Wayno: Cartoons/Fine Art/Illustrations/Words

Les Baxter - Framed

2008-08-12T11:03:00.002-04:00

A reader of the long-defunct zine Cool & Strange Music recently commissioned a giclée print of my 1998 cover portrait of space-age pop maestro Les Baxter. The buyer was kind enough to send this photo of the spiffy tiki-style frame he is using to display his print.

Everything Must Go

2008-07-31T09:50:00.009-04:00

Stubble & Smoke has ended its run at the fabulous Zombo Gallery, but you can still get one (or more) of the paintings or prints at a 20% blog-reader's discount (for the time being).

I've recently had a couple of requests for prints of paintings that have sold, and for older art from various places, and can now offer them on a by-request basis. I've found a great one-man shop right in my neighborhood that does high quality giclée prints (archival inks, acid-free rag paper, the works).

So, if you missed out on that one painting you had to own, or would like to own a print of just about anything I've ever done, contact me and we can talk turkey. Prices start at about $75.

Production of your giclée print will be personally supervised by the artist! Wow!

Atco Trousers!

2008-07-24T16:03:00.002-04:00

Phone-shot snapped from the rooftop of the David Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh.

In case you wondered about the location of the home of Atco Trousers.

Partners in Art Crime

2008-07-15T08:27:00.007-04:00

Photo op with Michael "Zombo" Devine at the Zombo Gallery, July 12, 2008. This was taken just before the opening night reception for the Stubble & Smoke art show, which also marked the gallery's first anniversary.

Photo by KimH © 2008

Rat Pack Prints

2008-07-08T09:58:00.006-04:00

I'm now offering giclée prints of my portraits of Dino, Frank & Sammy. The images are 10" x 10", with a one-inch border, for an overall size of 12" x 12". They're printed in archival inks on museum quality Arches rag watercolor paper, and are limited to 25 individually signed and numbered prints.

The prints are $75 each, or $200 for the set of three, and the prices include domestic postage.

Contact me if you're interested!

Shiny Happy Pictures

2008-06-22T14:54:00.011-04:00

The last thing I do before framing a painting is to apply two coats of clear acrylic varnish.For this part of the process I move out of my "residential" studio (a converted spare bedroom in our house) to the more industrial space of the garage.
The clear coat gives the art a nice shiny appearance, and also provides protection from fading and damage, so they can be framed without glass.
When dry, you could probably serve a cheese course on the paintings and wash them off without any harm, although my feelings might get hurt.
The coat of varnish also gives me a psychological endpoint -- it forces me to consider a painting to be finished, and to stop tweaking, repainting, and fussing over it.
I snapped these with my phone; please excuse the shakiness.

Virtual Viewing

2008-06-20T13:50:00.005-04:00

Stubble & Smoke Virtual Art Show!

That's right kids, even if you don't live in Pittsburgh, you can preview my new show, Stubble & Smoke, by clicking on this link. All of the paintings are for sale on-line, too (except for Happy Hour, above, which has already sold to an alert and generous patron).

Check out 28 cartoon-pop paintings of tough guys, hard-luck mugs, saucy dames, crime scenes, the Chinese zodiac, and lots of red meat. As you cruise through the website, I recommend that you have a beverage and a small plate of cheese cubes on hand, with your choice of music playing at maximum volume. It's not the same as actually being there at Zombo Gallery, but that's the "Wide World of Web" for you...

Beef Special

2008-06-18T17:18:00.007-04:00

Saturday Beef Special

12" x 12" Acrylic on Masonite, 2008

Another preview from Stubble & Smoke,
based on a sketch posted on May 6.

Meat appears frequently in this show.

From Pencils to Paint

2008-06-11T21:44:00.001-04:00

The final version of my James Coburn portrait:

12" x 12" Acrylic on Masonite

In Like Flint

2008-06-07T16:54:00.006-04:00

Coburn, again.

Much closer to what I had in mind!
.
.

Now that I look at it again several days later, it's painfully obvious how
much the great Mort Drucker has influenced me. Not that this is at his
level, but I can see stylistic details picked up from years of marveling
at his work in Mad. He's a national treasure, I tells ya!

Evolving Caricature

2008-06-05T21:15:00.008-04:00

I'm doing some sketches for a portrait of the late great James Coburn.

The first one above was done while looking at a reference photo,

and I did it pretty much in one shot, without erasing, then traced
over with a fine point Sharpie.

The second one is a stylized version of the first.
It has a little more flair and personality.

Next, an attempt to tighten it up. I decided that I wanted to change it
to show his enormous, immaculate teeth.

Getting there, but not quite. From the nose up, I'm pretty happy with
this version, but the lower half needs more work. I'll scan it and do
some manipulation in Photoshop, playing around with size and position
until I'm happier with it. Then I'll print out a lightened version of the
new composite and re-sketch from there.

Actually, I like the top half of that very first rough. I think this is still recognizable as JC.

Press Release: Stubble & Smoke opens July 12 at Zombo Gallery

2008-06-04T13:08:00.002-04:00

Zombo Gallery
4900 Hatfield Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15201

June 4, 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Zombo Gallery Celebrates its First Anniversary with
Stubble & Smoke: New Works by Wayno

PITTSBURGH -- Zombo Gallery, Pittsburgh's quirkiest art space, celebrates a year of eccentricity with its first anniversary show, Stubble & Smoke, opening July 12, 2008.

Gallery owner, entertainer, and impresario Michael Devine has created a welcoming home in Lawrenceville for artists of unique vision with his brainchild, the Zombo Gallery. In the past twelve months the gallery has hosted a dozen art shows, musical performances, retro-kitschy flea markets, benefits for Democracy Now! and The Wildlife Center, and the burlesque life-drawing class, Doctor Sketchy's Anti-Art School.

The featured artist for the anniversary show is Wayno, whose 2007 solo exhibit, Squaresville, opened Zombo Gallery with a bang, drawing an overflow audience of 300 art lovers, and selling out on the first night. To celebrate the gallery's anniversary, Wayno returns with a new collection of paintings in his unique cartoon-pop style.

Wayno is a cartoonist, illustrator, artist, and writer based in Pittsburgh. His clients include The New Yorker, Nickelodeon Magazine, Rhino Records/Warner Music Group, McGraw-Hill Books, Entertainment Weekly, The Guardian, Pittsburgh City Paper, and The New York Times. He is a member of the Pittsburgh Society of Illustrators and the National Cartoonists Society, and is a founding member of the Board of Directors of the ToonSeum, Pittsburgh's museum of the cartoon arts.

Stubble & Smoke evokes film noir moodiness, and feature images of tough guys, saucy dames, down-on-their-luck chumps, and that staple of the hard-boiled mug's diet: red meat. The show also includes the artist's Chinese zodiac series, animaliA Astrologica, first previewed at the Gypsy Café in February, which recasts the traditional zodiac signs as westernized party animals. In response to many requests, Wayno is now offering several limited edition prints, including portraits of Rat-Packers Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis, Jr., East End Brewing beer label art, and a Stubble & Smoke show poster.

Devine said of the exhibit, "After the incredibly successful opening of Squaresville last July, the first thing Wayno said to me was 'Same time next year?' I can't think of a better way to kick off our second year in "Larryville" than having a show of new stuff by Wayno."

The Stubble & Smoke opening reception is on Saturday, July 12, 2008, from 6:00 to 9:00 PM, and is sponsored in part by East End Brewing Company and Tony G's Delafield Winery.

The exhibit will run from July 12 through July 26, 2008, at Zombo Gallery, 4900 Hatfield Street, in Pittsburgh's Lawrenceville neighborhood. Gallery hours are Fridays from 5:00 to 7:30 PM, and Saturdays from noon to 4:00 PM, or by appointment.

Buyers will be invited to pick up their paintings at a take-down party on Sunday, July 27, from 3:00 to 5:00 PM.

The Zombo Gallery is Pittsburgh's home for hip lowbrow art, rooted in 50's and 60's pop culture and kitsch. The gallery houses a retail area with unique wares such as tiki mugs, custom T-shirts, DVDs, CDs, and recorded air checks of Zombo's radio show, which is heard Fridays from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM on WRCT 88.3 FM. The gallery also houses a custom screen printing shop.

For additional information, visit Zombo's Website

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06/04/08 ndp

Stubble & Smoke! July 12-26, 2008

2008-05-28T20:23:00.003-04:00

July 12 - July 26
ZOMBO GALLERY'S FIRST ANNIVERSARY SHOW:
STUBBLE & SMOKE

All new works featuring hard-luck mugs, saucy dames, The Rat Pack,
plenty of red meat, and the entire Chinese zodiac.

A detailed Press Release will be posted here the first week of June.

Signage (Hot Lunches)

2008-05-27T13:00:00.000-04:00

A beautifully lettered and distressed sign spotted on Chartres Street in New Orleans, May 2008.

Signage (Please Do Not Change Mango)

2008-05-27T09:37:00.005-04:00

Spotted at an Indian food mart in Monroeville PA

Sure enough, inside the store was a stack of mango boxes, and a customer looking over her shoulder, changing mangoes.

Bendix 2.0

2008-05-14T20:43:00.005-04:00

This sketch is getting closer to what I have in mind for my William Bendix painting: crazed and homicidal.

Blue Plate Special

2008-05-06T16:22:00.006-04:00

April 2008 Sketchbook Page
Study for one in a series of meat-related paintings

Way Down Yonder

2008-05-06T10:57:00.010-04:00

We just spent five days in New Orleans - our favorite place to visit - attending the Jazz & Heritage Festival and enjoying the city's fine food, music and people.

These water meter covers have become one of the city's signatures. They show up on t-shirts and hats, and recast as plates, trivets, and ashtrays.

First stop at the Fest. If you're buying cracklins, trust a vendor named Fatty.

Street food, outside Vaughan's Lounge around 2:00 AM, after a late Thursday set by Kermit Ruffins. The pork chop sandwich was absolutely out of sight.

The final day of the Fest, enjoying a fresh cigar, hand-rolled that morning at the factory on Decatur Street.

Lynda Barry Rocks the 'Burgh

2008-04-25T13:20:00.002-04:00

The amazing Lynda J Barry was in Pittsburgh recently, teaching her workshop, Writing the Unthinkable .

What It Is, a new book based on the workshop, is coming in May from Drawn & Quarterly.

Lynda and her partner-in-crime Betty Bong also paid a visit to the ToonSeum, which is where we met up. Ms Barry and I staged an impromptu nerdly-eyewear exhibit:

Photos by LJB

Acid Logic

2008-04-24T16:02:00.004-04:00

Wil Forbis's new book, Acid Logic: A Decade of Humorous Writing on Pop Culture, Trash Cinema and Rebel Music is available now from the publisher. The cover and interior illustrations are by Your Humble Blogger.

Wil's new CD, Shadey's Jukebox, will also be out soon, from Rankoutsider Records. The CD also features art by YHB, (previewed in earlier posts.)

Secret of the Ooze

2008-04-22T10:53:00.003-04:00

Left to right: Mark Martin, Wayno, Ben Burford
Northampton, MA, 1991

Feeling the effects of alcohol combined with Vanilla Ice's "Ninja Rap."

Required Reading

2008-04-22T10:02:00.004-04:00

I'm in the middle of a time-consuming project that isn't terribly blogworthy, so here's a look at a book in the "active" pile:

This is a groovy hardcover containing hundreds of photos from 1960s and 70s Italian sex comedies, plus a nice 20-track CD of soundtrack music from the same era.

Dusty Groove mail order gives a very accurate description on their order page:

A really crazy little book -- one that's filled with sexy images from Italian comedies of the 60s and 70s -- and packaged with a special CD to match! The book itself is practically softcore porn (so be aware of that, you sensitive viewers!) -- 326 full color pages with images from the films, most of which feature ladies in some state of undress. The production quality is quite high -- almost at an art book level -- so you might be able to justify this one as "art", even though it really contains very little information on the films -- just lots of naughty pictures. But the CD's also pretty great too -- and features 20 classic sex comedy themes that include "Sessomatto" by Armando Trovajoli, "Isola Tuttofare" by Piero Umiliani, "Fail Piano Fai Presto" by Gianni Ferrio, "Quel Gran Pezzo Dell'Ubalda" by Bruno Nicolai, "Curiosita Infantili" by Fred Bongusto, "Vieni Avanti Cretino" by Lino Fanfi, and "Rio 70" by Nylon.
© 1996-2008, Dusty Groove America, Inc.

Great stuff, and a nice intro to a rich and delightful area of musical exploration. There are sample photos and audio previews at Movie Grooves.

Online prices vary widely. I've seen it from $15 up to $45, so it's worth shopping around.

Ten Musical Questions

2008-04-10T11:18:00.016-04:00

Here's an email interview from March 2006. A blogger submitted the questions to me, but he abandoned the blog and it was never published. I don't think I'm responsible for his disappearance, but you never know.

1. What is the last record/CD that you listened to?
Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (Japanese version) by The RZA.
This CD is different from the version released here in the US, which included a lot of vocal numbers. This Japanese release is the (mostly) instrumental score, consisting of RZA's sonic collages. It's absolutely hypnotic.

2. What is your earliest music memory?
I was on a local kids' TV show here in Pittsburgh at the age of about eight. I wasn't a regular cast member or anything; local kids could sign up to be guests around their birthday, so it was just a one-shot thing. There were around 6 or 8 kids on the show each day, and the host would interview each child, and ask them to tell a joke and sing a song. I sang the Yogi Bear theme.

A year or two later, my younger brother appeared on the same show. He completely clammed up and just stared at the camera, like one of those kids from "Village of the Damned."

3. What is the first record you bought?
Redirecting my lunch money, I bought a 45, "Gizmo," by Jimmy Heap, from a fifth grade classmate. Years later, I was thrilled when the song turned up on a bootleg CD compilation.

4. You once played in a band that sounded like?
(If you never played in a band, what would a band you play in sound like?)
Two answers:

1: A country/blues version of The Cramps. In the early 1990s I played harmonica and sang in a cartoonist band called the Sin Alley Katz. The band also included JR Williams on vocals and electric ukulele, Mary Fleener on bass and vocals, Mary's husband Paul Therrio on lead guitar, mandolin and sax, and various drummers. We'd regroup every year for the San Diego Comics Convention.

(Sin Alley Katz photos courtesy of Mary Fleener)

b) A bunch of spastic Sun Records rejects: In the early 80s, I played guitar (badly) in a rockabilly-inspired trio called The Rumble Strips, with my friends Jim Spitznagel (bass) and Kathleen "Crash" McCollum (vocals). We couldn't find a drummer, so I also programmed and triggered a dirt-cheap rhythm machine when we played live, and on our only recording, a 6-song vinyl EP.

5. What would one find most surprising about your music collection?
That would depend on who you asked, I suppose. People who know me from my involvement in the world of oddball music might be surprised at the amount of straight-ahead jazz I listen to. It accounts for about a quarter of my collection. I'm a big Frank Sinatra fan too.

6. What is something you like to play at maximum volume?
The Pixies' album Surfer Rosa. It's one of my absolute favorite records of that era, and I'm sure that listening to it in the car will accelerate my eventual hearing loss.

7. The first concert you attended was?
It was either Emerson, Lake & Palmer or Frank Zappa. I can't recall which one was first, but I think I saw to both of these shows when I was in tenth grade.

8. What is your favorite music moment that involved yourself?
Two answers, again:

a) A couple years ago, during the (alcohol-free) intermission of the annual University of Pittsburgh jazz concert, where I volunteer as stage manager, Joe Lovano and I crashed a nearby wedding reception to score some drinks.

b) Learning all of the lyrics to Chuck Berry's "Too Much Monkey Business."

9. What is a song or album from an artist or band that you generally don't like but for some reason like this by them?

I absolutely hate the Statler Brothers, and their bland country harmonizing (despite endorsements from Johnny Cash). They sound like a bunch of weenies to me. However, they released a great comedy album called Alive at the Johnny Mack Brown High School under the pseudonym Lester "Roadhog" Moran and the Cadillac Cowboys, which I like a lot. Ostensibly a send-up of inept musicians, this CD (which collects two rare LPs) is infinitely more enjoyable than any of their "legitimate" releases. As comedic country music goes, they're still not in Homer & Jethro's league.

10. What is one record/CD that you think everyone should have in their collection?

Esquivel's Exploring New Sounds in Stereo. This was the album where Juan Garcia Esquivel really nailed his signature arranging style, and it's a joy to experience his playful genius.

His reinventions of familiar tunes ("Third Man Theme," "All of Me," "My Blue Heaven") were as radical as anything happening in any musical genre. It also includes "Whatchamacallit," an Esquivel original that I never get tired of hearing. I'm a big fan of Hoagy Carmichael, so Esquivel's unique take on Hoagy's "Lazy Bones" is yet another reason to find this album, in any format. The mono version of the LP was titled Exploring New Sounds in Hi-Fi. I find the "Hi-Fi" version of the cover art to be more visually pleasing.

I once heard an Esquivel tune on a radio show featuring John Zorn playing music that influenced him, and he described Esquivel's music as "a beautiful pop mutation," that's about the best description I've ever come across.

20 Year Old Sketchbook Piece

2008-04-02T21:25:00.008-04:00

"Self Portrait with Bear Ears"
March, 1988

Typical example of my lo-fi approach to keeping a sketchbook. I never bought a proper sketchbook until 1990. Prior to that, I used these crappy little spiral-bound notebooks (below), and glued or taped scraps of paper in them to preserve "worthy" doodles and story ideas.

Supplies Are Running Low!

2008-04-02T12:41:00.007-04:00

It's not too late to get a limited edition Squaresville print,
but there are only a handful of the run of 25 copies left.

16" x 20", Archival inks on museum quality rag paper
Edition of 25 Individually signed and numbered prints
Fits perfectly in a standard 16" x 20" frame

$100 postpaid within the USA

Order Yours Today!