Mr. Jesse

For those of you who don't know my brother in law Jesse Den Herder, he is a wonderful guy to be around as well as a really talented graphic artist. He is one of those artists who does it all. He has re-branded many companies, created a really succesful board game and painted everything from canvases to skate decks. He has a really fresh and clean style that still feels warm and real. Check out his blog and his portfolio.

I was lucky enough to get a limited print poster from "The Hurricane Poster Project" that Jesse designed after taking a trip to New Orleans during the hurricane clean up.

Something new.

Ok, I have been posting some of my older work. But I can't help myself. Time to post something new. I worked on this piece last weekend. It was a fun one. I just kept playing with it until I liked it. It is fairly bright and I tried to add a bit of depth that isn't the easiest to see in the photo.

In other news, congrats to the Mosley's on birthing a child. This post is dedicated to the new Mosley. Even though the baby won't understand the intense honor I have bestowed upon him.

Vampire Weekend? The answer to that question is yes!

I have been enjoying lots of new music lately. Mainly thanks to emusic.com. A lot of these bands weren't necessarily appealing to me on first listen. Most of the music sort of grew on me. Which I find lends itself toward longevity. I don't get tired of it as quick. Here are some of the bands I have been into as of late. Vampire Weekend, Pedro the Lion, Beirut, The Great Lake Swimmers (new cd out March 31!), Bon Iver, The Everybodyfields, Anathallo, Okkervil River and The Welcome Wagon.

Yeah, some of these bands have been around forever, but some are new. Enjoy!

Mr. Sufjan and his posse.

So Joel Thiele showed this me this last night. Yes it is free to download and yes it is a Sufjan Stevens hip hop project. Ok, Sufjan can only take credit for part of the underlying beat tracks. None the less, it gives a white guy like me an excuse to listen to hip hop. Not that I need an excuse. I have been known to freestyle in my car from time to time. And by freestyle I mean make up words to a beat.

Beginnings...

I need a new blog. I need an art blog. This is BLANK. I have been using Live Journal for a couple of years now. It was outdated when I started the blog. It is ancient now. I almost preferred it's simplicity. But, here we go. As this is the beginning, please enjoy the painting below.

This painting is as simple as it gets. But it means a lot to me. I painted this out of necessity. I refused to buy a cheap print for the kitchen wall in our current house which we bought a little over a year ago. I went to the store, bought a canvas, and painted it with left over latex paint we had after painting the walls. There are no particularly redeeming qualities about it. But it definitely liberated me in many ways.

So this is your encouragement. Find a BLANK canvas. It doesn't have to be a literal canvas, just something you can paint on. Gather any old paint or markers or pencils you have lying around and make something. If you have never tried this before, or if this inspired you to try it again, then post a picture or a link here.