Inauguration Day Photos!

Yesterday, my special ladyfriend, our dog Yoshimi, and I walked to Civic Center Park, across from San Francisco's City Hall. About two thirds of the way there, the Hall's bright blue and gold-trimmed dome popped out from behind the other buildings. It was like an architectural siren, calling one and all to come watch history in the making.

By the time we reached it, the tree-lined green of the Park was covered with spectators of every race, creed, and color. And we were all there to watch the Inauguration of our 44th President, via projection screen. Now, I'm not going to bore you with all sorts of reflective babble. To be honest, I don't think I can type anything here that hasn't been typed on a billion other blogs around the world.


But I will tell you that, watching the Inauguration Ceremony out there with all those people was amazing. The crowd was so diverse, from race to age. The feeling from everybody there was so positive. And seeing that scene repeated in cities & towns across the United States was like this continued unfolding of feelings that I think we (as a country) had forgotten for awhile there. Maybe it was the veil of shit that Bush/Cheney shrouded us in to keep the wealthy rich, and the terrorists terrorized. And, now that it's been lifted, we can all start seeing each other as friends, neighbors, and countrymen, again. Maybe that's it.

And it's not like things have been magically corrected, overnight. On my walk home, I passed plenty of homeless people sleeping under carts and in doorways, all too real reminders that we've got a lot more stops to hit before Utopia. But notwithstanding poverty, wars, and crisis, I think a juggernaut movement has been stirred in the hearts of this country. Now I just pray that, as we get further away from the history we made and deeper into the future, we don't lose sight of what's been done, and what we've yet to accomplish.

Oops! Guess I got reflective anyway, huh? Oh well, enjoy this cute pic of my two favorite ladies. Does that puppy love democracy or what?!


-Bunker, out.

S.A.D. 05: Vamos A La Playa!

It's been freakishly warm here for most of January. And the sexy weather trend kept right on today. So the ladies and I packed up shop, and spent the afternoon at Ocean Beach. That's where I did some summer-inspired sketching.


Sorry to all my East Coast Meaties, for getting this in after your midnight. I'll make it up to you tomorrow.

High fives and Happy Meals!
-Bunker, out.

Back From The Depths!

Holy hot damn! I'm back, people. Don't worry... I wasn't kidnapped by terrorists. After Thanksgiving, I was simultaneously tackled by a flu bug and a mountain of deadlines. Since we last spoke, I've rocked a wedding invitation for two LA friends/collectors, two new comic strips, a piece for Mad Magazine, and 13 new paintings for the four fine art shows I'm in during December. Simply put, life has been fucking insane.

But now that things have slowed a bit, I have time to update the blog. Dig some of my new stuff below!

"Urban Flight" - one of four recent pieces where
I've collaged a sketch onto wood and made a painting out of it

"You Don't Know What The Hell You're Talking About"
- an example of how I've been using a lot more collage, lately

"Donkey Punch" - the boxer pieces just keep getting
curiouser and curiouser.

"Nat Narwhal" - I've been making a series of Animal Alliteration pieces.
It's fun art for all ages, and totally takes me back to Sesame Street and
all the other cool creative learning devices of my childhood.

"Uva Unicorn" - another of the Animal Alliteration pieces.

"John & Jenny's Wedding" *done after the classic Bill Seinkiewicz "Elektra" cover

Also, to anyone who's ordered books or commissions, sorry for the shipping delay. Now that the work clouds have cleared, I'll be taking care of your orders tout de suite! And I'll be putting some extra treats in there... a little tangible apology for my tardiness.

All the info for the December exhibits is posted on my site, www.hiredmeat.com, along with a bunch more new art. If you're gonna be in The Bay Area between now and mid January, come to San Francisco and check 'em out!

I'm getting a head start on my paintings for 2009, so look for samples of that stuff as we get closer to the year's end.

Happy Holidays,
-Bunker, out.

SF Knight Gray Tees!

*** SEVERAL PEOPLE HAVE EXPRESSED AN INTEREST IN ORDERING THESE SHIRTS ONLINE. THE TEES ARE $25 USD, PLUS $6 SHIPPING & HANDLING. FOR SERIOUS PURCHASING INQUIRIES, EMAIL ME: HIREDMEAT@GMAIL.COM. INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING WILL BE CALCULATED ON A PER-ORDER BASIS. THANKS! ***

Just thought I'd share a few photos of yours truly, modeling the "San Francisco Knight" tees that Deadbeatsister printed up for last weekend's Treasure Island Music Festival. For the tees, the image is wrapping around from the right side of the garment, rather than just being placed dead-center on the chest. This is the white-on-gray tee, obviously, but she also put the image on zip-up & pull-over hoodies, tunic dresses, and scarves. I'll get photos of that apparel up here sooner or later.


Now, I'm off to the reception for "Suite Jesus." Wish me luck!
-Bunker, out for art and booze.

Bastards of the Universe!

"Wondertwin Powers, ACTIVATE! Form of: Pumpkin Cutter & Hiredmeat!!"

So the week of that group show, "Bastards of the Universe," has come and gone. The reception was a pretty incredible gathering of hobo-hipsters. But molester-mustaches and obnoxious plastic sunglasses be damned, it was an awesome time. The wine flowed, along with the melted cheese poured over about 500 lbs of nacho chips. Oh, and there was even some sweet artwork on the walls, too!

"Free wine brings out the freaks!"

Some of you may remember me having my sights set on getting something like 6 new paintings done in about 3 days, for the show. I must admit, I overestimated myself on that one. But hell... can't blame a brother for aiming high. I actually did work on 6 pieces simultaneously and, as the hanging date got closer, I edited down based on how far along each piece was. In the end, was only able to get one new piece done. I showed it, along with 5 pieces from previous exhibits. Luckily, I'm presenting work in 4 gallery shows in September. So I'll have use for the half-done newbies, and then some. Never a dull moment in this wily world of art!


The one that got done was "Banzai, G.I., YOU DIE!" It's a big ol' collage and paint piece where I pit G.I. Joe against their late 90's counterparts, Pokemon! It's a total mashup, with elements from an old Joe comic that I had, plus combat photography from battles on both the Eastern and Western fronts of World War 2. And then I painted on the massive Pikachus storming over the hill -- decked-out in Japanese, "Rising Sun" bandanas, shooting lighting from their cutely-furrowed brows. Funny, working on this and the other pieces me a little excited for toys, again. Call me a dork, but I gave the action figure party that's happening on my computer desk a bit more attention, last week.

Ahem... anyway, dig on these details of "Banzai...":



Some of the other work:


Big-bad Brent McHugh came through with his delicately painted, haunting bird characters as some of Marvel's more badass villains and heroes -- Dr. Doom, The Punisher, Mr. Sinister, and Iron Man. He also did the interesting Batman and Robin portraits up above.


Then there's the art of Super Ugly. This is his "hard on intergalactic terrorism" series, "JLUgly."



And I can't forget my boy, Richard Jule of Pumpkin Cutter Industries. He's the one who organized us all and curated the show. His pieces were painted on wood, and sealed in a super-slick layer of resin. Between the shiny coating and the bright colors, Rich really got across the plastic, cartoony feel that I remember everything around me having, as a child growing up in the 80's.

Many thanks to Rich, Brent, Matt Richie, SuperUgly, DIA, and all the other amazing artists who came together to rock this group romp. Muchas gracias to the people at Shoe Biz for being such fine art enthusiasts. And big hugs and kisses to the kids who came out to show support, friends and strangers alike. Hope you enjoyed the wine.

-Bunker, out.

ps-- "Bastards of the Universe: A Pop Culture Mess" will be on display from now, into September. You can stop by Shoe Biz during store hours, to check it out. For more info, go to: www.shoebizsf.com

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!