THIS IS NOT PAINTING

I was asked to participate in this show by a fellow grad student, Paul Baker Prindle. He organized the event and planned it to take place in the (then unoccupied) UW-Madison Sterling Hall physics building. The pieces featured images mined from my experiences as a gay white male growing up in the Northwoods of Wisconsin.

Horned One (20 x 16 digital painting, 2008)

Evolution (20 x 16 digital painting, 2008)

Trinity - Left (16 x 16 digital painting, 2008)

Trinity - Center (16 x 16 digital painting, 2008)

Trinity - Right (16 x 16 digital painting, 2008)

Totem (16 x 20 digital painting, 2008)

*Features partial list of non-human animals known to exhibit homosexual behavior

Caryatid (12 x 16 digital painting, 2008)

INU YASHA

My partner liked this show so I decided to draw a naturalistic version of the title character.

NORTHWOODS GUY

A self portrait.

BEER AND COFFEE

...are delicious.

CHARACTER DESIGN

Original characters for a book I was writing. I had designed most of these before, but here I was learning digital painting techniques and experimenting with a cel shaded aesthetic.

FISH TATTOO

I designed this tattoo for a co-worker. It was in honor of a friend of his who had died. Inked by Fatty at Fatty's Custom Tattooz in Washington, D.C.

Some early design ideas:

SELF PORTRAIT

ZONGKER CHARACTERS

I was asked by my partner's cousin to design some characters for a video he was making. I had just purchased a digital drawing tablet and was still getting used to it.

BALLROOM MASK

Just something silly I made for a ballroom dance. We were given blank white masks to decorate with paint, feathers, sequins, etc., but I just painted my own face on it.

FIELD GUIDE TO HOMOPHOBES

This was intended to be the first section of an illustrated book I wanted to write about homophobia, specifically the many arguments against homosexuality or gay equality. These are meant to be slightly-offensive stereotypes, and for anyone who has had to deal with anti-gay bigotry, viewing these should be a cathartic exercise. However, the remaining sections of the book would evolve past making fun of people, and more critically deconstruct anti-gay arguments themselves. All of these characters are directly based on people and arguments I have encountered in my lifetime, either in person or in the media.

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