Using 3D Animation to Examine Composition in Vermeer's "The Music Lesson"

I've been watching videos on classic painters this week, and came across Vermeer: Master of Light, a 2001 documentary about the master narrated by Meryl Streep. It started out slow and straightforward for those familiar with the painter, but then it cut to a segment that truly impressed me. Taking an incredibly close look at his painting "The Music Lesson," the filmmakers used 3D animation to rearrange the elements of the painting to help better understand the impact of its final composition. They do such a great job with their presentation that there's nothing I can add. Kudos to those who worked on it. Watch:



It's examinations like this that serve as a helpful reminder of how much thought goes into the simple arrangement of elements in an image. Painters like Vermeer thought about these things to a staggering extent.

Upcoming "Shifting Mayas" Art Show

For those in the LA area that love art and the artists that make it, I will have all three of my "8 Bit Legends" pieces, framed and for sale, in the "Shifting Mayas" art show next month (Fri/Sat May 10th-11th). It will be held at the Atwater Crossing restaurant and art space in the Los Feliz/Glendale area. It will be much more than a gallery show; there will be live performances and painting, appetizers, and the full dinner menu and bar of the restaurant will be available. I hope to see you there on Friday night (May 10th). Click here for the Facebook Event page, and check out the flyer below for more information:

"Art is a Game" Art Show at Gam3rcon

Over Comic-Con weekend this year, there was a video game art show put on by my good friend Ben (aka "Mister Benja" of the 8-Bit Cubist.com. The venue was the top floor of the theater that featured Gam3rcon.Two of my 8-Bit Legends prints were among the awesome artwork displayed. More pictures of the event are on the 8-Bit Cubist Facebook page.

Bug-eyed at the "Art is a Game" show with fellow 8-Bit Cubist Ben.

'Avengers Assemble' art show at Gallery 1988

On the way home from work last night I stopped by Gallery 1988's new space on Melrose (across from their original gallery, which is still there) to see their new "Avengers Assemble" art show, with art inspired by the movie. I could only stay a short while, and it was a day after the opening night (which meant that cupcakes, Joss Whedon, and Clark Gregg had been long gone), but I enjoyed seeing the variety of styles and takes the artists used to reinterpret the famous characters. I ended up purchasing one of Anthony Petrie's "Some Assembly Required" prints, which I was happy with:

Also on the walls of the gallery was NC Winters's excellent Iron Man piece:

 And many more:

Collider did a nice post about the opening night show here. LA is definitely the best city to be in for fans of movie art. Nuff said.

American McGee's "Alice: Madness Returns" show at Gallery 1988

A belated post, but here's a writeup my friend Ben wrote of the art show for American McGee's "Alice: Madness Returns" video game. We attended the opening on Thursday and I was pleased with the artwork. NC Winters and Kevin Tong had some standout pieces, as usual. I got to speak with American and his art director Ken (who I was photographed with on that blog post), who provided some insight on the game's production. American had just started up Red Dead Redemption, so we talked about that a bit as well.

I'm about three pages into my minicomic, and am trying to redouble my efforts to make sure it's finished in the near future. I underestimated how long it would take, and I think making it digitally has been about a wash in terms of time saved compared to making it in 2D. I'm planning to post the first six or so pages here on the blog when they're ready.

New interview and info about my latest print series at 8-bit Cubist.com

Over the last couple months I made a mini-series of video game-themed prints for the upcoming PAX East convention. Exclusive pictures of the prints and an interview I did about them are now available over at 8-bit Cubist.com, so check them out and let me know what you think!

Gallery 1988 "Multiplayer" Show

Ok, time to jump into 2011 with my first post of the year. Last Saturday I attended Gallery 1988's inaugural show at their new Santa Monica location. "Multiplayer" featured prints of all kinds of (mainly) retro video games, and garnered a large turnout. If you're at all into video game-related artwork and are looking to spiff up your walls with some new posters, check out the artwork on their gallery. My fellow ex-Rockstar Mister Benja over at The 8-Bit Cubist did a write-up over at his blog, featuring a photo of yours truly.

If you're more into videos, Hailey and the Coin-Op.TV guys got some nice coverage of the event as well, featuring interviews of standout artists Kevin Tong and Mike Mitchell:



P.S. I also attended the "Is This Thing On?" comedian artwork show at Gallery 1988's Melrose location, but was too swamped that weekend to post about it. It was awesome. Consider that my writeup. Thanks!

New "Daily Geology" Page by John Peña

John Peña is a longtime friend of mine and a terrific artist. He's currently a fellow at the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown, Massachusetts. Over the years he has worked on a wide range of projects, including commissioned murals, a "Conflict Kitchen" that cooked popular dishes from foreign countries the United States has troubled relations with, and "Unnatural Translations," a series of natural events (rainfall, tides, etc.) as acted out by human bodies.

Over the last year, John made a series of playful line drawings where he would draw a significant memory that happened to him on that day. They are now all scanned and posted online to view at http://www.dailygeology.com/. Like the rest of his portfolio, I recommend checking it out.

More on the Conflict Kitchen.