i nearly died

a pile of stuff and junk whatever i don't care

2010-10-17T20:39:00.003-04:00

Still Life with Orange Wiffle Ball
Graphite and watercolor on paper
12" x 16"

I am reasonably happy with this.

It's from the summer watercolor class.

No, I haven't done anything lately.

Unless you count splitting wood and watching scary movies.

I don't.

But John Carpenter's The Thing was very entertaining.

Also, the library's copy of Hellboy II would not play the last five minutes.

What are people doing with these DVDs?

Whatever it is seems to involve Brillo pads, or possibly gravel.

what have i done? this:

2010-09-26T20:43:00.004-04:00

Dominion
Watercolor and graphite on paper
5" x 8"

Two Views of West Meadow Beach Trash Cans
Watercolor, graphite, sand, and salt water on paper
Size variable

i have been a bad blogger lately. my apologies! above are some more things from my watercolor class over the summer. the top one made it to the website. the beach ones are a little "meh", and the rest are either "super-meh" or too big for me to bother with scanning or photoing just yet.

you may be wondering to yourself: "hi, self. i'm wondering if mr. brandt has made anything new lately, what with his new full-time job and all."

i'd have to give you a big fat "NO" on that one, self--unless you count a few new shelves in my garage and a pool filtration system. give me a while to settle in, and i'll dazzle you with some new goodies. until then, you just keep those pants on. unless you're going swimming. because that would be ridiculous to swim in your pants, you know.

iiii'm...the maaan... in the box

2010-09-01T17:40:00.006-04:00

bowmp chi bown bown, bowmp chi bown bown.

if you were ever a flannel-wearin' grunge dork, you know what i'm talking about.

here's my latest big thing:

Enclosed Self-portrait
Watercolor and ink on various papers
14.5" x 16"

don't worry, this was a long time ago. i'm all better now (mostly). nothing a little sleep can't fix.

new things happening all around

2010-07-21T17:17:00.004-04:00

lots of new stuff for you to see, both here and at the main website (check under "portraits" for the newest additions)

Self Portrait after Yi Chen
Pastel on paper
9 x 12 inches

Crazy Blue Still Life
Pastel on paper
18 x 24 inches

Porcelain Til' Ya Puke
Pastel on paper
24 x 18 inches

Whole Lotta Nuthin' Goin' on
Pastel on paper
18 x 24 inches

not a zombie

2010-04-17T15:39:00.003-04:00

Will Oldham

Solarplate etching print

4" x 5"

I'll admit, ol' Bonnie "Prince" Billy is lookin' rather peaked in this picture, but it's just the spotlight on his fluffy beard. Folks love a dude who can rock a nice beard, you know.

come look at all the nifty changes!

2010-04-13T21:51:00.003-04:00

So I've been spiffing up the website over the last several weeks, and it's finally looking presentable. Check it out here, or by clicking the above screenshot. You'll notice a new "Shop" area, which is still in the works. I'll let you know when it goes live, so youse can give me money in exchange for some arty stuff!

gypsy and connie

2010-03-14T16:17:00.006-04:00

Gypsy and Connie

12" x 16"

Acrylic on wood panel

Here's the finished version of the painting for Kristen and Connie. By the way, I really enjoyed making this painting, and I would love to do more. It sure would be nice if someone else commissioned me to do one! Was that too subtle?

where you been

2010-03-11T16:07:00.004-05:00

J Mascis

5" x 7"

Watercolor on paper

Don't know why, but I felt like making a portrait of J Mascis today. He plays guitars real nice. By the way, I love that thing that happens when big glasses make the side of the face get out of line, don't you?

mountains of a different sort

2010-03-10T16:49:00.003-05:00

Rise of the Rest

5.5" x 8.5"

Watercolor pencil monotype print

This one goes with my "Awareness" series. I worked quickly to avoid getting to nit-picky with the detritus.

julia and max the nephew, zonked

2010-03-10T16:32:00.003-05:00

Sleepers

6" x 9"

Watercolor monotype print

I made this a few weeks ago. I love this watercolor-print process. Now, if I could just find a free etching press so I could do these at home, I'd be all set. Also, If I could find a full-time job so I could buy one, that would be sweet. Put that as my number one wish. Well, number two, but I can't tell you what number one is, though some of you probably already know.

so i did this yesterday

2010-03-03T21:34:00.006-05:00

Suspended

8" x 10"

Watercolor pencil monotype print

I was worried that this print wouldn't turn out, because I only had one shot to get it right. But it came out okay, so I didn't have to puke on everything. Yay!

sketchbook project, and beyond

2010-01-11T19:40:00.005-05:00

last week, i completed and mailed out my sketchbook (see a sample page above) to art house co-op in atlanta for their sketchbook project, which will be coming to a city near (or possibly quite far from) you! click here for exhibition locations and dates, and click over here to see more pages from my book.

and this just in-->the above sketch is in the process of becoming a painting, which you can see below, in sneak preview:

yums in the tums

2009-12-06T19:12:00.002-05:00

this'uns a new postcard for the "28 cent" group. this month's topic: send some random shmo a vegetarian recipe, whether he likes it or not! ha ha! take that, carnivores!

now i'm going to go eat some delicious veggie fajitas and watch Food, Inc.

new painting, "the listeners"

2009-11-29T23:30:00.005-05:00

click on image for larger view

The Listeners
10"x10", Acrylic on panel

this painting is going to be in the 10x10=100 art show and sale at south street gallery in greenport, ny. the preview is friday, december 11, and the sale begins saturday, december 12 at 6pm

i am near delirium from paper writing, but i am now 10.5 pages into my 15-20 page paper for my long island environment class. so i apologize if my writing is neither witty or remotely interesting at the moment. my writing muscles are beat right now.

i'll give you one if you give me one

2009-11-08T17:17:00.005-05:00

i'm involved in two different postcard-exchange groups right now. one group is arty, the other is wordy, but i'm doing both with handmade cards. that's just how i roll, as you already know. here are a few recent ones i've made (the last card is the funnest, so don't miss it, lazyfingers!):

Design for 'Hope'

2009-10-31T09:09:00.006-04:00

Yours for Now just finished their second EP, and they are having a Release Party/Possibly Last Show Ever next Friday, November 6th, at Hank's Saloon. It's going to be a fun time, and you will regret it for the rest of your life if you don't go. You'll lie to your grandkids and tell them you were there, and then you will feel terrible for days about lying to your own grandchildren! As you should. Anyway, I did their album art, which you can see below:

COVER

INSERT BOOKLET - FRONT

BAND PORTRAIT (Side note: This was replaced by a lyrics sheet, but I wanted to show you my drawing instead. I'm starved for attention, I know.)

INSERT BOOKLET - BACK

BACK COVER

get off the couch, loser!

2009-09-19T07:03:00.006-04:00

click on picture for a better view

please join me at what is bound to be a super-fun show. yours for now are good friends of mine, and they gave me the honor of doing their cover art for their new EP "living in circles". i also did the gig poster above, a'course. so get off your bum and go get your face rocked inside out next saturday!

click on picture for a better view

don't look

2009-06-27T07:02:00.004-04:00

click image for a closer look

Do You Know How Animals Die?
watercolor on paper
11.75" x 8.5"

this is the latest in my "what humans do to other animals" series--well, now that there are two, i can call it a series.

for the record, i'm not saying that no one should ever eat meat. i do, however, think that everyone--humans and animals alike--would benefit if people ate far less meat than they do right now. if people ate the actual recommended allowance for the meat and beans group(six ounces or less, depending on one's age and sex) the demand for meat would be lower, and we would have no need for factory farms and overfishing. cows, pigs, and chickens could put their feet on the ground where they belong, rather than on concrete or metal wire for their entire lives. fish species would have a chance to recover from years of overfishing to fill all-you-can-eat platters.

what can you do? when you can, try to eat food that is grown locally. greatly reduce or eliminate fast food from your diet (your heart will thank you). never eat fois gras or veal. watch the video meet your meat, and eat mindfully.

freens and fambly

2009-06-15T20:37:00.003-04:00

click image for a closer look

Ryan, Jo Ann, and Eric P.
graphite and colored pencil on paper
each 5" x 8"

here are three drawings i did today while on hall duty. for the record, eric's neck is not really like that in real life.

flightless wings unfold

2009-06-15T19:40:00.005-04:00

click image for a closer look

The Albatross about My Neck Was Hung
watercolor on paper
11" x 8.5"

I'm planning to enter this one in the East End Arts Council's next juried show, which has water as its theme.

A question for the audience: Is it apparent what is happening in this picture, or is it too subtle?

By the way, my painting entitled Levi (see previous post) was accepted in the "Bodies at Rest" show, and it's on display until July 10 at the EEAC in Riverhead. High five!

attempts at legitimacy

2009-05-31T08:31:00.003-04:00

click image for a closer look

Levi
Acrylic on canvas
8" x 10"

i just took this new painting down to the east end arts council for its possible acceptance in their "bodies at rest" show. wish me luck!

fun with the postal service

2009-05-21T07:31:00.005-04:00

click images for a closer look

my new acquaintance alex, who is a friend of my sister-in-law emily, has started up an art project in which the participants trade hand-made postcards. i signed up at the "no dear" poetry reading (where julia read her lovely poem about the science of consumption!), and i received a postcard from alex last week. so this was my reply, front and back. i have digitally altered alex's last name and address, to protect the innocent, of course. i also added the fake postmark, because i am a dork.

david cross redux

2009-05-11T21:40:00.005-04:00

David Cross
graphite on paper with digital coloring, 5" x 8"

i finally colored my portrait of david cross! it was actually the first celebrity drawing i ever did (in 2007? i forget), back when i was only going to draw celebs i had seen in person. of course, now that i live in speonk, that happens less often--although the jules and i did see rachel weisz at an art reception in the hamptons a couple of weeks ago. we were (briefly) listening to some crap band that the geezers were calling "punk", when we realized that ms. weisz was standing right behind us. when we went back into the gallery, she sort of followed us around for a while. embarrassing, really.

that boy's on the drugs, i tell ya

2009-05-11T21:05:00.003-04:00

here's the latest insane card i've made for one of my parents. i wonder if they keep these things.

outside: inside:

click images for a closer look

Mother's Day 2009
Mixed media on paper, 10" x 13" (double-sided)

colonialism sucks, non-violent protest rules

2009-03-17T13:40:00.006-04:00

click image for a closer look

Mahatma Ghandi
graphite on paper with digital collage, 5" x 8"

this is for illustration friday's "legendary" theme this week. i'd say he meets the requirements.

i'm not dead. i'm the lion. you're dead.

2009-02-16T15:41:00.006-05:00

click image for a closer look

I Hate Jim
graphite and colored pencil on paper with digital coloring, 5" x 8"

here's a new one. can you tell which part of the yellow background is hand-drawn and which part is digital? if you can, you win...um...a sense of self-satisfaction, i guess.

me and the beard

2009-02-07T10:58:00.002-05:00

click image for a closer look

Self Portrait with Floral Motif
pen and ink on paper with digital coloring, 5" x 7"

here is a self portrait i made recently. the first version is a simple pen and ink drawing, without the color bits. i made it for my friend mike freiheit's new project, in which he is enlisting several artists to do portraits of jesus. my first sketches were of a truly semitic jesus, as opposed to the anglo-jesuses we see here in the west. but then, while i was working, i happened to see my reflection in a window, and thought, "hey my beard is looking jesusy, i have a shorter haircut (which my research had revealed would probably be more accurate), and i happen to be 33 years old right now. also, i was wearing a hooded sweatshirt at that moment, and i figured it would be a good stand-in for a shepherd's robe of some sort. and maybe it could be read in a "jesus is in all of us" sort of way, as well. i certainly do not mean to say that i am the messiah or anything, so don't look to me for salvation or anything--i'm fresh out at the moment.

i did not draw this on location

2009-01-23T22:42:00.005-05:00

click image for a closer look

it's been a while since i've put up anything with scenery. i love doing the portraits, but every now and then i need a change of pace, you know? this drawing was inspired by a photo i came across on the adventure 16 blog, which you can see here.

i'm still working mainly in colored pencil, but lately i've been throwing in a few change-ups here and there (more liberal use of graphite, pen and ink, digital manipulations, etc.)

i've really been pushing to get commissions as of late, putting myself out there as much as i can. i joined hireanillustrator.com, spraygraphic.com, stars-portraits.com, and so forth, in hopes that the right person is going to discover me soon. grad school ain't gonna pay for itself, folks!

a great white guy in the great white north

2009-01-22T16:00:00.008-05:00

click image for a closer look

here's conan o'brien, in his royal canadian mounted police uniform, from the week he did the show in toronto. i loved the look of the white gloves against the red jacket, though i think the real guys usually wear brown gloves for the most part.

i did something a little different this time, using black and red ink in the belt and jacket areas. i used the ink for the base layer, then added colored pencil over it. it really makes the color all bursty, don't you think?

reunited and it feels so good

2009-01-06T19:56:00.005-05:00

some of you out there may have heard me at some point tell a story about myself as a young lad of about seven years of age, sitting in my driveway while drawing a car that was parked across the street. i remember this moment as probably the earliest inclination i might have had about being an artist. i remembered being very proud of that drawing, and i would take it with me wherever i went for the next several weeks, showing it to people.

i thought that the drawing and any evidence of it was long gone, but lo and behold, i happened upon the photo you see above while visiting my dad over christmas! in the photo you can see my brother and i in the treehouse our dad built in grandma davis' front yard, and there i am, clutching that already rough-hewn sheet of construction paper. i must've had it in my pocket, as the six fold lines would indicate. so a big thanks goes to former me, for thinking to whip out the drawing when my dad went for the camera.

this would have been enough to make the present me happy, but when i voiced my excitement about the photo to dad, he said that he probably still had the drawing itself stashed away somewhere. and after two minutes of shuffling through a dresser drawer, he produced this:

holy crap, right?

my life as a potato

2009-01-04T21:24:00.006-05:00

click image for a closer look

here's a fairly new one of daniel day-lewis and paul dano, stars of there will be blood. i just saw mr. dano as dwayne in little miss sunshine last night, too. i'd seen it before, but it came on television last night, so i saw it again.

julia and i had been away from home for 12 days until we finally arrived got back yesterday morning. we had intended to get a lot of work done this weekend, but when we got here, we found that we didn't want to do a thing except vegetate on the couch. we ended up watching three movies in all, so i feel like we accomplished something, no?

my candy was taken away by a baby

2008-12-12T13:17:00.003-05:00

that's right. a kid stole my ipod, right off the teacher's desk in my classroom! at first i thought it was one of my own students, which broke my heart. now i'm 99% sure it was taken while another teacher's class was in the room, which makes me feel only marginally better about it. unfortunately, i was not aware that it was gone until about an hour after it happened, so we could only narrow it down to the twenty or so kids who were in the room at the time. i've told my students and the other teacher's students that i will not punish anyone if it is returned safely. i also offered a reward for good information that led to recovery. but that was two days ago, and nothing's happened so far.

just for the record, it was a 5th generation, black, 30GB ipod video classic, serial number 2Z6164G3TXK. it was in a black metal case that had a leaf/vine pattern etched on the front, to the right of the click wheel. i had over 9300 songs on my ipod, which had taken me two years to load. unfortunately, i had no backup for my song library, due to computer problems. so even if i finally get a new one, it will be a long road back to where i was. that's what burns me most of all.

i'm so sad. so much of me was in that thing. all the scouring the internet for obscurities that only a few people know or care about, songs that were woven through my memories and tied to my own personal history--it's all gone, and i'm so sad.

make me feel good like i'm something

2008-11-20T20:16:00.003-05:00

over on the left of the screen, if you scroll down a little ways, you'll find a section called "folks who like my bloggity skills". i'd like to invite you to click on the link there so you can keep tabs on what's happening around here at i nearly died.

won't you join in the fun and become a follower of my little collection of drawings and silly ramblings? i promise not to brainwash you.

okay, maybe just a little brainwashing.

in fact, he's lost a few pounds recently

2008-11-20T19:41:00.002-05:00

click image for a closer look

"it's a long, long road
from which there is no return
while we're on the way to there
why not share
and the load doesn't weigh me down at all
he ain't heavy, he's my brother"

so if you didn't get the reference there, this my little brother eric. when he was a baby and i a wee young lad with a speech impediment, i called him "egget".

he recently went back to college (neither of us made it through the first time). he's really giving it a go, i must say--making straight A's this time around. actually, nothing lower than a 99 so far!

yeah. that's how we roll.

round-robin artwork!

2008-11-16T18:07:00.009-05:00

click image for a closer look

this is my contribution to a larger piece that will eventually be manipulated by five--count 'em, five!--artists. here is what the whole thing looks like right now, with my mr. buscemi next to james keegan's giant, talking moth:

by the way, the word balloons are a part of the requirement. this is how it all works:

1. one member of the shelton diagram factory correspondence school begins a drawing or painting.
2. he/she then creates rules for the piece (i.e. you must fill in the empty word balloon and include a new blank word balloon in your drawing, which is the rule here) and mails it to another member artist.
3. the second member adds to the work, following the initiator's guidelines.
4. the second member then mails it to a third, and so on, until the fifth artist receives and adds to the piece, which completes it.
5. the fifth member starts a new artwork, and the cycle begins again!

we had tried for the last couple of years to do a simple one-for-one exchange, but things tended to stagnate after a while. we're hoping that this new system will inspire everyone to keep things going.

if you'd like more information about the shelton diagram factory correspondence school, look up our facebook group, or check out the SDFCS blog at this here link-a-roonie.

drop hugs, not bombs

2008-11-09T12:31:00.006-05:00

click image for a closer look

"is solace anywhere more comforting than in the arms of a sister?"
-alice walker

and here we see emily and julia, two of the four brandt sisters, on top of a mountain.

i often wonder if the world would be a better place if all the men in positions of authority would just step down and let women run things for a while. something makes me think that there would be far less bombing and lots more hugs.

ladies: don't invite sarah palin, though. that would defeat the purpose.

where is everybody?

2008-11-04T23:51:00.002-05:00

click image for a closer look

here's julia again, on the beach in winter. we love going to the beach in the off season, when no one else is around. not that we don't like you or anything, but we need our space sometimes, you know?

thanks for understanding.

hang on. obama's victory speech is starting...

...aaaand that was the first time that a politician's speech has ever made me cry. what can i say? the man's got skills.

repair, reduce, reuse, recycle

2008-10-26T01:35:00.004-04:00

click image for a closer look

so we're back to celebrities whom i've seen in person. i saw moby back when i worked at a record store on st. marks place. he came in the store, soon realized that it was crappy, and left. i don't really listen to his music, but i do admire that he is a famous person who actually uses his wealth to help the planet. so i found this picture of him that i drew months ago in my old sketchbook, and saw that i had never colored or posted it. so i, um, colored and posted it.

i think the captain's face came out better (both were colored in photoshop, which i've been practicing), but i really like the background on this one. i used a crayon drawing i had done in my "art in elementary education" class. yay crayola!

there will be boots

2008-10-25T11:05:00.003-04:00

click image for a closer look

one of my favorite scenes from "there will be blood" is the one when the derrick blows up and the men are silhouetted against the backdrop of a giant wall of fire. definitely a top 5 movie for me. daniel day-lewis can pretty much do no wrong. he took several years off from acting to make shoes, for pete's sake! how awesome is that?

i would like to have a pair of those shoes, btw, if anyone ever sees them on ebay or something.

o captain, my captain

2008-10-22T21:40:00.003-04:00

click image for a closer look

here's a new drawing of my father-in-law, captain richard brandt. i can call him "dad" now, but before we were married, i could only refer to him as "captain" or "sir". it was also a family tradition that any boyfriends/fiancees of the four brandt daughters could not hang their stockings on the mantle at christmas. until we were married into the family, we had to hang our stockings on the bar, with all the family pets.

it's good to have goals.

out late, playing darts

2008-10-20T22:35:00.004-04:00

click image for a closer look

so here you go. i decided to try coloring in photoshop (see previous post). s'okay. i think i learned a few things, anyhoo.

i don't remember who won

2008-10-16T21:14:00.008-04:00

click image for a closer look

also, we took turns. i decided to blend two photos together to make one image, because i liked the variation of the arm positions. julia's mid-air dart is actually visible in the original photo(!), but i had to make up the one that i'm throwing. i'm trying to decide whether i should draw in the bar/background, add color, or just leave it alone.

i've actually been toying with coloring it in photoshop, which could be good or bad. since i'm kind of self-taught in that arena, i don't really know (or maybe remember is the better word) the "proper" way to color in photoshop. i've just sort of experimented my way through the features, for the most part. it might be interesting to see how it would turn out.

a birthday portrait

2008-10-09T20:46:00.003-04:00

this is my cousin-in-law daniela, whose birthday is this month. i did a portrait of her sister kristin (oh the time has come...haha) for her birthday a few years ago, so i figured i should finally even the score.

i've sent out two rounds of postcards now, with no replies for work. i think i'm going to start submitting to agencies to see if i can get some representation. i love drawing, don't get me wrong--but it sure would help if i got paid for it from time to time, no?

a personal one this time

2008-09-29T17:20:00.004-04:00

this is a portrait of my mom! i started it in person when i visited her this summer, and i finally finished it with photo reference today. let's hope she likes it.

i want to start doing more portraits of the people i know, so if i know you, your phiz may be showing up here soon!

here's hoping...

2008-09-18T21:11:00.007-04:00

i made this drawing into a t-shirt! you can buy it here.

i swear, if he doesn't win...let's just say i might want to make a loooong visit to another country.

every now and then, i try to be a painter

2008-07-11T09:24:00.002-04:00

but then, the chemicals make my skin peel. maybe i shouldn't wash my hands in the turpentine, no?

this painting was done en plein air at the sands point preserve on long island. i made three paintings that day, and this was the first one, which ended up being my favorite. i guess i should've heeded the words of the wise man kenny rogers, who said, "you got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em, know when to walk away, etc."

sorry i let you down, kenny.

it ain't me, babe

2008-06-03T15:26:00.006-04:00

i always liked cate blanchett, but i was truly blown away by her portrayal of dylan in i'm not there. the people with whom i saw the movie were not impressed with the film all that much, but i thought it was a unique way to explore the life of one unique individual. the only drawback in my eyes was that in using so many actors to play one character, the viewers inevitably choose a favorite, which causes them to like the other versions less. and the other actors were certainly left in the dust by dear cate here.

i wanted to do a picture of her as dylan(or "jude," as her version of dylan is named), but didn't find a decently-sized photo that i liked enough. so i went with a glamour shot, and i'm pretty happy with how it came out. she certainly inspired a nice, subtle palette, i think.

i need your vote!

2008-05-28T20:54:00.005-04:00

click on them for better detail (it's worth it, i think).

so i made this image via a process called solarplate printing, or solar etching, as it is also known. it is a very nice way to do the look and feel of metal plate etching, without all the acid on your hands and breathing in the aquatint dust and such. check out this guy for more information about it.

by the way, the models here are the lovely julia and emily brandt, wife and sister-in-law of the artist. i'm the artist.

anyhoo, i need your input here! i want to put one of these on my official website, but i cannot decide which one. well, i suppose i could, but i thought it would be an interesting little project to involve all three of you folks who actually stop by here. so what do you say, can you help me?

oh, and if you didn't catch my last post, it's got some nice stuff. click here, and scroll down for the portrait of dr. house!

i have actually met only one of these

2008-05-14T21:37:00.007-04:00

and that was miss parker posey, whom i ran across during my former incarnation as a hipster-east-village-record-store-employee. see this post for more info.

of the five portraits you see here, i am particularly proud of the bjork and the hugh laurie. i'm not quite as satisfied with the jack and the jim, but i do feel like i'm generally starting to get my speed and accuracy up to levels i'm comfortable with.

ooh, when i typed the word "satisfied" just now, that exact word was mentioned in the song that was playing. that song owes me a coke!

i really didn't make them wear the clothes

2008-03-29T10:34:00.003-04:00

this is a portrait of puck and buttercup, our little cats, dressed up as diego rivera and frida kahlo:

it took me forever to get their faces right, but i think i pulled it off.

more celebrities - now in vivid technicolor!

2008-03-06T11:19:00.004-05:00

here are some more famous folks i've seen out and about in nyc:

mr. waterson i've seen on a few occasions, at various tapings of law n' order.

ryan adams, along with then-girlfriend parker posey, came into the now-closed east village record shop that once employed me. he bought a smiths bootleg. see, even musicians with contracts like to stick it to the record companies! of course, parker posey will be showing up here shortly.

carly also came into the record shop. she said, "you probably don't know who i am, but..." and i said "of course i do! i think that song is about me!" she laughed and asked if we could possibly carry her new (at the time) christmas cd, which was recorded in a hotel room or some such thing.

i see movie people

2008-01-10T10:33:00.001-05:00

here are some more celebrities i've seen in person. see my previous post for an explanation of why i'm drawing them.

attention, lady celebrities: i need to see more of you in person (no, i mean a larger number of you). my list is a little dude-heavy. wait, does '80s rocker sebastian bach count as a guy or a girl?

the two davids

2008-01-09T09:41:00.001-05:00

i've decided to do a bunch of celebrity portraits/caricatures for my main website, ronaldpdbrandt.com, in an effort to attract some clients. i figured that, instead of choosing only my favorite famous people, i would draw every celebrity that i have seen on the streets of new york. i actually got the idea for this project when i saw david morse (always plays a cop, often a creepy one) walk past me over near lincoln center. the guy is enormous, by the way.

i saw mr. cross twice--once on a sidewalk in the east village on the day of the big blackout a few years ago, and once at niagara bar a while back. i actually approached him that time and said a quick hello-and-how-are-you, something i rarely do.

more coming soon!

home on the strange

2007-12-23T16:51:00.000-05:00

this is what my little one-off comics look like when i ink them. this particular one was included in the box social show at secret project robot gallery a while back. you remember, don't you?

sure you do.

i have a date with chelsea

2007-12-19T20:23:00.000-05:00

no, i'm not going out with the former first daughter--i'm going to be in a show in a gallery in chelsea, the manhattan gallery district, this february! here are the details:

"Fade Out, Black In"
Jan 31- March 1st
Opening Reception Feb 7th 6-8pm

Curated by: Zeina Assaf

Featured artists: Betty Beth Bartholomew, Ronald P. D. Brandt, Christin Couture, Stanislav Ginzburg, Christina Gundersen, Rachel Hyman, Tine Kindermann, Nina Olson

NY Studio Gallery is pleased to present Fade Out, Black In, a group exhibit dealing with the underlying currents of dark nostalgia and distant memory. From childhood fears and adolescent recollections to the tainted past, the works encompass a pitted feeling of loss, self-reflection, and turbulent dreams. While grappling with disturbing images of the past or a twisted take on reality, the artists’ work relates on an emotional level, as well as an aesthetic one.

Fade Out, Black In features mid-career and emerging artists who work in media ranging from photography and sculpture to oil painting and mixed media. Exhibiting both locally and nationally at venues like: Deitch Projects, Secret Project Robot Gallery, The RIDER Project, and St. Ann's Warehouse.

NY Studio Gallery
511 W. 25th St. #6-07 (b/t 10 & 11 Aves)
New York, NY 10001
www.nystudiogallery.com
212.627.3276
Hours: Thurs - Sat, noon - 6 pm or by appointment

this is all they do

2007-12-07T12:04:00.001-05:00

well, not really--they like eating and sleeping too. but this is definitely puck and buttercup's favorite "activity": they sit on the poophouse and look out the window, watching little birds and insects go by. i like when they bob their heads at the same time--it's as if they're bopping to music that only they can hear.

this is a one-off pop-up book that i made in their honor.

you owe me a coke

2007-11-17T20:39:00.000-05:00

to sarah and ryan: i do not think you are pathetic in real life. the pictures just sort of tell me what they're saying, after i draw them. unfortunately, i have no control over it. really.

to the rest of you: by the way, they were watching "golden girls". on DVD. now, i am not in the business of judging, mind you, as i was watching too. i just want you to be an informed audience.

personal growth

2007-10-23T08:38:00.000-04:00

this is just silly.

party girl sings the blues, sarcastically

2007-09-28T11:15:00.000-04:00

here's another for the comics show i'm semi-helping to curate. jason estrin deserves most of the credit for this thing coming about. without him, this thing never would have gotten beyond a zygote of a gallery show. the exhibit will be at secret project robot in williamsburg, brooklyn, through the month of october. the opening is on saturday, october 6th. go to the box social blog for more details.

hallmark is for wussies

2007-09-16T10:01:00.000-04:00

these are the cards i made for my dad and mom on their respective days this year.

dad's card, outer:

dad's card, inner:

mom's card, outer:

mom's card, inner:

i was not able to see my mom's reaction to her card, but i'm sure it was just as quizzical a look as the one i saw my dad give his.

dad: "that's, um, really neat there, son..."

back after all this time

2007-09-16T09:39:00.000-04:00

has it really been three months since i posted anything? so sorry, folks. the summer just flew, dinnit?

this drawing is a sketch for a comics project i'm working on. there's a show i'm supposed to be in this october (yikes), and i'm trying to do this series of random people with word balloons saying random things. some funny, some sad, some both. hopefully i'll be able to finish them on time. (special note to IFers: this drawing only obliquely hints at the "wedding" theme for the week, so the following image is included as an additional--albeit still oblique--reference.)

this is my first real "paid gig" right here! a local church hired me to do an illustration of their building for their website. and they gave me money for it! now, if i could only get about 100 more of those jobs per year, i'd be doing all right.

an artist and a poet, conversing

2007-06-11T08:10:00.000-04:00

neighbors

2007-05-09T08:55:00.000-04:00

click images for larger versions.

these are all scenes from my street in greenpoint, brooklyn. sepia ink on watercolor paper, 4"x6" each.

the whale shoot

2007-04-25T10:23:00.000-04:00

this is a type of baleen whale called a bowhead (mostly, anyway. i also stole a few attributes from other whales, for aesthetic purposes). the bowhead whale spends all of its life encircling the north pole, unlike other whales that migrate at various times of the year.

woodcut, 11" x 10".

i spy...

2007-03-25T09:11:00.001-04:00

i spy, with my little eye,
a couple of manatee floating by.

***zinc plate etching with aquatint, tinted with GNU Image Manipulation Program (GIMP).

total balance

2007-03-23T09:21:00.001-04:00

click image for a better view.

this is a zinc plate etching i'm working on right now. i just did a round of aquatint on it, but it didn't seem to take (the areas i wanted black didn't go black - i suspect the acid is too watered down), so i'm going to have to try again. sorry, that last sentence went all over the place. any suggestions?

illustration friday - "communication"

2007-02-24T19:38:00.000-05:00

click image for a better view.

hey, everyone. wow, it's been a long time since i posted, and that's mainly because i have not been making much lately. at least nothing i could deem worth sharing. but here we have something i like - it's a fiberglass-drypoint etching print. my printmaking class is a lot of fun so far. yay for multiple prints, which i can slap paint upon willy-nilly* without fear of messing it up!

*the paint will come later. stay tuned.

illustration friday - "super hero"

2007-01-24T22:34:00.000-05:00

this is our hero, buttercup, showing off her powers of what we like to call "the fatness". sorry i've been away so long, by the way. that's what working six days a week will do. but hey, it beats slogging through six classes in one semester, as i did this past fall (in case you were wondering, i got four A's and two A+'s). luckily, i'll only be taking five classes this semester. what a relief that will be--well, it would be a relief if it weren't for the two jobs and volunteering that will be added to those five classes. wasn't life supposed to be easier by now?

illustration friday - "phoenix"

2007-01-04T08:17:00.000-05:00

arizona, that is. this watercolor drawing is from a family trip to phoenix. one of my best friends, jason, was dating my sister-in-law emily, so he was there too. each morning we would hike into the hills to draw the landscape, or to work our comics or what-have-you. this was one of my landscapes. the end.

illustration friday - "help #2"

2006-12-20T09:13:00.000-05:00

this is my second installation for this week's IF topic. i thought it fit better than the other one, but i had to get julia to take a picture of it the other day, as it is hanging on the ceiling of her classroom. the drawing is pretty much life-sized; the main figure is about five feet tall.

the bonus picture here is of me and julia, after the evil dead musical, which we attended a few weeks ago. thanks to a friend, we received front-row-center seats entirely free. we were right in the "splatter zone"! i only ended up with a single drop of fake blood on my lapel, which somehow got through my plastic poncho. well, also, my white chucks are sort of pink now. you can't see it here, but julia was fairly well-soaked, as one of the characters in the play jumped out and ripped her poncho open just before the blood started flying. it was a riot, and i recommend that if you are thinking of going to the show, make sure to sit in the splatter zone!

****also, please look at my previous post, if you haven't already. i just finished a big watercolor that i'm particularly proud of, and i've shown some of the steps it took to make it.

what i learned in watercolor class

2006-12-20T08:45:00.000-05:00

this was my final project for my watercolor class--use a photo that has some cultural significance (to me) and make a watercolor of it. i chose an old photograph of my grandfather bill and my uncle jerry:

here is a bit of the in-progress watercolor, with some of the exposed drawing:

and here's how it turned out:

overall, i'm very happy with the results. i made quite a few freehand sketches beforehand, some in pencil, some in very basic color. in the process of sketching, i decided to omit my cousin (lori or jennifer?) in the bottom right corner, as it just made more sense compositionally. i also wanted to emphasize the "dialogue" between the two men, and the omission seemed to help with that.

by the way, i really enjoyed doing this piece, and i would love to continue to work in this fashion. if you would like to send me a picture--of you, your family, or your pets--i would be glad to do a watercolor of said picture for you. it would make an excellent, original, unexpected gift, or you could simply get one for yourself to enjoy. i would, of course, require a fee for services rendered, but such things are certainly negotiable, depending on the size and elaborateness of the piece.

illustration friday - "help"

2006-12-18T11:10:00.000-05:00

okay, i can't write much today. no time for funny stuff. i've got to get ready for a party we're hosting tonight and finish my final assignment for watercolor class. bye!

phronesisaical

2006-12-18T09:33:00.000-05:00

this is tom, who is one of julia's former professors from her graduate studies at NYU. he writes a blog called phronesisaical, which i recommend wholeheartedly. tom is an expert in ethics, social and political philosophy, environmental policy, international development, and international affairs; and he has about a million records (on vinyl) and makes the best mix cds of anyone i know. he's probably written more than any of us have read in our lifetimes, and his blog is both highly political and highly entertaining. from today forward, there will be a link to tom's blog under my "hey lookie" section. check it often!

illustration friday - "mask"

2006-12-13T12:22:00.000-05:00

i'm almost done with school - when i'm done i'm going to sleep for 17 days. screw presents, just give me the bed and keep the noise down!

by the way, for those who are returning visitors, how do you like the new design of the site, eh? i like it much better than the one i had made previously. i designed this one to resemble my layout for my myspace (oh my, that's a lot of 'my's). so what are you thinking - good, bad, or ugly?

illustration friday - "thanksgiving"

2006-11-20T10:14:00.000-05:00

here's my thanksgiving illustration. and just because you guys are so cute, here's a nice little zombie, too.

illustration friday - "clear"

2006-11-12T23:14:00.000-05:00

this is a portrait of scout niblett. she makes good music. i wish that she would hire me to do artwork for her next album so i wouldn't be so poor.

illustration friday - "smoke"

2006-11-05T08:07:00.000-05:00

click on the image for a clearer picture. this is a one-page comic that i made, which can also be found (among others) at my comics-group site, here. it's been a while since i've made any comics, and that makes me sad. too many stupid papers to write. anyway, here's another smoke related image, this time in collage:

illustration friday - "wind" - plus some watercolors

2006-11-01T09:34:00.000-05:00

there's nothing more peaceful than flowers blowing in the wind, or possibly growing super-huge and attacking the earth.

don't forget to look down further on the page! i've posted some of the work i've been doing in my watercolor class (it gets better as you scroll down to the latest ones). by the way, the pictures are grainy because i had to use my phone's camera. they were too big for the scanner.

illustration friday - "ghost"

2006-10-23T07:41:00.000-04:00

sorry it's been so long since i've posted anything, but i have a really good excuse. getting married takes up a lot of your time. i'm still behind in my school work, but i'm hoping to get caught up by the end of this week. keep your fingers crossed!

this picture is a study for a polyptych illustrating the poe story "the man who was used up".

illustration friday - "phobia" number two

2006-09-27T09:16:00.000-04:00

nosocomephobia: fear of hospitals

this one was done with oil pastels on black construction paper, made by drawing everything but the lines, leaving the paper uncolored to indicate the outlines. i'm really enjoying this "art in elementary education" class. i'm using materials that i normally wouldn't, and seeing how far you can push children's art supplies.

illustration friday - "phobia"

2006-09-24T10:45:00.000-04:00

pyrophobia: fear of fire

this is also from my art in elementary education class. julia has been teasing me because i've been doing much of my homework with crayons lately. this particular image was made by placing crayon shavings in between two pieces of wax paper, then putting a newspaper over it and heating it with a warm iron. note: you cannot do this project if you have thermophobia--fear of heat.

illustration friday - "change"

2006-09-17T22:13:00.000-04:00

i just started an "art in elementary education" class this week, and our first assignment was to make an abstract work with crayons. this is what happened with mine. i kind of stumbled into the warm-changing-to-cool-colors thing by accident and decided to keep going with it. i don't know, it's kind of nice i think.

"subway glances", another missed connection

2006-09-09T11:10:00.000-04:00

i decided to do a whole comic of this one. now that i've done two of them, i may go ahead and do a longer series of missed connection comics. we'll see. i just started a watercolor class, so i may start incorporating some color in my comics pretty soon as well.

illustration friday - "farm"

2006-09-09T08:38:00.000-04:00

sorry i've been so absent lately. i've been busy the past couple of weeks, since i decided to transfer schools so late in the summer. so i had to really scramble to get everything done. now everything is in order, so i should be posting fairly regularly again. well, except i'm taking 20.5 credits this semester, and i'm getting married in a month. so maybe not that regularly.

illustration friday - "match"

2006-08-20T11:14:00.000-04:00

this one seemed to fit this week's IF theme. it's based on a craigslist.com "missed connection". i'm actually working on a two-page comic based on another missed connection listing right now. check back in a week or so, and it should be up!

illustration friday - "play"

2006-08-16T11:22:00.000-04:00

this one is from a photo of my friends and i, when we lived in little rock. we got together one night at the old mill and played guitar for hours. ah, simpler times.

collaging implants

2006-07-27T15:14:00.000-04:00

this is the fourth collage for takebakethenews.org's art auction. i hope they sell.

inspire me thursday - "child's play"

2006-07-27T12:51:00.000-04:00

the first one is for inspiremethursday.com, and the second one is a bonus. i'm doing a series of collages to donate to an art auction that's fast approaching. it's for takebackthenews.org, which is a non-profit, anti-rape organization. check out their website, and if you're in the new york city/long island area, come to the benefit on august 7th, at the tiger lily cafe in port jefferson!

illustration friday - "opposites"

2006-07-25T09:05:00.000-04:00

this is a comic that i had published in sva's "inkstains 3" earlier this year. it's silly, i know, but it's actually one of my favorite comics that i've done, as far as the overall look of the page goes. if you'd like to see more of my comic work, as well as great stuff by my comix-making pals, just click on the banner below:

illustration friday - "sacrifice"

2006-07-17T10:05:00.000-04:00

things are getting back to normal. now, if i can just get my comix pages done for next week, i'll be in good shape.

i love moleskine sketchbooks. they're so neat! i think it's the yellowish paper, which seems to prevent artist's block somehow. one of my instructors always said "when faced with a blank white page, always start by tinting it with a wash of light color. then at least you've gotten the painting underway."

illustration friday - "skyline"

2006-07-14T04:12:00.000-04:00

sorry i'm so late with this one. i've been out of town, out of commission, etc. this is a small oil sketch for a larger oil painting that i like to tell myself that i completed, though it could use a few more hours' work. maybe someday.

digital camera! yay!

2006-07-13T22:35:00.000-04:00

i can finally post my larger pieces! i'm so psyched. here's a couple, just for a taste:

illustration friday - "rain"

2006-06-26T08:02:00.000-04:00

(click for a larger, clearer view)
this was one of my more successful animal illustrations from stan martucci's class this year.

illustration friday - "dance"

2006-06-19T21:59:00.000-04:00

funny that this week's illo friday topic was "dance", because this is what i was already working on the last few days:
you can click on the comic for a larger version. here are some detail images:
look here for more neat-o comic stuff from me and my friends:

illustration friday: "jungle"

2006-06-09T10:07:00.000-04:00

since this week's topic is "jungle", i picked two different interpretations of the word. the first, more traditional:
and the second is the urban jungle:

new old stuff

2006-06-09T10:01:00.000-04:00

i found some stuff from last year that i thought would be good for gettin' scanned. so i scanned 'em. and here is one:
this picture was made from cut paper, one black sheet and one white.

why am i not sleeping?

2006-06-03T00:24:00.000-04:00

okay, one last thing and i'm off to bed. this is a collage that was inspired totally by the tiny little old lady with the green hat. i cut her out and saved her years ago, knowing that one day i would use her in something. i could never find something that she really fit in, so i decided one day to build a picture around her. this was also for a collage assignment in which i had to use shredded money. the picture of the "baby" is actually that of a fully-grown adult who stood approximately 20" tall.

illustration friday - portrait

2006-06-03T00:04:00.000-04:00

this is a new print of a linocut i did late last year. gotta love the boss.

field recording artists

2006-05-30T08:44:00.000-04:00

jason estrin, sarah glidden, and i are starting a comics-making group. we will be meeting on thursday nights usually, making assignments and working toward a publication, so if you're interested, let me know via email, or telephone if you know me already. we will usually be meeting either in brooklyn, queens or manhattan, though we may plan other field trips as well. it should be a lot of fun, so please join if you think you can handle it! our brand-new blog is here. by the way, this week's assignment is to make a forward facing self-portrait in black and white (in 3x4 proportion), and if you can, try to make a one or two page comic based on an old photo of yourself. it can be a real story or fictional, as long as it includes one panel that is a drawing of the photograph you have chosen. please bring the self-portrait, the comic and the original photograph to share with the group. however, please do not feel that you have to do the assignment this time. we would rather see more people at the meeting, so please come anyway, whether you can do the assignment or not.

something old, something new

2006-05-24T11:34:00.000-04:00

i found some old line drawings on my computer and decided to post them. they are from a couple of years ago, when my "drawing with ink" instructor had us make 50 drawings in an hour. hence, they are full of drawing mistakes, or "happy accidents" as bob ross would say.