Brooklyn Octopus

In September I spent a week in NYC. I stayed with my friends in Brooklyn and painted an octopus in one of the rooms. I also explored the megatropolis that is New York City, and slept a little bit, leaving me not nearly enough time to fully finish the octopus. One day my friends will finish the octopus, and I will post an image of the final piece. Here are some photos of the process.

Funky.

Don't miss out on the Balls Out Booze Band, Scribes, and E & Dae. This show is going to be off the charts, so come on down to the White Rabbit in Fremont and lets get funky. The poster was hand drawn and digitally colored.

Burning Man 2011. Another Door.

Another Door is a large-scale interactive installation manifested for Burning Man 2011 by Calen Barca-Hall and Paul K. Hempstead. The honorarium installation is made up of used doors, recycled bike wheels, and walls that create a series of rooms and doors that the viewer can peruse at their leisure. Each door is connected to another via pulley, so when one door opens, another door closes. As you explore the piece doors are constantly opening, shutting, or possibly smacking you in the face, leading you on a random path throughout the different rooms that are each uniquely decorated by different artists. The piece is not only fun to experience, it is a well made and beautiful installation well rooted in concept. I was invited to deck out a room within the installation, have a look.

For my room I drew black and white images, scanned them, printed them out four times as large and wheat-pasted them onto the walls and doors. Here is a better look at the images.

[not included in the installation]

Burning Man 2011. Part One.

Burning Man was unlike any experience I have ever had, I was blown away, it's like another planet. A planet where you say hello with a hug, where absurd costumes, gifts, raunchy jokes, love, and bacon are a part of your daily routine. It's a place where a hundred scantily clad people will be gyrating on an 80 foot yacht as it cruises across the desert at five miles an hour while blasting dubstep. It's a place where all those ridiculous ideas truly come to life. I was lucky enough to be a part of the art and work on an honorarium installation (more on that later), here are some snapshots from planet burning man.

Playa

The Temple

The Man, and Pooh Drinking Beer.

Babe Checking Out Installation. 

Exodus

Booze Band Business

Well blog, its been a while, I've been busy. I spent the month of September wandering around the states, notably New York, New Orleans, Austin, and last but not least: Black Rock City, Nevada (also known as Burning Man). My experiences were some of the best of my life and I'll share some photos soon, in the meantime here is an old poster I drew for the Balls Out Booze Band, the show was a blast, and there is another one coming up on Saturday, November 26th, Scribes will also be preforming so mark it down on your calender and plan on making your way to the White Rabbit in Fremont and dancing off some of that turkey belly. Seattle keep your eyes peeled for a poster featuring one funked up turkey!

Untitled Composition

Here is my most recent painting. It is 18 x 36 inches, and was done with spray paint and sharpie on canvas.  I started the painting years ago with no real idea of where it was going, and after a few days of painting sprinkled into many months of inactivity, I'm not still not sure what's really going on, or if it's even done for that matter. 

Untitled Composition

Me

Here are a few old self portraits that I never had the opportunity to post. The first piece is my final project from my first ever studio class at UCSC in 2007 and my favorite self-portrait of all time. It stands around four feet tall by two and a half wide and is a collage of drawn elements (pencil and ink wash), as well as an old comic book called "Scrappy" that I was infatuated with at that point in time (don't ask). In the image I'm holding a paintbrush, not a cigarette. Enjoy!

The next piece is an etching with aquatint from 2008, also done at UCSC. Its nine by twelve inches, and an edition varie of five prints. It is titled A Study of the Self.

Last but not least is a piece from 2009 that I completed while studying abroad at COFA (Sydney, Australia). One night coming back from some bars in Sydney my friends and I were attacked by some young drunk kids, there were no serious injuries on either side, I got the worst of it, needing a few stitches in my ear after taking an empty Jagermeister bottle to the side of the head. Although the fight was pretty exciting at the time, it left me unsettled for a while afterwards. This event, along with my growing interest in fashion and textiles were the fuel for this piece. It is composed of paper, found fabrics, ink wash, red wine, pencil, the bloody and ripped shirt I was wearing the night of the incident, and is fashioned together (and some parts were drawn) with a sewing machine. It is titled Stitches, stands about three feet by two feet, and was sold during my Compositions show last September. I wish I had a better quality photo.

Vote For Jake!

I'm sorry if I bothered you repeatedly on facebook to vote for me and my design, but as an old wise man once told me, "art involves a lot of shameless self promotion". Talenthouse.com basically asks artists to campaign for their designs (among other opportunities) in order to reviewed by high profile clients. In this case I designed a T-shirt for Dolce & Gabanna to be worn and photographed on Kylie Minouge. You can vote for me up to three times using text, facebook, and twitter. Text:  TH G5Z96E  to the #: 66337 or visit Waves by Jake. and THANK YOU for all the support, I send you butterfly kisses via text, twitter, and facebook. The design was hand drawn with digital color.

Waves

Mimicking the Masters

While in Europe I spent days upon days meandering though museums, feasting my eyes on some of the most incredible art collections on earth. I took to certain pieces, and tried my hand at mimicking some of the masters. Here are some of my favorites, they are all graphite on paper.

Picasso, "El Loco"  Museu Picasso de Barcelona

Degas, "La Petite Danseuse de Quatorze Ans" Museu Picasso de Barcelona

Goya, "El Tres de Mayo de 1808 en Madrid" Museo del Prado, Madrid

"Venus de Milo" circa 100 BCE, Louvre, Paris

Euphoric Release

To anyone in or around Santa Cruz: Be there or be square. Epic lineup, live art, and euphoria all night long. The poster was hand drawn (with digital collage and color) by yours truly. 

Feel free to contact me if you have an event that needs a poster. Here is one I drew for The Balls Out Booze Band and their St. Patty's Day Booze Bash.

Sketches from my Head

A little glimpse into my sketchbook/brain. All but the first are pen and ink drawings.

Untitled.  Watercolor pencil and Coffee. 2010

Vanishing Point. 2011

Dancing Diamond. 2011

Mondrian's Woman. 2011

Untitled. 2011

Untitled. 2010

Untitled. 2010

Untitled. 2011

Curves

I spend nearly all my time thinking about women, so I figured it was time I began to involve them as a subject in my artwork. In this series of pen and ink figures I only use straight and angular lines in my attempt to convey the beauty and form of a woman's body. The style I used was inspired by Picasso and the work of my father, Peter Millett. These images are some of my favorite sketches that I produced during my recent travels though Europe, more from my sketchbook is on its way.

Woman II.  2010

Woman III.  2011

Backside of a Woman.  2011

Reclining Woman.   2011

Woman IV.   2011

Backside of a Woman II.  2011

Woman.  2010

Spain and Portugal.

Sintra I.  2011

Sintra II.  2011

Lisbon.  2011

Sierra Nevada.  2011

Alhambra I.  2011

Alhambra II.  2011

Granada.  2011

Valencia I.  2011

Valencia II.  2011

Dancing Fountain.  2010

Sagrada Familia.  2010

Colon.  2010