Exhibition Promo

Update

We're just a few days out from the start of July, which also marks the beginning of a very busy last half of the year for me. The first half of the year has been quite a scattered one, with some bumps in the road, so I'm really excited about having a few projects to focus on for an extended period of time. These include the continued exhibition work, the new CBP album, 2 new Leroy comics, an as yet unnamed graphic novel, and a couple of other things that I can't talk about right now.

Throughout this time I will continue on with the weekly webcomic "The Secret History Of Skullboy", which you can read HERE. And I will still be uploading the odd bits and pieces at my various online stores HERE.

Thanks

Matt

Vigilante #6

Trying out some new pens and brushes while working on UVO toy designs.

Old Stuff + New Stuff

With a few hundred pieces of art currently being available on various art/POD sites I've decided it's time to go through and do a major cull of some work. Some of the older pieces are still relevant to what I'm doing/where I'm going, but other pieces seem like distant memories that serve no purpose and blur creative clarity. So over the next couple of weeks I'll be cutting a lot of them out (many of them will stay in the galleries of my website though, in an archive or sorts).

While my focus is dedicated to a couple of important projects at the moment I'm also starting to rough out ideas and themes for a new series of t-shirts and prints. Taking some themes I've previously worked with but pushing them in a different direction.

I've also got a few of my existing shirts going up at a new online t-shirt store soon. I'll post the website details when they launch.

Matt

T-Shirt Design

A design I'll be incorporating into the 1/6 custom toys,and also releasing as a t-shirt (soon).

Another 1/6 Promo

Webcomic And Other Things

The last page of my weekly webcomic is up HERE.

I've been uploading regular new t-shirt designs to a few websites for the last couple of years, and with a few hundred designs now available I've decided to have a break from it. The designs I've put together for t-shirts are generally random "Hmmm, what do I feel like drawing today?" kind of things, and with 2011 being dedicated to an increased focus on long-term goals it just doesn't make sense to keep doing that. So from this point onwards I'll be taking a different approach to any t-shirts I do create.

I'll be selling most of them directly, generally linked in to larger projects, and they'll mostly be produced in limited numbers. The first of these designs, for the Sept exhibition, will be available in the next couple of weeks.

Thanks

Matt

Promo Stuff

Working on a few ideas for promo images for the exhibition. These aren't locked in, just trying to nail the right atmosphere before adding sponsor info and other details.

1/6 Toys

I've been collecting 1/6 scale toys for a few years now, mostly from the 3A range (one of the reasons I was so excited to have 3A come onboard as a sponsor for the September exhibition). Over the last couple of months I've been hunting down various items to use in customising the bodies 3A sent me for inclusion in the show. I'm down to a few items that I still need to track down, but have everything else I need so will be diving into the toy side of things soon.

My plan is to have all the toys set up in the one diorama display for the exhibition, but I'm still working out the technical side of things there.

I'll start posting regular images of the toys soon as they start to develop.

Matt

Stuff

I was talking with someone yesterday about the reasoning behind keeping numerous projects active on a regular basis, and during the conversation realised that it's not always clear as to why a lot of artists do this. I assume the reasons are different from person to person, and for me it's the result of a number of things.

The main two reasons are motivation + efficiency. The greatest benefit to having multiple projects going at the same time is that you can bounce around between them. Sometimes the paint just doesn't want to land right, so I jump over to a comic page, and so on. Other times a project can hit a wall, and rather than waste all your time stressing about the situation you can channel that energy into something else while figuring out ways to break through that wall. By doing this you can remain focused and maintain a solid output of work.

I also find it helps to balance a range of long-term and short-term projects. Long-term projects can carry a range of issues with them, which can start to weigh you down a bit if it's your sole focus. But you can lift some of that weight by diving into a new t-shirt design or commission job, which are usually more freewheeling affairs. The short-term projects provide a more immediate pay-off (financially and psychologically) which can help to keep your spirits high.

The dream projects are those that include a combination of long and short term time frames, such as the work I've been doing with Crippled Black Phoenix. The various projects that fall under that banner offer me the opportunity to spread my creative wings and experiments across different themes and mediums.

Today is a great example of that, as I started by cutting out a stencil for the exhibition, then roughed out a new t-shirt idea, and am now moving over to listen to demo tracks while working on some concept sketches. After that I'll be working on one of the inkwash illustration pieces for the exhibition, coming back to the project I started the day with. A nice full circle with some exciting detours along the way.

That's a good day right there.

Matt

Time of Yer Life / Born for Nothing / Paranoid Arm of Narcoleptic Empire (Pt. 1)

Some of the songs being represented for the exhibition are being split across a few pieces, such as this one. This deck shows the public, more popular myth of Evel Knievel. Larger than life and an almost heroic figure. It will be juxtaposed with another deck that will feature a more realistic vision of the man, separated from the myth.

The Road

Original Art + Commissions

I'll be putting some more original art up for sale soon, probably through the blog instead of the Etsy store (makes it easier to work out deals with multiple orders). I've also been getting more commission inquiries, something I'm also open to. If you're interested in commissioning anything you can contact me via the contact form on my website HERE with some details and I'll get back to you.

Exhibition preparations continue to move forward, I'll be posting some images throughout the week. For the next few months the majority of my workload will be focused on the exhibition, comics, and new CBP album. Within that time there will also be more work and eventual releases from 4PMART and more. It's a very exciting time in the MDART world.

Thanks

Matt

June Charity Stuff

Throughout the month of June all art and merch sales from my various online stores will be donated to The Wayne Foundation. Go to my main website HERE for links.

Thanks

Matt