"EVIL"

Low and behold, my first finished painting of the year -- "EVIL." Originally, I was gonna make a romanticized portrait of Prince Adam (He-Man) and Kringer, but this piece is much more in line with what excites me creatively, these days. Also, I'm tired of themed group gallery shows, and modern-cartoon pop art. So I figured I'd better do something I could really sink my teeth into that (hopefully) would stand out in a room chock full of art. With my fine art, I want to create images that are raw and emotive... energetic and enticing. I think I pulled it off, here. Now I just need to wait and see what the viewing public thinks of it.

I've got two more "Dangerous Women" paintings coming hot on the heels of this one! Stay tuned....

Up from the depths,
- King Gum Crosland

"EVIL" In The Works

Hey All! Here's a little behind-the-scenes of my process in creating my first painting of 2010, "EVIL."

Once the black and white drawing is sealed in with matte medium, I can go buck-wild with the paints, without any fear of accidentally erasing the graphite drawing. Since the sealing process effectively turns the graphite into a gray tone that I can push around, I've already started to make the turn from drawing to painting. In the step above, I take it a step further, by laying in a flat color tone. In this case, I've chosen a reddish-brown mix of burnt umber, bright red, and raw sienna.

Laying in the flat color allows me to unify the piece. It's no longer black and gray lines on top of a white background. Now I can start laying in my darkest darks, and flat color tones as a sort of road map to the final painting.

By this step, I've darkened the flat reddish-brown tones. I've also started blocking in areas where I know things will be their darkest. Also, notice the bold red strokes in her face and arms.

And by this stage, things are definitely starting to come together. I'm starting to build up more color tones and pushing my darks as far as I want them. By now I know where I'm going with the piece. Or, at least, I should. Oddly enough, just a few steps past the scan above, I hit a wall. I wanted to lay in a dark background (a-la-Sargent) and make Evil-Lyn and the skull really pop. But I wasn't sure. I mean, I've been doing such bright, "colorist" type work, making something totally dark and in a limited palette was a little intimidating.

Luckily, I was on the phone with my friend and fellow illustrator, Marc Gabbana, when I hit this stumbing block. Marc suggested I stop being such an undisciplined punk and make a color comp. So that's exactly what I did.

I whipped up the above comp in about 15 minutes and, oh sweet Lordy, it was time well spent. I got to see all of the color/tone choices I was considering actually in action! This comp would prove to be my real roadmap to the final painting. Whenever I'd get lost in the details of the piece, I'd just look at the comp and be reminded to trust my instincts.

And the rest, as they say, is history!


What do ya do with a drunken sailor?
- David... Mr. Gum if your nasty!

First New Painting of 2010

"Evil," pencil drawing on canvas

So I'm kicking off 2010 with a visual bang! I've been slugging it out with a couple self-written comic projects, making new freelance moves, and digging deeper into my latest series of "Dangerous Women" fine art pieces. In line with the latter, the above pic is the sealed pencil drawing for my first painting of 2010 -- "Evil."

The piece is a tribute to Evil-Lyn, and will be on exhibit at Gallery1988LA's "Under The Influence: He-Man & The Masters of the Universe," which opens Friday, January 8th. Evil-Lyn was always such a badass bitch on the He-Man cartoons, and even in the movie. I mean, remember that whole Dolph Lundgren whipping scene?! So I wanted to show her at her finest, rocking the mad witchcraft she's known for. I'm pulling lots of musical (and I guess visual) influence from Miles Davis' Bitches Brew. And I'm also feeling very inspired by the works of the American Impressionist, John Singer Sargent. Check the pic below, to see what I mean.

At this point, I've done the drawing in a soft pencil on a pre-stretched canvas. Then I've sealed it in with an acrylic matte medium. The sealing in is where the uber-fun begins, because that's where I start to build up my tones and shading.

Unfinished version of Madame Pierre Gautreau
by John Singer Sargent

I'll be posting more step-by-step shots of this throughout the week, so stay tuned.

Happy New Year!
- Dave Crosland aka King Gum

This Is Why Ya Don't Throw Snowballs In a 9mm House!

I guess this NYC cop was pissed off when some fun-loving New Yorkers threw snowballs at his Hummer. So pissed off, in fact, that he was compelled to brandish his firearm and bully the crowd with his "authori-tay." The guy even called in backup. You'd think he was coming under fire from an insurgent ambush or something.

I wonder if this might be the sign of a state-wide trend. When I was in high school, my friends and I got into a big snowball fight in the middle of downtown Buffalo, NY. We were teenagers. It was snowing out. You don't need a Ph.D to know that, the first thing you do when good packing snow falls to the ground, is start balling it up and pelting your friends and family with it. But in no time at all, a police cruiser pulled up with its lights on, and the cop made us break it up. When we asked him why, he said, "Because somebody might get hit." One of my wise-ass friends replied, "Well, isn't that the point." But it was all over. We trudged on to the subway station, our fun times snuffed out by The Man.

New York police must have a zero-tolerance/eliminate with extreme prejudice policy on snowballs. Heaven forbid somebody get ice in their hair or suffer something equally painful, all because some people decided to break up the monotony of the day with free-spirited, youthful hijinks.

From bow to stern, and back again!
- Morning Gum

OK Red OK

"No one noticed as The Soviet gave the whispered 'all clear' to her blood-thirsty brethren, waiting patiently offshore in their sleek, shark-swift galleons..."

Red sky at night, sailors delight.
- King Gum, over and out.

New Work in PAPER PUSHERS @ Gallery1988SF

"Morning Study Tina" (uncut)
8" x 14" / mixed media on watercolor paper

"Bedlam" (uncut)
8" x 14" / mixed media on watercolor paper

"Stone Faced"
4" x 6" / mixed media on watercolor paper

"Those Things'll Kill Ya."
4" x 6" / mixed media on watercolor paper

"Grimace and Bear It"
4" x 6" / mixed media on watercolor paper

"Devil Exhale"
4" x 6" / mixed media on watercolor paper

These six, brand-spaking-new pieces will all be on display in Gallery1988SF's PAPER PUSHERS exhibition, which opens up TONIGHT! It's their annual group show of works created on paper. My submissions display the new "King Gum" style I've been developing in my paintings, sketches, and drawings. Feels nice to finally get some of this stuff out into the world!

I'll be in attendance at the reception, along with a good number of the artists involved. Come kick it with some real live creative folk, and get your Holiday swerve on! I promise not to touch you... unless you want me to.

Nya-ha-ha!
- Dave from the poop deck

ps -- See flyer image below or visit www.gallery1988.com for details!

The Variants: Episode 5, Guest-Starring Yours Truly!

Last month, the fine folks at Zeus Comics flew me to Dallas to be a guest star in their hit web series, The Variants. In the episode, I play a New Age-stoner version of myself, opposite the hilarious Scott Kurtz (PVP Online). As usual, I had a fantastic time in Texas. And shooting the show was a total blast. Many thanks to Rich, Keli, Barry, Joe and the entire Zeus crew for being such gracious hosts and great people to work with!

The episode launches today! Check it out at: thevariants.com

EPISODE 5 OF ‘THE VARIANTS’ PREMIERES DEC. 2

Dallas, TX—Zeus Comics Media is proud to announce the premiere of the fifth episode of THE VARIANTS, the web comedy series that takes you behind the counter of your local comic book shop.

“A lot of comic book stores host book signings, and Zeus is no different,” says series co-creator and co-writer Richard Neal. “But with signings comes the talent, and with the talent come demands.”

Episode 5, “The Signing,” sees Web cartoonist Scott Kurtz (PVP Online, Truth, Justin and the American Way) and artist Dave Crosland (Puffed, Scarface: Scarred For Life) doing a joint signing at Zeus. The staff has to deal with fans, of course, but the real trouble comes from Scott and David themselves. Crosland’s potentially over-medicated personality is easygoing to a fault, and Kurtz is… well. He’s Kurtz.

“No one told me they would be filming,” said Kurtz, in a statement issued by his lawyer. “I am working to confiscate and destroy all footage and persons involved with this episode.”

THE VARIANTS’ fifth episode premieres December 2, with new episodes uploaded on the first Wednesday of every month at http://www.thevariants.com. Journalists interested in setting up interviews can contact Ken Lowery at ken@thevariants.com.

- S.S. Helen, over and out!