Not really. Interntions are pretty clear here! Paper masks, about 10 coats of gesso each side to make them a bit more substantial and here we are! With some masks. You may notice some Kabuki mask influence, which is most likely because they were heavily influenced by Kabuki masks. Hijō ni ōkina eikyō o ukete imasu..
Even painted the backs. Yep – no expense spared.
May have mentioned before that I enjoy painting skateboard decks. Some Sharaku style kabuki actors and a monochrome Mr Sparkle background – a couple of aspects that I’ll probably explore further. The images are painted to wrap around the decks so you could hang them either way and have something a little different. But kind of the same. Heh heh heh.
Hey! You scrolled down again! This is a WIP shot of the wrapping around. As it were. Also – Down With Putin.
Because there are 3… Backgrounds are based on the Mr Sparkle detergent box. One would have been fine, but I reckon a triptych works even better. I’ve done a few with the maneki neko frame this year – I’ll do some more on larger canvases and see how it goes after that. These are available for sale (as a triptych), so could be yours!
Thanks for scrolling down. You’re the best.
This canvas had been sitting for several years with Totoro drawn on it, so once I’d finished up with the 12 inchers decided to finally get it finished. Really want to do some more Ghibli. So I just might.
For a couple of years at primary school, my son was blessed with a truly excellent teacher. When it became time for him to move on to another school, I offered her a painting by way of Thanks from our family. She suggested that I broaden my horizons by painting this jacket.
You may notice the background colours. Because fk Putin.
Not sure, but I reckon this is just the right amount. Saw out last year and saw in this by painting quite a few 12 by 12 in canvases. I think they call this a “photo dump”. Could be wrong – it’s happened before.
Let’s face it – taking decent photos of your work is overrated… Heh heh heh. Not really – and this was a reminder of my new resolve to take better photos in future. Or even better – take each piece to a professional to take even better shots. That’s the plan.
Skateboard decks are fun to paint. I like to paint both sides, because it feels a bit like cheating otherwise. Or something. With these I went for a Ukiyo-E type geisha character to the”graphic” side and went a bit wild with spraypaint and a halftone stencil (and a Mr Sparkle) on the top side. More colour for your dollar!
Graphic side – geisha and Powergirl!
Would look interesting with clear griptape! Although I probably wouldn’t recommend riding one of these…
“Gitahiro Iichi”. Commissions are great. Otto’s guitar is based on the Jackson owned by the new owner of the piece. Might have to do Ultraman Homer again soon too…
Here it is in it’s new home.
After painting the 88′ Cyclecraft I decided that I wouldn’t paint another small diameter tubing 1980s BMX frame given what a mission it can be. Let alone forks. So when a friend asked if I would like to paint his early 80s Hattori Pro Sight frame of course I said yes.
Not sure what brand the handlebars were, but they’re “Ut Tentacles” now.
Sure, it all looks great on our very old deck that needs a stain, but how about on a wall surrounded by some killer artwork?
I have a few more bikes lined up to paint this year – all have a lot more paintable surface!
“SWOK!’ and “BLAM!” 75x75cm acrylic on canvas.
I’d had the idea of a Ukiyo-E geisha figure over the top of a comic book exclamation type image for a while and did a trial run on some old cheap canvases with the geisha figure as a sihouette. They looked ok (we have one on our wall, so I see it every day and enjoy it being there), but doing the geisha properly stepped it up a bit. I’ll be doing some similar pieces again at some stage this year.
“BLAM!” is sold, pending the completion of the deal, but “SWOK!” is available. Do please get in touch if you’d like it on your wall.
Practise runs below.
kirameki san experiences sustained loss of traction 