9 inches.  Original painting available at Daily Paintworks.
Prints available on ebay.

Walking The Dog #3

You know how it goes.  You're walking down the street with your dog, and suddenly he gets distracted by something terribly interesting.  What was once a pleasant walk transforms into a Herculean tug of war as doggie tries to glean every particle of data possible from the subject of his interest, while you try to keep him as far away as possible from the thing, which is, in all likelihood, completely disgusting.  It takes at least three blocks to get Sparky back in line, though he still looks back every few steps, the thing seared into his tiny mind.

And you know you're going to have to use an alternate route when walking for the next week or so.

About 8.5x10.5 inches, painted in watercolor.  Available at Daily Paintworks.  Prints available at ebay.

Surf Weirdos #3

It's not as easy as you might think to surf a van.  They're more expensive than boards, surprisingly, sometimes costing thousands of dollars.  Maintenance is more costly as well, as there are more parts and more fluids involved than even the most finicky wood boards require.  The weight makes paddling out a Herculean effort, unless you can afford an outboard motor.  Steering on a wave is more hope and prayer than actual result.  Rust is always a worry, and draining after a wipeout can take weeks.  But nothing can replace that look on people's faces when you wash up on the beach after hangin' ten in a van.

Painted in oil on a 6x8 inch panel.  Available for purchase here.

Space Weirdos #2

"Roger that, Houston.  We have stage 2 separation."

Or, if you prefer, you can supply your own pithy remark about the International Space Station.

Painted in oil on a 6x14 inch panel.  It's available for purchase on Daily Paintworks.

Artie's Day Off

Artie likes to unwind after a hard week, and nothing relaxes him more than risking life and tentacle in his hopped up Phaeton.

I did this small watercolor as a bit of fun for a friend's art project, and I'm thinking I should do more of them.  "Watercolor Weirdos" has a certain ring to it, I think.

7x12 inches, watercolor on Arches cold press.

The original painting is sold.  Prints are available at ebay.

Marine Weirdos #10

This is one of those pieces that evolve without me ever really knowing the story.  I start with some hot rod reference photos and a blank panel,  then something happens,  and I end up with a painting and a bunch of questions.

What's the intrepid explorer guy doing in the deep with a T-bodied Ford?  Are those mers good or evil? Does that toolbox contain sandwiches?  Just what deep recesses of my mind-brain are generating ideas like this?  This is one of those rare times I don't have it all figured out.

I wonder if Leonardo ever looked in his sketchbook and thought, "Where did THAT idea come from?"

Painted in oil on an 8x10 panel.  Available for purchase here.

Meditation

"It's awful quiet around here.  Too quiet.  I can hear myself think.  Gonna have to do something about that.  I think I'll give that killer whale a call for starters, have him bring his band."

Messing around with color a bit here.  I wanted something less than the usual bright blue summer sky I typically throw into a scene.   So I added some transparent red iron oxide to my sunny sky mix of pthalo blue, white, and a trace of Naples yellow.  I think it worked out well.  It has a sort of vaguely gloomy underwater quality, like the pregnant moment before a storm, when all hell breaks loose.  Which I guarantee will happen once that killer whale gets here.  That whale ROCKS!

6x9 inches, oil on panel.  Available for purchase here.

Space Weirdos

To go boldly where no Weirdo has gone before!

Maybe they're looking for those joyriding spaghetti creatures.

6x6inches, oil on panel.  Sold.