art. work. ing. it.

i've been busy with my many jobs and regret that i've not had much time to update with news.
currently, i'm working on prepping for two different shows. the first will open at the Basement Gallery for the month of September. i feel i should mention that i will be unable to attend the opening for that First Thursday as i will be working a little event called burning man. i hope that doesn't dissuade any of you to attend and check it out. i'm uncertain as to the other artists that will be showing with me during that month, but when i find out, i'll post it up.
the second show will open at the Visual Arts Collective for the month of October with a Halloween theme. i will be there for that opening.
i'll post more photos of some of the recent workings from both shows as i progress.. small teasers and such. here's a few for now:

^for the basement show

^for the VaC show

a fine frenzy.

a song off my winter playlist, hopefully to post soon..
still been pretty busy playing catch-up from my trip. behind on some things like my trip journal, but once that's finished, promises to have some pretty interesting tales. i've got some big things in the works and a couple shows scheduled for this year that i'm pretty excited about. one is a halloween-themed show at the Visual Arts Collective for October, and headlining a September show at the Basement Gallery. i'll post some progress photos of that work as it comes.
^from the flying m's "monster in the cabinet" show
also. did the art for the Boise Weekly's Fiction 101 this year. should be out soon. i love the challenge of illustrating those small works of fiction. taking 101 words and trying to make sense out of them and create an image from it is why i continue to love my job.
i'm thinking about posting some more free art in the coming weeks, so watch for that.

transient.

my roomies moved out at the end of may.

it's only been a week or so, and i'm finding i miss those small things: trips to Wendy's for foodstuffs and inebriated Ramen-making, drinking large quantities of wine while playing Candyland, laughing about Hayley's leaked topless photo (i can't seem to wash my brain of this one, unfortunately, and how i've tried), starting fights in clubs with random backwards cap-wearing hoochies. and while i'm excited to visit them in their new place in a new time zone out east in the future, i will always miss this immediacy of friendship.

my mother sold our childhood home around the same time, so many of my weeks were spent packing and unpacking. always in this transient state and refusing to come to terms with the fact that the place i called Home was no longer going to be mine. my sister and i ate one last sad meal in our backyard garden while my mother steam cleaned carpets inside. void of furniture, the house hadn't been that vacant in 18 years, it brought back memories of moving into the place in my younger days. it was a big move for us. after my parents' divorce, we packed up and started fresh in a new town. it was the first time in my entire ten years of life that i got to see my mom happy.
she lived in a trailer in my driveway with her husband for a weekend while i helped my roommates pack up and leave. one evening, i watched "the time traveler's wife" with her on her laptop on the small trailer couch. i'm not ashamed to admit i nearly wept like a baby.
this life i know is changing, and i'm doing my best to roll with it.

-in art news, i'm busy working on a small show for up north.

-i've also got those Built to Spill and some old Josh Ritter/Andrew Bird posters i did available at the Basement Gallery and The Visual Arts Collective for purchase.

-my pal Rick Walter has a show that just opened up this last weekend at the Visual Arts Collective that is nothing short of awesome. it'll be up for two months, so go check it if you haven't seen it.

there's other stuff in the works, but to be honest, i'm wiped at the moment. somewhere there's a Red Bull singing my name in sweet, saccharin tones.

in the works.

for those of you who have noticed a problem with the store link off my website, milquetoastpress.com is no longer. this summer, we took on a business advisor and we are currently changing things up a bit. what this means: the new website is now under mqpclothing.com. most of our designs are being retired or redesigned to make room for new apparel. what you'll find at mqpclothing is a working site, and one that is subject to change as i work with our tech guy and tweak the site store to reflect our style. you can still purchase shirts directly through me- i believe the new site is still in progress at the moment- or we have some designs we printed up for the Slings & Arrows show at the Visual Arts Collective available. i don't run as much of the business as i used to. we have allotted different positions to others within the business to cover things that cut into my design time. what i no longer do? build and update the site, 50% of the printing, schedule meetings and boring business stuffs. what i do now besides have my hands in everything? oversee site building and design, 50% of printing, attend meetings, and all shirt design work. with my hands free of the technical and business side, i am able to concentrate on fashion trends, yay! and new ideas, as well as following them through from concept to shirt printed.

i'm currently working hard on some fresh designs for release very soon. we were hoping to get this up and running by october, but i've been far too busy to get everything up to speed on my end. i'll keep you updated as i change out old links and the new line is released. i might post some sneak peeks at the new designs before the launch. we'll see.

almost there..

just picked up the postcards for Slings & Arrows from sam at the Visual Arts Collective and they look pretty sweet. (big thanks to them for helping by getting those printed!)
started on the last few paintings i intend to have finished up for the show, and also completed the twins' painting "It's Not That I Haven't Thought About It" today as well.

photo is kinda shite, so come check it out at the show. there's some nice detail in their hair. once the show is up and running, i'll post detail shots/scans.
with every new painting i complete, it usually ends up becoming my favorite. i have a special fondness for my creepy, little twins. it shall be a sad day when and if we ever part ways. i'm hoping the next one will knock it from its esteemed position in my heart.
i'll leave this with another mini-mugshot. this one's james hanley for passing worthless checks. photo is to size.

slings and arrows!

i'm spending most of my days preparing for my first technical solo show coming up next month at the Visual Arts Collective. the theme is Slings & Arrows, a collection of mugshots and mishaps, insults and injuries, wounds and weapons. it'll be the first time i'm responsible for filling up a whole gallery by myself and the thought is quite daunting. (and i've got a lot to live up to with the showing of ben wilson and erin cunningham's excellent show "Hello Friend" that is still running through the end of the month at the VAC. do check it out.) luckily, i enjoy a challenge and have a strict schedule of energy drinks, bathroom breaks, and five-hour naps. throw in some beer for those late painting nights, and i feel quite blessed for such an easy lifestyle. (also amazed to find out that i have to be pretttty drunk to affect my painting skillz.) i really do have the best job.
but on those days off, i do have to battle this little distraction:



every now and then i get an ambitious idea for a painting that i end up needing photo reference for. i basically force my sister- on her visits to bring me food- to pose for these reference shots. this photo sums up how she feels about this:



Andie's telling me it's time for her evening stroll to smell fire hydrants and pee in the neighbor's yards. i'll leave you with some progress shots of one of the paintings i finished last weekend and one of the mini-mugshot paintings i'll have there.

geekcore.

the art i've got up at the Lisk Gallery downtown has been extended for another month, so if you missed the chance to see any of it, rest easy. it'll be up until the end of may. i've got [high] hopes to finish up some new stuff and drop it off, but it's gonna be a busy month so we'll just play it by ear.
(i've since picked up the remnants of art i had hanging up at the Basement Gallery back in January&February. some of the pieces sold, but if you're interested in purchasing any of the art i've got left from that show for cheaper(buy it directly from me, the gallery commission isn't necessary)have a look on my flickr page and drop me a note inquiring about any pieces you may be interested in.)
as for future news, i've got another show at the Visual Arts Collective tentatively in the works for what's looking to be August & September. i've plans to work on some larger scale paintings for this one, but as sketches and themes are still being worked out, we'll see what happens and evolves. i'll attach photos of progress as we get closer to this date.
for now, it's monday and i can't think of anything better than working from home, energy drinks, and good music.

art schmart.

the good news is the art show with Paste Eater is up and running. if you haven't had a chance to make it down to the Visual Arts Collective, you've got until the end of september to go see it. it's worthwhile, too. Paste Eater has some pretty amazing stuff there, and most of the art is moderately priced. if you're on a budget, much like myself, but still can't resist collecting some nice art for your space, i'd recommend getting down there soon. Paste Eater will have a bunch of drawings available, and i've a collection of smaller works too for those teeny spaces..
now i'm busy preparing for the show at the flying m next month, so i haven't had a chance to get those Josh Ritter/Andrew Bird posters up on the website yet. i don't foresee that i'll be able to get to that until i return from vacation in the desert at the beginning of September. after that, it'll be my goal and first priority.
also, if you've ordered any shirts from milquetoast press in the past two weeks, i apologize that it's taken extra days to get those out to you, given my busy schedule. but i always try and make it worthwhile and slip a little piece of free art into your package. i take your patronage very seriously and want all my customers to be satisfied with the product they receive. we don't aim to be a giant shirt factory and i still hand print every shirt that leaves here, making your shirt unique to you.
i'll try to post some new images from the flying m show in the coming week and a half, but for now, a few of the "art from the toilet" show pieces are up at my flickr page. (see link to the left.)

art from the toilet?

Local artist Paste Eater and myself have a show coming up next month at the Visual Arts Collective. that there is the double-sided postcard for it. (crossing fingers.. the show is sort of last minute, in that we have had about a month's notice to prepare beforehand.) do come and check it out! i'll have a bunch of new stuff, some small works too, and hopefully milquetoast t-shirts for sale too.
the flying m in downtown boise also has a dog-themed group show coming up from august 7-28 that i've got a piece in. it's a silent auction for all pieces with half the sales going to the humane society. i'm not sure who all is participating in it yet.
and! i've got thirteen posters left from the josh ritter/andrew bird concert last monday (see below). i will be putting them up for sale on the milquetoast website in the next week or so. after those thirteen are gone, i can't promise there will be more. we'll see.

built to spill.

this is the poster i designed for the built to spill show at the visual arts collective. it's going to be a 21 and over show, unfortunately, so if you're of age, come out and support a great local gallery/venue/space.
a lot of local businesses/galleries/venues are being forced to become 21 and over due to puritanical and ancient liquor laws that restrict youth from being in the presence of adults who are consuming alcohol in public settings, or some lame-ass crap worded similarily. politicians seem to think that a business like the visual arts collective, or the big easy/knitting factory shouldn't have to rely on alcohol sales to establish itself. true.. in an ideal world. but that just seems unrealistic to me. it's not the reality of the situation and to ignore the reality is plain illogical and retarded. (it's just like saying that we shouldn't teach the youth about sex because then they might go out and get it on like a bunch of rabbits. gasp! but... haven't youth been doing it since, i don't know, the beginning of time? regardless of whether they are taught the facts about sex or not? so. don't you think it would be better to be educated about it?)
anyway... go to the show. tickets are available online, just follow the link to the VaC's myspace.