Posts Tagged ‘art’

Zombies + Conan? Brilliant.

Last time I did a stint at First Friday, it was specifically to hawk comics, at the urging of my crazy followers on Twitter. This time, it’s because my friend Jennifer Henry — fashion icon, fine artist, drinker of refined spirits — is curating the outdoor exhibition spaces at the epicenter of the monthly art walk/block party, and sucker that I am, I couldn’t help but say “yes” when she asked me to apply for one of the free tent spaces.

OK, so that’s not the ONLY reason. There’s also the matter of the upcoming Vegas Valley Comic Book Festival, which could use a little promoting, as well as that little Tales from the Boneyard anthology, so it might be the case that I’m coincidentally going to have fliers promoting both of those intertwined projects. And, yes, I’ll also probably have some comics and prints to sell as well. But what artwork will I be outdoor exhibiting? Well … as you guys may or may not know, most of the illustration work I do is all-digital. That means there’s no “original” artwork per se. Everything is a digital copy. But I DO actually have original artwork from my last few comic book projects, including my Tales from the Boneyard contribution, and the third chapter of my “Omega” serial from Omega Comics Presents. So, since I’m doing promotion for the Comic Book Festival and related items, I figured I’d show the original Boneyard art, which will also be a little sneak preview of the original art show we’ll be doing in November at Blackbird Studios.

At the aforementioned Blackbird Studios (1551 S. Commerce St.), owner/curator Gina Quaranto is hosting a zombie-themed art show, 28DAYS2A Zombie Apocalypse, which is coincidentally opening the same night as my appearance on the main drag this Friday. And, um, not coincidentally, I’ll have a piece in that show, called “The Insult That Made a Zombie Out of Zac.” A tiny little version of it is somewhere on this page. Yes, it’s a riff on the classic Charles Atlas comic book ads, but I spent a lot of time on this one, much more than expected, and you can see the full, 11×17-inch result at Blackbird Studios all month … or this Friday night. Or both! I think it turned out really nifty.

So … between 6 and 10 p.m. on October 1, I’ll be either under a tent somewhere near Casino Center Boulevard and Colorado Avenue, or at Blackbird Studios on Commerce Street. Come on down and take in all the art, food, music, booze and nonsense. It’s the eighth anniversary of First Friday, which officially makes it the longest-running cultural event in Las Vegas by a million times over.*

*Approximately

I know it’s been awfully quiet around here, aside from the occasional update to let you know how many miles I’m running or whatever. It may seem like I’ve been off the radar, maybe even being lazy or in hiding or running from the Feds or being held hostage by crazed Justin Bieber fans.

Nah. I’ve just been working.

One of the things I’ve been working on is an article in this week’s Vegas Seven about the relative success of local comic book shops, especially in the face of our struggling economy. I think it turned out pretty well, and there’s a lovely picture of Ralph Mathieu inside the new location of Alternate Reality Comics accompanying it, so you should go read it.

The other things I’ve been working on … well, it’s almost tiring to think about it. I mean, my eyelids are even sagging as I type this. Let’s go to list form:

• Playing shows again with As Yet Unbroken. We went from no gigs for nine months (while we shifted membership) to five gigs in two months. And we’re in the process of recording a proper EP, something that takes a lot longer than expected when all of us have day jobs/lives/vacations/side projects/health crises/potty breaks. But it’s getting done. I’d check out the AYU website for more info on upcoming events and whatnot.
• Making art. I mean, aside from comics (which we’ll talk about in a minute). For whatever reason, people becoming aware (or being reminded) of my semi-ability to draw has led me to be invited to group art shows. There was that LVSK8 show earlier in the summer for which I painted a terrible piece, and now I’m coming back again with an original creation for a zombie-themed show at Blackbird Studios (formerly Place Gallery) in October. I’m still not quite done with it, and the show is being hung next week, so I kinda need to get on that. But it’ll be sweet when it’s done. I hope. I’ll also be at First Friday with my own Outdoor Exhibition Space next week (Oct. 1), showing original art from Tales from the Boneyard, and promoting the Vegas Valley Comic Book Festival. Speaking of which …
• I’ve been on the planning committee for the aforementioned Comic Book Festival for the last two years, but this year, my involvement has been amped up by volunteering to publish, edit and contribute to Tales from the Boneyard, an anthology of local creators to benefit the Festival’s benefactor, the Las Vegas-Clark County Library District. I know I’ve mentioned it here before, but let me just say that it is turning out way more awesome than I ever could have expected. But don’t take my word for it, see for yourself.
• Oh, comics, right. Well, in addition to the Boneyard book, there’s a fourth issue of The Utopian and a third issue of Omega Comics Presents both coming out in the next few months, and rumor has it you can go ahead and pre-order them at the Pop! Goes the Icon website right now. I’ve got a few other things up my sleeve, but mainly, once these two issues and the Boneyard anthology are out the gate, it’s mini-hiatus time for the Peej, as I recover from what feels like a six-month marathon. You know, before I start another one.

That’s pretty much it. I’ve also been trying to find time to work on a major redesign of this website that would take the focus off this blog and put it on the work itself (a portfolio, I suppose), but uh yeah right. In the meantime, thanks for reading and bless your face.*

*Sorry, Toby.

Oh, HI. I know it’s been quiet up here in Awesome City. It’s only because I’ve been slaving away at various projects to foist upon your delicate senses in varying ways. A brief rundown, because lists are fun:

• My band, As Yet Unbroken, has been breaking in our new guitarist, Peter Stauber, and we’ll be making our revived debut at Boomers Bar this Sunday night at about 10 p.m. We’re playing with a bunch of random bands, none of which play in the same style, so it’ll be like a mini-Lollapalooza. If that doesn’t sell it for you, I don’t know what will. Call in sick on Monday and come rock with us. It’s only $5, and allegedly, we get some of that money.
• I’m editing and publishing a one-off comic book anthology for the Vegas Valley Comic Book Festival called “Tales from the Boneyard.” It features all Vegas-spawned creators and will be awesome. But it also has meant spending the last month assembling the talent, setting deadlines, creating sponsorship proposals (this is a nonprofit fundraiser for the Library District), attending meetings and working on my own contribution to the compilation, an eight-page tale about a girl and a robot. If, by chance, you’d like to sponsor this endeavor, drop me an e-mail and I’ll drop you a sponsorship packet.
• I finished painting my terrible entry into the LVSK8 IV skate deck art show. It’s called “Powered by Love,” and all I will say for now is that with its existence, I have created a new genre of art called “sci-fi folk art.” If you’re so inclined to see it, along with dozens of other decorated skate decks much nicer than mine, you should come to Place Gallery (1054 S. Maint St.) next Friday, July 2. I’ll be there from 6 p.m. until probably 8 p.m.-ish.
• Speaking of art, because of demand from one or two people, I’ve created an online store where you can buy prints and postcards and stuff. Why not?
• Been trying to get way ahead on the usual workload, blazing through updates of The Utopian webcomic and deadlines for various publications. A new HRH cover story came out this past week, but I’ll slather you in the details once its digital edition goes online.

That wasn’t so hard, was it? See, all you have to do is get me started and I just type like a madman. More soon on new comics, shows and convention appearances. If you’re interested.

A few months ago, someone suggested on Twitter — or I did, not sure which — that I should get a table at Las Vegas’ monthly art walk, First Friday, from which to sell comics and stuff. So without really putting too much thought into it, I contacted the powers-that-be at Whirlygig (the non-profit that runs First Friday), and before I knew it, I was booked for May’s event. At the time, I told Cindy Funkhouser from Whirlygig that I’d be selling prints and sketches too … except at the time I had no prints or sketches.

I know, right?

Well … I kind of got my sh*t together. As most of you know, I work almost exclusively digitally when I do any illustration, so I don’t really have any original art, and I don’t have many sketches that aren’t 15 years old (something that really deserves a blog post unto its own). But I conjured up a few new-ish items for you kids to possibly enjoy. So if you find yourself at First Friday this week (that’s May 7, assuming you’re not waiting in line to see one of the first showings of Iron Man 2), look for me on the sidewalk outside the Funk House (corner of Casino Center and Colorado) with the following items:

This is actually one of the sketches I drew while manning a table at Emerald City Comicon in March. The original is just black Sharpie on paper. After I got back home, I got some good feedback on it, so I decided to digitally color it and make it into a print. So I’ll have 100 of these available, as well as the original piece if anyone wants it.

This piece — clever, ain’t it? — was made for my good friend Daniella, who is, of course, a knitting diva. I got a limit run of prints made — 10? — so if you want it, this is the time.

I’ll have 10 each of these postcards at First Friday. They’re from a series of celebrity/newsmaker digital art I debuted at my old Pop! Goes the Icon blog called “Newsicons.” I dunno, I think they’re kinda cool.

And of course, the whole reason I’m doing this in the first place: Comics. I’ll have copies of all three issues of The Utopian shown above (that last one DEBUTS this week … and I haven’t received the shipment yet, so I sure hope I’ll have it!), as well as the first issue of Omega Comics Presents, which features a new, nine-page story from yours truly. I’ll be doing bulk discounts if you want to get caught up on this stuff.

There you have it. I hope you’ll at least swing by between 6 and 10 on Friday to say “hi.” I’ll also take requests for sketches, though I can’t guarantee they’ll be any good.

Working simultaneously on coloring a print I’ll be debuting at First Friday in May (more on that soon) and finishing next week’s Utopian page.

One of the cool things about writing for Vegas Seven (aside from the buffet of hookers and blow they offer freelancers) is getting to write about art for a weekly paper again. One of the primary reasons I started writing for Examiner.com was because while I was off running a magazine into the ground, other writers locked down the art beats for the other papers in Las Vegas. It allowed me to fulfill my love for preaching the arts and sort-of get paid still.

Of course, since Seven started up, I’ve self-removed myself from the local music beat for the Weekly and had to put Examiner stuff to the side (going from less than an article a month to none at all, sadly). But the result is talking to awesome artists such as Laurenn McCubbin and Gilbert Hernandez, and this week, spending a whole page discussing the differences between San Francisco and Vegas art scenes with Dray while exposing some outsider art at the Fallout Gallery.

I’ll probably be missing somewhat from Seven‘s pages for the next few weeks as I prep for, and attend, Emerald City ComiCon in Seattle (more on this soon), but keep your eyes peeled for new articles in the near future.

Oh, and if you haven’t donated to sponsor my team in this year’s AIDS Walk Las Vegas, you have more than a month. So hop to it!

I love reading and watching process pieces, when an artist opens a window to the creation of works we’d otherwise not see until they were finished and ready for public consumption. Whether it’s a comic book illustrator’s blog, an in-the-studio music video or even a behind-the-scenes feature on a film, I find the nuts and bolts of the artistic machine to be fascinating. And I think as a culture we do as well — that’s why you kids love the Blu-Ray things with 14 hours of bonus features, right? Right.

So I was quite pleased to have the opportunity to follow an artist at work a few weeks ago for my latest Examiner.com piece. When photographer Kenneth Lamug pitched me a story on his upcoming street photography show at the College of Southern Nevada, I instantly thought this would make a great entry in my series of videos about the Las Vegas art scene. Unlike painting or sculpture, where the artist isn’t as camera-friendly in the midst of his or her work, Lamug’s photography approach — roaming the streets of Sin City letting his camera lens spontaneously capture life as it’s happening — is perfect for moving pictures.

I think the video turned out to be one of the best I’ve cut so far, and I’m still pretty sure I’m one of the few — if not only – folks at Examiner.com generating original video. Hope you enjoy:

Las Vegas Street Photography from Pj Perez on Vimeo.