Johnny Acurso Illustration

Surprise Show!

2011-12-01T22:42:00.001-08:00

Like a ninja grabbing a doughnut, I managed to sneak myself into the cross gallery "Rivals" show at Benjamin Benjamin and Gigantic! The idea of the show is that both galleries hang one side of an epic rivalry, and the owners were cool enough to include a few of my paintings that just happened to fit the theme. Here they are:

"The Saint" and "The Sinner"

I was really excited about this show because I've had these paintings for a while, but they never got the gallery treatment I thought they deserved. "The Sinner" was originally created for the "Satan-folio", a calendar featuring lighthearted paintings of the devil that never made it to print. "The Saint" was created as a companion piece for a show at a bar in the wastelands of Queens,NY. I don't necessarily work in these styles anymore, but to see them finally hung in a real gallery was pretty gratifying. There is a ton of great work in this show, like Neil M. Perry's "Mario" and Erin Nations "Socs" vs "Greasers", so check it out and support your favorite struggling artists for X-mas!

Also, Myah and Scott, the super cool owners of Benjamin Benjamin, are moving to Colorado. In Honor of their awesomeness, lift your frosty mugs and toast to their grand legacy and safe travels! I, and the Portland art scene, will miss them dearly! Prost!

First Thursday Recap

2011-10-09T20:28:00.001-07:00

This First Thursday was a little more lax than usual and I didn't get around to quite as many galleries, but I did get to go to a few of my favorites and they didn't disappoint. Gigantic is showing some Beer inspired work, and were pouring a new Deschutes brew that was quite tasty. A great way to start the night. Right next door, Benjamin Benjamin is showing the work of Jimmy Pickering and I gotta say, as a whole, its one of the nicest looking shows I've seen in a long time. I had the pleasure of talking to Jimmy for a bit and his process is super interesting. I love his sculptures and custom frames. He has a few step by step walk-throughs on his blog so go check that out.

Cycloptic: Robin's Egg Blue by Jimmy Pickering

Moving downtown, Blue Sky, as always, had some killer photojournalism. The show that really struck me was of Colombian beauty pageants shot by Carl Bower and all the "interesting" stuff that goes on behind the scenes. Seeing this type of work really makes me want to get out there and do some real life inspired work. Maybe not reportage exactly, but something gritty and a bit edgy. Anyway the shots are stunning and fascinating. Everything I've come to expect from the artists shown at Blue Sky.

Miss Coffee By Carl Bower

Last but not least (and I totally mean that because this was by far my favorite show) the Compound is showing the work of Senjiro Nakata and Tadashi Ura. Both artists are great, but I think I'm in love with Senjiro . I'm a sucker for Asian ink style drawings, but his color palette and drawing style make my art heart hurt. Awesome-O-Opossum. The Whale image on the show's postcard is a good example of the awesomeness. There was also a ridiculously cool droopy looking elephant and as soon as I rob that bank...Eh-hem, I mean do some productive work that I shall get paid legitimately and handsomely for...I'll be back to snatch it up.

Karesansui Kujira by Senjiro Nakata

Well that is pretty much it. Portland has been really impressing me with the quality of the shows lately so keep it it! I didn't get a chance to hit the Lofts or much in the Pearl this time, so maybe I'll take another trip down there later this month. Till next time,

Love and Monkeys

Susan Lucci Show Recap (The lazy version)

2011-09-20T22:37:00.000-07:00

So the Susan Lucci show was pretty great. A lot of cool pieces and good people. I made a album on my facebook artist page and now I'm too lazy to upload the images here. If you are interested, here's the link. Also, if you have a facebook account, you should like my page! Each 'like' is a tiny little confirmation of my existence. Yay!

All Hail Lucci!

2011-09-11T13:59:00.001-07:00

"Victory", 11x14, oil on illustration board

So I finally finished my entry for the Benjamin Benjamin tribute show to Susan Lucci and here it is! This was a funny project for me for a few reasons. For one, I was invited to do the show kinda last minute, meaning I had to come up with an idea pretty quick. Also, I really didn't know too much about the fabulous Miss Lucci. I mean I had heard of her, but as my Grandma puts it, "All My Children was never one of my stories". She did seem like a damn classy lady though, so I resolved to give it my best.

Though I'd never really seen her in action, the one thing I did know was that she had the longest running streak of nominations (18 times) for the daytime Emmys without an actual win until 1999. Since that's what I knew her best for, I decided to do a piece celebrating her moment of victory, by making her an Emmys version of the actual goddess Victory. Yup. That's what I did alright. I'll be the first to admit I'm not the best with "likenesses" and there is nothing more difficult than drawing a pretty person (if you cartoon them at all, they look like ever other pretty person) so that was tough. That being said, I think it worked out.

Close up

This one is definitely leaning more towards illustration over fine art, but I think it will be a funny addition to the show. I also found a great (read: tacky) gold metal frame from the 60s or 70s with plenty of flourish to add to the fabulousness. Come down this Thursday (the 15th) and celebrate all that is Lucci with us!

Framed and ready to go!

First Thursday Recap

2011-09-03T17:47:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the long absence in posts. Benjamin Benjamin asked me to fill out their Susan Lucci tribute mini-show, debuting Sept 15th, and I've been rushing to get something done. Anyway, I went out this First Thursday and there were some great things I felt compelled to share.

Blue is Always Stronger, Jude Buffum

As always, Benjamin Benjamin had a great group show, this time celebrating the time wasting glory of video games. Great work by Shannon Larson, John Padlo and a perfect zelda inspired print by Jude Buffum (above). Blue Sky had some moving, albeit depressing, photos from Dana Popa, chronicling the victims of human trafficking in Europe. And even the Everett Station lofts had some great work, including an upside down robot and a video of a naked lady making herself into a green screen. Neat!

But my "I love it so much its actually inspiring me to get back to work" award goes to the show at Benjamin Benjamin's neighbor gallery, Gigantic. Brook Cashbaugh's (brookcashbaugh.com) paintings are unique, totally unexpected and the life size portraits on hanging sheets of mylar are absolutely incredible. Just the right amount of detail and the perfect use of color. Unfortunately, pictures don't them them justice. You HAVE to see them in person to experience them legitimately. Here is the show card:

Anyway, that about wraps it up. I was really impressed by the amount of good work being shown in Portland this month. Even though the economy is a crap-hole, its great to see people pushing through it and making art. Yay Art!

We Can Rebuild It....

2011-07-24T19:21:00.000-07:00

Just a quick post today...I've been updating my main site (www.johnnyacurso.com) in small increments, adding new work and readjusting some of the navigation so feel free to check it out. There may be some stuff you haven't seen, and I'm considering adding an archive page with stuff from as far back as college for friends and family to check out but we'll see. If you notice anything funky, let me know. I never know what type of web gremlins my site building program will let in, but I think its slightly more user friendly than before. Let me know what you think!

Super Thanks!

2011-07-17T15:44:00.000-07:00

I've had such an overwhelming amount of support and positive feedback about the Adaptation Show, both on this blog and others, so I wanted to say thanks to everyone who has left comments and bought prints! I'm still working on getting a better digital image for Sumire, but as soon as I have prints, I'll let everyone know. In the mean time, here is a detail of her face, which actually did scan pretty well:

Also, I should have posted these sooner, but here are some pics from the show:

My work on the wall.

Outside looking in.

Some of the other artists work (really cool stuff).

More of the other artists.

And finally a great picture of Scott, one of the gallery's owners. Awesome!

Adaptation Show

2011-07-05T21:36:00.000-07:00

Ahh yes, summer has arrived. And just in time for the to-be super awesome Benjamin Benjamin "Adaptation" show this first Thursday, where all us creative monkeys took some time to make art inspired by authors. To all of you who care not of the long and boring story of how difficult getting ready for this show was, I'll get the important tidbits out first and then you can peruse down this post if you are so inclined. As the flier says, the show opens Thursday the 7th at 5 and goes till 8. I'll be there showing off the three paintings I managed to complete from my Murakami's Women series. If you've read any Murakami, you know that he loves writing these strange women who almost always make the narrators' lives just a bit more insane than it was otherwise. I took a few that spoke to me and here they be:

This one is called "Tuesdays Girl". She is inspired by the short story version of The Wind-up Bird Chronicles called The Wind Up Bird and Tuesdays Women. The story centers around a guy who is out of work, and just having a really weird day. He meets this girl while looking for his cat Noburo Watanabe.

Probably my favorite Murakami Novel is Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World because its just SOOO bizarre. In this book there are unicorns, dream readers, evil underground kappa-like monsters who can be held at bay with paperclips and two entirely separate but intertwined worlds. This painting ("Granddaughter") however, is based off of the opening scene of the book and the narrators lengthy mental wrangling while walking behind this "..young beautiful woman who is, shall we say, plump..". Even with all that other crazy stuff , this is still one of the funniest and most surreal moments in the entire book. Just some guy trying to figure out his own emotions when confronted with what he sees as a fundamental contradiction in his libido.

Finally we have "Sumire" from Sputnik Sweetheart. I couldn't get a good scan of this one but you get the idea. Sumire is the narrators best friend, secret love interest, and eventually the catalyst for a mystery involving an island in Greece. I love this description of her: "Sumire wanted to be like a character in a Kerouac novel—wild, cool, dissolute. She’d stand around, hands shoved deep in her coat pockets, her hair an uncombed mess, staring vacantly at the sky through her black plastic-framed Dizzy Gillespie glasses, which she wore despite her 20/20 vision. She was invariably decked out in an oversized herringbone coat from asecond-hand shop and a pair of rough work boots. If she’d been able to grow a beard, I’m sure she would have."

Wow this a a long post. Good for you for sticking with it. Or maybe sad for you because you have nothing better to do than read my blog. But anyway, now you can be rewarded (?) with a picture of three other paintings that were worked on during these last two months but for some reason (not finished, ruined and abandoned) will not be appearing in the show. The one in the middle will probably be finished at some point this month, but the other two are dead for good. Just about everything that could go wrong with paintings went wrong this time. I think I just tried to do too much, got distracted, and forgot how to paint. Luckily the series survived, so that's something. Hooray...

Anyway, I hope to see you at the show, but my stuff will be up all month if you want can't make it Thursday. The end.

Art Killa

2011-06-16T21:15:00.000-07:00

There is a saying that "art is never finished, only abandoned", but occasionally it is also taken out back and shot in the head Old Yeller style.

Basically, I've been working on a bunch of stuff for an upcoming show at Benjamin Benjamin and one of these paintings was to be a lovely pastoral scene inspired by the Murakami book "Hard-boiled Wonderland and the End of the World". After stressing over the composition for weeks, I finally drew something I was moderately happy with, and figured I'd fix what I didn't like with paint. Unfortunately, it became clear to me after about 10 hours of work that there was a glaring and unforgivable perspective problem that no amount of cleverly placed reeds could cover. I made the hard choice to break the board in two to prevent myself from working on what was essentially an imploding shit show. Sad but necessary.

Here is the digital color comp:

And here is a moving photo of its lifeless body on my floor:

The End

Face off show recap

2011-05-06T13:50:00.000-07:00

Here are some pics from last nights show at Benjamin Benjamin. It was great turn out and a ton of fun. I was really impressed with the diversity and quality of the work . If you couldn't make it last night, the show will be up through the end of the month.

Dustin's and my work side by side:

Some pics of the other artists stuff:

Super Awesome owners Myah and Scott:And finally a picture that sums up how feel about my work as I am painting it:Good times indeed.

Face Off!

2011-04-30T13:12:00.001-07:00

Guess what! Its almost First Thursday! And Guess What! This First Thursday I'll have a painting in the Benjamin Benjamin "Face Off" show! (Oh my gosh, four exclamatory sentences in a row?! How exciting!!!!) The premise of the show is pretty cool. B&B took a bunch of artists and paired them off to do portraits of each other. My victim was illustrator phenom Dustin Hostetler, better known as UPSO. This was a really fun project and it was great to work with such a well known artist. Here are the results:

Dustin's Portrait of ME:And my portrait of him:

I made a few edits to the painting after I scanned this one, but you get the idea. And speaking of ideas, I had close to a billion for this project, so here is a drawing that may or may not ever get painted (but definitely not in time for the opening):

If you know UPSO's work, you'll get the diamonds reference. Anyway, I hope you like and I hope to see you at Benjamin Benjamin this coming Thursday (5/5) for the fun. Stone Brewing and Canvas Art Bar will be there, so its gonna be a straight up PAR-TAY.

Figure paint'n

2011-04-18T15:34:00.000-07:00

Every so often I get some down time in between projects and I've started doing some figure painting to keep the ol' paint'n skills sharp and steady. Here are a couple of the most recent, done from poses taken from the Art Models book series.

The first was an attempt at using a very limited color palette (burnt umber, burnt sienna, a tiny bit of Naples yellow Italian, white and I think gold orche) with a more traditional pose, and the second was with anything color I felt like and a more pin up style pose. Both were done on a 14x20 Aqvarelle Arches water color block (cold pressed) after a light gesso and wash. I limited the time I could spend on them to around 1-2 hours, to keep them loose and more spontaneous. Minimal computer color correction. Hope you like!

Mermazing...

2011-03-14T23:13:00.002-07:00

This one is a bit late in going up. I did it as a Christmas present for my aunt who is a big time surfer and loves mermaids, hence the, um, mermaid. I'm not sure if it'll make it to the site, but I was thinking of popping on some sweet retro lettering and making it look like an old time-y surf ad. That's kinda what I was going for when I was painting it...

A funny note: I put that graphic on the board just thinking it'd look neato, but it turns out it is actually pretty close to a real board company's logo. Coincidence or the result of an insidious surfboard makers subliminal marketing? You be the Judge!!!!!

First Thusday Awesomeness: Mary Ellen Mark and Eric Joyner

2011-03-05T19:54:00.000-08:00

For those who aren't from Portland, we have a magical monthly event known as "First Thursday". Basically, it's when all the galleries have their openings, and the gallery district become one big party. I try to go every month, for inspiration and free wine (or free Pabst at the Lofts), but this month I was so excited by two shows in particular I felt the need to BLARG about them.

The First was the Short Circuit show at Benjamin Benjamin. For avid readers of this blog (all two of them-"Hi Mom") you'll know this is a gallery I recently showed at, but I promise this isn't biased. This month they were showcasing one of my favorite artists, Eric Joyner. He paints robots and doughnuts pretty much exclusively, so you can understand why I love him so. Needless to say I was psyched to see some of his work in person, and the other artists were also super kick ass. If you like robots at all, or fun retro stuff, you have to check this show out.

Eric Joyner “Too Many Choices”

The Second show was a huge, but incredibly welcomed, surprise. Blue Sky, a photography gallery near the north park blocks, was showing three series by Mary Ellen Mark. The series (Falkland Road, Indian Circus, an Ward 81) are shocking, moving and beautiful. You very rarely come across photo journalism exhibits in the first place, and even more rarely ones of this caliber. If you have even a passing interest in photography, you'd be nuts to miss it.

Gloria and Ravi, a Trainer, with His Bear Gemini. Gemini Circus, Perintalmanna

1989

platinum print

19" X 19"

Image © Mary Ellen Mark

Anyway, I just wanted to put it out there that if ever there was a month you should be visiting P-towns galleries, this would be the month. If you want company, give me a jingle.

Share Some Candy likes me!

2011-01-19T14:45:00.000-08:00

Check it out:

http://www.sharesomecandy.com/2011/01/johnny-acurso.html

More B&B Pics

2010-12-08T21:13:00.000-08:00

Here are some more pics of the gallery set up at Benjamin Benjamin, as promised. The show is going to be up for a while (I think through January), so if you get a chance make sure to stop by and support your local starving artists!

Here's the outside so you know what to look for:

My stuff on the wall and the print rack:

My stuff on the wall, view 2:OMG!

Print show recap

2010-12-03T16:06:00.000-08:00

The Benjamin Benjamin show was a big success and the gallery looked great! Sold a few prints, met some awesome people; all in all a pretty good night. A big thanks to everyone who came out and to everyone who sent well wishes. Unfortunately, I forgot my camera, so all I have is a camera phone photo to share. I'll try to return and get some better shots of the whole gallery but for now, this will do. Enjoy!

Print Show

2010-11-30T00:43:00.000-08:00

In need of gifts for those fancy pants friends who have everything? Well you should come down to Benjamin Benjamin and buy some of my prints at their December Print Show this First Thursday (Dec. 2nd)! I've loved the Benjamin Benjamin art gallery for some time now, and I'm super excited to be a part of it. If you've never had the pleasure of visiting Benjamin Benjamin (1720 NW Lovejoy, conveniently located right off the street car), you need to check them out, and not just because I'm in this show. The gallery has a great sense of humor (check out their upcoming show list) and offers a bit of everything. For this show I'll have some originals up and a ton of prints for sale. Hope to see you there!

FREAK'N TIME!

2010-11-11T14:47:00.001-08:00

Ok, so I know I posted the color comp a month ago but this really didn't take me that long...actually, besides some unexpected material mishaps (who knew unseen artist tape residue+ oil paint=NEVER DRYING), this didn't take nearly as long as I expected. This is the first pass at the color correction, but I wanted to get the final up ASAP. There is also a bit more at top that was cropped (about a 1/4in) in this version, but like I said, I wanted to get this up on the site before I was distracted by something shiny again. Enjoy!

UPDATE: posted the slightly better version without missing top part.

In Progress!!!!!!!

2010-09-10T23:03:00.000-07:00

It's been a crazy couple of months, but to keep this silly blog active, I thought I'd post the color comp of my current project. I love this idea, and I hope the real painting lives up to the comp because it should be sweet. I'm about a third of the way in and it is looking good, so I'll keep you (who?) updated!

Mini-Show Pics

2010-07-26T15:18:00.000-07:00

So my mini show at Green Luck Media Group's office was crazy. There was sweet live music (Serious Business-who in my opinion are the best thing I've heard live from Portland period) beer a plenty, and a ton of people having a damn good time. My work looked a bit tiny on those big walls, especially compared to the other artist (who's name I am at a loss for right now) but it was too fun to care. Here are some (very blurry) pics for your enjoyment!

My work behind the Beer Station:

The Tunes:

The good friends who came with but tried to escape via the window:

Good times!

Last Minute Mini-Show!

2010-07-22T14:46:00.000-07:00

So I was wandering aimlessly through the void of cyberspace, as I am known to do, and I happened upon a post in Portland's Craigslist about a media group needing some art to bedazzle their walls. I responded and POOF!, within 24 hours I was grabbing everything I had available off my walls and running downtown to Green Luck Media Group's studio space. It was a bit last minute but hey, spontaneity is the goulash of life, right? Anyway, there is going to be an open house this Friday @ 8:30 where they will be showing off their space and it should be fun. Come support them and me!

More Details:
The Company:
http://www.myspace.com/greenluckmediagroup

The Party:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Green-Luck-Media-Group/131659200197773?ref=search#!/event.php?eid=102004296521556&ref=mf

Look at that S Car Go!

2010-06-28T16:23:00.001-07:00

Worst pun joke ever. Also, LOOK! A new painting! Still needs some more color correcting, but I wanted to get it up before another month comes around and makes me feel bad for not posting. I'll upload better versions and maybe some process shots when I get the time.

Garage Sale WIN!

2010-06-05T21:50:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite summer activities has to be visiting garage sales. I love the act of "finding" stuff, and I love great deals. Lately I've had some pretty sweet finds; An "Indian in the cupboard" type mini-cabinet, a vintage gasoline blow torch, and some cool prints. But today, I hit the art nerd motherload! A 1944 printing of Andrew Loomis's Figure Drawing: For All it's Worth. It is a bit worse for wear, but this has to be the best figure drawing book I've ever come across and the thing was ONLY 2 BUCKS! The drawing is stellar and because it's from 1944, the models are actually attractive! I've looked through it about 20 times since picking it up today and I find something new every time. I've decided to post a few pics to share the vintage awesomeness:

Sweet Cover!

Awesome outfits!

Because a lady would never pose nude without her heels....

When men were Men!

Anyway, you get the point. There are just so many incredible drawings and even more hyper detailed diagrams that it puts my other "how to draw the figure" books to shame. I'm going to put this book right next to them, and maybe they'll get their act together and be more useful (or just look even worse by comparison-whatever).

Bubblegum Punk

2010-05-20T14:56:00.001-07:00

Here is another quick painting that was to be used as a CD cover for light hearted/poppy punk. Just experimenting with type and the like, trying to bring up memories of Blow Pops and Bazooka Joe. There may be some more versions to come.

Camel-time!

2010-03-18T16:44:00.001-07:00

Just a little image I did to play around with some extra board. Took me about 5-6 hours total to paint it (which if you know me is nothing). Could use some edge touch-ups, but it was more an experiment/study than anything else, so for now its done.

Erin has named him Sherman. That is all.

SalaWHAT?!

2010-03-07T13:59:00.001-08:00

Just a random painting I did for fun. Not really sure what spawned the idea, but I actually made a clay model of the salamander for reference. Good stuff.

Pin it up!

2009-12-22T10:46:00.001-08:00

Yeah, so remember when I said I was going to try to be pretty regular about posting? Then remember how I didn't post for five full months? Yeah...sorry about that.

Anyway, here's a painting I did for fun that will probably end up being a Valentine promo or something. I've also been considering an etsy site for some time now, so be looking for that in the New Year. Until then, may your cockles be warm and your holidays holly jolly!

EDIT 6/28/10: Every so often you'll look back at a painting and see something you've done horribly wrong. So after kicking yourself for not seeing it when you were actually painting it, you can either fix it, or leave it be and never speak of it again. This time I fixed a GIANT nose and weird ear. I like it much better. The end.

Awesomely Grosstastic

2009-07-22T14:47:00.000-07:00

Last Tuesday, while waiting in an extremely long line for a free slice of pizza at Escape from New York's anniversary celebration, I had the great pleasure of meeting one of the most influential illustrators for kids in the '80s. His name is Tomas Bunk and he was one of the original and principal illustrators for the Garbage Pail Kids. Yes that's right: Those disgustingly awesome trading cards you used to secretly collect and swap with friends in the shadowy recesses of the hallway. Basically the closest thing to contraband a ten-year-old could get their hands on, the GPK elicited only slightly less fascination than an older brother's pilfered porno mags.

Anyway, Tom is a god damned legend if you ask me. In fact I'd even call him an American hero, if he wasn't German. Best of all, he's still at it and is even going to have some illos in this upcoming Mad Magazine, a regular client of his. Check out some more of his work here: http://www.spalato.net/port.asp

Oh Yeah, and I also got to meet a llama named Rojo. Just goes to show you that waiting for an hour and a half to save yourself 2 bucks on a slice of pizza (despite the fact that an hour of work, even at minimum wage, would buy you at least 4 slices) can be totally worth it.

First Thursday Show or "Why I Have Umpteen Pictures of Doughnuts and Octopi on my Desktop"

2009-06-28T22:01:00.001-07:00

OO-DA-LOLLY! I'm gonna have myself a paint'n in a show at Floating World Comics this upcoming first Thursday! Check out the poster with my art on it:

I gotta say there are few things more satisfying than painting doughnuts and octo-somethings. For more info on the show go to Floating World Comics web site (www.floatingworldcomics.com) or MySpace page (www.myspace.com/floatingworldcomics). See ya there!

Booze and Biozombies

2009-06-21T17:19:00.000-07:00

Let me start by explaining why exactly I'm posting about beer on an illustration blog. Well, for starters, it's because I can. Secondly, it's a well known fact that all illustrators love beer, and thus I consider it a sacred duty to share this experience with my fellow drawerers. Whats that you say? You're an illustrator who doesn't like beer and you resent being lumped in with the rest of us borderline alcoholics? CURSES UPON YOUR HEAD, ye vile abomination! Slither back to the pit whence ye spawned and trouble me no more!

Anywhooo, back to the beer. On a recent trip to the neighborhood booze hut to visit a friend, I was pointed in the direction of Ale Smith Brewing's "Speedway Stout", which has apparently been rated "BEST BEER IN THE WORLD" three years running. I had never heard of this beer, but at that moment I knew that no matter how much wealth, power, and love I amassed in my life, I would die a bitter and unsatisfied man if I did not try this beer. That being said, me and Erin (my lady friend to those not in know) purchased the one bottle allowed per customer and trotted home in a giddy stupor.

So was this beer the end all, be all of beers? Did it take me levels of beervana before unknownst to the mortal coil? Was it indeed, the best beer I had ever tasted?

Short answer: No. Now don't get me wrong, it was a great beer and at 12% apv, totally worth the somewhat hefty price. Still, it wasn't anywhere near what I would call the best beer in the world, and it tasted pretty much like any other uber-powerful stout. My disappointment, however, was quickly doused by the fact that it got me trashed and allowed me the poor judgment to finally watch Biozombie; a Chinese horror (?) movie we picked up at the library, featuring optional English or Engrish subtitles and zombies eating sushi. Not exactly the life changing night I'd hoped for, but still pretty damn awesome.

The Graveyard

2009-04-16T12:31:00.000-07:00

Every so often inspiration comes and kicks me in the groin. It gives me an idea so awesomely brilliant that it is all I can think about. I obsess about this idea. I gather mounds of reference, do tons of sketches, and ready myself to make illustration history. And then I am distracted by something shiny and completely forget about the hours of work I have just put in, and the idea goes to what I guess is best described as my idea graveyard. I have decided to post a few of these forgotten ideas that made it so far as the thumbnail or preliminary sketch phase, in hopes that through some voodoo magic I may get the urge to bring them back from the dead. Enjoy!

This was one of my favorite ideas that never made it to finish. I was so excited until everyone told me it was too random. Too random? I thought that was what made it funny....

Test tube babies...get it? Get it!?

I have about a zillion photos of swimmers in goggles because of this one...

Look a giant robot head...This one actually made it to the illustration board, but then I decided I was doing too many robot paintings. I now know there is no such thing as "too many" robot paintings.

Holy Moley, I'm blogging!?! (But only because I have to)

2009-03-18T18:36:00.000-07:00

So, I started this blog some time ago, with every intention of writing fascinating stories of intrigue on a weekly basis and delighting all with my wit and fabulous life. However, being that my life is rather dull and I hate writing about myself, this is my inaugural post (about 5 months after this blog was started). So what, you ask, finally forced me to divulge the inner workings of my oh-so-normal life? Well a recent move is partly to blame, but more so is the infuriating saga of my missing website.

About two months ago my website ( www.johnnyacurso.com ) vanished from google. Long story short, no one can give me a clear answer as to why, and because I am somewhat clueless when it comes to the inner workings of the web (I use a fantastic program called Freeway, which even a monkey could use to design a site ) it has remained missing. Needless to say this has driven me somewhat insane, but even during my decent into madness I was able to come up with a few ideas to at least direct a few fans to my site, this being one of them.

And thus my blog comes to life! I will now try to diligently update this with images and stories and other fun doodads as I run across them. Also, if anyone wants to help my site come back to life, link me or mention me or PLEASE tell me what "robots.txt unreachable" means so I can once again become a googleable man!!!

Love and monkeys,
Johnny
www.johnnyacurso.com