Last year was pretty difficult to focus. I think most of us can relate. Still, between everything going on (check a few posts prior to this one), I'm glad to have accomplished something.
Personally, I'm beginning to come out of the fog. I used my pandemic assistance to purchase a powerful gaming type pc that's up to more complex animation tasks, and with my bonus rewards, the entire Adobe Creative Cloud subscription, a year paid in advance. Also a GoPro 360 Max. It's a incredibly useful 360 degree camera, a tool I plan to utilize for rotoscoping and more. I'm working on a friend's song for a music video with edited and enhanced GoPro footage. More on that later.
I've been quiet here, but busy in various projects. It's time for a few updates.
I've getting ready to display monthly sampling of my work (six paintings to be rotated monthly on the first of May, June, and July...and also to replace work as it sells) at Local Colour Gallery in Alexandria, VA. The first month will have a selection of still lifes. The second and third will have a variety of possible still lifes, landscapes and figurative work. You should be seeing all new work for that by the end of this month.
I'm also getting ready to have a new selection of surreal dreamscape work on paper and wood available for purchase online (payment available through paypal) and on my sales page . It should also be updated by the end of the month and growing over the summer. There's work available there currently, so go check it out if you haven't. With the exception of very large or delicate pieces (those I prefer that customers see them in person by appointment) , most are available for shipping. Just contact me directly (email artbyjeannehospod AT yahoo DOT com) about any questions, and to place an order. I'm not doing etsy or ebay as listing and relisting adds up in fees, with very little visibility in the sea of arts and crafts.
I'm eager to see the release of that David Huntsberger comedy/animation special, which should be available sometime this summer...online and dvd being at least part of the ways you can view it. I'll pass on updates as I get them. This was my contribution , among a very talented team of animators . The sound is omitted for the preview, but trust me...the accompanying stand up is entertainingly offbeat and funny. You should get a copy when it's available.
That wasn't the end of my collaboration. I also made a couple of title credits for the special. This one is purdy. The concept was David's. I rendered, refined, and animated it:
It's supposed to go on for only two seconds, so I looped it for easier viewing.
There was also the Sixteen Second Story that was part of David's Junk Show (a monthly variety show where all entertainers perform outside the usual expectations of their work). The Sixteen Second story starts with a volunteer at the show who presents the bare beginnings of a story on the spot and they tell as much as they can in 16 seconds. Then it is given to an animator to flesh out. The next month, the story and animation is presented to the Junk Show and another storytelling volunteer adds to it. The cumulative animation and the new audio is given to another animating volunteer to interpret, ...and so on. This goes on for a year and the whole piece is presented at the 13th Junk Show, which happened to be this past weekend.
I like how the ending brought the silliness full circle, as well as the unique styles and approaches of all the animators. I also enjoy Rob Crow's background music. It was a great fit. My part runs from 2:50-3:07.
There's also a mini rundown on my art and some technical tips/tutorials on animating for newbies in a video. I'm not very technically proficient compared to the other animators on both projects, but can provide information for those interested would-be animators who find buying/renting expensive software with a high learning curve prohibitive and daunting.
Some of it may accompany David's Comedy/Animation special, but not sure how much...likely just a very small portion. I'll be sharing clips of what isn't used on my youtube page when I find that out.
Most recently I've been painting and drawing...both from observation, and imagination.
A small sampling of some of the dreamscapes, before watercolor, colored ink and some collage has been added:
Some have changed considerably since reworking in color.
This was a mashup/collage of two black and white ink stream of consciousness drawings that worked out better combined. 12"w x 16"h ink/watercolor/acrylic ink/collage on watercolor rag paper and acid free matboard. (I'm open to name suggestions on this one if you'd like to share them in the comments.)
Something random, fun and weird: A couple of years ago on my twitter timeline, I came across an interesting character, "Hacksawgranny" who dwells there. She's not on daily, and sometimes takes longish breaks....possibly taking care of responsibilities in other dimensions and parallel universes. (Which makes me think of David Huntsberger sharing an interesting theory on dementia and dimension hopping in an early episode of the Professor Blastoff podcast with fellow comedians Tig Notaro and Kyle Dunnigan. ) It's always a treat to read her posts when she returns.
Her world has a cast of odd folk : her dead husband Walter who she still bickers with on occasion, town ladies like nasty Mrs. Bat, and that hussy Mrs. Cream, grandson Stinkypants, Chickens #1 through #6 (possibly more) and her kitten Tuba. Death itself is her frenemy...they go way back to the time when he returned her to this earthly realm because her check bounced. He's quite the mercenary type. He squats on her property, steals from her refrigerator, and sometimes takes over her twitter account, always in the goal of scamming for a quick buck.
I've worked in elder care before, so I can't help being *that* busybody neighbor who checks and fusses on her now and then. She may be all over the place in her mind, spirit, and body, but she's always fine. Hope my world is as rich at age 98.
I made two versions: this one below is acrylic ink on
6 5/8" round wood panel
and this one (will be available on my sale page soon) is acrylic ink on 18" round wood panel
So that's all for now....other than brainstorming and storyboarding an animation for a favorite musician later this summer (tba). I'll be uploading paintings more frequently this season and next.
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.
One of the pieces I'll be presenting at Northside Social at the end of the month. This is a collection of older dreamscape work. I thought the images resonate well with each other as a group, and that this presentation has a sort of non-linear anti-comix like narrative.
Total size: 45"long x 35"wide.
Individual images: 9"long x 7"wide
India ink on acid free paper
White archival ink on black acid free matboard.
white acrylic painted wooden recycled frame
covered with uv acrylic protective "glass"
I just wanted to mention that I will be having a solo exhibition of my work at Northside Social up at the end of the month (I'll be hanging the work on the 28th, but all pieces should be up by Halloween if not sooner).
It will be a mix of both my observed work in oil: still life, figurative and outdoor paintings, and my "dreamscape" decorative, patterned, symbolic stream of consciousness body of work. They both serve important but usually separate veins of expression. There is actually an experimental work underway that does combine both ways of working (to be posted soon). That said, I'm untroubled if these styles resist overlapping. Those concerns are more about galleries wanting a marketable brand.
Currently, I'm mostly working on the work from observation, but there's a lot of framing of the dreamscape work (mostly ink/watercolor on watercolor paper) to finish up too. For those pieces, the frame becomes an integral extension of the design and concept of the piece. I've found and collected quality vintage frames from thrift stores (and some left over from the family homestead) that I sand and repaint as well as the acid free mat/mounting board, then add a uv acrylic cover (I don't like to use glass for all the risks of damage). Here's a couple of examples of work (painted in 2011-2012/frame & embellishments 2013 that recently were shipped to my fellow friends/collectors back in Austin. (Thanks Terri & Border!)
By November, I'll be putting up a page of what is for sale at Northside, with photos of new work and the newly enhanced older pieces and prices.
2 feet round-acrylic ink and acrylic paint on wood
conclusion to these previous efforts: here and animations "One"
and "Four" embedded on upper left side of this page
