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.

sketchbook collages + watercolors

Beekeeper + Shaman
Mixed media
5.5" x 8.5"

I Did Not See That Coming
Mixed media
5.5" x 8.5"

Pleased to Feet You
Mixed media
5.5" x 8.5"

These first few came from a class I took this summer, called "Smashbooks and Visual Arts Journals Blah Blah and Et Cetera", or something like that. We made our own sketchbooks, and these are a few of the pages from it. It was a great class, and I made a ton of crazy collages with laser eyes and mouths, vomit, and blood. Needless to say, fun was had by all who attended!

I will definitely have my Drawing & Painting students make their own sketchbooks this year. I think it's a great way for them to get excited about making art and tap into their right brain, not-thinking thoughts.

Brands Mean Nothing to Me
Watercolor on paper
6" x 9"

The Last Immigrant Grocer on Earth
Watercolor on paper
5.5" x 8.5"

There's a Riot Goin' on
Watercolor on paper
6" x 9"

These next three came from the afore-mentioned watercolor class, in which I loosened up a little and made a series of slightly Diebenkorn-y, non-representational jobbers.

Framed Tree No. 1
Watercolor on paper
5" x 8"

Framed Tree No. 2
Watercolor on paper
6" x 9"

And lastly, the trees come from the watercolor class, too. They use the "blown straw" technique to create the trees, with details added later. The first one already had a rectangle on the page when I started, so I left it in as a design element and did a few more like it. I have a couple of others in this series, and I might add them later if I get a chance.

Enjoy!

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.

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?

julia and max the nephew, zonked

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.

don't look

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.

flightless wings unfold

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!

illustration friday - "phoenix"

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.

what i learned in watercolor class

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 - "thanksgiving"

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

illustration friday - "wind" - plus some watercolors

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.

i'm on a roll, with butter

lookit, i've done two shelton diagram pieces in two days! now i just have to get to the post office and mail them. here's the one i finished last night:

but thanks for asking

here's a couple of things from the ol' sketchbook. the second one is a sketch for a sci-fi poster for a made-up movie:

older sketchbook items

here are some random pages from my sketchbook from last year: