August 2010

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In the Corrosive Grip of Acid Reflux. And a Bear.

August 25, 2010 in Art - Recent Work, Exhibitions & Events, Japan, News, ` | 2 comments

To Endure Beyond This Moment cut paper art by Patrick Gannonsize: 7 7/8 x 11 15/16” (20 x 30cm)
medium: cut paper on wood

I’ve been too good. Giving up my seat on the train to old people, rescuing kittens from trees,putting a stop to the nefarious invasion plans of gooey alien races. And that was just this past week. I’m tired of it all. I need to be bad. I want to exercise my evil muscles. I yearn to grow an appropriately twisty and sinister mustache.

Luckily, Kevin Conn, the erstwhile creator of The Incandescent Lava-Roid, has once again come to the rescue (remember him?). Pictured above, you can see our Molten hero cringing striking an action pose in the face of two of his most dastardly enemies. Introducing the all-new Acid Reflux and the all-improved Heimlich the Cyborg Nazi Bear. Previously known as plain, old Heimlich the Nazi Bear. And yes, that is a Hitlerian mustache under his snout.

This seems a good time to let everyone know about the next show I’ll be participating in: American Comics Exhibition 2010 ~Bad Guys~
From Anti-heroes to Supervillains opening Sept. 26, 2010 here in Tokyo. Check out the website here.

Oh yeah, and my first solo show is coming soon to Tokyo. Want a hint? Leave your Halloween open.

For now, I think I’ll go find a kitten to put in a tree.

40 Ways to Get Your Art On

August 24, 2010 in News | 3 comments

PhD Online ProgramsI was pleased and surprised to find, amid the detritus of my emailbox, a very nice little note informing me that PaperCuts has been selected as one of BestBloggers Top 40 Modern Art Blogs. Neat, huh?

Thanks go out to the kind soul who nominated this papery forum, as well as the BestBloggers folks for choosing PaperCuts. It all makes me feel a wee bit guilty for not posting as often as I would like.



So, here’s a sneak peak at a piece that I just finished today, but haven’t had the chance to photograph or scan in yet. Enjoy!
LavaRoid Villains final drawing by Patrick Gannon

Photographic Evidence: 風雷貌 / A Wind-Swept and Thunderous Countenance @ Gallery G2

August 11, 2010 in Exhibitions & Events, Japan, News | Add your comment

photos from A Wind-Swept and Thunderous Countenance @ Gallery G2Something miraculous occurred on July 30, 2010, the final day of the 風雷貌 / A Wind-Swept and Thunderous Countenance show at Gallery G2 over in Ginza. I, for maybe the first time, remembered to bring my camera with me. I could have sworn I had it opening day. I even put the little guy in my bag. Somehow, it escaped, wriggling out and hiding under a mound of paper.

There was such a great variety of work in the gallery, from metal sculpture to painting to dolls to cut paper. A plethora of techniques and styles and outlooks on the world.

I encourage you to have a look at the gallery on my Facebook page and see for yourself.

As for the Flemish-inspired portraits of wind and thunder above…well, after seeing them hanging in the gallery, I’ve decided I’m not quite 100% satisfied just yet. About 98%, I think. So, I’ll be going back in and tweaking this and adding that. So, no close ups. Maybe soon. Then again, I’m buried so deep in doing some very cool commission pieces and prepping for the next two shows this Fall… well, it might be a while.

To Endure Beyond This Moment

August 5, 2010 in Art - Recent Work, Japan | 16 comments

To Endure Beyond This Moment cut paper art by Patrick Gannonsize: 20 1/4 x 14 5/16” (51.5 x 36.4cm)
medium: cut and torn paper on wood
click here or the image for a cetacean-sized view.

If I learned anything during the making of this piece, it’s that you can’t hurry a whale. They are stubborn, willful critters, and they’ll do exactly what they please at the precise pace they want to do it. With that much bulk, who’s going to argue?

Surprisingly, they also have some very definite and peculiar feelings regarding color schemes. Take this massive gentle-whale above. My original intent was to create a soft, romantic mood. Maybe a little pink, perhaps a touch of lavender. After all, the basic concept for the piece grew out of love and its fleeting, ephemeral, transient nature. Not to mention nature’s loveliest metaphor for transience: the cherry blossom.

Whenever I start working out colors I try to keep an open mind, testing out all kinds of papers even though I know most of them won’t work (and the occasional one will kick off the gag reflex). More often than not, instinct works its magic and tells me which paper is the right fit. Every once in a while, the paper that works best visually runs up against my preconceived notions or my original concept. And that’s when I’ve got a fight on my hands. This whale fought. Hard. As usual, in the end, I lost. Hopefully that’s a win for the piece (and my subconscious).

To Endure Beyond This Moment cut paper art by Patrick Gannon

So, instead of soft, pop-py, and romantic, the whale got red. RED. Instead of transient, he got tempestuous. He got sex, passion, and maybe a touch of violence. He kept the cherry tree.

As a side note, I’m pretty sure this is the biggest, largest, hugest piece I’ve done yet. It seemed appropriate for a sperm whale. Which explains why I’ve settled for posting an iffy photo of the piece. I just can’t get up the gumption to scan it in. Especially since my copy of photoshop insists on crashing during every third save attempt. One of these days, I’ll gird my loins and dive in. I’ll be sure to post a better shot then. Until that far-off day, please enjoy.

To Endure Beyond This Moment cut paper art by Patrick Gannon