Sunday, December 28, 2014

Oil Painting: Scraping Technique


With my good friend Jeannine, I briefly studied this type of oil painting under Dinah Cross James.  The technique involves layering on thick swaths of paint using a paint knife, one over the other, and then scraping through the multiple layers using various rubber and metal scraping tools.  The blending of the colors make for some intriguing natural patterns.  Jeannine has been practicing this style for awhile and is far better at it than I, and Dinah has done it for many years and makes a living from it.


Untitled
Oil on Canvas
2012

Thursday, December 25, 2014

Rebuttals to Common Prohibitionist Arguments 5: Legalization is not an "Experiment"!


I often hear people referring to Colorado's new policy of cannabis legalization as an "experiment."

Countless articles, even those written by people who are ostensibly in favor of legalization, purport to analyze the results of Colorado's "legalization experiment."  Prohibitionists try to warn us to wait for the results of this "experiment" before launching legalization campaigns in other states and nationally.

As you can guess from my scare quotes, I disagree with the characterization of legalization as an experiment.  For all of human history, cannabis has been free by default.  No one ever imagined banning this widely-used and boundlessly-useful plant until the 1900's.

So clearly, prohibition is the experiment. Truly a failed, deadly experiment.  Legalization is the ending of that experiment and the restoration of the default.  Banning substances does not work to the benefit of society.  This has been made abundantly clear by the prohibition of alcohol, and the drug war, which only drove usage rates up, as well as adding a host of other problems.

Let's end this failed experiment of prohibition and restore normalcy.


Tuesday, December 23, 2014

Sunday, December 21, 2014

Abstract Intricate "Whirly Art" in ink.


I used to get into this style of art which was referred to as "Whirly Art" by mathematician Douglas Hofstadter. Basically, lines, dots, curves, circles, and spirals, forming an integrated pattern. Anyway, I had fun with this for awhile, patiently drawing these tiny lines. These pieces are in my parents' home, but I have some copies of them floating around.


Whirly Cell
Ink on paper

Whirly "Frog"

Whirly Hand



Friday, December 19, 2014

Conan O'Brien: Caricature


I drew this caricature of Conan O'Brien several years ago and often send it out to people as a sample of my work.

Conan O'Brien

Wednesday, December 17, 2014

Four Figures: Framed Cartoon


One of my first "finished" cartoon images that I copied, hand colored, and passed around.  This one hangs at my parents' house.


Four Figures
Ink and colored pencil
1996




Sunday, December 14, 2014

My childhood experiences with altered states of consciousness

Needless to say, I was a bit different as a child.  I was a loner, often wandering off, getting lost, or just zoning out from what was happening around me.  Though I had no words for what I was experiencing, in retrospect, I know I was feeling bored and drained by what I took to be a sort of pointlessness or fatedness to life.  At some point, I found I could, and thus did, alter my consciousness, though at the time, it seemed I was just doing what I naturally would do.


There were these were naturally-occuring states caused by changes in brain chemistry. The dream-state is one example of such an altered state. It quickly occurred to me that the dream state was a door to a magical realm of infinite possibilities, one that would inspire my waking imagination to conjure up new fantasies and philosophies.

There was the classic "headrush." Getting up too quickly after a long period of rest, the vision clouds up with colorful dancing patterns, consciousness dims, like when one is about to fall asleep, and fainting is a definite possibility.  Not the safest, but it allowed one to dance along the edge of consciousness.

Then there's spinning in place to induce dizziness. Never one of my favorites, because the dizziness would often make one fall down, and the accompanying nausea can induce vomiting. A tale is told of my childhood in which I as a toddler was repeatedly spun on a spinning chair until I finally tossed my cookies. Perhaps this experience turned me off to the dizzying and nauseous effects of spinning, and for that matter, alcohol.

Hyperventilating was another, that had sort of an opposite effect: your heart would race, head throbbing, and you seemed extra-conscious for a bit, although it could quickly turn to unconsciousness too.

The best one, I discovered while innocently rubbing my eyes. I found a certain spot on my closed eye that I could push on, that would cause a strange yellow light to appear in the corner of my vision. I now know I was perturbing some mechanism of my eye that caused this phenomenon.  Continuing to push on it would cause this light to spread over my entire field of vision. Then what appeared to be a twisting tunnel would appear, and it seemed my consciousness was passing through it.  At some point, the tunnel would widen out to this "place" of brightly colored geometric patterns, swirling and morphing in front of me.  I had already encountered the idea of other worlds of existence, from things I had read like the Chronicles of Narnia, or the Oz series. At some point, this coalesced into a belief which I held, and I searched for those secret doors to fantasy realms with the utmost sincerity.  I recall vividly my disappointment and frustration at not finding them in physical reality.  But here in the privacy of my closed eye, with the swirling lights and patterns, I was king, and my stimulated imagination was able to pick out images from the visual chaos to represent the various elements of the fantasy world: elves, goblins, dragons, weapons, armor, etc. which I'd also encountered in the game world of Dungeons and Dragons.

Thursday, December 11, 2014

Caricature Drawing on Main Beach, Laguna Beach, California: Photos.


I draw caricatures on Laguna Beach's Main Beach boardwalk and elsewhere during the good weather of the Summer.  Crowds of tourists flock to the beach, and I offer my service free of charge, giving away personalized mementos to all visitors who are willing to ask and/or wait in line.  I do accept tips, which many takers are all too happy to give.  As a rule, I get taken care of pretty well, and no one has to go without a caricature for lack of money.  When I think of it, I snap off a shot of a particularly good caricature and its subject.  

the free radical
You can hire me for your parties and events, to draw flattering caricatures of your guests.  In the Orange County area, but willing to travel if the price is right.  Call: 949 436 3689. Ask for Dave.























Wednesday, December 10, 2014

Historical Figures: Painted Cookies


My girl hosted a workshop on painting cookies.
A thin layer of fondant covers the cookie, on which we painted with edible dyes.  There were colors, but I like to work in black and white.  I made portraits of some of my heroes from history on these cookies.

"Become the Change You Wish to See in the World." -Mahatma Ghandi
"I Have a Dream" -Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
" E=mc^2" -Albert Einstein

Monday, December 8, 2014

Palm Frond Masks: At home and about.


 My hand-painted palm frond masks are awesome and for sale. Some are functional, with eye holes, but most are decorative, being a bit heavy to wear.

A display of some of my masks in my bedroom.

I and some friends posing with masks down at the gas station.


Dancing with my mask and fun people at the full moon drum circle in Laguna Beach.

Another artist I met had made this gorgeous mandrill mask.

Thursday, December 4, 2014

A Tribute to the Late Great Chris Farley: Photos, and Poem by Daniel Ari

Update: The great poet Daniel Ari is my brother.  He is way better with words than I can hope to be, at least in the short term.  His poem perfectly describes both my reverence for Farley, and our encounter with a street performer portraying Farley.


"When you’re living in a van down by the river"

—for David

Future generations, Chris Farley
was a corpulent comedian
a little like John Belushi—if
you still know him. Both played their poundage.
Chris did a Chippendale’s parody.

(That’s a male stripper.) He was undone
young by his weight, and drugs. In Vegas,
where cos-players busk for tips downtown,
a fat man had Farley’s hair, glasses,
manners and stripper dance to a T.

My brother was transported by his
embodiment. I took their picture
and a video as they sang quotes.
David gave him a buck, then two more.
An artist, too, he lives cannily

and values showing gratitude for
homage of such funny sorrow.


He had the mannerisms down, the little head-flick to throw his hair back, compulsive pants-pulling-up, etc.
Thanks, Daniel. Your poem brought a tear to my eye.  I was moved by seeing my open emotion reflected so honestly by your words.  You are amazing at what you do and it makes the world a lot better.  Cheers!

"You'll have plenty of time to think about it when you're livin' in a van down by the river!"
older post:

Chris Farley's comedic genius was equal to that of John Belushi.  Sadly, so were his personal lifestyle habits. He had no illusions of long life; he well-knew what his fast living would lead to.  I shed no tears for his choice: it was after all, his choice, and he enjoyed his life to the fullest.  I am sad to lose such a talent who brought much laughter to this world.

This man was keeping Chris's spirit alive and fairly healthy-looking, on Fremont Street in Las Vegas. I tipped him and got a sampling of two of Farley's memorable characters: Matt Foley, the motivational speaker who lives "in a van down by the river!", represented by the plaid jacket; and Barney, the prospective Chippendale's dancer who auditions alongside Patrick Swayze, represented by the black slacks and bowtie. 


"It amounts to JACK SQUAT!"

Wednesday, December 3, 2014

Burning Man Couture: Sketches


I try to make or modify my own clothes for Burning Man.
Here are some clothing designs I sketched recently inspired by or adapted from Burning Man styles.


Steampunk beach/playa-wear. Old-timey bathing suit, top hat with spat, parasol.

Furry monster coat a la Maurice Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are

DPW grunt-wear: overalls, boots, shades, PBR