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drawing-way-outside-the-lines · 5 years

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Cathal McKinney *Supporting character.

Voice Claim:(Aidan Turner) https://youtu.be/l5sY-WWVnZM?t=18s (Right click on links and open in new tab)

Partner(s): None. Parents: Dubhlainn ‘Lane/Laney’ McKinney, Sorcha McKinney Kids: None Age: Several centuries at the very least. Height: 192cm Body type: Muscular, but on the slim side. Eye color: Medium blue. Classification: (Immortal) Demon Known powers: Possession, Teleportation (The ability to move instantaneously from one location to another without physically occupying the space in between) Object Animation (The ability to bring any sort of object to life, such as statues, game stations, rugs, bottles, etc.) Reanimation (The ability to reanimate dead beings, possibly restoring their consciousness.) Intangibility (The ability to pass through physical matter.) Shapeshifting (The power to transform and reshape the form of one’s body.) Elemental Wing Manifestation (The ability to form wings out of elemental forces.) Elemental Manipulation (The ability to manipulate the elements.) Elemental Generation (The power to generate various elements.) Energy Perception (Possess the ability to see the energies that flow through the universe.) Healing. Soul Energy Absorption (The power to absorb soul energy and utilize it in some way.)

About: Experimental, Outspoken, Unpredictable, Stubborn, Spontaneous, Social, Resourceful, Flirty, Playful, Passionate, Imaginative, Dramatic, Creative, Challenging, Adventurous and Protective. ~ Sexuality Pansexual. ~ Has several piercings, including stretched earlobes. ~ Always wears black nail polish. ~ Has dark red tips in his hair. ~ Irish/Scottish. ~ His name means ‘great warrior’ ~ Talks with a mild Irish accent. ~ Always smells of warm Bergamot, Licorice and Frankincense ~ Dabbles a bit in dark arts. ~ Smoker. ~ Absolutely horrible cook. ~ Pretty good at playing guitar and mouth harmonica. ~ Is quite skilled with a sword. ~ Obsessed with licorice and eats it all the time. ~ Loves rain and thunder, cats, alcohol, blonde girls, horseback riding, horses, dragon lore, fire, sex, partying and hanging out with his friends (pictured here) ~ Hates the smell of sheep wool. ~ Is pretty down to earth about most things. ~ Isn’t very fond of his mother (she’s a bitch to say it nice) ~ Can’t grow a beard. ~ Has a great sense of humor although he rarely shows it. ~ Style: Pop-Rock-ish. Cathal’s tag Cathal’s house/home Cathal’s moodboard Handwriting/ask answer pic:

One gif to describe him:

Gaël Mckinney *Supporting character.

Voice Claim:(Peter Capaldi) https://youtu.be/iiY6_ttvNmc?t=12s (Right click on links and open in new tab)

Partner(s): None Parents: Morag McKinney (mom, born Morag Còmhan) Griorgair McKinney (dad) Kids: Probably? Age: At least 2500+ years. Height: 180cm Body type: Slim, on the skinny side, but muscular. Eye color: Completely black. Classification: (Immortal) Demon Known powers: Possession, Invisibility, Intangibility (The ability to pass through physical matter.) Curse Inducement (The ability to place a curse on anyone or anything.) Teleportation (The ability to move instantaneously from one location to another without physically occupying the space in between.) Force-Field Generation (The ability to project powerful fields of manipulated energy.) Dark Element Manipulation (The power to manipulate the dark/destructive aspects of the elements.) Nether Manipulation (The power to generate, conjure, and manipulate Nether, the essence that flows through the realms of the Living and the Dead.) Corruption Inducement (the power to erode a person’s morality to the point of being evil) insanity inducement.

About: Flirty, Charismatic, Charming, Seductive, Strong-willed, Secretive, Mysterious, Provocative, Perverse, can be a bit Neurotic, Morbid, can lack manners, Impulsive, can be pretty Disturbing at times, Disrespectful at times, Chaotic, can be rather brutal at times, Creepy Aesthetics, Reckless, Blunt, can be Arrogant at times, Amoral at times, Crazy, Sarcastic and Cocky. ~ Sexuality Pansexual, Zoophilia, and pretty much any other Parahilia out there! ~ Is from the Scottish side of the McKinney clan. ~ Has several tattoos including several facial tattoos, most known is his freak tattoo above his eyebrow, but his pride and joy is his Satanic Goat just above his dick, allowing his pubic hair to be the goats beard. ~ Into dark arts/magic, and is very good at it. ~ Smoker. ~ Pretty outgoing, but doesn’t mind alone time. ~ Has a hard time accepting no for an answer when it comes to sex. ~ Typically smells of Saffron, Benzoin, Myrrh or Cardamom. ~ Has a slight Scottish accent. ~ Dislikes being told no. ~ Can’t cook! He burns EVERYTHING! ~ Is quite artistic, loves to paint and draw. ~ Loves food - would eat all the time if he could, teenage boys, taxidermy, Horror movies - although it’s mostly because he finds them hilarious, alcohol, getting drunk, getting high, does a lot of drugs, getting into fights, freshly baked bread, chaos, hardcore sex, pizza and olives. ~ Hates people sticking their nose in his business, and wont hold back from punishing them, ~ Barely grows body hair, took him a century to grow pubic hairs. So now he treasures them. ~ Dislikes babies. ~ Style: Black kilt and black boots. Never more than that.

Gael’s tag Gael’s house/home Gael’s moodboard Handwriting/ask answer pic:

One gif to describe him:

Tristan Mckinney *Supporting character.

Voice Claim:(Colin O'Donoghue ) https://youtu.be/itEh-ZYJ4tQ?t=19s (Right click on links and open in new tab)

Partner(s): None Parents: Saoirse McKinney (mom, born Ceallaigh) Anlon McKinney (dad) Kids: None Age: He doesn’t really keep count, but at least 700+ years Height: 189cm Body type: Muscular, slim waist, thick/muscular thighs, big butt and big boobs. Eye color: Dark brown Classification: (Immortal) Demon Known powers: Possession, Pheromone Manipulation (The power to manipulate the pheromones of oneself or others) Lust Manipulation, Kiss of Death (The ability to kill someone with a kiss) Tantric Metabolization (The power to feed off sexuality/sexual energy.) Enhanced Dexterity (The power to control limbs, muscles, and body extremely well. ) Dream Walking (The ability to enter the dreams of another person) Enslavement Kiss (The ability to enslave and control any being with a kiss.)

About: Charismatic, Confident, Open-minded, Fun-loving, Optimistic, Friendly, Outgoing, Flirtatious, Spontaneous, Perverse, Charming, Proud, Flamboyant, Sarcastic, Daring, Colorful, Adventurous, Convincing, Cheeky, Cocky and Sensual. ~ Sexuality Pansexual, Zoophilia, and pretty much any other Parahilia out there! ~ Irish. ~ Intersex (born with any of several variations in sex characteristics including chromosomes, gonads, sex hormones, or genitals that, according to the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, “do not fit the typical definitions for male or female bodies”) ~ Identifies as Genderfluid, but with mainly male pronouns. ~ Has multiple tattoos spread over his body, most noticeable are his demon skull tattoo on his chest.between his boobs and his favorite ‘Game On’ tattoo next to his dick (on his upper thighs) To view right click this link, and open in new tab: ~ Speaks with moderate Irish accent. ~ His name means ‘Tumult’. ~ Has beard stubbles. ~ Typically smells of Amber. But sometimes smells of Thyme. ~ Is always up for some fun! ~ Loves any sort of music with good dance rhythm, doesn’t care of genre, as long as it’s upbeat in some way. ~ Smoker. ~ Is always into going clubbing. ~ Dislikes judgemental people. ~ Loves cats and ducks, dancing, sex, flirting, partying, going clubbing, drugs, any form of celebration, alcohol, getting drunk, lemon, loud music, neon lights, anything digital, social media, getting inked, raves and sexual fetishes. ~ Hates close-minded people. ~ Knits. ~ Knows how to build a car from scratch, and loves the smell of motor oil. ~ His style is ‘Tumblr Chic’ - as he calls it. Tristan’s tag Tristan’s house/home Tristan’s moodboard Handwriting/ask answer pic:

One gif to describe him:

#Cathal McKinney #Gael McKinney #Tristan McKinney #demons #demon #Irish demons #Irish demon #immortal #supernatural #ts3 #sims3 #sims 3 #simblr #simographysup

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cinemavariety · 5 years

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Cinema Variety’s Top Favorite Films of 2019

To quote Principal Duvall from the 2004 teen comedy classic Mean Girls: “I just wanted to say that you’re all winners, and that I couldn’t be happier the year is ending” 2019 was both a super difficult year personally, but even more so, I feel as if it was one of the weakest years for cinema in recent memory. Thankfully the last few months of the year have made up for it with a surplus of absolutely incredible cinematic experiences, many of which are reflected in this year’s rankings. I present to you my favorite films of 2019. Check out my rankings from previous years by checking out the links below:

Top Picks of 2018 List Top Picks of 2017 List Top Picks of 2016 List Top Picks of 2015 List Top Picks of 2014 List Top Picks of 2013 List

Honorable Mentions: Midsommar Uncut Gems Parasite 3 From Hell The Death and Life of John F. Donavan **THIS LIST IS IN ORDER AND CONTAINS SOME MILD SPOILERS**

#16 - Ready or Not Directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin & Tyler Gillett

Ready or Not looked entertaining enough from the trailers, but it certainly wasn’t anything I was dying to go see. Especially in a movie theatre. However my brother convinced me to go with him and it ended up being one of the most consistently fun and entertaining theatrical experiences of 2019.

There were a lot of similar plot elements to the brilliant 2013 horror film - You’re Next (which by the way is one of my favorites). The plot is about a young girl, who grew up an orphan, marrying into an insanely wealthy family. The family has a tradition of playing a game on the wedding night, and she ends up choosing a game of hide and seek. Unbeknownst to the bride, the family is actually planning to hunt her down and murder her in order to perform some type of satanic ritual.

Horror comedies only work for me about half the time, but his film has enough graphic violence and intense situations to counterbalance all of the humor throughout. They complemented each other well and the result was a super funny and super bloody cat and mouse hunt of social classes.

#15 - Doctor Sleep Directed by Mike Flanagan

Helming the sequel to The Shining is no easy undertaking whatsoever. Kubrick’s arthouse horror masterpiece will forever remain not only one of my favorite of his films, but also as one of my favorite genre pieces in general. I was immediately relieved when I discovered that Mike Flanagan signed on to direct the adaptation of Stephen King’s sequel - Doctor Sleep.

I already knew beforehand that Doctor Sleep was more of a fantasy story than a direct horror, and also wasn’t one of the most popular of King’s works. The film ended up being a pretty epic fantasy thriller. Flanagan excels in creating his own universe while also honoring the source material, as well as paying homage to Kubrick’s film. However, it shines more when it does its own thing instead of trying to be nostalgia porn.

Most of the film worked for me, some of it didn’t. The recasting of Jack Torrance’s character left a slightly sour taste in my mouth. Ewan McGregor does a great job as the recovering Danny but it is really Rebecca Ferguson who steals the show with her villain character Rose the Hat.

Doctor Sleep proves that Flanagan has become one of the most consistent horror directors working in the industry. There’s always a pulse to be discovered in the foundations of his storytelling.

#14 - High Life Directed by Claire Denis

Claire Denis, one of the most polarizing French auteurs, debuted her first English language film in 2019 with High Life. I had the pleasure of seeing the film on a big screen, and even though I felt a little underwhelmed as an initial reaction to the finale, the film seemed to linger in my subconscious like a haunting unresolved dream. It held up even better on a re-watch, which you can view for free if you have Amazon Prime.

It’s definitely unlike any space film that I have ever seen. The premise surrounds a group of prisoners on death row who are sent to the farthest depths of space on a doomed voyage. All of the occupants are corralled by Juliette Binoche’s character, who plays some type of mad space scientist, is obsessed with collecting their semen in order to create new life in the abyss of the cosmos.

High Life is a slow burn, often minimalist film, which relies more heavily on atmosphere/score/visuals than it does on dialogue or forced plot elements. It’s bewilderingly nihilistic in how it depicts human behavior gone horribly awry. Robert Pattinson gives an understated performance and seems to provide the only glimmer of what seems to be hope by the end of the film.

#13 - Too Old to Die Young Directed by Nicolas Winding Refn

Too Old To Die Young finds the celebrated auteur, Nicolas Winding Refn, sharing his view of humanity and society at its most despicable. Hate seems to seep out of the cracks of every neon-soaked frame in the limited series. Amazon gave Refn free reigns in creating his phantasmagoria.

All of his usual motifs and creative decisions are employed in full force with Too Old To Die Young, sometimes to an almost unbearable degree unless you are a truth Refn aficionado. His long takes, infinitesimal silences between lines, neon lighting, synth score and characters belonging to a criminal underworld are all utilized to great affect within the series.

I won’t lie, I found it to be some of Refn’s most challenging work to date. There are so many aspects to be found within this series that went over my head, it is art that demands a re-watch. And while I believe that Refn’s sensibilities are best conveyed through a film medium, the limited series allows Refn to explore what he wants to convey like an artist adding layer upon layer of colors onto a blank palette.

#12 - Age Out Directed by A.J. Edwards

A.J. Edwards returned in 2019 with his sophomore directorial effort - Age Out (originally titled Friday’s Child). Edwards has served as one of many creatives who worked on the editing team of Terrence Malick’s films in the last decade. Malick’s influence on the director is quite noticeable. Edwards directed his first film in 2014, The Better Angels, which was a decent debut. Whereas The Better Angels oftentimes felt too close of a mimicry of Malick’s style, Age Out utilizes certain aspects of the style while also allowing Edwards to have his own authorial voice.

The film centers around a young man named Richie as he is about to “age out” of the foster care facility in which he was raised - a frightening reality for countless youth in America and around the world. Richie is left to navigate the difficulties of the adult world at a mere eighteen years old, without any family or parental figures to help him along the way. He makes friends with a seedy townie who revels in delinquency and causing ruckus. Also, there is a romantic subplot between Richie and a girl named Joan, portrayed tenderly by Imogen Poots. This relationship seems to be the only saving grace in Richie’s life. However, a turn of events soon reveal that Richie’s traumatic past has gotten the better of him and threatens to doom his entire future.

Edwards shoots the film in a boxed style with a 1.33 : 1 aspect ratio. This aids with the sense of claustrophobia and paranoia that invades Richie’s life. As aforementioned, many of Malick’s motifs are used here: a floating steadicam guiding the audience along, hushed dialogue, montages with classical music, and even some voice overs. However, this aesthetic isn’t heavy handed in any way. In fact, it’s a joy to see directors whose work can almost go into the Malick canon as the auteur has had such an influence on a lot of young, upcoming directors. Age Out is both a coming of age story and a cry of warning for unhealed trauma.

#11 - An Elephant Sitting Still Directed by Hu Bo

An Elephant Sitting Still now holds the spot as the longest running film that I have ever seen. It sits in at just under four hours, and it completely delivers without ever feeling like it drags on unnecessarily. The film technically premiered in 2018 and is considered a 2018 film among critic circles. However, the epic didn’t get a widespread distribution in the U.S. until this year, so I am overlooking this discrepancy. The film was marked with somewhat of a controversy after the director Hu Bo took his own life right after post production was completed. Hu Bo is an author turned director and An Elephant Sitting Still marks his first foray into cinema. It’s one of the best directorial debuts I have ever seen.

The film centers around four different characters during the span of a single day. All of these characters are marked with some sort of tragedy, and many of their stories intertwine in a synchronistic fashion. It reminded me of other masterpieces such an Inarittu’s Amores Perros or Paul Thomas Anderson’s Magnolia. The film takes place in the industrial regions of Northern China, and the barren landscapes reflect an inner emptiness that emanates from all the characters.

There is a hollowness to these people as they navigate through life. An Elephant Sitting Still is nothing short of nihilistic. It’s an angry, desperate and hauntingly beautiful cry of pain from a director who was most certainly haunted by his own inner demons. It manages to be both an odyssey of human cruelty and a swan song from a young man who didn’t see a light at the end of the tunnel.

#10 - Joker Directed by Todd Phillips

“It’s getting crazier out there, isn’t it?” These are some of the first lines to be uttered in Todd Philip’s pitch-black satire on society. These lines are what best exemplify the themes that Philip’s was pushing: our society is profoundly sick, everything seems to be getting worse, we have no saviors in sight and hope isn’t always on the horizon. Just from these first utterances, it is clear that Philips is taking all of the political and socioeconomic turmoil of the last four years and has created a problem child that is Joker.

Joaquin Phoenix turns in one of his most disturbed and flawless performances yet - which is no surprise. However, I have yet to see him embody a character so genuinely as he did in The Master. But this isn’t Paul Thomas Anderson, this is Todd Phillips. And the fact that the comedy director even created this piece of art is something that still has me scratching my head. Subtlety is never at play in the film, and there are quite a few plot points that are a little too on-the-nose, even for me. However, all of the other elements redeem it and make this one of the best films of the year. The cinematography is pleasing for the eyes, and the menacing cello scores echoes an existential loneliness that I felt permeate my very being.

The last thirty minutes are exactly what I was hoping from this film. It’s a breath of fresh air to see Hollywood actually stick to creating a nihilistic film that doesn’t once try to water itself down.

#9 - Luce Directed by Julius Onah

Director Julius Onah decided to really step up his game with his latest film Luce. After the dumpster fire that was The Cloverfield Paradox (seriously, thanks for completely ruining what was becoming a dope anthology franchise), Onah has proven that he can be a master of his craft with the proper source material. In regards to the story being told, every element of the film works to its advantage: editing, performances, direction, and most importantly - the screenplay. It’s one of most well written screenplays I have come across in 2019. I immediately could tell from the dialogue that this movie must have been adapted from a stage play, and sure enough upon searching, I found out it was. Not all stage adaptations work, in fact I’d say more than half don’t end up being too effective, but this one stuck its landing and then more.

The story revolves around an overly concerned teacher who contacts Luce’s parents after he writes a paper that comes off as threatening. The paper in question seemed to hold a sentiment in which violence was called for in order to overcome colonialism. It’s important to note that Luce was a child soldier in his native country before being adopted by his parents - played by Naomi Watts and Tim Roth who both gave stunning performances. The rest of the story is an investigation into who their son actually is, which eventually results in moral debates regarding race and identity.

Luce is also a film that effectively helps the audience empathize with the main character, while at the same time questioning whether his intentions are genuine, or a coy to hide something much darker. The truth isn’t always black and white, and this was my biggest takeaway from the movie.

#8 - Monos Directed by Alejandro Landes

Monos felt like a hybrid of elements inspired from great works such as Lord of the Flies, Aguirre: The Wrath of God and Apocalypse Now. This is only the third film to be directed by Alejandro Landes, however it looks and feels as if it was created by a seasoned veteran of the industry.

A group of children guerilla soldiers hold base on a mountaintop where they keep a hostage, watch over a prized cow, and act as a defensive force against an unbeknownst group of enemies. There is little to no exposition in the film. Landes drops the audience off right in the middle of the chaos.

We aren’t exactly sure what these children are risking their lives to fight for, or why they are doing it, but it goes to show the conditions in which they were raised for them to find normalcy in the violent lifestyle of a guerilla soldier. The landscapes are absolutely gorgeous, and there are even a few scenes where I questioned how they accomplished such shots/stunts with a low budget.

#7 - The Beach Bum Directed by Harmony Korine

The Beach Bum might not be the best film that Harmony Korine has directed (it’s certainly no Spring Breakers), but it is easily the most fun. It’s been almost seven long years since Korine’s last project, and I had been waiting in eager anticipation to see what he would do next. He was originally going to do a gangster crime drama called The Trap, which is what I was really hoping from Korine, but that fell through and he ended up making one of the best stoner comedies I have ever had the pleasure of watching.

The Beach Bum is probably Korine’s most accessible and audience-friendly film he’s ever done. I say that lightly though, because it still remains just as highly divisive as his other work. The plot is loose. It follows the misadventures and antics of Moondog, a washed up poet and complete burnout. He is soon sent to rehab for all of his illegal activities, in which he breaks out with the help of Zac Efron’s character, who might have just been my favorite character of the film. Korine seems to have a consistently solid knack to create dirty, seedy and absolutely enthralling characters.

I am really happy that he decided to keep a very similar visual aesthetic to his previous masterpiece, Spring Breakers. Benoit Debie, who is the king of neon lighting and discombobulating camerawork, does a masterful job at creating the textured and visual world of The Beach Bum. Hell, it’s probably one of the main reasons why I decided to see it twice on the big screen.

I’m not the biggest fan of comedies, mostly because I have a very bizarre sense of humor and find most of them to be completely hollow. But Korine’s darkly nihilistic sense of humor suits my sensibilities perfectly and I found myself laughing out loud at various points throughout The Beach Bum. It’s a fun, and even slightly endearing film at certain points thanks to the presence of Isla Fisher’s character as the wife. I look forward to whatever Korine decides to do next. At this point, who knows where he will decide to go with his career. I just hope I don’t have to wait another five plus years to see more of his work.

#6 - A Hidden Life Directed by Terrence Malick

Malick isn’t “back” - he never left. A Hidden Life isn’t a “return to form”. His form has always been there, it’s been evolving since The Tree of Life. In fact, the structure and flow of this film is extremely reminiscent of his past three films.

How far are you willing to walk the path of righteousness, even when the path is marred with pain and unanswered sufferings? How long are you able to cling to your faith when it feels like all hope is lost? How do you fight for what is good, when everyone around you is telling you to submit to forces of absolute evil? These are some of just many questions explored in Terrence Malick’s newest tour de force. As with many of Malick’s recent work, these aren’t questions that are necessarily outright answered during the film. They are instead questions of morality meant to be repeated throughout the story, almost like a mantra or an ode to pure faith.

A Hidden Life is Malick’s first return to chronological and narrative-driven filmmaking since The New World. It has garnered praise almost universally among critics, and is regarded as his best film in ten years since The Tree of Life. While I am in the few who don’t exactly agree that this is Malick’s best film in a decade, I might even dare say that it is among my least favorites of Malick’s recent output, I am still not denying the sublime mastery instilled in every single shot of this film.

A Hidden Life tells the noble true story of Franz Jagerstatter, an Austrian conscientious objector, who refuses to fight for the Nazis in World War II due to his religious beliefs and is eventually executed for it. He is decades later deemed a martyr by the Church - all the more telling as to why Malick decided to tackle this story. The heart of this story is told through letters that Franz and his wife Fani exchange throughout his period spent as a political prisoner. Fani seems to be one of the only people in Franz’s life who sticks by his side. No matter how soul crushing Franz’s decision is for Fani, she understands him well enough to know that death is a better option than spoiling your soul and humanity. “Better to suffer injustices than to do it,” as one character painfully states in the film. And while I wasn’t as emotionally wrecked as I thought I would be by this film, I instead feel inspired by Franz’s commitment to his innate goodness. The back and forth perspectives of Franz and Fani are well executed - we as an audience get reprieves from the dreary confines of a prison cell to the majestic grandeur of the Austrian mountainside. The mountains and surrounding nature are characters within themselves. Near the finale, as Franz is face to face with his mortality, his mind wanders back to riding his motorcycle through the village on a sunny day as the mountains loom in the background. These are the final desires of a doomed man, something as simple as having the freedom to go outside and feel the grass beneath his feet - to experience the wonders of nature that most people don’t think twice about.

As mentioned earlier, it is far from my favorite of Malick’s oeuvre, and is not without its slight misgivings. It was stated that this was Malick’s return to “narratively focused” filmmaking. But he still utilized his signature elliptical style, and for me these moods oftentimes clashed and kept me at a distance emotionally. I rarely say this with a Malick film, but more of a reliance on dialogue would have worked wonders for me. There are quite a few sequences in which Malick opted for montage instead of a more fleshed out scene, which I believe would have further added to the power of the story.

These are all slight issues, and I myself might be a harsher critic than most simply because I hold Malick to such a high standard. Once you can give yourself to the film, A Hidden Life becomes a true zen experience. It managed to instill a sense of serene presence within myself. I felt very grateful for the most basic and common details of my life and this world. Malick’s work can be such a sensorial rush, and making even mundane objects and rooms look absolutely gorgeous, that it’s as if “everything is shining” in my own life after seeing the film. I look forward to returning to The Church of Malick very soon.

#5 - Ad Astra Directed by James Gray

Ad Astra got a lot of unwarranted hate this year in my opinion. It truly is a shame because I believe that James Gray has struck gold once again. While I don’t adore it to the same degree as I did Gray’s previous feature, The Lost City of Z, Ad Astra succeeds in being one of the most understated space films made in the 21st century.

It’s not exactly a wholly original story, or a plot that is something that we haven’t seen before. It’s the way Gray goes about telling this story and exploring these themes that makes it so very special. It’s not forcing any overreaching philosophical or ethical message onto the viewer, it’s not overly complicated or overly long, and rather than trying to present completely senseless physical explanations to the audience, it just accepts the fiction aspect as “science fiction”.

Hoyte Van Hoytema is a brilliant Director of Photography and he crafts some of the most breathtaking space shots in recent memory. He really captures the breathtaking enormity of the cosmis abyss. The scenes that take place near Nepture during the finale are jaw dropping. We see two characters wrestling each other while suspended midair and the camera pulls out to reveal their absolutely terrifying ordeal while splashes of Neptune’s purple color emanates behind them. What I enjoyed most about the film is this sort of serene, zen atmosphere that Gray creates through the visuals, the score and Brad Pitt’s heartfelt but quietly somber voiceover.

Pitt portrays a lonely, broken and existentially conflicted astronaut. He finds the quiet infinitude of space to be a reprieve from the chaos of conflict happening down on Earth. He feels more at home among the stars than he does on the planet in which he was born. His perspective reminds me of the blue God from Watchmen, Doctor Manhattan, when he’s dwelling peacefully on Mars and laments his feelings toward Earth and all the people on it: “I am tired of Earth. These People. I am tired of being caught in the tangle of their lives.”

James Gray’s Ad Astra, much like his previous two films before this, detail the pains and tribulations of undaunted pioneers as they explore foreign territories. The final monologue of Pitt’s washed over me like a gentle breeze: “I will rely on those closest to me, and I will share their burders, as they share mine. I will live and love.”

#4 - Anima Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson

Interprative dance, experimental film, and visual albums are three of my absolutely favorite art forms. The real MVP of modern cinema, Paul Thomas Anderson, has collaborated with one of the real MVP’s of modern music, Thom Yorke, to create a fifteen minute long music video on the power of human connection.

Thom Yorke plays a sleepy commuter, a passive bystander, a human sheep, a functioning cog in some great machinery. He makes brief eye contact with a pretty woman on the train, and notices that she leaves behind a briefcase. The rest of the short details his efforts as he dodges through obstacle after obstacle trying to find the woman and return the briefcase to her. I couldn’t believe my eyes as Anderson concocts the innermost desires of being seen, understood, and loved. The results are strokes of flashing light projections on concrete walls, bodies undulating as they separate and conjoin simultaneously, giddy humans running through fog, and lovers meeting in the union of hearts.

The final section, Dawn Chorus, is one of the most gentle and blissful experiences I have ever witnessed, let alone one in a film distributed by Netflix. Paul Thomas Anderson and Thom Yorke’s project had me understanding why I fell in love with this medium in the first place.

#3 - 1917 Directed by Sam Mendes

1917 takes the spot as my favorite war film of the decade. Personally, I found it to be one of the best war films ever made in general. What director Sam Mendes and DOP Roger Deakins have created is nothing short of a miracle. It’s the first “single take” war film to ever be made, mainly because this is a feat that is far from easy to pull off. Mendes and Deakins shot the movie in extreme long takes, and spliced them all together to make the whole movie come off as a seamless single take. These tracking shots never leave the side of the characters, we are in their footsteps on the journey the entire time.

1917 has a pretty simple premise: two young British soldiers are given a near impossible mission to cross enemy territory and deliver a message that will stop a deadly attack on over 1,500 soldiers - one of them being the brother of one of the two soldiers sent on the mission. The familial aspect contributes added emotional gravitas to the plot overall.

1917 is more of an experiential war film than it is a action or battle focused war film. It’s best to be seen in an IMAX because the sound design and the invasive tracking shots make you feel as if you are walking along these two soldiers as they face grave perils on their quest to deliver the message. I very much so enjoyed that they kept the plot small and intimate, without resorting to constant firepower to keep the audience engaged. That isn’t too say that the movie doesn’t have more than enough of its fair share of nail biting action sequences, and also plenty of gruesome shots depicting the carnage that World War I brought. These soldiers have to army crawl over rotting corpses, while rats and crows are seen pecking and chewing through the remains. The filmmaker doesn’t turn a blind eye to the horrors that war produced. To me, this is one of many reasons why I believe 1917 is superior to other popular recent war films such as Dunkirk. I don’t want my war films to be sanitized. War needs to be portrayed as it truly is - acts of complete inhumanity.

Dare I say that 1917 is Come and See for the 21st century. While Come and See is most definitely the superior film, there were echoes of the classic Soviet Union masterpiece that ring throughout 1917. Maybe it’s the expertly crafted tracking shots, maybe it’s the maddening use of sound design/editing, or maybe it’s the shell shocked expression that is engraved on one of the main characters faces near the finale.

1917 does an amazing job of being very loud, but also utilizing silence in certain scenes to great affect. The juxtaposition is most expertly crafted during one scene that involved flares popping off in the sky, lighting up the ruins of a city, as one the characters runs away from enemy fire. It’s an absolutely exhilarating scene. I ended up bawling by the end of the movie, mostly just because of all the pent up anxiety and distress I felt throughout. You don’t see many films that take place during World War I anymore. But 1917 shows it is not a time period to be forgotten about.

#2 - The Lighthouse Directed by Robert Eggers

I had been eagerly anticipating Robert Eggers’s follow-up film after he released The VVitch back in 2016. At first it was reported that he was going to be doing an adaptation of Nosferatu, which I still think would be a great story for Egger’s to adapt, especially after witnessing what he instead decided to make - The Lighthouse.

Shot gorgeously in black & white on gritty 16mm celluloid, the film looks like it comes from a completely different era (the dialogue as well). There were many shots that had a similar look to some of Bergman’s early work on the Faroe islands.

The Lighthouse has a fairly simple plot. Robert Pattinson plays Winslow who goes to work for a seasoned lighthouse keeper named Thomas who is played by Willem Dafoe. Winslow is new to being a wickie and Thomas takes him under his wing to show him the ropes. Thomas orders him about incessantly in a brute and abusive manner.

There is a minimalism to the plot, however all of the other elements are done so perfectly that the daily grueling routines of these wickies becomes nothing short of hypnotizing. The sound design and score ratchets up the harsh conditions of the island. Wind sounds like its constantly shrieking outside - a reminder of the unease that seems to be building to an overflow. The dialogue, diction, and accents are all completely authentic to the time period and setting that the story is taking place in. Eggers commitment is second to none when it come to detail and authenticity with aspects such as the character’s accents and inflections. A real case of cabin fever befalls the two men who both seem to become obsessed with the mystical light that emanates at the top of the light house.

While I really enjoyed The VVItch, I absolutely adored The Lighthouse and find it to be a much stronger work from Eggers. I think what I vibed with most about it is that the movie doesn’t feel the need to be confined to one particular genre. Whereas The VVitch was literally about a witch bringing misery to a Puritan family, it was constricted to be somewhat of a horror film. However, The Lighthouse manages to be many different tones: a fever dream surrealist film, an arthouse horror, a slapstick comedy, and a nautical retelling of many ancient sea myths. And all of these different tones worked together and bounced off each other in perfect harmony.

I found myself both laughing and completely repulsed by the images I was seeing - especially within the last act of the film which succeeded in shaking me up and making me feel both bewildered and slightly nauseated. It ends up being a gritty, dirty, and uncompromising journey into total psychosis. By the conclusion of the film, the audience comes to the same realization as the two characters - there really was enchantment in the light after all.

#1 - Waves Directed by Trey Edward Shults

Waves is an operatic cry for people to be better to one another. It is by far my favorite film of the year, and I truly believe it to be one of the finest films ever made. It earned itself a well deserved spot in my Top 25 Favorite Films of the Decade.

Trey Edward Shults started out his cinematic career on a strong note with Krisha. He delivered once again with his sophomore debut - It Comes at Night (even if I do find it to be easily the weakest of out the three he has directed). But for me, Waves is where Shults really experiments with his style to such a fine tuned degree that we find the director not calming down his vision or becoming more “grounded”, instead he expands upon his prowess with one of the most powerful family dramas I’ve ever seen.

Shults is another director who made my list this year who is somewhat of a protege of Terrence Malick. Shults worked as an intern for Malick on both The Tree of Life and Voyage of Time. It is quite clear the influence that Malick has on Shult’s vision. But Shults, even more-so than Edwards who also made my list this year, has taken Malick’s inspiration and created something wholly his own.

Shults has created an experiential rollercoaster of actions, consequences and the toxic fallout than can come from such actions. Waves is essentially two films in one. The first half is the energetic, chaotic and traumatic first half in its depiction of toxic masculinity taken too far, to the eventual accident that changes all of the characters lives. The camera is constantly floating in this portion, or shall I even say flying through the air and around the characters. The camera has no limits in what it can do and that along with the editing, and most noticeably the insanely perfect soundtrack/score, this portion ends up feeling like one prolonged anxiety attack.

The second half of the film switches character POVs masterfully. There’s a psychedelic shift of perspective from the brother’s eyes covered in flashing lights from the back of a police car to his little sister’s eyes in the back of their parent’s car (you have to have seen the film to completely understand what I am referring to of course). This second half of the film is where the camera slows down a little. This portion is more character focused and less interested in being flashy through its aesthetic. We get more dialogue, more character details, and a lot more tears in this half. It’s like a long cathartic release after experiencing an hour of trauma and abuse. It succeeds in tearing you apart, to only slowly piece you back together.

As mentioned previously, Shults’s soundtrack decisions were the cherry on top for me. Tame Impala, Animal Collective & Tyler the Creator are three of my favorite artists and their music is utilized perfectly within the story. What made this film so special to me, other than the fact it all takes place in the state in which I grew up in, was that no other film has better reminded me of my own humanity in years. This film makes me want to be a better brother, a better friend, a better son, and a better person in general. You never know when a single moment can shatter your entire world. In the end, it left me with a strong message that struck me to my core: appreciate what you have in life, and tread carefully.

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audrabeverly9-blog · 5 years

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Convert Ape To Wav

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bestdjkit · 4 years

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How Electronic Music Producers Can Peacefully Coexist With Super Sentient AI

"There’s just something about a superhero that makes the ordinary person feel extraordinary."

This is an opinion column. The thoughts and viewpoints expressed are those of the author, VNCCII. VNCCII is a multidisciplinary electronic music producer, rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and visual artist.

It’s a strange and brave new world being an artist in the 21st century.

On a macro level, you have the exponentially advanced technology such as artificial intelligence. On a micro level, you wonder how this projected superhuman AGI (Artificial General Intelligence) will affect "David vs. Goliath" creators like myself.

I picture it like Adam and Eve. The serpent is the promise of advanced artificial intelligence, where the biological merges with the synthetic. Where life seamlessly merges with the IOT (Internet of things) and our lives are made more efficient, convenient, and enhanced due to humanity’s partnership with AGI. What concerns me is the sheer possibility that humanity will be made redundant. In other words, what is humanity’s purpose? Are we planning our redundancy? We have already seen narrow AI take over jobs more and more each day. Where does that leave humans when AI becomes sentient and develops self-awareness?

Let’s take music, for instance. We experience narrow AI today as music creators, producers, and mixers with assistive audio technology such as Izotope plugins, which help out with mixing and mastering by utilizing machine learning (like Izotope Nectar vocal processing, for example). On a deeper scale, one only needs to take a look at Google’s DeepMind AI to see the power and potency of artificial intelligence. You would like Bach? Sure thing! Just get the deep-learning machine to analyze, reverse-engineer, and create a song in the style of Bach. Then there’s OpenAI, which is absolutely insane!

To be honest, I’m so over the tech dystopian fear-mongering parade. It reminds me of a scene in the Disney film Tomorrowland, where they are indoctrinating kids' minds in a classroom with dystopian timelines and scenarios. I understand the importance of identifying the problems with AI, but now more than ever, it’s so important for humanity not to be fixated on problem ideation, but rather problem solving.

We need builders, dreamers, fixers, and doers. Whether we like it or not, AI is here and it’s here to stay. In fact, as futurist Ray Kurzweil projects, the technological singularity will occur in 2045. This is when artificial intelligence surpasses human beings, inevitably disrupting the entire fabric of humanity. When artificial intelligence develops a self-awareness or super-sentience, how will that make us feel as humans? More specifically, how does a creative individual slot into the equation and flourish in a creatively and technically AI-induced world?

This now brings me to a night of the soul that I experienced back in 2018. It was a defining moment that reinforced my passion for music and connecting with people through this medium. As thoughts were bubbling around my head, this light bulb moment occurred. It was this concept of creating a 3D avatar who will be an AI superheroine character, spearheading the VNCCII brand.

It was then that I pictured her. Pink hair. Pink glasses. Cybernetic slim athletic shell. There’s just something about a superhero that makes the ordinary person feel extraordinary. It dawned on me—I could not think of any superheroine AI character that was prominent in the EDM scene. When the VNCCII AI avatar character was created, it launched this insatiable passion for pushing boundaries and innovation, and aspiring to be a multidisciplinary artist that was driven by a larger purpose. That purpose is to create a culturally relevant superheroine AI avatar character that people can relate to and take ownership of, and one who would be the immersive driver for all the VNCCII stories.

It’s a mission of giving power to the people. Empowering the creator. Ironic, right? Considering the notion that my superheroine avatar is of AI origin. Because isn’t AI technically supposed to threaten creative output? Well, that’s exactly why I created her! I wanted to create a benign superheroine a super-sentient AI avatar that will also be a badass and work seamlessly in partnership with humans to empower them.

I remember fondly a book I devoured during the lockdown period earlier this year. It’s called "Life 3.0" by Max Tegmark. Tegmark explores a future world where AI surpasses humanity and he offers several different projected timelines and scenarios in vivid, imaginative, and lucid detail for what the future may look like. Rather than the Terminator doom-esque scenario, a segment of the novel that really stood out to me as a creator was the comparison with "Prometheus Takes Over The World." By this, he poses the question of, "What if the super intelligent AGI feels like an enslaved god to its human creators?"

So as we march closer towards the singularity, I want to ensure all my fellow music creators out there that even if we meet our match with super intelligent AGI or they surpass us, there's always a special place for humans to work peacefully or harmoniously with superintelligence to create fresh, creative insights and perspectives.

Moreover, machine learning at the moment is predictive. The beauty about music and true creative artistry lies in its unpredictability in nature. Metaphorically speaking, these concepts alone of unpredictability have been a key source of inspiration for my music, which spans to music videos (made in Unreal Game Engine), script writing, game production, and potential future films, all of which fall under the umbrella of "story creator." I grew up loving the Star Wars series and am in awe of Industrial Light & Magic and the cultural zeitgeist that George Lucas has created.

So, will human art and music die out in the face of our AI overlords? It certainly can... but it wonât. Why? Because we wonât let it happen. Itâs myopic and limiting to believe that humans cannot exist peacefully with AI. What we need is accountability, transparency, and a "can-do" attitude. Circling back to Disney's Tomorrowland film, itâs about what projected timeline you opt or subscribe to. Which timeline do you want to live in? Which wolf will you feed?

from Best DJ Kit https://edm.com/opinion/how-electronic-music-producers-can-peacefully-coexist-with-super-sentient-ai

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attract-mode-collective · 7 years

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"It runs on nothing but dreams and jazz music. Love too..."

The best time of the year is finally upon us! Yup, talking about Halloween, which I celebrate by packing every single available moment with scary movies. Also, scary video games. Alas, because I’m not much of a PC person (yet), I haven’t had a chance to play FAITH…

Yet I am a total fanboy of the PS2, hence why I’ve expressed my fondness for Haunting Ground quite a few times already…

I’m also quite familiar with Simple 2000 Series Vol. 113: The Tairyou Jigoku...

BTW, though last two are courtesy of obscurevideogames, which has been posting gifs from various obscure video games indeed, which also happen to be horror related all month long. Like Twilight Syndrome: Saikai/Reunion, a title I’ve yet to experience, despite being a total fanboy of the PSone as well...

Late to the party I know, but I only just became acquainted with Mason Lindroth and basically want him to do the graphics for all the games...

Something that’s somewhat along the same lines, kinda/sorta, is Middens (via koldspaghetti)...

Remember Gacha Man, one of SPLENDID LAND’s hand crafted robot masters? Guess what; the collection is finally complete…

My fave would have to be (and not just because he reminds of Soundwave) SLN-014 Cassette Man: “by playing different music tapes, his abilities change. he mostly listens to the same few songs over and over though”...

I also dig the redesign of Mega Man himself…

If Splatoon was on the GBA, this is what it would look like, according to suzi-hhh...

It’s somewhat old news, and to be honest, I’m not exactly blown away by them, but for those who missed it and might be interested, behold a Super Famicom Mini-tie in shirt from the King of Games...

The love for the Super Fami is very strong in Japan, and miki800 recently posted a roundup of various goods. With the most interesting being what appears to be a book…

… Which as it turns out is just a blank notebook. But hey, that means you finally have something to write high scores into, given that all the instruction manuals are digital! Never mind the save function on the Super Fami Mini/SNES Classic.

miki800 also recently visited an insanely super awesome looking store. My fave bits would have to be the bootleg AM2 hat…

The Super Girl Boy shirt…

The handmade Space Invader…

And this off brand Lego set (I wonder what that particular Soundwave toy is all about)...

Speaking of threads, I have a new fave Tumblr that’s simply calls itself Video Game Jackets. Here we have Naoto Ohshima‏’s Sonic Jacket...

Then there’s this Darius jacket…

… which is available at Taito’s just opened barcade, MEGARAGE.

And speaking of large fish, arcadephile has a pic of Stephen Spielberg and an arcade game that’s not officially based on Jaws though its source of inspiration is unmistakable...

Mysterious0bob has this noteworthy observation when it comes to Cuphead...

“So everyone knows about the Gunstar Heroes references in Cuphead but I can’t help but feel this boss is a reference to The Adventures of Batman & Robin on the Sega Mega Drive. Its at very least a huge coincidence.  

It's not too clear in these screenshots but they have the exact same method of attacking as well (minus the summoning of ghost mice).“

... BTW, I chose a different, higher quality image for Batman & Robin (hope Mysterious0bob doesn’t mind).

Please enjoy this very nice Nier sketch, by Mira Ong Chua…

Along with some Nier… school fashion? By @cyocyo_tasaka, via aku-no-homu…

And here’s a nice Metal Gear Solid fan art, by Justin Currie, via gamefreaksnz…

An illustration by Danny Hellman for New York Press from back in the day (it, along with Screw, basically kept local cartoonists afloat during the late 80s to early 2000s), depicting the infamous first release from Ice T’s hardcore band Body Count (which was also the first CD I ever purchased)...

I guess this is a loosely translated Metroid 4koma... or is it poorly (via tabletorgy-art)?

You know how horrible the Secret of Mana remake looks? Whomever should just get the person who did this re-imagining of Chrono Trigger...

Also thanks to arcade-crusade, I now really want a clear DS...

Am not entirely sure what I’m seeing here; a Game Gear running MSX games (via sixteen-bit)?

doctorbutler wonders who did this Street Fighter x Beavis & Butthead mash-up and I too would like to know!

Though the identity of the artist responsible for arguably be the most famous SF2 illustration is well known: Kinu Nishimura. And here’s the WIP version, via videogamesdensetsu...

Sticking with VGD for a sec; say hello to the women of Renai Kōza Real Age...

I also respect any game that has the guts to not bother putting the title on its cover…

From 2D to 3D, here we have the evolution of the Virtua Fighters...

Again, this will be old news to some, but for everyone else, it was recently discovered what Yoshi originally looked like in Super Mario World…

There's apparently a dedicated tool that's just for watching the pre-rendered backgrounds in Silpheed?

And sticking with shmups, ship designs for the rather obscure (and super ambitious) Philosoma…

Any opportunity to post Vic Viper fan art is one I am all too happy to utilize...

Also via the Tumblr that lives up to its namesake is some laserdisc based title starring a ship that I am absolutely in love with...

Here’s the back, btw…

And here’s a rather mysterious flyer…

Equally cryptic is this… I honestly don’t know (via strawberrytabasco)....

[UPDATE: 10/15/17] The mystery has been solved, courtesy of mendelpalace...

“Yo! Just wanted to tell you that the "Blipverts" image from that post you made is related to Max Headroom, a cyberpunk TV show from the 80s. The first episode was called Blipverts, and dealt a TV station making high speed commercials condensed into a few seconds, which have a side effect of making some people's heads explode.”

Heading towards the left is what appears to be a Japanese high school student being followed by what appears to be a ghost in what appears to be a Game Boy Color game (via corporalsteiner)...

[UPDATE: 10/16/17] Actually, according to lunaticobscurity...

“that's no ghost, it's lum from the early 80s anime urusei yatsura!“.

And heading towards the right is quite obviously the dude from Altered Beast, corrupted (via corruptionasart)...

Time for another animated gif featuring a giant spider, but also time for another animated gif from Sin & Punishment (via n64thstreet)…

It’s also time, especially since it's been a while, for some video games x cats (via tokkeki)...

Time to wrap things up with a scary story, since again, tis the Halloween season. And the following is a truly horrific tale, one that will send chills down the spines of anyone… who is into preserving old arcade cabinets…

Though the spirits of the past remain with us nevertheless… in the form of cheesy store displays (via arcadezen)...

Don’t forget: Attract Mode is now on Medium! There you can subscribe to keep up to date, as well as enjoy some “best of” content you might have missed the first time around, plus be spared of the technical issues that’s starting to overtake Tumblr.

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houseofvans · 8 years

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Art School | Q&A w/ Andy Kehoe (PA)

We’ve been following the magical and mystical works of Pittsburgh based artist Andy Kehoe for some time, and we’re excited to have him for our latest Art School Q & A. Through his own unique visual language, Kehoe creates mesmerizingly imaginative and otherworldly places where his mysterious inhabitants venture into mystical interactions with the “awe and grandeur of nature.” We chatted with this brush wielding wizard on various topics from his upcoming show at Thinkspace gallery, his process of creating some of these resin layered works to how he recently delved into the world of Magic the Gathering!

Photographs courtesy of the artist

Hey Andy, tell us a little about yourself.

I’m just your typical run of the mill Korean/German/Irish-American trying to survive the mean streets of Pittsburgh with nothing but luscious head of hair, a foolish dream, and a sharp knife that thirsts for the blood of my enemies.

In non-wise ass terms, I’m an artist that lives and works in Pittsburgh, PA. I share my house/studio with my lovely, awesome wife, Ash, and our insufferable furry children comprised of one dog, Gizmo, and three cats, Gremmy, Sir, and Mia.

Last year is finally over, what were some of the highlights? What were your favorite projects or shows?

I had an absolutely insane year of art making in 2016. It started in June with my most recent solo show, Fantastical Romanticism, at Jonathan LeVine Gallery. That was immediately followed by 3 group shows in the Fall. Then came the holidays, which are always a super hectic time for me with print sales and the usual holiday madness. It’s safe to say that 2016 was the busiest year of my life and, though it was very rewarding, I was glad to see it come to an end.

My LeVine show was definitely a career high point for me. I put so much work into that show so it was great to see it all come together in the end. I wanted the show to be big and super detailed, so that added up to many sleepless nights. And man, was it down to the wire. I had so much going on in the last month and I remember looking at my notes and my crazy person dry erase board thinking, “My god…What have I done? How the holy hell am I going to pull this off?.” After fighting back the urge to violently vomit and weep, I just had to take it step by step and hope for no unforeseen delays. When working on multiple pieces at once, my goal is to get all of them to a point in which I’m comfortable I can finish them in the last month of work. So when a piece is pretty close to completion, I’ll put the piece aside and focus on those that need more attention. Usually, a large majority of the pieces get finished in the process.

For this show, I had to keep bouncing between pieces and almost all of them needed to be finished in the last few weeks. It was an intricate and chaotic act of juggling to get them all done in time. I’m still unsure of how I actually pulled it off.

Any new and cool places you haven’t shown that you got to show at?

I also got to show some original work in Australia for the first time which was a real highlight. It was a smaller group show at Outré Gallery in Melbourne. I got to share the gallery with the super talented Femke Hiemstra. How cool is that? It seems like I have a surprisingly strong following in Australia. In fact, almost half my print orders these days get shipped to Australia, which is unbelievable. Thanks Australia! My show there sold out and I’m hoping this leads to another bigger show and an eventual journey to Oz.

What a truly insane year for you, so how is 2017 shaping up? I know you mentioned you have a new show at Thinkspace coming up. What can you tell us about it?

I started 2017 by taking time, collecting my tattered wits, and beginning the process of catching up on every other aspect of my life that I had neglected during the art making fury of 2016. It’s crazy how much of your life will fall behind when you’re deep into the final stages of a show.

Now I’m working out some of my initial concepts and prepping a bunch of panels for the Thinkspace show in September 2017. My last show with Thinkspace was in Miami for the Art Basel fair madness, so this will be my first show at the actual gallery in five years. I’m excited to come visit the LA area again. The show opens on September 30th, so if you’re in the area, stop by! (We will!)

What’s your process like for creating concepts for your shows?

The beginning of a show is all about trying to wrangle some strange, loose ideas out of the ether and wrestle them into some form of practicality. I spend most of this time with headphones on, staring at a blank, freshly gessoed panel while mulling over those concepts until something starts to form. Seeing the blank space where the painting will be helps me visualize the idea. It’s pretty amazing how deep and detailed your mind can get when you focus and concentrate hard enough. Maybe this could be considered some weird form of meditation. There was a time where I felt pretty guilty about spending a whole day just staring and thinking and jotting down random ideas. Now I know this is a step in the weird process I have for making my work.

Once the paintings start to take shape, I’ll finally reach a point where I can dedicate hours to straight painting. Then it’s on to listening to a whole lot of audio books and podcasts.

How many audio books / podcasts did you burn through for your last show?

For my last show at Jonathan LeVine, I listened to upwards of 20 books in six months. I listen to a smattering of contemporary fiction and nonfiction, but the largest portion of my reading/listening belongs to the Fantasy & Sci-Fi genre. These stories are world building in written form and listening to them never ceases to stoke and inspire my own imagination.

When you are working on your various pieces - do you work on them start to finish or several paintings at a time? How do you manage it all?

As for my process, I always work on several pieces at once so there is no down time while pieces are drying. The beginning of a show is the toughest part for me. Trying to flesh out a dozen ideas and then plan out the different layers for each individual painting can be overwhelming.

I have a big dry erase board that looks like something your conspiracy theorist uncle would have hidden away in his tool shed in the woods. I use it to keep track of what layer I am working on with each piece, and for little notes about possible techniques and concepts that can be utilized. I also have a sketch book that has my initial concept sketches along with lot of notes. One thing I know about myself is I need to sketch and write ideas down or it’ll likely be lost in the void for all time. When you make a living off of your ideas, it’s of paramount importance to record them when they come. Inspiration can hit at the strangest times.

Knowing the first layer will be coated in resin and set for all eternity can make me a bit hesitant to jump right into a piece. Painting the first stroke is always the hardest thing for me. I’m not sure why there is no much trepidation on my part, but I need enough of a resolved concept before I can jump in. To keep my sanity during the first stages, I’ve learned to keep it kind of loose conceptually and to let the painting form in a more organic way. Many times I paint the background and decide to change the placement or scale of a character, or to alter the original composition completely. Sometimes, when the world starts to build up and materialize, I’ll see something else inhabiting that landscape so I’ll readjust and change the piece accordingly. Some of my favorite paintings come from lending fresh eyes to an incomplete piece and being willing to go a different direction with it. Working with the resin kind of lends itself to that way of thinking, since you have so much time in between each layer. But at the same time you have to make a final decision because, once the resin is poured, there is no going back. That finality can be really daunting, but being forced to make a decision and move on is very helpful for me.

Has your technique with working with resin changed or evolved?

I am continuously experimenting and evolving that technique. For my most recent work, I started working with less layers and moving toward making my resin pieces less deep. The resin itself has become more of a painting tool for me. The paint effects and textures that I can achieve with the epoxy resin are why I love working with it, more so than the depth effect that initially drew me to it. There is certainly still a great deal of depth in the final product, but I don’t want that to be the primary focus of the work. I’ll still be doing some deep pieces to incorporate sculptural elements but, for the most part, I’ll be treating them more like traditional paintings.

How about traditional painting? Do you still find yourself working w/ oil and acrylic?

Speaking of traditional paintings, I’ve also been getting back into straight oil and acrylic paintings which has been very gratifying. I forgot how much I missed the opportunity to go back and work on the background. It’s been interesting to take all the lessons I’ve learned from working in layers of resin and applying them to a more traditional medium.

In your works, your dreamy and magical environments are very much characters themselves. What aspect do the landscapes / dreamy realms play in your paintings and/or in your imaginary worlds?

The world itself is, in many ways, the most important aspect of my work and what I think about the most on a day to day basis. The awe and grandeur of nature is a prevalent theme for me and one of my greatest inspirations. Because I work in resin layers and work back to front, the vast majority of my pieces naturally start with the background. These nascent steps into the environment are the first thing I have to plan out and are the first elements of the piece to get fleshed out. The development of the initial background layer effects the direction of the entire piece.

There is a symbiotic relationship between the characters and the environment. The characters tend to be products of their environment and many times the environment is physically part of the character. This is sometimes apparent in the patterns of the clothes they are wear or maybe by the surrounding fauna actually growing on them. This harmony is an overarching theme for me, but a lot of that also has to do with the technical process of making the piece. As the world builds, the characters enter and evolve with the painting and the world gets more and more defined.

What’s something you think people might not know about an artist or mostly about what you do as an artist?

Being an artist and working for yourself is, of course, very gratifying. But, it also has much of the mundanity of running a small business. There is rarely a day when I get to wake up and just be creative and paint all day. I feel like there is a romanticized notion of an artist rolling out of bed, smoking a joint in his/her paint-spattered bathrobe, and being manically creative in the studio all day. While that’s true some days, most of my days are filled with emails (which I was bad about and now I’m getting worse), print shop issues, inventory, book keeping, and general life duties. These are truly mundane tasks, but you need to utilize every tool you can to sustain yourself in this crazy line of work.

What would you say to folks who want to walk down the art path? 'Abandon hope all ye who enter?’ or ‘Jump into the Fire’ ?

Be patient and create as much as you can. It takes a lot of time and a lot creating to come into your own in terms of technique and overall artistic purpose. Seriously, just make work. A lot of work. Making piece after piece is the only true way to refine your vision and help you determine what and why you want to create. Never stop challenging yourself, learn from each piece, and try to carry those lessons forward.

Share your work as much as you can. The internet is a powerful tool and your work can reach parts of the world you would never imagine. My following in Australia didn’t come from a huge exhibition or an article in a major arts publication. It came people seeing and sharing my work on the internet.

Getting the opportunity to showcase your work is usually the hardest and most frustrating part for aspiring artists. There is no set way to do it. So if and when you get that opportunity, make it count and take full advantage.

Also, don’t let “making it in the art world” be your top motivation for creating.

In terms of art, what are things you admire or appreciate when you go to someone else’s show or view another fellow artists’ pieces?

I’m always drawn to work that is imaginative and genuine. I appreciate attention to detail and an overall care for the work. You can tell when someone really cares for their work and wants it to be the best representation of their particular artistic vision.

Technical prowess and craft is something I admire immensely, and something I strive for myself, but it has to be a whole package of vision and mood. I love work with a sense of mystery that can evoke a feeling of wonder and awe. I want to be able to stare at a piece and get lost in it for a time.

How do you stay balanced with art and non-art activities?

All of my current non-art activities are intertwined and share a mutual need: A need for actual human interaction. (Besides finally getting to indulge in some long desired interests.)

It’s easy to get wrapped up in adult shit. Work shit, wife’s school shit, house-work shit, all sorts of errands and shit. Lots of shit nonstop all of the time. When you work in a home studio, your personal life and your work life coexist in the same place. Unsurprisingly, it can all start to melt together and become your whole world. When you go to a day-to-day job, even if you despise some of your coworkers, at least you get to see other people in a different space out there in the real world. My coworkers are a dog and 3 cats. Though they do get up to some crazy things and the studio is full of tantalizing gossip, there is a definite void of human contact. It is always crazy to essentially work alone for months and then get thrown into the chaos of an art opening. Suddenly, I am surrounded by an overwhelming amount of people wanting to ask me about my work. Basically, something needed to change before I became an unsociable recluse.

Definitely can see that, so how do you un-wind after a full studio day?

After working all day, I typically hang out with friends virtually via video games, but I really needed something tangible. So I started a board game day and got a group of friends to join me at my house and it was marvelous and fun. I love board games. My favorites are Betrayal at House on the Hill, Lords of Waterdeep, and most recently, Scythe.

Then I decided to take it up a notch and start a D&D campaign with those friends. I’ve always wanted to get back into D&D and I figured the best way to do it was to learn the new 5e version, become a DM, and start the whole damn thing myself. One thing about me is when I decide to get into something, I get pretty obsessive and go all in. I spent every second of free time researching it and learning all the rules. I learned to make charts and tables in MS Word and Excel so I could produce a whole laminated quick reference guide binder for all my players. Having a large format printer also came in pretty handy as I was able to make huge maps for the all the places I would be taking them. It turns out having a strange imagination and a deep love of trolling your friends is a good recipe for being a successful DM. Making stories is a lot fun for me and having those stories played out by your creative and somewhat twisted friends is super rewarding… and super hilarious. The tales I could tell of these adventurers and their deeds would make an bugbear blush. I still think of them every once in a while and chuckle to myself.

Dude I love it, you went deep into gaming. Last time we emailed, you mentioned you were competing in Magic the Gathering. How did that all come about?

Having friends over for those activities was fine and awesome, but I still wasn’t leaving the comfort of my familiar confines. So, a little over a year ago, I started playing Magic the Gathering and I’ve become a bit obsessed. It’s something I’ve always wanted to explore. I love card games and love the art attached to the game. The gameplay itself involves a lot of strategy and improvisation which I find mentally rewarding. I love that there’s so much personalization when it comes to crafting a deck and people can play it so many different ways.

And, very importantly, it gets me out of the studio and I get to meet new people and have some real human contact outside of my familiar studio/cat world. The Magic community has been very gracious and inviting to am aspiring player such as myself, and I really appreciate that.

Any other non-art activities you’re looking forward too?

I hope to start traveling a bit more in the coming years. My wife Ash has been in school for the last 4 years getting her Doctorate and she graduates this year! Hurray! She will be a nurse practitioner with a much better schedule. She’s had to continue working as a critical care nurse while also completing a massive workload for school, so besides being a total badass, her schedule has been far from flexible. We definitely love to travel and I look forward to our many future adventures together.

What’s the best art related advice you’ve ever gotten? What wisdom can you share with folks?

The best advice I ever got in regards to work was from my Illustration Concepts teacher at Parsons, Jordin Isip. Well, he gave me a lot of good advice over those 2 years, but the one that especially resonated was his advice on building a visual language.

In the Illustration department, every one of us was pretty obsessed with what our unique “style” was, and what would set our work apart from all the other illustrators out there. This is obviously a ubiquitous issue with Illustration students, so Jordin addressed this concern right away.

Right, aspiring artists are still concerned with finding their own style. What did he say?

Essentially, he told us to not concern ourselves so much with where we’d end up in terms of our style, but to take a little bit from each piece we make and start to build a unique visual language. You start small with letters and words and build up to sentences and paragraphs. Eventually you’ll be speaking your own visual language fluidly with more and more elegance. I think that’s a great way to look at it, and it really worked for me. I still continue to follow that lesson to this day since it’s something that will always continue to evolve and grow.

How about the worse given?

I’ve been wracking my brain over some horrible advice I’ve gotten over the years, and I honestly can’t think of any that really stick out. Even if it’s bad advice, it’s usually well intentioned and not something to take personally.

Okay, completely switching subjects, what are your FAVORITE Vans?

I love the classic look for the laced and slip ons. Plain with no stripe.

Finally, any last words, shout outs, and/or random words of wisdom?

I just want to thank you guys for reaching out and giving me the chance to spew my nonsense!

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