painted buckets

My name is Shane...

2090-10-05T11:49:00.000-07:00

...and I am an artist.

Mostly, I like painting in the context of art making. Painting has been the object of my affection for a long time and I've seriously gone through buckets and buckets worth of paint in my life.

I'll mainly be concentrating on my art practice here, but I'm easily distracted sometimes so you never know...

and now some images
s.

This is what I spent five months making when I was at Otis (2003-2006). It's a driftwood wave. 40' wide, 12' tall, 12' deep; modular construction; found driftwood (mainly from Emma Wood beach in Ventura). I think it's pretty cool and I sometimes miss being with it. It now resides in someone's yard in Palos Verdes.

Here's another piece I miss being around... It's a self portrait with Juice Newton and the Wilson sisters (from the band, Heart). I destroyed most of it driving it home on top of my Landcruiser (which I also regret selling). It was a nice painting.

Last one for now - we'll have plenty of time to see more as I get comfy...
This one is one of my recent larger (not "big" by my standards) works. It's part of a body of work exploring painted representations of painted representation. Confused? Good. Basically, they're paintings of paintings of water.
I'll likely always be attracted to playing with representational subject matter and I'm having a lot of fun with what I've been making recently. To me, it shows. This photo courtesy of David Hauver.

Ankle biters

2012-01-13T10:06:00.000-08:00

here are a few more little paintings I've been working on recently.

as usual with the little guys, they're roughly 4-5" in one direction, and 9-10" in the other. I use house paint, spray paint, acrylic, enamel, industrial grade ink, and sorcery.

enjoy!

purdy...

fuzzy...

shiny...

a large pair.

2012-01-11T15:03:00.000-08:00

Feels really nice to be painting larger-scale again. I'm never really happy about moving or storing them, but making bigger shit just feels good to me.

- as always, you'll have to check your expectations of super nice photos of my work - iphone camera is what you get, so suck it up. This isn't all about tough love; I'm going to show you a few process and detail shots too!

See how nice I am? You should go hug someone and pass the niceness on.

starting to work with the first couple of layers...

After a few layers of paint...

after several more, I stand 'em up.

detail...

Starting to build...

hahahahaha

curvy...

pretty.

detail shots:

I'll get some pics of more small shit pretty soon here - I've been busy, but I have several new pieces to show so stay close!

better late than never?

2011-12-27T07:19:00.000-08:00

HOLY CRAP!
I've been crazy busy recently just trying to keep my little world in order it seems... clearly updating my blog has been low on the list of shit to get handled.

But I always find a way to get some painting in.

I started building a fence for the house...

Took a break...

I painted some DC shoes for a Quiksilver event... shoes are a pain in the ass to paint on, BTW.

I also did my annual drive to Lida, NV to get our Christmas tree!

Followed by a 'quick run' to Death Valley National Park...

...which turned into an ADVENTURE in Death Valley National Park.*

* please don't EVER make the same AMATEUR mistake I did and go into the desert without DOUBLE CHECKING your tool kit. An eight dollar lug wrench would NOT have left me with this:

Seems obvious that I'm a better off in the studio some days, no?

fuzzy.

go outside folks.

24 new images Oct. 05, 2011

2011-10-05T14:33:00.000-07:00

my eyeballs have been bleeding from making all those little lines, zoom in to feel my pain.

MOLLUSK! TONIGHT!

2011-07-15T11:20:00.000-07:00

Tonight is the night!

Mollusk 7-10p
1600 Pacific Ave.
Venice CA
90291
(310) 396-1969

pictures
more pictures
and even more pictures!

See all of these:

go into this space:

and then you can hang out and enjoy a beautiful night with friends in a great space!

even MORE images for Mollusk 07.15.11

2011-07-02T08:12:00.000-07:00

Here are a few more for my show at Mollusk in a little less than two weeks - enjoy.
oh and of course, show details here :)

You can see more images here as well as here.

more images for Mollusk 07.15.11

2011-06-13T16:02:00.000-07:00

again, in no particular order and media is: house paint, spray paint, acrylic, enamel, ink on Baltic Birch panel.

show details here

and a couple images of the cute little space that is Mollusk

images for mollusk show.

2011-06-10T12:20:00.000-07:00

figured I'd put a random few images up so folks can get a peek.
no particular order here and they're all roughly 4-5" in one direction and 8-10" in the other.
pretty much all; house paint, spray paint, acrylic, enamel, and ink on Baltic Birch panels.

enjoy.

mollusk venice show - july 15, 2011

2011-06-05T15:36:00.000-07:00

I've been locked in my studio every day now in an attempt to have 100 good paintings ready before july 15th...

Mollusk is a small surf shop in Venice, so I figured it appropriate the stuff a corner of it with cute little paintings hung salon style. Lets hope it works out... here's a couple images of the postcards.

Show is July 15th 7-10 pm.
1600 Pacific Ave. - Venice
310)396-1969

PICTURES and MORE PICTURES aaannnd EVEN MORE PICTURES!

go fuck yourself - the update.

2011-03-24T10:46:00.000-07:00

had a break from the rain and had lots of paint drying, so i went for a drive...

maybe you've already found one and have absconded with it, kudos.

the rest of you better get busy as i waited a few days before posting.

'pier hugger'

'burbank 60 mi.' ...figure it out smart-asses.

'notre
spassing' easy one, probably gone already. :)

'HEY! go fuck yourself.'

'paddles are for ping pong' easy one.

'this one time, at surf camp'

'go fuck yourself' hahahahaha.

ditto

'spicoli don't surf'

go outside folks, do something today.

Holy crap, I've been busy.

2011-03-24T10:17:00.000-07:00

no joke.

i finished working again and with a short break, i've been painting. lots.

blah blah, here you go:
this one is good. i got to working on this one and it ended up having this big mass of trees with no branches (my process is fun) and then this awesome big space in the middle. my life as an artist seems like a series of one liners sometimes, so i roll with it...

i bet if Raymond Pettibon saw this he'd like it or want to fight me. it's a really good painting.

'you should have been here yesterday'

the deets. pretty, no?

hahahahaha, jerkface.

'garden variety' i'm pretty sure these will be popping up some more, they're kinda fun to make.

if you are lucky enough to have one of the 'five summer stories' paintings, this one feel like those to me.

ahhh, hahahahaha - as long as i'm laughing i don't give a fuck.
this one is my favorite this week. every time i see it in the studio, i start laughing.
watch this to see what i mean: pit me, bro.

'drink the koolaid' bitches.

as always i take shitty pictures. this isn't a catalogue, it's my shitty blog - get over it.

I'll have another blog of the 'go fuck yourself project.' project up very shortly. it has pictures too!

G.F.Y.P. project.

2011-03-11T11:17:00.000-08:00

blah

blah
blah
this one is from the 'go fuck yourself project' project.
it's square and has lines and stuff.

I promise to start getting these placed around so folks can get to seeing and stealing them.

I like this one a lot actually.
go fuck yourself
approximately 13" square.
house paint, spray paint,
enamel, acrylic,
ink, on panel.

now go outside.

.

exclusive view.

2011-03-11T11:08:00.000-08:00

I'm going to start posting these one at a time so it looks like I do a lot of shit.

Try and keep up?

This one has a title...

exclusive view.
roughly 13" X 4"
house paint, spray paint,
enamel, ink on panel.

I've been painting lots of trees recently... It seems really easy for me to tie them in with the lines I make for representations of water. They also fit within the physical format and have a nice fit aesthetically with 'beachy scenes.' They're a good tool for my work .

cheers.

driftwood wave

2011-02-23T12:18:00.000-08:00

Some folks have been asking for more photos and back story behind the driftwood wave I built for five months in 2006.

In the same way I use repeated brush strokes in my paintings as a way to re-present representation, I used driftwood as the empty signifier. That is to say that something so culturally loaded as a piece of driftwood is able to lose some or all of it's cultural significance with a change in context. The driftwood sort of becomes brush strokes in a giant three-dimensional painting that is about other people's paintings.

It's also really pretty and used to smell nice.

I started by building twenty modular forms or tables.

I then bolted them all together and started building a wire-frame for the basic structure.

After the wire-frame was complete, I cut all the pieces back apart and moved the entire assembly to it's exhibition space. Where I bolted it back together. Again.

After I had it all reassembled I began skinning the surface. This was probably the hardest part of the whole project. I spent a LOT of time bent over picking up driftwood and fastening each piece with bailing wire. There was a good photo of me working on it taken by Ari Marcopoulos but I've gone and lost it...

...anyway, my hands and back were beat to shit and I was also living off of energy drinks and In-n-out, and sleeping in my studio at school - I wouldn't take it back for anything.

all done!

photo courtesy of K. Acconci :)

and then I moved the whole thing once more to it's current (and final) home in Palos Verdes, but I don't have any photos of that for you...

three more little paintings of paintings of water.

2011-02-18T11:17:00.000-08:00

here's a few I forgot to put up from mid December.

All: 'Untitled ', house paint, spray paint, acrylic, ink, enamel on panel.
and they're all small in size (roughly 4" X 13" or so).

I'll likely be doing many of these smaller works (or portions of them) as larger paintings in the near future. I'll also be using many of these for another super top secret project that someone else has been patiently waiting on...

enjoy.

Go fuck yourself.

2011-02-15T15:02:00.000-08:00

I've been kicking around this idea for years now, and as I spent most of the winter living la vida unempleado I got some painting done.
These are made to be installed in public spaces (mainly surf spots), and there isn't much content, but they're nice to look at.

None of these will be for sale, so you'll have to get outside and steal them like everyone else. and since you may be stealing them I've called it 'the go fuck yourself project' project. Stay tuned for installed shots.

enjoy.

more tiny paintings - and, a very short story.

2010-11-17T16:25:00.000-08:00

ALL THREE:

untitled

house paint, spray paint, acrylic, enamel, ink on wood.

I've been kinda busy with other shit recently, so I haven't been making work. I HAVE found some time for these sweet little guys. They're all around 4" X 13"

I had originally planned on using these as studies for larger works (and for use in print media) but they're so much fun to make I can't stop. I started several more than what's pictured and until I can actually carry large works around the studio again, these are what I ignore my family over...

and now, a very short story:

When I was around six years old, our family was on one of MANY road trips (seems like we were always in the back of some car) and I, being six (or near there) of course had to pee.

My dad pulls the car over and I find a nice bush to piss on... upon my return to the car, one of the parental units asked if "everything came out OK" - we're also a family of bad jokes - to which I replied "high and far." As in my little urine stream had traveled high, and far on it's way to that bush.

The whole family got a great laugh out of it, I've spent YEARS hearing "high and far" at any and every opportunity. We're a strange bunch, but I wouldn't trade it.

until next time -

HIGH AND FAR!

too much blue...

2010-10-12T15:55:00.000-07:00

there is a series of long-standing debates between one CRB and myself... One of which holds relevance to this particular blog:

For years now, every art object I make that gets seen by CRB is immediately placed into the "too much blue" category. even if there's no blue in aforementioned objects. I decided to finish one of my new small-scale paintings as a birthday gift... I made sure to put a lot of blue in it; it goes well with pickles and conveyor belts.

Why yes, that IS a nickle from Canadia.

detail.

good start for a future painting, no?

Aprés moi, les déluge

2010-10-07T15:59:00.000-07:00

Some images from the catalog for my recent show in March.

invite

le deluge #4 2010. I made four of these "Coriolis" paintings based on a late friend's work. Sold all but this one. These really don't photograph too well - even in good lighting with an excellent photographer! In any case, they are popular works and should hold their aesthetic beauty for quite some time I think.

le deluge #1 2010. Although it didn't make the cover of my catalog, this is a close second (I actually like it best of the four some days).

space chicken 2004. Another trip to vanityland in this self portrait! The blue and yellow thing is a chicken copied from a 1978 craft project. I made a "space chicken" on an "unbreakable" plate; the brown part is his ladder, and the colored floating spheres are eggs. I can still remember being frustrated about my mother making one of the eggs on that plate better than mine... That plate was indeed broken years later (around 2000) and I still keep the pieces.

untitled 2010. To me, this was my FAVORITE work in the show. I also made a gold one that I have not yet photographed. They both have a temporary home at my local d!sp3nsary. Really, they're a big hit with all the patients.

el corazon 2008. I have this hanging in my living room. There's a great story behind this one, but you'll have to take my word for it 'cause I ain't tellin'

some new stuff in progress!

2010-10-07T12:12:00.000-07:00

Here are a few of the smaller pieces I've been working on. Again, you'll just have to get over camera phone pix. These are all works in progress, but they're still coming from the same general point of departure in terms of content. These are also all on wooden panel, so they'll have a nice smooth surface that will let a lot of small detail shine through.

Despite my current physical limitations keeping me from working larger scale, I'm really having fun with these.

I've also been doing some of these in oil paint and stand oil. They're likely to be a long time in the making however from the stand oil. If I can get a good one this way, I'll be stoked.

cheers!

three here in a group, top one belongs to my three year old... she has a great time painting with her daddy.

C/U.

this one is going to come out really good.

detail of the ink work surrounding the elipse.

signs of some nice line work to come as she gets older...

tools.

more tools

I'm kind of messy, no?

action painter.

even more stuff!

2010-10-06T11:28:00.000-07:00

Found this photo of the video installation that went with the five summer stories paintings. It's a short montage of "important" surf films/movies from the 1960s to the 2000s. Included in no order are: Five Summer Stories, The Endless Summer, Summer Super Series, The Seedling, & some O'neill video with Rat Boy. Basically all of the films used have the same basic scene types over five decades. The surfing may have changed but the films really haven't...

Installation shot of self portrait with Joe Strummer & Juice Newton 2004/5. I still have this piece and it's always a fun one for me to look at. I used a lot of different techniques here, so it's a good one to spend time with, plus there's Juice and Joe.

untitled 1993. Oil and acrylic on canvas. Not a great painting, but I still have it. It was my first commissioned painting but the client wasn't into it... I'm certain I got all butt-hurt over it but I can't throw it out. I came up with this brilliant idea in the bathtub from what I can recall.

lost and found series 2006 and ongoing... I painted the sleeping Mexican and the sun rays. Pretty sure this belonged to Michael Brunswick before I pulled it out of a dumpster at Otis in 2005. I've since passed it on to Gilda and she sent it to another artist. I really like this one too.

swan princess 2005. Painted for a friend, it was a nice painting until their house burnt to the ground.

and a nice detail... I LOVE the setting sun in the skull's eye.

Probably why I often get called an asshole. I made this "official license" for one AB. AB thinks that he paints like Pablo Picasso and that he only needed art school for "a piece of paper." I disagree so I had Picasso himself sign this license for him. School is WAAAAAY too expensive, but it was a valuable experience for me in terms of what I make. He didn't take his paper and leave like I had hoped.

more pictures...

2010-10-05T23:21:00.000-07:00

Time to dig up some more old stuff and maybe have a peek at what I've been up to in the garage!

el masoquista made in 2005. It's a portrait of Gary Busey as Leroy The Masochist in the AMAZING film, Big Wednesday, 1977? I dunno, find your own sources... This fine piece belongs to my tattoo artist now.

five summer stories #2 2006. Early early brush stroke painting. House paint, spray paint, enamel, acrylic, ink, love, patience. This painting started a very interesting path that I'm still happily chaining myself to in terms of content and form/materials/aesthetic.

five summer stories #1 aka "A-Frame" 2005. More early experimentation with the brush strokes as painted representations of water. Also one of my favorites sold to a collector. That Raymond Pettibon wave I stole looks bad ass.

nostalgia (Phoebe Cates portrait) 2006. Lots of paints mixed again, lots going on. It's a shitty picture and it's all I have so take it for what it's worth. This one was real fun to make and pretty much fell together. It was an easy sell. It also went really well with a video installation that has since been lost...

...if only I knew a video editor to help me put it back together...

untitled (the skirt advert) 2004/5? One of many representation of representation avenues... It's a beautiful painting. It will still look good in years to come... Gifted a few years ago :) - well, made as a gift.

thrift store painting 2005. I LOVE this painting. There's a story, but I ain't 'a tellin'

lost and found series, surfing Virgin Mary 2006/7. A sweet little painting from someone's (Soonie Makaena, maybe?) tossed out "failure" of a painting at Otis. I have a good collection of these and can always use more. They're great to pass around to other artists. And if you make a good one, you've recycled enough to kill a baby harp seal or six on the voucher program.

Generously, donated to one CRB. really, it was a good gift because this is a fucking good piece.

los vaqueros de las olas #? 2004/5. Another fun series of paintings. I stole the name from Hilbers' and Putnam's crew. There's some content, but you won't care because these are some straight ahead good paintings. If you can guess the "cowboy" right first, I'll do something nice... same applies to all from this series.

shacking.

there are two cowboys here.

I have a shit-load more to upload, but I'm tired. I have a LOT to get to including some good stories from the olden days of exploring and boozing!

cheers,
s.