JUNE 2010

I hope everyone's enjoying the summer so far, yet also staying informed on the ongoing oil catastrophe in the Gulf Of Mexico, which is sure to wreak havoc on our natural world--you know, the place that makes it possible for all of us to be alive right now--for a long time. Please, make a donation to a helping charity if you can spare some  cash, or find out anything else you can do, including try to use less fossil fuels and less BP!

In brighter news, the Toronto NIX Convention is coming up, and will feature a benefit art auction for the Skate 4 Cancer charity.  Many tattooers were asked to paint a rock & roll themed skatedeck for the show, and I chose a tribute to one of my favorite hardcore bands of all time, the recently defunct straight edge band Have Heart, from Boston, MA.  This music has had a profound effect on my life with its positive message and energetic spirit, so I'm glad I got to pay tribute and support a good cause.  You can see the deck HERE, and look into bidding on it, or any of the others!

Please note:  I will not be attending the Toronto convention! I only painted a skatedeck for the art show!

Lastly, I've started working in earnest on the long-planned revamp and expansion of my instructional painting book.  The new version will be over twice as long, with twice as many instructional tips, techniques, and strategies, and about 5 times as many photos!  This hardcover book will likely be over 100 pages of intense instruction and full-color plates spanning a wide selection of my own paintings through the years.  Even if you've already bought my current pamphlet, you will benefit greatly from this new version.  It will be released through Guy Aitchison's Proton Press hopefully sometime in the fall.  Stay tuned for updates!

 MAY 16th, 2010

The past month has been so incredibly busy for me that I didn't get a chance to update this before the opening of the Flesh To Canvas art show at Last Rites Gallery, which features a painting of mine. But, the show runs for about a month so if you're in that area you can still check it out.

Later This month I'll be in another NYC art show, a tribute to Monica Henk, a tattooer and artist tragically killed in a hit and run accident.  It was curated by Dan Henk and opens at Sacred Gallery on May 30th.

This coming weekend I'll be at the Hell City Tattoo Festival in Columbus, Ohio which is one of the best conventions in the world.  This year's event will feature the release of a book and DVD chronicling the awesome Innerstate live art event that Guy Aitchison hosted at last year's Hell City.  I was fortunate to be a part of this monumental group of tattoo artists and it should be a lot of fun getting to look back on my experience at the DVD screening this Friday night.  The weekend will also see the releases of the Pint Sized Paintings book that i am a part of, as well as the Tattoo Prodigies book...so needless to say this year's Hell City will be another amazing time.  So come see all this stuff, buy some awesome art books, and say hi. 

Hopefully you are already aware of the oil spill catastrophe in the Gulf of Mexico, which threatens the health of an entire ecosystem that both animals and humans depend on.  Once again, oil corporations and dependence on fossil fuels have damaged the Earth that keeps us alive.  Please, read about the disaster and what you can do to help.  Go HERE to see what you can do or who you can donate to.  Even something as simple as skipping out on going to a movie and donating that money instead will help in a small way!  Or, boycott BP if you feel that's appropriate.  Just do something!  Lacking the time to go down there personally, i recently gave a large donation (from the sales of my recent exhibition at Last Rites Gallery) to several organizations who are getting volunteers and resources together for the cleanup and wild animal rescue.