Good news over here! I added a new “Art Supplies” section to my Amazon Shop.
I’m sure there will many more items to add, but this is a good start. At the moment the entire list of items are all things that I use (or have used at some point) to make my own art.
What are you waiting for? Go get crafty!
- Jeff
I thought it would be fun to make some “heart” paintings for Valentine’s Day this year. This is the first one I’ve come up with.
It’s available for $30 in my etsy shop.
Yes, it’s a totally awesome perfect gift for that special someone you adore.
Enjoy!
- Jeff
Hot damn…I am running a little late on Flashback Friday today, but better late than never, right? These are from Sketchbook #1, which dates back to 1997. My very first hard back sketchbook.
(page 99)
Not sure what’s happening with this one. Perhaps that guy is lonely and daydreaming about a lost love. Your guess is as good as mine.
(page 46)
This one, of course, makes perfect sense. It’s heads growing out of craters in the mood. Duh!
(page 69)
This might the closest I’ve ever come to drawing comics. There is no story going on here, but each box was drawn with the idea of looking like a comic box.
Thanks for looking!
- Jeff
I would really like to see The Goonies get remade. Here’s the catch, I want to see it done EXACTLY the same way with the same exact actors. You know, now that they’re all older and stuff. Sadly, I’m pretty sure the NFL star that played Sloth has since died, but that’s a simple fix. We get Eric Stoltz to play the role in his Mask makeup.
Also, pretty sure the old lady died so we can either CGI her in and the actors just pretend she’s there. C’mon, these are professional actors, they can pull that off. I’d love to see a 40 year old brace faced Sean Astin have an asthma attack . Not to mention a 43 year old Josh Brolin in that awesome sweat suit with the shorts over the pants. And last but not least, who doesn’t want to see a 44 year old Kerri Green running around in that gross oversized lettermen’s sweater.
Welcome to the first installment of “Ask Jeff”! This is an idea I’ve been tossing around for awhile. People come into the gallery and call me or text me asking all sorts of art related questions, so I figured there is a demand for knowledge out there. Why should the person asking reap all the benefits when there are others out there that could be seeking similar answers. So, let the fun begin!
Christian from Paint This City asks: “When I tried to resin coat a poster, the paper soaked the resin and bled the ink all over the place. The pretty pattern turned into a blob. Any tips?”
Damn! I hate when that happens. I’ve had the same mishap with resin coating a few things and I finally figured something out that works. First off, you never really know what kind of an effect the resin will have on certain materials. It’s good practice to make test pieces first and try the resin on it. For example: Dab a little of your poster ink on a scratch piece of paper and glue that to a scrap piece of wood. I’m assuming you were mounting your poster on a piece of wood. Anyway, doing the test obviously takes up time, but it’s worth not ruining the final product.
Now, here is what’s worked for me.
Mod Podge is great! I prefer this matte finish one to the other finishes they offer. I use this to glue my paper/prints to wood. What makes it great is that it dries clear so you can also use it as a sealer. If you put a coat of this over your poster before you pour the resin coat there is a good chance you won’t get the bleeding of ink again. Of course, test this out on a sample first to be sure. One coat usually works for me, but you can also do a second coat to play it safe. You can also try a clear coat spray, such as the Krylon Matte Finish or Crystal Clear.
Again, I like the matte finish better for sealing purposes. I’ve used the glue and the spray on finishes and I’d say it’s a matter of personal preference. They’ve both worked for me, but I still prefer the glue.
Try it out and let me know if that works for you.
* Enviro-Tex Pour On Resin, Mod Podge Matte Finish and Krylon clear coats are all available at The Claassen Gallery.
Thanks for sending the question!
- Jeff
If you have an artsy type question you’d like to ask feel free to visit the contact page and send it my way. If I feel qualified to answer it I’ll make a blog post out of it.
For years people have suggested I make greeting cards and I’ve finally taken their advice. To start out in this new arena I decided on these three images.
I have a few options set up if you’d like to buy some of these snazzy little art pieces.
Single cards are available for $2.50 each.
5 pack of cards (5 of the same image) are available for $10.
6 pack of cards (2 of each design) are available for $12.
So, if you order a pack you do save a little money. If you come into the gallery to buy these in person you are more than welcome to pick any 5 cards to get the deal. Unfortunately, online, that option is not available.
Anyway, I’m super stoked with how these came out and I hope you enjoy them too.
Click the photo to order or visit my etsy shop.
Thanks for looking!
- Jeff
Uhh…what kind of steam?
What are those crazies in the city going to think of next?
Editing photos on my camera and I found these little gems. It’s time to delete them off of my camera so I am putting them right here for safe keeping. This first one was done with a ballpoint pen because it was all that I had on me at the moment. Also, I drew this in the community sketchbook at Sally Loo’s, which is a cute cafe in SLO that I highly recommend.
And this next one is a drawing I made in the back of one of my books for a new fan.
That’s it for now. Perhaps more random stuff later? Time will tell.
- Jeff
It’s been a long time coming, but I finally installed a nice testing area in the gallery.
Already, the wall no longer looks like this. It’s getting covered quite nicely.
If you have trouble making a choice or are hesitant to buy a marker you’re unfamiliar with now you can test any of them out…Krink, OTR, Pilot, Sakura, whatever. If we sell it you can test it.
Finally try out that Astro Cap before you buy it. Or any cap for that matter. Also, see for yourself just how runny and watered down Krylon and Rustoleum are in a side by side comparison with the original Spanish Montana Spray Paint. It’s no contest, so come by the gallery and see for yourself.
That’s right! I have six ad spots available for free! Well, kind of. You see, I am doing some research. You will not be charged for having your ad on my blog, but in return I would like some feedback from you on if the ad was effective.
What’s in this for you:
- Free ad to your URL for two weeks.
- The possibility of getting more exposure to your site.
- The possibility of getting some sales.
“Effective”, of course, can mean different things to different people so here is what I am specifically looking for.
- Did the ad generate visitors to your site? If so, how many?
- Did the ad generate any sales of the products you offer? If so, what products and how many sales?
- Was there any interaction between new visitors and you. For example: “I saw your ad on Jeff’s blog and………”
- At the end of this two week experiment I’ll have some more questions for you, but those I just mentioned should give you an idea on the type of feedback I’m looking for.
To be eligible for the free ad you must have some form of web statistics available for your site. I highly suggest that the URL your ad links to is a specific page set up just to monitor how many visitors that page gets. In other words, it’s a page you set up and the only way for someone to view it is from clicking the ad on my blog. Doing this will give us the best indication of how effective the ad is. If that’s too much work for you then we’ll have to settle for the “referring URL” information.
I’ll be totally honest with you, I’m a little guy in the world of blogging. There are some serious pros out there getting 1,000′s of visitors* every single day. As of yesterday my blog has received 2,777 visitors for January. That’s an average of 132 visitors a day. My lowest day was January 3 with 100 visitors and the highest day was January 14 with 235. As you can see, it varies. However, I am proud to say that my daily visitors has not been below 100 for quite a while. Yeah, January 3 was a close one!
Why am I doing this?
Quite honestly, I want to be one of those “pros” getting 1,000′s of visitors a day. Eventually, I would like this blog to help out paying for diapers when our little monster arrives in July. Selling ads on here would be a great way to get some extra money coming in. Of course, if the ads aren’t effective not only would I feel guilty charging for the ad space, but people would also run their ad once and stop. That’s not the kind of relationship I want with the people that help support me. I want people to get back an equal or greater value than what they spent on an ad.
Also, I just love helping promote people and what they’re doing. I’ve had free ads on here for about the last six months.
Ok, you still with me here? If so, and you’d like to help me out by putting your ad on here and tracking it’s effectiveness please use the contact page to send me a message. Be sure to put a link to your site so I can take a look at it. It’s in both of our best interests if what you are advertising is cohesive with what my blog is about. Let’s face it, if you’re trying to sell Nascar t-shirts the people that read my “art” blog will not be interested and therefore, not click on your ad.
Happy blogging!
- Jeff
* There is a BIG difference between “visitors” and “hits”. To put it simply, a hit is a request to a web server for a file. What that means is that if your homepage has 20 jpeg images on it and one person looks at your homepage you just got 20 hits. It’s popular opinion that hits are not effective to determine the popularity of a website.
This is the debut feature of Sketchbook #6 for Flashback Friday, which I drew from June – November 2000.
(page 15)
It looks like I had a slight disturbing interpretation of breasts back in 2000. I won’t even mention the pizza thing.
(page 30)
It’s very rare that I get all mixed media up in my sketchbooks. Back in the day I always wanted to, but Dan Eldon was such a master it’s like why even bother trying. If you are unfamiliar with Dan Eldon, I suggest you click that link to read his wikipedia entry. Then, you should totally buy his awesome book The Journey Is The Destination.
Full disclosure: If you buy it through that link I get a little hookup from amazon. Hey, I’ve got to figure out how to make this blog earn it’s keep around here. Right?
(page 43)
You know, just a bottle of alcohol. Try to guess what kind. And good look spelling it correctly!
(page 44)
Smoking and drinking…hmm? I guess I couldn’t think of other accessories a person might carry. If I drew this today I think I’d have her holding an umbrella and a donut.
(page 91)
I don’t pull out the old wooden drawing manniquin often, but when I do (at least in 2000) this is what you get.
That’s it folks!
- Jeff
A few years ago I made some Valentine’s Day buttons and they turned out to be pretty popular so I decided to make some new ones this year. Just a little upgrade, if you will. My personal favorite is “Love me! Or I’ll bite your face off!” Did I mention that wearing one of these will almost certainly get you some action this Valentine’s Day. I mean, seriously, who in their right mind can pass up an offer like, “If you take off your shirt I’ll take off mine.”?
Each pack includes 5 buttons total, one of each design.
$5 per pack, plus shipping.
If you’d like to order a pack simply click on the above photo or visit my etsy shop. They are also available in my shop/gallery in downtown SLO.
Thanks for looking and enjoy!
- Jeff
