A Charitable Infection

This A2 canvas is one I created a few days ago in response to being asked to make an 'artistic donation' for the next Alfresco Family Event on 2nd September at Blackpool Cricket Club.  As well as good music, food, stalls and activities for the kids, there will be an art auction to raise money for the charities 'Woodlands School', 'Brian's House', 'Blue Butterfly' and 'Donna's Dream House'. 

After I'd finished painting it, I stopped and had a thought that the latest Infection is quite often a by product of the last one, since I end up using the same colour Posca pens to create it.  If you look at the last two posts, you'll see I used black and apple green on lisa's car and then again on the piece I did for her and Tony. The Infection really does spread quickly!  

  This is a good example of one of those pieces that portrays different things for different people, depending on how they look at it that first time.  For example, my girlfriend saw a bird when she looked the first time, but the only idea I had in mind upon starting it, was 'insectoid'! 

  Make of it what you will! 

  For information on the Alfresco Cowbell Carnival on the 2nd September and possibly give yourself a chance to buy the canvas shown above and others by local artists, follow the link below.

http://www.facebook.com/AlfrescoFamilyEvents

Little Dabs Of Paint Make It All Ok

On one of my trips down to Dabs Tattoo studio to paint Lisa's car, when the weather restricted me from doing what I went to do, I ended up painting this piece for Lisa and Tony in their house.  Done on an A2 piece of brown card I had in my folder, it was one of those times I just had to get something out of me! I'd had a little bout of anxiety trying to reach my destination by train and bus and when I finally got there and the rain stopped me from painting the car, I just needed to sit down quietly somewhere and paint the shit out of something to make me feel better! 

As with a lot of my pieces, the viewer makes their own decision on what it is they see in the image.  I look at it now and I see a werewolf.......

Mummy Bear's Infection

Ever since I was given the opportunity to Infect the fibre glass mini, I've been waiting for a chance to put my mark on a real car.  Recently, I was given that chance! 

  In exchange for being 'marked' myself, (fresh tattoo ink at the hands of Inky Bear once again) Lisa, the owner of Dabs Tattoo in Southport, asked me to Infect the bonnet and side panel of her car. 

We arranged a day for me to go down to Southport to paint and get inked all in one afternoon, but once again, I was at the mercy of British weather! It was raining when I arrived and after Karl worked his tattoo magic on my arm, it still hadn't stopped so we arranged for me to come down another day. 

Between my busy workload, finding time to go down to Southport and the constantly unpredictable weather, I ended up making a few trips down there before I was able to spray and paint the bonnet in optimum conditions! 

I made stencils for the main shapes of the designs (my own interpretations of their bear logo for the studio) and spray painted them on using white Montana spray paint. 

  I then used apple green and black Posca paint pens to add the detail in. 

Unlike the Mini (which had been pre sprayed white for me by the guys in the garage), 

   I wasn't sure how the paint would take to Lisa's metallic orange car, but the apple green  looks really vibrant! 

I will say, if you're thinking of painting your own car in this way, it isn't the best way to go about it, as sometimes with the Posca pens, especially black as I've found, the paint can dry and you get tiny white crack lines.  In some parts though, it's actually quite effective and with this project, I spray coated the design once I'd finished with Plasti-kote Krystal Clear to seal it and protect against the weather. 

It was a real treat getting to paint an actual car that people will see as it's driven about! Massive thanks to Lisa for making the project a reality and to Inky Bear for more sweet ink! 

Watch this space for more auto Infections as Lisa's husband Tony wants a panel on his van painting......! 

  

Franky Z and Captain B, Infected is the way to be!

Not long after the paint had dried on Chris' canvas, I was commissioned by another good friend of mine to create this piece based on an image of Frank Zappa and Captain Beefheart.  It felt good to have another project to do so soon after the last one, keeping the momentum going and I found myself once again going back to the ol' red and black colour scheme that has served me so well in the past! 

  Harry just sent me the image (a great photo of the two musicians) and said I had free reign to create whatever I saw fit on an A1 canvas.  The only thing he insisted I should incorporate into the piece was the deer from Captain Beefheart's 'Bluejeans and Moonbeams' album cover.  The rest I decided on myself, which ended up being an homage to Frank Zappa's 'Civilization Phaze III' album cover and the Rolling Stones logo mixed with some random Infected goodness! 

  I received great feedback from this piece.  Harry tells me everyone in his family loves it and he said it's the best money he has ever spent! 

A Transitional Infection

This canvas commission  was quite a personal project, not just because the client is a close friend of mine, but due to the nature of its creation and meaning.

  I hadn't seen Chris properly for a while, so it was good to catch up and reminisce about when we were teenagers, growing up as skateboarders and remembering all the funny stories and sayings we used to band about! 

I won't go into detail describing its meanings, as they are personal to Chris, but I will say that it was created to symbolize a period of change in his life, and as a reminder of the past.  

 I took great pleasure in painting it and he is more than happy with the finished piece.  This was the first time I painted a canvas that was already black when I bought it.