Pete Glover : Online Journal

sipping wisdom

2011-12-30T15:57:00.000-08:00

My apologies while I tinker with the new look of the Online Journal. In the meanwhile...

return of the fly

2011-12-13T09:03:00.001-08:00

This is my first post using a mobile app. I apologize in advance for all the inevitable weird formatting errors.

sailing on and on and on

2011-11-29T13:06:00.001-08:00

all I want to do is chill

2011-10-24T11:27:00.000-07:00

echoes

2011-10-10T03:30:00.000-07:00

shapes of things

2011-09-30T15:27:00.000-07:00

expecting to fly

2011-06-24T06:29:00.000-07:00

serenity now

2011-06-17T18:27:00.000-07:00

dry spell

2011-04-20T18:22:00.000-07:00

old sketchbook stuff...

nungirock

2011-04-15T05:20:00.000-07:00

13 years

i'm so tired

2011-04-13T13:19:00.000-07:00

the continuing clear-out...

me and my arrow

2011-04-11T14:12:00.000-07:00

and more old stuff...

stroll on

2011-04-10T16:00:00.000-07:00

more oldies...

sunshine and old age

2011-04-09T20:00:00.000-07:00

I'm thinking that I'm going to reconfigure my website soon with a big purge of most of the old content. So why not dump it here for old time sake and just let it fade deeper down the page.

wouldn't it be nice

2011-02-19T12:33:00.000-08:00

sideways through time

2011-02-11T12:29:00.000-08:00

take it as it comes

2010-11-23T08:26:00.000-08:00

pass the hatchet

2010-11-13T13:23:00.000-08:00

pure projection

2010-11-03T16:46:00.000-07:00

Starting this Friday evening, and running every night from 7 to 9pm, will be the Junk Pirate Found Slide Exhibition at Smokey's Tangle.

"As part of Pete Glover’s ongoing (and never ending) Junk Pirate project, Smokey’s Tangle presents a nightly slide exhibition of found images and unintentional sequences. The show will evolve throughout the month of November as new slides are obtained and inserted. Celebrate altered contexts every night in November from 7-9pm (starting 11/5). Viewable from Telegraph Avenue whether you like it or not."

come along if you care

2010-09-26T08:54:00.000-07:00

train kept a-rollin

2010-09-19T08:41:00.000-07:00

Get along.

I got my back against a wrecking machine

2010-09-14T20:38:00.000-07:00

Might as well jump.

everything never goes away

2010-08-06T10:02:00.000-07:00

Opening tonight, all the remaining Junk Pirate artworks will be on display as part of the group art show "Everything Never Goes Away" at the Lost Coast Culture Machine in Fort Bragg, CA (about 4 hours north of the bay).

We're basically ditching all out responsibilities and driving up the coast to party with the Lost Coast crew. Stoked!

skinny dippin'

2010-07-25T08:43:00.000-07:00

A recent camping trip to Yosemite...

dancing madly backwards

2010-07-23T12:41:00.000-07:00

day tripper

2010-07-07T11:14:00.000-07:00

the magical day

2010-06-20T14:16:00.000-07:00

the magical day some idiot took out a fire hydrant with a rented uhaul truck...

take it in hand

2010-06-13T08:15:00.000-07:00

Junk Pirate Exhibition preparation photos...

future nostalgia

2010-06-11T12:43:00.000-07:00

never go to sleep again

2010-05-27T11:11:00.000-07:00

The Junk Pirate Art Exhibition is coming up this Saturday. I'm working harder now than ever before, sleeping very little, and it just might all come together.

Seriously, this is likely the best I'll ever produce, so please don't miss out. I feel like I've just been listing all the awesome features of this show over and over, and I need to get off this computer and back to work. So just check out the Junk Pirate blog or the Junk Pirate website or the Compound Gallery website for more info and teaser images.

The show is up for all of June. Check it out if you can. I'll be posting images upon images online as well.

no time, no time

2010-05-13T10:03:00.000-07:00

...or nothing

2010-04-15T09:07:00.001-07:00

These days it's Junk Pirate or nothing.
Box building, frame painting, dice hoarding, other people's photos sorting, card designing, and just general stressing.
Unless you want to build all my stuff for me, I'll be in seeing you in June.

Check out junkpirate.com for the official press release and all that.

is there anybody out there

2010-03-16T21:57:00.000-07:00

As always, a lot is going on. Good art shows, not-so-good art shows, work, the gallery, gotta figure out what to eat for dinner, waiting for Spring, forgetting to go the gym, and so on.

The important things to post right now for anybody who cares (anybody...hello...?) is:

the big-ass Junk Pirate Found Art Exhibition: A Collection of Collections, officially opening at the new Compound Gallery in Oakland on Saturday, May 29th. This is what I'll be doing for the next 3 months.
Narangkar and I got ourselves a new computer, so I'll be spending all my non-Junk Pirate time catching up on skate videos on the internet. I've only used this new laptop for a total of about 2 hours so far and, without a doubt, it super fucking rules.
Blogger, who hosts this here blog (among others), won't be doing FTP anymore, which I did, so the new blog address is going to be (and already is) peteglover.blogspot.com. On the extremely rare chance you have bookmarked or subscribed to this blog, you'll need to update that. There is also a very real likelihood that this whole thing will disappear when Blogger changes their shit. The world's loss, I guess.

Ok kids, that's all for now. As always, I apologize for the continual phases of less-than-stellar enthusiasm for blogging, but if you really want to know what I'm

up to just look for me. I'm the guy watching internet skate videos on a new 17" macbook pro.

remain seated, this blog has moved

2010-03-16T21:55:00.001-07:00

This blog is now located at http://peteglover.blogspot.com/.
You will be automatically redirected in 30 seconds, or you may click here.

For feed subscribers, please update your feed subscriptions to
http://peteglover.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default.

Thanks for nothing, Blogger.

its gonna be cold, its gonna be gray, and its going to last you the rest of your life

2010-02-19T12:11:00.001-08:00

meanwhile...

2010-02-12T11:43:00.000-08:00

dang.it

2010-02-08T19:13:00.000-08:00

The.other.morning.I.spilled.a.little.bit.of.coffee.on.my.keyboard.

and.now.the.space.bar.no.longer.works.

phoney photographs

2010-01-23T17:03:00.000-08:00

My new phone can take some pretty good pictures. All these pictures were taken through either the Lo-Mob or ShakeIt photo apps. If they ever create a decent app for uploading and posting photos direct to the blog, I'd probably update a lot more frequently. Maybe I'll get a Flicker account or something.

rub on and on

2009-12-09T13:50:00.000-08:00

New work available through Art-In-A-Box:

Just some more Letraset on reused paper things. These two were actually given more thought and care than it might first appear. I really hope whoever gets them likes them. The one on the bottom of the two (they don't have titles) is my favorite of all my works in this style thus far.

And here is a detail image of one that was part of November's AIAB program:

All these images were taken by Matt and Lena Reynoso, whom run AIAB, and are hosted on their site. Hopefully they'll keep them online.

In the meanwhile, I'm doing my best to go into artistic-production mode. I don't like saying it, but right now I really don't need any inspiration or new ideas, I just need to get busy and make more finished pieces. I know I'll eat those words as soon as the next dry spell comes along.

Wilderness

2009-11-27T07:52:00.000-08:00

I made this one a while ago but forgot to post it...

keeping up with myself

2009-11-23T06:37:00.000-08:00

Just some stuff...

Our pick-up baseball league season (which I joined in August) had our "championship game" this past Saturday. The teams are the Bad News Beers vs. the Loaded Bases (although we pick new teams every game). Playing ball has been the highlight of my week but it is getting dark, cold, and the soccer players who play in the outfield are getting pretty obnoxious.

There are no winners or losers (my teams lost the big game, 25-17) when everybody has as much fun as we do. The championship game was pretty much all offense, with one good on-field collision, a lot of grounder home-runs, and one ball hit into the trash can in the tennis courts. Then we all grilled some food, drank cans of PBR, admired the trophy I cobbled together, and sang a rousing chorus of "Take Me Out To the Ballgame". I can't wait for spring.

We are currently scrounging for free baseball gear for the 2010 season: catcher's gear, extra gloves (especially left-handed), bases, balls, decent wood bats or anything else, so let me know if you can help me score any items. Everybody is always welcome to play (no skills necessary), so come March, it's on again!

Here is a picture of the Mind stencil I cut for the posters in the previous post.

The studio at night.

I was Han Solo for Halloween this year. We didn't go anywhere or anything, so I was just dressed like this while sitting at the gallery or (as seen here) eating a sandwich.

Out the side window of our home. Sunset of 40th.

Rock N Bowl 3

2009-11-18T13:01:00.000-08:00

Turn Off - Tune Out - Drop In

On November 7th we had it up at Rock N Bowl part 3. All other parties can't hold a snuffbox to this one and it was just what I needed to snap me out of the funk I had been feeling lately. There was a plethora of good food (ok, hamburgers and hotdogs), plenty of drink, an epic skate jam (culminated with Matt Butler's in the dark blunt-to-axle ender), live music, an audio-visual psychedelic image show, lots of friends and friends-of-friends-of-friends, and even the cops were cool. The clean-up was pretty reasonable, the weather held-up, and the hangover was manageable.

Other than occasional trips to the grill or the keg, I pretty much stuck it out behind the projectors for most of the evening, so the photos are a bit limited in quantity.

We had overhead projections (here featuring a Ryohei Tanaka killer cut stencil), 16mm movies (with and without sound), and the Junk Pirate psychedelic slide show.
This party's just gettin started.
JD made a guest appearance to keep his streak of hurting himself in the Pond alive.
The CCA Boys were present (of course) and set the bar pretty high in the bowl. Here is a cast-armed Alex nose-bluntsliding the notch to pop-in.
When not rocking the guitar or making out with his girlfriend, Duncan was laying back boardslide re-entries. Sick.
Dirt Flood got This Mob fired-up with his own brand of country blues acoustics.
A little vid of Dirt playing the blues. He wrote this song.

"Mama Tried"
Free Dirt!
Then Mind stepped up and kept their rep up. I was too busy running the light-show and banging my head to take photos. Rest assured, Mind fucking ruled.

A final encore of "Smokestack Lightning" featuring Dirt Flood on vocals and Elliot Flood on harmonica.

It was a great, great party and I feel like we got away with something, so I'm thinking like I should quit while I'm ahead. Maybe next year we won't promote it so much.
Also, scanning the blog I see I never posted the photos of Mind from last year's Rock N Bowl 2 (and they are pretty good pictures), so here they are:

To coin the term "Frankensteined"

2009-10-11T09:09:00.000-07:00

Speaking of Art-In-A-Box (see previous post, which is directly below this one), here are some images they took of the work I have available through them for October:

A whole bunch of spirit transfer prints (aka Dittos) sewn together, featuring the poem "You Are Old, Father William" from Lewis Carroll.

A portrait of my new sewing machine. You will note the little Braile touches here and there.
A "Frankensteined" version of my new Time Wasting Machine print, made from the four artist's proofs I had left over from the edition of 100.

to Frankenstein - verb - to sew (or otherwise compile and attach) a bunch of components together to make a whole.

I also want to just point out that Frankenstein technically isn't the name of the greenish monster made from reanimated corpse parts, made popular by Boris Karloff. Technically that is "Frankenstein's Monster", who doesn't have a name. Frankenstein is the doctor. That book is so good. It was written by a teenage girl almost 200 years ago!

So, anyways, I'm trying to keep busy in the studio while still having a good time all the time, everywhere. My beginner piano self-lessons are coming along slowly (Every Good Boy Does Fine), we're playing baseball every Thursday evening and our defense is actually really improving, my leg is slowly getting back its strength, and I generally love October anyhow, so I say things are all right. And we all know everything lasts forever so I'm all set.

letrasetitoff

2009-10-09T15:39:00.000-07:00

I've been having myself a good old time with the classic transfer lettering and some reuse papers. These are each about 4x6 inches.

Most of these will likely be available in the coming months, framed, through the Art-In-A-Box program, of which I am both an artist and a subscriber. Get into it or get left behind.

onward

2009-10-02T12:38:00.000-07:00

Installation 5 in Los Angeles

2009-09-24T09:32:00.000-07:00

This upcoming Saturday, September 26th, is the private closing reception for the traveling Scion Installation 5: Self-Portraits art tour. As I've mentioned several times here, my collaborative film with David Choe, 23 Short Films, was part of the tour. The tour has been great and I've been very fortunate to have attended the show in both Miami and San Jose, and the good folks at Scion are flying me down to LA for the weekend to bask in the end of my glorious sponsored artist career. I'm still hoping they pick me up on my own for some other projects, but we all know who the marquee name on this film is.

Anyways, if you are in the area and would like to attend this high-rolling event, I can probably sneak you in so give me a call.

The highlight of the evening will be the closing of the charity auction for all the art, which is already online. You can bid on my project here (no takers thus far). The thing is, $65 minimum for a DVD seems a little steep. But, if you read the fine print, you will find that Dave Choe and I collaborated on a custom painted DVD cover, and Dave even did a custom drawing for the disc. Put an image of that up and let the bidding begin!

Update: Looks like somebody is getting an original David Choe painting, drawings, and DVD for $175! Congrats.

Fortunately, I took a few scans and pictures of the artwork before submitting it to Scion so here is your chance to bask in the fading glory of my collaboration with a famous friend.

The full artwork: back, spine, and front.
Dave done drew the stickers for the disc

And here is the final package.You may be able to watch the entire video online for free, or just ask me for a DVD and I'll hook you up, but a custom David Choe painting has got to be worth something. And it's for charity, so get busy bidding or get busy dying.
And make sure to check the previous post [below] for another awesome show from Crab Shak alumni happening in San Jose.

Certified Participants

2009-09-23T19:50:00.000-07:00

Opening this upcoming Friday, Sept. 25th, will be Certified Participants, a group show at Empire Seven Studios in San Jose. I'll be showing new work along with such favorites as Mitsy Avila Ovalles, Roan Victor, Joe To, Fernando Amaro Jr., Wel Went, Stuart Mahoney, and Sean Boyles (who curated the exhibition). I'm too lazy to post links to all those wonderful artists, but I do recommend checking them all out.

I'll be showing some new telepole stencil panels. Kind of an continuation of the paper telepole stencils I printed for the Giant Robot NY print show. Take a look see:

Each of these panels is about 16 x 24 inches and 1.5 inches deep. I also resurrected on of my favorite multi-layer stencils for a fifth panel:

Because of my gimpy leg (that's another story) I wasn't able to make it down to San Jose for the install, but Sean did an excellent job customizing the wall to the artwork and snapped a quick pick for us:

Thanks, Sean. And then here is a quick video of the rest of the participants straight-up certifying.

Show runs to October 31st.

You Buy Now

2009-09-19T10:16:00.000-07:00

At last I announce my new print edition. Offered exclusively through Rowan Morrison Gallery. It is the official Time-Wasting Machine.

Each print is screenprinted by master craftsman Nat Swope over at Bloom Screen Print Co. Two colors (white and black) on reused paper bag paper. The nature of the print is a bit loose and experimental, so each print is a little different. The papers are of different tones, textures, and thickness - the image is often printed over whatever printing was already on the bag, with different levels of opacity - the registration wavers slightly - and I even rotated each print as I signed and numbered them, so their orientation varies. The final trim (which I did by hand) is 10" x 10". It is an edition of 100.

We're trying to keep the retail cost down without getting completely washed on it so you can own this print for only $15, plus shipping if you order it online. It is shipped flat. If you come by the gallery or my studio, you can browse through the stack and custom pick yours. If you want a particular style or rotation, just email me or the good folks at Rowan Morrison (also me) and let us know what you want.

You can get more info and obtain yours right here at the Rowan Morrison online print shop.

We also just released a new screenprint from Los Angeles artist Travis Millard.

New Print Coming Soon

2009-09-01T06:18:00.000-07:00

I'm so excited. And I just can't hide it.

New Pete Glover print edition, sold exclusively through Rowan Morrison Gallery, will be available online very soon. Screenprinted on used paper bag paper. Edition of 100. More details and images coming soon.

If you just cannot wait to get your fix of my crudtacular© art projects, stroll on by Subrosa Coffee at 40th and Webster in Oakland and you can gander two new drawings I haven't posted on the blog or my website yet. Subrosa is brand new and has good coffee made one cup at a time so get hyped. Here is a picture John Casey took of the drawings for his blog:

Maybe I'll get some quality images of these up soon. I took pictures of 'em before I framed them, but still haven't processed them for the web yet. I am also now an artist contributing to the Art-In-A-Box program run by Matt and Lena at The Compound. For the first round I contributed 5 sets of prints, which are each really 3 older linocut prints sewn together, looking not unlike this:

I'll have at least 3 new pieces available next month, and if you join and are in the Bay Area you can even pick your piece in person at Compound for one night only on Sept. 8th. More info here. The art show is open to non-subscribers as well.

There is a lot going on in September. In addition for Subrosa, Art-In-A-Box, and my new print release, I will be in group shows in Los Angeles and San Jose! I'll post it all up when once I catch my breath. These netflix aren't going to watch themselves, you know.

And, most importantly, Narangkar's big solo exhibition, "It's Gonna Be Awesome", is going to have the opening reception to end all opening reception of Saturday, September 12th.

monster carrots

2009-08-30T18:09:00.000-07:00

Look at these awesomely huge carrots we grew in our veggie garden!

Wow.

Now let's look at them from a different perspective:

Wa-waaaaa.

The one on the right there is decent, and there are still some big boys in the dirt, but the next crop is going to need to be thinned out a bit. Still, I'm not complaining. We've been knee deep in tomatoes all summer. Throw in a jalapeno, a cucumber or two, a bit of basil, and maybe even some green onions and it has been a good summer.

"Is that Freedom Rock, man?"

2009-08-16T16:44:00.000-07:00

Being that today is the 40th Anniversary of the weekend of the Woodstock Music Festival (technically Sha Na Na and Hendrix played on a Monday morning) and that, coincidentally, I have spent the last few night rocking out to the Blu-Ray extended directors cut (with 18 extra musical performances), I figured I would continue this over-the-top nostalgia we collectively have going this weekend.

Why not start it off with easily the greatest performance of the whole festival (at least of the film): Santana's Soul Sacrifice. Great version of this song, and even greater when you throw in the context that, at the time, Santana was an unknown SF band that hadn't even recorded their first album. Bill Graham pulled some string to get them on the bill. 19-year-old drummer Michael Shrieve's drum solo is just mind blowing. Then factor in the admission that the whole band was very high on acid during this performance. Turn it up, Man!

Not in the Woodstock film, but finally available in the new Blu-Ray release is the performance of heavy rockers Mountain. This was just their 3rd gig, and they were clearly the heaviest band in the place. The sound in this clip isn't the best, but the distorted bass is just killer.

I also thought it would be a good time to celebrate the Woodstock of my generation. No, I'm not talking about Woodstock 94 and I'm especially not talking about Woodstock 99, I'm talking about those awesome commercials for Freedom Rock!

Even after all these years I still intuitively know where each song snippet cuts into another and their order. To this day I still expect to hear The Byrds "Turn Turn Turn" mash into Skynyrd's "If I leave hear tomorrow..." whenever I hear it. I didn't actually listen to any of these songs into I really started rocking in my twenties (I was just 9 or 10 when Freedom Rock first dropped in 1987).

I recently scored a scratched up copy of the 2nd disc of Freedom Rock form the Junk Store and I have to say it really isn't a very good compilation at all. Zager & Evans? James Taylor? Malanie? These people don't rock. The commercial is much, much better than the actual product.

Anyhow, I have fallen in love with heavy 60s and 70s rock (and even some of the lighter stuff) and am currently working on a 4-disc, 5 hour custom super Freedom Rock Platinum Edition with all kinds of rarities to go with the hits. It is going to be amazing (maybe I'll post the track listing) and I can burn you a copy for just $24.95 plus $3 shipping and handling.

In the meanwhile, let's all throw up the peace fingers and have a skinny dip in honor of all the smart bands that, because the couldn't get paid enough or didn't want to deal with the hassle of getting there, declined playing at Woodstock:

The Doors (Morrison was paranoid that he would be assassinated at a large outdoor venue).
Led Zeppelin (didn't want to be "just another band" in the show).
Jethro Tull (didn't want "to spend their weekend in a field of unwashed hippies). I actually sympathize with this one a bit.
Bob Dylan (not enough money, hated his fans).
The Byrds (angry about their hit song constantly being associated with Lynyrd Skynyrd).
Moody Blues (despite being on the original poster, decided to play Paris instead).
Iron Butterfly (got lost on the way).
Joni Mitchell (was afraid the traffic would make her late for her appearance on the Dick Cavett Show).
Procal Harum (didn't want to play on a hog farm).
Moby Grape (wasn't invited).
Cream (band had already broken up).
Mind (no member of the band had been born yet).

and so on...

2009-08-11T08:55:00.000-07:00

Five recent pictures and the mind-numbingly dull stories that go with them:

The new look at Rowan Morrison Gallery. We re-sized the desk and moved it into the gallery, painted the face wall, added three shelved for books, and removed the book island. We also had to drill a hole in the wall to get the phone line into the gallery for the credit card machine. So, nowadays we are curating the selection of books on display in the gallery. The artwork in this picture is by Carl Auge.
Messing with the camera at night in the studio. I'm still mesmerized by the way the door numbers reversed on the glass spell "SEE".
I'm a bit late to the party at this new skate spot in north Berkeley. It is in the parking lot at the new soccer field complex west of the highway on Gilman. Frankly, the ground is gritty and these kind of bank spots take a lot of energy to skate. I'll stick with Oak Tech, thank you very much.

I told you I would post more pictures of the veggies harvested from our garden box. It is going to be a gazpacho and salsa August.

Get Busy

2009-08-08T13:11:00.000-07:00

I tell myself that I'm going to clock in massive hours in the studio on a daily (or nightly) basis and just crank out the work. Good or bad, just make art constantly. The good ones will rise to the top from the volume. Narangkar is racking up literally hundreds of hours on some amazing things for her upcoming solo exhibition. Time for Pete to get with the program.

It goes without saying that I'm falling way short of my goals for both time in the studio and time working on actual artworks while in the studio, but I've still managed to get a few pieces out of my brain and through my hands. Nothing great, but hopefully when I get through enough of these it'll be something. And I've really enjoyed the process, which it supposed to be what it is all about.

This drawing took way to long and, in retrospect, isn't that pleasing aesthetically. I just haven't found a happy way to use the vertical format without centering the image. This piece is even more claustrophobic framed. It is about 15 inches tall.

On the other hand, this piece just flowed out real smooth and easy. The arched form and lines on the right bring to mind a lot of the uninspired "rainbow art" that is floating around the scene these days (link chosen at random from many, many easy to find choices). That bothers me a little, but I still like this drawing a bunch and it felt good and loose during creation. It is about 10" tall.
I've got about four or five more pieces all done and trimmed and framed. No pictures for you yet, though. I often feel like just the processing of everything - scanning or photographing, file prepping, uploading, blogging, spellcheck, and on - can really interfere with art creation and often isn't worth the effort. Sure, it is important to document your work (there are certainly things I wish I had better records of), and these peripheral things are part of the professional art practice, but sometimes the digital side of things gets way to distracting and time consuming.
On another note, I need a general catch-all phrase for these building drawings. The machine ones are "time-wasting machines" (pretty clever, eh?), and I've been titling some of these as "wilderness" drawings (also pretty clever, no?), but it isn't sticking. Lil' help, people.

Ditto

2009-07-29T08:39:00.000-07:00

A while back I was able to score myself an authentic Ditto brand copy machine from the Junk Store. Technically, a Ditto isn't a Mimeograph. Ditto is a brand of spirit duplicator copy machines. All I knew is that they are non-electrical machines that somehow made the awesome blue tinted copies I used to get in grade school before toner photocopies became the norm.

The copier came with some methanol "duplicating fluid" to make copies, and with a little research I figured out that basically the methanol transfers the image from a carbon-paper like master to the paper. But would any carbon-paper do? I had no idea until about two weeks ago when a box of Ditto brand masters came into the Junk Store!

It looks like it is carbon-paper that then transfers the carbon-ink image onto a waxy paper, and then that is what gets soaked in methanol and transfers that image onto paper. I'm actually pretty surprised there isn't more info about these things online. And every teacher I mention it to just suggests I used a Xerox machine.

After an afternoon a tinkering around I finally got the paper running through the machine decently and even got it to pump some of the fluid. Remember, all the mechanics are driven by the single hand crank. I did a little drawing on a master and wrote some text along the left side (where most of the fluid was flowing) and managed to get it all drummed up.

Well, the results were less than stellar. It seems that I can't really get a smooth and even distribution of the spirits onto the felt so that the paper or master is soaked enough to pick up the ink, or maybe something else. I was able to get some cool accidental images, and even a few cool looking prints.

As a few days have gone by I actually sort of dig the inconsistency of these. I'll give it another go soon and hopefully get a little more image to transfer. I really want to make some sort of small-run print edition with this thing. Other than Raymond Pettibon's Psychedelic Translation of Alan Ginsberg's Howl, I don't know of any artist who has used Dittos or Mimeographs for printmaking. Here are some of the many page I made:

Not exactly what I was hoping for but I'm pretty proud just to have gotten any image at all. The images are a little less faint in person. I have a limited supply of duplicating fluid. Once it is in the machine there is no getting it out for storage, and I bet it evaporates pretty quickly. I'll post the results (if there are any).

And, yes, I'm aware of the toxicity of this stuff. As you can see from the first photo in this blog, I'm working outdoors. Honestly, the prints don't nearly reek of solvents as much as I think they should.

UPDATE: Since taking these photos I have managed to get some pretty good prints from this thing during another session. I used the old manuel typewriter, tried printing from the carbon paper instead of the master (lots of purple), and had better results with old newsprint paper. The best images arrived when I really soaked the paper in fluid. I made a pretty big mess, wasted a lot of paper, screamed curses more than once, came out with a few great images (I'll post them soon) and probably shortened my life span by a year or two. I probably have just enough newsprint and duplicating fluid for one more try.

So check back here soon or stop by the studio and see how it's going.

In the meanwhile, here is one of the only good resources on Dittos I could find on the net:

http://theyalwayscomeback.blogspot.com/2008/02/ditto-machine.html

Pen-Opake vs. all other white inks

2009-07-27T07:19:00.000-07:00

Pen-Opake is the best white ink there is. The only problem is that they stopped manufacturing it several years ago and nobody seems to have a stash for sale. Occasionally it is mentioned nostalgicly on some art blog or another, but other than there is little info about it on the net or anywhere.

I've been using up the few crusty bottles I procured from the Junk Store on all those ink-and-white-on-paper-bag drawings I've been doing, so I set out to find a suitable replacement. Some illustrator friends of mine mentioned that FW Acrylic Ink is a very opaque and fluid white, so I procured me some and put it to the test... a test it failed miserably.

So I went through my stash of white inks and gouaches to see who had what it takes.

I tested the FW, Rotring, Talens Ecoline, Pro White, Pen-Opake, and Higgins Super White, all in jars with a brush on a paper bag. I also tried tubes of Talens Plakkaatuerf, Winson & Newton Designers in both Permanent and Zinc White. Some of the thicker ones needed a touch of water to get going.The Pen-Opake was easily the best and brightest. And this was from a jar that is likely 20 years old. The Talens Ecoline was a decent 2nd place, and I suppose the Pro-White will do in a pinch. The Rotring and FW are liquid, which I thought would work well in a japanese water-brush, but I thought wrong. The Higgins was, by far, the worst.All the tubes of gouache looked pretty good. I was hoping to find a suitable replacement for Pen-Opake that is bright and opaque but fluid enough to use in the water-brush. I also ended up learning quite a bit about water-brush technology and the fact that my current white brush only works because it is a cheap imitation without a stopper mechanism to block the overflow of water. Fascinating.So, yeah, if you come across any Pen-Opake in any condition, let me know and I'll buy it from you. Or if you have any other bright ideas about an opaque white, hit me up.
The water-brush jar.

Veggie Boxing

2009-07-24T19:01:00.001-07:00

Last summer we built a raised veggie garden box on top of an old stump we had hacked down. It was basically wasted yard space. Narangkar designed it, of course. It took almost a ton of quality dirt to fill it.

We dug the post holes with a little help from the local tool lending library. That place is great!
Then we covered the area with landscaper's cloth to (hopefully) keep all the yard-weeds out.

Those are quality redwood planks there.

Ta-daaa!

Our neighbors helped pitch in for the dirt. It was hard work getting all the bags into the yard. Our first round of plantings consisted of a bunch of lettuces, some swiss chard, some tomato plants, basil, peas, some chile plants, and some leeks. The arugula and chard did really well. The peas, not so much. The thai chiles were ridiculously hot. Like weapons grade hot.

Then a long while went by where I didn't really take many photos of our veggie box. Plants pretty much grow year round, so we've been snacking all winter. Then, this spring we panted more tomatoes, plus new seeds of lettuces, mustard greens, leeks, plus more chard, some green onion, carrots, and some cucumbers. Plus some cosmos flowers for looks.

While we were away on our two week vacation, the tomatoes and cosmos grew like nuts.

The tomatoes are just now starting to ripen (not in this photo, though, which I took two weeks ago) so we are pretty much snacking a few everyday.

Look at the size of those cukes!
I'll post more photos of all our veggies, not to mention the avocado trees, as they get taken. Eat up.

East Coast Tour - Phase 4: Philadelphia

2009-07-18T08:01:00.000-07:00

We finished our tour in the city of brotherly something or other.
We stayed in the Row House of our friends Kris and Tim. They recently got a half-puppy-half shark named Porkchop.

Most of our day in Philly was just me rambling nostalgic to Narangkar about how great it was to skate this city back in the day.
This seemed like a mandatory photo.

Our Philly map, by Tim Gough.

Narangkar sketches Benjamin.

Skulls.
Bobble heads.
Lots of good beer in this town.
Turkey sandwich at the Amish cafe in Redding Station.

Great finds at the Army Surplus store.
Awwwww.
Couldn't leave Philly without stopping by Pat's. One Cheez Whiz wit and a Cherry Coke.
Porkchop.
The view from the upper deck at Citizen Bank park, where the Phillies rocked the Mets 7-2.

Because it was July 4th weekend or something the Mets also wore red caps. It really looked like everybody was wearing the same colors.

Big, big "thanks" for our Philly leg go out to Kris and Tim. They rule! Also Porkchop, Kris and Tim's friends whom I can't remember their names. Also thanks to Siriji and Steven for holding down the fort while we were away.

East Coast Tour - Phase 3: Connecticut

2009-07-17T08:01:00.000-07:00

Birthday breakfast.
Pudge.
Bobo.
Pudge.
Bobo.

Some new paintings by Kathryn Glover.
Train time to Philly.

We got "sushed" a lot.
We stayed in CT with my Mom for a few days. It was a good chance to relax after the hectic pace of New York. We ate that delicious cheap family-style Italian food that is all over the place in the East Coast but nowhere in California and saw Up for my birthday.Big "thanks" for our CT leg go to Kathryn, Pudge, and Bobo.

East Coast Tour - Phase 2: New York

2009-07-16T08:01:00.000-07:00

The Chicken Bus. Boston to NYC in a little over 4 hours for only $15.
New York City. We were there for Narangkar's cousin's wedding. We also saw the Francis Bacon show at the Met.
We stayed at the Off Soho in the Lower East Side. Apparently Rollins stays there, too.

Stormy skies for the harbor cruise. Lightning all around. It was awesome.

I thought this cabin toilet was interesting.
Tuf Nut
Rehearsal dinner.
Brunch at Bread while listening the Michael Jackson.

Ceremony at the Old St. Patrick's Cathedral, complete with choir and organ music.
Then off to Prospect Park in Brooklyn for the reception.
How much did the rainbow cost them?
Wedding polka band, playing all the traditional hits plus Brick House on the accordion. The band had this old sound guy and then this other kid who just stood there with his arms crossed looking angry.
The horah.
Late night drinks at Baby Grand.
Secret downstairs studio and drum kit.

The Sky from The Met.
Big "thanks" on of New York leg to Jared and Ilona, the Lamenzo family, Donut Plant, Pickle Guys, Francis Bacon, Mark and Raylene, and my Mom for picking us up. More to come tomorrow.

East Coast Tour - Phase 1: BOSTON

2009-07-15T14:10:00.001-07:00

Narangkar and I recently took off for two weeks of travel, family, friends, photos, fun, and lots of food. Here is the proof:

3 hour delay.
Oakland to Boston, where we met our new niece, Delilah Mae Fox.
Baby D gets a bath in the sink.
No game, but still plenty of security at Fenway.

Some awesome old tombstones on the freedom trail.
We spent the afternoon walking and trying out the many disgusting gummies available at the candy store.
Delilah and her auntie.
Crooner crooning.

Jimmy cooking out.

The studio and vapo-room.
Big "thanks" on our Boston leg go to Julia, Jimmy, and Baby D. Also Crooner and Lorelei. More of our trip tomorrow.

isn't skating great

2009-06-27T07:05:00.000-07:00

Chris Becker has assumed the crown of skatepond king since Jacob moved to LA.
Shayne
Duncan
The secret Alameda Taco Shell (aka the Melon Rhine). Where did it come from?
Elliot Flood

The Dunc.

long weekend

2009-06-17T18:57:00.000-07:00

paint-a-pond

2009-06-10T16:49:00.000-07:00

attending artist

2009-06-05T12:44:00.000-07:00

Tonight, June 5th, at Anno Domini Gallery in San Jose, Scion's Installation 5: Self Portrait show continues its US tour. The festivities will be running from 8pm until late (about midnight) and, as advertised, I will be there. I will be the guy in the corner looking awkward and not knowing whom to talk to except Narangkar. Good times.

As always, the Scion events are a party so stay late and designate a driver.

Here is the flyer thing:

and here is a little video thing I found:

Scion Installation Five: Self-Portrait San Jose Preview from Scion ART on Vimeo.

new New York and a little East Bay

2009-04-29T12:35:00.000-07:00

Pete Glover invades New York City with work in two awesome art exhibitions. First up is the touring Scion Installation 5: Self Portraits exhibition, which is screening my collaborative film with David Choe, 23 Short Films. It is at The Showroom NYC, 117 2nd Ave (2nd Floor). This show opens on Thursday, May 7th, with a boozed-up party from 7 to 11pm. This exhibition is up until May 21st.

Two nights later will be the opening of A NY Print Show (aka Printed Matter 5) at Giant Robot NY. For those who are mathematically challenged, that is Saturday, May 9th, from 6:30 to 10pm. GRNY is at 437 East 9th St. in the East Village. This show runs until June 3rd.

For the Print Show, I finally got to use some old telepole stencils I had cut a while back but never printed. After spending a day in the yard with various papers and half-used cans of spray paint, these are what emerged...

Telephone Poles as Dusk

Telephone Poles at Night
You can click on the images to see larger versions.These are all artist's proofs rather than part of an edition. I wasn't able to frame them, but I think they will work pretty well within the group show. There are no promises that all 7 prints will be in the show, but I left specific instructions for how each group should be hung so I'm positive it will rule. And, as always, they are priced to be owned (by someone other than me)... like $20 each. If you cannot make it to the show but are interested in owning one or more of these, GR is really good about making all their exhibitions viewable and buyable online, so hit them up.
And for those in the Bay Area, both Narangkar and I will have pieces in the 9th annual 21 Grand benefit art sale. The sale starts Friday May 1st, but there is a preview at 6pm on Thursday. It is cash and carry so you had better get there early cause a lot of art goes in the first 20 minutes. 21 Grand is at 416 25th St. in Oakland. You can check out Narangkar's painting for the show on her website, narangkar.com. I'll be dropping this badboy for public scrutiny:

And, in related news, Darren Jenkins, who curates for 21 Grand and has always been a workhorse for the Bay Area art scene, invited me to join him for a live radio interview on KALX (90.7 on your FM dial) for their Arts In Review program on Thursday (tomorrow!) at 12noon. You can listen online through iTunes or whatever here. Tune in and here me tell it like it isn't!

presently...

2009-04-25T13:50:00.000-07:00

Sunset out the window.
We have no less than four avocados growing in our yard. Avocados take almost two years to grow, so we hope some more get started this summer.
I recently spent an afternoon taking macro-pictures of the bees that hang out in the lavender growing next to the skatepond.

Speaking of skatepond, I've also recently been doing some patching and hope to get it repainted this spring. This photo shows 5 different paint layers! From bottom to top: red, light green, olive green, then 2 separate coats of the blue.I think we are going to repaint it with the same blue and yellow.
And, finally, a portrait of Snickers with her all time favorite thing in the whole world, the Fishy Toy. Snickers is pretty much fully grown now but still looks and acts like a kitten.

cut down trees

2009-04-03T16:33:00.000-07:00

I've will have a new drawing exhibited tonight as part of the "Regime Change" group show at Swarm in Oakland (celebrating their 3 year anniversary)...

What's that you say? You want me to write about all the boring details of the creation of this work and my own interpretations of it? Well, if you insist:

This piece is titled "One Morning I Woke Up And I Knew That It Was On". That is the first line of lyrics from the Crosby Stills and Nash song "Carry On". update: I guess I got the lyrics wrong. Apparently it goes "...and I knew you were really gone". Oh well, I like my version better. I was listening to it while walking around Mountain View Cemetery on fine morning and it stuck. I used it the first chance I got. I also posted that one-image blog about it below.

The drawing is the standard gouache and ink on paper bag affair that I have been into for a while now. I've been drawing trees for a long while and have experimented with incorporating stumps here and there. I've done sketches of similar trees growing from stumps in the old sketchbooks and this seemed like a good opportunity to put it out there as a final drawing. I really like the symbolism of the stump, and then with new growth. I see it in the yard all the time, except usually only with plants that I'm trying to kill. The plants I want to thrive die and the plants I want to kill keep rising from the dead. It's a new tree, but still the same tree.

I think it works in the context of "Regime Change" with the simple application of this symbol to the American presidential administration changing this year. American pride (or whatever) seems all chopped down, but here it begins to grow anew. Frankly, that's pretty thin, but it works good enough for me.

Here are some images from the days of sketchbook past. This was before I realized that trees tend to create new growth from the outside, rather than right in the center of the rings.

Also at Swarm this evening is the opening of our buddy John Casey's solo exhibition, "Distant Cousins". Should be fantastic. There are also great shows from several other pals opening tonight all over the city. You see, this is why having everybody wanting to do their thing on First Friday can be a problem. With that in mind, Rowan Morrison will be having their next opening, "Small Ruins" by Hannah Henry, tomorrow (Saturday) night. Here is a little preview image of part of John Casey's installation in progress:

Game Over / Continue?

2009-03-21T13:17:00.000-07:00

Here is a little preview of a piece for the upcoming Giant Robot San Francisco show, "Game Over / Continue?". The theme of this group show is video games and it will even feature some actual playable games collaborated from artists in the show. In the end I painted the controller buttons red.

This piece is a celebration of the home gaming systems of my youth... the Atari 2600, the Nintendo Entertainment System, and the Sega Genesis. These three systems were, in fact, each from a different "generation" of home video game consoles. The Atari 2600 (released in 1977, the year I was born) was a 2nd generation, 4-bit system; The Nintendo Entertainment System was released when I was eight and changed my life. It is a 3rd generation, 8-bit system. While I was a Super Nintendo kid, the Sega Genesis rolled out in 1989 and had Sonic the Hedgehog packed with it. 4th generation and, you guessed it, 16-bits.

I like how these are three controllers from different brands and generations, and each one has a different number of buttons. Yet, they are all controllers from cartridge based systems and are easily recognizable to anybody who played home video games in the 1980s.

Each of these controllers was drawn from a live sample from my collection. The entanglement of chords is just the natural result so I made it an aesthetic element that pulls the whole piece together, I hope. I think one of the greatest developments with the current, 7th generation of home video game systems is the introduction of truly wireless controllers.

I haven't gotten a title yet. I was thinking something along the lines of the ideas entanglement or being tangibly connected to the video game through the controller... like the umbilical or something. I don't know. Titles are so hard. Maybe I'll go with "77-85-89", like a padlock combination or code. Hmmm.

Here is an image of the work-in-progress with the originals in the back there.

Anyways, the show opens March 27th at GRSF. Be there.

Here is a link to wikipedia's History of Video Games article

One morning I woke up and I knew that it was on.

2009-03-13T15:13:00.000-07:00

Monster Drawing Rally

2009-03-07T13:50:00.000-08:00

Narangkar and I participated in the recent 9th Annual Monster Drawing Rally, a benefit for Southern Exposure in SF. The event was at the Verdi Club in San Francisco, and it was a monster for real. 130 artists working in for shifts, live drawing for an hour, with a huge crowd clamoring and drinking and fighting for the right to purchase the art for $60 a piece, which is quite a steal for some of the artists involved.

It was the first time Narangkar and I have participated and even with all the fair warnings from friends it was still crazy. Luckily I had my artwork planned out and had even done a time trial earlier in the day. I still just barely finished my art.

Here are some images:

Narangkar and I, in "the zone". We were in the 9 to 10pm slot, when things really get rowdy.
Narangkar planned an awesome embroidery with a painted abstracted shape of the skatepond and using french knots in different shades to represent the clover. She completely underestimated the amount of time it would take to make it, though.
Her embroidery still came out awesome.
I did a classic white and ink on paper bag drawing. It took about 59 minutes, which is really fast for me. I'm really pleased with how it came out. A bit sloppy, but still bold and fun. It sold, too.
Here is the time test one I did earlier in the day. This one took about an hour and fifteen (not including snack breaks). I gifted it to John Casey (who took a few of these photos).
All in all it was an intense art experience and I hope I'm invited next year. Working with time deadlines is a great way to just get some work out there and not worry about mistakes or perfection (not that I'm worried about that too much anyhow).More great photos on John Casey's bunnywax blog.

Recently...

2009-03-04T16:36:00.000-08:00

Some recent pictures and the stories behind them.

a few different people have recently pointed out that from within our studio looking at the door the numbers "332" backwards spell "see". I noticed this a while back but, for some reason, this seems somehow extra awesome right now.
One of the fringe benefits from owning a bookstore if you get free passes to the annual comic book convention in SF. While things aren't nearly as cool as when I went to those hotel ballroom conventions in New York as a youngster, it is still fun to spend an afternoon lurking around the comics and toys.
As a rule, I usually won't take photos of the nerds who dress in costume at the Comicon (that is just what they want you to do). But I thought this interview with Dino-Jesus was cool.
The best part of the comic convention is the booths of vintage toys and really rare comics. I don't have the cash to even get them to open the display case for me, but it is still cool to see some tens of thousands of dollars comics and toys in person.
In other news, they destroyed the double-sided curb at the car wash across the street from our home. It was nice having a mellow little skate spot across the street. I'm hoping that they replace it with a nice marble ledge or something, but that isn't likely. Here's to you, double-sided curb. Thanks for the sessions.
Snickers with her all-time favorite toy. She loves the "fishy-toy" more than anything else in the world. She seriously just sits and stares at it until you play with her with it. Snicks is now at least 18 months old but still looks (and acts) like a tiny kitten.

Roo is the queen of the kitty fort.

Two Thousand and Me - the year of the Pete

2009-02-25T17:15:00.000-08:00

With all my duties at the gallery and the junk store and publishing and everything, it is easy to let the creation of artwork slip onto the back burner and, eventually, off the stove altogether. So after a little success with last years Double Exposure exhibition, I put the word out that I was looking to weasel my way into some group shows or anything like that for 2009. Time to reap.

First up, is the ongoing Scion Installation 5, that will touring the us in 2009. It has already hit Detroit and Miami, and is currently in Phoenix. It will also be heading to DC, Minneapolis, New York, San Jose, Portland, and LA. More info and specific dates and venues are at scion.com/installation. Big, big thanks to David Choe for making this happen for me. There are some heavy hitters involved in these shows, and Scion always throws a good party so check them out if they come near your city.

I've got a busy night coming up this Friday (Feb 27th). Oakland Museum of CA director Rene DeGuzman will be giving a lecture at the (C) show, which is in Piedmont, CA. It is the same show that opened in December. That happens around 5:30 pm. If you want to attend, send me an email and I'll make it happen.

Then, Narangkar and I are participating in Southern Exposure's 9th Annual Monster Drawing Rally, at the Verdi Club, 2424 Mariposa Street, in San Francisco. We are both scheduled to draw in the late spot, 9-10pm, when things get rowdy. I can't wait. Lots of amazing artists are participating so come early and definitely stay late.

In the near future I will have some brand new work in the Game Over / Continue? group exhibition over at GRSF, the Giant Robot shop in San Francisco. A lot of my recent artwork has revolved around arcade and home video games so this is right up my alley and I'm so happy to be in the show. It starts on March 27th.

Then I'm dropping another new piece in the Regime Change group show for Swarm's 3 year anniversary in Oakland. That's on April 3rd, I believe. That night will also be the opening of John Casey's solo show, Distant Cousins, at Swarm, so don't miss that.

Next up, it's back to GRSF for the annual Tree Show, which, again, is right up my alley. I always get cards for this show and feel like I should have been involved. Thanks to Luke at GRSF, and a kind word from Sean Boyles, and it's on!

I also have a San Jose group show coming up in October, perhaps a split-show for a ebay owned internet 2.0 company headquarters in SF in June, a new issue of Junk Pirate later this month, and lots more simmering.

So mark your calendars in bold red marker.

New Year New Work

2009-01-03T17:49:00.001-08:00

Here are some images of a few recent pieces of art I have created. They are currently on view in a private salon show in Piedmont, CA and (barring any sales) I should get them back in March.

First we have 6 additions to the Nostalgia Arcade series:

Here is how they all look on the wall together. It was a tough photo to get because they are framed with glass.

Also coming out of the studio this past December are these:

Those two are ink and gouache on paper bags, 14" x 17"

And this guy, titled "A Shrine to Procrastination" is made from letraset rub-on lettering on found paper. 8" x 10".
I also finished sketchbook #13 a few days ago! That one took almost 2 years. Hopefully I can keep the productivity up going into 2009 here. If anybody is interested in checking out the show in Piedmont (also featuring Narangkar Glover and Derek Weisberg), just drop me a line and I'll make it happen.

Nostalgia Arcade

2008-12-12T20:26:00.000-08:00

Just a quick pic of the first of a new series of gouache and ink on paper bag pieces I'm presently completing. This one will be available at the RoMoLoCo Group Show and Holiday Party tomorrow evening. The rest are debuting at a private party in Piedmont later this month.

The series is called Nostalgia Arcade, and this is #7. If you give me a moment I could figure out what actual arcade game this image is based on.

And speaking of RoMoLoCo (which I'll hopefully have pictures of soon), there will be lots of great, affordable art (almost all under $150), with 85% going to the artists and the rest going towards recovering all the money we spent on Holiday decorations.

More good news, Narangkar got us a beverage sponsorship with Trumer Pils brewery in Berkeley. Hell yeah!

Installation 5

2008-11-30T01:24:00.000-08:00

2008 has been a pretty amazing year. And just when I thought it was all over, the good folks over at Scion gave me a call to inform me that my collaborative video with Dave Choe has been picked-up for the Scion Installation 5 art tour. A nine-stop touring art exhibition. The Detroit premiere already happened, buy you can check out scion.com/installation for future tour dates. I know, my name isn't listed on the website, but I have been assured that the video will be shown as part of the exhibition.

In the meanwhile, I'm getting shipped over to the insane super Miami Art Fair craziness in the first weekend of December. If you think that the whole Miami art fair thing has gotten rediculously over-hyped, I couldn't agree more, but you had better believe I'll take a free trip (hotel included) to celebrate with my contemporaries in Miami Beach.

If you are in Miami on December 5th, RSVP online for the Scion ho-down. It should be a pretty good party. Any friends should hit me up so we can get some food and laugh at all the money being flushed down the toilet by these galleries.

Check my name on the flyer. Crud-ow!

Double Exposure

2008-11-28T16:00:00.001-08:00

Here are some images from the recent work that was on exhibit as part of the Double Exposure group show at Blankspace gallery in Oakland. All six pieces sold, so I feel pretty good about the whole thing. Each large piece was 10" x 10" framed, with the little guys at about 5.5" x 5.5". You can open the images in a new window for a slightly larger size view.

Look at all those red dots.

"The Apparent Lack of an Objective - Blue"

"The Apparent Lack of an Objective - Yellow"

"The Apparent Lack of an Objective - Red"

"Time-Wasting Machine #11"

"The Unchecked Growth of Ornament"

"Habituation"
Big Thanks to Kerri and Jason at Blankspace for organizing and hanging the exhibition. Thanks to the Junk Store for the constant influx of junk I can use. Thanks to Narangkar for lighting a fire under my ass to put something significant forward for this show. And big, big Thanks for the Support to those who bought the artwork. Happy Thanksgiving.

Happy Halloween

2008-10-31T13:41:00.000-07:00

New Sketches

2008-10-28T09:17:00.000-07:00

For the first time this year, I'm having some artwork exhibited publicly. I have six new pieces as part of the Double Exposure show at Blankspace Gallery in Oakland. The show features nine other artists, all of which are owners / curators of other Bay Area art spaces. Narangkar also has a new series of paintings in the show. The exhibit opened on the 25th of this month, and a first Friday reception will take place on November 7th, 7-10pm (although I'll be out of town for that one).

I'm very pleased with the new work, which I feel ties together a few different series I have been following: the Junk Pirate collections, the Time-Wasting Machines, plus some other illustrations based on sketchbook ideas. All framed real nice and priced to be owned. 4 of the 6 have already sold! Once the show is down I'll post the work on my website and blog.

In the meanwhile, I have also scanned a few recent drawings from the old sketchbook:

As usual, I've been drawing a lot of video game related images. Not really characters or imagery from game content, but more like drawings of the shapes of controllers and arcade machines. I think the King of Kong movie got me hyped on classic video games. I really wish arcades still existed. PS3 is cool, but sitting on the couch playing a first-person shooter for hours just isn't the same as going to an arcade.

This is a simplified image of the skatepond. Narangkar has been doing a lot of great art using the pond and the yard as imagery and it inspired me to get some drawings done. I basically wanted to reduce the pond to simple image with the colorful concrete, the lavender, and the lemon trees. I would love to evolve this into an Arts-and-Crafts style tile illustration.

Immortality

2008-10-17T13:49:00.000-07:00

Well, I can check another big one off the lifetime to-do list:

Appear as a cartoon character on national television in a show I love! As absurd as it sounds, a few months ago I made a special appearance on the acclaimed Cartoon Network animated program Metalocalypse as myself, a fan of cartoon supergroup Dethklok. In my big scene, I get an autograph from who I think is bass player Murderface (who is actually Murderface's double-crossing look-a-like), only to get stabbed with the pen.

Truly this is a big moment for me and I would like to take a moment to let you all know how such an amazing circumstance came to be. It all started with my buddy Ako getting a job doing character drawings for Titmouse studios, the makers of Metalocalypse. One day I got an email stating that she needed some reference material for Dethklok fans for an episode in season 2, so I quickly got some pictures of my ugly mug and sent them off.

When I later visited Ako in the Titmouse Studios in Los Angeles (awesome place, by the way), I was able to pick-up a photocopy of the original drawing of me-as-a-cartoon, plus the assurance the I would, indeed, get killed by the band in an upcoming episode.

The episode with me had originally aired on November 4th, 2007, but I had sort of forgot about it all. Then, recently, I searched for the episode on Youtube, and, sure enough, towards the end of episode 4, "Dethdoubles", there I am. The video has since been removed from Youtube, but Season 2 will be available on DVD on December 2nd.

The original digital snapshot I sent to Ako.
Ako's drawing.
There I am! This is from a screenshot I took of the Youtube video. Awesome!

Coincidentally enough, I look a lot more like the cartoon now than I did when the original photo was taken over a year ago.

Big thanks to Ako, the entire Titmouse crew, and anybody who recognizes how freakin' awesome this is. If the video shows up on Youtube again I'll post it up. It has truly been an honor to be killed in an episode of my favorite animated show (sorry, Simpsons, but it is time to call it quits). The Dethklok CD is pretty good, too.

extra roadtrip photos

2008-10-12T19:51:00.000-07:00

By popular demand, I present 28 bonus pictures from our recent road trip.

Total Meltdown

2008-09-28T14:22:00.000-07:00

It has been a rough week. Aside from the usual petty day-job drama, a chest-cold that I just can't shake, a trip to the dentist that revealed the first cavity of my life (damn you wisdom teeth!), and the complete collapse of the economy, we've finally gotten hit for real this time:

Sometime in the wee hours of this past Tuesday morning, our iMac's hard drive somehow got completely fried. Don't ask me how this happens. It was working fine, we go to bed, we wake up, the sucker is dead.

Oh yes, we've tried the "single-user start up" and the old "disk utility booted from the OS start up disc" and all of that. The computer can't even find the hard drive. We've gone from fix-the-computer mode into salvage-any-data-we-can-find mode. We currently have the best minds over at Wired on the case (thanks, Chris), but the prognosis is not good. Not good at all.

Luckily, we had just recently bought a 500-gig backup drive a week earlier and had backed-up the photos, music, and gallery business files. Unfortunately, I had planned on backing up all the personal info, artwork, documents, contacts, and all that at a later date. Smooth move, Pete. D'oh! We still have the laptop computer, too, so you can rest easy knowing I'm still able to surf the internet when I should be working on something important.

So, not a total loss, but still the digital equivalent of part of your home burning down. Could be worse, but definitely a setback. Swell.

Roadtrip part3

2008-09-19T14:35:00.000-07:00

Narangkar and Pete's Roadtrip

Part 3: The Journey Home

Narangkar and I left Washington full of good vibes and energized for the long drive home. We drove up the coast, so for the ride back, after we got into Oregon on the 5, we crossed to the center of the state, which was more of a desert climate than the woods of the Pacific...

The crazy big sky with fire smoke on the horizon.

Never been here before: Smith Rock. Narangkar spotted it and we decided to take a spontaneous detour to one of the most famous climbing rocks in the world. That's me climbing here in this photo... just kidding, we didn't even walk down to the base of the rock.

Even if you aren't climbing, the views from the wildness around Smith Rock are just gorgeous.

We stayed at the Old St. Francis School (another awesome McMenamins hotel in a converted school) in Bend, OR. Check out this deluxe bathroom. Narangkar caught up on the Olympic action while I watched the first half of "Zohan" in the speakeasy theater. Even though I got in for free, I still felt like I got ripped-off. That movie is awful. Great hotel room, though. And more great local brews up the road.

The next day we hit Crater Lake National Park. We hiked Garfield peak and took in one of the most amazing views on the planet. I've never seen blues like this before.

Whoooooo!

Wizard Island.

The chipmunks are not afraid of people at Crater Lake.

Mt. Shasta on road during the final leg home.

It was such a super awesome vacation and just what I needed to relax a bit and get some perspective on life. Even with current gas prices, camping road trips are an excellent and affordable vacation and the Pacific Northwest has got some great spot in store. We got some rain, some record heat, lots of amazing views, some of my all time favorite hikes, some fresh water swimming (none of that in Oakland), lots of tasty local beer, got to visit old friends, stayed in two neat hotels, and at the best fish and chips ever. It was good to get away from email and city noise, but it was nice to get home as well.

You need to travel to realize what it is you want, but you need to go home to find it.

Stay tuned because I'll have a bunch of bonus roadtrip photos blogged-up in a few days.

Coming up in November... East Coast extravaganza in Boston and CT.

Next year... Japan!

Roadtrip part 2

2008-09-17T18:10:00.000-07:00

Narangkar and Pete's Roadtrip
Part 2: Adventure at the BorderWhen we last checked in, Narangkar and I were one our way to northern Washington to check in with one of my oldest pals, Benny T., and his wife, Karla. It was record heat the day we arrived in Bellingham and we were immediately whisked away to the soothing waters of the Nooksack River, where Karla's coworker was having a come-one-come-all family camp out...
There was a ton of food constantly cooking as we whiled away the summer day playing river frisbee and volleyball.
We were greeted with lavender gin and tonics and a keg of local brew. There was more than plenty to drink.
Sunset on the Nooksack. This photo is not digitally enhanced at all. This is seriously not even as amazing as it looked in person.

Hiking along Mt. Baker. I'd have to say that this was one of the all time coolest hikes I've ever been on.
It was a hot day but the air was cool coming off the snow. There was even a refreshing drizzle for a minute.
Trail lurkers.
Karla and Ben
Is that a wolf in the background?
Pizza and Beer at the North Fork Beer Shrine.
Something Falls (I can't remember the name) in a park in Bellingham. There are some classic swimming spots up north.
Bellingham has a huge skatepark. This photo doesn't even show the small ledgy-bowl and the super pool.
I now understand the vibe about skating rocks.
Benny T. whips-up another epic cappuccino.

Furball.
We got some of amazing fish and chips at the Fairhaven fish bus. Narangkar and Benny T. went for the Alaskan Halibut while I sampled the "Fisherman's Basket".
Used bookstore.
The tracks on the way to the beach on the bay. The beach smelled like cattle.
The next day, we (eventually) got across the border into Canada. After Dim Sum we strolled the huge park above downtown. There we saw several seagulls attempting to swallow giant starfish whole. It was bizarre and kind of gross. They just stood there with their beaks open and half a starfish hanging out.
We made it to the Vancouver Anthropology Museum 15 minutes before closing. It was worth it just to get to spend a few minutes with the awesome totems.

We had an really, really great time with Ben and Karla and Furball. We saw Mongol (the movie), ate really cheap delicious sushi, rode bikes, saw a marmot, discovered that everything you do is definitely still on your permanent record, and drank lots and lots from the local breweries. Bellingham is really nice (in the summer anyways) and Vancouver was great.
Coming up next: Part 3: The Voyage Home

Roadtrip part 1

2008-09-09T17:56:00.000-07:00

Narangkar and Pete's Summer Roadtrip

Part 1: The Trek North

Narangkar and I planned a little time off for the summer, so in mid-August we packed up the cooler, borrowed Siriji's camping stove, bought some new tires and trail shoes, and hit the road. The plan: drive North, camp, hike, maybe skate, visit some friends, maybe get into Canada, then drive South, camp, hike, maybe skate, and just get the heck off the internet for a few weeks.

Fern Canyon... well worth the dusty drive.

A close friend of John McEntire's bullied his tour bus into the lovely campsite at Patrick's Creek, CA. Some folks "rough it" with more luxuries than I have at home.

The Smith River ran right below our campground.

Now that's good swimmin'!

The from atop the crazy trail drive, but before the fuckin' insane drop-to-your-death drive to the trail head.

Campfire at the Umpuqua Campground. Neat lakeside trails and then an abrupt transition to the fog-covered Oregon dunes... but a cruddy campground otherwise.

We noticed that there are people who spend all their camping time by chopping wood. Just chopping wood all day for the constant fire they aren't enjoying because they are too bust chopping wood.

Apples and sausages. Breakfast of runners-up.

The Siltcoos Lake and amazing forest trail in Oregon. If you want some excellent backpack camping, check it out.

Reedsport skatepark with a fullpipe.

Ghosts in the Art Vogel room at the Olympic Club in Centralia, WA. The speakeasy movie theater is right below our room and the bathroom is down the hall.

Not featured: The milquetoast Camp Host, bear droppings, dune buggies, traffic in southern Washington, Iron Man for free, and lunch at Taco Bell (big mistake).

Coming up next: Part 2: Adventure at the Border

Bert

2008-08-06T21:26:00.001-07:00

The world lost one of the sweetest and most lovable cats of all time this morning. Bert, or Big B as I liked to call him, lived a long and interesting life. From his early days living in the woods of Santa Cruz and literally running up and down vertical ladders to his glorious feasting with his dining buddy, Wendell, Bertkins was round and jolly and friendly with everyone he met.

He came loaded with special features, like his magic white spot, his "cowardly lion" tail that had no feeling, his push-button spot between his shoulders that always prompted him to lie down, and, of course, his many, many extra toes. I think he had a total of 8 extra toes in all, maybe 10. It was like he had a second little mini-paw attached to his regular paw.

Bert was brought up by my sister, Rachel, for many years until she moved to Germany. Then he spent many exciting years in a few homes in San Francisco until he ended up with us a few years ago. My cat, Toby, didn't take well to any new kitties in the house, but fortunately Narangkar's sister, Siriji, took Bert into her home and gave him lots of love. I am so happy and thankful that Siriji was able to provide Bert and comfortable home and lifestyle for his final years.

Bert was about 15 or 16 years old and his health rapidly declined in a very short period. He was such a sweet and lovable guy. Despite being ill and not eating, he continued to purr and snuggle up until the very end. We called him Bertkiss, Bertimus, Bertleman, Big Bert, Chubbs, Big B, Bertkins, and sometimes The Lummox. We'll always love him and never forget him.

3 Years

2008-07-23T17:48:00.000-07:00

Narangkar and I celebrated our three year wedding anniversary a few weekends ago with a leisurely picnic at the location of our reception, the UC Botanical Gardens in Berkeley. Our actual anniversary was Thursday, July 10th, but we hosting a "drawing party" at the gallery that evening so we celebrated the following Sunday.

Narangkar whipped up some awesome salads. We also got some good cheese and cider. We were hoping for pulled pork sandwiches over at Cesar, but had to settle for tuna.

Looking smooth.

This picture is making me thirsty.

My wife is so awesome.

We spent a good part of the afternoon trying to get macro-photos of bees.

Botanical goodness.

The obligatory jumping photo.

Junk Pirate #16

2008-06-11T17:06:00.000-07:00

Junk Pirate #16 is out now. It has lots of good stuff, like a letter from some guy in Santa Rita, Certificate of Death, Gremlins trading stickers, Wizard Dust Mop, Get out of Drunk Tank free card, the OptiVisor, 99 Wife-Savers, The Working Girl's Doodle Pad (number 2!), Drag Racing Club, other people's wedding photos, Skeletor, Ladies Score Card, Structure of Freemasonry, Y2K Survival Guide, Jokers, specimen collection information, Vincent Price's favorite game, not one but two horse diagrams, "I am a tree.", Party Pooper Award, Declaration of Mid-Life Crisis certificate, Hickety Pickety, "...just see if I don't!", and more.

If you are reading this than you most assuredly know me well enough to deserve a free copy. If you don't, than go here to buy it. Thanks to all the hard workers at the EBD (good to have you back, Jammer), and the fine folks at Rowan Morrison Publishing (me and Nara).

"When you have problem remember me. I will always beside you."

Albany Skate Bowl

2008-06-08T10:59:00.000-07:00

Rumor has it that the concrete skate bowl in the Albany landfill park is getting torn down sometime soon. There is another, conflicting rumor that the skate bowl is actually getting expanded. On thing you can be sure of is that Jacob Tillman recently visited the East Bay and, once again, tore it up. Bonus air from Duncan. I've got the video to prove it...

Connecticut Represent

2008-05-14T19:54:00.000-07:00

I flew out to visit my Mom at her lovely home in Connecticut this past week. We mostly just sat around and talked for four days straight. I also took the time to clear out a lot of my old school papers and toys and things that she has been kind enough to store for me over the past 13 years. Time goes by so fast. Anyways, here are a few snapshots from the trip:

Artful photography. This is actually a jumping photo.

We went to an art exhibit at the Stamford Nature Center. It was of sculptures by Nathan Sawaya made from Lego blocks. Pretty cool.

Then we checked-out the animals on the farm. From afar, we thought these giant turkeys who were hanging by the Coke machines were made of Legos, too.

Goats!

More wild animals. This time it is the Pudge Master, aka the Varmint Hunter.

That's Pudge on the left and Bobo on the right... ready for some dinner.

This is just a small sample of the many boxes of stuff I went through. Attention members of the Stamford, CT Freecycle: there are some good comic books coming your way!

He-Man and the Masters of the Universe... coming soon to eBay.

Here is a photo from Waveny Park in New Canaan. When I was in high school, I spent a lot of time sitting in this park doing nothing.

On my last night there we had a big fire. I wish I had a fireplace in my home.

The flight home was long and I was super tired but still couldn't fall asleep. I got some cool pictures of "the City" during our descent.

Other events that I didn't get photos of were: chicken broccoli casserole, several dead chipmunks and a dead mole courtesy of Pudge, a picture of me with the Ultimate Warrior when I was about 10 years old, my Mom's awesome bathtub, a pretty awful art show (featuring no Legos), Westy storage, the happy guy who took my old baseball card sets, "The Thieves' Market" by Frederick Grant, and my Mom (she doesn't like having her picture taken).
Thanks for having me, Mom. I love you.

Anniversary in Hell

2008-05-05T19:32:00.000-07:00

Narangkar and I celebrated our 10 year anniversary by spending two fabulous nights in Las Vegas. We figured, if you're gonna go to Vegas, don't half-ass it. Vegas is a gimmicky, cheesy, grimy place so we opted to stay at the dumbest hotel/casino we could find... Excalibur. 100% authentic Las Vegas experience, baby. We stayed two nights and left just before we both went crazy from all the noise and smoke and hooker cards and fat people and bad food and video screens and buffet lines and people with their tiny kids (are you folks nuts!?!) and just the whole Vegas-ness of it all. We partied hard, had a great time, and never want to go back.

Here are some photos in chronological order:

The view from our hotel room window. It was just magical.

Damn right.

The New York, New York hotel/casino has a mini Statue of Liberty that plays patriotic country music non-stop. God bless America.

We spent the daylight hours by the pool. There were speakers blaring rock music (not classic rock, but the contemporary shit I've never heard before and never want to hear again) non-stop from speakers mounted in every tree. Time for a drink.

$5.75 Corona "imported" beer. As opposed to $5.50 Budweiser "domestic".

We visited the M&M's store, which was 4-stories tall! Four floors of M&M's merchandise! You could buy a 4-pound bag of Skittles for 20 bucks! There was also a "World of Coca-Cola" pavilion but we skipped it. Time for another drink.

Nearby, on The Strip, they are building another monstrosity.

Our second night we headed downtown where the low-rollin' casinos are.
Our kind of place.

This Queen look-a-like tribute band played a few songs every hour outside the 4 Queens Casino. They rocked me. Then they were the champions.

So much razzle-dazzle.

Then the whole Fremont Street domed light show thing happened and it was like, "What the hell is going on?!?" I think Narangkar summed it up nicely by saying, "They've got the technology, but they don't have the content."

Narangkar jockeys some Wheel of Fortune slots while slamming down 54-ounce footballs of High Life to the sweet smells of fried Twinkies. I think Mermaids was our favorite casino.

Meanwhile, the floor starts to trip us out. Whoa.

The old "Ratso and the Pufferfish" routine.

Glitter Gulch... check your dignity at the door.

So glamorous. So drunk.

I think this sign clearly explains why Excalibur is the best hotel in the world. Ever.

See you in Hell, Vegas.
From, Pete...

and Narangkar.

Lavender Air...

2008-04-19T17:42:00.000-07:00

"Lavendair"....

Jacob Tillman pops in and airs out on a quick trip up from Los Angeles. He hasn't skated in many months, slams on his first carve, and then starts responding to onlooker request for a fragrant ollie over the difficult hip. As always, unprecedented. Here's another angle:

Check out Jacob's artwork here (he is currently a painting grad at UCLA): www.jacobtillman.com. Check out a little video edit I did some skating from back in the day over at shredordie.com.

Mess With Texas

2008-04-16T17:28:00.001-07:00

Narangkar and I went to Austin for a bit of the old South by SouthWest a few weeks back. It was the final trip as part of my participation in Scion's Easy Ten film series (you can check out the entire 15-minute film I made with David Choe by clicking this link to "23 Short Film" on Scion's Broadband website). All we had were plane tickets, reservations at a shitbox motel a few miles from downtown, a couple of phone numbers, and our laptop. Well, we also had clothes and stuff and I brought my skateboard. I've never been to Texas, let alone SxSW, so I didn't know what to expect. Thanks to some hot tips from the Texan contingent of This Mob and a phone number for Okay Mountain-Man Michael Sieben, we were fully prepared for a drunken good time.

We strolled over to the Mabel Davis skatepark about a mile or so from where we were staying. It's has got a huge, huge crazy bowl. Yikes.

The park also had a really great street course. Backside 50-50.

These fried pickles were not cheap, but I've been wanted to try me some fried pickles for a while so it was on. Tasty.

Sounder plays at the Camel Lounge, where you are required to accept two packs of free Camel cigarettes if you want some free Pabst tall cans. The whole place was all decked-out in Camel posters. Sounder did their best to not look like tobacco-sponsored sell-outs.

While wandering around downtown Austin our first evening there, we randomly ran into JP, who had spent his first week in Oakland (just after his 21st birthday) at Santa Rita jail on some trumped-up vandalism bullshit. JP rules and hopefully he'll come back to Oakland soon.

One of the only shows we actually payed money to see was, hands down, the worst band I have ever seen in my life. The Slits from the UK. "I'll dance reggae, you dance punk. No- wait- you dance punk and I'll dance reggae." I repeat, with all sincerity, Worst Band Ever!

Here is the 10am line to get into the free Motorhead show.

Motorhead was actually kind of boring. Napalm Death (pictured here), going on year number 27, was the highlight of the afternoon.

I'm sure everybody who has ever been to Okay Mountain gallery has marveled at this nearby amazing, muscle-bound, double bicepted, grill master mural. Awesome.

Sunset on whatever the name of the river that Austin is on is called. It was a lovely evening.

The cupcake airstream. Now that's good eatin'.

We began to doubt that we would get to see any really good shows while at SxSW and were kinda caught off guard when Jay Reatard blew-up the outdoor stage at some Scion / Vice gig. It was over 90 degrees on this mid-March day, there was no shade, but the High Life tallboys were on the house so it was all good. Jay Reatard rules live and on record. Go buy their stuff.

Okay Mountain is swell. We dropped fifty bucks on zines, T-shirts, and a beer cozy in their gift shop. Sitting on their grassy yard listen to random art-music duos and sipping keg beer was not a bad way to spend a few hours. Highly recommended.

Big Nate Sieben.

Backyard rampage.

Narangkar drops in.

Mike, Michael, and Alison. They took us to Barton Springs for some fresh-water swimming and then out for some Tex-Mex. It was a good day.

Oakland in Texas! DJ Eleven and DJ Willie Maze! I bet they are texting each other.

Narangkar dropping moves on the dance floor like you've never seen .

Hooray for everything.

Big thanks to Michael, Allison, and Big Nate Sieben for all their help and hospitality. Thanks also to Todd, Steven, Aho, and the Sounder/Volcom crew, JP, all the Austin heads, and everybody else. See you next time.

13' tall by 27' wide

2008-04-04T13:55:00.000-07:00

Here are a few pictures of the completed mural. We finished it a few weeks ago but I'm just now posting the pictures. Narangkar and I are really pleased with how it turned out and are contemplating doing a similar mural on the side of the gallery, in full public view. Maybe in the fall when we have a little more time.

Big thanks to Lynn and Siriji over at GWPC.

Pete Picks 'Em

2008-03-21T13:13:00.000-07:00

The 2008 Baseball season begin in less than a week when those lovable local losers, the Oakland Athletics, take on the World Champion Boston Red Sox in Tokyo, Japan. Without delay, Fearless Pete is gonna tell you what you'll be seeing when all is said and done in October. You can check the recap of my 2007 predictions at this blog. I also want to reiterate that I successfully picked the Cardinals to win it all in '06.

Let start with the big one: The New York Mets will win the World Series with Johan Santana being the series MVP. Now let's get to the nitty-gritty.

American League East:

Red Sox (best team in baseball in 08)
Yankees (winning the wild card just over the Mariners)
Blue Jays
the Rays (the team formerly known as the "Devil Rays")
Orioles (worst team in the AL)

AL Central:

Tigers (both D-Train and Cabrera rock)
Indians (Sabathia wins on 14 games)
Twins (3-4-5 teams are all close)
White Sox
Royals (win 73 games!)

AL West:

Angels
Mariners (1-2 teams close, both rule)
Oakland A's
Rangers (3-4 teams close, both suck)

For MVP I'm going with Vlad, then A-Rod and Ortiz.
For Cy Young, it's Bedard (on Seattle), Beckett, and Dontrelle Willis (on Detroit)
R.O.Y.: Boston's Jacoby Ellsbury

ALDS: Angels over Yanks, Red Sox over Tigers
ALCS: Angels over Red Sox in seven

National League East:

Mets
Phillies (wild card winners)
Braves (no good)
Nationals (even worse)
Marlins (worst in NL)

NL Central:

Cubs
Brewers (winning but fade in September)
Astros
Reds
Cardinals
Pirates (3-4-5-6 teams all below .500)

NL West:

Diamondbacks (best in NL)
Padres
Dodgers (2-3 teams close and good)
Rockies (tank in '08)
Giants (lose 95 games)

For NL MVP I say D. Wright, then Pujols, then Chase Utley
Cy Young goes to Jake Peavy, with Dan Haren (on Arizona) and Santana (New York) close
R.O.Y.: I don't know... Jay Bruce on the Reds

NLDS: Mets sweep the Cubs, Diamondbacks beat the Phils
NLCS: Mets over Diamondbacks in 5

World Series: You heard it here first, Mets over Angels in 6 games.

I also predict neither Bonds nor Clemens play this year. Also, pitchers Pryor, Wood, Harden, Burnett, Webb, Zambrano, and Hamels spend lots of time on the DL. Oh yeah, Zito is back to form with a low ERA despite the worst run support in baseball.

Play Ball.

Snickers

2008-02-29T16:29:00.000-08:00

It's official. We adopted a new kitten. She is about 6 months old and we've had her for about 3 weeks, but it was only a "foster" period at first. She got just about every type of pattern and coloring on her, and by the looks of her fluff tail, fluff paws, and junior chops she is probably gonna puff out soon. I especially like her on orange leg. She never stops running and playing. I know all kittens are frisky but she is, like, vibrating with energy.

We named her Snickers because she has chocolate, caramel, nougat... and she's nuts.

A rare snoozy moment.

more mural

2008-02-29T16:13:00.000-08:00

The mural is coming along nicely. Narangkar went on a solo mission two weekends ago and got a lot done, and we both got busy this past Sunday and got even further along. This Sunday we'll be dropping the last of the color, filling in some of black poles, and after any color corrections, we should be all done. Then we'll clear coat and sign that sucker next weekend. After that is belongs to the ages.
We've gotten lots of good feedback so far and the gym offered to let us do the entire wall, but I don't think that will be happening anytime soon. We're pretty stoked to have this artwork up at GWPC. It is a great climbing gym and everyone working there has been very cool. Check back for final photos of the mural next week.

This was the wall after Narangkar painted back on the 17th.

Lookin' good.

Mural Update - Colors

2008-02-13T16:29:00.000-08:00

Narangkar and I started in with some colors this past Sunday. I take my own sweet time mixing colors and getting it just right so it is taking a while to get filled, but I think we can all now see how this thing is going to rule when it is finished.

Mural Update

2008-02-02T16:25:00.000-08:00

Remember the sketch I did for a mural Narangkar and I were gonna do at some new climbing gym in downtown Oakland? Refresh your memory with this blog.

Well, we got started in January and have pretty much gotten it all mapped out and ready for some color. It is just Narangkar and I working with ladders upstairs in the weight room at the Great Western Power Company gym. The space already has all the weight and aerobic equipment so people are all grunting and sweating around us while we paint.

Big blank wall.

The mural starts about 3 feet off the floor and is over 10 feet tall.

Here is the end of day one. We got all the poles and most of the "bits" on there.

The end of day two gives us most of our wires lines. Getting all these lines proper while working with just two ladders and a secret line mapping techniques was pretty time consuming. Now it's looking sharp.

I spent another day adding in the last lines, doing a few fixes with white paint, and painting in the black center pillar. Other than some extra paint to fill in the rough spots in the wall texture, we are ready to map our colors and set this thing off.

Here is the original sketch again. We definitely simplified the wires a bit and everything got a bit crammed in the space, but I think things are turning out nicely.
Stay tuned for more updates soon.

Burns 08! Oh fuck yeah!

2008-01-21T20:32:00.000-08:00

Narangkar and I just finished up Season 3 of Melrose Place on DVD and we are already jonesin' for Season 4. This season things really heated up: featuring the debut (and then return) of Dr. Peter Burns, Mike Mancini getting amnesia, Jake getting shot, Jo getting shot (with a shotgun in the back!) by the parents of her baby's dead father (Reed, whom she killed), Kimberly going to No More Victims camp and then getting possessed and blowing up the apartment complex in the season finale, Alison going to alcohol rehab and hooking up with a sex addict pro football player, Brooke and Billy get married, Dan Cortez as Jess Hansen, Chris Marchet gambling half-a-million of Jane's Manicini Designs money and basically getting away with it, Amanda's father dies, then her boss, Bruce (head of D&D Advertising), kills himself, then she gets Hodgkin's Lymphoma, which she recovers from really fast, Sydney joins a cult, Matt gets stalked by Gay Cop, and so, so, so much more!

To celebrate the triumphant return of Melrose Place into our lives, I'm resurrecting a custom sticker I made ten years ago to celebrate my favorite character and the one true chief-of-staff over at Wilshire Memorial:

Melrose Place season 4 coming at you April 15th (Narangkar and my 10th anniversary!). Oh fuck yeah!

Winter Skate Jamboree

2008-01-18T14:15:00.000-08:00

We got a big enough gap in the winter weather to bucket out the old skatepond and rip it up yesterday afternoon. Andrew, Narangkar, Duncan, Tom, Jedson (or is it Judsen?), and myself got a good 4 hours of skating in. Got some footage of it. Click the photo of Duncan slamming to check the movie:

If you don't want to wait for the video to load, click this link to the video as seen on Shred or Die.

Tom's kickflip into the pond is my vote for trick-of-the-day. It was good to get a strong session going in the middle of winter. Then we all ate Indian food.