#1016, 8:55 PM. Here’s a partial list of titles pulled from my collection of vintage paperback books. On the upper right hand corner is Phase IV by Barry Malzberg between other favorites like Froomb and The Chinese Kiss. It’s memorable for me because the well-known American graphic designer Saul Bass directed the movie version of the book. It was a great experience for me to work at Saul Bass & Associates way back when.
#1012, 7:06 PM, A partial visual playlist metaphorically pulled from my shelf. I love them all but will single out a local band from Southern California called Dengue Fever. Their sound is a blend of Cambodian pop, American retro, hybrid indie/world and sung by a well-known Cambodian female karaoke singer named Chhom Nimol. The other accomplished male band members are American. Their cd is third from the top on the left side between R. Crumb and Freddy Fender. Other favorites.
#1019, 4:21 PM. Payday.
#105, 2:02 PM. Flash! Check out #rickosaka, #snapshots, #art, #drawing, #pattern, #design, #iPadart, #painting etc. on Instagram for more moments of a perfect world.
9:10AM, Altadena, CA. I’m fond of unusual visual narratives and especially the kind that are disruptive. This was a result of my combination of several disparate images all morphed into one. It occupies an area between analog and tech and is packaged with a glossy resin finish. I’ve made more.
#608, 10:37 PM. Growing up with film cameras, I used to experiment with double exposures. The unexpected combinations from the transparencies and overlaps of exposures had a dramatic appeal. Now that I work exclusively with digital cameras, a convenient way for me to mimic this effect is to shoot an image reflected on and what’s behind a clear surface. This was a storefront window display in Glendale, CA.
#591, 12:01 PM. I did a combination of a digital photo and drawing on the spot. This was a mild intervention. Quiet, understated, and restrained at its core. Captured the vibe at the moment.
#590, 7:54 PM. This is a visual mash up from several reference points. I was working from images on a Chinese package design, a Japanese comic book, and a Japanese monster movie. For me, the experience of drawing this was like a conductor orchestrating an ensemble of different events in order to make a cohesive whole. In the foreground, I’ve added an orange rickshaw. By the way, I’ve never been on a rickshaw and my guess is that I would feel uncomfortable having someone pull me around at his or her expense.
#587, 8:43 AM. I’m calling this a hybrid because it’s a union of two separate observational drawings done on my iPad in two cities, Glendale and Silver Lake that are both in Southern California. If you get a chance, Silver Lake has a great pizza joint called Tomato Pie just off of Hyperion Avenue .
#585, 9:09AM. In creating images, I will often look for combinations of elements that work well with each other. This one with the flying figure and vintage hot rod works for me because of their similar directions of angles.