Kasa Obake: Umbrella Attack, 2016.

I made my first Kasa Obake drawing in 2015, and I enjoyed it so much that I decided to make another. Click this link to see last year's Kasa Obake, and to learn more about the history of this character from Japanese folklore. Here is the 2016 reboot:

Skeleton riding a coffin skateboard: Part 2

In the earlier version, the skeleton sort of looked like he was flying... instead of doing an ollie. Now that the crucial banana peel has been added below his board, he appears to be skating on a road and not flying through the cosmos.

Kasa "Umbrellaman" Obake

Kasa-Obake is a strange type of mischievous spirit from Japanese folklore called a Tsukumogami.

It's said that a Tsukumogami is born from a useful household object when it reaches its 100th year of existence. The object receives the gift of self-awareness in payment for its many years of helpful service. 

Geisha Smoking A Joint

I tried to draw the pot smoking Geisha in a simple and clean style like in the old Japanese Ukiyo-e woodblock prints. The color palette is Mœbius inspired.

TSA 3000 - Final Draft

With many big projects on the horizon, I really wanted to wrap up my work on the TSA drawing, which has been an ongoing struggle for the last year.

When I first set out to color this picture, I had in mind a dramatic/limited nighttime color pallet of dark blueish gray with a yellow or chartreuse highlight. Things didn't quite pan out the way I expected (they usually don't), and suddenly deep red became the only background color that made sense.

This design will eventually be printed on American Apparel t-shirts and sold through our website ThoughtLion.com. A few high-quality art prints will also be made from this design during the next few months.

TSA 3000

In the distant future, it's up to the Transportation Security Administration to exterminate any alien monster-beasts that sneak onboard aircrafts! As always, passenger safety is top priority.

This scene was directly inspired from a dream of mine several years ago, right around the time when the TSA started installing the full-body scanners in airports. I would've begun drawing this picture immediately after I had the dream, but did not feel quite ready to tackle such a technically difficult and absorbing project until just a few months ago. Note the honest try at near 4-point linear perspective, cast shadows, and absurd attention to detail.

(Click image for a larger view.)

I am waffling between using this image as a t-shirt design or a large art print, or maybe it will be both.   

Art Contests, 2013-2014

Part of the fun of an art contest is the thought of winning. Another part is being inspired to make something that I normally would not think to create. Below are entries from the two art contests I've entered in the past year:

Print Radio Contest w/Capital Public Radio:

This one surprised me by actually winning! There were over 100 entries for the Capital Public Radio print/radio contest in Sacramento, and mine landed one of the top three prizes. The drawing was inspired by the word information.

 

 

 Atlas Tone-Lord Showdown:

Above is a picture of the titan Atlas holding up sound equipment instead of the earth or heavens. The artwork is meant to communicate the idea of sound worship, as well as say something about the brand that hosted the artistic competition (Atlas Cabinets). This nice drawing made it as a finalist, but was not chosen as the winner. The good news is that my husband 'Archradish' won!

Medusa Drawing & Print, 2008

Here is another favorite of mine. I made this in 2008 after taking a long break from drawing... about 2 years! This work was strongly influenced by the time I spent at UCSB, and particularly recalls to my mind a certain Italian art history class I took, where we briefly studied Medusa as she appears in artwork.

My favorite aspects of this drawing are her forked tongue and the many different types of snakes in her hair. If you look closely, there are also a few snakes that have been severed and are falling away in mid-air. This was the moment immediately following her beheading!
 
I consider this drawing to be one of my best ever, right after "Et In Arcadia Ego." The only failure in it is that I think it is a bit too similar to Caravaggio's Medusa. Both are very similar in their poses, and both are meant to be worn in some way -- mine was printed on a t-shirt, his was painted on a shield. The shirt can be purchased at our website thoughtlion.com.

Tren Fantasma: Train of Thought, 2013

I've been working on this drawing since mid-February. I could give a long-winded description of why I decided to draw every little weird thing in this picture, but it could most easily be described as a long solo game of exquisite corpse based around a central theme. 

I have been considering turning this design into a t-shirt for the Thought Lion/Duder Manor project, but am unable to come to a solid decision. I would certainly love to wear this design, but I'm not sure I could convince others to buy something so strange... as clothing. I have also been considering the idea of a colored art print.

The artwork is loosely based off the Tren Fantasma (Ghost Train) ride located in Montevideo, Uruguay. I regret to say that I was unable to go on the ride when I visited a few years back. 

Et In Arcadia Ego, 2009

This may be the best drawing I've ever made, so I am surprised at myself for forgetting to post it for so long. This artwork was inspired by the classical theme "Et In Arcadia Ego" (I too am in Arcadia). Works of this nature suggest that death can be found even in the most idyllic of places. 

This artwork was used for our t-shirt line at DuderManor.com. Check it out.

Skeleton's Playing Poker 2012

The "Skeleton's Playing Poker" design is finally completed after a full year in on-again /off-again production. The plan is to print this design on a dark "asphalt" colored American Apparel t-shirt. The caramel color I was considering earlier looked a little too goofy.

 

(Archradish and I are working on combining our labels, so this design will not print until our new logo is completed.)

Skeletons Playin Poker II

New t-shirt design coming soon:

I have been working on this drawing since the Sea Lore shirt was completed, and as I juggle my other projects. I am planning on printing this design on American Apparel "camel colored shirts with up to four colors in the final design. The final product should be ready to print in two or three months if I can stay on task.

A painting of this same subject was made back in 2006. 

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. 

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

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...