A while back I got one of those chain letters on
facebook. Normally I pass on such letters as generally they are some kind of weird 17 magazine style personality quiz. When I was bed-ridden for 3 weeks after my bicycle accident I would be all over stuff like that but this time around I passed. The letter sat there for a few days and then I saw a few of my friends responses to the initial letter posted on my home page. What caught my attention this time was the subject matter.
As I dismissed the letter quickly as just another "fill in the blanks about me me me" survey, I did not notice it was more than that.
I don't know where this letter originated but my friend Kevin forwarded it to me and a couple dozen other friends of his. The jist of the letter is that the fist 5 people who respond to the letter get something made especially for them by the sender on condition that they in turn pass the letter on to another couple dozen people with the same directions. Make 5 things for the first 5 people. Making something could be a silk screened t-shirt, chocolate chip cookies, knitted scarf...no limits as long as it's made by hand for the person who replies. Can't be something laying in the bottom of the sock drawer.
I gave in and posted my own letter to 25 people. The response was almost instant. There were a couple instances where multiple responses came really close to each other so I ended up making 8 paintings for the respondees as well as one for Kevin who sent me the letter in the first place.
These illustrations that I made fit the personality of each of the people who are getting them. The technique I used for these has been something I've been working with for a while and really like the results. On bristol board I use soft pencil, india ink, brush and quill for the initial drawing. I then add acrylic paint in a similar manner as watercolor. When I scan them the results to me look even better than the original. This was a fun project and I'm glad I finally answered the letter.
The subjects are as varied as the people for whom the paintings were made. I have the greatest friends in the world. I made portraits of the
Starland Vocal Band, David Lynch, Ira Glass from This American Life, Yoda smoking a doobie and
Spinal Tap. I also made some tattoo flash inspired pieces : an
octopus, a pug dog and a seahorse. Finally I made an illustration that I personally like the best of all of the lot and that is a monkey wearing a Pac Man shirt contemplating throwing some poo.
