September 29, 2010: Arcade Fire, Live

Just a quick post about the concert last night: it...was spectacular. I've never seen a show so well put together. Arcade Fire is truly one of the best acts in the biz and definitely one of the best acts in the world. They really do have universal appeal: I saw grandparents in their 60's, kids as young as 15, all nationalities...they are truly a band that transcends boundaries (both socially and musically).

The show was at Key Arena in Seattle (about 3 blocks from the Space Neddle), and it was packed (all the seats available anyway). I would guess about 2500 were there in total for the start of the main act (AF).

Amazing lights show, awesome screen graphics, talented musicians (they can play all of each others' instruments (and did for some songs))...it was great. More than great. Amazing.

I'll have the Arcade Fire "Bands" tribute up by the end of October. They are currently my favorite band.

BTW, here's what they played:

Set:

1. Ready to Start

2. Month of May

3. Keep the Car Running

4. Neighborhood #2 (Laika)

5. No Cars Go

6. Haiti

7. Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)

8. Modern Man

9. Rococo

10. The Suburbs

11. Ocean of Noise

12. Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)

13. We Used to Wait

14. Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)

15. Rebellion (Lies)

Encore:

16. Intervention

17. Wake Up

Most amazing show I've ever been to. I'll try to post soon.

Cheers,

~J

From France with Affection

Okay. This one is probably the closest I've ever gotten to perfect translation (from brain-to-page anyway.) Everything I wanted in the picture came through exactly how I wanted it to. The only thing different from the original idea is that I used less colors than I wanted to, but I think the minimalism of color actually helped it: it kept the focus of the picture more on the art rather than the use of color.

The background picture was a real push too: I sat down and decided I was going to do a detailed line drawing. Forget proportions or whether the perspective was just right or what...it is just background after all. I finished it in about 90 minutes and depleted quite a bit of ink from my pen. It's probably been the most intensive drawing session I've ever been through: I was working fast and laying down lines constantly of that hour and a half. My hand is still a little stiff. Here's the entire picture:

Like I said, the perspective is a bit screwy, and the architecture is a bit flimsy looking, but again, it's just the back-piece. It's always fun to see a picture take form: that's another thing I have trouble with, seeing the final product I mean. When I draw something, it's often easy to see the problems with a picture, the first stages, and how it might take a miracle to make it look good. I can truly say with this one that it was not like that. I blazed through it, keeping my mind set on that final stage. It was very satisfying to know that I did have it in me after all. I suppose surprising yourself is a good thing (unless it's flipping the light on in the bathroom seeing yourself in the the mirror and screaming like a little girl about a serial killer in the house.) It, uhh, happened to a friend of mine...

The woman is inspired by Ellen Barkin. Her beauty just seems like it would fit in that 60's era quite well (bob-cut hair, apple cheeks, beautiful eyes, etc.) Maybe I have a misinformed picture of the 60's in my head: maybe I'm trying to focus on the part that was untarnished, the upper-class fashion part. I don't know.

Well, not sure when I'll have another one up. I've got one inked and ready to color, but I don't have a free day until the weekend, so we'll see. I'm going to see Arcade Fire in concert tomorrow, and that should be amazing. It's so hard to find good music any more (not too hard, but mainstream is so annoying sometimes). I'll probably have a 'Showcase of Bands' seg up for AF soon. I'm super exited to see them live.

Thanks for stopping by. Have a good rest of your (work) week.

Final score: 2.07/5 (so much for the scores getting better each time I try. Oh, well.)

I also did a shirt with the 'Franceplosion' by itself: the final score on that one was 2.78/5 (highest so far).

© 2010 Jeremy Owen

Bonne nuit,

~J

Mustache of Doom

The theme this month for Threadless is Movember. Movember, you ask? Well, a link to their site can be found here. If you're too lazy to go there, here's the short of it: all November long, men (hopefully no women) across the world grow a mustache in support of mens health. Since not many people can grow an effective mustache, it's more of a conversation starter ("Dude, what is that thing on your lip?"). It's a word-of-mouth type cause: not many people know about it, but hopefully that will change. Any cause that uses facial hair to raise money for men's health research is fine with me.

With this one, I tried to come up with something that no one else would. This popped into my head one day, and I thought I'd experiment. It turned out okay, I think.

The theme is Indiana Jones type lore. With the statue, I wanted to convey that he was in agony (having people tread on his 'stache all day long), hence the strained expression and tear carvings coming from his eyes.

I don't have too much more to add about this one, just that I hope you enjoy.

Final score: 2.27/5

© 2010 Jeremy Owen

Cheers,

~J

Montgomery Burns

The last couple of posts have had a more 'serious' tone to them, so I think it's time to lighten it up. This is, again, another design for Threadless. I probably said this before, but I'll say it again: a lot (if not all) of my posts, for a while, will be designs for t-shirts. I know I can do it: I know I can get chosen. Doesn't matter if I have to come up with 79 designs first. I'm not going to give up...at least not until I have to do design 80. *crickets chirping*

This one has to do with "The Simpsons". Some of the people I know (mostly my family) don't like The Simpsons, but I think a big part of that might be that it's kind of a 'generational thing', 'generational' meaning they might think the humor a bit 'low-brow' or 'silly'; 'generational' also like 'The Twist' was to my grandparents and what leg warmers were to my parents. You can fill in the blanks from there.

From the title of this post, you can guess what it entails. It's a little unconventional, but, as I stated a few posts ago, unconventional is good. Go ahead. Quote me.

I tried to make the man look like a 'realistic' version of Smithers, to give it a more "Simpsons-y" vibe. It might take you a second to see it, and yes, it could be said that this isn't the best pun I've come up with, but...just give me this. I don't have much else. *again, crickets chirping*

Whether or not you like The Simpsons or not, I hope you enjoy the picture. And for those you who don't know The Simpsons that well, here's what I'm getting at: for a picture of Montgomery Burns, click here.

Final score: 2.22/5

© 2010 Jeremy Owen

Doh!

~J

You Know When It's Love

This is my latest entry for Threadless. I've always like the era of the 50's, and love is almost the best subject for a picture (don't deny it), so...no brainer? We all had that girl/boy that we had a crush on when we were young, that boy girl/boy we could never quite talk to without feeling awkward. I know childhood crushes rarely go anywhere, but I know a few people who had childhood sweethearts from a very young age, and they've been married 30+ years. In this day and age, they deserve a round of applause/applesauce.

I always try to incorporate a bit of humor in my work. Although the message of this one is "you know when it's love", love can be fun. It doesn't need to be serious ALL the time. When people become committed to a significant other, it seems (and this is purely from observation) that after they get married and have kids, it's all about making it in the long run, making it work so to speak.

That is so...sad. If/when I ever/do marry, I vow to never leave a moment dull. I guess the most appropriate question to ask would be "why would you settle with a person that would 'get old' to you after a while?" Indeed, humans are strange animals. You'd think that functional vocal chords and emotions would make it easier. If only we lived in such a world.

Hope you like this one. I loved switching it up a bit. I'm working on another piece as we speak, so I should be able to get that out before school starts up again. After that, I can't promise regular posts. Oh, well.

Final score: 2.41/5

© 2010 Jeremy Owen

Cheers,

~J