Hope Sandoval & The Warm Inventions - Trouble

Hope Sandoval & The Warm Inventions - Trouble

Fire-breathing Kingbird and Hornets

Object of Desire: Watercolor Box

Blengigomenean

Little tribute to Henry Darger. Wish him and I could've been friends.

The Game of Monogamy

Dropping back onto the determination of a man not wanting to face down a second divorce, Kasher works his way through the mundane moments of married life. Those painful, painful mundane moments: The Game of Monogamy peeks in on a narrator desperately trying to hold a mature relationship together after every bit of novelty's worn down to a nub. One song, he's looking up old girlfriends on Facebook, the next, he's sitting through another couple's ten-year anniversary party marveling in the boring ironies of attending the affair with a woman who he's utterly bored with. He even skips out on the relationship for a bit -- but only long enough to realize how much he's come to cherish everything he thought he loved about the same-old, same-old of a committed relationship. If it's not quite Romeo and Juliet, it's not quite War of the Roses either. Monogamy is a bitch, Kasher tells us, but it's sure better than the alternative.

Monogamy is hard work. Kasher's impressed us with that fact a couple times now. This time around, perhaps with the help of maturity and hindsight, The Game of Monogamy is ready to see it through to the end. It's not a fairytale ending, but it's a realistic ending. There's no happily ever after. Get used to it, kids.

—Reviewed by; Matt Schild, [aversion.com]

Goat

While sitting in a hospital waiting room I had both my sketchbook and a gifted (and autographed) copy of Alice and Martin Provensen's Town & Country. The illustrations are so authentic and inspiring. Had time to sketch out this goat.

Cat in the Window

Found this in an old sketchbook and surprisingly still liked it. I'm my own worst critic, especially with stuff I've done over 12 years ago. Date was 5-4-98. It looks like a graphic interpretation of the window next to the dining room table but we never owned a yellow cat. The artist sees what he needs to see.

Octopus

Little Village

More Provensen inspiration.

Provensen Inspired

One of my most beloved childhood books is a collection of poems by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Alice and Martin Provensen. Spent the afternoon channeling their muse with watercolor and pen.

Tree Turtle

Alpaca or Llama?

Some of my best work never sees daylight. In this case we were developing a logo for an alpaca farm and this was one of the concepts that was rejected. Not because it wasn’t beautiful, just didn’t meet the clients’ expectations. Too stained glass, looks more like a llama not an alpaca, amongst other things that made the design go in another equally wonderful direction.

Morning at the Johnson

Today was a museum visit day. One hour at a museum feels like a much needed bath for the soul. Something about non-commercial visual stimulation that feels like I’ve rebooted. It is good.

Breezed through the new photography and Japanese ceramics exhibit, then went top floor to the oriental collection and then down the winding stairs to the american art. It was short and sweet like a well written poem.

Curly Tree

Time of Eve

Not a rabid anime fan but I occasionally come across some unique, extremely interesting work with substantial artistic/literary merit. Such is the case with Time of Eve, -browsing though the more saccharine fare on Crunchyroll this one caught my eye. Watched all episodes in one sitting, its that kind of good.

Its an "I Robot" story set in a comfy underground cafe with Asimov's 3 laws applied liberally. It also explores how we as humans may or may not relate to our future robot overlords before they plug us into the matrix. Check it out, -if you like that kind of thing.

Pear Meat