Little Stuff

Here's a little sneak peek at the first smaller piece I finished for the bat show:

I'll be posting full images including framed ones and some explanation closer to the show. Trying to keep a little mystery around the event but I have to say everything I've gotten so far has been REALLY good and people are putting a lot of work and thought into what they're doing which is awesome. You can see some images and info on the event page.

I also just got in the buttons we made for the show, thinking it was a good way for people to show support and donate a buck or .50 if they didn't have the money or inclination to buy art. They'll be available at the opening and afterwards on the internet. We had them printed in 1.25in and the more traditional 1in (those are compliments of Alex at small world buttons) :
There are four designs, one from me, one from Mike Bukowski, one from Justin Gray, and one from Alan "Medusa Wolf" Brown:
In other news, check out this little write up about the Forgotten Gods show I was in on Friday. It'll be up for a little while so go check it out if you find yourself around that area. There was a lot of good work in it. I also made some cheaper hand signed prints ($15) which you can buy there. I'll be doing a more expensive higher quality run later, so if you're low on cash but just like the image and want a print try and pick up one from Phantom Hand. I did the layout of the print to echo the frame which came out pretty cool:
Just started my second bat show piece last night and I look forward to pulling my hair out in the next couple weeks trying to finish that and wrangle around 50 artists and get the show together. PHEW.

Hollow Sky

I'm a bit slow starting on my piece for the bat show. Going back and forth on ideas which absolutely sucks when you don't have a lot of time to work on something. After much moping and procrastinating I decided to start a small piece so that if I was going to waste time, at least I'd be working on something in the meantime.

I also made a couple resin pieces with tiny embedded bones that I'm planning to use for the frames.

In other bat news, if you live in the Philadelphia area the Wagner is hosting a lecture on the impact of White Nose Syndrome next weekend:

In the last five years an epidemic called White-Nose Syndrome has killed more than

5.5 million bats in the northeast United States. It is said to be one of the most devastating diseases in the history of mammals and threatens some of North America’s most abundant bat species with extinction. Dr. Barton, an expert on microbial life within caves and an avid spelunker, is uniquely suited to understand White-Nose Syndrome. Join us to hear about her latest research -- she may be our best hope in the race to find a cure to save the bats.

Dr. Hazel Barton is an Associate Professor of Biology and an Associate Professor of Geology and Environmental Science at the University of Akron, Ohio. Her award-winning research, published in over 30 peer-reviewed articles, focuses on understanding microbial processes in cave environments. She has appeared in numerous publications, TV shows, and in the documentary “Journey Into Amazing Caves.” She is currently a Fellow of the National Speleological Society and the recipient of a National Science Foundation CAREER Award.

With Poison Instead Of Blood She Filled Their Bodies

Hey hey. So I finally finished the painting I've been posting about and I'm really happy with how it came out:

Her strength is mighty, she is full of dread!

When I got the invite to be in this show I wanted to do something besides the expected Greek and Roman mythology (not that there's anything wrong with that, I actually have a long list of Greek stuff I want to paint) and knew I wanted to do something non-humanoid, just because I was in the mood to paint a creature. I finally settled on Tiamat, a Babylonian creation goddess descended from an earlier Sumerian one. I like that she's a progenitrix from the cradle of civilization, making the mythology surrounding her some of the oldest recorded mythology in the world. As the story goes Tiamat was " the primordial salt waters of chaos" who mixed with Apsu, the personification of fresh water, at the beginning of creation and gave birth to the first generation of gods, the Anunnaki.

Descriptions of Tiamat are hard to come by and though she's not very explicitly described in any of the sources I could find most agree that she is serpentine, though this might be because she gave birth to some serpent monsters (sort of reminds me of Echidna who I had also considered painting), with some qualities associated with sea creatures. In looking at other Babylonian gods and creatures I noticed most of them are chimera of some sort, hybrid creatures with features of birds, lions, scorpions, serpents, and humans so I constructed her in a similar way. This image of Marduk's battle with Anzu gives you some idea what they usually looked like.

I wanted her face to have the basic form of a human skull (it's mentioned that she has lips and a nose), mixed with a lion's skull and mouth, with a serpentine body with bird and lion features (wings, mane, talons, paws). It's also mentioned in the source text that she has "udders" which makes sense given her role as the mother of the gods which is why I gave her all the nipples

Most of the information we have about Tiamat seems to come from the story of her battle with Marduk. The story is similar in theme to the Titanomachy in which the original Greek gods were killed in battle by the new Olympians. The Enûma Eliš is a religious text with a political aim and tells the story of Marduk's battle with Tiamat and rise to supremacy as the patron god of Babylon. It's worth noting that this is one of the oldest recorded stories in human history and I have to say, it's still pretty gripping in parts. Marduk comes charging armed with everything you can possibly imagine and aided by the winds, as Tiamat furiously spawns monsters to fight by her side. Unfortunately for Tiamat, the tale is rigged and Marduk wins, piercing her belly with arrows and then slicing her body into pieces which become the heavens and the earth and the Tigris and Euphrates come from her tears.

The passage in the Enûma Eliš regarding the re purposing of her corpse by Marduk is especially graphic and detailed. You can read the whole thing here. Many people believe the tale of Marduk marks the point where Babylonian civilization shifted from matriarchal to patriarchal and if that's the case then it's an especially brutal turnaround and I mourn the loss.

The painting is such an odd shape because it was made to fit a frame I made from a clock door I got at an antique mart with my parents:
Which I fixed up, painted and added the omega to:
Here's the show card for the show this is part of where I will also, hopefully, have prints available:
On a totally completely unrelated note, last night Mike and I finally got to finish this movie that's been on our mile high stack of "movies we can't watch while we work" (all of them foreign language or movies that require a lot of looking), Dark Waters 1993 (not to be confused with Dark Water). An Italian/British/Russian coproduction filmed in the Ukraine (in the Odessa Catacombs!), filled with scary nuns, beautiful arresting nightmare imagery, Lovecraftian themes, amazing location shots of the nunnery on the cliff and tunnels filled with hundreds of candles. Not recommended for people who absolutely positively require a linear plot with lots of explanation, but if you're into dreamy beautiful looking Italian horror it's really great and underrated (or maybe just overlooked). It's really low on violence (and happily free of any sexual violence) but has some really genuinely creepy and disturbing stuff as well as a few gross outs. See it! Watch it! Maybe do a double feature with the Devils.

We Bring The Greater Days

Just a short update to make up for my silence. I've been busy and sick, and spending a couple days in bed with tissues crammed up my nose really put me behind work-wise and socially (and yeah, I have yet to post stuff in that etsy account oooops). Today was my first day up and about in a while and I picked a good day for it because it appears to be a very convincing false spring day. Nice. Anyway, the painting I'm working on for the Forgotten Gods show is nearly done (and would have BEEN done by now if not for the sickness). Just some sneak peaks:

The only part I have left to do:

I like seeing stuff at this stage, especially knowing that it defies what painting and drawing instructors told me about working on the whole piece slowly building all the areas together. The few classes I have taken I was always scolded for working in sections and though I get why, generally, that is a bad habit it ended up being perfect for the method I've invented for myself.

I've been meaning to note this for a while since I know everybody looooooves tumblr these days but I do have a seldom used tumblr account I may start using more. Last night I transcribed and posted a runic farting spell from a book I'm reading if that gives you any clue to the content.

In other news, the bat show now has a facebook invite with some images of the work that's coming in. If you use facebook feel free to check it out and spread the word! Getting really excited as it gets closer and also a bit nervous about the setback of this past week since I have my own piece to finish. However, the invites and posters are currently in production, and we're hoping to have something to bring to this excellent lecture on the impact of WNS coming up at the Wagner. If you live in Philly or nearby I would definitely recommend going!

Finally, Happy International Women's Day (everyday).

Everlasting Faint

I got invited to be in a Mythology themed group show in March so I decided to throw another project in before I work on the bat show piece. I just couldn't pass up a show with this theme. I spent half a week going back and forth on my design. My issue is usually that I have a lot of ideas I've been thinking about for a while, just waiting for an appropriate project. It's never the case that I don't have ANY ideas I just sometimes have trouble figuring out which one is the RIGHT one. Anyway, I stopped freaking myself out and in two days designed, drew and inked this:
I'm pretty excited about how it's going so far but it's going to be a lot of detail work (snake and fish scales take foreverrrrrrr for me) so I need to get painting as soon as possible.

More info about what it is when I have a finished painting to post.

I also made an experimental etsy store last week to sell off the remaining heart pins from the heart show (there are actually a lot left) once I get them back. I'll probably put some really old prints in there too for really cheap since they're just cluttering up my studio. I'll update when that actually happens but for the time being here's the link. My heart pins in the Storage Heart Show didn't do great but my bigger piece in the Jinxed show sold right away which is cool!

In other news, the Alice Bag show/reading went really well two weeks ago and I have to say it was one of my more fulfilling experiences making art. It just feels great to contribute something to someone whose body of work has meant a lot to me. She's extremely nice and inspiring and somehow she ended up asking me for my autograph right off the bat. I did get her's too though:Ahhhh enough mooning, back to work, D'Angelo.

Until The End Of The World

SO, I finished the piece I've been posting little bits of for a week or so. This will be in the OTHER heart show at Jinxed/Toothless Cat Gallery also this weekend. I know all this heart business is making me look very romantic but really I just love group shows.

When I was planning my trip to Portugal I came across the story of Dom Pedro and Doña Inés which is one part a tragic romance and one part a grotesque bit of folklore and I was instantly obsessed with it. To make a fairly long story (which you can read here) short, Inês was the great love of Dom Pedro and was assassinated by Dom Pedro's father the king in response to political pressure from advisers who feared the influence of her Castilian family. This prompted a war between father and son which eventually ended in a truce of sorts until the king died.

"As soon as he was crowned in 1357, and in spite of his promises of forgiveness, King Dom Pedro I recovered two of Inês' assassins from Castile, where they had sought refuge (the third had escaped to France). He then had them tortured and executed in a barbaric but highly symbolic way: from one of the men who had killed the love of his life, the heart was ripped out of the body through his back, and from the other, the heart was pulled out through the chest."

According to folklore the newly crowned king then had Inês' corpse exhumed, dressed in finery and crowned and had the entire court come to pay her respect as their queen and kiss her hand.

He also commissioned grandiose tombs for both of them which I went and saw at the Monastery of Alcobaça and had her body moved from its original resting place in a candlelit procession "between two lines of stars". The tombs are placed contrary to tradition foot to foot across from each other in the chapel of the monastery so that when the world ends and the dead rise they would each (theoretically) sit up and see each other first.

The phrase "Até ao fim do mondo" (until the end of the world) can be found at the foot of Dom Pedro's tomb which includes a carving of the wheel of life. It's not really visible in my picture but at the bottom of the wheel there's an upside down corpse that has this inscription:

Anyway, I'm not the most sentimental person but I found this story irresistibly melodramatic and macabre so I've been thinking about it ever since my trip and a valentine's day show seemed too perfect an opportunity to do a painting about it. The weird little skull cherubs are something I had sketched out a while ago, with references to biblical cherubim in the wings covered with eyes and the confusion with the European putto (I first learned about that reading a Wind in the Door in elementary school haha). I don't paint babies often (or really even LOOK at babies) so they might not be the best haha. A couple photos of it mounted to the wood heart and hanging on the wall:

Here's the info for this show:

Jinxed Philly

1050 North Hancock Street, Philadelphia, PA 19123

Saturday, 2/11. 50 + Artist. This Show is Cash and Carry. No Sunday reception, just a big one on Saturday...

And tonight is the Alice Bag/3Jane/Brillian Colors/Carmen show at the Marvelous. It's gonna be a cool weekend. I'll also be starting some bat show work!

Like A Wet, Red Stain

Celebrated my birthday with my awesome friends this weekend then spent two days cranking these out for the heart show at Storage Space this friday! 13 mini hand painted wooden heart pins. Super fun to make, not a lot to say about them really haha.


Show info:
Over 50 artists and all art $100 or under!
A Cash/Carry show!
You can't beat it!
*refreshments served opening night Friday February 10th 7pm-midnight

Also open Saturday, Feb 11th and Sunday, Feb 12th 1-4pm

www.theheartshow.org

Up Close

Just a few close ups of what I'm working on now (and almost done with). For some reason I took on another project to finish by next week so maybe I'll be able to post them up then.

And hey, if you live in NC the benefit show my tiger painting is in is tonight! Check it out!

The Bats Have Left The Bell Tower

So I figured it was about time to announce some info on the show I'm working on right now. Mike and I decided to do this show late this summer while making plans to go hiking and see one of the largest bat populations in our area leave their roost at dusk in Canoe Creek. We called the park to see if it was too late in the season to see them and were told "Most of our bats are dead. White Nose syndrome. Sorry." This is a population of bats that in 2006 was around 3,000 in a single roost. It's always pretty crushing to hear about extinction on the march but it really hits home when it's so local and affects animals you grew up around and are so accustomed to seeing and wrongly assumed you would always see.

White Nose syndrome is caused by a cold-loving fungus that grows on the faces and bodies of hibernating bats, causing neurological damage and causing them to awaken from hibernation and leave their roost at which point they starve to death. Fungal spores are hard to contain and built to survive and the spread from cave to cave is rapid with fatalities in affected areas around 98% and in some communities 100%. It's estimated to have killed more than 5.7 million bats since just 2006 and to make matters worse, with the slow reproduction rate of bats even if the death stopped NOW it would take at best 200 years for bat populations to return to previous numbers. All of that damage done in just SIX YEARS.

One of the issues that further complicates bat conservation is the general perception of bats reinforced in hollywood:


and the misconception that bats are largely responsible for the spread of rabies. In general the lack of interest in conservation for animals that aren't deemed "cute"(come on, really?) or useful to humans (though bats are VERY useful) or are considered dangerous (one of the issues affecting shark conservation, and issues related to wolves and wild dogs) is indicative of the larger attitude most people have towards animals; the idea that they exist for our use or amusement to be tamed by us or that animals that are threatening to us simply because of the way they exist in nature don't deserve to exist at all. As a result there's a lack of concern for what is a genuine natural eradication happening right under our noses (and not just to bats obviously, I'm talking about the entire natural world here).

I realize that part of the mystique of bats which attracts me to them as a horror movie loving, death rock creep bag is also responsible for some of the struggle involved in conservation and I feel like after a life-time of exploiting and enjoying bat imagery it's time to turn it into something advantageous for bats at a time when they need help the most. The proceeds from the show we're planning will be donated to Bat Conservation International and all the artists participating will be making new work or donating old work related to bats and using bat imagery. So far everyone seems really excited and we're just getting to the stage where we're finalizing a list of participating artists (which so far, is HUGE). We've had two shows like this in Philadelphia so far(For those to Come and From Whence we Came which was organized by Ryann who's helping with this show too), both of which I've participated in and they've both raised a ton of money and probably a good amount of awareness.

The show opening will be on 4/20 (harrrrharrrr) at Grindcore House here in Philadelphia and it'll be up for 2 months. We're working on planning some kind of movie night and also some purchasable items to help raise money. In the meantime I highly suggest checking out this half hour special called "The Race to save Pennsylvania's Bats"

Check out our artist list so far:
Jack Barfield
Vanessa Lucas
Alex McWatt
Jeremy Hush
Avalon Zimmerman
Joe Boruchow
Anthony Pedro
Phil Sloan
Ken Miller
Halsey Swain
Keely Dolan
Jen Zie
Derek Reverts
Ryan Slegel
Adriane Dalton
David Cook
Amanda Moore
Patt Whelan
Dilek Baykara
Alina Josan
Amy Duncan
Alan Brown
Ketch Wehr
Jeff Pfeil
Kathryn Moran
Emily Kohl-Mattingley
Chris Shockley
Doug LaRocca
John Mitchell
Mary Price
Stephanie Dimiskovski
Kristin Scholz
Lucy Price
Jonathan Schoonover
Dylan Smith
Eric Clark
Joseph Hasenauer
Bonsky
Justin Gray
Sarah Grocholski Breitenstein
Alicia Neal
Paul Romano
Elizabeth Siegel
Tamara Waite-Santibanez
Kyle Miller
Greg Kamerdze
Justin Quinlan
Matt DeFillipo
Josh Robeson
Jeanne D'Angelo (duh)
Mike Bukowski
Ryann Casey

Babylonian Gorgon

Had to take a week break from what I was working on to do a quick flyer for the Alice Bag reading/show which I am so excited about. Alice is a personal hero of mine and since finding out she was maintaining a pretty intense web presence a couple of years ago I've been following her writing and her interview series and finally got her book which I've been reading any time I get a chance. It's a series of short anecdotes about her life so it's really easy to pick up and put down (well, it's a bit hard to put down once you get started) and as it's been said in many reviews it's about much much more than punk. I had to do the flyer quickly (no time for anything but black linework) so I could get it out there since the show is quickly approaching.

Here's the full Northeast Tour info:

2/5 Cambridge MA, Boston Lady Fest, Cambridge YMCA Theater. Alice will be backed up by Terry and Melissa from Foreign Objects
2/6 Easthampton, MA Flywheel Arts Collective 7 pm. Alice will be backed up by Meghan of Ampere/Won't Belong and Ally of Honeysuck, Outdates, and Potty Mouth
2/7 New York NY at Bluestockings Bookstore. Backing by Angie Boylan of Aye Nako and others.
2/8 Batimore MD at Golden West Cafe with War on Women and Big Mouth. 8 pm
2/9 Washington DC at Joint Custody. 7 pm
2/10 Philadelphia PA@The Marvelous w/ Carmen and 3Jane 8 pm
2/11 Providence, RI at Providence Public Library with members of Whore Paint and Lolita Black providing backing 7 pm
2/12 Jamaica Plain, MA at Aviary Gallery. 8 pm with backing by Terry and Melissa from Foreign Objects and DJ Danny Gromfin Spinning LA punk classics before and after the reading!

Yesterday despite the fact that I'm pretty sick right now I managed to put in some time with the painting I posted linework for last week. This is going to be a fun one to paint!

SOPA/ PIPA F.U.

Hey, since I'm too dumb to get the SOPA strike page up in my html, I'll post this video explaining what SOPA/PIPA would do. And what you can do. And I'll just say being in the age group that grew up without the internet and remembering desperately wanting access to radical ideas and underground music and art and my friends and I scrambling to find and share those things amongst ourselves I can recognize how many more people can find those things now and how vital and amazing that is, and why it's worth protecting. I think sometimes even I take it for granted and it's good to reflect on the past in a way that's a little less nostalgic. The reason we thought zines were important then is the reason sharing on the internet unfettered by corporate intervention and censorship is now.

The Dead Queen

So, I finished a couple of things in December but they were all presents. One was a painted recipe box for my mother which actually came out better than I thought it would but someone accidentally erased all of my pictures so I can't show you that.

Every year for Christmas my brother gives me a gift card to the place where I buy paint. I used to use them because they carried the Pelican Plaka paint I like but they seem to be phasing it out. Luckily their general selection is pretty great and I make an order every January to restock things I've used up or to try new stuff. In order to really get a grip on what I needed I looked through everything I had to see what colors were lacking and to throw out stuff that was too dried out to use.

I find that really pleasing to look at.

I ended up buying a few metallics (seems like I buy a new gold every year) and some new white and black to test out, as well as a new ceramic palette to hopefully curb my compulsion to mix paint on any surface I can find (note all the jar tops in the picture). Exciting, I know. On a slightly related note, how cool are impossible colors?!

I got to do another art trade which I love. I traded the urn painting I did for this amazing hand of glory necklace (top) from Amanda Moore aka Adelina Mictlan:

The original hand drawing was also by my buddy Patt Whelan aka Patt Attack.

I had my eye on this thing for so long since I love anything related to the hand of glory and I love big weird jewelry. Amanda's stuff is really well done with a nice heavy style and she uses a lot of interesting etching methods to make the more graphic pieces. I've also got one of these finger pendants coming my way as part of the trade and we're chatting about some kind of collaboration AND she'll be making some small bat pendants for the bat show. Neat!

This weekend I finally got to work on a new painting for a Feb. group show and got everything drawn, inked, and ready to paint. The pencils:
and inked:

Also working on my piece for the bat show. I'll say it involves a secular icon, bones and an attempt to cast faux rock crystal pieces in resin for the frame. Excited to get to work and plan the show a bit more.