Back when i started working as a concept designer in the late 90’s this particular company i was at didn’t think i needed a computer, so i did all my rendering by hand. But renderings on black material often didn’t reproduce well (the light would go through the pigment and be absorbed by the dark substrate, as opposed to a rendering on white materials where the light bounces back from behind the pigments). And you couldn’t use markers on black paper obviously – which was a preferred method of coloring.

The solution i found was to illustrate in negative color and then make color copies using the “negative” setting. This resulted in super-dark blacks and great saturated color. To help, i made an inverse color guide showing what each Prismacolor lead would look like when reversed. But boy using photoshop would have been a lot easier.

Also, this is probably my last post.

HA! – i just found this online – this is part of a HUGE mall in China I worked on – I chose almost all the exterior colors and materials for the entire project. (I’ve actually done like 3 malls in China I think, and a couple casino resorts.) The blue, teal, and green you see below were always big questions. I never thought they’d do them. Blues are VERY tricky architecturally, it must seem mineral-based to work in my opinion – but i see they did my blue columns and even the teal and chartreuse walls behind and they do look great. I never go to the field on these jobs – i just do it all from my apt and then years later, like now, happen upon some pics online and get to see how it turned out.

I think it’s funny how people roaming around this place would never guess all the colors they’re seeing were chosen by some guy sitting on the floor of his tiny apartment sifting through all these color chips on the carpet as the cat walks through them.

Egypt Extended Cut

Waaaaayyy back in October 2007, my friend asked me if I’d be his one man art dept. for a music video shoot for a reality/game show on VH1 called “Shoot to Kill.” The show was two teams competeing by remaking their version of a classic 80’s music video. We were allowed limited crew, two days to shoot, and $500. That’s it. I spent a couple weeks building and painting in my friend’s backyard and we only spent $130 of our own money. When the video was screened for the judges (the original band members were bart of the panel) they were silent, then one asked “When you were making this, did you know it was going to look that good?” And we were like “Uh duh. Isn’t that the point?”

This was one of my set sketches. The concept was she’s dead (which is why the movers have to literally move her), and she’s being prepped for the afterlife. As the movers go through her memories, anything that was alive (birds, fish, etc. are now dead and mummified. Everything else is gilded and getting wrapped also. One of the Bangles read it as a metaphor of being a pop star and how she recalled being constantly manipulated by others almost as literally as we’d shown.

For whatever reason the show will never air despite the whole season being shot. If u see Drew Barrymore ask her about it – she was one of the 11 executive producers.

Long Beach Opera liked my poster and set design for Good Soldier Schweik enough to ask me to design a poster for their next production too. Which I’m happy about because there WAY TOO MUCH shitty theater poster design in this town. I’ve often thought i should offer my services to theater row here in LA at mega-discount rates just to combat the eye pollution problem. Thats my weakness – i offer my services to fix things that are ugly – not jobs that pay well. Like this little chinese restaurant down the street that has this awesome facade but it’s painted in shit colors and one of these days i’m going to walk in (much like I did with the sex club) and say I think you should hire me to pick new colors for your exterior – and your interior – and let me redesign your logo – and menus…

Opening night is sold out. More pics to come after I recover. I designed all the sets/props as well as all 40-some illustrations projected on the scrim.

The Good Soldier Schweik for Long Beach Opera – It’s a comedy, in English, based on a Czech novel about the start of WWI. Only 2 performances, each in a different theater, the first one being far superior and almost sold out – Get Tix here if u want.

This is the tipsy bar – which i think is quite a sublime little piece. The mugs attach magnetically to metal hidden under the top allowing repositioning of the mugs – and re-balancing or un-balancing of the bar without the mugs falling.

this bed is made from platforms and crates used in other scenes. The look is spoze to be very traveling troupe with a circus/military feel.

I got this green chair for $5. Making it into a wheelchair cost a bit more.

These sketches were rough early concepts. The birdcage was found on craigslist and i added the extra who-ha at the top. I think adding chandelier crystals to those chairs and cage was a bit of genius but that’s me talking about myself. And let me tell u what a bitch it is to paint a birdcage.

The Good Soldier Schweik for Long Beach Opera – It’s a comedy, in English, based on a Czech novel about the start of WWI – if any of that interests you. There is also a scene with 5 guys in a bed together getting enemas. Maybe i should have gone with that for the poster image. There’s only 2 performances, each in a different theater, the first one being far superior I think – Get Tix here if u want.

A few years ago I was asked to design some concepts to fill this large atrium space in a mall in Jakarta called “FX”. None of my concepts were realized except for this slide, which was entirely inspired by the slides Carsten Holler did at the Tate in 2006 – something the client specifically requested – only flashier! Which is good because it bothers me when clients want me to do a rip-off of some artist’s work – I just tell them to hire that artist, then they’d get the bonus PR angle of having a “name” artist’s work in their space. But apparently clients assume “name” artists would be difficult to work with, unlike nameless wrists-for-hire like myself.

So here’s one of my renderings, and what what actually built – plus video of Asians flying out the end of it, skidding across the floor. I’m told “Atmosfear” is now the longest slide in the world (being the Tate ones were temporary), and that it’s wildly popular, and makes the mall a ton of money because you have to buy $10 worth of something to get a ticket to ride it.

 Not that they were employing me. I just sent them (and a few other companies) my unsolicited design suggestions. I was 11 and living in Fargo but that didn’t mean I couldn’t collaborate with international fashion conglomerates after school. The above is a duplicate I painted at the time. I’d gone to Dayton’s department store (the only place in Fargo that carried ESPRIT) and asked for the corporate address and was very frustrated that the salesgirls weren’t taking my request seriously – didn’t they realize they’d be selling my designs next season? In the response from ESPRIT headquarters Stuart writes “We’ve forwarded them (my designs) to our design department for consideration.” This, like, MADE MY YEAR!  Ugh!, nothing came of it but just to be considered, CONSIDERED! – Someone was listening to me! (Stuart, if you’re out there, give me a call!) The other kids in class thought i was bonkers painting all this ESPRIT stuff, but i wasn’t playing, I was WORKING.

From Saturday night. There will be a closing party too if you missed the opening – (probably April 3rd). There’s an interview with me in Hi Fructose about the show here. I’m exhausted. There will also be a closing party Friday April 3 8-11.

I did this in 1999 and was not paid, I had one assistant part time and a budget of $3000. It’s not really my design because the director wanted the drained swimming pool bedroom from the 1972 film “Ciao Manhattan” starring Edie Sedgwick so I just gave him exactly that. That’s my illustration below (which the record company called “too cartoony.”)

The ONE thing I did get to design was the custom neon microphone that would glow in response to her voice. I had an effects guy from Imagineering fabricate it. When unveiled on set it got an applause. I was very happy about that. I still have it in a box.

But the record company treated me horribly and referred to me as “that theme park guy.” However the singer, Ambrosia Parsley, was very sweet and has a great look. (I have a prop notebook I had her decorate while she was getting her makeup done if there’s a fan out there that wants it.)  This song also plays over the end credits of Kill Bill Vol 2.

OMG I just watched it again and realized the black satin pillowcases on my bed came from this video. Also I’d forgotten how when I showed up the second night of the shoot, the pool was still being drained and had several feet of water in it. I waited a half hour for the pumps to drain it but then the record company started to freak out and demanded that I start placing the furniture and building her water bed IN THE WATER! I pointed out that this would ruin some of their set decorating but I guess they were fine paying the repalcement fees. So I took of my shoes, rolled up my jeans and prayed none of the electrical cords would fall in and electrocute me. The boards floated around and it was like trying to build a bed in zero G. It’s a miracle it didn’t collapse later.

Also, the director wanted to have Ambrosia spray a can of hairspray over a lighter to make that mini-flamethrower effect. I knew this was horribly dangerous (I have a scar on my nose from an aerosol can exploding when I was a kid). So, what I did was wait until all the record label people got there and then I handed the director the lighter and hairspray knowing he would immediately begin playing with it to show off to the execs. Sure enough, he did just that and they FREAKED THE SHIT OUT and said NO FUCKING WAY. So Ambrosia, you can thank me for saving you from Aqua Net exploding in your face.