88 Strong and other projects

 

It's starting to look a lot like fall here in the Pacific Northwest (but admittedly summer was a bit of a let down this year), and that means that work is starting to come at a regular pace and that I'm scheduling my time on a weekly basis. Which means, more regular blog posts (for those ten people out there who really care), more comic work for Neo-Trash and for myself, and the other odds and ends that round out a healthy free-lancers schedule. 

I'm particularly excited and proud to be a part of an upcoming show here in Portland called '88 Strong'. The whole concept behind the show is that 88 (or more) artists are provided with 8 8x8 inch boards to work on, and a list of 88 terms/phrases to draw inspiration from. When the show is up and ready to view later on this month, the pieces are hung by category, and presented in an anonymous fashion on the wall. Some would poo poo this idea stating concerns for proper credit given to the artist of each piece, but my take on it is similar to the guys who curate and put on this show. The idea of a level playing field my seem like a naive concept when it comes to the 'artworld', however to me, it means that as a first time participant, my work might be given as much consideration as an artist who is 'someone' here in Portland. Of course, the back of each board is signed, and has my business card taped to it (I'm not right off the turnip truck here folks), so if you really buy my stuff you'll know right away who did it. It also marks the first time in a long time that I've painted my works, and just working on these eight pieces has reinvigorated my passion for paint and brush. It would seem that being a slave to line is detrimental, and all it takes is a little paint to remind you of that. With that being said, if you've got $50, you can come down to The GoodFoot on Thursday Sept. 29th and walk with a great piece of original art that won't break the bank and will stroke the ego of some young up and comers here in the Portland area. Don't worry, I'll remind you. The illustration at the top of this post is 'Junk' (or my interpretation of that concept). Enjoy...

Daniel DePaolo