3 fishes, 1 fat Elvis, 1 carny, 1 violin, 2 drums, 1 skull, 1 trombone, 4 buildings

I started working on a new animation. It's a 5 minutes music video, a commission I've got last week from Rich Ferguson, a spoken word artist based out of LA. It'll be delirious.

Drawn today: 3 fishes, 1 fat Elvis, 1 carny, 1 violin, 2 drums, 1 skull, 2 birds, 1 trombone, 4 buildings. A lot more to draw.



Listening to The Painted Word by the Television Personalities.
1984.
I have been obsessed with this album for a long time. Fifteen years.

If you're in Germany, Dan Treacy and band will play in Hamburg on September 4.

Father Sin

This will be the best live show you'll see this year.
Sin Ropas + Father Murphy will tour the US in September.
They asked me to make a tour flyer and this is it.

These are the dates for now, but keep checking the bands websites for more:

8 Chapel Hill, NC @ Night Light
9 Charlotte, NC @ The Milestone
10 Atlanta, GA @ 529
11 Asheville, NC @ Bobo
12 Knoxville, TN @ The Pilot Light
15 Chicago, IL @ The Empty Bottle
16 Minneapolis, MN @ Kitty Cat Klub
17 Madison, WI @ The Lodge
19 Bloomington, IN @ Rachel's

Her Visitor Is the Earth's Smallest Man

The fourth installment of Until I Find It, the picture novel I am making with Leni Zumas is up at Giganticmag.com.
Also in this issue: an interview with Amy Hempel by Nathan C. Martin, and work by John Dermot Woods and Ashley Farmer.

AWP 2011

AWP 2011: I will be on a panel called Understanding Comics as Creative Writing. With me, talking about images and words: John Dermot Woods, Matt Madden, Gary Sullivan and Joseph Young.
Thanks to John Dermot Woods for inviting me.

This is the "official" description of the panel:

While the critical study of comics has been fully embraced by English Literature departments, Creative Writing programs have been slower to create a place for the practice of comics in their own curricula. Similarly, independent literary presses rarely publish comics, leaving that work to comics-specific houses. This panel features teachers and practitioners of the medium who will discuss ways to open up the Creative Writing field to the practice of comics (and other image-text literature).

AWP 2011 will happen in Washington, DC, from February 2 to February 5.

Working on Asunder

I am working on a new animation for Robert Lopez' Asunder (Dzanc, 11.16.2010).

I started from this sentence: "Every time I brush my teeth or shave it's a bloodbath."
It took me four days to read the book, have ideas, make a storyboard, and draw, paint, cut out all the figures and backgrounds.
Today is the second and last day of shooting. Editing will take one day.
The music will be composed and played, once again, by Sin Ropas. I love to work with them. It'll be a more foley-like soundtrack than usual.


Listening to The Curse of Zoundz right now. What a great album. 1981.

I didn't go on vacation but I made these things

I made this animation for Our Island of Epidemics by Matthew Salesses (PANK, 10.01.2010). Music by Sin Ropas (composed and recorded in one day).



I was also asked to draw seven more illustrations for Our Island, to be printed on the blank pages. They are in black and white. Here's one.


Yesterday a new art store (the one I painted the signs for) opened in Marshall, NC. It's called Foreverland. Here's an interview with owner Danni Iosello (who also plays in Sin Ropas: full circle).
Foreverland will sell my art too, among other artists' and designers' work. Just for the store I made a series of cut-outs/paintings on cheese containers. I'll make more.

New animations

I uploaded on my youtube channel segments of animations taken from my newest work. The music is by Amuleto (Francesco Dillon & Riccardo Wanke).

Pictures of Lugocontemporanea

Some incredible pictures of last week's performance of Amuleto at Lugocontemporanea: music + screening of my animated films. The event took place in a piazza in Lugo (province of Ravenna, Italy) in front of the Oratorio di Sant'Onofrio, built in 1679.
I love the idea that everybody could walk by and listen to the music and watch the films.
The pictures were taken by Elisa Caldana. Visit Elisa here.