Where on earth have I been?!?

Well I wish I could say that I became a certified skydiver or something more exciting. But I do have to say that my time away has produced a number of scars both external and internal. Shingles = way lame! My Dad would argue this point, but stress is real and a serious kick in the teeth. Now I'm pressing the reset button on the Nintendo that I call my life and will see if this puppy works! I wasn't completely useless during my time away. I made STUFF!This is a silkscreen I did called "Cock!" I have been really trying to work on simple two layer prints as of late.

This is a 5 layer linocut I did. I had some nice Korean girls help me with the type. It translates to: It's not this guy. I was thinking how rad I would feel if my country was growing and advancing. In the end I suppose we all want to be proud of where we are from. I think that we are taught to fear other cultures and ideas. I figure that I shouldn't be mad at a guy whose trying to make his way just like me. It's unfortunate that our leaders never seem to get along. This is especially dicouraging since I never even get to meet any of the "leaders". I wonder if I'd get nervous or just say "Sup dude?"This one is kinda old but I like it enough to show all 7 of you out there. Just a piece I did pre-election about how certain politicians were using vocabulary that suggested very old, racist, and just plain sad ideas.I was working on a project with my pal Chris Kosek. He asked me to do some chapter illustrations for John Steinbeck's "The Pearl". I liked all the images I did for this project but this one was by far the best. I was fortunate enough to have Grand Master James Jean at the side lines saying things like: "I don't know. What if you added jungle shadows on them?" That's the kind of wording that let's me think it was my idea! Thanks James! James had an intern over the summer named Cam Floyd (http://camfloyd.blogspot.com). Of course prior to meeting him I was already jealous and defensive, turned out I had met him almost a year before at ICON5. It took all of thirty seconds for me to never want Cam to go. Super good dude and he had a lot to teach me about being forward and showing people my stuff. He has a lot of great work so check him out!Good times. Cam was a pleasure to have around and was really able to pull us out of a jam when James released a bunch of new stuff. I really like this picture because I forgot to advance the film in my camera and it added a nice shot of downtown L.A. with Cam, James, and I sitting on a bridge in the Venice canals. Thanks Cam! These images should be big enough for you to take from here.So James was super cool about setting me up with the Lance Armstrong LIVESTONG Cancer Foundation, Nike, and Dodgers Stadium. I made a some cheddar, got some Nike dunks and did something for a good cause. What a score! drawing a picture that was 16ft by 8ft was super intimidating for a guy who likes 8.5 by 11 inches most of the time and I was doing it while people were walking into the game. I was only allowed to use yellow chalk! I'm not showing any early shots, because you would all be scared for me. I was pretty happy with end result. I got all sorts of nice compliments and the occasional 13 year old kid saying: "I could do that too if I wanted to." Anyway, its inspired me to do more things that are for good reasons rather than for good cash. Don't get me wrong if there is cash, I'll take that too, but it was nice to do something that was bigger than my ego and anxiety over how well I might or might not do. I'm trying to destroy the world with my love and understanding!

Lastly, after a big anything, The Second City Conservatory Program always said to end it with a song. James will probably make me take this down so enjoy before I get busted. Here's a hint: You're a good man James Jean. You might want to skip to the last minute or so if you just want to see what I'm talking about. Until next week, remember to pack extra underwear!
Gary-