Three Little Pigs - SOLD

"Three Little Pigs" - 12" x 6" - SOLD

Commission: Velociraptor reading a book!

(I didn't used to sketch out my paintings. I've found that it makes the actual painting go a lot faster.)

(Snapped a quick photo before handing it off! paint)

This was a really quick commission I completed for my friend Jake in time for him to give it as a Christmas present for his girlfriend. I did this commission as a trade for some guitar effects pedals. If you're looking to have me do some commission work but you are short on cash, remember, we can always work out a trade!

He wanted a painting of a Velociraptor, which is his girlfriend's favorite dinosaur, reading a book. I got a little worried: Did I know my wife's favorite dinosaur? (It's the Brontosaurus, I guessed correctly).

What's your favorite dinosaur, and what would you like to see it doing? Leave me a comment, and I will draw the one I like the best!

I Drew This: Bobby Joe Ebola / Tornado Rider / Emily's Army Poster

I drew this up for a string of shows that Bobby Joe Ebola and the Children Macnuggits are playing with Tornado Rider and Emily's Army. I bet you didn't know this, but dinosaurs love ice cream.

Why I like Twitter

I used to be really opposed to Twitter. I didn't see the point of blurting out every stupid idea that popped into my head. However, I've changed my tune in the last couple of months. First off, its a great way to figure out where all the rad food trucks in the bay area are posted up at any given time. Second, it's pretty rad to be able to drop a line to one of your favorite musicians. Lastly, it comes in handy when you forget to document art that you just sold!
I posted this tweet during the Alameda Holiday Fair:

A couple of days later, I received an email from the nice person who bought the paintings! Along with some picture of the paintings:

As it turns out, they also won the painting that I had entered into the raffle, "Extra Parts?!"

Looks like it found a good home!

Twitter is also a good way to find out when I am going to post new clues for the dinosaur painting scavenger hunt I've been doing. If you don't already follow me over there, or if you were like me and didn't see the point of Twitter, maybe now you could give it a second chance.

Music Monday - Freddy Ruppert / Sickling EP

(click to download)

This is what I will be listening to this week while I draw. These are instrumental recordings by Freddy Ruppert, of This Song Is A Mess But So Am I and Former Ghosts. I grew up listening to a lot of the same electronic/industrial music that influenced these songs, so while being brand new songs to me, they wind up also being nostalgic.

I Painted This: Robot Unicorn

Robot Unicorn - 10" x 10" - SOLD

This was a recent commission. I was asked, "Could you paint a Robot Unicorn?" I could, and I did!

ARRRRH! AVAST!!

(click to enlarge)

I completed this commission recently for the 1st birthday of a little boy who has a pirate themed bedroom. I'm guessing that the birthday party will be pirate themed as well!
One of my favorite books growing up was the Peter Pan book I had that was put out by Disney and Golden Books. I loved the illustrations, which I felt like you could actually step into even though they were relatively simple. I used that as the basis for what I was trying to achieve with these illustrations.
My favorite illustration from this project is the clubhouse surrounded by water. I wanted something that mirrored the lost boys clubhouse from Peter Pan, without being exactly the same:

Sorry, you are not a winner. Please try again.

"Extra Parts?!" - 10" x 10" - NFS

When I participated in the Alameda Holiday Fair last week, the vendors were asked to donate something to the raffle. I wasn't sure which painting I wanted to put into the raffle, so I just painted this while I was at the event! I took a picture of it while the paint was drying and hustled it off to the area where all the prizes were staged. Goodbye, little robot!
So, if you like this painting, sorry. Someone who attended wound up taking this painting home that day. You can't win unless you show up!

(I am available to paint commissions though, and I could even have it done in time for a christmas gift! interested? Send me an email - xadamdx@gmail.com)

Music Monday - Big Kids / Phone Home

(click to download)

I posted the first album from Big Kids a while ago, and now I'm posting this one. I think these guys are the perfect soundtrack to doing anything in Oakland. Riding your bike, drinking coffee, making art out of trash, smoking crack... all things people do in Oakland, right? If you like the first album, you'll dig this one too.

Your Friday Awesome: I QUIT!

I have had really bland office jobs for the past ten years. I wound up in this line of work because when I would be home from tour with my band, I would do temp work. In Oakland, that meant working at a Kaiser office doing data entry, so my resume was full of office experience. When band-life slowed down, I found myself working full time in office jobs that held no interest for me.

This week, I say goodbye to that chapter of my life. I have quit my full time office job in San Francisco to be a stay-at-home dad, and to focus on being an artist. It's a little scary to be stepping away from a steady paycheck, but I have a bunch of money squirreled away in savings, I have reduced my spending to almost nothing, and I'm working like a madman to secure commissions. All while making sure my son is fed, changed and well rested. Oh, and I'm trying to keep the house picked up. Busy busy!

So, I'd like to officially announce that I am available to do illustration work, layouts for you next release, poster design or a painting you'd like to give someone for Christmas! Send me your commission requests!

I'll be posting some of the completed commissions I have done recently, along with some other pieces that I need to sell. 

Also, It's my son is six months old today! He is getting so big!

EVENTS!!!

Tomorrow I will be selling zines, paintings, and prints at the East Bay Zinefest, put on by the Rock Paper Scissors Collective.  If you missed the SF Zinefest this year, this would be a good chance to come check out some art (and music, if you feel like sticking around for the late part of this.) I will be there from 12-4pm. 

Next week:

I'll be performing at this with GNARBOOTS. Wanna get up close and personal? Come to this.

The very next day, I will be selling my art at this:

I'm planning on having hand-painted christmas ornaments to sell at this show! We will see how that turns out. I'll be busy painting, drawing and illustrating all next week.

Hope to see some of you at these events!

Music Monday - Leer / EP

(click to download)

I hope that someday when my son starts a band with his friends, it sounds like this.

SOLD - "OH NO!"

"Oh No!" - 8" x 8" - $40

Music Monday - Loma Prieta / Life/Less

(click to download)

During the '89 Loma Prieta earthquake, I was in front of my parents house in Gilroy, decorating for Halloween. When the ground started shaking, I immediately hit the deck. I realized I was directly under the front window of the house, which thankfully didn't shatter. I could hear everything falling out of the cabinets inside, and worried that the brick facade on the front of the house was going to fall down on me. When the whole thing was over, nearly every chimney on the block had been knocked down.

This album pretty much sounds like that earthquake.

Flyer - 12.12.2011

Here's the next flyer in the adventure of Bertie (that's the name of the robot). It's part of a series of flyers I am doing for the band Destroy Nate Allen. Nate said I should make my signature bigger, so I made it bigger on this one.

Music Monday - Comadre / Mixtape #5

(click to download)

This was originally released to raise donations to send over to Japan to help with their whole earthquake/tsunami situation, but it's now available for free.

FOR SALE: Domed-Robot Painting

"Domed-Robot" - 6" x 8" - $50

Happy Day-After-Halloween!

The day after Halloween has always felt super weird to me. All of the pumpkins are shriveled, the costumes have been packed away... and Dia De Los Muertos happens! Skulls everywhere! Not scary skulls though, pretty skulls! Nothing against the holiday, but it always feels like it's a day late to me.

Happy Dia De Los Muertos, everybody!

Happy Halloween!

Music Monday - Duke Nukem Forever / Hunger Pains & Homesick

(click to download)

Happy Halloween!

You Should Buy This: Winter Stroll II Print

Winter Stroll II - Limited run of 25 - 8.5" x 11"

What better to go with your "Winter Stroll" print than this! Limited to 25 copies, hand-numbered and signed by me, printed on heavy card stock.

Flyer - 11.18/19.2011

Here's the next in the series of flyers commissioned by Destroy Nate Allen. Looks like Bertie is in for a surprise!

Music Monday - The Weeknd / Thursday

(click to download)

I was really hoping this record would reference the Morphine song "Thursday" at some point, since The Weeknd's lyrical themes seem to mirror the main topic of that song. Alas, it does not.
Still a killer album though (and it's free).  

Flyer - 10.29.2011

Here's what I'll be doing around Halloween this year. Maybe I should try carving a pumpkin like this and wearing it on my head for the show!
I really like drawing this character, although I don't have a name for him (pumpkin head is already taken). If you think of a good name for this crow-footed, scarecrow-bodied, jack-o-lantern headed killer, please leave it in the comments below.
I'll try to post a few more drawings of him before Halloween to get myself in the spirit!

Flyer - 10.23.2011

This little guy is going on an adventure through the next series of Destroy Nate Allen flyers. 

Music Monday - Gnarboots / Happy Birthday

(click to download)

This soon-to-be classic mixtape is just a little under a week old. Why "classic", you ask? Because HAPPY BIRTHDAY, that's why! What better way to celebrate the day you were born than with new songs about that very subject! We couldn't include the original Happy Birthday song, due to copyright issues, but this picks up where that left off!

Music Monday - Di Bravura / Mane Horse Split 7"

(click to download)

During a Gnarboots set in San Jose, I was crowd-surfing (I am far too large to be crowd-surfing) and this dapper young lad was also crowd-surfing (he is the correct size to be crowd-surfing).
We high-fived.
I later found out that he is the vocalist for a group from Sacramento called Di Bravura. I think they are really good. Lots of screamy vocals, noodly guitars and weirdness. The other half of the split is Mane Horse, who I know nothing about, other than they have a far more accessible sound than Di Bravura. Four great songs from two totally different sounding bands.

Flyer - Victory And Associates / These Things are Facts! 2011 NW Tour

Conan from V&A booked the pAper chAse a while back in Oakland, and it was one of the best shows I've ever seen. I made this for his band as a thank-you for booking that show (actually, he just asked nicely, and I had some free time). If you live in the bay area, you should check out the show on the 8th. Moon Eater are really killer. They sound similar to Hot Snakes (and I went to high school with the bassist, although I didn't know that until after ). The Third Victim of Abigail Rutledge is Mags from Yaphet Kotto's new thing.

Your Friday Awesome - 99% Invisible

(click to go down the rabbit hole)

This is hands down my favorite podcast. I can't even remember how I discovered it (although while writing this, I came across a link to BoingBoing. That's probably how I discovered it). The format sets it apart from a lot of other podcast out there. While most other shows average about an hour in length, these clock in at about 4-10 minutes each. There's no dead air, each episode is well thought out to pack in a ton of interesting information. One of my favorite episodes is about Privately Owned Public Open Spaces, information I later used on the 100 Dinosaur Scavenger Hunt.

Music Monday - Reggie Watts / Daytrotter Session

(click to download)

I've probably listened to this session more times than any of the physical releases I actually purchased this year. For any of you who are unfamiliar, Reggie Watts creates music using a few loop pedals, a microphone and his voice. Oh, there's a little bit of keyboard thrown in there too, but that's hardly worth mentioning compared to all the rad stuff he does with just his voice and some effects.

Robots riding Dinosaurs

I painted these to sell at the SF zine fest. They were snatched up really quick. I should have painted more of these. Well, these and zombies. Everybody loves zombies.

Flyer - 10.28.2011

Music Monday - Golden Age / Cassette Culture

(Click to Download)

I wasn't sure what I was going to post today, until my friend Roman posted this today. I'm about halfway though it right now, and it's real good.

Little Robot Painting #3 -SOLD

Acrylic - 4" x 4" - $15

Here's the last one. These always look a little funny to me scanned and put up on the internet. Trust me, they look snazzy in real life. Let's be honest, that's where it really matters.

Little Robot Painting #2 (for sale)

Acrylic - 4" x 4" - $15

Here's another one! Another little robot painting! Painted by me! For you! 

Little Robot Painting #1 - SOLD

Acrylic - 4" x 4" - SOLD

I painted a bunch of these recently, and I still have three left over. Maybe you just have a little tiny wall you want to adorn with a little tiny painting of mine? Sure you do!

Good Boy - SOLD

Acrylic over spray paint  - 10" x 10" -SOLD

Here's another painting I did for the San Francisco Zine Festival this year, but no one bought. So here it is for you to buy, especially if you like robots and dinosaurs, together!

I added a wrench to this painting so that it looked like they were playing fetch. I didn't take a picture.

Robot Shock - SOLD

Acrylic on Spraypaint - 10" x  10" - SOLD

I painted this, based on a doodle I did on the back of a business card a while back. If someone buys this painting, I'll post the doodle. If not, well, you'll never get to see it. How's that for salesmanship?

100 DINOSAURS - CLUE #42