Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Capacity!

Some boxes of the new print run of Capacity just showed up at my door. I'm really happy with how the new cover came out. I was nervous about how they were going to look for some reason.

I'll be down at the Alternative press expo (APE) on the 16th and 17th of this month. If you're in the area, come say hi! I'll have a table of books, art, and things. www.comic-con.org/ape

Friday, October 1, 2010

Creator Wave

Creator Wave just did a really nice write up and feature on me. I had fun checking out all the other artists they've featured so far. I definitely recommend checking it all out There;s some great work. http://sacvs.wordpress.com/2010/09/28/creator-wave-vol-12-theo-ellsworth/

Sunday, September 26, 2010

Upcoming show

Right now I'm working like crazy on a bunch of new woodcut characters and new drawings for my upcoming solo show at The Giant Robot Gallery in LA. The show opens on November 6th and I'll be flying down for it. It should be a fun time. Above is one of my Inner Space Explorers, waiting on my studio wall until it's time for the show..
This one was actually a birthday present for my friend, Craig Thompson. I've left it up to him to name him. I should probably have my cut out characters come with adoption papers and a list of responsibilities and directions.

Enchanted Forest

For my Friend, Sean Christensen's birthday last weekend, I went with an awesome group of friends to the Enchanted Forest, south of Portland on I-5. It's basically a weird, Folk Art version of Disney Land. All the rides and attractions were hand sculpted and painted by the same family. I love the idea of the Family Amusement Park. I definitely recommend this place to anyone who's up for a strange time. I would love to have the land and funding to build an alternate world, and get my family and friends involved. Maybe someday!
This guy was inside of the truly spooky haunted house. We actually saw real cobwebs and spiders on the ceiling in there. Not for the faint of heart!

There were lots of low crawl spaces, tunnels, and slides. Just like my dream home will have.

This painting was inside of a house you could walk through where all the walls and floors were crooked.
I have been inside of the witch's head, and I shall never be the same.
Best sculpture of the wolf from Little Red Riding Hood ever!

Friday, September 24, 2010

Friend's Art!!

Some of of our awesome, talented friends gave Heather and I some incredible original art at our wedding, so I thought I'd post them here so more people could see. At some point I'll have to post more of the original art I own from friends. It's become a huge part of what makes our house a home.From Tiphoni Moore.From David Youngblood
From Craig Thompson


From Daria Tessler (this ones a hand pulled Silk Screen!)

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

FLying Lotus EP, out now!

My copies of the new Flying Lotus EP arrived in the mail, and I'm really happy with how they turned out. The folks at Warp got the colors just right, and added some really nice spot gloss to the front and back covers.
I just heard that this is the number one electronic album in the US right now. Flying Lotus definitely deserves all the attention he's been getting. Listening to his music always gets me in a productive, positive mood, so it's been helping me get focused in the studio lately.
This is the vinyl version of the EP. It comes with a pull out poster, plus extra art on the record sleeve.
I'm glad that vinyl's still around. It gives album art room to breathe. I'm going to have to go out and get a record player soon.

more wedding art!

The rings.
Woodcut cake toppers.

Friday, September 17, 2010

Archway

This is the archway I built for our wedding. It was a fun challenge to try and create something that was both sturdy and mobile. It's made from scrap wood I had been collecting on my walks around town. It all connects together with wooden dowels and can come apart. I was pretty relieved that it turned out, because I really had no idea what I was doing.
This is a close up detail of the very center top of the archway.

Monday, September 13, 2010

Best Day Ever!


Heather and I are married now! Our wedding day was wonderful beyond belief! I'll post more pictures soon.

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

book release and art show!

Awesome cartoonist, Tom Neely has curated an art show at the Secret Headquarters in LA www.thesecretheadquarters.com . The show opens on Friday, Sept 3rd and features an excellent assortment of alternative cartoonists doing their take on the classic gag strip. There's also a full color book coming out to go with the show. Check out the cover by Chris Cilla!
Here's a sneak peek at the inside, stolen from Tom's blog. That's one of my gag strips on the left and one by Kaz Strepek on the right. I think you can pre-order copies from Tom over at www.iwilldestroyyou.com I'm looking forward to getting my contributor copy, so I can check it all out!

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Capacity (second printing) !

Capacity has been out of print for a little while now, but it's going to be out again in October with a new cover! My new books coming along too, but that's all still top secret. Hopefully later this fall, I'll be able to start giving you more sneak peeks though!

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

FLYING LOTUS--Pattern + Grid World

This is the album cover I did for the new Flying Lotus EP , Pattern + Grid World, being released by Warp Records www.warp.net . I had a great time making all the art for this and Flying Lotus has become one of my favorite musicians in the process. We're already scheming about more top secret collaborative projects in the future.
The vinyl version of the EP comes with a poster. James at Warp Records just sent me this photo of them hot off the press. It's pretty surreal having the original sitting few feet away from me in my studio, while all these copies are coming off of a press in London.

Friday, August 13, 2010

house head sightings

A couple of weeks ago I went downtown with friends, Sam Kulla and Austin Valley and did a photo shoot for the High Contrast Review anthology that Sam is editing. It was fun posing for these. People kept walking by us on the bridge and I got to see their nervous reactions through the windows of my house.
I was kind of wishing I had a sign that read,"Not homeless, just out-grew home." The original idea behind the house head was that it was a place where you could have some alone time, even when you are in a crowd. I like to bring it to comic shows and get people to try it on.

Later in the night things began to get cosmic, time moved differently, and space bent in new ways. Then we went to the Horse Brass Pub to celebrate a job well done.

Thursday, August 12, 2010

Thanks Seattle

I had a great time in Seattle, reading at Pilot Books with author, Josh Wagner. Pilot Books is a tiny indie bookstore with an excellent selection and great people running it. A refreshing thing to find these days. I also got to have an always too brief visit with the Moore family. Which always involves making art in interesting locations. I left the above print on a telephone pole near the train station right as I was leaving. If you want it, it might still be there.

Monday, August 9, 2010

Reading at Pilot books, Seattle

My old friend Josh Wagner http://www.joshwagner.org/ is on tour with his excellent new novel, Deadwind Sea, and I'm going to be taking the train up to Seattle tomorrow morning to join him at the awesome indi book store, Pilot Books @ 219 Broadway E., from 7-8pm http://www.pilotbooksseattle.com/ . Josh will be reading from his new book, and I'll be reading, comics alloud in funny voices, flapping my arms a lot, and probably buying a bunch of books to read on the train ride home. It shall be fun!

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

collaborative art in curiosity show

My friend Amy Kuttab is curating an art show called Curiosity Cabinet. I worked on three collaborative drawings for the show with Amy and Sean Christensen. We each started a piece, then passed them around to each other until the one we had started reached us again. Then we each finished the piece we had started. Above is the one that I started and finished.
This is the one that Sean started and finished. I still haven't gotten to see Amy's yet, but it was looking amazing last time I saw it. These two are so much fun to collaborate with!
The Curiosity Clusters from my previous post were spontaneously made for the show as well. I've been so busy though, I don't know if I'll be able to get the piece downtown in time. If not, I'll just go to the show wearing it on my forehead.
The show is @ Pony Club Gallery. 625 Everett #105, Portland, OR. The opening is Thursday the 5th, 6pm-10pm.

Saturday, July 31, 2010

The Quiet Family


It's been a busy summer so far. I'm working on a number of exciting illustration jobs right now (which I'll post about further on) and getting ready for the big wedding day, so there hasn't been much time to work on my comic, "The Quiet Family". I'm still filling notebooks with notes and doodles whenever I have a spare moment; gearing up for when I can submerge myself in the story again. The whole proect feels like a weird puzzle I'm trying to put together in the back of my head. The pieces seem to be inching closer everyday, and I'm trying to just be patient and enjoy the slow motion process. The top picture is from one of my many notebooks and the second picture is an actual page from the comic.

Saturday, July 24, 2010

Thank you monster / free print

I've been really into leaving these silkscreens around. This one is pinned to a picnic table where I sat and drew for awhile today. It felt like I was collaborating with whoever did the graffiti on the table top. It's in the same park as the cement shrine from the last post. I figure whoever finds them and wants them can take them home.

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

new limited edition print!

I just got done signing and numbering a new limited edition poster that Secret Acres is putting out. I loaded them up in a box and they're on their way to the Secret Acres online shop at this very moment. They're already available for pre-order, for anyone interested. it's a limited edition of 250. 18x24 inches on heavy stock paper: http://www.secretacres.com/store/index.php?act=viewProd&productId=93
I'm really happy with how it turned out, and the image itself has a lot to do with the new comics I'm making.

Thursday, July 8, 2010

Print Show at Giant Robot, NY


I did a limited edition print for the Giant Robot Print Show that's opening in a couple of days. The top photo is of the print I made, taken while they were still drying. I added hand-drawn elements to each of them later. There's a great list of artists involved. Check out the awesome card image by my friend, Daria Tessler.

Friday, July 2, 2010

Ghosts for sale


I had lots of fun at the Grass Hut gallery opening last night! The pieces from the show are now up for adoption: http://grasshutcorp.com/blog/?page_id=3&category=47

Thursday, July 1, 2010

Let me introduce you to some ghosts

This ghost was completely invisible just a few days ago. He walked through the walls of my apartment and asked me to build him a body so people could see him dance. He is a Ghost Dancer!
This is an Awake Statue. although statues cannot move, when they are awake they can travel over the invisible landscapes that overlap our own. He also has a tiny library inside of his head which can only be visited by insects.

This is a vacant lot spirit. If someone builds something on the vacant lot that it haunts, it becomes something else.
This is a time traveler. He cannot exist in the present, but you can sometimes catch glimpses of him if you're thinking about the past or the future.
This is artie milderhoffen (not his real name) but he will respond to any name you call him when he is in dog form, which he usually is nowadays.
This is a howling ghost hound. It likes to sit by your head while you're sleeping and howl. It's howl does not emit any sound. Instead, it makes things quieter.
You can meet them all in person and communicate with them on subliminal levels tonight from 6-9 pm at Grass Hut.