Here are a couple of pics of some of the paintings I'll have on display this weekend at my COMIC POP art show in San Francisco. Opening Reception is on Saturday, April 3 from 5pm-8pm at the Encantada Gallery of Fine Arts. Check my previous post for more all the details.
"Hijo de La Muerte", 2005, acrylic.
"I wish I wasn't an Oscar Mayer Weinermobile", 2010, acrylic.
These little bite-size paintings are done in acrylic and the canvases are about 2"x2". The El Muerto custom figure is there to show scale, it ain't gonna be for sale! A former girlfriend of mine made it for me, it's one of a kind...and it's all mine!
If you can make it to Opening on Saturday night, I'd love to see you there. FYI: On Friday, April 2, I'll be at Wondercon drawing at The Cartoon Art Museum's booth (#721).
As mentioned in a previous post, I'll be in San Francisco this coming weekend for the opening of my solo art show at the Encantada Gallery of Fine Arts. Also, I'll be at Wondercon, courtesy of the Cartoon Art Museum.
Friday, April 2: I'll be at the Cartoon Art Museum's booth, # 721, on Friday at Wondercon. Not sure of my exact hours, but they asked me to get there in the morning so they could assign me a schedule for the day. I'll be doing free sketches on behalf of the museum, and will also be selling my comics, DVD and buttons.
Saturday, April 3: The Opening Reception for my art show, COMIC POP, will be from 5pm-8pm at the Encantada Gallery of Fine Arts, in the Mission District. I'll be exhibiting new work, as well as a few pieces I made last year. I'll also have some orginal comic book pages available for purchase, as well. Debuting at the show will be my first sketchbook, THE COMIC POP SKETCHBOOK (I received an email from the printer that they have indeed shipped it!). Here's a peak at the cover and some pages:
Exclusive to the exhibit will be this snazzy little 2.25" button, featuring the art from the show postcard:
(When I get back from San Francisco the following weeek, I'll post info here on how to order the button and sketchbook.) Sunday, April 4: I'll be conducting a Cartoonist Workshop at the Gallery from 2-3:30pm. Kids of all ages are welcome.
While at WonderCon, which I haven't been to in over 10 years, I'll try to catch up with as many of my out-of-town cartoonist friends as possible. Including Portlander Jason Martin of SUPER REAL fame, and, hailing all the way from Canada, Blair Kitchen of THE POSSUM.
That's in addition to catching the "ED HANNIGAN: COVERED" exhibit at the Cartoon Art Museum and lots of other things. This is one seriously jam-packed weekend for me. Hope to see some of you JAVZILLA readers out there!
I was going to post this a few days ago, but I was working around the clock on a book project this week, which I finally sent off to the printer (I'll post about it after the weekend!)
But I did take time out of my schedule to go meet former Minnesota Governor/former WWF Superstar Jesse Ventura!
Jesse was signing this past Monday at a local BORDER'S, promoting his new book AMERICAN CONSPIRACIES. I found out about it on a whim a few days before, and decided that even though it was going to take a whole half day from working on my project, I I really wanted to meet the Governor.
Jesse in his stylish digs during the mid-80s
Back in the mid-80s, I started watching wrestling again, having drifted away from it in the late 70s. By then Hulk Hogan, Roddy Piper, Junk Yard Dog, Macho Man Randy Savage and many others were bringing wrestling into the mainstream, guided by the extremely savy owner of the WWF, Vince McMahon.
One of the standout performers I enjoyed wasn't even wrestling anymore. Sitting ringside, decked out in the most outrageous wardrobes available, was Jesse 'the Body' Ventura, providing color commentary alongside the late, great Gorilla Monsoon.
Jesse was always rooting for the bad guys, and delivered tremendously funny lines as he called the matches.
Soon afterwards, he made the leap to movies with PREDATOR, starring alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger (who, in a twist of fate, became California Governor! What's next, the Predator runs for Mayor of Detroit??)
Following various movie roles, he went into politics and was elected Mayor of Brooklyn Park, MN. Jesse then goes on to become Governor of Minnesota in 1999. What really interested me in his candidacy was that he ran as a true independent, completely unaffiliated with neither the Republican or Democratic Parties. Back then, that really spoke to me, as I was moving in that direction myself. I won't turn this post into a political rant, but to see Ventura, a former wrestler, dumbfound the establishment in the election was a huge inspiration. Shortly afterwards, he wrote his autobiography, and when he talked about trying to run for Governor with the two mainstream parties aligned against him (along with the media and so-called 'conventional wisdom'), his words spoke to me as an independent artist. 'We shocked the world!' he proclaimed to his supporters on Election Night, as the entire establishment was caught off guard!
In the years since his Governorship, Ventura's written several New York Times bestselling books, hosted radio and television talk shows. He's even taught at Harvard. Sitting in the audience that evening in the BORDERS, I realized that for the last 25 years I've been following his various careers, always amazed in whatever forum he would show up in. That's reinforced in me that one can do many things, as long as you have the passion to do it. You don't have to be just a wrestler or former Governor, and you don't have to only be a comic book creator, either.
Jesse shows up and takes center stage.
The qualities I saw in him as he spoke were the exact same ones I've seen in him through his television appearances and writings. He's very direct, very practical. He's thought out his positions, but remains always ready to admit when he doesn't know enough about a particular issue. Qualities to admire, as far as I'm concerned. While he's been an entertainer for decades, he has no problem disappearing to his home in Baja California for half of the year, far removed from the U.S. political scene, or Hollywood, or anything else that distracts him from surfing and relaxing in peace with his wife.
He talked easily for an hour and a half, discussing his view on the many 'conspiracies' in his book. I never knew that John Wilkes Booth was part of a group of people trying (and succeeding) to kill Lincoln, but also the Secretary of State and the Vice President. This is not a secret that Ventura uncovered, but he makes the point that schoolkids are told that it was a lone gunman who shot the President. I've only had time to read the first chapters, but it makes for interesting reading.
Two things I had Jesse sign were his new book, of course (those are the rules, after all!) and something from my own collection.
I finally got my 1985 JESSE 'THE BODY' action figure signed, still in the package! One thing about me, I never give up being a fanboy for certain things I enjoy.
Ventura was really gracious with his fans that evening. Sure, he was promoting his book, but every time I meet someone I admire, especially if it's someone I've only known through their work (comics/television/movies), and they turn out to be very genuine people in 'real life', well, that's the best. Who wants to meet someone they've been a fan of all their lives and find out the person is a jerk? Jesse Ventura is the real deal.
For your enlightenment and entertainment, here are two choice video clips with Ventura. One, telling like it is about George Bush & Dick Cheney, and in the other talking trash, with Roddy Piper, on Mr. T!
This April in San Francisco I'll be having a solo art show at the Encantada Gallery of Fine Arts.
The above image is being used on our postcards and posters to promote the show. Here's the back of the postcard:
I'll be up in San Francisco for the Opening Reception on April 3, and on Sunday the 4th I'll be conducting a Cartoonist Workshop for kids. Here's the flyer they're circulating around town for that:
I'll be displaying new paintings along with some recent work. And some of my original comic pages will be there, as well as sketches and of course my comics and buttons. It's exciting for me to be doing an out of town show, and I thank the Encantada Gallery for hosting. I also want to thank Ricardo Padilla, the curator for COMIC POP, for the great job he's done. He's even gotten his children to help out, so thumbs up to the whole Padilla clan!
WONDER CON is taking place during the same weekend, so if you're attending the convention, stop on over at the Encantada Gallery and check out the show. I'll be posting a couple of preview images here as we get closer to the show opening.
