Gettin' ill in foggy San Francisco....

Hey there, peoples. I'm writing this bundled up like a babe, listening to Donny Hathaway on vinyl, slurping spoonfuls of soup, and fending off the forces of sickness. It's monument gray outside and I should probably be feeling all sorts of miserable.

Thing is, I feel pretty fantastic. Yesterday -- even though I could already feel tendrils of illness creeping up my spine, down into my limbs -- my special ladyfriend and I took a bike ride through Golden Gate Park. It only takes a few minutes to get there from our place. One minute, you're cruising through a neighborhood, bay window after bay window. The next you're whipping down wooded paths, marveling at some exotic bird call that, surely, "... can't be coming from a city park." The air was as stiff and misty then as it is today. But the foggy chill just added to the strange magic that is San Francisco. It was all so fitting. The sunless dampness only helped to make the Park's setting more vivid and wild. And the air itself was tainted with that deep, rich scent that you can only get in a wet forrest. That sort of "oxygen factory" smell that reminds you how nice it is to get away from the cars, cable, and condos, and find yourself a nice patch of green, every now and then.

The best part is, Golden Gate Park -- along with dozens of others -- is IN the city.

Man, I love this place.
-Bunker, out.

ps-- Oh, by the way, we went to The DeYoung Museum, during our ride. Very nice place. Huge observation tower that gives you a 360 degree view of SF. And we saw a bunch of art that ranged from AWESOME to Lamesville. Dig the "neon-faces pointing" piece that I liked a lot, below. You know I couldn't make a post without at least ONE art pic!

Return of the Two-Fisted Gum!

If you're in SF or on my mailing list, you probably know that I've been busy as a beaver during flood season, lately. I did two nearly back-to-back live art shows in The City By The Bay, a couple weeks ago. The first show was Veni Vidi Vici: The Juxtapoz Release Party, over at Club Six in SoMa.

I lovingly call the space girl and horned-robot pic "Space Is The Place #2". The scene at Club Six was art-tastic. I had to fend off a couple wiley drunkards, but it was all in good fun. The walls in the "White Room" were covered with paintings by myself and a handful of other California-based artists. Some of the work sold that night. Now a bunch of the remaining art is hanging at Triumph, a skate shop in San Rafael. Yeah, we're everywhere....

I had such a good time at the Juxtapoz show, I totally jumped at the opportunity when the organizers invited me to rock their Tuesday night live art at The Double Dutch (in SF's Mission District). The "Angel" piece I did at that show was another bit of fun, mixed with some on-the-spot paint experimentation. Between the bright colors and graphic black, I've really been trying to push myself in some new visual directions. Who says you can't teach an old artist new tricks?

At recent live art shows (these, and the two I did in Sacramento with Food One & friends), I've been working on large, single pieces, rather than wailing away on 7 or 8 paintings throughout the night. It feels nice to slow things down a bit, and really focus on making one, supreme banger. A real perk to painting live this way is, if I don't sell the piece then and there at the event, I get to bring home something that's a lot more wall-ready or "gallery worthy" than just a sloppy-fast piece on cardboard. Now that I'm putting more of my work into art boutiques and aiming for gallery shows, that's become a lot more important to me.

Many thanks to Kelly, Chad & Gina, Bryant & Sai, Caitlin, Anthony, and all my other friends who came out to show love at these events. Big ups to Brent McHugh, Damien King, and the other artists who represented at the Juxtapoz show. And mad respect for Joey and Saree at ArtNowSF, for organizing the whole shebang.

More pics soon!
-Bunker, out like Faust.

ReDefine in Seattle loves me!

Much gratitude to Vivian Hua over at ReDefine Magazine, out of Seattle. She gave my work at The Artist-XChange a shout out on the mag's Art and Music blog. Check it here:

http://artandmusic.wordpress.com

Just scroll down past the big Dale Chihuly post!

-Bunker, out with Northeasterly love,

Art From Heroes Con!

I got back from Heroes Con in Charlotte, North Carolina, a few days ago. The show was GREAT! I got to kick out the jams with my boy Food One, Paul Maybury, Rick Spears, Kody Chamberlain, and a bunch of other fine chaps. And there were some badass female comic talents there, too. Big ups to Liz Prince and Danielle Corsetto! Many thanks to Dustin Harbin, Doug, Mike & Donna, and the whole crew for making us creators feel so welcome and taken care of.

Now, of course, is the part where I show off some of the pieces I drew for fans and collectors. I didn't get a single commission order on Friday, so I just worked on some drawings to pass the time and work out the kinks.


I rocked the "Hulk Smash" pic because, hell, who could resist drawing that lovable freak?! Then I drew Jun - my little ninja-girl from a solo project I'm working on - in "Slice." Then the "Blue Man" was just some off-the-cuff nonsense. I've still got all these, if anyone out there wants to purchase 'em. Hmmm?


Oddly enough, my first commisson on Saturday was for a Hulk pic. Just not the one I'd done on Friday.


And in no time, the requests and the ink were flowing! I knocked out my first ever Captain America piece (thank Greyskull I read The Ultimates, this year!). And a guy asked me to just listen to some Dizzee Rascal on my iPod and draw whatever inspired me. Hence, the "I'm Just Sittin' Here" drawing. Oyi!!! Fix up, look sharp!

The fans at Heroes were going for some unique commissions, man! One guy wanted a Tom Waits portrait (sweet!). Another just told me to "go wild." Such fun!

And the weekend's commission requests wrapped up with a pretty Tony Montana bow on top. I couldn't have asked for a better closer. Nothing says "the end" like some 80's Miami drug kingpin action!

*** Sorry some of these pics are vertical when they should be horizontal. Some Blogger glitch is switching them automatically. Sheesh. ***

No sleep 'til San Diego Comic Con!
-Bunker, out.

King Gum and Food One Make Sac News!

Holy hot mackerel! Sacramento was fabulous, last weekend. And look... Jim and I ended up on the news! Zany!

Thanks to Anthony, Shawna, and the rest of the Leano Clan, for all the hospitality. Thanks to Ben, Jen, Corey, and the gang at Empires Comics Vault! Big ups to Jim Mahfood, Emo, Skinner, Mark Bode, Alex Chiu, and Stan 153 for being awesome art-cohorts! And muchas gracias to all the fans and collectors who came out to show some love!

I was sans camera all weekend. But you can see photos and art from the live art show at my boy Food One's Art Blog. Enjoy!

Bunker, out.