Japan

size: 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.

Something 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.

The way things usually work is as follows:

I plan and scheme and schedule for a couple of months before each Tokyo exhibition, working out the time needed for every piece of art and pre-show preparation, making sure to give myself plenty of time for accidents both happy and grumpy. Then, somehow I’m pulling an all-nighter right before the show, putting the finishing touches on one more piece I Just Had To Do. The morning of the show, basking in the victory of completion, I pack up every item and head out. Every item but one.

That item is inevitably a camera. Hasami No Oto (The Sound of Scissors) at Niji Gallery last month followed this pattern pretty closely. However, in days past, I would somehow manage to forget the camera (or to charge the battery) each and every time I dropped by the gallery. This time I remembered it on the last day. Probably because my vigilant wife accompanied me.

Sadly, that didn’t mean that I was conscientious enough to actually use it. The poor little thing sat in my bag all day, mewing like a forgotten kitten, waiting to achieve it’s snapshot-snapping purpose. And I ignored it. Luckily, my friend Mayuko Fujino, another artist at the show, had just accidentally bought a humongous digital SLR and was experimenting with it all day. You can see the fruits of her labors right here.

So, a big thank you goes out to Mayuko for sharing the photos with me and letting me share them with all of you. I hope those of you who couldn’t make it to the show feel as inspired by the wide variety of cut paper artwork as I was. Enjoy!