Urban Scrawl 8

August 23rd and 24th made for a pretty cool weekend spent at Columbus's own Urban Scrawl 8. It's a two day event with live music and painting. Paintings all go to the benefit of the arts district and art programs around the area. My friend Ian was harping on me and my roommate Maxx to apply for canvases earlier this summer. A month later we were given big primed plywood canvases (4X8, 8X8). Here's a picture from Saturday night as well as Saturday afternoon, followed by what I ended up with and me being a terrible dork:

Wish I would have taken more photos - I only was able to catch a few of my friends by their pieces. I feel really fortunate to know a handful of people who want to and can make giant paintings with the sun beating down on them. Take a look at their websites, too:

Ian Ballantyne http://ianerballantyne.com/

Maxx MaEvoy http://maxxmcevoy.prosite.com/

Kyle Bergamo http://www.kylebergamo.com/

Aaron Kirchmaier http://www.aaronkirchmaier.com/
Lucie Shearer and Jake Mensinger http://www.lucieshearer.com http://www.mensingerart.com/

Jacob Tanner http://illustrateyourworld.wix.com/badtrumpeteer

Mandi Caskey http://mandiellen.wix.com/fine-artist

Sam Thomas http://waywardventure.tumblr.com
(and Logan Schmitt's on the right!! http://loganschmitt.tumblr.com/)

Hardcow Process II

Today I pushed this a bit harder, with blends, textures, the draw inside option, and opacity levels. My favorite bit would be the plugs - that's a map of Ohio, folks. I think I want to call this done - And I might be slightly worried I already over did it - but I am not sure. I just really want to order it on a tank top via skreened.com. I plan on either taking the texture out of the ears, or adding more texture to the cow itself. Afterwards I might add some "dirt" to the overall design, to give it the worn/vintage feel that everyone (including myself) seems to dig. Also, I have to decide what to do with that text. I think where it is at is the best place to have it - though I am really conscious of the tangent on the top right of Ohio. I might tip the Ohio-outline more to the right.

A few hours in, I added some irises to see what they'd look like - and behold: instant Disney.

The only thing is - despite the smirkingly-serious appeal I want with this design, I really love those Disney eyes. A lot. The inner character-designer/lover in me has a deep need for them.

Hardcow Process I

Finally taking a serious slap at an idea that has been floating through my thoughts and my sketchbook for what feels like more than one year. The idea is that local art and local music, as well as any other passion that anyone has and is in pursuit of - should be celebrated and supported, especially by the community surrounding it. Everyone has to start somewhere, and everyone who's anywhere started somewhere: what are we without our roots?

This design is meant to commemorate and raise awareness of local art forms. Why not go out to a show, why not get to know people - make the most of where you are/whatever community you were born into. Being in Ohio, sometimes we might feel like we're all just cows surrounded by fields of corn and soybeans. But we aren't just any cows. We're hardcow cows. ... haha, puns.

Fixed In Color - Lyric Video

I haven't posted in awhile - but not out of complete laziness. I've been busy with Orientation, the 9-to-5, and this project I've been working on for the past month. I'd never touched flash beforehand, but my summer goal was to learn it. This video gave me the extra push to really get comfortable with the program. I had lots of fun learning and creating this, and I was so happy to be able to it. I am looking forward to/and am really interested in working more with flash in the future, definitely.

The background is composed of lots of photos I've taken over the past year, pushed around in photoshop like crazy - antique shops, late night adventures, sparklers, parades, etc. For the logo, I was happy to finally get a grasp of how to create a grimey-looking effect, and also VERY happy to realize that live-trace has a "ignore white" option (I know, I know... about time, Sarah).

Check out Fixed in Color on facebook and show some support!

http://www.facebook.com/FixedInColor

Combining time-based artwork of music and visuals is always really rewarding to me, and I feel very fortunate that I can use my skills to support other young artists. Now, if only I could finally run with my "Support Local Hardcow" idea... it's going to happen. I promise.