Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came

It has been far too long since my last blog update, but that doesn't mean I've been idle! So much has happened in the last 6 months - all will be recounted at the end of this post - but I'd like to focus on my most recent project.

Shown below are some works from "Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came," a series of ink illustrations based on the poem by Robert Browning. The work was made over a grueling 4 month period for display at Hot Pop design boutique and gallery in Milwaukee, WI. There are 23 new works total - here are some of my favorite moments from the project:

"One More Victim" ink on paper, mounted on board - 11"X 14.5" - 2010

Browning's original poem, published in 1855, is about a young knight on a hopeless quest seeking the "The Dark Tower," from which none before him have ever come back. As he travels through the hellish and barren landscape, Roland knows he has little hope of survival, but presses on nonetheless.

In this interpretation, Roland is depicted as an astronaut floating helplessly through a perilous asteroid field in deep space. I wasn't sure it was a good idea to stray so dramatically from the original setting of the poem, but in the end, I felt the desolate apathy of space emphasized Browning's sense of hopelessness and doom.

There is also an interesting tension that happens when Browning's difficult text is juxtaposed with a more futuristic setting, as per bellow:

"He Lied in Every Word" ink on paper, mounted on board - 22"X 30" - 2010

"My first thought was, he lied in every word,
That hoary cripple, with malicious eye
Askance to watch the workings of his lie
On mine, and mouth scarce able to afford
Suppression of the glee, that pursed and scored
Its edge, at one more victim gained thereby."


"Should I be Fit?" ink on paper, mounted on board - 22"X 30" - 2010

"Thus, I had so long suffered in this quest,
Heard failure prophesied so oft, been writ
So many times among ’The Band’ to wit,
The knights who to the Dark Tower’s search addressed
Their steps - that just to fail as they, seemed best,
And all the doubt was now - should I be fit?"

You can read the full text of the poem here.


"Blind Horse" ink on paper, mounted on board - 11"X 14.5" - 2010


detail


"Better This Present" ink on paper, mounted on board - 11"X 14.5" - 2010



"Recoil" ink on paper, mounted on board - 2 pieces - 22"X 30" each - 2010


detail


"Fell Cirque" ink on paper, mounted on board - 11"X 14.5" - 2010



"The Dark Tower" ink on paper, mounted on board - 22"X 30" - 2010


"Woe of Years" ink on paper, mounted on board - 11"X 14.5" - 2010



"Childe Roland" ink on paper, mounted on board - 2 pieces - 22"X 30" each - 2010




detail

If you are interested in purchasing these original works, check out the Hot Pop Shop website.

Super huge thanks to Ric Stultz for hooking me up with a spot in this gallery (which is now booked until late 2012!). Margaret and the rest of the crew at Hot Pop were awesome to work with as well! Thank youuu!!

Below are some images of the finished installation at Hot Pop. I had a lot of help from Jackie and Brent over at Lovesick Robot with the mounting and hanging of this project!

I also created a little brochure explaining the project:

Overall I'm very happy with the work! The installation at Hot Pop will be on view until March 17th 2010, if you're in Milwaukee, WI, check it out and let me know what you think!

I'm currently working on a graphic novel version of this project, and also a serialized web version via Lovesickrobot.org. Keep your eyes peeled!

IN OTHER NEWS:

- Jackie, Brent, Tara and I (together forming the Studio Sunday Megazord) completed our crazy 9-month long project called "The Legend of En" in August 09 at the Borg Ward in Milwaukee. It was out of control, it was! By far one of the coolest collaborative projects i've been a part of.
- You can check see details of the project, along with a little "making of" documentary by Brent, here.
- You can order the Jackie produced epic 80 page graphic novel version of the project here!

- We had little time to rest after the opening of "The Legend of En" - about a month later, we found ourselves in San Fransisco at our very own booth in the Alternative Press Expo! You can see all the awesome swag we had, and even purchase some for yourself, at the Lovesickrobot.org STORE!

- Lovesick Robot Press also now has a podcast! Every week you can hear us argue about the issues YOU CARE ABOUT.

-I've been working as a full time graphic designer for Brew City - an awesome t-shirt company based here in Milwaukee!

-The Milwaukee Artist Resource Network (MARN) has a mentor/mentee program for upcoming artists in the city, and I was lucky enough to be selected as a mentee by the lovely Kathryn Martin. Her work is amazing! Katie and I will be in a group show this Spring at the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design, along with the rest of this year's MARN crew.

-I've overhauled my website's sketchbook section with all sorts of new stuff

-Working on some new stuff for my website, my blog(s) and some more upcoming shows as well!


Thanks for reading, and stay tuned for more updates!

WSU Currents Magazine

cover image - ink, acrylic, digital - 8.5"X11" - 2009

I was asked by the awesome Brett Ayers to do some work for the Winona State University alumni magazine, "Currents." I worked on a bunch of illustrations for this one, including a cover, 1/2 page interior, and several spot images. And boy do these guys love their purple...

"Alumni in the Classroom" ink, acrylic, digital - 6"X 6" - 2009

Interior Spot Illustrations - ink, acrylic, digital- 6"X 6" - 2009

Here are some pics of the interior:

I had a lot of fun with this project, and am stoked to start on the next issue soon!

Oodles and oodles has occurred in the past few months, so here's a few updates (or at least excuses to why I haven't posted in so long!)

- Studio Sunday is having it's debut exibit "The Legend of En" opening reception on August 28th from 6-10pm at The Borg Ward collective! We've been working on this show for SOOO long, and it's going to be FLAMES!! Tell your friends! There will also be an after-party at The Bomb Shelter!

The Borg Ward
823 west National avenue
Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53204

-I'll be joining my fellow Studio Sunday-ers at the Alternative Press Expo at the Lovesick Robot Press table. It's not until October, but if you do happen to be in San Fransisco around then, come say 'ello!

- Starting in August, I will be a full time designer for Brew City, a rad apparel company in Milwaukee! Super excited to work with these guys, especially their insanely talented lead designer Boris Pelcer -old school mate from MIAD!

- I will be having an exhibition in January at Hot Pop in Milwaukee!

BAD WINTER

It's about time I get around to posting the pictures/work from my first solo show at FASTEN collective (now known as SPARROW collective). The opening was on Gallery Night in Milwaukee, one of three nights every year where many of the city's galleries and shops have little art parties, which collectively mean one big city wide art-gasm! Here are some photos of the installation:

These drawings were, for me, completely different from what I had been working on for the last four years of art school. Instead of depicting a narrative, I wanted to capture how I had been feeling for the past months. The drawings are cold and representational, but there are certain moments in each that become slightly more shape driven and abstract; for the most part, I referenced quick, bad digital photos taken while walking to and from work.

Mandujano - graphite on Rives BFK - 2009

Triangle - graphite on Rives BFK - 2009


K.K. - graphite on Rives BFK - 2009


Greeley - graphite on Rives BFK - 2009


Clarence - graphite on Rives BFK - 2009


Burrel - graphite on Rives BFK - 2009

Bad Winter- graphite on Rives BFK - 2009


Austin- graphite on Rives BFK - 2009

For the show, I made a little booklet of the drawings and the comic:

It was interesting to see how the comic is experienced both on an intimate level in the book, and on a large scale in the show. The comic and the drawings are very different, but together they express a complete thought, the narrative and non-narrative balance each other out (in my head, at least).

And here's some photos of all you lovely people who came to see the show (you really came!)

mike and beki


jerod and little ms. adeline




Carl and Cynthia


it's Joan!



it's Beki!


Jackie Steffen-Bublitz


Greg of Francis Dav Fem provided audio stimulation.

A shout out to Jessica and Jerod for the opportunity and printing action! Also to Jackie, Brent and Tara for critiques and wood shop classes.

NEW STUFF:

A lot has been going on in the weeks since the show:

The kind folks at Illustrophile featured me on their fantastic blog! Thanks guys!

Studio Sunday is in full on production mode for our show in August at The Borg Ward.

Recently finished some work for the Milwaukee Fair Trade Coalition's Fair Trade Crawl.

Working on a new assignment for WSU Currents magazine (this is gonna be a big one!)

Working on brochure illustration for the Milwaukee 48 Hour Film Fest

Orlando and I drove down to Chicago to hang out with Meg and check out Art Chicago.


Will keep you posted on developments of these new projects! Thanks for reading!

We Blend Comic

Check it, son!




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Comic progress!

WEBSITE UNDER CONSTRUCTION

My portfolio website, www.chrismacstudio.com is being revamped! If you need to contact me, feel free to drop me an email at ctophermac@gmail.com
thanks for your patience!

My goodness, comics are hard/awesome. I started these 4 pages months ago to get some fresh samples for an editor. They just got agonizingly dragged out, too many revisions. But, finally, I have gotten to these final inks which I'm pretty psyched about! I still have a lot of work left to do on them though!

I am including this in an upcoming SOLO SHOW at Fasten design collective here in Milwaukee! Curated by the lovely Papavier, the show will be a series of drawings and comics about my life post graduation. There will be an opening reception on April 19th, the big summer Gallery Night! More info on this soon! Here's a sneak peak:

Seth Rogan - and other stuff

tight sketch - graphite - 9"X12" - 2009

"Seth Rogan" - ink, acrylic - 9.5"X12.5" - 2009

Here's a quick painting - a gift for my roomy! The ladies and I love us some Seth Rogan movies, and I've always wanted to draw his goofy, enebriated smile. I has this sketch hanging around for a while, so I was glad to put it to use. Hurrah belated Christmas presents!

I've been working so much in ink and pencil for the last few months, it felt great to bust out a finished full farbe piece. I wanted to explore a more rendered approach to my quick ink studies as seen in my Characters book, how would the more cartoony impressions look in a more finished state?

A little over a month ago my friends at Lovesick Robot (husband and wife team Brent and Jackie) and I along with fellow MIAD grad Tara Borger started our very own illustration collective called Studio Sunday! We meet several times a week to work on group projects as well as get feedback on our own work. Currently we are concepting an installation based on our very own fairy tale - hopefuly the project will materialize in a local gallery in the coming months. We have also nearly completed an illustrated promo calendar! Jackie keeps the website updated quite often, so check it out to see what shenanigans are cooking.

In other news I am full steam ahead on some personal projects! My friend Jessica over at Papavier asked me to put together a solo show at Fasten, a local design collective, boutique and gallery. I'll keep you updated!