Lenticular of the day

I've been making my own 3D lenticulars since 2002. This is a recent one I made called "Syd Creeper". It's a digital collage done in late 2009. If you click the image below, you'll see an animated simulation of what the piece looks like in real life:

Sketch from high school

Back in 1986-87, I would hang out in my art class at Windward High School in the afternoons when school let out and work on copying photos of supermodels into my sketchbook. I used to love drawing Paulina Porizkova. She was my favorite. Not sure if the image below is her, but this is definitely one of my efforts from that period.

How I got my original Robert Williams sketch

Robert Williams is the founding father of Lowbrow Art, a term that has been used to describe my work as well. Being a big fan of his paintings since the early 90's, it was an honor to meet the man on a number of occasions. At a gallery opening back in 1999, I ran into him wearing a bright red jacket. Williams looked at me and said "Howard, I love that jacket. Where did you get it? I've been looking all over the place for one like that!" I told him I found it at a suit shop Hollywood and made him a deal: I'd go pick another one up for him and bring it by his house and art studio in the next few days. He can pay me for it then. We agreed and I got his address. When I went to get the jacket, I wondered... Would he do an exchange for a piece of original art? I was almost embarrassed to ask, but figured I had to. Surprisingly, Mr. Williams agreed, and that's how I got the original sketch for the 1997 painting "The Mexican Goat Sucker"! I recently went to a Robert Williams tribute show at Barnsdale Art Park in Los Feliz and wore my red jacket. Williams was there, saw me, and once again commented: "That's a nice red jacket you got there!" I told him: "I know! I got you one just like it about 10 years ago!" He whispered to me: "Yeah, but it looks like mine is in better shape!"

My sketch I got in exchange for a red jacket!

The final painting

Robt. Williams wearing the red jacket

More strange old pictures from my college days at UCLA

This was a series of 5 linocuts done around 1992 called "All The Madmen".

Thanksgiving Prayer 2010

This is a parody of THIS.

To hear an audio version of this, CLICK HERE

To William S. Burroughs 

and hope he is still alive.


Thanksgiving Day 

November 25 2010

Thanks for The Carls Jr.
Six Dollar Jalapeño Burger,
destined to be shat out through
wholesome American guts.



Thanks for a continent of 

Anonymous
 4chan teenagers.
posting gore porn and cp
just for the lulz. 



Thanks for vast herds of noobs
to kill in Warcraft and Call of Duty,
earning you major pwnage.

Thanks for bounty hunters
like Boba Fett.



Thanks for "The American Dream",


a great Love and Rockets song
and the last track on their album Express. 

Thanks for Adult Swim and Comedy Central.



For industrial steampunk goth girls
with customized I-Phones. 

For a generation of crack babies
all grown up, with ADHD

and no jobs.



Thanks for "My Child Beat Up
Your Honor Student" stickers. 



Thanks for stem cell research. 

Thanks for Cialis and Adderall
and weed stores on every corner. 



Thanks for digital social networks and Twitter
giving us all intimate details
we never needed to know.


Thanks for a nation of douchebags. 



Yes, thanks for all the
 memories--

all right let's see 
if you can Triforce! 



You always were a newfag and


all your base are belong to us.

Thanks for the latest and greatest
version 2.0 of human dreams,
soon to be outdated and
in need of an upgrade.

Strange Tales custom covers project

In honor of the publication of the first softcover edition of the Doctor Strange Marvel Masterworks Vol. 1 coming out today, I figure I would feature a link to my Custom Strange Tales covers. The immortal Steve Ditko (co-creator of Spider-Man and Doctor Strange with Stan Lee) did not have his work gracing the covers of any of the issues in the legendary run he had on that title... except for issue #146, the last one he did. OK, maybe he had some floating heads or half a cover here and there, but mostly Ditko's Doctor Strange gave up the cover space for Nick Fury or The Human Torch. This inspired me to re-create vintage Strange Tales comic covers WITH Dr. Strange on the cover from Ditko's Dr. Strange interior art (and a few covers John Byrne did back in the 80's). Then I actually attached my replica covers to low grade copies of the original comic books. Click below to see the results:

CLICK HERE TO SEE INTERIOR SHOTS AND INNER COVER DESIGNS FOR EACH OF THESE COMICS!

Movie poster of the day

This rare Tron poster came free in the Los Angeles Times the weekend the movie came out back in 1982. I remember taking it to Tower Records in Westwood, CA. to get it signed by one of the guys who worked on special effects for the movie, Glenn Campbell (not the rock star). He wrote: "Howie, don't de-rezz" in the yellow area in the bottom left corner...  Ironically, that signature has all but de-rezzed in this JPEG. Why Tower Records had the animation compositing camera guy signing autographs and not one of the stars of the film there is a mystery that remains with me to this day...

Prints of The Picture Of Everything are now available for pre-order!

Click here or on the image below to grab one! Limited to 420 signed and numbered movie poster sized prints (27" x 39"), available through the La Luz de Jesus Gallery/Soap Plant online store!

Custom made Cthulhu Action Figure

Long before Monsterclix created a Cthulhu sculpture, and Little Gloomys came out with the Carl Cthulhu doll, and various plush Cthulhu figures could be bought with cuddly stuffed tentacles, I decided to make a Cthulhu figure myself from various spare parts and sculpy. I actually won an early contest in Toyfare Magazine for my efforts!

A sketch from Los Bros Hernandez

Back in 1986 I was really into Love and Rockets comics. I went to meet the Hernandez Brothers, Gilbert and Jaime, down at a comic book store on Hollywood Blvd that is long gone. I somehow convinced them to do a sketch with a 15 year old me posing with their characters Maggie and Luba. Here's the results: