Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas and a happy new year from the folks at DuderManor.com! 

 

Sea Lore II

Sea Lore is finally ready for production! Time for a celebratory beer! 

The plan is to print this design on a rustic looking tan/natural American Apparel shirt sometime within the next 3 months. I'll make a final post when the shirts are on the site and ready to go.

Jonah And The Whale (2011)

Yesterday I decided that my "Sea Lore" shirt (see previous post) could not do without Jonah living inside the whale's belly, so I got to work on this little piece.

The image will be shrunk down and placed inside the whale's stomach using Photoshop magic. It will have to be shrunk pretty small (1-2" wide), so here is a nice large version for all to enjoy. 

At the moment I am about half finished coloring the "Sea Lore" design. It shouldn't be too long before the final product is out.

Sea Lore (2004-2011)

New shirt in progress. Below is the rough artwork, which turned out fantastic! Next step is to add some color.

The original idea for this drawing was first presented to me in 2004 as a radical "what if" image of a giant squid attacking a ship — plus a ton of other ships from various time periods ... and of course Washington crossing the Delaware needed to be involved somehow.

At the time, I realized that I didn't have the talent or patience to create such an image, so I set it on the to-do list for some tentative future date.

In 2010, I read The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Coleridge, which rekindled my interest in the "Sea Lore" project. You can see references to this story in the border. And I highly recommend clicking the link above, as the poem is not too long and is an EXTREME payload of brilliant writing.



If you want to check out the video art of the guy who envisioned the whole thing to begin with, click this link. 

Lion Baby Sculpture (2005)

This is the last of my strange paper-mâché sculptures — in case you were wondering just how many existed in my home.

This one was made with Fimo, cotton stuffing, cloth, glass doll eyes, lots of hot glue, and some plastic doll appendages. Pretty much the same old materials, but a little imagination goes a long way.

Alice In Wonderland Triptych

A while ago, I had the idea that I would create a final Alice in Wonderland/Through the Looking Glass artwork — a nice one that would make a fine end to the series I've been building over the years. I've been working on this image for a long time now, and can't seem to finish it; so much amazing stuff happens in the Alice stories that it is hard to commit to any one image that says it all. Eventually, I would like to add two more wings to the central panel (above), making the final piece a triptych.

Also of note, my art got a mention in the article below. Check it out!

http://blastlot.givepraiserecords.com/?p=729

Updates

We will be selling at Launch this year on Saturday, July 23!
Sorry for the short notice, but better late than never. Last year we had some success there, and it was fun too. There will be an art bazaar and a lot of bands will play. If you are interested in the event check out this website:
http://5432launch.wordpress.com/



Also, I posted a new page to my blog featuring ridiculous cute pets flying through horribly photoshopped geocities reminiscent landscapes — just for fun. Now go check it out!

Chicken-Frog Sculpture (2005)

This sculpture was made with paper-mâché, chicken feathers, acrylic paint, hot glue, glass doll eyes, and painted plastic googly-eyes for the wart texture. I actually glued every feather onto this thing one at a time — I am still impressed with myself for that.

I would like to eventually post more pictures, but the sculpture is a bit dusty now, and my camera is malfunctioning. Above is a nice photo taken at the unveiling exhibition of the chicken-frog back in 2005.

This work was originally envisioned by a video artist friend of mine who gave me permission to use his idea. Sometimes collaboration is the secret ingredient for that delicious artistic treat.

Life After College (2006)

When I made this painting, I was just a few months away from graduation. I was more than a little worried to take that next step in life, as you can see! 

Unfortunately, this painting is in horrible condition now. The paint is chipping, the canvas is warped, and somebody spilled some paint solvent on its edges. Ah well, at least we have some photos to remember it by.

Mystacidium Capense, Orchid

I thought I'd take a break from the art and share another interest of mine: orchids. 

So, I'm a total amateur at growing orchids, but I have a few plants that are willing to work with me and my space. One such plant is my Mystacidium Capense. From what I can remember, this plant is native to South Africa, and is often found growing on citrus trees. It is pollinated at night by moths with long curly noses, hence the long spurs growing off the backs of the flowers.

The flowers are pretty cool. Each is roughly 3/4" wide with a 2" spur hanging off the back. They take a long time to develop (a few months), and then all pop open at once.

They have an incredibly strong floral-coconut fragrance at night.

Party Rats: The Fun Way To Have Fun

 
This is a real product that we received as a gag gift last year.

There's a market for just about every crazy idea out there —
now go out and sell yours!

Skeletons Playing Poker (2006)

The idea for this painting was not my own, but I received permission and went ahead with it. To have been completely true to the original idea, the skeletons would've had to be playing poker in an obvious underground setting. It could still happen one day — I would like to get it right.

A nice lady offered a fair price to buy this back in 2006, but I decided to hang onto it. I'm so glad I did!

Updates

We have a show!

Dan and I will be selling at the Bike Kitchen on Sat., June 11th from 5-10pm.  

(See Dan's post for full details.)

We have not had a show at this venue in quite some time, but our last was a real hoot! As usual, we will be selling our shirts, stickers, patches, prints, etc. I have also made some nice new art cards from my old photopolymer prints, which will be selling for $4. We may also bring some original drawings and paintings. Oh, and there will be beer and live music! 

 
Also, two of my artworks were recently published in the Suisun Valley Review: "Bat Forest," and "Mad Scientist." Never heard of this publication? Stop by their page sometime and take a look. Great stuff!
http://suisunvalleyreview.blogspot.com/

Wynken Blynken and Nod Tattoo (2009)

I'm so proud that someone out there likes my art enough to wear it permanently — now that's just crazy! This is the only tattoo I've ever made, but I'm open to the idea of making more in the years to come.

The art is based on a short children's poem. Follow the link below to read.
http://www.compassrose.org/uptown/Wynken-Blynken-Nod-Eugene-Field.html

Mean Alice (2007)

Over the years, I have made a lot of Alice In Wonderland themed artwork. I've sold a few, and kept a few. This is one of the keepers. People usually laugh when they see this one, but hey, I know that deep down they LOVE it!

Kissing Skeletons (2003)

At the time I made this I was just starting to become interested in artistic anatomy, but still wasn't good enough to make anything very realistic. Later, I made a similar work called "Zombies In The Fog," but it was stolen just before it was completed. Art thieves be damned!

Orange Period (2003)

Scary Larry: 
The day I made this, a very strange model came into our class with a piercing in a most uncomfortable place. I felt compelled to do something a little different. The end result became a painting of a man morphing into a chicken, dancing on a dinner plate. Mars devouring his son, by Francisco de Goya, was also on my mind that day. If you haven't seen that image yet, I recommend following the link below.
http://www.southwestern.edu/departments/classics/images/satucron.gif

 
Panther-Cat-Man:
This is an anatomy study with Dali-esque qualities. It was painted very quickly in an automatic free flowing manner.

Medusa + Liszt = Skateboard (2002-2006)

 

This skateboard is the bomb. It started out as a blank slate but eventually morphed into something fun and retro. The only thing I never did (that I intended to do) was change the grip tape to yellow. I never ride it anymore, so there is little motivation to put more effort into it now.

Polar Bear Head (2006)

This sculpture was made with paper-mâché, Fimo clay, furry cloth, acrylic paint, hot glue, glass doll eyes, and a plastic armature. It mounts on the wall like a hunting trophy and the teeth glow in the dark.

Self Portrait (2002)

I tried to paint the sparks from the exploding skull similar to those in "The Witches Circle" by John William Waterhouse, which was my favorite painting at the time. If I could do it over again I would remove myself from the painting entirely and make the skulls the main event. Or, I would at least paint myself with more expression. This was the first oil painting of mine to have ever been shown in a gallery.

Still Life With Skull (2006)

The lollipop and vest weren't originally intended to be in the scene, but without them the remaining items just looked too contrived. I still own the two books and the skull — everything else was eaten or chucked.

Updates

2nd Friday Art Show
Where/When/Wine(!):
Friday, April 8, 2011
Armadillo Music, 205 F St., Davis, CA 95616
6-7 pm. Live music: Lucas Ohio.
6-9 pm. Art reception: “Duder Manor,” art & prints by Dan “Radish” Aguilar and Rita O.

Zombies Cartoon (April 2006)
New stand-alone page featuring 3 short comics just posted! Check out the "Zombies Cartoon" tab located directly below the Sensible Rita banner to view.  
Other stand-alone pages in progress:
The Woe Within (2007-20?? Cartoon)
Photodynamism Experiment (2005) 

Art Contest:
Album artwork contest for Murder By Death and The Builders and The Butchers
I don't think I will have time to enter this contest, but perhaps this info will be useful to someone out there. See their post on March 25 for contest details. Note the May 25th deadline for submissions.
http://www.murderbydeath.com/news.php

Mad Scientist Shirt Now Available On Duder Manor

On March 3rd I posted the original uncut drawing for "Model Of Plan Of Man." That same drawing was made into t-shirts, which we now sell at www.DuderManor.com
 

Also, Dan/Archradish and I will be hawking our wares at Armadillo Music in a few weeks, so I will post the show info as soon as I am positive about the dates and times.

The detail of this drawing should be appearing in a press release in a few days. I am excited to be published in our beloved local newspaper!

Alice In Wonderland: Down The Rabbit Hole (2006)

More Alice artwork coming soon.

Gift To The Man-Friend (2006)

After completing this oil painting I switched to acrylics for the sake of my health. (Oils are carcinogenic.) The painting was originally intended as a surprise gift for my x-boyfriend, and was based on an idea he had. The sides are painted with a wood texture to give the appearance that the painting is actually a small wall mounted cabinet.

Franz Liszt's Brain (2005)

Franz Liszt has always been a favorite subject of mine. Growing up, I loved his music and played as much of it as possible on the piano. The whole feeling of the Romantic period, the famous cliques, the outfits, the showmanship, and the general artistic passion, always grabbed my attention.

Some famous works by Liszt that are still commonly heard today:

Liebesträume No. 3

Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2

My own favorite:

Transcendental Etude 6 - Vision
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l6bVgWnHOos

Cute Birds (2004)

That last post was pretty depressing, so I'd like to lighten the mood by posting more of my fanciful birds, drawn in a folk/Gorey-esque manner.

Model Of Plan Of Man (2009-2010)

This posting is a more recent work of mine. It has been made into a shirt, but the shirt is not yet available on the website (http://www.dudermanor.com).

Like the Piano Death listing in the Memento Mori Series, this work is primarily about the futility of pursuing dreams of grandeur. The 2 scientists near the upper and outer border represent the age progression of the man in the middle, who is literally wasting his life in some nasty room. While he tries to attain immortality through his creation, his own life is wasted in the process.

The imagery of this drawing references WW2 mad scientist, Dr. Mengele (a.k.a. The Angel Of Death). Mengele was known to experiment with eyeballs and occasionally had a few tacked to his wall. There is quite a lot of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein in there as well.

Book Of Animals: Snail, Horse, Ocean (2004)

More zany images from The Book Of Animals. The snail monster was the first drawing I made for this book. It's also my personal favorite of the collection.

Book Of Animals: Fancy Birds (2004)

The bird with the hat still cracks me up after all these years! 
Something about his searching stare...

Book Of Animals (2004)

Another artist's book project from 2004. This book is simply a collection of amusing animal drawings with little regard to proportion or realism. An edition of 5 was made for friends and relatives. More images to be posted soon.

Dream-Land: Salty Ham (2004)

In this part of the poem the dreamer is unable to openly view the insane dreamscape that is unfolding around him. He walks past friends and relatives long since deceased, experiences torment and frustration, but is never able to fully comprehend or even fully view anything he encounters along his aimless path.

Dream-Land: Eidolon (2004)

Pictured above is an illustration for the poem "Dream-Land," by Edgar Allan Poe. I did many illustrations for this poem and in the end bound them into a book along with the text.

At the time, "Dream-Land" was my favorite Poe poem, now it's a toss up between "Dream-Land" and "Annabel Lee." Links to both poems listed below.

Dream-Land: http://www.poetryfoundation.org/archive/poem.html?id=178357
Annabel Lee: http://www.poetryfoundation.org/archive/poem.html?id=174151