Beware the Man in the Mask...

This started as an ink drawing, but after a false start or two became a monochrome acrylic painting with parts of the original drawing showing (at the sides). From the Coronavirus series.

Beware the Man in the Mask, 2020, ink & acrylic on paper, 14" x 11"

Future Human (Resiliency Rising A.R.)

This is a component of the Resiliency Rising A.R. (augmented reality) installation I've been working on in Blender this morning. It's an upgrade to the previous iteration (which I'm not going to highlight here, as it was a rough placeholder), & while it is still not a very polished & sophisticated semi-abstract sculpture, it is much closer to what I want. It's supposed to be gender neutral, ethnically ambiguous etc., and also I highlighted the heart area of the chest, as the future of humanity should have a heart...

Future Human, digital 3D image

Below you can see the updated prototype installation in animated GIF format:

Resiliency Rising AR, animated GIF

Storm Bringer

This little guy arrived today...I think he's part of the Coronavirus series...and I think he's a keeper...

Storm Bringer, 2020, brush & ink on paper, 14" x 11"

Resilience Rising animated GIF

This endlessly looping animated GIF probably gives a better idea of the piece (this is still in prototype form) than the small video previously posted. The overall effect is promising, the actual figures, if studied closely, are not where they need to be. The "new world" sphere (growing out of the old world) is textured with the painting from the front cover of my wife's book, A New Global Agenda, incidentally).

Resilience Rising, animated GIF (converted from movie file)

Resilience Rising in Bronze

I was wondering what Resilience Rising would look like cast in bronze, so here is a rough simulation. This is actually a screen grab from Blender's "sculpting" workspace, so it's not technically accurate, but gives a reasonable idea what it would look like, should that ever happen. Also, since this is a prototype, you can see how rough the figures actually are. I expect they will get better as things progress...also, the figures should be more ambiguous & varied (I've replicated the one figure many times here).

Resilience Rising in Bronze (digital simulation)

Resilience Rising

Here are the studies & a short screen capture video of the proposed large-scale augmented reality (A.R.) public art installation, Resilience Rising. This piece is in its early stages & will most likely go through several iterations before it is finished. I'll post updates here as they happen. The small figures in the video (actually, one figure repeated & repositioned for expediency) were sculpted in the 3D software package Blender.

Resilience Rising, 2020, acrylic on panel, 10" x 8"

Resilience Rising, 2020, brush & ink on paper, 14" x 11"

The Ship of Fools is Becalmed

Another new drawing in the Coronavirus series, as I'm probably calling it. Another version of the Ship of Fools.

The Ship of Fools is Becalmed, 2020, ink on paper, 14" x 11"

They Are All Lost in the Forest

A new small acrylic painting on panel. This one came out darker (literally & figuratively) than I expected, perhaps.

They Are All Lost in the Forest, 2020, acrylic on panel, 10" x 8"

Virus World

Whilst the Coronavirus is occupying a lot of our time, here is another drawing inspired (if that's the right word) by it. This & the previous drawing might be part of a series, not sure at this point. In the meantime, stay safe & healthy.

Virus World, 2020, brush & ink on paper, 14" x 11"

Mask (the Silent Scream)

Here is another new drawing, inspired by the current situation we're all living through...

Mask (the Silent Scream), 2010, brush & ink on paper, 14" x 11"

The Ancient

I haven't been drawing much recently, having devoted myself primarily to computer-related activities; augmented reality & so on. But, here is a new ink drawing on an old theme, from today:

The Ancient, 2020, brush & ink on paper, 14" x 11"

New World City prototype in Unity

Here is a screen grab from my computer where I'm assembling this early version of New World City, an intended large-scale public AR (augmented reality) art installation. The basic idea is of a Utopian city inside a bubble, suffused with positive energy (warmth, humanity, love, stars, etc) & hovering in the sky above us, just out of (or in) reach.

As you can see, I'm building it inside the software package called Unity (the name itself conjures up ideas of human cooperation), having built most of the individual parts in Blender, the 3D modeling program. The double-helix tower near the front is new, having been built specifically for this project by my daughter Lizzie. I'm hoping to gradually replace the more geometric & "computer graphics" -type buildings with more organic forms, possibly sculpted by myself & then scanned into digital format. Previous attempts at 3D scanning have not been stellar, but I'm hoping that with work, we can improve that side of things.

Unity screen grab (PC) with New World City

New World City triptych

Here is a montage of screen grabs from an Android device of the prototype of New World City, which is intended to be a large-scale augmented reality installation. Not sure when this will happen given the current global situation, but I'm working on it in Unity right now. The individual buildings were made in Blender with my developing skills. More to follow when it happens.

New World City AR montage of screen grabs

Bokete with Sins

As far as I can tell, "bokete" means "jokes", the singular is apparently "bokeh". I found these on a Japanese web page. Google translate did its best, but might have missed some nuances...

These are probably hilarious in the original language