NEW gum wrapper drawings

Here's some of my newer gum wrappers, from late 2009. As always, you can click for a larger image, but these won't be SO huge like the earlier ones, as I had to scan at a lower resolution. Which is probably better. Any questions?

First wrapper I drew after taking a month
or so off - sketchers block, as it were. I like this deer.

This is of a painting I've been slowly working on
for months - this sketch shows what I want
the final colors to be, so I've been using it as a guide.

It seemed like I should have thought of this
one a long time ago, seeing as these are Orbit wrappers

I like lamp(s).

This is a modified version of a Koch Snowflake, and
is also the 2nd longest I've spent ever doing one of
these drawings - I tried to make it as precise as possible
using only a college rule notebook and some pens. The
smallest triangles should be exactly 3mm on each side.

This is UC-Denver Medical School's seal -
I drew a couple of these to send off as thank you
letters to my interviewers there.

I like cross-stitch type designs, so I doodled one.
Good story, huh!

Twelve More Wrappers!

A whole bunch of the 'lost' gum wrappers I had on my laptop, including several of my favorites:

"The Tree"

Probably my favorite colored-pencil design,
and the one I spent the most time coloring.

"Mislabel Original"
An exact copy of a fox design I had in
my little notebook. This is my favorite
of my designs to sketch.

"Mislabel - clean"
What the name says.

"Mislabel - 1"
This is the first of the truly mislabels -
I still really like the idea.

"Mislabel - 2"
I prefer both the lettering and the fox
in this one over the "Mislabel - 1"

"Lighthouse"
The first design I colored in. Also, a very rough
and early example of the wave-pattern I use for
other, non-gum wrapper seascapes.

"Telephone"
My family has a rotary phone like this set up
in our sitting room, that I use whenever I'm there.

"Piggy"
So, it turns out that the cinnamon Orbit gum
stains the wrapper pink, letting you only draw
pink things on it. Hence, a pig.

"Hands Recursion"
Based on a sketch I did in physics several years ago.
It looked a bit cooler when I was actually drawing it,
what with the 3rd hand and all.

"Lava Lamp"
I like the shading on the wax. No other comments.

"Jimmy the St. Pat's Eggplant"
I wanted to draw an eggplant, and I wanted
to try and draw a vest. Together, they're better.

"Gamboy Original"
I think this was the 3rd sketch I did on
gum wrappers. I also still have my Gamboy,
in working condition!

MORE GUM WRAPPERS!

WOW. I completely forgot to get these gum wrappers correctly saved on my computer. I was wondering why it seemed like I had missed a few in my earlier posts ... Anyway, here's about 1/2 of the "missing" gum wrappers, I'll put the other ones up Monday sometime.

"Emoticon-Man"
This one makes me :D

"ZOMBIES!"
I only regret not adding more green to the skin.

"The Brain"
Based off a sketch in my anatomy notebook.

"Control Board"
Little sketch of the KMNR control board

"Mini - rough"
This was a practice sketch for another drawing
that I never actually got started on.

"Desktop"
I drew the book, felt really good about it,
and then quickly added the background to flesh
it out a bit more.

"Lexography - 1"
Turns out 'Lexographic' isn't a word, it's a portmanteau
that the author of the book I read it in had made up. Damn.

"Lexography - 2"
I like the first one more.

"The Dancers"
Other people have told me they really like this one,
but I spent so much time on it that I just see
all the bits I think I could do better.

"The Sprite"
I have no explination.

Set list, 2.12.2010

Here's the set list for my show, "The Culmination of All Things" on 89.7FM KMNR-Rolla today, 1-3PM central time:

MUSIC REVIEW - Galactic

Galactic – Ya-Ka-May

I have long been a huge fan of the New Orleans’ style of brass-band and organic funk. From The Dirty Dozen and Rebirth Brass Bands, to Dr. John and Allen Toussaint, the New Orleans style of funk, jazz, and loud brass are things I just can’t get enough of, especially the music produced in the last few decades.

Starting in the 1980’s it became popular to mix R&B into the mix – Galactic emerged in 1996 as a band devoted to furthering and refining this infusion to the greatest extent they could. Their early albums were soulful N.O. jazz, and were very well received as such. But with their last album, From the Corner to the Block, they collaborated more with hip-hop artists, creating a brassy, bassy rap album.

With their new album, Ya-Ka-May, Galactic seems to have taken a bit of time to try and reconcile their New Orleans funk roots with their recent forays into electronic and rap. The first couple songs on the album are EXACTLY what you would expect from a renowned brass and funk artist, helped by a collaboration with Rebirth Brass Band. ‘Cineramascope’ (ft. Trombone Shorty & Corey Henry), and several other tracks are similarly reminiscent of Galactic’s early works – except they feature a lower, meatier bass line and some evidence of digital overdubs, neither of which are a bad thing.

There are also songs that are almost explicitly rap – ‘Katey vs. Nobby’ (ft. Katey Red & Sissy Nobby) and ‘Do It Again’ (ft. Cheeky Blakk) come off as a bayou-reimagining of crunk, and they do it WELL. And then there are tracks like ‘Liquor Pang’ (ft. Josh Cohen & Scully), a slower, New Orleans-style dirge mixed with some heavy beats and raspy-vocals; it’s awesome.

Overall, Ya-Ka-May is more accepting of Galactic’s past than their last album while also expanding what they are capable of recording. It’s my new favorite Galactic record – which is truly saying something.

Will I play it on my show? Yes. RIYL – Um… Galactic? There's not much out there that's like this right now.


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