Articles by patrick

cut and torn paper / illustration board

I blame Global Warming for the lack of new, bizarre critters gracing this blog (and my apartment). And no, I’m not just complaining about the sudden and brutal onset of summer here in Tokyo (seriously, we went straight from rainy and clammy to hot and humid, shooting past all those nice days in between. Not fair!).

TIME (the magazine, not the slow grind of the ages), asked me to provide an illustration for their special report on the G-8 summit for the July 14 Asia edition, depicting what Japan can do to help stop global warming. You can see the final artwork above. Notice the Asia-centric globe. My brain kept trying to slide North America back into the center. Read the rest of this entry »

Hi everyone! There’s a reason for the lack of new art on the site recently, aside from my legendary laziness and the hot and hazy days of summer. I actually have been cuttin’ and gluein’ (even tho’ the paper sticks to me these days). I just can’t show it to anyone yet. As a cut-paper ninja, I value secrecy. I have to. It’s in the rule book. All will become apparent soon-ish. ‘Til then, some news nuggets:

• A Huge Thank-You goes out to Matt Dawson for nominating me for the “Brillante Weblog Premio-2008″ award…thingy. Rest assured, Matt, that I am honored to receive this award, and will drop by asap to claim my solid gold statuette. Which will then be dismembered, melted down and sold to pay for my rent and the paper which is my life-blood.
• Startdrawing.org was started with the aim of showcasing and sharing drawings from talented artists in Asia, and in the process, promote the joys of drawing. Mark Deutsch contacted me a little bit ago, asking if he could profile my work on the site. It’s so nice to be asked. You can read the profile here.
• The first batch of postcards shipped out a few days ago. Thanks to everyone who ordered a pack. I appreciate the support! I couldn’t make art without you. On a side note, I was wondering if anyone out there was interested in packs of individual cards (ie: 5 or 10 copies of “Hitching a Ride on the Breathe of Fortune”) as opposed to the current variety pack. If enough people are, I will gladly add them to the shop.
• “Everyone In Together“, the current group show at Gallery 1988 San Francisco ends today! If you happen to be in the SF area, drop by to check out the scads of great work. If you’re interested in purchasing any of my pieces in the show, you can ring up the gallery at (415) 409-1376.

Now you can post something cool other than a blog. Postcard Pack Series One is now, at this very moment, available in my online shop.

“Hitching a Ride on the Breathe of Fortune”, “Koi Kihagaki”, “Gravity and the Rebellious Stone”, A Slothful Mind Wanders, and Heavy is the Head that Bears the Brain.

Get a pack of all five cards for $6 US (or ¥600). Or save a few bucks and get the 10 pack for $10 (¥1000), and get 2 of each card. One to mail, one to cherish for all time.

The wonderful folks over at Artist A Day are featuring me today! It’s very exciting and very humbling. Special thanks go out to Geoff for finding me and asking to borrow a couple images.

In a new twist on art sites, you can rate the artwork. Although quantifying something as personal and emotional as art is a little tough for me, I am intrigued. It’s one of the more bizarre quirks of the artist’s psyche that, while on the one hand we stand outside society in order to judge it and comment on it, we also yearn for its adoration. Or maybe that’s just me. I’m a complicated critter.

So Go! Feed my ego! Vote early, vote often! Vote so much that even Tammany would get a salty tear in his squinty little eye. I feed on your love!

In all seriousness (note: previous paragraph was attempt at humor), a huge, heartfelt thank you to everyone who takes the time to look at my work, vote for it (regardless of the number of stars), or leave me a comment. Without all of you, making art would be a whole lot less fun and interesting. Cheers.

cut and torn paper / wood 10 1/8″ x 7 1/4″

The fiercely playful Nekomata (猫叉) joins my hoard of Yokai today. When I first came to Japan, I wondered why so many cats were completely lacking in tails. I guessed that they might be a strangely stubby local breed. It turns out that the owners cut off the tails when the cat is a kitten so it won’t turn into a nekomata, a “forked-cat”.

How a cat becomes a nekomata (or any kind of bake-neko / monster cat) is…odd. And downright ungrateful. If a cat is fed in the same place for a certain number of years, it turns evil. It then grows to rather unusual size, walks around on its hind legs, plays with dangerously magical fireballs (or dangerously fiery magic balls?), and can transform into a human. Most creepily, they are said to be able to re-animate the dead and control them like puppets. Big, ooky, used-to-be-your-best-friend puppets. (image details below the bump) Read the rest of this entry »

Hi everyone. Since rainy season started, I’ve been pining for the sun. The weather report promised some for today. Sadly, that is not the case. So, I am stuck inside again. Which is as good an excuse as any to upgrade the blog. If things seem weird or don’t work, please be patient, and I’ll try and get them fixed. When all is done, I’ll let you know. cheers! -PG

-UpDate-

The upgrades to both Wordpress and my theme are finished (finally). Readers probably won’t notice many differences, but there are a few tweaks here and there. The biggest difference is the addition of Gravatars in the comments. Please let me know if you like them. Otherwise, I think most everything should be the same-ish.

Please drop me an email if you run into any problems with the blog, something is busted, or just plain ugly. Or let me know if there’s something you like. Thank you again for your patience today!

“Everyone In Together” opened Friday Night at Gallery 1988 San Francisco and, by all reports, it was tremendous. I really wish I could make it to these shows to meet all the artists and art lovers. Sadly, this is the price I pay for my otherwise glamorous life in Tokyo. At least one of my online friends promised to attend the show and grab some photos. I will be posting those when available.

These are the three pieces I have hanging in the show, and I couldn’t be prouder of them, or the company which they are currently keeping. All three are available for purchase, so if you’re interested, give the gallery a call!
You can see the whole dang show online here! Or, better yet, mosey on down to SF to bask in their full glory.
Check out the individual blog entries:
The Electric Narwhal
The Plain One
All the Little Things Said

cut and torn paper / wood about 8 1/4″ x 5 3/4″

There’s nothing quite so rejuvenating as sharing a joke, laugh or punchline with our friends. It really is the best therapy I know. Mix in a decent, full-size cup of coffee and I’m set to jump back into the grind (pun not intended…but I did smirk when I noticed it). Of course, not all of us can carry our support group around with us wherever we go. Nor would we want to. I’m betting that this bunch can get pretty rowdy. They just have that look about them. Read the rest of this entry »

The first few print orders were enough to let me know that there were a couple of wrinkles in need of flattening. Especially when it came to international shipping. So, I dipped back into paypal’s limited shipping options, wrestled, grappled, and fought, and finally found a way to do what I wanted to do in the first place.

Shipping is now added automatically for all orders. Yay simplicity!

cut and torn paper / wood 7 1/4″ x 10 1/8″

Just about every culture has their trickster myths. In Japan, there are plenty. The ghosts all tend to be mischievous. Animals transform themselves into humans at whim, playing us bipeds for fools. The Tanuki (raccoon dog) unquestionably reigns supreme among all the tricksy beasts and beasties.

Nearly forgotten among the various tanuki stories is the Mame-Danuki 豆狸, or the “bean-tanuki”. This Yokai (a type of spirit or mythical critter) could inflate it’s testicles (don’t ask me how, I’m really trying not to think about it too hard) to monstrous proportions. It then uses them as an umbrella on rainy nights. Or just about anything else you can think of. As depicted here:

Unfathomably hilarious traditional Mame-Danuki prints! Read the rest of this entry »