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As you all know;  First Friday was last night.  The show at The Underground was enjoyable.  I want to thank all the people of Fort Collins who came out to support the local art scene.  Also, thanks to my good friends; Ryan Vaslet and Kristian Kluver for coming up and lending thier support.  It was great.  Furthermore, I have recently secured a studio space at The Gallery Underground, so expect to see much more of my work displayed there from now on.   See you next First Friday.

Kluver is laying down the final touches to his custom case for the Moleskine Book.  Bloody gorgeous, and like it's architect; one of a kind.  I wouldn't have wanted anyone else to handle the job.  Tip-Top Kluver!   The show is this First Friday on the 3rd of October.  Be sure to stop by if you're in the neighborhood.

 Gallery Underground in downtown Fort Collins has agreed to show the Japanese Moleskine Book I recently developed.   The unveiling will be held October 3rd on First Friday.  Furthermore, they intend to unveil  two new books  I am currently developing;  one on each First Friday of the month through the end of 2008.  The Underground is a surprising gallery owned and operated by exceptional talents showing exceptional talent.  I recommend anybody in the Front Range to make the pilgrimage to Ft. Collins to see what they have going on.  It is sure to please.  You can learn more through their myspace page here.  On a final note; Kristian Kluver is heading up the design and fabrication of the display case for the Moleskine.  It is certain to be magnificent upon completion.  See you on First Friday!

The good folks at Cypher13 have included me on their roster of awesome talents for the Soft & Furry exhibit.  I will be doing an illustration involving the Soft & Furry as well as some custom toys.  The list of artists from near and far is astounding, and I am humbled in their presence. The Cypher13 team has worked very hard to make this show happen and they should be applauded.  I intend to deliver the best work I can to serve their purpose.  The unveiling will be held on September 13th at the Plastic Chapel in Denver, CO.   See you there.

Technical Specs by Cypher13 w/ S&F logo by Markham Maes.

Here is a new vector-based version of the black & white ink illustration; "Too Much Mind" that I have been working on.   It has been a challenging and valuable exercise to say the least.   I plan to integrate vector paths into a certain body of my work from now on.  However much this may apply; ink, paper and traditional methodology will always come first.  Enjoy.

The Pocket Japanese Moleskine Book.

Some of you may have already seen some developmental phases of this book through ihatealex.org & joyengine.com.  It is now complete and you may view it here.  

The Japanese Moleskine Book is an interesting design for someone like me.  I carry a sketchbook everywhere I go and I have thousands of drawings within numerous books from over the years. However, this book is not an ordinary sketchbook and it offers different possibilities from other books.  It is not bound from the spine of its cover, and the pages fold out into one continuous piece of paper that all told; is approximately 9 feet long.  There are 31 pages on each side but for this particular experiment, I utilized only one side.  It reads from right to left.

I treated this book as a sketchbook, meaning I approached it one page at a time and there was no grand design by what was created and virtually no planning as to the outcome of the work.  In the beginning, the concepts were only based on the few lines I carried over from previous compositions and no preliminary sketching was done in pencil.  What you see is what you get.  

In the end the book became 16 separate and individual compositions that all evolved and transgressed into each other over the span of the 31 pages.  Within the 16 compositions; others can be joined together to create additional and larger visual progressions.  

As I moved through it, it became a sequence in thoughts and relationships for which themes began to emerge. Eventually it served me as a companion for many contemplations on life from an ecological as well as an existential point-of-view.  

Enjoy!

(Interior)  

click here to view.

     The Merk.  The untamed savage of modern invention.  With twin-dual opposable thumbs, does he cling desperately to his only salvation; his Wrench. This Wrench, being his sole creative mechanism is the only means of defense against a seething sea of generic masses and the insatiable need they possess to feed upon all things. 

     But alas, the Merk's champion becomes his folly, and ultimately it is an ever-losing battle.  For it is this very noble and perfect Wrench, and all the possibilities in its possession with which the mob's desire turns its attention.

     Furthermore, and because the Merk is perpetually baffled and forever distracted by the daily misgivings of the world at large, it is not uncommon for him to be caught unawares and find himself trapped by the persuasions of unsavory sorts, whom often take it upon themselves to travel along with him in his journeyings.  Naturally and in predictable fashion, these sidekick-tag-a-longs, these incessant "Itches" use the moment of the Merk's demise as an opportunity for endless shenanigans.  Their witty-banter, tomfoolery, ballyhoo, and general poppy-cock bring further disdain and turmoil to the Merk's already declining and dismal situation.  

     His panic reaches its apex.  He considers the possibility of defeat.  What if he were to succumb, and find this myriad of mice only wished to flirt, and prance, and play.  But so many?  Would he risk losing himself to this vast sea?

     The Merk resigns to continue his struggle, seeing where the moment may take him, and with a seed of hope that another day might find him blessedly alone, with only his Wrench in hand, and all the possibilities it holds awaiting his whimsy. 

    Merk characters & concepts created by Kristian Kluver.

    Merk Version 2.0 Illustration & companion story by Oscar Woodruff.

Since Kristian Kluver,  in true Kluver-fashion was so generous in his contribution to this website,  I felt it was time somebody kicked down some good will his way and I set to work on an illustration.  Many people here in Boulder are familiar with Kluver's work.  One of his more notorious iconographies is the MERK; a tragic yet enduring figure made in his own internalized image.  Nearly all of Kristian's finalized pieces are vector based, so I thought it would be great to take stock of the many concepts he designed as such and make a traditional illustration that would collaborate all of his MERKish ideas into one.  This is the final result, and needless to say, aside from attempting to fill Kluver's extremely skilled shoes, and thus being a great challenge for me, there was much time spent giggling at the drawing board.  Furthermore, a very short story which I will post later accompanies the image.  Enjoy.

 It's huge.  Nearly three feet tall.

                                                                     click here for detail.