My friend Josh Ellingson draws a Slimer every day. At least, he has been for the last 116 days. They are all done on dry erase board. It's a habbit that started naturally enough. He drew the first 60 at work. Not on the sly either; The big-wigs and everybody else loved it! You see, he was working on a Ghostbusters casino game so his dry-erase Slimers were drawn to warm up and to rally the troops.
The Ghostbusters game is pretty much wrapped up now and Josh has moved on to other projects. But that hasn't slowed down the Daily Slimers. And now he's pulled other artists into it! So here is my take on Slimer. Haven't you ever wondered what he looked like before he was a ghost? I sure did.
I tell you what. Rex Goliath kinda rules. He has been here with us for some great nights. So this is my little tribute painting of Rex.
I must admit, despite the fact that I have spent a good chunk of my life in Wine country (the North Bay area), I don't know a lot about the subtleties of wine tasting. But who cares? It's becoming clear that there might not be any true "wine experts" anyway. In blind taste tests, experts had trouble identifying a $10 bottle of wine from a $200 wine (Check out the Wine Trials 2010). All I know is I love (good) red wine and I can't break the bank on it. The thing is, if you are spending less than 8 bucks on a bottle you could end up with something tasting like fruit punch with a splash of vinegar.
That's why Rex Goliath rules. Aside from sounding like the name of a speed-metal band, RG also rocks for tasting lovely, robust and expensive. Oh and it's almost always on sale for about 5 bucks in most grocery stores/bev-mos.
Rex was a real-life rooster and side show attraction in the early 1900s. He weighed in at 47 pounds. Holy crap-bones! Do I even need to make the joke?
Albert Johnson was a real man who led the Canadian Mounties on an enormous man-hunt in the 1930s. He was wanted for allegedly disabling animal traps and hanging them from trees. No one knows for sure what started it all, but the "Mad Trapper" may have been the Yukon territory's first animal activist! He was basically Gentle Ben meets Rasputin.
For the month of November, every Mad Trapper T-shirt ordered ships with an original Ben Walker sketch of a Beaver. Available in Men's sizes Small - 2X. Only from Benwalker.bigcartel.com
YOU and WHO - WINNER!
You and Who is a T-shirt company with a simple mission: Sell one-of-a-kind designer T-shirts that help worthy causes in cities across the country. Every time they sell a T-shirt, someone in need receives the same shirt. So pick up one of my WINNER tees and someone in San Francisco will get a little pick-me-up. youandwho.com
APE (the Alternative Press Expo) is happening in a couple days, Oct. 13 and 14th. Look for me at the MEGA BIG TIME table. I'll be there all weekend with my partner in crime Amanda Storey. Here's a preview of some of the small original paintings I'll be bringing.
A look at some of the best creations with my free photo app, Westify
First I have to mention that there is a big update for Westify! Get the latest version so you will have more than bear heads and guns to work with! Over 60 new graphic bits to add to your photos.
Here are a few of my favorite Westified pics made with Westify 1.0 ~
Follow me on Instagram or Twitter, @artofbenwalker to see my Westify pics.
And I'll be at Alternative Press Expo, table #819, APE runs Oct. 13th, and 14th. I'll be selling small original paintings, new T-shirts and prints. Mega Big Time!
It's not always easy to get started on a drawing or painting. Staring at a blank piece of paper with no idea of what to draw...sucks. If I want to get my imagination fired up there are a few things I can do. I might go through history books, draw from my parents' old yearbooks, or listen to music.
That's why I love listening to artists who tell stories. And as far as I'm concerned, no one can do that better than Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. All of Cave's songs (Grinderman too) have a timeless, manly grit to them that I relate to more than any other music artist out there.
Their album, Henry's Dream is an amazing ride full of poetic stories. John Finn's Wife gives me chills every time I hear it. The last track, Jack The Ripper is a driving rock song about a guy with an overbearing wife who reacts harshly to his sexual advances. The lyrics, mournful backing vocals and Cave's repeating "oh yeah" capture the dreadful feeling of being in a soured relationship and still having, uh, needs.
This image started as an ink drawing in my sketchbook. It's colored digitally.
Jack The Ripper
No More Shall We Part was the first album I picked up by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. I love it. This album is a piano drenched, roller coaster ride of emotions and themes that don't come up in most of the music out there. Careful though, when you're a guy in a dark time, this album can feel like a spotlight. I'm actually glad I don't relate to it as much as I used to.
Hallelujah is this epic story of....an aging, depressed writer or musician? I'm not totally sure, and that's what I love about Cave's lyrics. They are mysterious and open to interpretation. I like to have those same qualities in my artwork. Anyway, there's a line in this song:
My typewriter sat mute as a tomb and my piano sat in the corner of my room with all it's teeth bared.
I like this line as it touches on the avoidance and fears that come when you are experiencing creative blocks.
All It's Teeth Bared, 11"x14", inspired by Nick Cave's Hallelujah
a 1 minute interview and live version
This piece is sort of a preview of the artwork I'm doing for an upcoming show (May 2013) in San Francisco. All the work will tell tales of love, war, travel and adventure. I'm going to have more pieces in the mix that are sparked by Nick Cave lyrics.
I wish I could show more from this show! But this work has to stay under wraps. For now, just listen.
I'm excited to announce that there is now a Ben Walker App! Westify is available for free download from the iTunes App Store. Westify lets you add weird Western elements to any photo. The free version of the app comes with a nice selection of bear parts, lots of guns and some cowboy essentials. All of the elements for this app were hand drawn and colored digitally.
Upgrades with more parts will be made available soon.
This app is a collaborative project with Franky Aguilar, maker of the wildly popular CatWang. He's teamed with a couple other cool artists who will be launching their own apps in the next couple weeks so be on the look-out for those.
So go to iTunes App store and download Westify. Share some pics on Twitter or Instagram. Tag them #Westify so we can see!
