A Brief Metaphor

This is sort of how my drawing for a living is working out for me right now. 

I made this.  It was the only one of nine which I planted and today it's opened up.  Little late in the season I'm told but it's the only one so that's okay with me.

- J.

My Sustainance

Zach and Emily Kosta are the organizers of the long time running Craft Night Art Night in SE Portland.  Every Thursday night from about 7 pm to close, the event is held at Bar Carlo at 6433 Foster Road and is open to artists and crafters of all ages who would like to come and hang out, create something within a community of like-minded folks, and have a drink.

More recently, they have been organizing formal gallery showing at that location.  The current show is themed "Food," and you should go check it out if you are local.

When I first heard that the theme was "Food" my immediate thought was a couple embracing, something maybe a little zen/meditative.  Two people sharing an aura in one of those light-vein new agey things.  They would be sustaining each other. 

The situation was saddening to me, because there wasn't have enough time to do anything... the ideas sort of came at the right time for it to work out.  A few hours either way and it wouldn't have gotten done.  It was totally being taped up by myself and the shipper as the mailman was standing there with his fists on his hips.  When I painted this was all obsessing on symbolism after returning home from the Zine Symposium.  This was painted a day or two after it I think. 

I wanted a happy gory something.  A thing uncomfortable but warming in a way.  That is what this is.

This piece was put together pretty rapidly.  It is acrylic on canvas with mixed media for the framing materials.  It is currently a part of the display at Bar Carlo.  I think it dried in the mailing tube so go see it before it all falls apart!

- J.

Green Lantern Alan Scott

Alan Scott is the original Green Lantern from DC Comics.  He is to some degree, the Superman of the original generation of superheroes.  Barrel chested, wealthy like Batman, and really mostly a fist fighter despite his ring powers.



Overshadowed unfairly by Hal Jordan, the "movie face" of the Green Lantern name, Alan has definitely got one of the best costumes in all of superhero fashion.  I was commissioned to create this eight foot tall and four foot wide piece during a moment in which the Alan Scott character was being re-imagined, complete with a new costume (which is really pretty good as an update).  I intentionally chose to use the original uniform over the new since I consider it fascinatingly unique, and it predates almost all superhero designs so it is as raw and original as it comes.  It's always been a favorite of mine.

He is unique from other Green Lanterns due to his status as a team leader of the original World War 2 superheroes, the Justice Society of America, and now team leader of a world in which "more recognizable" heroes are all dead, which I think is a downgrade in stature.  At the same time, it is basically his Silver Age status restored, so whatever... I'll let others argue that one out!

This was originally commissioned as a stand-up for portrait opportunities, as seen at here on my portfolio and is now available due to popular demand as a lithograph poster of 11 by 17 inches size.

Hot on the heels of the Green Lantern movie, the character Green Lantern is now a household name, and with the media attention given to the New 52 DC relaunch and Alan Scott in particular, it's well past time Alan got the attention he deserves as the most stand out Green Lantern.  Hopefully he becomes the most popular GL.

This piece was a commissioned piece for Adventures Underground in Uptown Richland, purveyor of fine music, books, collectibles, and more!

If you would like to purchase an 11x17 lithograph print of this, it is available in my shop here.

- J.

Scalped

Scalped has now finished up.  What a satisfying, complex story. 

Most of the time, when discussing or suggesting Scalped to somebody else, the comparisons to 100 Bullets come up.  To me, it is something of  a spiritual successor in some regard to that earlier Vertigo epic.  After having read the conclusion (but with a lot of thought left to put into the overall character arcs) I have to admit it is a very different kind of a story.

Where 100 Bullets was a clever, dark crime story full of unique, eclectic characters and a massively dense plotline, Scalped is far more obvious and far more real.  The characters which Jason Aaron have written are so interestingly crafted and the emotional stakes are so very resonant that any further comparison is difficult.

The darkness of the story doesn't come from a gun, although there are plenty of those (what good crime story couldn't use a few more anyway?) but from the deep separations of the protagonists.  At times, during the years which Scalped rolled out methodically, it was hard to tell just exactly who it was that we were supposed to be rooting for. 

Scalped is about life on a seedy, impoverished reservation, sometimes through the eyes of the corrupt members of the crime family which ultimately run the place, and sometimes through the eyes of the poor people who have no choice but to live there.  The "main character" Dashiel starts out as something of a bastard, goes through some small peaks and some very low valleys in his development, and eventually becomes merely a more experienced and wiser version of himself.

In the end, I'm not sure that there is really any redemption for him at all.  He seems to have simply turned into his father, in many ways.  One major character does undergo a massive redeeming transformation, and if you had asked me at the start of the story, she wouldn't have even been on my radar as a character to invest yourself in deeply.

There was a single moment during the series, a few years ago, when I put down an episode and thought to myself, "Geez, this could be the final issue.  That pretty much wraps up all the plotlines except the deeply emotional ones (which seemed to be too distant and inward to be dealt with)."

I was wrong.  The themes and emotional depths to which this tale went after that stand on their own.

- J.

Open Dialogue

Most of the time, I feel this way.  Is is a delicate pleasure to which I indulge:  an open dialogue.  Those whom know me as a friend, they know I do not judge them.  If I did I would have stopped hanging out a long time ago.  Mostly, I choose to not talk and just have the quiet instead.

- J.

 

Teaching Comics For Kids

Projekt Blackbird was a unique story.

The cover is the scene out of a true story, an Air Force pilot who survives the explosion of an SR-71 during the Cold War.

The scene was my favorite part of the story, what the pilot is seeing as he comes crashing down to Earth from basically outer space, unconscious most of the way.  The actual comic inside is a collaborative effort by 20 artists, mostly kids with a few teenagers and one adult, and was drawn over 2 hours as part of an instructional class I taught.

It's pretty fun, and one of my favorite things I have produced.  The editing chores were some of the hardest and most time consuming things which I ever had to do.  It is also probably the most misunderstood final products I have ever created, and that is saying something!  I'm not sure that anyone has ever liked it or been able to sit through reading it EVER.

Oh, well.  The audience and contributors had a good time and all told me they learned something.  That is all you can hope for.  You can read it online at http://www.politikcomic.com/Blackbird.pdf and it's online elsewhere too, you might enjoy it if you "understand" young people art.

It has been my long term desire to interview the pilot, whom I have confirmed is actually still alive via an Air Force social network.  Maybe one day.

- J.

Graphic Design Website Launch

This is my new website right over here at J. James dot com,

www.jjamesmcfarland.com

where you can see my graphic design portfolio.

For the last three years, I have been creating an extensive backlog of material to view.  It is now time for me to begin putting this material up online.  Consider this a first step in that direction.

- J.

2012 Portland Zine Symposium

The Portland Zine Symposium was pretty fantastic all around for me this year.  There were a lot of good discussions, and my work was seen by a lot of people.  This is probably the most successful tabling event I have done from a marketing stance, as everyone who looked at my work was pretty strongly certain of what I had to offer and what it all was.

I was also able to show off a pretty good selection in a small space.  Previously, I used to layer EVERYTHING around a table including posters and big stuff.  This time I downgraded my actual carry ready portfolio into a look at all this stuff presenter, which was a big plus.  So I have that as a positive lesson learned.  There were something like 40 sheets of big pieces of art for people to look at and I think this model is going to be ideal moving forward. 

One thing I figured out that somebody should have said to me or I should have noticed years ago is that I make GREAT BIG pieces of artwork, then I make them itty bitty to fit them on affordable or cheap or efficient sized cards and such, and I really should be going more macro.  Another thing I learned is that that yes, sex sells.  I guess I knew that already but most events I don't put out any sexy lady drawings.  They aren't for everyone.  This event really liked them.

Also pictured above is a stack of other people's work I won by raffle on the right-hand page of my portfolio, and The Epic of Gilgamesh Part One by Kinoko.  I've tabled near her before one time but I can't remember where... it wasn't this event last year but it may have been at it two years ago.  Hard to say.  Anyway the wind kept blowing in through our wall, which was open and has trains going by, and she totally took charge a few times to keep it from being overwhelming by standing up for the tablers around her and shutting it several times... at two points during the show I was putting stones on the zines in front of me.  I like this location a lot but a plan has to be implemented for this door if it's used again.  The location is sweltering too, so for everyone person on our wall who wanted it closed so they wouldn't have to keep resetting their table and chasing business cards, there are three people who are like Mother of Pearl it's so hot.

This is a piece I won by silent auction.  It basically sums up me and my wife.  It's great.  Not shown; the words love love love love love are like all over the blue sky.  There is no signature, unless it is the EE, and if it is there is not an EE that I could see in the program so let know if you recognize the art style.

Interestingly, I got to meet Jesse Reklaw whom is a pretty big name in the self publishing industry of Portland.  His first and middle name is the same as mine which I didn't know, and he has been self-publishing for 24 years, which I also didn't know.  I would not have put him above 35 so he either takes care of himself or he's been self publishing since he was like ten or something, at least I thought so when he said that.  Then I read the personal overview he wrote about self publishing called NYDI Now You Go Do It which pretty much says Yep, I've been doing this since I was like ten with an old copier at home.  So wow.  Didn't know that.  He's got book deals and he's going to stop self publishing because of that.  He's succeeded.   Also, he took his shirt off because of the heat and hollered a little, which was probably pretty good for bringing spectators by his table.  I may have to try that, right?  One girl fake cried loudly and dramatically at one point... bet her sales were good too.

This is a piece I commissioned from a young artist named Ivy.  She was doing portraits.  This event has a lot of people who are artists, but maybe only 1/3 or less who really focus on it.  Lots of thinkers which is what holds the attraction for most, and the actual art of crafting is really important to a lot of people.  The goal I have set for myself is a clean, crisp, sharp professional look, but that does not hold much appeal for most of these folks, they are crafters and fine artists as much as illustrators.  Screenprinters, heavy inks, buttons, fabrics.  A scrapbooker or textile manipulator would do well.

 This is my swag pile.  Well, and my living room.  The swag pile shows off my new bike which I'm an idiot because I haven't ridden it yet.  I got it for almost nothing from good friends Amy and Aaron who were moving and giving stuff away to their friends.  They also gave out about 40 bottles of wine to their friends!  They were like Hey, here's some wine buddy.  You can't take it with you.  Also pictured is the only piece of art I did which is hanging in my house (except proofs of recent projects around my drawing table).  Traditionally, I have never put up any of my artwork in my house, just made it really weird.  Now that I'm decorating with someone else, my house is really weird.  It's a painting of my grandparent's apple orchard from the windo w of their barn, it's really old because I haven't oil painted in at least seven years.  The orchard is gone now, so it makes me sad to look at, but it's also a happy picture.  This is definately the most friendly place I've ever decorated... well, that's because I don't decorate much.  It's okay the way it is, very quiet, peaceful and zen sometimes.  I make probably a dozen pieces of art a month when I'm really going, or three major big ones if I'm on a "Project."  My life is full of Projects.  They're just not intended for living rooms.  We have a lot of houseguests and we like to entertain, come drink our wine.

Well, I gotta take that ride out tonight, huh?  I got two packages of Tofurkey from the Zine Symposium... I like it, I don't care what anybody thinks.  The organizers sent home dozens of loafs of bread and cartons of donated Tofurkey with the people who tabled.  They are very good at taking care of their tablers.

This is all that I managed to come away from the Zine Symposium with.  This would have to be considered my first really successful event.  I don't know how many I've done, but probably fifteen or so.  What I wanted to show off primarily was not the most interesting work to people, but that's okay.  I really like the framed painting I got in the upper left.  I'm not big on the monuments in Washington, they hold little contextual value to me.  Most of the people there were probably like "The Washington Monument, really?" but I think it's cool... see, you can't see the top of it, the triangle, so it's not showing a plinth type shape which I don't much like.  It looks a lot like a yellow carpet with blue walls in a narrow hallway, or a yellow brick road floating in the sky.  The top of the horizontal wall is just barely visible along the top side of the mat, so either the hallway is ending, or the it's "where the sidewalk ends."  Ha.  Shel Silverstein, along with Dr. Seuss, did create content primarily for adults from time to time.   I had a brief debate with a friend I've know for a long time at one point during this trip regarding whether they both had and just checked to see if it was one or the other or both.  Better right it down while I remember it.

Overall, very good stuff all around.  A friend of mine challenged me to look at my favorites, so I'll do that in the next few days.  I've always wanted to do short book reports on stuff other people make, so from time to time expect that here.  A mixture of art, current events, and hopefully inspirational stuff from time to time.  This blog will also be used to spotlight a variety of my pieces, because for at least five years I have been massively productive and especially so for the last two years, and almost no one has any idea of the scope of what I have done.

Oh, yeah.  Thank you to all the tablers and organizers who either gave me feedback, hooked me up, or helped me out.  Now I just need a person who can run my booth so I can go sit in panels all day!

Ha ha!,

- J.