soundless portion preview to comedy bit "Diagnosis: Depression"

EDIT/UPDATE 11/01/2017 soundless no longer! Here's an updated post with audio accompaniment
http://jeannehospod.blogspot.com/2017/10/animated-videos-recent-past-and-more-uh.html

My portion of the animation (sound omitted for the preview) collaboration that will accompany David Huntsberger's Comedy/Animation Stand Up special. The live performance was recorded at the New Movement Theater in Austin, Texas on November 15th, 2014.

(BTW - I had a fabulous time at the live show at The New Movement Theater in Austin, and met so many cool talented people! David, the film crew, the prop artists, and the animation team were a pleasure to work with. I'll follow up with links to the other animators in an upcoming post.)

Curious what all this imagery is about? Want to hear David  Huntsberger's comedy standup? Want to see more of the other amazing animation work by the rest of David's team, (thanks to the supporters of the Kickstarter that made this project possible?) The official DVD and download will be available for sale (approximately) by the summer of 2015.

See www.davidhuntsberger.com  for updates.

David Huntsberger's Live Animation and Comedy Standup Performance in Austin Texas

Hi! Just reminding my friends, animation geeks, comedy fans, and just about anyone who wants to see a performance that is Austin Weird worthy, come to the New Movement Theater on November 15th (a 7pm and 9pm show) to see comedian David Huntsberger , (of the Professor Blastoff podcast trio... along with Tig Notaro* and Kyle Dunnigan) . It is a live filmed recording of a comedy special that will have accompanying animation from artists around the world (my contribution included), staged as a sort of scientific experiment.

The resulting recording will be available for purchase by DVD and download later in 2015.

I'm honored to be a part of this show, to work with such a cool team of people, especially under David's unique vision, and excited to be able to fly back to my Austin friends and family to share it.

I can't think of a better way to celebrate my 45th birthday.

Tickets are limited! Hurry and snag a seat asap!

I'll see you in Austin.

(*Get better Tig! All your Blastronauts and fans love and wish you a speedy recovery!)

transitioning back to paint/presentation/montage

Now that I'm done with the animation project, I've been reorganizing my workspace in order to get back to painting. I'll be focusing on both still lifes and dreamscape work.   I took a look at some past pieces I either had in progress or were finished but could use a bit more reworking with a fresher eye. Here's two I played with. Both are in/on recycled painted frames. 

Watercolor on acid free paper mounted into a 

recycled frame and uv archival plexiglass painted 

with acrylic and acrylic ink

23" x 11"

  acrylic on wood panel mounted on recycled wood

framed mirror, carved and painted with acrylic and 

acrylic ink.

10" x 10"

                                                                                    

Kickstarter Update

Good News! 

David Huntsberger's Kickstarter for his comedy and animation special is fully funded with more to spare at the time of this writing. (...And counting....contributions are still most welcome!) 

Thank You So Much for your help!  

Animation Kickstarter

Here is the link to David Huntsberger's Kickstarter

As David says, what separates this kickstarter from many is that the project has been well underway for months, and creatively near completion. What the fundraiser will do is raise money for the equipment needed and film crew in order to shoot this project.

If you can please help make this project possible. Any financial amount is appreciated. And even if you cannot pledge cash, please link it generously in your social media, emails, blogs etc. Thanks for your help. We need to raise $25,000 by October 1st.

It's in the link, but here's the promotional video:




Another image to leave you on:

BTW If you aren't familiar with   David's comedy, check him out. My favorite combination of humor: smart, offbeat, and trippy.

I don't exactly agree that he has the standard issue brain, but that's a good thing. 

Oh, I want to add this...it's one of my favorite Professor Blastoff (David co-hosts the podcast along with Kyle Dunnigan and Tig Notaro) episodes: Astrobiology

A classic blastronaut balance of pure silliness and science. 

Preview to animation in progress for David Huntsberger part 2

Hey, the Kickstarter for David's project will start this Tuesday. I'll link it (and a few more final images when its up). Here are a few more stills, not in any particular order.. Sorry, I won't be explaining their context though. You'll have to see the live show or purchase the recording of it, or any other way it is chosen to be shared by David.    part one here (with sample clip)

 Something I've noticed in all of my animation projects....I seem to retain that sepia/black and white palette and introduce color as a dramatic element and to introduce a new world like The Wizard of Oz. It hasn't gotten old for me...yet, but it is something to note.

Preview to animation in progress for David Huntsberger

Here are some stills to the animation project I'm doing for David Huntsberger. This will be completed in two weeks. The next step will be the Kickstarter for David and the animation team (other animators are working on different topics that are a part of his stand up comedy).

The plan is that the videos will be projected behind David, with the concept that it is the audience's thoughts being projected onto the screen. 

This will be filmed in Austin, TX this November. The animation team will be participating in the live show

in the role of "scientists" supervising the audience brain scans as they enjoy the stand up. 

I'm not explaining what exactly is going on. I'll leave that as a surprise but it will come together when

you hear David's topic that goes along with it. 

As you might recognize, Da Vinci's  vitruvian man makes several appearances. His final one at the end I'm giddy about, but not saying why. You'll have to see the final product (will eventually be on DVD) or check it live if you are in Austin this November.  

some fun details: posters in the background of the 

doctor's office setting: the cliched "hang in there" kitty poster

(My own lovely furbean as my model) and what I call Dante's Eyechart

Here is a teeny preview of a motion clip.  

Note that the quality I'm uploading on blogger isn't near

what it actually is for the project. Here the size is tiny.

The real deal is HD 1080 x 1920

                                          

I'll share the rest of the stills (puppies, kittens and birds!) at the end of the project in a couple of weeks.
Oh, and the Kickstarter, of course. 

Local Color Art Gallery and Other Updates

Hello again.

I've been busy at work on an animation project for comedian and Professor Blastoff podcast team member, David Huntsberger. There will be an update in a couple of weeks with more information on the overall project (what, where, and how it will be used) as well as the Kickstarter to fund it. Something I'm very excited about: it will involve me being flown back to Austin, Texas to feature my contribution in a live performance, as well me (along with the other animators) playing a small supporting role of a scientist!

My portion of the project is fairly brief (approximately a only a minute and a half vs the 4-5 minute long music videos I have embedded on the left side of this blog), but rivals the time taken on my previous animation work, as it is visually and technically more complex. I'm using the latest version of Photoshop Creative Cloud instead of my old Creative Suite 2 version. This allows me to rotoscope video I've shot, and go back to clips to add other layers of movement at different time rates. Still, I've been flogging my Toshiba laptop above and beyond its capabilities which causes it to slow/freeze/shut down Photoshop. After my temper tantrum from too many glitchy shutdowns, I've given up seriously trying to finish the project with my current computer. I've shopped for a bargain store model desktop that has all the features needed to allow the processing of large files and clips, as well as allow me to learn how to work on 3D animation, (which is very demanding on RAM) in future projects. Until it is shipped to my door (in a few days...I can't wait!),  there's still plenty of simpler parts in the project I'm working on, without despair or worry about making unreasonable demands on my laptop.

I've switched to a new art gallery to display my paintings. Work is available for sale at Local Colour Art Gallery, in Alexandria VA. If you click on the inventory page of my work, you will see what is currently available at the location (first half of the page), and other work (second half) that can be viewed with an appointment made in advance. There is talk of a featured show with new colorful still life work of fruits and veggie harvests as well as the dreamscapes with the ghost-like imagery for a festive Day of the Dead inspired party/opening. I'll update when I have more to share about that.

Earlier this spring, my paintings were to be featured in a background set to a short movie that was entered in the 48 Hour Film Project.  The current version was edited to fit the very tight time frame entry rules.  Therefore any footage that had considerable focus on my work was unfortunately cut to keep to the absolute essentials to the story (a parody of a fairy tale). However, the production team is putting out a longer director's cut which doesn't have to fit any external imposed time demands. In that future version, I will have a Production Design credit. I'll provide all the credits, the production company  as well as sharing my experiences on my first film set and embedding the longer video here on this blog, when it is released this fall.

Hope you are all having a lovely summer!  - Jeanne

Still Life - Green Apple

oil on canvas 8"x 8"

available for sale along with other pieces in my online store

                                                  now available at Local Colour Art Gallery

Some Updates and Online Store Announcement

Hi, yall.

Been a while.

Long Story and uh, not really up for sharing that one. Sorry.

                 Here's a tiny one (on a stretched canvas!) that went to a special someone I encountered 

for a brief but intense spell. 

He told me of warming up a cold shocked hummingbird he found on the ground in Seattle.

She thawed up and flew away.

It's been a such a long winter. It's really getting to me.

I had volunteered my time working on a graphic art holiday project for fundraiser and/or awareness raising regarding a unique and tragic cause that moved and saddened me. I took the team leaders' direction and gave it the equivalent of about a 40 hour workweek. The end result (which was deemed by the same group members to be professional, attractive and attention getting) was dismissed and discarded upon completion. In addition I was told any further contributions of mine were not to be trusted. It makes absolutely no sense to me except it was spawned from a good deal of already present collective dysfunction, distrust, inflamed egos and poor communication, despite individual good intentions. To the individual who was the focus of my efforts...sorry-I tried. I'm glad to hear you are keeping brave and may be coming along in your journey.

Moving on:  I'm working off and on a series of images for my friend and niece's mama, Susan Michalski, author of the Geodesy Series. It's about the world of four teenagers linked with a psychic, sensual, and emotional bond.  Each book narrated by one of the characters: Sage (Book One -Safe Distances),

Elena (Book Two - Stellar Navigation), Ethan (Book Three) and Finn (Book Four) as they unravel their interwoven personal tragic past and grow into adulthood.

In Safe Distances we are introduced to Ethan, an intellectually and artistically advanced seventeen year old, who is also emotionally stunted..stuck at age  four, when  he had suffered a violent loss. Susan asked me to create his drawings and paintings described in the book.

                                     

More are coming.

Currently, I'm working on a collaborative animation project for David Huntsberger. He is a witty, silly, and thoughtful comedian, host of Huntsberger Junk and podcaster of  Professor Blastoff (along with the amazing Tig Notaro and Kyle Dunnigan) Unlike past projects, I won't be previewing any images ahead of time on this one.

There's an past stalled animation project (didn't have/couldn't afford the right software at the time, as well as other considerations that pushed it down on priorities) that may be yielding a painting series before I make it into a video.

Just contributed my paintings to a multi media party featuring experimental live music (homemade instruments-like a gong made from industrial gas tanks!) and a fiction reading headed by this group: http://questionthetruth.com/ in a big open hippie loft house in Takoma Park, MD.

I just opened an Online Store for some select smaller artworks and works on paper framed using acrylic glass. I put up one group last night, and will be re-photographing other pieces with new frames and uploading those soon.

Update 3/29/2014: Some of my pieces are also currently available for viewing and purchase in person at Arlington Arts Gallery. 

Update 7/17/14 I've moved a selection of my available art to a brand new gallery in Alexandria, VA. See the link in the upper left corner of my blog for more information.

Happy Spring (I hope...)