Monday, December 5, 2016

After Diego

"After Diego" 
(Pen & Marker on Bristol Board / 2016 / 4in x 5in miniature)

Diego Rivera was a Mexican artist in the early 20th century and is one of my favorite painters. As both a sensual and political artist, he lay some of the footsteps which I aspire to follow on my own artistic journey.  This illustration I created over the weekend was a passion project and reprieve from confines I've felt in my work as of late.  The drawing is based on Rivera's "El Vendedor De Alcatraces" but with my visionary twist of course!  Musing with this painting yesterday morning, I was inspired by the themes of devotion, accomplishment, burden, and strength.


Saturday, December 3, 2016

Stand with Standing Rock

The Native America Sioux Tribe along with protesters and now a fleet of military veterans have dug in and set up camp to protest the building the Dakota Access Pipeline in North Dakota.  The site has become a cultural and political standoff which will be penned in history despite its outcome this week.  The protest camp is schedule to be cleared in the coming week so the this fossil fuel pipeline may be completed and run under the Missouri River, which is the main water source for the Standing Rock Native American Reservation whose people began to protest months ago. Despite claims by Big Oil their pipelines don't leak, 185,000 miles of pipeline leak every single day in the United States.

For centuries, the Native American peoples have fought to protect their land.  Their culture inherently understands the sacred balance between man and nature.  A balance which has become terribly skewed the past century. A platform for alternative energy is decades overdue and Standing Rock today is Ground Zero for the issue at hand. This week I completed an illustration, simply titled as the cause, Stand with Standing Rock to help lend voice to this pinnacle fight for a culture, nature, and the future of energy in our county.





Monday, November 14, 2016

Not My President? Not My Values!

In the first week of President-Elect Trump here in America, there have been over 200 incidents of hate crimes recorded in our country (as reported by the Southern Poverty Law Center). As protests continue in most major cities under the banner of Not My President, racial and sexist tensions have grown to a fever pitch.  While the chant of "sore losers" goes on from the alt-right, the liberal-minded find ourselves dumbfounded by the lack of understanding amidst smug celebration.  The quiet underbelly of conservative values is the embodiment of centuries-old racism and sexism.  Not all Trump supporters condone or advocate the actions of folks birthed from this swamp.  However, they don't condemn them either, nor does their Lord and Savior of all which is white pride.  Trump's "win" has seemingly opened the door for many of his followers who feel they have "won" the right to not just be openly prejudice, sexist and xenophobic but to also channel this hatred into acts of violence and civil rights abuse.

(Pen and Marker Illustration over Digital Background / 2016)

Tuesday, November 8, 2016

#BlowUpTrump's TOP 10 GREATEST HITS!

Several weeks back, I illustrated The Donald as a suicide bomber in order to start a game via social media called Blow Up Trump!  The little guy was soon given his own Instagram account which survived not 24 hours before being reported into obscurity by less-than-amused supporters of the real Donald Trump.  I fought the good fight though and through the proper channels, got my little terrorist back online where he's wreaked havoc for the past six weeks or so!  Election Day has finally arrived today and I wanted to share with you #BlowUpTrump's 10 GREATEST HITS!  (As decided by the number of likes which they received on Instagram!  Click HERE to see the FULL STREAM of posts on his account!

10.  The Train Wreck

Monday, October 24, 2016

Memphis Comic Expo 2016


After living in Tennessee for over thirty years, I finally made a visit to Memphis this weekend!  I was in good company with a ton of great artists for this year's Memphis Comic Expo.  The headlining guest and artist was the legendary George Perez, who I had the privilege of meeting at the show.  He's a class act and we all really enjoyed watching him give each attendee a genuine fan experience!  He was the first and last person working both days setting an example for every young artist in his presence!  Another new and growing convention, the weekend was a bit slow as far as foot-traffic making for a rough few weeks on the road lately but I'm not deterred.  Next weekend I'll be back in Knoxville for the Halloween Fanboy Expo!  More to come but for now here are some of the pictures from the fun-filled convention in Memphis...

Thursday, October 20, 2016

Two Sunsets on The Mississippi Gulf Coast

When Aurora and I went down to Biloxi over the weekend, we were fortunate enough to be able to catch the sunset both nights of our trip at two separate beach spots!  The first night after we finished setting up for Fear Fete and meeting up with a friend, we drove to Front Beach, which is in Ocean Springs where our hotel was located.  Right on the coast, we had a magnificent view of the bridge which goes across the water to Biloxi.  After a long day of convention work Saturday, we rushed across the street to the Biloxi Lighthouse where we watched the birds, the fishermen and another magnificent display of colors shining across the gulf!  While postcard-worthy, the pictures just don't do mother nature justice.

Tuesday, October 18, 2016

FEAR FETE in Biloxi

Aurora and I drove down to Biloxi last weekend for Fear Fete, a horror movie and gaming convention!  We really enjoyed having the weekend together on the Mississippi gulf coast but it was an adventure for sure.  We dove into the gulf after setting up at the Convention Center Friday afternoon only to find there was a water contact warning because of flesh eating bacteria in the water!   Fortunately, neither of us suffered any ill effects from dipping our toes into the murky black sands of Biloxi's waters!   
Thanks to the awesome fans who came out for the show and gave us some love and ordered live drawings!  Fear Fete is a new show here in the southeast and we'll look forward to seeing it grow in the coming years...

Wednesday, October 5, 2016

Pictures from Monster Mania

Monster Mania was a riot this past weekend in Hunt Valley, Maryland!  I got to drive up north and spend a week with my super-sibling, Dr. Hardin!  

On Thursday, I helped her facilitate a seminar at The Maryland Nonprofits Conference by doing a live 5 foot tall drawing!  By interacting with the audience, we created a visual diagram of their session which was later sent to them via email.  We'll be doing more of these collaborations in the future under the banner Visionary Inquiry (website coming soon!) 

After our first Visionary Inquiry, Becca kept me company at Monster Mania in Hunt Valley just north of Baltimore.  This three day Horror Convention featured Fright Night and A Nightmare on Elm Street reunion panels headed by Freddy Kreuger himself, Robert Englund!  My art got a warm and cozy reception amidst all the horror- thanks to all the fans and the event staff for an awesome weekend!  Here are some pics we both got from the show...

Tuesday, September 27, 2016

PRINT RELEASES for MONSTER MANIA!

This weekend, I'm headed up to Maryland for Monster Mania, a long-running Horror Convention with some awesome guests including Freddy Krueger himself, Robert Englund!  I had a riot at my first Horror Con in Detroit last weekend so I'm really looking forward to the show!

Since I finally got my Zombie Walk of Fame book published this month, I'm going to have a massive print drop this weekend with 10 NEW 11x17in pin-ups featuring artwork from this zombie illustration project!  If you can't make the convention, please be patient with my new print releases.  I'm working on getting some shipping tubes so I can make them available online as well!

You can still order CUSTOM ART online if you can't make the show!  Just visit my Web Store and tell me what to draw for you!

Friday, September 23, 2016

ZOMBIE WALK OF FAME book is available on AMAZON!

Thanks again to everyone who pledged to my KickStarter campaign to fund the publishing of my ZOMBIE WALK of FAME book!  Even though the campaign failed to reach its goal, I've decided on another avenue of publication.  Now, my collection of 101 iconic zombie celebrity portraits is available on Amazon.com!  At $22,95, this full color collection of hand-drawn artwork is over $7 cheaper than the initial pre-order price which was on KickStarter!  Also, I'm offering a free drawing to the FIRST 5 people who purchase the book and give it a review on Amazon!  After posting your review, just message me on social media or dregstudios@gmail.com with your shipping address and I'll drop a drawing and DREGstudios! swag pack in the mail to you as my way of saying thanks!


Thursday, September 22, 2016

#BlowUpTrump is ALIVE and WELL!!!



Looks like about 41% of you will not be as happy as I am in regards to #BlowUpTrump being back on the air!  He was recently shut down after a whopping 18 hours on Instagram!  My satirical art project places The Donald strapped with explosives at different places throughout the world.  Some are places followers would like to see disappear, some are targets of Donny Boy himself.  Either way, I've welcomed everyone else to play along so if you're inclined to create your own #BlowUpTrump images and drop them online, I'm more than happy to share them!

Here are some of #BlowUpTrump's recent targets...

Tuesday, September 20, 2016

Pictures from MOTOR CITY NIGHTMARES!

Detroit really turned out to get their creep on this past weekend at Motor City Nightmares!  This was my first Horror Convention of the year and my first time in Michigan since I was a teenager.  Thanks to the entire show staff and all the loyal fans who turn out year after year to make this event successful!  You guys kept me busy and thoroughly entertained!  For those of you who don't know, I'm a Michigan native though I was raised here in Tennessee.  I felt like I got one heckuva homecoming with commission requests all weekend and a great reception to my art from both fans and guest alike at the show!  Here are some of the pics I snuck in over the wild weekend!

My first time displaying my re-imagining of Picasso's Guernica at a Con- it was a hit!

Sunday, September 11, 2016

9/11 Revisisted

Infamy is a sad state in which to find a specific date in history.  Most dates marked with remembrance are of celebration and referred to as holidays.  What do you call a day of remembrance such as 9/11?  It's a bizarro, bastardized version of a holiday.  We share recollections of where we were when the towers fell in a testimony to how time stopped in shock.  America (and much of the world) was glued to their television screens in an Orwellian trance.  Five years ago, I wrote of Living in a Society of Fear for the 10th Anniversary of 9/11 (anniversary...another term which doesn't lend itself to define the occasion).  This year, I created a drawing from a different place- a place of finding peace.  In remembrance of tragedy, let us not be driven by fear.  Let us also learn from our mistakes- decisions as a nation made in rage and retaliation.  It is a turbulent world in which we live. We first have to find our inner peace then learn to share the space we live in.  This is the only world we have.

(Inks on Toned Paper - 9/11/16)




Tuesday, September 6, 2016

Pictures from BALTIMORE COMIC CON

This past weekend, I spent a few days set up at the Baltimore Comic Con meeting thousands of fans, geeks and cosplayers who gave a wonderfully warm welcome to my artwork!  Thanks to everyone who took the time to speak with me at my largest (and most successful) event to date!  I really made some great memories staying with my sister last week and seeing the city.  I networked with some great artists and even got my first ever portfolio review by DeviantArt and WebComics who gave me some very encouraging feedback and pointed me in some new directions!  It was a hectic weekend and I was fortunate to find new homes for soooooo much art!  Here are a bunch of pics from the show which both I and my sister Becca took...

Wednesday, August 31, 2016

A Slice of Heaven in a Sea of Sunflowers



This week I experienced one of the most wonderfully enchanting nature excursions of my life at Clear Meadow Farm in Maryland!  My sister drove us up in the evening just as the sun was setting to see the acres of fields of sunflowers which are grown there annually.  The sunflowers are harvested for  their seeds but also serve as a tourist attraction when they peak this time of year.  As a matter of fact, they peaked the week I was visiting so we saw the short day trip as written in the stars!  We may have lost ourselves a bit as I ended up taking nearly 200 pictures! I narrowed them down to the very best to share with you here...

The George Washington Memorial Parkway

This week I'm visiting Maryland and will be in town for the Baltimore Comic Con later in the week. To start out my first day in town, I decided to take in some nature on the George Washington Memorial Pkwy about an hour way in Virginia. This scenic drive is part of the National Park Service and runs along the Potomac River across from Washington DC.  Here are some shots from my drive...

Monday, August 22, 2016

Now It's Time to Play BLOW UP TRUMP!!!

Do you think Donald Trump is here to end it all?  Do you think he's on a suicide mission from a higher power?  Do you want to see him push the button?  Well now you can!  Today I'm introducing #BlowUpTrump!  Below, you may download Donny Boy in his finest Trump Brand Suicide Vest!  With this free .png file, you can place Don the Bomb anywhere you'd like him to do maximum damage!  After creating your own Blow Up Trump image, simply post it to Instagram, Tumblr, Twitter or Facebook with the hashtag #BlowUpTrump so we can all play along!  Between now and Election Day, I'll choose my favorite #BlowUpTrump posts to win some FREE ART from DREGstudios!  Here are some examples of places you may find #BlowUpTrump and at the end of the post, you can download Blow Up Trump to use yourself!

Of course, we may see Blow Up Trump pay a visit to the White House!

Sunday, August 21, 2016

A Special Thank You for 1,000,000 Views!

Art relies on its audience for its life force, its breath, its tangibility... thank you from the bottom of my heart for lending your eyes to be mine!  Here's celebrating my 1,000,000th view on DREGstudios.com!!!

Monday, August 15, 2016

Pictures from KANSAS CITY COMIC CON

Kansas City Comic Con certainly had the largest Artist Alley of any event I've been to so far!  Over the weekend I was set up at the Kansas City Convention Center where I found some friendly faces and in doing so found some bright homes for my colorful creations.  I also got a lot of wonderful feedback and encouragement about my work from creators, guests and the fans.  Thanks to all the cool geeks who dropped by, gave my artwork audience and showed me love!  Sunday I took the opportunity to make some rounds and meet some of the other artists at the show.  I ended up doing a slew of art swaps and took home some cool swag myself! Here are some pics from my trip to the Midwest the past four days... it's the furthest I've driven West from home here in Tennessee and I'm still learning SO much more with each venture out to the conventions!

Sunday, August 7, 2016

COMMISSION OPTIONS NOW AVAILABLE in my STORE!

Can't make it out to a Convention to see me draw live?  I can still create the type of live drawing I do at the shows for you!  Visit the new DREGstudios! Etsy Store to see the brand new commission options available- you can now order Convention Sketches, Sketch Cards and Portraits straight from my studio to your door!




Wednesday, August 3, 2016

ZOMBIE WALK of FAME starts Next Tuesday on KickStarter!

Nearly five years in the making, the ZOMBIE WALK of FAME is almost HERE!  All 101 zombie illustrations are drawn, inked, colored, finished and formatted for a beautiful FULL COLOR BOOK!  On next Tuesday, August 9th, I'll be launching a KickStarter campaign to publish the book.  You'll be able to pre-order your copy in digital form for as little as $5 and print for $30 (over 100 FULL COLOR pages of original artwork)!!! On Tuesday, the project will go live on KickStarter where you can preview the book and check out all the awesome REWARDS for backing the project including original art and postcard sets! 



Tuesday, August 2, 2016

Falls of the Ohio State Park

This past weekend, I was in Louisville, KY as a displaying artist at FandomFest comic con.  Friday morning I had some free time to spend in the city before the event kicked off.  Many of you are familiar with my love for state and national parks so it's no surprise how I spent my time!  I drove to the Indiana side of the Ohio River across from the city to check out Falls of the Ohio State Park.  Each year as the river level gradually lowers throughout the summer, an immense 390 million year old fossil bed is exposed along with some of the secrets she hides!  After visiting the for a bit and taking pictures, I also drove a portion of the Ohio River Scenic Byway through the charming town of Jeffersonville. Here are some postcards from my morning...

Monday, August 1, 2016

Pictures from FandomFest in Louisville!


It was a tremendous experience this weekend at FandomFest in Louisville!  I'm still new to the comic con scene so everything is fresh and exciting.  I had a lot of fun meeting folks from all over the region and finding good homes for a bunch of my surreal artwork!  Thanks to all the artists who took the time to chat with me and give me advice- I'm still learning at each event and had to really hustle to make the weekend a success.  All the hard work paid off and I came home inspired to do much much more!  Here are some highlights from the weekend including some of my own favorite cosplayers who I had the chance to meet at the three day event!

Wednesday, July 20, 2016

15 CLEARANCE PRINTS for $5 EA!

Today I listed 15 older prints in my NEW WEB STORE for just $5 EACH!  There's only a handful of each one left and they will not be reprinted in the future so this is the last chance to score one! 
Also, if you read the front page of my store, you'll see I'm also including one discontinued print with EACH ORDER for FREE!!!  These prints are NOT included in the Clearance prints listed here- you can only get one by placing an order.  So yeah, essentially you can get two prints for 5 bucks while supplies last (or pick up an original drawing if you wanna splurge!!!)

Here are ALL the prints on sale...



Tuesday, July 19, 2016

Melania Trump's New Movie Poster!

Meme's are a great spur-of-the-moment expression in our new digital age and come to define just about any visual parody we create.  Now that so many folks have visual editing tools at their disposal and right in their hand via smartphones, it's a great way to communicate and get a laugh. I don't always share meme's I create here on DREGstudios.com but this one was pretty fun this morning and did require a little bit of work.  Over coffee this morning, my wife showed me a video comparing Michelle Obama's 2008 DNC speech to Melania Trump's last night at the '16 RNC.  She had a great idea of making a parody poster of he movie Face/Off.  I thought it was a funny idea and ran with it- here's the results!

Friday, July 15, 2016

JULY ART JAM


It's been long overdue for the gang to get together and sling some paint.  Collaborative sessions are always a ton of fun and we never know what artwork will come out of the experience!  Charles "Wolfman" Bennett hosted myself, Jeff Bertrand, Abby Coppage and Joe Melanson for an all-day jam session yesterday.  We worked on several paintings together and had some great fun clowning around in the process.  A bit of rain had us running in and out of the garage but also gave us some cool patterns on our paintings!  Here are a few shots I got along with some of the other artists...


Tuesday, July 12, 2016

20 RECENT COLOR STUDIES

I spent the majority of last month working on markers studies of pop culture subjects for the Comic Cons I have coming up  I wanted to work on a quicker drawing style aside from my usual illustrations.  A big part of working a Con is drawing on the spot and my process takes far too long for that.  I don't ever really sketch much other than laying down the groundwork for a finished piece.  I also didn't like the idea of just doing pencil drawings for folks when I'm known for popping colors.  I set out to over the course of a few weeks to practice creating quick studies with a short range of markers.  I ended up with over 60 studies to take to FanBoy Expo in Knoxville a few weeks back where I was able to confidently draw live for three days to keep myself busy!  All the studies I have left are up for grabs in the NEW DREGstudios Store!  Here is a sampling of 20 of my favorites...

Sunday, July 10, 2016

TOP 10 MOVIES which Made Me Fall In Love (with Film)

"Topsy-Turvy: Wagger" (Inks on Paper / 2006)
In another life, I'm obsessing over camera angles and voice inflection rather than line weight and how many shades of blue I can fit into a sky.  Since I was a child, I've been consumed with the wonderment I've found through the world of cinema.  You may have noticed many of my Top 10 lists focus on the very subject.  Speaking with a friend recently, I acknowledged the impossibility of naming my own Top 10 favorite movies.  I find myself breaking things down into genres in such conversations.  Its been a while since I made a new list so I thought this would be a good place to start.  Today, I was thinking about which films really pulled me into this devoted love of movies and began jotting down titles.  I suppose this will be the closest I come to a general Top 10 Favorite Movies.  The considerable factor here in choosing is what influence the film had on me when I first viewed it.  I could compose a dissertation on each I'll try to keep it short.  Here are the Top 10 Movies which made me fall in love with film...

Thursday, July 7, 2016

BLACK MAN'S BURDEN (Please Keep Filming)

The epidemic of justifiable homicide being perpetrated on black men by American police officers is still being uncovered on a daily basis here in our county.  It's being uncovered by the loved ones of the victims, the bystanders and the new media  (that's you and your smart phone).

Of course, curbing (nevertheless solving) the problem of excessive use of force and civil rights violations begins with admitting there is a problem in the first place.  There is one and it's a cultural rift which has never healed.  Being part of the "post-racial" generation, I was taught growing up as a white student in a predominantly white school how this was all behind us.  African Americans fought, they marched, they earned equal rights and the rest is history.  Well what's all this marching, protesting, sign-holding and rioting we see through our new vast variety of media outlets?  It's what never went away boiling up to the surface of public discourse- the effects of systemic racism.

Where does change start and when does this end?

If we believe The Andy Griffith Show, there was a time where police were civil servants- peace officers if you will.  Officers knew their neighborhoods, knew the neighbors and acted as representatives of their community.  From the same vein which war-profiteering thrives, companies who manufacture tools of conflict profit handsomely by selling their products to our police forces.  Today local municipalities are equipped for combat, not protection.  They have tasers, nets, tear gas, batons, handcuffs, pistols, automatic weapons, riot gear, cars, trucks and tanks.  Who are they at war with?  The people they are enlisted to protect?!  Unfortunately, yes.  

Change begins with how police officers view their jobs and roles as protectors.  Of course, not every cop is trigger happy and ready to go to war on a daily basis but far too many are.  The mindset needs to be shifted back to serving and protecting, not combating and arresting.  There is a reason America has the largest prison population in the world and the majority of inmates are men of color.  Systemic racism places minorities in high-crime areas through lack of opportunity.  The same racism causes police profiling and the effects are well documented.  The best we can do as the public is to continue to document and demand action toward change.

Societal progress often comes from public upheaval.  Our modern age has placed tools in our hands which forge a path to discussion.  The power of the social media is an unmatched force in the world.  Public consensus through the internet has toppled governments, changed laws, brought the wrongfully accused to acquittal and brought criminals to justice.  YOU are the new media.  YOU are social change. Progress can be slow in such a large system but the ox can only turn completely around once he begins to move.  The police and government tell us, "If you see something, say something."  Heed their advice and hold them accountable by their own suggestion.  Keep filming, keep taking pictures, keep sharing and keep the discussion going. If you weren't already, we'd all think we were still in the fantasy-land of post-racial America.  Remember, the first big step is accepting and admitting there is a problem.


Saturday, July 2, 2016

40% OFF COUPON to the NEW DREGstudios Store!

The past week, I migrated my web store over to Etsy where all the cool kids are!  I've loaded up over a hundred original works of art along with all my newest prints and everything needs a good home! I'm getting together funds to attend a couple more Comic Cons soon so I'm pricing things to sell! 

To get things rolling, I'm offering 40% OFF purchases of $30 or more- just use the Coupon Code SURREAL4TH at checkout.  The coupon expires after the 4th of July so CLICK HERE NOW to visit the NEW STORE!

Over 60 marker studies are up for grabs like this Tank Girl Set!

Tuesday, June 28, 2016

Pictures from FanBoy Expo Knoxville

Over the weekend I had a great time slinging art at FanBoy Expo at the beautiful Knoxville Convention Center!  This was just my second Comic Con since spreading my art wings the past few months and I learned a LOT.  One of my oldest friends Nick tagged along to keep me positive and lend a hand at the DREGstudios booth in the Artist Alley.  We had a riot talking with folks, perfecting my sales pitch and getting pics of a slew of folks in very creative and artistic outfits!  It made for a nice trip to East Tennessee and the fans gave me plenty of positive vibes and feedback to bring back home!

Wednesday, June 22, 2016

The Na-ture Boy Wooooooooooooooooo!

Here's a new artistic tribute I concocted this week of The Nature Boy Ric Flair!  Growing up a child of the 80's and 90's, the wrestling legend's flamboyant personality was a staple of Saturday mornings.  Later on as a teenager, a group of my friends would carpool to wrestling events regionally when we had the chance to score tickets.  I was lucky enough to see him wrestle a couple of times at the WCW's annual Starrcade which found its home in Nashville for a few consecutive years.  The man is still stylin' and profilin' as he'll make an appearance this weekend at FanBoy Expo in Knoxville!  I'll be there as well and will be giving the man himself the gift of art for all the years of entertainment!  I just have to stop this woooooooooo-ing I've picked up while drawing his portrait... I dare you not to yourself when you look at the picture!


Monday, June 6, 2016

TERRIBLE 2's Opening Reception


Over the weekend, 40AU Gallery in Nashville hosted the opening reception for the TERRIBLE 2's Group Exhibit curated by Jeff Bertrand. Jeff brought together an awesome group of national artists for this treat of a show!  Here are some pics from the gallery and some of my own favorite creations from the exhibit!  Click the artist's name under each for their sites!

Wednesday, June 1, 2016

TERRIBLE 2's Group Exhibit this Saturday in Nashville

This Saturday, 40AU Gallery will be hosting a group exhibit featuring 22 artists who will be presenting 2 works of art each for the TERRIBLE 2's group exhibit.  The themes come from Nashville artist Jeff Bertrand who is curating the event.  Through their artistic mediums, creators will be presenting their view of the world as a child and then their view of childhood as an adult.  I really had a lot of fun creating my own work for this show where I'll be showing two self portraits (one at 5 years old and one at 35)!  The exhibit will open during the First Saturday Art Crawl in Downtown Nashville this Saturday evening!  Artists will be on hand for the reception- see you there!

Poster design by Brandt Hardin (Jeff was kind enough to offer me an art swap to design a poster for the event! He's making me a flask with Darth Vader on it!)

Tuesday, May 31, 2016

Lakeside at Kentucky Dam Village State Resort Park


Over the weekend, I took some of my gallery work to the annual Arts and Crafts Fair at Kentucky Dam Village State Resort Park.  I had a great weekend set up lakeside in the DREGstudios! tent and making new friends.  I sold artwork to a slew of awesome folks who were both local and vacationing at the resort for Memorial Day weekend!  Some great contacts also presented themselves and I networked with some potential clients and promoters.  I'm still learning and getting the momentum built up at festivals and art events so thanks to all the crafts vendors who gave me good practical advice for the future.  Here's some pics from the weekend including some shots of Kentucky Dam...

Thursday, May 26, 2016

Kentucky Dam Village Art Festival THIS WEEKEND

This Saturday and Sunday 9AM-4PM, I'll be displaying original artwork in the DREGstudios! Tent at Kentucky Dam Village State Resort Park for their annual Memorial Day weekend art festival.  I'll be showing two sets of my gallery work: the remnants of both my Sacred Texts and Soluble Fish series.  You can drop by the Old Beach in the park to see all the art and festivities!  The lakeside park and trails are located at the north end of Land Between the Lakes and make for a beautiful day trip for anyone in the region.

Wednesday, May 25, 2016

Graduation Portrait for Evan

Over the past several years, my buddy Joel Ray has amassed quite a few works of art from me and created a family art collection in the process.  I've illustrated a memorial portrait of his Uncle Joey riding his Harley and drew both is sons as Super Heroes (which may be my own personal favorite portrait commission)! I even created a childhood portrait of Joel Ray himself and his sister as children in their father's arms.  Recently, he asked me to create another work of art for his youngest son Evan who was graduating High School last week.  Evan is on his school wrestling team and his dad wanted the portrait to be of him in his wrestling gear.  This is a smaller 5in x 7in illustration so there's quite a bit crammed into a small space.  I tried my best to make Evan's baby face look fierce- he seemed to like the end result!  Joel Ray got a pic of us when they dropped by the home studio to pick up their art recently...

Wednesday, May 18, 2016

HERO & VILLAIN PRINTS AVAILABLE NOW!

Over the weekend, I released 10 new prints at FanBoy Expo in Nashville!  I now have all of them loaded up in my STORE for a whopping 12 bucks each (and the shipping is on me here in the US of A!)  This is a great opportunity to own a piece of my art.  


Monday, May 16, 2016

FanBoy Expo NASHVILLE

Over the weekend, I set up shop at FanBoy Expo in Nashville.  This was FanBoy's first visit to Music City and they'll be growing their convention and local audience over the years to come.  The weekend was a good experience for me to get my beak wet and network with some folks in the industry.  This was my first Comic Con since losing my job and spreading my art wings the past 90 days.  Thanks to all my supportive friends and digital tribe for getting me here!  The commission and internet sales have really helped launch me into action since the beginning of March.  I had a lot of fun seeing the show myself and making new friends!  Here are some pics from the weekend...


Friday, May 13, 2016

FanBoy Expo THIS WEEKEND in Nashville

DREGstudios! will be at Fanboy Expo hosted by the Nashville Fairgrounds this weekend!  I'll be manning my Artist's Booth exhibiting some original artwork but also releasing 10 NEW PRINTS!  I'll also be displaying all the cool sketch covers and sketch cards I've been filling up the past several weeks and sharing on Instagram! (Click HERE to Catch Up and see what's in store!) See you there!

Monday, May 9, 2016

Happy Mothers Day with Daryl Dixon

I was commissioned for a very unique Mothers Day portrait last month by my friend Miranda.  She wanted me to create a work of art featuring her mother Barbara and Daryl Dixon from The Walking Dead.  Now the holiday weekend has passed, so I can share the new artwork with you!  This was a lot of fun because it fused some fan art with portraiture which has become a specialty of mine.  Miranda and Barbara are both artists themselves and I was all too happy to create this uncanny keepsake for them.  This wasn't the first time I drew Barbara as five years ago, Miranda also commissioned me to draw a wedding portrait of her mother marrying Albert Einstein (click HERE to see)!

Inks on Bristol Board / 2016 / Brandt Hardin

Friday, May 6, 2016

TRIBUTE to BROOKE E

A little over a year ago, I was honored to be present for one of the best art exhibitions I'll ever see at Brooke E's Random Monsters.  The exhibit was packed with folks who showed up to see Brooke's life work in this one night retrospective (and her first solo show.)  To celebrate the one year anniversary of this event, Julian (Brooke's husband) released a coloring page of one of her unfinished illustrations, asking fellow artists and friends to create their own art in her memory.  After a few weeks of staring fondly at the image, I did so this evening.  Here is my version of "Dia De Los Meow-ertos" which I colored with my trusty markers...

(Inks on Bristol Board / 2016 / Lines by Brooke E & Colors by Brandt Hardin)