Juan Francisco Casas

As the illustration blog Drawn suggests, we should never complain about our materials again… or more exaclty that we should think of this when we are dropping major dough on our fancy “professional” supplies.

Artist Juan Casas uses only ballpoint pens to create these incredible photorealistic illustrations.  A visit to his site is a must in order to check out not only the great detail in which he works, but also to see a great selection of his work including portraits and nudes with a nice selection of instant captured moments as photography is used.

Original post at Drawn.  Visit Juan Francisco Casas.

WDT

The Face of Leonardo

What a fascinating and recently published find of a man that “drew everything around him” but no self-portraits as with other artists… only one is popularly known and it is veiled in controversy.  Enjoy this TED talk by Siegfried Woldcheck who runs through all the drawings Leonardo has ever made to find the face of an icon.

I thought this would be a fine addition to our face steal assignment as we consider the importance of our self-portraits.

WDT

Willy’s New Wix

I finally ditched my old site with Dreamhost due to lack of programs to run it and forgetting all my passwords, but decidedly still need a place to send people when they come-a-calling for examples of my refrigerator drawings.  So I decided that as long as I’m in school, the last thing I need is to be a “pro” and have a real deal site like before… becuase let’s face it, I wasn’t keeping up with it. I failed at the private artist’s homepage “test”aroni… and failed hard… much like testaroni, which can only be either a failed italian sports car brand of some sort or a dog testicle chef boyardee concontion.

On this bright and sunny rain-filled night, I finally put myself to work to create a simple online art portfolio to have this part of my online persona filled out and ready to never be seen, as is my fate given my unexcellent google rankings, sigh.

For your viewing pleasure, My newest online thing.

I need to make more stuff, only one work in there is from the last year… wowza.

WDT

Coming to terms…

Prom queen drama was a good way for Broughman to describe the Three Mes post fiasco of self-loathing, sarcasm, male dominance, obscurity, and the lack transferrable emotions in written text. Emoticons, I might add, are for middle school girls and have no place in adult/male communication.  That aside, asses were made and licked apparently if you review the textual history.  The point, though is that getting my ass handed to me so lovingly and directly being called out on my bullshit was just what I needed, not just for my art’s sake, but for a lot of other things…

I see myself through two lenses…

The first is that of what I believe I am capable of accomplishing and could reasonably bring about in the world.  Whether that is a certain level of skill at a task or a lofty goal that is unmet, there are things that I think to myself, “I can do.”

The second is the window of what I actually acomplish and unfortunately there is sometimes a wide divide between the former utopia and this reality. I wouldn’t say that this is necessarily unique or hard to understand because I assume most must have a similar division of ego and actuality.

Why I bring this up is becuase I am far too easily distracted by the reality of what I can’t bring to life and let it affect things it shouldn’t.  For example… I will berate my own work in order to lower it’s status only becuase it’s not where I want it to be regardless of it’s individual merit.  But lo, that’s the beautiful part about this realization I’m having, is that the process towards the goal is where the real art happens – where life is lived, and not at the end of some equation or story.  Art isn’t a beginning, middle and end.  There is no = symbol in that world and therefore I should stop treating something so fluid and abstract as linear.

If I draw a dog, and it looks like a dog, so? If it looks like a pile of rags? shit on a rug? two whales humping a lighthouse? What is important is that the dog provided an outlet wherein I was able to be expressive… to emote imagery physically into a world outside my mind.  Art doesn’t exist in the mind… it doesn’t exist in that utopia of what could be, or the self’s ego… it’s external.  It’s expression recorded.  It’s process captured.

I need to remember that when I put pen to paper… that my ego isn’t in charge, that my mind isn’t in play, that the activity is key.  Perhaps when that becomes my motive and not beginning to reach an end, but experiencing an abstraction… of making what isn’t yet… then I won’t be wrapped up in false realities and unimportant self-impositions.  What will matter is what comes… not what could be or even what was before.

I should add at this point that I realize art is completely subjective and in no way am I saying something like a drawing of a dog/pile of shit is just as amazing as any other thing that’s deemed art.  I believe that what is art is compeltely decided upon by the viewing audience and only the acceptance of the creation, by however may of few, is what denotes it as art.  Now I could write a whole different post about the difference between that and meaningful art… Thomas Kinkade is not art but that can wait.

WDT

Kehinde Wiley

I was first introduced to Kehinde through a Columbus Museum of Art pamphlet upon arriving in the city… and I have yet to visit. One work caught my eye though and forced me to look up the individual responsible.  Kehinde Wiley is a Yale grad of 2001 and since has been improving his ability to paint like the old masters in our art history books.

Though most of his work stands as tall as me, some is scary large and I’m afraid to say that if this man can accomplish this level of work in 8 years, then jebus help the rest of us poor souls.

Visit Kehinde.

WDT

will.i.am.in.jail

So it would appear that someone somewhere has made the slightest of mistakes because it would see that your loveable host WDT has been incarcerated since he was 18… let me put that another way… the Commonwealth of Virginia, in all their glory sentenced me in August of 2002 to 85 months in jail for a moving violation – SEVEN AND A HALF FUCKING YEARS!

Now.  Let’s see.  That means I’m a fugitive.  My term of sentence doesn’t even end till next spring for Jesus’s rollerblading sake.  How on earth is this possible… that I’ve been supposed to be incarcerated all this time and not be aware, nor the state or county be bothered that I haven’t been in my cell like a good convict?  I can’t say, but I do know that I only became of aware of this when I was informed by my current employer about an odd part of my background check…

Woah woah woah… I’ve applied to how many jobs since i was 18? Dozens… and every time they ran a background check they saw that I was currently in prison and said nothing? That might explain a few times I didn’t get that callback, but what about the places that did hire me and didn’t think to mention my better part of a decade sentence… Wow.  I mean, fuck nuts.

Prisoner of My Own - Shimoda

So needless to say, I’m entertained and there are two things that will be stemming from this recent news. I’ll be contacting the state and screening company to right the clear wrongs in my legal history and I’ll be throwing a hell of a release party on my official release date next year… So get ready for that hot mess.

Bonus: I may get a prison tattoo as well, I don’t know, we’ll see. Suggestions welcome.

WDT

Andy Gilmore

Ever since I first saw the geometric and mathematical color design work of Andy Gilmore 3 years ago I was hooked.

His ability to take a seemingly boring subject like a color pallate and make it something not just visually interesting but stunning is unmatched.  He has been passed around the blogs for a while now and would have deserved recognition for that alone but not only does he have the ability to make us rethink color and geometry on ever so simple planes, but this cat can draw.

Forgoing links to his sketchbook work to display this talent, it is most evident to this observer as seen through these 4 panels wherein he has studied the physical makeup and plumage of a crow.  Enjoy.

By the way, earlier in the day I had the idea to do studies of ravens and work towards a series… not an hour later I found these amazing panels.  Bravo Andy.

Vist Andy

WDT

Thy Loathsome Self

Dear Readers,

I have been away from this site for a time now.  At first, merely to keep on top of my school work for what I thought would be a short time; a week or so.  But I let that postlessness fester and it became 2 weeks of long and Will-less webery, yet fortunately class ended.  I was again joyfully free to recall the highs of sharing my musings and found art and personal work with you.

But I sat there.

And as dust fell across the mantle of my web portal, this half-year young inter-child of mine was malnourished.  Another though rose to the call of the incessant neighing of this unsleeping bastard internet and made their own most welcome wireless connection.  RLB picked up where this poor son of a bitch left off without whimpering and without clamoring if only for the sake of his own net-tertainment or perhaps some vain personal fetishized sexual fulfillment.

It was through following the hit counter that I reached a different conclusion though.  That unless we have by some sad and unsundry reasoning been not just counting hits but individual IPs then we… well we…. had an audience…and lo…(yes, lo)…. there was a greater cause to the Brough-Man’s trek across the front page of ArtThis — Informations were being oned and zeroed to people.

I had a purpose again.

There is yet time for me to pull myself from the bog of net-pity and self-webspair… and so I hope that this means I’ll be returning slowly but surely to readmitting my opinions and stories to this webpage and moreover to balancing out the absolute bullshit from that other guy…

Much love and peace down A-Town,

Willy Snoogums III, Esq.

WDT

Hancock Sculpture Murder Ozrics DIvine Masturbation

I was first introduced to Herbie Hancock by my father with Future Shock… I have a strong visual of me looking up as he carefully dug out a wild blue and black spacey looking vinyl and placed it on the turn table.  Then he danced like some wild bird as the sound waves pounded my eardrums and scorched their place in my long-term memory.  “Future Shock,”  a great way to describe this video for Rockit and Herbies music in general from the said album.  I also vividly remember Hancock on some sort of children’s show, maybe Reading Rainbow (if you know all the little references in that link you are probably autistic and too smart to even care about the Internet).  I was blown away by how he took this child’s voice, sampled it, and made wild music with it. Eventually I was given a keyboard with recording features and attempted to emulate Hancock; however, most of my attempts were samples of fart noises.  Fur Elise in Fart Major was my most accomplished composition. 

Now at 24 I’ve stumbled back into Herbie land with a great live version of Chameleon.  The Bass riff melts my legs and contorts my soul.

If you haven’t seen the video for Rockit you are in for a treat.  It’s uniquely ahead of it’s time while still referencing familiar iconography.  I’m reminded of the DaDa movement and some more contemporary kinetic sculpture.  If I’m not mistaken at the 51 second mark “Da Da” is spat out by a computer voice.

I’ m also battling on Ebay for a few Herbie Vinyls… no need to fight for Future Shock I’ve already got it.  Sort of like when I order a pizza.  The conversation is something like this.  “Yes, uh, I’d like a large cheese pizza with mushrooms.  Wait, hold the mushrooms, I’ve got my own!”  I’ve actually never done that but I’ve seen it done.

I FOUND THE CLIP! Not Reading Rainbow but Sesame Street, it’s a jewel with a young Tatyana Ali! I’ll try to get a legit copy of it to play on WUVT90.7 in a couple weeks.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKoisNv1ftw&feature=fvst]

Go to you itunes store or steal from a torrent site and expose or reacquaint yourself with Herbie Hancock, K92 or whatever pop station many of you are listening to lacks: blood, lungs, spine, life, and soul.

 

Also check out Ozric Tentacles  (my favorite is at the 3:25 mark) if you’re into sick synth and liquid shredding on guitar.  I just came back from following these guys on tour.  For three days I slept in my younger brother’s Dodge Neon passenger seat (brother in driver’s seat rest of car packed to the gills with food and art supplies), ate bologna sandwiches, painted, drank water, showered in my own sweat, got lost in lil’ Jamaica outside Washington D.C., stopped by the National Gallery of Art (main goal was Death and the Miser), got harassed by old ladies for carrying an unlit cig “You shouldn’t be smoking in an art gallery, son.” (my brother was carrying the UNLIT cig), I barked back at the old lady she should take her medication and get back on the nursing home tour bus, and boogied like a madman to the sonic surrounding provided by Ozrics.  The band was very nice to fans after the shows, sticking around and conversing with those who stuck around and then politely getting back on the road and on to the next gig.  My brother, Matthew, gave Ed some glass.

Someone always harasses me at the National Gallery of Art in D.C.  First time in there a guard felt I was too close to a painting (tempora) and physically grabbed me like a Mother (Mothers of Intervention HAHA) grabs her 5 year old in a ceramic shop.  Having seen me from the back he probably though my 5 foot 3ish figure was a kid.  He seemed a little shocked when I turned around and spun his hand off my shoulder (little NCAA relapse).  That would make a nice performance piece, wrestling a guard at the National Gallery of Art.  Ryan Vs. the Centaurs.  OR It could be Hercules vs. the dude that gets his power from the ground (official mythological name by the way), another favorite of mine in that gallery.

It would be an interesting murder, to bash the brains out of a gallery rent-a-cop with a sculpture from antiquity.  It’d also be interesting to make a film of a young virgin woman FUCKING HERSELF with a Virgin Mary statue.  Sort of like the Exorcist “FUCK ME FUCK ME FUCK ME” but two virgins fucking each other without losing virginity. I think Joseph just jerked off on to Mother Mary’s vagina, never penetrating with his dick but getting his little divine swimmers in there none the less.  I did a drawing series of Dildos with the Virgin de Gaudalupe on them.  I digress.

I’m going back to attempting to finish some quizzes.

RYAN BROUGHMAN

Way to go Barney

A young girl participating in a public performance piece gets arrested.  Downtown Roanoke, Virginia.  A much more honorable way to get the cuffs than my run in with the city of Roanoke.