Work for Sale

I'm selling the last 3 large pieces I created at the show, but I thought I'd give the interweb a chance to buy them too. If anyones interested that is.

Each piece is priced at $850.00 USD, not including S&H which I would handle through FedEx.
Payment will be through Paypal.

Each piece is 60'' x 36'', Sumi Ink on Khadi Handmade Watercolor paper. It's really really thick/ heavy paper.


At War with Deceit

Sink


Like the Abyss

Work will be shipped after the MFA Illustration thesis show comes down. Contact me via email at ray@jonesray.com.

MFA Illustration Thesis Show/ AI-AP TRIBUTE Web Gallery/ Book Release

MFA Illustration Thesis Show - excerpts taken from Illustrationmundo.com:

School of Visual Arts (SVA) presents “Selected Works From MFA Illustration as Visual Essay Thesis Projects,” an exhibition that brings together books, figurative paintings, graphic novels and narrative series by 20 students graduating from the MFA Illustration as Visual Essay Department at SVA. Curated by faculty member David Sandlin, the exhibition will be on view at the Visual Arts Gallery, 601 W 26 St. 15th floor, New York City, from May 1 – 16, 2009.

The Visual Arts Gallery, located at 601 West 26th Street between 11th and 12th Avenues, 15th floor, is open Monday through Saturday, 10am to 6pm; closed on Sundays and public holidays. Admission is free. The gallery is accessible by wheelchair. For further information call 212.592.2145.

More info here: http://www.illustrationmundo.com/wp/1358

ALSO

I found out I was chosen to be in the upcoming TRIBUTE ai-ap web gallery for 2009. Hotness!

AND



News on my book:

Autumn - the collected works of Ray Jones 2007-2009, 8x10 and 42 pages. --The book contains work from my "book project" -Peaceoffering, as well as the TBFL (to bury future lovers) series now simply known as Autumn.

I decided to publish my book through Blurb.com. The paperback is $29.95 not including shipping. I'm making a $5 profit from each book-- so if you buy one when its released, you're essentially buying me a meal haha. I'm waiting for my first proof to come to me on May 4th, I'll post details on ordering here if I'm happy with the turn out.

Like the Abyss

Kinda.

Just finished.... I made more of this up along the way then usual. A really stressful piece. A lot of the (ink)painting is black on black, so I'm not sure how effective this photo is.

Quick Sketchbook post

I figured between pieces I'd post a few sketchbook drawings. They're mostly mindless mark-making that evolves into something. I usually do these just to keep my brush technique warmed up for the bigger pieces..




Coney island... the only sketch not out of my head. That had to be the most overcrowded and literally saddest aquarium I've ever seen in my life. I hope they get some funding or whatever it is they need to improve.

GRAFUCK 4 Exhibition

Some info on a show I'm in. If you're in the area you should definitely check it out.


Gallery Nucleus presents the GRAFUCK art exhibition celebrating the release of the highly anticipated Grafuck 4 art book. The exhibit features an international roster of artists who have contributed to the fourth edition of this notoriously popular book series.

Illustration, photography, fine art, and graphic design come together in this intriguing and provocative collection of images and ideas. The new release boasts an impressive centerfold illustrated by the award-winning James Jean.

Several artists will in attendance to sign the new book release.

Live body painting by Jim Mahfood. Interactive displays. Exclusive artist merchandise. With music by DJ R-Rated.

Sponsored by Nerdcore

Opening Reception:
Saturday, April 11, 2009 (7pm to 11pm)
Free admission and refreshments, Ages 18 + with ID required
Exhibit runs through April 20

Venue:
Gallery Nucleus
210 E Main St
Alhambra, CA 91801
Just 15 mins outside of downtown LA
www.gallerynucleus.com
626-458-7477
Contact: Wade Buchanan

Book Pre-Order:
The new art book is now available for pre-order. All pre-orders will be signed by the artists attending the opening reception. They will be shipped the week of April 13. Pre-order link: http://gallerynucleus.com/detail/7331

The new art book features over 80 artists:
19BLOSSOM
2FRESH
Alexander Egger
AMAUTALAB
Audrey Kawasaki
Axel Galvan
Brent Bonacorso
Camilla d'Errico
Cesar Finamori
Christian Castañeda
Christina Vantzou
Colin Cassidy
Daan Habets
Danae Diaz
Davison Carvalho/Weeneeds
Diego Beyró / Fabrica
Dino Alberto / An Idle Robot
dolceQ
Eduardo Kerges
Edwin Ushiro
El Mato
Elena Dolgova
Ena
Eszter Toth
Eveline Tarunadjaja
Fabrice Lachant
Fernanda Guedes
Fleecircus
Gabriel Pulecio + Natalia Hoyos
Givan Lötz
GJ Lee
Ippei Gyoubu
Ina Kyung Lim
Jasphine Chew
Jeff Clement
Jessica Lopez
Jirayu Koo
Jonathan Bartlett
Josh Steinbauer
JPG
Juan Camilo Monroy Parra
Kevin Necessary
Kevin Romaniuk
Krzystof Leffav
Laura Tulaite
Leo Volland
Lesja Chernish
Luke Ramsey
Mamifero Familiar
Marguerite Sauvage
Mathias Reynoird
Matty Harper
Mike DeNicola
Mikel Marton
Mitch V
Naja Conrad-Hansen
Nathan Appel
Ned Rosen
NekoshowguN
Neri
Pyhai
PMurphy
Pomme Chan
Raymond Jones
Rebecca Tillett
Rosie Emerson
Saddington & Baynes
Sayaka
Silvio Porretta
Tessar Lo
The Little Friends of Printmaking
Trevor Paul / Firebrand
Trystan Bates
Wilfrid Wood
WOND3R/Aaron Ricchio
Yamabuki House

Cover Art by:
Peter Vattanatham + Fiel Valdez
Vladimir Jedlicka
Saddington & Baynes

New piece

Just finished. Lost some detail in the photo but there's still some to enjoy. 4 weeks til graduation!

...

Been awhile I know...

I have 7 weeks of grad school left. Panic! Here's part of a new diptych I'm working on. This is on that 3.5 by 5ft tall paper I love using... so it will be about 7ft long by 5ft high when its done. This half is about 60% or so I think. All sumi ink on khadi paper.

420

...on a sunday. 5-6 Red Bulls and 3 Espresso's later... I can rest.




The second image is what I was trying to show last post. Better camera, but i'm working on getting cleaner shots.

Studio Update

Another new piece shot by my bad camera phone, the one that was meant to be paired with the other fear piece i created.



Together:

New Piece

Finally got an okay shot of my latest piece. This one is about... 5ft-ish by 3.5ft-ish on Khadi (spl?) paper. Anyway, on to the next.

In the studio

I've been working on a few new things, the most ambitious being a 5ft by 3.5ft or so ink drawing. Here's a bad camera phone shot of it... I'm hoping to finish it completely before AI-AP. Thats a 0 sumi ink brush, in case anyone was wondering.

New work

I basically live in my studio now. I'm getting a lot done though, my work has made some progressions I'm pretty proud of. The following is one of the first serious "fear" pieces for my book. I'm exploring different ways of composing my blacks and developing textures these days. It's been worth the investment..



This is only half of the whole picture, the other image complements this piece but doesn't necessarily continue the image. I'm still playing with the concept but here's half my idea for now.

The Last Two

The last two drawings from a week ago that I brought to an inked final. If they didn't make it to this round, its safe to say they won't. Ever.

One down

I may rework this later, or just make a new piece from this as a starting point. Too many small anatomy issues for me to nitpick over. I'm happy with it though.

Pencils

For those who like to see progress shots, this is usually about where I like to take my pencils. At this point, this leaves me enough flexibility for my mark making while giving me a chance to map out where or how I want to balance my blacks.


(Ha! She has a lazy eye. I'm at a point in my drawing stage where If I mess with the eye, I'll end up changing everything, and I like the face overall, so I'm going to leave it alone. When I get around to inking it, I'll take a few minutes to get the face where I want it.)

Still trying to figure out what to do with this. Even if it doesn't work, gotta toss some ink on it just to say I tried to salvage what is, without a doubt, simply an attempt at illustrating some crotch shots. Enjoy!

Work in Progress(NSFW?) - Pencils

I laid out a couple of rough pencils (okay, so I cleaned a few up), while watching the "Assassination of Jesse James". Not a bad movie, nice muted tones and blacks and pretty good storytelling. Definitely a mellow kind of slow build up film though, but not bad. Anyway, on to the drawings. I suppose I had a crotch fixation on this one, but I guess thats where some of these are headed. No reference, so there's probably some issues here or there but I think I'll fix those problems during the ink stage. Did I mention I love owning a light table? I love it.

2009 incoming

This post is more for me then anything else, but with 2009 coming up I feel like I need to make some changes. I've got a list of things I want to get done.

One of which is that book I've been talking about forever. The truth is I made two versions of a book already... It was available for viewing at SVA's MFA Illustration Book Show that took place about a month ago. I was satisfied with the book that came out, but it doesn't contain any of my current Thesis work from this semester--which I feel is much more polished then the older work. So I opted to not make it public and kept that as a class assignment. The book I would love to make will have no less then 100 pages, and include sketchbook work as well as work that may go as far back as Undergrad. I want people to get a full view of where I'm coming from as an artist and understand what I'm trying to convey. Long story short, I'm going to bust my ass over the coming months and just finish this thing. It needs to be done content wise way before the end of the semester for me to properly promote it and get my career to pick up.

Second, I'm available for freelance jobs. Repeat. I AM AVAILABLE FOR WORK. If you have the slightest inclination, go ahead and drop me an email or a call if you prefer and we can set something up. Starting Jan 8th I'll be back home from the holidays and can take on just about any job. At the moment I can take on a few, but mostly black and white work until I get back to my studio space.

Third, I'm planning to show works in galleries this year. I've been working on some bigger pieces in black and white and I may be transitioning to large scale black and white paintings soon, but I have to see where this creative drive takes me. WHEN I have an opening, I'll be sure to post it here.

Fourth, last thing, which will probably begin to come together near the end of this year. I want to teach. But the catch is, I'd like to teach abroad.. I'm interested in teaching illustration at an Art College in say, Japan or Korea, but I'm going to wait until I get things going in my freelance career first. I'm going to be looking for something that can provide me with a place to stay and income while giving me flexibility to create and showcase work, while helping students that are serious about Illustration improve. I'd love to give back... and hell, I'd love to visit one of those two countries. I've been dying to go for awhile now.

Sooo, thats it for now. On a side note: I'm pretty excited about the new light table I received from my good friend Bryant (I've known him since highschool and we were in a band together for awhile, he's a super talented designer and Bass player). I completed an illustration for his band Claw Like Things and their EP is out now. Check it! And their site is here. I'm away from my files otherwise I'd upload an image myself, but you can see snippets of it at the links posted-- and also if you DL their CD you can see the art in the booklet. Hope you all have a Happy New Year!

I needed to disappear

...for a bit. Here's a few things I've drawn in the last two weeks. There's a lot more work drawings and things to put up but it'll have to wait til' I'm back in JOISEY. The end of last semester was rough.




The last two were drawn on the plane. I think I was nervous which would might explain the extra mark making. I kind of hate flying... I like how these came out though. The "creepy-floating-vine-baby" may become a new character in one of my pieces, but I need to figure that out. Enjoy the sketch! (complete with sample self-loathing!)

Drawing from class

A 20 min drawing in my sketchbook from class today. Ink and color pastels, and a little gel pen. I'm working on some new things for thesis, should have something to post in the next few days.