Shit I said I was going to be better with updating

but here we are, two weeks later, with so much happening and no updates in between. Alright, after this I'll try to update every few days or at least make sure a week doesn't go in between each one.

ANYWAYS, I finished up two more of the 4" by 6" copper plates. Continuing my fun little series of dead cowboys with various animal skulls, here they are:

This one being titled "Waves Of Rye."

and this one is "In Ear Park."

I also finished up that acrylic painting of a delightful cassowary, possibly the coolest birds ever:

and as always, pugs, lots of pugs:

As for the Jay Ryan show, talk and Dianogah playing, all of it was fantastic. He was probably one of the friendliest artist I've met, was really engaging and funny and taught me some cool stuff and techniques for silk screening. He even told me to stop by and talk with him at Pitchfork since he'll be at the flat stock poster convention and his band should be playing either Saturday or Sunday. Heavily considering looking for an internships at Flat Stock.

and oh my god, the line up for the pitchfork music festival this year is downright amazing. Wavves, Vivian girls, Yo La Tango, the Walkmen, the pains of being pure at heart, grizzly bear and most of all the Flaming Lips. For anyone who knows me, reads this blog and lives in the area, you need to go or you are crazy and hate fun things.

I've got more to write about and say but like I said, need to break up these post and update more often. Watch this for now:

Phoenix has a new album coming out and the first song out for it is called 1901. Fantastic song from a fantastic band and they're going to be in Chicago in June. Fucking great year for music so far, hope the same goes for my own art by the time December gets here.

When you wake up, feelin' old

Last night was the opening reception of our printmaking suite show at the Altgeld Art Museum. It was fan-fucking-tastic to say the least so here's some pictures of the set up:




I got to meet Jay Ryan (of the fantastic www.thebirdmachine.com) today as well as attend his workshop. Which actually turned out to be just us helping him do some silk screen prints but I am not complaining. It was fun to talk to him and he's one hell of a nice guy, he even gave me two free prints of the posters he did for the show.

Tomorrow Jay Ryan's band, Dianogah, is playing the house cafe so I should be getting some pretty sweet pictures as well as uploading pics from the opening night and the posters he gave me.

As for my own work lately it's just been sketches in my book since I'm in the process of finishing an acrylic painting for an illustration assignment and doing two more intaglio plates which take up so much time but look so bad ass when they are finished. It's definitely a fair trade.

Anyways, some random sketches:


and a pronto plate I forgot to post last time:

Words are a title to a Wavves song. Wavves is the best. Here is proof:

As for personal things I've been considering grad school in printmaking and have been looking at a few programs for it out in Austin by my bro. I love Chicago but I don't know how much more I can take of the Midwest. It makes me feel so stale after each winter and I miss nice, warm weather and sandals. I've also been looking around California, in the San Fransisco and San Diego area, and maybe even Oregon or Washington. I've been up here for 8 years and that's the most I've ever been in one place at one time, I think I am just too used to moving every few years now. Home for me is with people, not places.

That's it for now, more art and pics from the show and other things soon. God I need to learn how to make these post shorter ffffffffffffff

Intaglio and other fancy art words

Life has been getting crazy hard lately. I'd bore you with obvious details as to why but this blog is more about art and less about bitching and crying about life in general. If you wanted that well, you pretty much could go to anyone because we all got something going down in some way. A friend of mine had to drop $3500 on a new engine for his car and another one has a freaking bed bug infection in his house leaving him with no place to sleep for the last few nights.

It's good to always remember that someone always got it worse and problems make a better person, so you know, chin up and stop being a huge baby and I dunno, listen to the ponies or wavves or something and get those fist pumping in the air or make run on sentences that never end with horrible analogies.

Anyways, been working on some Intaglio plates lately, getting ready to do a series of prints of dead cowboys with various animal skulls. Also for shits and giggles each one is named after a song from the department of eagle's album In Ear Park

I really enjoy the process, especially for all the different ways you can approach Intaglio and copper plate printing in general. In the next few days I should have some soft ground and aquatint plates to print that work off a similar method like this but with less acid baths and dangerous shanking tools (Sadly).

And have some doodles, no need to explain these really.




I've got some more stuff to update, like about the (finally) upcoming Jay Ryan show and other stuff but I'm trying to keep these post a bit shorter. Get to the real meat and bones and less of the general faggotry that is Brandon Kirkman.

And hey, spring is finally getting its lazy ass in gear and it has been quite nice out. One last wintery-esque music video before it's too late to capture that great depressing force that is the Midwest winter:

Midlake - Young Bride. I've probably watched this video and listened to this song like a million times. It's a shame this album didn't get as much attention as the Fleet Foxes first LP. Get this album if you don't got it :3

This is the huge art dump update

Since it's almost been a month since I've posted any art, I'm just going to post some highlights of what I've been doing lately. ENJOY!






Also these were my 3 pieces in the skate show. I figure since it's almost been a month as well since that took place I'd just post my work and skip doing a write up on it for now. I am a lazy man.

Reflecting on a month of work makes me realize that almost none of these images really fit together and my ideas seem a little sporadic. So here is some music that fits it all best!

Oh god I got so much stuff going on now why didn't I update sooner fuuuuuuuuuuck

I just got back from my spring break visiting my bro in Austin. Had a great time but realized I should have updated before I left since it's been a bit. I got a lot of art to post, an update about comic stuff I've been working on and a write up on that skate show I was in two weeks ago to do still. For now, here's some pics from my trip since we only remembered to bring the camera when we were at an Ikea, go figure. I guess when you need a couch, you need a couch.


You can bet your bottom dollar that last pic is going to be my new profile picture :3

And for the record Austin, Texas is bad ass and I am considering looking for job prospects out there when I graduate. I spent a lot of time at Rudy's Barbecue, Waterloo records, Spider house patio and book people with my brother and a friend that was vising Austin at the same time as me. Weird coincidence but worked out nicely! I also got a lot of shit and stress out of my system and I still got some spring break left. Life is looking fine and peachy, maybe even a little supple.

A Breaks B

Check it out, I had to illustrate 5 sounds abstractly: Upper left: putting a needle on a vinyl record, middle: listening to someone else's pulse, upper right: outside of a noisy rock concert, lower left: Listening to Hot Chip's Made in the dark and lower right: the sound windows make when they're contracting in the cold at night.

The Titus Andronicus/Los Campesinos! show was pure awesome. Me and a group of friends danced so much that our hair and shirts were drenched with sweat by the time the show was over. Here's a few of the pictures that turned out alright, it was tough to get any decent ones because it was so crowded and dimly lit:


Before that I spent some time in Wicker Park going around and stopping by some of my favorite stores in Chicago like Quimby's, Reckless Records and Myopic Books. Next time I'm out there I'll have to get some pictures and do a little write up on the places.

Been listening to Dear and the Headlights a lot lately. They're headlining a show in March with Miniature tigers which shall entail quite a fun time:

YOU! ME! DANCING!

I've been contemplating and working on my own blog again for the last week and figured it was time to give an update to this old one. After talking to a co-worker, Kim Strom (check out her blog, a very talented photographer and artist http://www.kimberlystrom.blogspot.com ) at my gallery job and realizing that even NIU's own art museum has it's own blog I thought it'd be good to keep my own going and keep all of the projects I do for Odwwart strictly for Odwwart.

All of these events transpired from Altgeld's gallery reception for our two new shows last Thursday night. I even got an odd picture from it with my good buddy Robert, standing next to me and his friend Rachel posing with us in a very somber, gallery like affair.

Picture was taken by Kim Strom whose blog I hope you've checked out by now :3

As for now, here is the art I've been doing recently:


Also this piece was a silk screen print I did a series on and I actually had two people buy them off me and the rest I gave to friends who wanted one. It made me feel all nice and good. I'm just glad people enjoyed the little strange bird I invented.


Another project I have started is to do is a comic retelling and satire of old folklore and fairy tales from around the world. The first one I did was a take of an old Japanese fairytale called "Crackle Mountain" which is just as brutal and perverse as any Brothers Grimm story. Read up on it sometime if you're not familiar (http://cracklemountain.blogspot.com/2006/05/crackle-mountain-folktale-japan.html)

Hopefully will be updating with more of these soon.

As for now, I'm off to Chicago to go hang with my good friends Ryan and Ninja Steve, who are also starting blogs soon. I guess it's like some blog virus going around recently with everyone I know. ANYWAYS I'm also meeting up later with another friend of mine for a concert at Logan Square Auditorium with Los Campesinos! and Titus Andronicus, which will guarantee I will be returning with an update and sweet pictures from that event. Good times to follow People.

For anyone not familiar with Los Campesinos! even though I've linked them before on Odwwart BAM!

I love this music video so much :3

and dear lord, I promise smaller post from here on out.