30x30. Having an art education at a young age has made much of who I am. With public schools putting art on the chopping block, lots of kids out there simply aren't getting that same opportunity. The Ann Arbor Arts Center hosted an event in which GTD among 29 other artists created 30 pieces to fundraise for a youth arts program. Thanks for the opportunity to pay it forward. Check out all the GTD pieces here.
Winter Wander - Photograph. An image captured about 100 yards into Lake Michigan. As the waves crash into the slowly freezing shore, it creates icebergs surrounded by a long white sea of ice. On this particularly sunny and warm day this couple was walking in the distance, playing on the cliff's edge. Check out the rest of the shoot here.
PBR Art 2010 - Mixed Media. A 2010 PBR Art Competition Collaboration. That's a long tongue twister, and for right reasons, the project was extensive. First beginning with Jai Yung's kimono construction followed by an applied PBR pattern screenprint, can constructed sword and hair piece, and final product photography shot in a Holland winter storm with nothing but bamboo sandals covered in turkey shit on my feet. Extreme conditions model credit: Jai Yung.
My Heart In Your Hands - Photo. A photo taken in an Ann Arbor market of a "sweet potato." Nothing too complicated here to explain, just dazzling imagery.
Home Street Home - Mixed Media. A piece hanging in the Sixth Street Bridge office at 820 Monroe St. This collaboration with Sarah Bozarth is a feature on displaced people and their relation to their surrounding environment as a home. The images are staggered with a conversation and various facts about homeless in the States.
Curiouser & Curiouser - Mixed Media. A piece donated to the UICA for Live Coverage, an event that raises money for operating costs every year. In collaboration with Joanna Papaleo, we created this collage time piece featuring a Alice In Wonderland theme and created a fancifully playful environment to work in. The piece has a key hole door that opens a door to the creative details within. See more photos here.
Madison - Photography. A photo of my little niece, Madison, sleeping her mother's arms. A soft focus supplies a cuddly feel that's makes me feel all warm inside. She's a little sweetheart and I really just wanted to include at least one picture of her here on the site.
Between a Rock and an Easy Place - Photograph. Snapped this shot of myself in a sequence on the beach of Half Moon Bay in Vancouver Island. Did a fair amount of rock climbing this trip and wanted to see what I could do with some low exposures and movement jumping between them. Photo taken not far from the most beautiful place on earth.
Apple of My Eye - Photograph. Took this shot in Kalamazoo on Tom Bailey's farm late night with a headlamp as a spot light. Apparently someone did not feel like finishing their apple, so they dropped it front of my tent for me to discover. Love the colors and the halo of darkness in this shot.
Shades of Blue - Photograph. A shot taken near UBC campus in Vancouver on a beautiful summer day. I shot this the same day that I built the natural sculpture garden on the Salish trail (can be found in the monthly section here). Check out more Vancouver shots here.
Captain Chooch - Photography. The Shipwreck deck was produced as a Premier brand skateboard in the spring of 2010. It features over 50 shipwrecks around Lake Michigan, thus the shoot was done down by the best filthy river source in the shop's city of origin, the Grand Rapids. See the rest of the shoot here.
Dino Soar - Photography. A photo taken in mid ride up the bank wall at the famous Burnside park in Portland, Oregon. Shortly after I shot this I fell down with my camera in hand and decided that skateboarding with expensive equipment in hand is a bad idea... at least until I do it again.
Eagle Sky - Photo. An image I captured climbing a rock jetty out on Vancouver's famous nude beach, Wreck Beach. I ended up spending to much time out on the rocks in the ocean and had to run back chasing the sun before it set. Halfway back in, I ran into this guy who was possibly the craziest guy I have ever met in my life. He talked about the eagles in the sky (airplanes) to me for a bit. Tip for the kids: never do acid. See more Vancouver here.
Firework Abstract 3 - Photo. A spinning shot taken of a firework at a friends cottage. Long exposure while spinning the camera. Created a beautiful bouquet of light that looked so much prettier than the actual thing.
Fade to White - Photo. This image was captured at my camp spot at Florencia Bay, located in Vancouver Island. The ocean washes this green weed up, and it dries out on the rocks creating this amazing color contrast that scatters the grounds. See more of Vancouver here.
Grand Skyline - Photo. A photo taken from above a main strip of the highway viewing out toward the city I call home. Grand Rapids is a great city that has scrapers with woods less than a stone's throw away and it has a quaint big city feel that I enjoy.
Helirad City - Photo. A view of Grand Rapids at night from the helipad atop the JW Marriott. We watched the fireworks explode mere feet away from us and I snapped this image after they were finished. Held a long exposure on the city and did some twisting at the end for my piece of flair.
Life Like Game - Photo. A Tron arcade setup inside a local bar. The light and color that this thing casts is so awesome. It makes me feel like I'm actually competing in a psychadelic 1980's fight to the death battle game. Check out the Tron Adidas shoe if you get a chance, it's a nice pair to wear while playing this game.
Manifest Destiny - Photo. Its so interesting to see elevated views of the expanding plains. Lots of nothing surrounded by human development in such an orderly fashion. This farmland wrapping around the mountains has this great organic feel that dots the surface with color. See more mile high photos here.
Nitobe Falling - Photo. This waterfall is located inside Nitobe, a Japanese garden located inside of the UBC campus. It's a really amazing looking space that spans about 6 acres back in a secluded section that is most definitely peaceful. See more of Vancouver here.
Beauty By the Foot - Photo. An image captured on the Blandford Nature Center trails in late Spring. All the flower petals were dropping from the trees and scattering the trail floor in an amazing amount of fresh white. Hit the right time of year around this space and it's like a fresh snowfall.
Seeing Stars - Photo. The star fish on Tofino Beach cling onto the rocks even after the water subsides during the day. These chubby guys wait until night washes them back into the ocean. I even spotted a few in little ponds in rock crevices where it would appear the tide had not washed up to for some great amount of time. See more of Vancouver here.
Floating on Islands - Photo. The most beautiful place on earth lay in front of me in this photos. The fog lifted away just as the sun set while the porpoises swam beneath my feet resting atop a 20 foot rock cliff beside my campsite. I will forever remember the most beautiful secret camp spot on Vancouver Island, and I will be back for more someday soon. See more of Vancouver here.
The Fog - Photo. There's a thick fog that hangs around Vancouver Island for much of the day. Walking through it feels like walking through a fine mist of rain, and it's actually quite beautiful. This is a shot that fog from Half Moon Bay in Florencia. See more of Vancouver here.
Bailey's Barn - Photo. Tom Bailey's farm is an absolute dreamland in my opinion. A quaint cabin with a wood canoe, a stream trickling into a pond, a barn filled with music and dancing. The night this photo was taken is unforgettable to me and will forever remain an iconic Kalamazoo moment to me.
Urchins - Photo. I almost feel like I cheated on this photograph because the lighting was so perfect there was almost no way to take a bad photograph. A couple chokes of light trickled down on top of these sea urchins located in Vancouver's amazing Aquarium. See more of Vancouver here.
The Garden - Natural Sculpture. A picnic garden I built for a friend in the UBC Endowment lands in Vancouver. She gave me rule over her apartment for well over a week. One of the only ways I could think to thank her was to build a safe haven inside the trails she so often hikes near her home. The sculpture expands well beyond the picture into the woods, but these items were the main feature. See more of Vancouver here.
Bird Eat Frog - Photo. Some people will try to say the world out there is dog eat dog, but I have never seen a dog eat another dog. I think it's more like bird east frog. I was snapping of shots of this, apparently injured, Blue Heron when it dove into the lake and nabbed up a dinner. It was like the Discovery Channel right in front of me.
Dust Bunny - Photo. Miss-mitt, the southern jezabelle kitten with 7 toes on one paw and 6 on the other. On the kitten's first day back from the shelter, I discovered she is a little misfit that gets into everything, both good and bad, because she dusted underneath every nook and cranny in my room.
Farm Spotted - Photo. A farm on the way to Gun Lake that is scattered in tires and cows as far thee I can see. It created a really great black and white pattern for the photograph. It reminded me of my younger years and the several times I tried to ride a cow, which always resulted in stampedes.
Fisher Man - Photo. Found this little guy on a shelf in Sunset Junkyard and he reminded me so much of the Gordon's Fisherman. I rarely use the word cute, but I think that's the word I'm looking for on this one. Those rosy little wood cheeks and everything about him made me want to own him so badly. If you have never been to Sunset Junk in Holland, MI, go. You will want to spend money on useless knick knacks too. See more Sunset Junk here.
Hailing Golf Balls - Photo. The world's largest piece of hail was recently discovered in South Dakota, measuring over 8 inches in diameter, and punching a hole straight through a roof. I've often heard the expression golf ball size hail, but never football hail. Found both the items in this picture in my back yard one day... really weird combo of items I had to capture as a still.
Green Redwoods - Photo. A photo captured in Eureka California of a great redwood covered in the most vibrant neon green moss. The bark on these trees is so thick and tough. Their texture is truly an awesome thing to see in person, but I suppose a photo will do if you can't make it there. Here's what I got. See more of the California coast here.
Mothra - Photo. Do you remember the movie Mothra? No? Well in the world of horror movie obscurity from the 60's this one stands out marvelously. What's more frightening than a 100 foot tall moth? Well, probably a lot of things. Get educated on the movie if you haven't seen it. This is the largest moth I have ever seen. Can't compare with Mothra, but it's pretty large.
School Daze - Photo. Fish travel in schools. I prefer to call my crew a pack because I don't so much like school, sounds too formally educated. Me and my pack are more like a group of wild humans: untamed beasts on the roam. Despite my ramble, this is a school of fish. Don't they look pretty? I'd personally prefer them in my food than on my camera.
Lake Queen - Photo. An image of a most peculiar and amazing individual who does not swim or wear bathing suits. I think getting her into the water was miraculous. Her body's rigid stance is a reminder of how much I'm sure she did not enjoy being in the early spring frigidness of Lake Michigan.
Snowsicle - Photo. A good friend, Remy, was getting down on eating some snow out in the fields during a WMU photo project. I assure you, especially with dogs in our presence, he checked to make sure it was not yellow snow.
Ponys Can Skate - Paint Pen. Made this deck at Premier while covering an hour long shift for a fellow employee. Thanks to Teddy's creative 17 year old imagination, the horse became polka dotted. Teddy ollied over the mini horse pictured following the board's final production so I gave him the deck. See more here.
Purple Rain - Paint Pen. An ode to the man who needs no introduction because no one knows what we're supposed to refer to him as. I'm pretty sure if Prince knew how to skate, he would shred harder on a deck than he does on a guitar and doves would fly out on every flip trick.
California Specimen - Mixed Media. Drove 6,500 miles to explore middle America and the California coast. When I arrived in Cali I collected dirt and sand at every place from the busy beaches of San Diego to the tall woods of Eureka. Corked it all into a tube and designed an accordian fold story containing personal photos and stories from each location. Like going on vacation again whenever I read it.
Flip Em The Board - Paint Pen. This curvy beauty is flipping some cunning linguistic play on words. Nobody wants to get flipped the bird, but clearly, flipping the board is always a positive. Stop flipping out and just start flipping bra.
30 Ways - Cans, Cases, Fabric & more. This piece won first place in the Pabst Blue Ribbon Mulligan's Art Competition. Over 90% of the piece is made from reused or recycled materials. The display is made from lighting grates found in a salvage yard and the cans were all reused items. No beer was harmed in the making of this piece. Makes me feel like a Native American of beer using every last resource it can supply. See more shots here.
Psycho - Spraypaint, Paint Pen. This deck was made in honor of the great Alfred Hitchcock, and his classic film, "Psycho." I made a stencil, sprayed and allowed for some unique dripping and leaking to occur at the bottom. I think I made a pretty good "stab" at it (insert comedic drum roll).
Wild Things - Spraypaint, Screen Print, Paint Pen. Matching screen printed posters, shirts and decks inspired by the book, Where the Wild Things Are: one of my favorite childhood stories. The posters were printed in a limited series of 42 prints on 5 different papers, the shirts were all screened gold on black and the deck was stenciled and detailed by hand in paint pen. Childhood nostalgia never looked so good.
Beached By Night - Photograph. I talked Jake into walking the beaches of Pismo late at night with me and we came across this dead seal on the beach. It had no eyeballs and I'm sure seagulls had eaten them. Despite the disgusting scene, I knew there had to be a beautiful picture in this: just add stars and Jake with a flashlight. Tada!
Wanna Rastle? - Photograph. This macro shot of the arm wrestling machine at the Penny Arcade in San Francisco makes me laugh every time I see it. Don't start out on champion level unless you want to have your arm ripped off of your body, that luchador means business.
Dick Cheney Pro Quail Hunter Shoes - Quail Feathers, Saucony Shoes, Canvas, Iron Ons. These shoes were tailored to the exact specifications that Dick Cheney requires to shoot people in the back. Great tread and actual quail feathers allow for a flighty escape. Bloody bullet on insole.
Blue Balls - Photograph. I was walking out of the office to make my long drive home one day when I spotted a tree filled with blue balloons. The color contrast was awesome, so I snapped a few off and got this shot... a tree with blue balls.
State The Obvious - Skateboard, Various Fabrics, Magazine Clippings,. If the category on Family Feud was, "Topics of Conversation in the Midwest," weather would be #1 on the list. Growing up in the midwest for most of my life has numbed me to even knowing when I state the obvious, "It's Cold."
Shoot the Freak - B&W Print. Shoot the Freak is an amazing game at the Coney, which involves shooting at a person with a paintball gun inside of a small urban obstacle ridden ditch. This game is located right next to a beach themed bar, so you can have some drinks and shoot some people. Fun for the whole family.
Model Farm - Photograph. This shot was taken in Eureka, CA: the land of mist. When you see the fog rolling into San Francisco, this is where it's coming from. The town has an urban sprawl and a much more rural section as well with farms such as the one in this photo. The fog gives this awesome miniature effect that I absolutely love. One heads up about Eureka, beware of the zombies.
Cracked - Photograph. This shot was taken in my grandma's backyard. This tiny little cracked figurine sits beneath a tree on the edge of the lawn and she wants to throw it out because of it's rapid decay and age. I think it's more beautiful than the day it was bought.
Liberate Your Inner Stache - Spraypaint. Clearly too much time on my hands, or I allocate it into very bizarre places, because I spent much time to A.) Create this beautiful stache tee, and B.) Grow a stache to match. Either way gratification was achieved with a creepy 3'rd place trophy. Now all I need is a tinted van...
Women Are a Myth - Illustration. This piece was created several years ago as a painted deck deck, but I took the original sketch and pushed it into a graphic direction. A little play on words relating my bad luck with my choice of women and their tendency to eat me alive. Bless their bastard hearts.
24 oz. Freak - Multimedium Sculpture. Runner up in the PBR art contest sculpture category. This diorama was created in several mediums including illustration, fabric, frames, boxes, LED lighting and found objects. Circus freaks always intrigued me, whether you're talking bearded women, or super tall cans of beer, abnormalities are fun.
Grandma Knows Best - Digitally Manipulated Photo. A digitally manipulated print of a black and white photograph taken Christmas of 2006. If my grandma ever saw this, she would either kill me or laugh hysterically. Haven't decided which yet, so she hasn't seen it.
Attack of the 30 Pack - Digitally Manipulated Photo. Nothing like talking friends into posing as old women for photo shoots to win beer. Jake, if I win from this photo, there will be several free beers in your name. The backdrop is a small pub out in Madison, WI where they have a playground to drop your kids off at while you drink... fun for the whole family.
Mrs. Richardson - Photo. Word is if there's a full moon, Jake transforms into a frisky grandmother with a five o' clock shadow. This rare occurrence has been captured in this photo. Beware, he bites.
Beaux Art - Paper, Spraymount. A donation to the Beaux Art Ball, a fund raising event for Kendall College of Art & Design. It's hard to feel masculine after spending an hour in the scrap booking aisle amongst the 40+ women giving me the eye, but the result was successful. Worked from a basic sketch, cut the basic shapes, redrew on textured papers, mounted onto a thick backing (poster board), and reassembled with spray mount. Tadow!
First Date - Photograph. This is a macro shot I took in the penny arcades near the San Francisco shore. The old time feel and characters look so innocent, but you know that sailor is having dirty thoughts: the years at sea make are bound to make any man lonely and lusty.
Artiture - Personal Publication. I began this book as an experiment in using writing, photography, illustration and design together in several different forms, and I discovered along the way, I love the world of publishing. All my artistic passions combine via this outlet. The book is available for free download in the link below.
Sleeping Beauty - Photograph. I shot this majestic lady at a giant antique store that was so expansive I could have spent days wandering around. There were several pieces that were spread across a gigantic lawn, and this lady caught my eye with her flowing hair, seductive stretching pose and mythological style.
Stainless Rust - Photograph. Found this beauty off the highway in the middle of nowhere. The asking price was $900 and had I had cash in hand I might have bought it. There's something about the raw rusting body and the shiny new steel detailing that I fell in love with: such amazingly great opposites meshing perfectly on the same plain.
Wanderlust - Photograph. At some point I decided to take a turn into ungodly switchbacks up the side of a mountain in Big Sur. My rally car techniques around the pinpoint turns nearly made Dani lose her lunch all over my car, but this beautiful view at the top was her reward for holding strong. Thanks again for not puking in my car.
Heritage Hill - B&W Print. This photo was taken outside of my old home in the Heritage Hill area. The guitar is my great grandfather's and, since I also play guitar, it holds a lot of meaning to me concerning who I am and where I come from.
Beauty's In The Eye - Photograph. I shot this haunting image in a giant antique store that was so expansive I could have spent days wandering around. This mannequin was pushed up against a wall in back and I could feel that big dead eye staring at me the whole time and it was flatteringly creepy. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
Rise with the Fallen - Illustration. I had this tattoo template from a little while ago in my archives, and it had not been used yet because I couldn't think of what to write in the banner, but I found just the right thing the other day and made this part digital illustration. Tatt tastic.
The Silver Bullet - Paint Pen & Marker. This piece is a quick start to finish concept which turned out pretty well. I don't think I can ever get enough of flashy silver and gold decks. There's so many possibilities to spin on the color alone: so, here you have it... The Silver Bullet.
New York Scrapes the Sky - B&W Print. Looking up at downtown Manhattan can cause serious neck injuries. The buildings climb to the sky, touching the clouds with their roofs. Looking up at all that majesty is certainly a dizzying effect that caused me to walk slow and piss off everyone walking with me or in my path.
Ode to Andy - B&W Print. This is one of my favorite photos I have taken because it has a deep unintentional meaning to me. Andy is shooting some dirty graf art in the background through a chain link fence, and directly in front of his view sits a butterfly on the fence. This is very symbolic to me of the beauty in the struggle and the things we must go through before we reach beauty and balance.
Apple Aisle - Photograph. I love fall time most for Halloween, but coming in a close second is apple farms. There's something about fresh cider with whiskey that enchants me every time. I found myself shooting my two lovely accomplices in a couple great scenes, but this shot down the apple row looks great.
Autonostalgia - Spraypaint & Paint Marker. This deck is a dedication to the memory of forgotten vintage vehicles from day time tv past: an interloping of Kit and The General Lee. I am still sad I did not include the A-Team van. I will not forget you my good friend. I still pity the fool.
Dia de los Muertos - Paint Marker. This deck made for a best trick prize at a Dia de los Muertos Birthday / Halloween / Taco Eating / Skate Contest Party. Dia De Los Muertos is a Spanish festival which translates to, "The Day of The Dead." Death is honored, and in a sense mocked and made light of so we skated a 4 ft wide ultra-vert death ramp to laugh in death's face. Many people were hurt, but no one died.
Perpetuating Nature (Fibonacci) - B&W Print. This shot came from a series of altered nature photos which I took in honor of one of my great inspirations/ heroes, Andy Goldsworthy. I weaved the stems of the leaves together to create a chain link dropping down from a tree branch to the ground. It looks like a time lapse shot.
Milk & Honey - Illustration. This was a project that began about a year ago. Hand illustrated, live traced and colorized the main image and brought in a honey comb texture to fill out the background. I'm lactose intolerant, but I am tolerant to making art about it.
The Evolution of the Loyal PBR Investor - Paint Pen. Honorable mention in the PBR Art Contest illustration category. Growing up with Pabst has made me emotionally attached to the beer. We have shared good times, bad times, and pretty much everything in between. The following triptych is a rough prediction of how the next 30 years of my life will play out: skate & drink PBR, grow a mustache & drink PBR, invest in PBR & get old / rich.
Truckenmiller 180 - Photograph. A new park opened up and I went down to skate and shoot for the day. Met up with a guy who was going big, so I got my camera and shot an epic sequence of skateboarding at its finest.
Go Skate - Paint Pen. Here's some homage to my early childhood. I was always waiting for Grape Ape to get some double grabs in on that mini van, and now I know what it might have looked like. Go skate, go skate!
San Diego Silhoette - Photograph. Jake and his glorious mustachio basking in the dissipating rays of the sunset of San Diego Beach. Hours before this photo I stripped down to my boxers and ran into the water, swimming and screaming so dramatically that you would have thought I had never seen water before. It was the most refreshing thing I've done in my life.
Missing You - Spraypaint & Paint Marker. Yes, we were once a bunch, but eventually everyone split their separate ways. We live our own lives in different cities, but I still remember you, and occasionally pour out a splash of a fotay in honor. This one is for my homies.
Great Lakes - Illustration. This art was originally created to be a one color screen print that would benefit non-profits involved in preservation of the great lakes. As time passed, it got pushed to the wayside, but I resurrected it it for a digital illustration with some new text and a grungy texture.
God's Prototype - Spraypaint, Paint Marker, Magazine Clippings & Clear Glaze. A present for a friend's birthday in honor of the late Hunter S. Thompson: "There he goes, one of God's own prototypes. Some kind of high powered mutant never even considered for mass production. Too weird to live, too rare to die."
Inner Skate - Spraypaint & Paint Marker. The Gods of skate would be pleased with my sacrifice of one helluva solid skate deck. "To find balance, one must find their inner skate." To me, skateboarding is a form of meditation and art, so I expounded upon, and perhaps exaggerated this element of skating.
Jolly Good Time - Spraypaint & Paint Marker. Jolly good time old chap! Whoever said English people can't skate must not have ever seen John Rattray rip it up. Ride on for the mother country.
The Black Tulip - Photo. This flower was shot in downtown Holland outside 36 Squares after a light rain. Cut a slit into a white sheet of paper and slipped the flower stem into for the white background. Flowers are pretty.
Squidsplosive - Photograph. Took some long exposure shots of fireworks with some simple camera movements and created some great shapes with the beautiful display of light and color. Conclusion: fireworks are pretty.
Dante's Inferno - B&W Print. This shot was taken from the bottom of a subway staircase with a long exposure to create an ethereal lighting effect at the end of the tunnel. This distant glowing light appears hopeful, but the long dirty journey to reach it is treacherously scattered with urine and trash.
Space Zombies - Oil Paint & Laser Transfer. This piece was created to accompany a short story I wrote (which is included in my publication, Artiture). If you want the background story, download the book and read up. I used a bubble light inside of a light box and a crumpled piece of paper to create a textured and back lit moon. Space zombies are cool.
Young at Heart - Screenprint. As we grow older, responsibility tends to wrap a death grip around our sense of adventure. This piece is my homage to never be too old to live young. Dove wings are stretched out in full array with limbs of trees subtracted from the figure. A nest inside the dove's chest is two eggs forming the shape of a heart. In the words of the great Rod Stewart, “forever young.”
Brooklyn Boneless Bigspin - B&W Print. This photo was taken at the Brooklyn banks. This area has grown to be a haven for everyone who pushes planks for entertainment. In this photo: mystery skater performing a masterful wallie boneless bigspin... even more impressive in person since the mystery skater was wearing slip-ons.
Musical Roots - Illustration. My great grandfather was also a guitarist, so I feel as though some sort of musical lineage was handed down to me by my predecessor. I have the genes of a musician. Guitars are an iconic instrument that remind me of my roots.
The City Beach. This photo was taken on the way to the Coney. The image has a solid depth from the inside of the train all the way to a man standing in the pavilion.
Madison Capital - Color Photo. This photo was taken lying on the ground aiming straight up at the cathedral ceiling of the Madison capital building's atrium. The detail in the ceiling mesmerized me, which can cause severe neck pains after staring upward for extended periods of time.
Dear Death - Spraypaint & Paint Marker. It is said that deer cannot see the color orange, therefor, a deer's death is orange. This is why you do not see many orange cars... because neither do deer.
Fresh - Paint Pen, Spraypaint, Paint Thinner. No, I'm not talking Dougie Fresh, more like the fresh feeling of mint, or the fresh morning air, or a fresh pair of underwear. Either way, this deck is fresh and the Green Giant agrees. Used a thin spread of paint thinner before spraying to obtain a nice crackle grain effect.
Premium Timber - Photograph. Took a trip out into the magical meadows of Kalamazoo to shoot a plethora of enchanted skate photos. Had to hire a couple lumberjacks to help me bag this tree that fit the deck like a glove. Nothing says nature like giant saws, axes and skateboards.
Multiplicity - B&W Print. This is a print of a photo taken in a NY restaurant that was so small I could nearly touch both sides with my hands stretched out. There were mirrors on both sides that created an effect that was both amazing and nauseating. The images seem to roll on into infinity... or perhaps another dimension?
Trackside - B&W Print. This photo was shot beside the tracks near the Coney. Some graffiti on a clear wall created a great effect on a low exposure time and a very high contrast filter. The paint seems to just turn into sky. I'm sure if graff artists could paint the sky, they clouds would be covered.
Pop Sticks - Paint Marker. It's true that ninjas are the sneakiest thing alive. Never begrudge a ninja unless you wish to fear the turn of every corner, every door you open or every box of Chinese takeout you get. Chop Suey!
Goldfish - Spraypaint & Paint Marker. I happened to have a gold deck and I mulled for awhile about what sort of Thug Life hilarity I could pull from it, when I decided a goldfish would be more fun. Why do they call them goldfish anyway when they are orange?
Flight - B&W Print, Oil Paint, Spraypaint & Paint Marker. Hurling our bodies into the air is the closest thing to flight that humanity has. Perhaps that's why I skate, because I've always wished I could fly. I used oils to paint a surreal image over Adam, the skater in the image. The paint marker step extension adds that little touch of surreal set drama.
Maiden Voyage - B&W Print. This is a shot from a hill in Vermont. Our group of friends got out early to get some shots and ride some rails. I love shooting in the snow because such a high level of contrast can be achieved in black and white shots. It looks like the ground and the sky merge at some point.
A Child's Freedom - Prismacolor pencils & ink. This piece was given to some friends who have a child with serious heart conditions that altered his quality of life. This image is a representation of what freedom he regained with his "final" heart surgery. This little guy is full of piss and vinegar.
Yo! MTV's Crap - Spraypaint, Sharpie. This was a quick start to finish project created for a 90's party. It's really bizarre to me that a 90's party even exists because I could have pulled half of my normal wardrobe out to dress up like it's 1990. I can't wait till there's a 2000 party.
It's Business Time - Spraypaint & Paint Marker. This piece is in honor of those who work as hard as they play. Life was not meant to be spent in a cubicle... some people sit and watch TV to wind down from the grind, but I grind after the grind. Taking care of business.
McDeck - Paint Marker. As time passes, our lovable characters of cartoon past grow up and fade away, out of sight and out of memory. This deck digs deep into the currently dark days of the McDonald's clan. Where are they now?
Spectral Fog - B&W Print. This shot was taken on the foggiest night I have ever encountered. You couldn't see more than 20 feet in front of you, which created spectral effect from the street lights. This, I assure you, is the only mailbox I've ever been scared of.
