Wednesday, December 24, 2008

A Very VOLUME Christmas











I discovered something very important last night: I SUCK at action photography. Ah well. It was my first time. And in my defense the lighting situation was terrible. xD
Displayed is a few from a collection of photos from the Volume Skateboards Christmas party. I decided not to post the pictures of some of the guys just hanging out, because they were gross, to say the least. Haha!
Pictured here are a few members of the Volume team--- from top to bottom:
  • Photo 1: Joe Clarke
  • Photo 2: Joe Clarke
  • Photo 3: Jonathon Reese (age 10--- the team young'un)
  • Photo 4: Kevin McQuarrie

The rest of the team, not pictured here, includes Ian Sherman, Kyle Dykstra, and Bryan Hansen.

So yeah. That's all I have to say about that. Go easy on me--- this is my first action shot attempt! xD

Monday, December 22, 2008

Nothing of too much interest.

I haven't had anything to post in awhile because I've been pretty busy as of late. Sorry! But I'm currently working on a pretty big multimedia project, which is already turning out to be better than expected due to an incredible deal I got a 48x24" canvas last night. I was planning on doing this on a different shape, but this is turning out INCREDIBLY better. I'm excited to continue working on this and eventually post it/show it in various places.....
Also, today is mine and David's 2 year anniversary =D Which is completely irrelevant to this blog's purpose, but I'm excited =] =] =]
Finally, I have a link to a really neat online collection I've been wanting to share but keep forgetting to:
Go check it out!
Thanks for reading!
Even though this was pretty pointless.....

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Multimedia/Collage

Detail:

Here's a piece I just finished using paint, paper, texturizer, string, and canvas. Therefore making it a collage.
And... I really don't have anything more to say about it. I don't like talking about things like this because I don't want to spoil the viewing experience =]
Since I don't know what to say, it's your turn to say something. Tell me what you think!
Thanks!

Monday, December 15, 2008

[[Revised] Revised] Cast List for Conventional Behavior!

jsdklfjdakmvepoajpf;dsaf. If we have to do this again I'll barf and I'll quit. I'll quit everything ever.
I am, however, glad that we have no worries anymore, and that we do still have an amazing cast.
(also, just want to point out that the loss/shuffling of cast members IS NOT OUR FAULT.)
Here it is:
  • Hal-Alex Burt
  • Luna-Meghan Raebel
  • Ray Gunn-Kyle Groves
  • Slave Girl-Jackie Rupp
  • Darth Vader-Steve Breuer
  • F.E.-Ashlee Borlaug

THE END. This blog will never have to be reposted again.

Saturday, December 13, 2008

Senior Pictures




It's a little late in the season, but I have some new senior pictures of my childhood friend Zach for your eyes to feast on! Om nom nom.

Why are these so late? Because Zach failed and forgot to get his senior pictures taken until last week! xD

I think some of these turned out pretty cool... The snow and the background (the building formerly known as the Coffee Depot) added a neat new effect.

Tell me what you think, please!!

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Happy Human Rights Day!





I have a bunch of new drawings to share; some new, most older. I've been very busy lately and haven't had a lot of time to document my work or upload the images. Sorry for the delay!
The first piece is my final project for my drawing class at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. It consists of three large drawings; which took me a HELLA long time to do. Especially the last one. But I'm pretty pleased with the overall result in terms of concept.

The next drawing is about a week old. I drew the contents of a very very dark corner, drawing planes of light rather than the actual shapes of the objects, which is why the entire composition is so abstracted. No; you shouldn't be able to tell what it is! Haha!
Finally, the third drawing is something I created about three weeks back in class. It's not the most exciting thing in the world, but why not post it anyway?
I have some more new stuff on the way, including new senior pictures and some interesting info about stuff I didn't make. So be on the lookout for that!
Also, today (Dec. 10th) is Human Rights Day. Go get informed on an issue, write a letter, or get involved somehow. Now's as good a time to start as ever.
Thank you!
Leave me any comments, opinions, or criticisms that you wish!

Sunday, December 7, 2008

My first Adobe Illustrator adventure!


For the first time ever, I had the opportunity to use Adobe Illustrator. And I'll tell you what; I could do this program all day! =D
I did a different version of this same design with more color, but this is more of a screenprint-ready version. I think the file is kind of weird, so forgive me for its weirdness ]=
And..... that's all! I have nothing more interesting to say.
Thanks for reading!

Thursday, December 4, 2008

Red Bull "Get It On Record" Event

So, last night, I went to the "Get It On Record" award party at the Varsity, and it was AWESOME.
It felt especially hip and happenin' cuz it was invitation only. Cuz I got dem hook-ups ;)
Basically, the competition consisted of ten teams of three media artists (a printmaker, a photographer, and a filmmaker) from various Twin Cities's colleges, who were paired with professional break dancers to create a cohesive package marketing that dancer.
I can't really convey the awesome through words. It was a great opportunity to look at what other people are making in the youth scene, get inspired, and of course network! =]
Here's the link to the website:
The results aren't posted on da instanet yet (at this point), but it gives insight into what the competition was all about.
And if the winning stuff ever is posted--- LOOK AT IT. The film was incredible; as were the designs and photos, of course! =]
There are some youtube videos up about the birth of the competition, as well if you're interested :)
Thanks for reading!

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

[Revised] Cast for Conventional Behavior!

CAST PART TWO.
We had a few complications, and now we've shifted things around a bit, and here's the new cast list:

  • Hal-Matt Edlund
  • Luna-Meghan Raebel
  • Ray Gunn-Kyle Groves
  • Slave Girl-Jackie Rupp
  • Darth Vader-Steve Breuer
  • F.E.-Ashlee Borlaug

So, here's our new cast--- and we are equally--- if not MORE excited because now we know that this cast is OFFICIAL. No more complications!!!!

Hm. Should I say this? Meh. Why not. At worst, you'll think I'm pompous for posting this...

Tonight was our theatre banquet for the fall show. It was VERY emotional for many of us seniors, knowing that this was our last fall banquet. [frowns]

This is pretty much the only place I feel comfortable posting this statement, because my blog pretty much exists solely so that I can try to market myself and brag.

Anyway, I won the Senior Over-all Contribution award for the fall shows in general. I'm pretty darn excited about it, I must say. It's reassuring to win such an award. God, I feel like a tool for posting my winning on the internet.

So, yeah. Feel free to comment! In fact, I prefer it! =]

Thank you for reading!

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Catharsis



Detail of texture [sideways--- oops!]:

Here we have a new set of drawings, a painting, and a couple photos that my little brother took of me while I was working on one of my drawings =]


First off, Let's talk about the drawings. In my drawing class, we had to come up with a theme--- which is a little difficult to make interesting in still life drawing, especially when one of those drawings has to be done in-class. So, I worked with what I had. I decided to draw the sink in class, and the toilet at home, to take a really literal approach to the idea of a catharsis [damn you, Lit class! *shakes fist*]. UGH. Life drawing trying to be deep is HARD.
But the sink looks really awesome in real life. Just saying.
The painting was just for fun. I don't have much to say about it--- other than the fact that you can't really see the texture here, so I added the detail, but it's sideways. Ah, well. You get the idea.
And.... This is what I look like when I draw:
GREASY HAIR

In conclusion: toilet.

*teeheeheeheeheehee*

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

It's a concert poster.

Ye. This be my final from Graphic Design I. The assignment was to make a concert poster, which was a really fun thing to do, and I had a jolly time working on it. I think it worked out alright. I'm not so sure about the placement of the info (like the date and location and whatnot--- Euclide's idea), but I think, on the whole, it looks pretty good for a high school kid dickin' around with Photoshop in an intro level class.
I have a couple new drawings and a painting I've been working on as of late, so those should be posted within the next week! But don't lose any sleep checking my blog once every ten minutes. Because that's stalkerish.
And.... I don't have much more to say. Enjoy the blog!

Friday, November 21, 2008

"Conventional Behavior" Cast List!!!!

Yay! I can now express my excitement over the cast of "Conventional Behavior"! =D
The cast (in order of apperance)
  • Hal-Matt Edlund
  • Luna-Jackie Rupp
  • Ray Gunn-Kyle Groves
  • Slave Girl-Kia Boissiere
  • Darth Vader-Steve Breuer
  • F.E.-Ashlee Borlaug
Jenna and I are really quite happy with our choices. EVERYONE; EXPRESS YOUR EXCITEMENT ABOUT OUR CAST.

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

All work and no play.......

.......makes Alex stressed out. I have a lot to do, but that's a'ight. At least I enjoy most of the things I have to do. And besides; I'm a determined little bugger. I can pull through. Cuz I'm really super optimistic all the time. Fo real, yo.

Above are two versions of what is essentially the same drawing. Long story. Don't ask or I swear I will pounce on you in a frenzy of rabies and fury. And no; I know what joke you're thinking of in your head, and it would NOT be sexy. Not even a little bit. Because I would be in jail forever. STOP THINKING THOUGHTS.

(^^if nothing I wrote up there makes sense, I apologize. My brain is so fried as of late.)

So.... I have nothing more to say about these drawings. Except I think it's ironic that I'm stressed out about time and I ended up drawing a buncha clocks. But really it's not all that interesting. I'm just pulling a real Charlie Gordon all the time. (OTTOOOOOOOH!! *shakes fist* *Jenna also shakes fist*)

SPEAKING OF JENNA GERIS. We're very excited about our upcoming one-act! The cast list will be posted on Friday--- and I, in my excitement, will also post here in Internetland =]

I gotta stop writing. Everything I say is incoherent.

Friday, November 14, 2008

Dear President BLANK

A little pre-election assignment from MCAD's first school-wide show! Each student created a piece with a message for the future president. I, being me, chose to promote human rights and demand action against detainment and torture. My piece consists of eleven of the infamous images from Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay, each edited to be a cohesive style and cropped to 3x3". For about a month, I left them around my house to be used as cup coasters so they would look dirty and ignored. I wanted to convey the idea that this is something in our country (or our kitchen) that is just looked over like it's nothing (like a coaster). I think the overall effect was successful--- as well as the visual aspect of it. After they'd been coaster-ized, I then tore them out and arranged them into a small booklet--- as seen above.
Below are some really crappy scans of all the images in the piece, just so you can see the details, especially in regards to the places where cups were placed on the images.

I did this a couple months ago, but it just came down from the MCAD gallery, so I haven't been able to post it before now. Check it out and tell me what you think!

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Making the Invisible Visible

So I've done a couple things this week that I thought I might share with the world. None of them are things I've made--- although I believe I'll be posting another blog tomorrow showing what I've been doing as of late.
First of all, me and David went to see the new Kaufman film, Synecdoche, New York on Wednesday. David was a hater, as usual, and didn't like it. I, actually, thought it was a really good film--- overall. There were parts of it that were just trying way too hard to be weird. And I HATE IT when people try too hard to be weird. It's so much more interesting when people don't realize what they're doing is ridiculous. Also, I think the ending went on too long. There were elements of the end that I really liked, but it was long-winded and probably would've been better for the message of the script if it had ended at an earlier point.
Overall, I think it was a well-developed film and a pretty good script. Also, I like movies a lot in general and felt like rambling about one.

Next up: I went to a lecture with my drawing class today. Michael Rakowitz was the speaker. Below is an example of one of his projects, Parasite.

Parasite was a project developed to combat the war against the homeless. Long story short, Rakowitz built small tents out of bags that would connect to hot air vents to keep the dweller warm. Rakowitz even met up with the homeless people and let them tell him exactly what he or she wanted in the design of his or her home. He did this project both in California and in New York during Giuliani's war on the homeless. His story was fabulous; it makes me happy to see that there are successful people like him out there who are really doing something useful. He told us about two other big projects he's worked on, and the other two were also incredible--- but this one hit me hardest. Probably because the other two had to do with his Iraqi heritage, which I can't exactly relate to xD

SO. Ramble-y. Well, I'll be posting something tomorrow too, I think; an old project that I just retrieved from the MCAD gallery today. Too lazy to document it right now xD

Also, I'm excited, so I'd like to point out that I MIGHT be getting some incredible opportunities coming up in the next couple months and in the summer--- but I don't really wanna talk too much about it in case something goes wrong and it doesn't happen. But I'm stoked and I really hope it all works out *crosses fingers*

So.... nothing too interesting today. Hope you all read it and enjoyed it anyway! ;P

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Theatrical Performances and Various Whatnots


First of all, just thought I'd share a little graphic I made in my spare time. It's simple and isn't relaly applicable for anything, but it was good practice with Photoshop--- which even the most advanced designers still need to practice with--- and I think it turned out a'ight. Do you dig?



Secondly, I thought I should talk about Flowers for Algernon. As many may know, Prior Lake High School is currently performing a production of the show. And it's AWESOME. I don't have the rights to post any pictures of our cast, but I play Dr. Strauss alongside my fellow all-star cast and tech crew =] So if you haven't, you should check that out. And if you're in it, you should be proud of yourself because this show is looking good.

I'd also like to point out that Miss Jenna Geris and I will be directing a Winter One Act this year. It's called Conventional Behavior by G.L. Horton, and it's really fricken funny. It's a spoof on a Sci-Fi convention with a lot of fun characters and costumes. If you're interested, we encourage you to audition for our show or any other one act this winter! (But mostly our show! =P Haha!)

OR just come see it when performance time comes around :)

So that's the update. Leave me some comments, yo! =D

Sunday, November 2, 2008

I don't really like it........

.....but I might as well post it anyway. Just to keep those who may be interested in the loop of what's going down.
So this is a multimedia piece I just did....I don't think it turned out very well. I finished it earlier this week but have been relectant to post it. Feel free to tell me if you absolutely hate it; I wont' be offended :)
Although telling me that you like it might make me feel better about it, haha!
So just give me an opinion and I'll be happy either way! =D
I can't remember the exact size of it... I think it's about 16x20".
Tell me whatcha think!

Sunday, October 26, 2008

Evening, Quentin.


The assignment in drawing class this week was to create a scene for a film with one dramatic light source and draw it using five shades of white to black. You'd think this would be right up my ally, being an aspiring filmmaker and all, but no. Of course I can't take it seriously. So I decide I want to draw something that looks like it would be in a crappy John Travolta action movie :)
And so, this was born. xP
I quite like it.
Like all my drawings, it is an 18x24 in real life. So it's big. Yup.
Do you like it?
Do you hate it?
??????????????????????????????????????????????????
=]

Thursday, October 23, 2008

More and more and more posts......


By GOLLY I really really really need to start taking better pictures of my drawings!!! D:
ANYWAY. I'm pretty proud of this one. It took a lot of time to get into--- I wasn't really feeling the groove at first tonight, and it was pretty bad at first. Then I pulled my head out of my bootay and came up with something pretty good. My classmates and professor really dug it =]
I'm growing quite confident in my drawing ability. Not confident like douchey; confident like a little kid who's parents keep telling her that she's the best dancer in all the land. I'm so stoked! Just don't mistake my glee for hubris, please! =P
So...... Yeah.
You should leave me 2 bazillion comments.

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

What I Dig.

So here I am, sitting at home, waiting to go to theatre. I started working on painting a multimedia piece I'm working on. It's really not too spectacular: mostly just kind of playing around. I don't know whether I'm done yet. I was going to do more to it, but I'm really liking how it looks now, as there is already a lot going on. I'm not so sure how I'd feel about it if I did too much more. Ah well. I'll sleep on it. I'll post a picture of it when I'm done.
Also, I wrote the first draft of my "Personal Statement of Interest" essay for college applications! Yay, responsibility!
Anyway, I have rehearsal in an hour, and now I have nothing to do. So I thought it'd be kind of fun to just talk about my influences.
So, some of my favorites are (but not necessarily limited to)
Wes Anderson
Not only are his films my favorites, but he is really really really ridiculously good-looking. Ladies; google image search him.
(Image from The Life Aquatic)
Francis Picabia
Because his imagination is so vivid and detailed.

Hubert Selby, Jr.
One of the best avant-garde writers we will ever know.

Alberto Giacometti
For his unique aesthetic and personal style.

Bret Easton Ellis
For when I want to have a little fun =]

His satires are HILARIOUS. American Psycho is brilliant. And Glamorama is basically the novel form of Zoolander.

So.... yeah. I love these men for their innovation. Don't misinterpret me; I don't want to be anything like them. I want to be as innovative as they are someday; but I want to create my own styles that is unlike theirs or anybody elses.

....And for those of you who don't know, I want to be a filmmaker when I grow up. And I WILL be interning with Wes Anderson someday =]

That is all.

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

A Day at the Park............



From a senior picture session with the James. Yep. That's right. THE James. =]
I'm only posting two.... I was going to do three, but then I got lazy and I have to start getting ready to go to rehearsal pretty soon! Haha!
Anyways, James will be editing his own photos, these are just a couple I did for my own amusement =]
After our li'l senior sesh, I made a crappy stop motion with Jenna and Jenny, which I'll probably post when I finish--- it's pretty low on my priority list, however, what with school and everything taking main priority, so it may be awhile!
In short, I spent a lot of time taking pictures at parks that day. And preying on small children who were at the parks while we were trying to take pictures.
UGH why are there all these little kids at the park?? Shouldn't they be playing at home playing video games?!
Thank you for reading!

Saturday, October 18, 2008

Contrasty Charcoalness


Wow. Blurry pic. I REALLY gotta start documenting things better. When I have my official applications portfolio done, I'll have good pics of my important drawings and whatnots, I promise! =]
More importantly; this drawing. Produced for my foundation drawing class at MCAD. This week, we were required to use only 3 shades in our image; white, middle grey, and black. The result; EXTREME contrast and abstraction. My professor told me it was best in the class, so I'm really ridiculously excited about it =] I wish I could show you the real picture... It looks so cool in real life....
Tell me what you think!
Please and thank you!

Monday, October 13, 2008

What?! Two Posts in One Day?! Has the World Gone MAD?!?!?


OUTRAGEOUS
But that's okay. I guess I just have a lot of new stuff today (?)
Okay. So. Here I have a new self-portrait, done in charcoal, using planar analysis and hatching.
The full-size picture is quite blurry, but you get the idea.
Also, SO MUCH PORTRAITURE, ALEX! WHAT THE CRAP, MAN?!

Anyway. The face looks really tight in real life. If you ever want to see it live, I can show you :)

I'd love to hear what you think!
And just in case you didn't know; you CAN comment on blogs even if you don't have a blogspot account thinger. So... You should leave me comments :) Yay!

The Infamous "Text" Assignment

"Tension"
"Tranquility"



Those of you from PLHS are probably familiar with the text assignments in Graphic Design class. Obviously, these are not the most professional of designs--- but they sure are fun :)
I'd like to begin by discussing the bottom two designs. We had to choose one letter for each graphic and, using that letter, create two graphics; one that communicated tension and one that communicated tranquility. I must admit, I'm particularly unhappy with the tension one--- but meh. Why not post it and be a sillyface?
We were allowed a little more freedom on the top one. We were each assigned a letter and then we were free to do pretty much whatever we wanted with it--- so long as we only used text. I was assigned the letter "T", if you couldn't tell. :)
So...... Yep. That's about all I have to say about that.
Comments? Questions? Concerns?

Thursday, October 9, 2008

New Drawing.... (but not a lot of time spent on it, sorry!)


New charcoal still life!

Another product of my drawing class.........

(this class has taken over my life, by the way. Every time I close my eyes I see charcoal skulls in still lifes. Every time I sleep I have nightmares about drawing.)
Just made this one in class today; we only had three hours to work on it, usually we spend at least five, but it was an interesting new project in value, which compelled me to share it.
I don't like the hatching on the floor..... My teacher came up to me and put the hatching on there to show me what she wanted, and I was kind of sad cuz I liked it A LOT better before that ):
But hey. That's what happens when you study art.
As I've repeatedly said, I did NOT spend a lot of time on this drawing, so please don't be hatin' too much :) Bahahahahaha
What do you think?

Monday, October 6, 2008

A Couple O' New Charcoals!


I feel like I'm posting blogs far too frequently...... Ah, well.
I have a couple new charcoal drawings I wanted to share with you. Both of them are about 22.5 x 30 inches in real life, so the images aren't very accurate.... I gotta start documenting things better.
Yup.
Those are drawings all right.
The top one is a still life drawn from our ever-changing ginormous still lifes in good ol' room M205 at MCAD!
The second is a self-portrait, done in a less-than-realistic style, but I think looks kinda neat!
Thoughts?

Sunday, October 5, 2008

Snuffalicious





More senior pictures! Yay! Hooray!




This round contains images of one of my favorite cousins, the infamous David "Snuff" O'Fallon. We tried a couple interesting new locations for our shoot; they turned out pretty sweet! Peep 'em!

Friday, October 3, 2008

"The Whole Kitchen Sink"



So first off, I have this new drawing I did in my Foundation Drawing class at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. The assignment was simply to draw our kitchen sink filled with dishes (using pencil), so it's not the most riveting subject, nor is my technical skill too outstanding, but I got a REALLY good grade on this, so I'm proud of myself, cuz I'm a four-year-old kid who gets excited easily :)
And I'm sorry about the low quality of the picture documentation; I just took a quick photo of it and didn't pay too much attention to lighting and graininess, et cetera. This isn't going in my portfolio or anything, so it's not too important.... I promise it looks better than this in real life, though! Haha!
Not an exciting piece, I know; but I have more coming! I'm currently working on a couple of charcoal drawings that I'm really stoked on, so those will be up soon, when they're ready! I look forward to posting them! =D

This second image, obviously, is not a work of mine. Yesterday, I saw a lecture from a furnituremaker named Jack Larimore. He works in wood and makes really organic pieces--- it's not my style, but it was so interesting to hear his perception of art and his thinking process were intriguing to me. He talked a lot about his inspiration from nature, and how he gets most of his inspiration from looking at the material rather than drafting, although he doesn't limit himself to any certain approach toward creation. I also liked what he had to say about furniture as a medium; he said he prefers furniture rather than sculpture because it interacts in an individuals life and really impacts life in general. He also discussed art as the process rather than the product (a crucial debate in the art world) and made some very interesting points.

You can check out his portfolio here: http://www.jacklarimore.com/portfolio/tables/03_wldrf_bfft.html

Thanks for checking my blog out!