The Dissection Table

Etsy shop is active!

2011-08-14T12:55:00.001-07:00

I just set up a shop on Etsy where you can purchase prints and original pieces of art. Click here to check it out!

Wow, 2009 was my last post?

2011-02-27T05:17:00.000-08:00

I swear I've been doing things. Apparently everything but blogging...

Anyway, my two best buds and I have been working on a project the past year. Check it out at www.trailsoftarnation.com! It's been taking up a great deal of my time as of late, so a lot of my creative juice has been going towards it.

Black Coffee: Chapter 1 of Trails of Tarnation from New Picture Agencies on Vimeo.

Long time no post...

2009-07-06T08:02:00.000-07:00

This piece was started in California and finally finished a few weeks ago after having moved to New York.

"Trinity"

Robots!

2009-02-22T22:40:00.000-08:00

"X-062"

Quickie

2009-02-21T20:47:00.001-08:00

This was a quickie I did today in a couple hours.

"The Shaman"

And another...

2009-02-17T16:22:00.000-08:00

"The King"

Catching up...

2009-02-16T18:45:00.000-08:00

Here are three quick pieces I did the past couple weeks. All three are ink drawings embellished with Photoshop.

"The Queen"

"Peter, Peter"

"Socketface"

Baby Bash featuring Mario and Lil' Jon shoot

2009-02-11T14:43:00.000-08:00

Not a terribly exciting shoot and not much in the way of the art department aside from some props. I had to paint some picnic tables Pepto-Bismol pink. I also grabbed a quick photo with Lil' Jon while wearing a way-too-big rain jacket. You know you've MADE IT when you can do that. Right?

"A Gift For Rocco" on G4's Attack of the Show

2009-01-28T20:38:00.000-08:00

Today G4 posted a video that my friends and I made on Attack of the Show's "Around The Internet" segment and followed it up with a little skit of their own.

Here's a link right here!

And here's the original video on Collegehumor.com!

"LMFAO" photo shoot

2008-12-11T13:53:00.000-08:00

The past couple days I worked on a photo shoot for electro/hiphop duo LMFAO. I put together/painted the zebra backdrop used for a couple shots and did a few other things as well. Here are a couple photos of the backdrop in action. I guess they will also be taking these on tour with them to use as a stage backdrop.

I'm going to have this mounted on my wall

2008-11-29T20:55:00.000-08:00

I found this monster in its death throes in the hallway as I went to get the mail today. Normally I am a lover of all creatures, especially those that creep and crawl, but this thing had to go. For all I know, this thing ate the lizard I saw out there a couple weeks ago.

Before you tell me "I've seen bigger roaches," please keep in mind that the quarter it is laying next to is actually 17 miles wide.

Doritos commercial contest

2008-11-17T00:15:00.000-08:00

I was in the art direction for this commercial. It's currently in Doritos "Crash The Superbowl" contest. Tell your friends.

Obamination!

2008-11-06T00:25:00.000-08:00

Obama with the landslide. For once I am not disappointed. Don't screw it up, Barack!

Halloween

2008-11-01T13:00:00.001-07:00

Here's a jellyfish helmet that I made for Halloween. I found the instructions a few months ago here, and I thought to myself that I could probably do a little better... so I did. Cheap bowls from the dollar store, hot glue, LED necklaces and one bicycle helmet later, there it was. I wasn't able to solder it all into one battery pack like I wanted to because the LED necklaces have such tiny, cheap components, but it works well enough.

Unlit

Lit

You know that scene in Being John Malkovich where all anyone can say is the word "Malkovich?" That's what last night was like except all anyone could say or scream was "jellyfish!"

New piece: "The Kraken"

2008-10-24T19:51:00.000-07:00

Here is a new piece that will be displayed at Cannibal Flower's "Huge Halloween Bash" in Los Angeles on Saturday, October 25th.

"The Kraken"

"Live babies and dead soldiers"

2008-10-01T19:01:00.000-07:00

Today on NPR I heard an argument between two religious men, one an Obama-supporting Professor at Pepperdine University and the other a Deacon and editor-in-chief of "Catholic Online." The dispute was over the professor's choice to support Obama who is the pro-choice candidate in spite of the fact that the Catholic Church is staunchly against abortion for any reason. The Deacon's argument was that no Christian, in good faith, should ever support a candidate who is pro-choice. The professor retorted that he based his decision on the fact that Obama would instate programs of education that would, in theory, reduce unwanted pregnancy, which is really the issue here. The Deacon wasn't having it, insisting that McCain is the only candidate that anyone who cares about "innocent life" should be voting for.

"PRO-LIFE!"

Please enlighten me as to how McCain is the "pro-life" candidate. The man has been a hawk and a warmonger for his entire career and has PERSONALLY dropped bombs on foreign soil in 23 bombing missions. How can you possibly argue that his selection is the moral choice? The same man that promised "extinction" in North Korea and, yes, sang that little song about dropping some bombs on Iranian people is the choice of people who claim to value life? Just when I think religion can't be any more backwards someone makes an argument of this nature that, once again, reminds me that the Dark Ages never completely went away.

Two New Pieces

2008-09-20T14:59:00.001-07:00

The purchase of a new digital camera has finally given me the opportunity to upload some images of current work. Here they are:

"The Rise of Anatomicus!"

"The Dreamer"

Both pieces are oils, cut paper, and mixed media. "Anatomicus" is on some kind of MDF-like material and "The Dreamer" is on plywood which I think is my new substrate of choice. Both pieces are for sale.

Here are some detail shots of "The Rise of Anatomicus!":

This just in from Wall Street...

2008-09-15T21:33:00.000-07:00

RRAAAAAAAARRRRRGGGGHHH!!!!

You can't spell "Palin" without "Pain"

2008-09-13T11:31:00.001-07:00

I'll be the first to admit that for a long time I was not planning on voting for the current presidential election after having lost pretty much all faith in Americans to make logical decisions after the 2004 debacle. "You idiots get what you deserve!" I would tell myself every time the economy worsened or gas prices rose and people complained.

Sarah Palin, probably signing a bill that puts Jesus on the flag.

However, within minutes after seeing Sarah Palin interviewed by Charles Gibson my California voter registration papers were literally in the mail. Even though California is not a swing state and my Obama vote will pretty much amount to nothing I simply will not be able to endure four years of Palin having any kind of authority over the country or my rights. At the very least, after McCain wins the election and then dies a few months later, when President Palin has us fighting wars in Afghanistan, Iraq and Russia I can at least take a little bit of solace in knowing that I made the most effort I could in preventing it from happening.

When it comes to politics I really hate to pick a side because, really, the government wins every election no matter who loses. However, it just seems to me that the Republican set of priorities and stances is blatantly, and I don't use this word lightly, evil. Some of their positions and advertisements would be laughable if I didn't know that there is a certain demographic of this country that eats it all up. Pro-war. Anti-women's rights. Pro-wiretapping. Pro-torture. Anti-environment. Pro-oil. Please, just tell me in what way these policies make the Republican party the supposed choice of moral voters? I'm missing something.

John McCain makes this face every time he sees a Vietnamese person who isn't smoldering.

I feel like a President yelling "Drill, baby! Drill!" to a chanting crowd would make a pretty good scene in a Mel Brooks film... but it actually happened.

The McCain camp is running an ad that says "Obama wants to teach explicit sex education (dramatic pause)... to kindergardeners." The ad is accompanied by a creepy music box playing in the background and is a ridiculous distortion of a program Obama voted for that would inform children of the dangers of sexual predators and "stranger danger." If this was an episode of South Park it would be great. However, this is reality... and there are people out there with few enough brain cells to connect the dots and say to themselves: "Obama is a child molestor... must vote McCain."

This garbage actually works and I have no one to be angry at but the public that believes and encourages it.

However, the Democratic party has to step up to the plate. I respect Obama for wanting to take the high road and I absolutely do not want his party to start up the same childish name-calling that McCain's is so well-versed at. That's why it's so fortunate that McCain and Palin are ripe for the picking when it comes to disastrous policies, hypocritical moral standings and outright lies. What is the Democratic party doing about this? Nothing! There is a definite difference between throwing mud and revealing damning FACTS about the opposite candidate. I can only hope that, if Obama doesn't step up his game, Joe Biden at least chews Sarah Palin up and sticks her under a desk at the Vice Presidential debate.

"Barack Obama wants to teach explicit sexual education... to babies." -John McCaine approves this message

What really steams me is that Palin is downright proud of the fact that she did not terminate her pregnancy when she knew her child was going to have Down's Syndrome. She is also just ecstatic that her daughter is not only getting married at 17 but also keeping the child she is currently pregnant with. Am I the only person who finds it ironic that Palin has so much pride in herself and in her daughter for making a choice that she doesn't feel women have the right to even make in the first place? You can't be militaristically pro-life (which I think is a misleading term, by the way since most of these unwanted children will have pretty miserable ones) and simultaneously proud of your decision. It doesn't work that way for logical, thinking people.

However, to the ignorant God-has-a-plan-let's-just-not-think creationist crowd, there is no such thing as irony and no fault can ever be placed on people causing disasters in the name of their Holy Ghost. After all, he works in mysterious ways and it was his idea to not allow Palin's daughter access to accurate sexual education (read: BIOLOGY) which probably resulting in her pregnancy with a guy who should have known better than to date the daughter of a right-wing creationist zealot. Have fun, daddy!

Cannibal Flower's 8th Anniversary Show

2008-08-31T19:36:00.000-07:00

I had a new piece, "The Rise Of Anatomicus!" in Cannibal Flower's 8th Anniversary show. The exclamation point at the end of the name is necessary because I decided that the title must be shouted or screamed in order to project the right kind of emotion... preferably with a megaphone. Since I am in the process of getting a new digital camera that isn't made of iron and isn't coal-powered this photo will have to do for now. When I finally take a decent shot I will do a little more explaining.

At any rate, the show was interesting and it was pretty cool to have a piece hanging up on display with so many great artists like Chet Zar and Eric Montoya. Everything was very last minute... some of the paint was actually still wet on the piece.

Have You Seen This Man?

2008-08-25T18:44:00.000-07:00

I feel like if you're going to spend $1,000 insuring and registering your car in the state of California then you might as well have some fun trying to look as crazy as possible for your license photo by giving yourself a black mustache and eyebrows. Even the signature is clearly the incoherent scrawl of a mad man.

The Collector

2008-08-08T20:03:00.001-07:00

I decided recently that I am going to make an effort to get my picture taken with every former member of Nine Inch Nails I can find. Two down, about 800 to go.

Parking Ticket

2008-08-07T21:30:00.000-07:00

How can I be mad about this when the officer has such a soothing name? I bet he/she gives great shoulder rubs.

Mega Man 9

2008-07-17T19:09:00.000-07:00

The MBW show has been successful to such an extent that it has been extended through the month of July. The show will be open every Saturday and Sunday of the month from 1pm to 9pm. You should check it out.

As a result, I still have not been able to generate anything new for myself. However, I am in the process of gathering materials for a mixed media project I am feeling optimistic about.

In other news, this has me particularly excited: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zsgtDJmlqFc

While I am slightly saddened that Capcom did not opt for a more graphically advanced installment of the series, the return to the classic format is at least a move that is geared directly towards old school fans. It probably cost very little to make and, if successful, could probably lead to future sequels. I am a little disappointed that there is no charged shot or slide in this game though and I doubt there will be any satisfactory explanation as to why Mega Man's abilities have had such a downgrade. Personally, I think it would have been better to have gone the 8 bit route like they did but include a few current-gen special effects or graphic touches. I am also not a fan of "Splash Woman" being a robot master. Why not just "Splash Man"? Oh well. Maybe this game will allow Sega to make a proper Sonic sequel. One can hope, anyway.

First post/happenings

2008-06-08T00:02:00.000-07:00

Dear Internet,

So this is a blog, huh?

Since it is neither simple nor practical for me to update my web site quickly I have decided that this would be the best way to interact with people and make sure they know that I am not dead... at least for the moment. I want to throw out a quick "thank you" to everyone who has emailed or IM'd me complimenting my stuff. I'll be using this blog as a news source for my web site and just as a place for some general musings. Now a little update on my life...

I moved from Farmington, NY to Los Angeles about three months ago and for the past two I have been working for Los Angeles street artist Mr. Brainwash (MBW) in preparation for his first art show entitled Life Is Beautiful. For more information you can check out the show's web site at www.artshow2008.com.

I also hope to get some serious painting done shortly after the show is over. In the process of moving and seeking employment I haven't had much time to do much for my own personal work. With any luck I will be able to invest a little time in myself at the end of June.

More to come soon!

-Derek