department M

Department M on REDBUBBLE.com!!!

2009-09-07T10:28:00.000-07:00

Check it out:

and an even longer while

2009-09-04T21:35:00.000-07:00

well.....where to begin? lots going on, but very little of it has to do with the art world. So to sum it all up:

finally bought some new canvases - no idea what to throw down on them. The Department M website has officially launched, although it's more a portfolio than an actual full-service site. Working on that. And I thrown a few new pieces down since my last post. The site and works are as follows:

Site: Department M - www.deptm.com

And the works:

Dam - it's been a while

2009-06-03T21:05:00.000-07:00

A new, more detailed post is to come. Been crazy busy with work - and other non-art related shit, that I haven't had time to sit, assess and enjoy. here some snaps and pieces from the past few months:

A D I D A S

2009-04-11T12:02:00.001-07:00

So DA's hosting a contest in partnership with Adidas clled the "Finger Painting Contest" - head over to DeviantArt to check it out. [edit - 04-12-09] My submission for the contest is:

This piece is actually quite personal - it's the first portrait I've ever done of my family - and this is what we enjoy doing most. Just hanging. And what better to wear than my Stan Smiths or Shells that were designed to just hang in. And breakdance I guess.

AND, this is by far one of the best vids I've seen in a long time:

Back to basics.....

2009-04-05T10:07:00.000-07:00

So - after writing some personal stuff that really has nothing to do with my purpose for starting this blog - ART - so, i'd like to bring this back to basics.

So the creator and venerable artist from http://www.fumboo.com/ invited me to participate in the upcoming comic artist anthology project, FAT CHUNK. Although the release date is still if-y, should be out by this summer and it is LOADED with talent - except for the two pages submitted by that Department M guy. Well, I'm guessing I can't post my pages just yet, but a little preview of a panel wouldn't hurt:

So life, huh?

2009-03-20T21:13:00.000-07:00

i'm not an expert at what goes on in life by any means......in fact, most of the time I just wing it. But it really is amazing how quickly things change. In art, what you create is left as-is for the rest of time - or until someone comes along and fucks it up for all its worth. you draw something, or better said, you create something, and there it is. Permanent. Unless you chose to modify it in some way or if someone sets fire to it. But in life, you age. you think you've been created in a certain way, and then all of a sudden, you're proven wrong by some chance occurrence. Like falling in love i guess - you think you're 1 type of person, but then, just THEN, the minute you meet that special someone, you realize all of your ideals are bullshit. All in the face of love. Life's funny like that I guess.

It's pretty much the same when it comes to the other impactful aspects of life - one of which being death. You know someone for all your years, and in the blink of a moment, te status quo changes. so where does tat leave you? where does that play into all of the righteousness you thought you had down pact in your journey across life?

the characters we create as artist are just about the only thing we can hold certain that they'll be there forever - but people, or worse, loved-ones.......change. They get sick. They get anrgy. And eventually, they leave us. Sometimes you;re subjected to watching the process - the catalyst, the effect, the aftermath. And still you go on.....pretty fucked up how as long as you're not the one that passes, you feel like youre the one holding the bag.

The bag. The one thing most people carry on until it starts to show. Gray hair. Irritability. Pain. But eventually, kindness. If you've ever been accused of not having a heart, its probably because you've forgotten how to hurt. But in life - that's the ..............and someone just tried to break in...............

oh nine.....

2009-01-21T21:23:00.000-08:00

22 days into this new year, and it's been an interesting ride. i fear the future. a lot. i have yet to draw anything this year. to sum it all up, here is a procession of linear statements of the things that occurred in this wonderful new year (and a bit before). Woke up to go to work at 5 am. Got to the airport with time. connected in texas only to find out my wife's grandmother was on her death bed. saw a stereo-typical texan on an escalator. hid laughter out fear of getting a boot between the legs. went through 3 security check points. lost my phone. found my phone. saw the mountains of park city utah. skied the mountains of park city utah. grandma was stable. had a snowball fight. grandma got worse. flew home on new years eve. had a beer in texas on the way back. got home, but turned down stone crab dinner. got drunk. not celebratory. lounged out and watch the final season of avatar. watched the final season of teen titans. watched almost 15 movies. got really depressed by one. returned to work. went right back to the stress. threw a hell of a bachelor party. made dinner for the moms. got an awesome review at work. got an awesome level of new projects to go with it. grandpa turned 92. had a hell of a time at the wedding. gave an awesome best-man speech. endured a serious hangover. counted down to the end of bush. grandma died. monster pissed on our hard wood floor as I'm bolting for the door to go to hospital. the gate wouldn't open. heard barrack's speech and felt inspired. buried grandma. went to work to distract the mind. wrote out list of activities for the past 22 or so days. couldn't remember everything. All this with an incalculable amount of alcohol and cigarettes at almost every step. At least I'm not bored. - marin -

And that's the show....

2008-12-14T17:56:00.000-08:00

So the ANF's show kicked off on Friday, December 12th, and it had a pretty good turn out. Pretty f'ing cold also - for Miami anyway. Not sure if they reached their goal of raising $10k for building houses in Nicaragua, but i think it was a damn good event regardless.

For me? My second show of the year? My second show ever. It was good. It was really good. I'm not sure if that rush ever goes away - the one that suddenly appears when you just realize you've left yourself completely exposed to the opinions of others. I honestly could care less about what people think about me - it's kinda been my mantra throughout my life - but when it comes to my art, it's a bit tougher to see it the same way. I mean, a perfect stranger is in the position to view and criticize, whether positive or negative, something as personal as your finger prints. After all, it's your creation.

Overall, I got a lot of great feedback from people, and a very positive reaction the folks lookin' at my works. Except of course for the gallery curator who was pretty forward about how she thought my work was a piece of shit. Pretty funny really. Aside from the fact that it seemed that she didn't even know how to do her job, the chick was pretty much convinced that I didn't belong in her gallery.

Oh well - no love lost on that one.

But other than that, I had a great time with friends and family, and some new cool folks I got to meet.

Hopefully there will be a next time. My wife and a friend of mine took some great shots that night.

Ah yes - the guy who showed up thinking he was an artist

my best friend, biggest fan, and wife - all of which on the right of this pic.

Featured Artist @ EXPRESSION this Friday

2008-12-07T16:10:00.000-08:00

Well, my second show of this year......and, um, ever..........will be held this Friday, December 12th, at the Art Rouge Gallery in Miami's Design District. Aside from the fact that I'm as giddy as a school girl, this show is actually being held to support a good cause. The American Nicaraguan Foundation [ANF] is hosting this event to raise awareness on the poverty stricken areas of Nicaragua. All proceeds of the event will go to building homes for 10 families in these impoverished areas.

If you're in Miami, check it out at:

Art Rouge Gallery

46 NW 36 St.

Miami, FL 33127

You can also check the ANF out at: www.aidnicaragua.org

Here's a flyer I made for the event - I hope to see you there:

Just my opinion.....

2008-12-01T19:19:00.000-08:00

this is short - and sweet. As a disclaimer, this is a hate rant about something some people may hold very dear to their hearts, but I can't help what I feel.

People who watch, or have anything to do with the creation of MTV's "The Hills" should have been f u c k i n g aborted as fetus'. I mean WTF?????!!!!!! I've already been told that this is just hater talk, but how can someone continue to watch and obsess about the lives of a bunch of rich skanks that have the equivalent IQ of fucking rocks?????

Sorry - that's not cool - that comparison clearly insults the intelligence level of rocks.

Who gives a flying fuck about some plastic idiots who do nothing but bitch and complain about how hard they're lives are when they have absolutely no NEEDS in this world whatsoever?????????? These people have no idea what the hell is going on in the world, nor does the show even address social issues that could possibly educate someone. No, all it does is turn its viewers into a bunch of overly-dramatic flakes like the shit heads on the show.

Clearly I've been made to sit and endure parts of episodes. The chicks are not even hot! They're scrawny twits that do nothing but talk about themselves all fucking day!!!!

I can't help but go berserk every time someone even mentions that show - YOU PEOPLE ARE FUCKING SHEEP!!!!!

But then again, coming from marketing, I remember who the target audience is, and I realize I am not it - so there really is no reason for that show to appeal to me whatsoever.

Still, it would be nice to see the cast and everyone that has something to do with the show fall victim to a serious case of VD. I mean, THEN the show would have some reality in it, don't you think?

Again, I understand this rant is of the 'intolerable' kind, and I truly try to be as tolerant and accepting as possible of people, there beliefs, personalities, and overall way of life - but just try to imagine an episode where the twats from the Hills sit around and discuss the emotional impact they felt from the terrorist attacks that occurred in Mumbai last week - would not happen. I like cartoons, comic books, political philosphy and really obscure horror movies. At least the bullshit I read and watch from time to time has a vocabulary and story plot that in someway educates me as to the world around me or the history helped shape it.

I would love to see the avid viewers of the show write an essay or fictional short story about the metaphor of ecumenical conflict that is portrayed in every episode of the Hills.

Escapism wins again.

Am I a man of the people???

2008-11-03T16:09:00.000-08:00

So a few weeks ago I received a 'note' via my DeviantArt.com page, http://marinsstudio.deviantart.com, from a guy claiming to be from Italy. Seemed like a nice enough guy in the brief and horribly written note. All he was asking me was to design an album/CD cover for his band called the Mad Monkeys. Only once before has a musician asked me to design something like this - and he got the shit end of the stick because I didn't even know how to use Photoshop back then - in fact, I'm pretty sure his one-man band is now defunct because the band mates were at odds on how shitty the art was. Not to worry - the hordes of underground "If it Was a Day" fans will rise to the occasion when a reunion tour is announced. But all the same, I was flattered that some teenaged dude half-way around the world dug my art so much that he'd want me to design a logo for his band.

I Googled looking for info on his band to see if they were even legit, but it seems like the illustrious sounds of the teenage italian rock band have not transcended the walls of the garage in which they most likely have played 100% of the time.

Regardless, I'm all about supporting local artists, and being a realist, I was expecting anything in return.

BUT!

The minute I shared this info with a few friends, the capitalist light turned on, and I was the bombarded with the conflicts of "what if they get famous - you won't get anything!!!" and all that.

Who cares? I mean, at the end of the day, any jerk off could rip off my art and use it for their own, and I would probably never even know about it. As it is, the "Orphaned Works Bill" that was under review earlier this year would have ensured a crap outlook for artists seeing as to which anyone could use anything as long as the artist didn't contest it - of course it's hard to contest something that being used under the auspices of piracy in some po-dunk town in the middle of fucking Vietnam.

So the hell with it. I put together a design, and I enjoyed every altruistic minute of it. So does that make me a man of the people? Or a fool? Don't get me wrong, my underlying objective is to someday make some money off of my art - but not off of a few broke teenage kids. Where's the pleasure in that???

So here it is - without further ado - back from their world tour and playing here for one night only......... the Mad Monkey design!

2008-10-21T19:08:00.000-07:00

New pieces.......

2008-10-12T09:14:00.000-07:00

Not much updates to talk about, but here are some new pieces. Also, someone emailed me asking about background information on the pieces I post here. My real purpose of this blog is to throw my work out there and talk about whatever's on my mind - I don't really intend to elaborate on the art I post - if you're interested in looking up the background of my pieces, check out my page on DeviatntArt.com at http://www.marinsstudio.deviantart.com

"Ronald's Lament"

Poster Entry #2

"Elephant Delirium"

"Streaming" - This was actually featured as one of DA's Daily Deviations - pretty bad ass, generated almost 5,000 pageviews in one day and a lot of great feedback from the site members. http://marinsstudio.deviantart.com/art/streaming-96637421

"Triple Trouble" - just whipped this up yesterday - this will be the backdrop in my bedroom.

Open Call For Artists: Miami

2008-09-23T05:06:00.000-07:00

So the wonderful people at the Miami Science Museum have formally announced that they will have a new exhibit featured in the museum in the next month. The exhibit, known as "Music Musica" is going to be quite a venue in Miami as it focuses on the influences of Latinos on music today.

In honor of this new exhibit, the museum has opened up a contest to all artists in the Miami area to submit a design idea for the official event poster.

Check out the site for more info: http://www.miamisci.org/

And here's MY entry:

the story of the hurricane.......

2008-09-06T15:10:00.000-07:00

I f'ing hate hurricanes. It's not that I'm scarred to death of the crazy wind r intense storms, I just hate the befor and after part. You have to reorganize EVERYTHING so you don't run the risk of adding to the potential projectiles around your house, and then the after - despite the fact that everything around you is completely f'd up, you then have to clean shit up. And if the power went out, as it usually does, no lights, tv, computer, photoshop, to use all that free time on. It's candles, cold showers and shaving in the dark. Man that sucks.

So hurricane IKE may be paying south florida a visit. Or not. it changes every 5 minutes.

See for yourself:

Let's see how that goes.

As for something completely random, I found a video of myself and a past colleague, now just a friend, giving a demonstration on digital communications at last year's Americas Conference at the Biltmore hotel in Coral Gables, FL. It's pretty funny. I'm a tool. And it was when I was starting to grow my hair out:

And now on to the art.

PROGRESS!!!!!!!!!

2008-09-01T20:27:00.000-07:00

This is a quick post - just wanted to put a few pages I've developed over the long weekend - I'm finally finding a groove to start putting my pages together. I have to admit, it's quite tasking when it's by yourself. In fact, look at how cheap they look - no shading. I hate that there are no shades.

I may just go with black and white to hide how shitty my coloring job is.........we'll see.

Actually that last one was made to celebrate y 5,ooo+ page views on deviantart. Check it out at: http://marinsstudio.deviantart.com

i love scotch!!!!!! it tapes everything!!!!

2008-08-26T20:22:00.000-07:00

It's no secret that my only vice is scotch. Well, that is, aside from cigarettes and compulsive vulgarity. or extreme criticism. Or....................it goes on.

But I love scotch. I mean, i LOVE it. 85% of the works I've created in the past few can clearly be attirubuted to scotch. Why the f**k else would I draw so many bunnies in various situations.........that was too open ended.

But scotch - despite providing a conduit to creativity, or at least an excuse to b creative, it has also provided the impetus for countless conversations that were, at the time, profoundly deep.........but when the shit wore off, I can honeslty say the conversations were interesting at best.

regardless, scotch has brought my best of friends together time and time again for drinks, sticks, tears and jeers, and they keep coming backl. that may be because the f**king scotch is free. Or because they like the temporary profound conversation. Or not.

But at the end of the day, who cares - a little bit of scotch takes the edge off of anyone, and ets you forget, if only for a moment, that meaningless laughs around the table, at times, have more meaning than the worrisome bullshit we're all so consumed with very time we wake up.

I draw - and I like to think i draw quote well - but there are still those who willingly shit on my ability as nothing more than a distractionn from real talent. At first, I took these criticisms to heart, but then I looked inside myself, then stopped looking inside myself and looked outward towards the very critics that wwre so easily passing judgement on the very works which I put out for public eyes and realized, "hey, the peple talking shit are a bunch of goth-emo worthless sacks of shit that haven't contributd a flkying fuck to society, so who gives a rats ass what they think because at the end of the day, no one will fuck them. And so they spend their time talking about my art, which is time weel spent in my opinion."

man scotch makes you ramble. And not type very well. Or draw very weel. As a matter of fact,I burned a cd for my friend who was over just now, enjoying some scotch no less, and I wrote the title of the cd and kind of went over the dge with my sharpie and marked a drawing I made ast night. Not happy about that, In fact, i hope his cd player blows up temporairluy. or not. i hope he likes the cds. it was four.

scotch. I bet elvis liked scotch. William wallace did. and i'm sure if it was around in the time of jesus, he would've said " man. this is pretty good. Maybe I'll stick around for and extra 12 years to enjoy this to see how much better it gets." didn't work out that way, but the movie was excellent.

Assumed civility. Do you have it? ointless plugs:

Theory Tested.....Now bring on the placebos!

2008-08-20T16:11:00.000-07:00

Sort of. Well, it seems someone actually reads this blog and bothered commenting on my last post. So much so, that the comment I received yielded some results - as I stated it would. I do tend to draw what's easiest for me. That, in turn, slows down my progress since I don't push myself as a starving artist would.

And so on, my biggest problem is drawing chicks........or females or w/e the preferred nomenclature these days. That said, my wife made a comment the other day that simply resonated in my head for hours about how shy and conservative she can be, and bam - my hand and the two muses made this baby in my head:

I thin it came out alright - but as always, I was already sick of it in a few hours. Can't help it. 5 minutes after I finish a piece, I think I'm the best artist in the world. But when I look at the same piece after a little while, I think I'm a complete asshole that doesn't have the first right to draw. It's a driver I guess.

Funny thing though - the person who commented who provided half of the impetus for this piece hales after almost 3 years of silence. It's pretty f'ing crazy how time flies. Especially among friends. If I haven't mentioned it in an earlier post, I'm a very extroverted and friendly guy - well that's how I am on the outside anyway - but I don't makes friends easily. That is, I don't accept every f'ing retard into my life that does nothing but talk about sports and the latest porn sites - not to get all high and mighty, but I like my company to have certain blend of wit and disdain for society - it makes for some interesting conversations - and fashion statements at times.

3 years huh? Fuck. In 3 years I've advanced 3 times professionally, finished college, got married, got a dog, become even more distant with my family, re-discovered my passion for art, downloaded god-knows-how-many songs, seen about a billion movies, drank over 1,000 beers, and also developed quite the fondness for scotch - actually that fondness has been around for a lot longer, but I can afford a lot more of it now thanks to that professional advancement schtick.

But 3 years - makes you realize how fragile relationships can be, and makes you appreciate all the more the ones that have gone the distance.

Or not.

- m -

WTF?: Let 'er rip already.........

2008-08-07T20:50:00.000-07:00

So you want to know the worst part about being an untrained, self-proclaimed artist???? You tend not to associate with your own breed. By that I mean, you are rarely in the company of true artists - i.e. the pretentious flakes that feel the need to dress as outlandish as possible because it helps to define or differentiate them from the rest of the crowd, or as I once heard it put, "normies" (non-art folk). Well - as I typically react - f' that.

So back to the worst part - critiques. I work in the business world, and somewhere along the lines, someone decided to come up with a bullshit term for criticism so nobody's feelings got hurt - 'feedback' - what a stupid term. When someone recognizes you for something, it's called praise - when they completely tear your ass, its called 'feedback'. Last time I checked, feedback was the fucking noise that was produced when two stereophonic electronic devices emitting the same frequency came into close contact. Now it just means, "your an asshole, you need serious improvement, but let me communicate my feelings to you in a diplomatic way by not using any profanity to clearly state what I feel."

Well, enough with corporate culture.

When your an artist, you tend to share your works with the people closest to you - it's instinctive - if they're your friends, that pretty much means that they have an opinion in which you share, or at least respect. well, when it comes to art, there couldn't be a more counter-productive environment than that. Your friends are not art experts (that is, unless, they are - i.e. they're a curator or art history major or something).

For example:

I'm personally pleased with this piece, but it's LOADED with mistakes!!!! Of course, any friend who sees it will automatically tell me "Dude, that's awesome!" - now, that doesn't mean that I'm unappreciative - believe me, I pretty much put up with my parents for most of my life telling me that art is a bullshit career, and that it will never amount to anything - so I seriously take ever positive comment I get to heart, because it only motivates me to keep going.

BUT - because my friends are only so savvy about art, and what it takes to think of, sketch, line, and color a single piece, it's the equivalent of me complimenting an architect/construction manager on completing a new building because of how nice it looks. The thought, effort, doubt, etc. are pretty much void from then on.

So WTF? What does it take to get feedback from strangers - I DO have a professional reputation to uphold, so I can't exactly parade my work, in-hand, at an intersection and ask for honest opinions from strangers - after all, I'm from Miami so that could end REALLY bad for me, but what then? i wouldn't pay someone to sit and think about my work - that too would be biased based on the what I pay them? I don't want to take it to an art/design school frankly because I've seen/followed the art that comes out of those places, and the professors could seriously use a fucking art lesson from the same company that makes "paint by numbers." I mean seriously, just because some introverted reject welds some bullshit metal together, or they smear some paint on a canvas with their fingers or genitals DOES NOT qualify them as artistic genius'.

Now THAT is feedback. Or maybe it's the scotch talking. But, there in lies my problem - without the hard criticism to flag the shortcomings of my work, how am i supposed to get better? I'll pretty much go in a self-defined direction that could end with me producing the equivalent of some hello-kitty bullshit. Not that I wouldn't mind the revenue from that brand, but I'm not in art to turn a buck. I put up with assholes on a daily basis at work and the street so that I don't have to deal with them in my 'arena of interest'.

So what do you do? WHAT do you do?

I guess I'll have to continue to be my own biggest critic. And MAN am I an asshole.

(Other work - now critique i dammit - shit on it!!!!!!)

and so on........

2008-08-01T17:09:00.000-07:00

Well, it's been almost a month since my last post - the reason being, I've been busy as hell. Good busy. As I mentioned before, I now work for Big Brown, and today marks the end of my second week there. Jeeeez. Talk about intense. I've been in management training this past week, so I haven't been near a computer the entire time.

The goo news is that the wife and I were able to get away for a week finally - just us down in Key West. Personally, I think Key West is an average vacation spot - unfortunately the weather was total shit. We made the most of it and actually had a great time. A week off before starting the next chapter in y career was JUST what the Dr. ordered.

In other news, my version of CS2 completely c r a s h e d on me. I went in to withdrawal mere hours after this incident. So at the moment, I'm running on a trial version of PS from CS3. Seriously, I have no idea what to do.

So here's the art I've put together in all this time - please excuse the lines - I know they're shit:

Count down to brown.........

2008-07-09T06:55:00.000-07:00

This is a very exciting time for me. I have 2 days left at my current company, and then I'm off to begin the new chapter in my career............as Public Relations Supervisor for Big Brown. I'm sure that doesn't seem all that impressive to some - so f' them - but at 26 years old, this is quite the accomplishment. For anyone who has ever worked in PR in the initial years of joining the work force, I'm sure their age was a factor at some point. I mean, why the fuck would a 50-some year old Vice President of Marketing and Communications for a major company consider any sort of counsel from a 26 year old punk valuable?

So that fact makes this transition that much more sweeter.

The funny part is, I never thought leaving this place would be as sad as it's been these past 2 weeks. I mean, I'm not exactly a victim of self-loathing, but I don't consider myself to be liked by so many people. I'm the first one to come out and say what an asshole I am - or can be, at least. But everyone has made this a pretty bittersweet experience, which has really helped put things into perspective.

But, I'm out in 2, and ready to move on.

Happy 4th of July!!!!

2008-07-04T16:29:00.000-07:00

A wonderful holiday where you can blow shit up and not get put down by the cops. Not sure if that's what the founding fathers had in mind. To commemorate the holiday, here is a new piece that has absolutely nothing to do with the 4th of July.

on the madness.........

2008-07-02T21:10:00.000-07:00

it's midnight. i'm very tired. Exhausted really. but, the energy I've got at the moment is because I have just accepted a position with another company. I can't name names at the moment, but the company is very, very.....punctual. Giving notice at work - now that's exhausting. It's funny really, as the days pass, little things manage to piss the shit out of you. For no reason at times. And then you start to tell yourself, "when I'm out of here, I'll be sure to shove this moment down that person's throat!"

The funny part is, I can't remember a single bad moment right now. In fact, hearing first hand how my colleagues hold me in such high regard is actually quite saddening. I mean, they could be full of shit and hate me and wish me dead behind my back, but at least the effort to disguise that fact is there - so that means they care. Then again, I'm also considered completely f**ked in the head by some.

But overall, I'm pumped. I have 1 week to go before I close this chapter, and I get one glorious week alone with my wife. We don't have kids so it must sound weird to hear "alone with my wife", but unfortunately she has to split her time with me with art, boozing, friends, and her own personal interest: shopping. So at least we'll be able to take a moment from all that, and just hang. Those times are the best. She's my favorite person to hang out with, especially when we're off away somewhere and I can talk shit about everyone I see - her laugh is enough to keep me going on for days.

The MOST exciting prospect of this position is: TIME. At least that's what I was promised. Which I'm sure will turn out to be bullshit - but again, the effort on their part to even make it up, is there - that means they care.

So what will I do with all this time you ask? The typical new year's resolution shit answers apply: go to the gym, drink less, smoke less, cook more, nap more; and then there's draw more, maybe take a class or two on graphics, and my favorite - get off my ass and start getting into galleries. Easier said than done. In fact, I have already given up on all those. It really wasn't going anywhere - at least not since yesterday.

But there will be time. Time enough to complete 1 short term goal - finish illustrating a children's book. Actually, the goal is to not get the shit kicked out of by the author. I've been balling this project since May.

So, I intend for next posts to be short - very short - but much more frequent - and will simply update what the life-altering/stay-the-same process is like, and how it's leading up to my art. I mean, that's the point behind this whole page of mine.

Speaking of which...........a few pieces..............

interesting. .. . . . . . ... . . .

2008-06-22T09:00:00.000-07:00

I gotta say, this past was pretty interesting. In terms of work, it was same old same old, but I was able to go to a very cultural show at the Miami Performing Arts Center - for those of you from Miami who know the whole drama with the PAC, I refuse to call it by any other name since they'll change it again whenever they need more money. I digress.

The show was "the Life & Times of Celia Cruz" - I'm Cuban American, but I honestly never listened to her music growing up - on purpose anyway - but the show was great. Cheesy at times, and pretty sad, but the music was great and it was a pretty high-energy performance.

Not that a nice cultural night wasn't what I needed, I was able to throw back to my less responsible days and see one of my all-time favorite punk bands: Rancid!

It's been 2 years since I last saw them, and they honestly get better with every show. They played all of my favorite songs, and honestly didn't stop for more than 2 minutes during the whole performance. I know I'm getting old because I couldn't stand all the little teenage fuckers running around trying to act as hard as possible. Well, proof that I'm getting old is also the fact that I stay away from mosh pits because of all the sweat that gets passed around - it's pretty nasty.

So what was the artistic result of all these activities????

The department door is open!

2008-06-12T18:09:00.000-07:00

Not that Blogspot.com or DeviantArt.com aren't fulfilling enough, but I have been thinking for some time to launch my OWN website. The site would pretty much be an online store and journal where I could peddle my wares and jot down whatever BS i have going through my mind.

The best part, of course, is that I don't know the first thing about web design. Regardless, I bought the naming rights to www.departmentm.net. If you go there now, you'll find a place I like to call nooooottttthhhhhiiinnngggg (said of course in a very dark voice).

So, as if trying to get my name in the art circle, while trying to START and FINISH the first part of my comic book, and attempt to draw steady so my skills don't get rusty weren't enough of challenge, I figured I would add learning to design my own website to the mix. You know, just to spice things up.

Speaking of drawing steady, I reached 4,000 pageviews on Deviantart.com. That may not seem like a lot to some, nor an actual achieve to others, but i'm rather pleased. I even posted this piece of shit to show how much:

The Good Fight

2008-06-08T11:25:00.000-07:00

So walking around with some friends the other night I came across this guy's art gallery. Pretty bad ass stuff. Not the MOST original style I have ever seen, but then again, what artist doesn't draw influence and inspiration from those who've come before them? I for one have blatantly ripped off styles, poses, colors, etc. all in the name of "inspiration."

Regardless, I have to say my reaction to seeing that place kind of ignited a bomb inside me with rage and envy. I didn't express it, I just kept walking. But my reaction was still not a good one, because as well know, that leads to the dark side. But seriously - I wasn't pissed at this guy - just myself. I never went to art school, nor do I ever hang out with artists. I went the other route and live the empty, corporate life, with art on the side. (I mean that professionally speaking of course, the remaining aspect of my life are quite fulfilling).

It just pisses me off that I would never have the balls to drop it all and start my own place like that. As it is, I'm not even sure how good my art. I get so many mixed reviews with everything from "your style is childish shit" to "cool". Never a 'beautiful', nor an 'inspirational' - not that i need that kind of validation from other people, but it would sure as shit make me feel better if i were to really put the green down for an investment like starting my own gallery.

I guess that's where the conflict arises - I want to do so many things, all at once, yet I don't have the patience to even start one of them. I mean, right now I've got a pipeline consisting of drawing a comic book, designing a messenger bag, a children's book, t-shirts, and an upcoming art show. Gotta say, I have no idea how to finish just one of these considering I work in one of the most time-demanding industries around.

For example, I just finished this piece:

For me, I would want to turn this piece into a million different things, from a photo print to a bus stop banner. But why? I mean, uploading my stuff online is pretty much the extent of my exposure these days.

So i guess I just have to get my shit together - like any artist - and make the sacrifice.

Some day. But in the mean time, we fight.

Creativity without the time or energy...........

2008-05-30T22:39:00.001-07:00

..........is pretty much the equivalent of buying a girl 5 drinks at a bar when you're flat broke only to get wasted, puke, and even piss yourself when she finally says "want to come to my place?" That may be too strong an analogy, but I can assure you that being inspired by something when you've just worked a 4 day week that feels like a 7 day week, is a complete waste.

Long week. Very long short week. Jeeez. Work alone has been a nightmare. If anyone out there does some kind of account management with very demanding, yet high-end, clients, I'm sure you know the feeling when you're body pretty much refuses to continue. On top of that, my god damn right eye has started to twitch. That hasn't happen to me since I was working full time in college. Even my contacts burn.

So now that I'm through bitching, on to my purpose for being here - ART! Well, I have posted since the beginning of May, and I wish I could say it's because I've been wrapped up in lining out a great comic book, but it's been more my job than anything else. Or as we say in PR, allocating our resources into additional, more profitable ventures.

Over the past few weeks, I've actually been concentrating on writing - after all, what good is a comic book if it has no story to follow? On top of that, I finally got a return on one of my MANY investments - painting. For some time now, I have been really interested in canvas work, so at the beginning of the year, I bought a load of paint markers and a few canvases. The first one I tried REALLY sucked, but I progressed. So much so, I've become addicted to mini canvases. 10 so far, I think I'll try to make 50 so I can scatter them all over the world, and some day tell my grandchildren that there are bank account codes on the back of each piece in the series. That could be like my last gag.

Aside from that, I haven't accomplished much more.

But in other news, I got a haircut - it was time - but in memory of that, I messed around with my characters.

And one of my mug before and after........Other than that - Memorial Day weekend was great - beached it up at West Palm Beach with friends. Saw a pretty good show at the Miami Science Museum featuring Miami's own Spam All-Stars......and that's it.

I'll have pics of the mini canvases in the next posting - trying to come up with a name for them right now - another side effect of working in communications is that you become a 'branding whore' - meaning, you can't even suggest or do anything without patenting the idea wanted to trademark it with a peppy name.

- Marin -

the process of creation......

2008-05-03T15:04:00.000-07:00

Something that happens to me A LOT is when I finish drawing something, and then someone else sees what I did, and the first critique is something along the lines of "man, that's crazy" or "that's good, but weird". I got used to this a long time ago. I admit it - I don't draw landscapes, or flowers, or family portraits - I draw whatever I see in my head, which well removed from anything I've ever seen with my eyes. I don't see it as a bad thing, but I can't help it either.

With that, I often wonder what triggered the urge to draw something? It's not always like that - sometimes, at work for example, I'll just start to sketch around on a paper during a boring ass conference call and 2% of the time something decent comes out. But when I look at other artists' works, I wonder if MY method of getting the juices flowing is anything like theirs.

As I've mentioned in a previous post, I don't really have any artist friends, so I'm rather isolated in terms of observing other artists methods. Honestly though, I can't really stand artsy folk - they're either complete flakes who have this pretentious outlook on life, or they're complete dorks, introverted and all with no social skills whatsoever.

To give the impression that this is leading somewhere, I've been asking myself a question for a specific project for SOME time now: how do you make a comic book?

The initial answer I've come to is "with persistence and patience" - I'm only persistent when it comes to being an asshole, and I have no patience whatsoever unless it'll get me somewhere.

I've had ideas ON ideas about what would make a good comic book - or at least something entertaining if only for the first 5 pages - but i haven't sat down long enough to ever follow through. That is, until now.

I've been SLOWLY writing a script for a comic book. I've been going back to it for sometime now, but the majority of the story is in my head. It's a short story that's been primarily inspired by things going on in my life write now. What's funny is that the original idea started out as an art piece idea that consisted of 10 lines that were accompanied by illustrations. Well it's come much further since then. Overall, it's just a wacky "autobiography" of what I went through during a coma. I've never actually been in a coma - and you don't actually dream in a coma, so this story wouldn't be suited for anything other than a comic book.

The title, Assumed Civility: the Mad Land Chronicles, is a story based on absurdity, with the central character being the only rational-minded individual in a world of nut jobs - kind of like Alice in Wonderland, but a bit more violent and personal. For my next post, I want to visually portray just how I'm drawing everything, and I hope to be able to track the whole process. But again, that takes persistence and patience.

2008-04-27T16:53:00.000-07:00

So back in February, I reached a milestone as an artist. This was truly a pivotal moment for me, and I never talked about it. Just to put things in perspective, I was invited by my wife's company, the Miami Science Museum, to participate in a galley night style show that featured various local artists from various styles. I have also been designing the fliers for this event series, so guess who was a headliner?

Well, the event was awesome- at least in my opinion. I was able to put a bunch of my pieces on display for public viewing, which is the equivalent of saying, "Please take a look at all of my hard work and let me know if it's good enough for you." Needless to say, I was a bit nervous. I mean, I've pretty much operated my entire life on the sole principle that I don't give a rat's ass about other people's opinions - so to willingly engage in an activity that pretty much based on people's opinions and reactions was a bit new to me.

But overall, it went well for me. All of my friends showed up to give their support, and so did a few family members. Funny thing about my family is that they never cared about, nor encouraged, my art all of my life, but now that my stuff had generated SOME kind of notoriety, they came out of the woodworks to tell everyone how proud they are. What a load of s**t. Oh well, that only adds to the familial paradox I've tried understanding my whole life.

There was one person there that has ALWAYS supported my art, and it meant a lot that they showed - my wife. Talk about a person that would always tell me to go for it when everything in my head said not to. Well, I didn't go for it, but it's worked out so far.

Back to the night, there were at least 10 artists being showcased that night, each of them was really talented - although I have to say, just because you're 50 years old and you teach an art class, doesn't mean you're required to offer your opinion on everything on display. Seriously - some people should be hung upside down until they realize what a nuisance they are to others.

Aside from that, I actually partook in something that I never realized would be so terrifying - a live collaboration. I have seen them done, but I never realized how distracting a large crowd of people can be, on top of your heart pounding so hard. I wasn't very pleased with what I added to the piece, but considering I came up with it on the spot, I think it turned out alright (Angel in the top right corner).

But overall, everyone seemed to dig the art, I got a lot of great feedback from people, and I even ended up selling one of my pieces. I tried to soak it up as much as possible, along with about 6 or 7 scotches, only because I know this won't come along any time soon considering I'm no in the position to fly somewhere on a whim to have my stuff featured.

So, for me, it was a good night.

And here I am......

2008-04-26T10:16:00.000-07:00

Being my first post, I guess I should explain myself and department M. I'm a 26 year old amateur artist from Miami, where I have lived my whole life. I wish I could say something like ' I only get inspired while I shoot up heroine and imagine what it would be like to drown a prostitute,' but my persona is no where near that cool. I draw what I think about, in the way I think about it. I don't have many sources for inspiration except for a few sites, books, cartoons, and my wife. The worst part about being an amateur artist is, you're usually something else most of the time.

Me? I'm in Public Relations (PR). For those not familiar with PR, it's a lot more than just having a list of vips at the front door of a club - regardless, it's a field that has taught me to never believe what I see in the media, and pretty much be suspicious of everything.

So that's me - at night, I'm a heavy drinking, overly-sarcastic, artist, and by day, I'm a suit. It's a living.

As for department M, this is pretty much the name I have established for where I want to take my art. I'm very scattered between comic art, street/urban style, and graphic, and dept M is pretty much the universe my head lives in when it comes to developing my skill, and trying out new styles. Some artist go by their real name, some create new ones, and me - I'm an enterprise.

Now this blog is just a place for me to be able to chronicle the development of a bunch of ideas i have, and it'll be a testament to my successes and failures. It's also a place I want to chronicle the other journey - life - fortunately for me, that's not a trip on going on alone.