not sure what this one's about

Free Duct Tape
Watercolor and ink on paper
5.5" x 8.5"

It just came out this way.

long time, no post

Finn and Biscuit
Graphite and watercolor on paper
8" x 10"

Wow--it's been a while.

This is from a different (& more recent) summer watercolor class. It's my pups!

Lots more to come, & soon! Stay tuned.

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

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:

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

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

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

come look at all the nifty changes!

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!

where you been

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

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.

so i did this yesterday

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

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:

i'll give you one if you give me one

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'

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!

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

freens and fambly

click image for a closer look

click image for a closer look

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.

fun with the postal service

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

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.

colonialism sucks, non-violent protest rules

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.

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.

i did not draw this on location

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!