Silent James artwork from June

2008, 2009, 2010 A Favorite Piece per Year

Collyer Brothers, 2008

I've chosen 3 of my favorite watercolor pieces from 2008-2010, all done for fun. I read the book Ghosty Men and was fascinated with the Collyer Brothers. I found their story quite touching, I won't go into it in detail here but you should look into it.

Life of Pi, 2009

My favorite section of the book Life of Pi was when the bolt of lightning strikes the water and he describes how it looked like a white tree with roots.

Imaginarium of Dr Parnassus, 2010

Terry Gilliam's Imaginarium of Dr Parnassus was definitely not his finest hour, but it inspired this painting which I love to this day. I like the patterns and the composition.

I created these in-between freelance jobs and around my full-time day job. It's very important to do personal work, it's a way to build up a portfolio of the kind of work you'd LIKE to be getting. It's a hoot looking at this stuff now, it seems like someone else created them- it's so weird.

2007-2009 Political Illustration

From 2007-2009, I did a lot of illustrations for Manhattan Media. They owned a bunch of free weekly newspapers: NY Press, The Capitol, City Hall, West Side Spirit & Our Town. These were the lowest paying jobs with the quickest turnaround times, mostly political subjects, it was very depressing but I had to pay my bills. Part of me wanted to hide these forever, but the thing I like about this site is that you get to see a progression and another side of my work. So... here we go!

Some illustrators make a career out of drawing people they dislike, but it's not for me. I dislike the corruption, greed and blatant illegal practices of politicians. I must have drawn Bloomberg 20 times, it was torture.

Sptizer is another one I've draw too many times, he was a big deal during this time because he was caught being a patron of escort services. I think this country has its priorities mixed up. What we choose to be outraged by vs bigger issues we don't really care about.

Never have I had to draw a more horrific site! The art director told me where to place each politician on the tower based on how they were doing in the race at the time. I guess Obama laughed last.

Another cover I drew, I really liked this one because it did not feature a politician!

This was funny because the art director told me to draw him peering into the piggy bank. Esther exclaimed, "But he's BLIND!" She suggested I have him shake it next to his ear, I'm so glad I did that! How insensitive that would have seemed.

This one is one of my favorites for a very odd reason. I used frisket film to mask out the words on the chalk board, to really get the texture/feel of chalk. When I pulled it up, it did exactly what I wanted.

 

Don't get me wrong, I vote every chance I get. I'll never give up trying to make this country better, even against such corruption which is consistently rewarded.

2000 My Handmade High School Yearbook

Cover to my handmade yearbook 2000

I was not your average high school student: I never got my photo taken, didn't go to prom, didn't play sports, and didn't buy my yearbook. When my calligraphy & advertising teacher Mrs Jennifer Trettner asked us to do our final project in a calligraphy font of our own creation, I decided to make my own yearbook. Although the calligraphy font I created is ugly & illegible in places... and my layout skills left something to be desired... I love my handmade yearbook.

Teachers and students would write their messages/comments directly in the book (comments not featured here, those are mine!). Each page would have a yearbook-esque pic and a full drawing at the bottom, they would sign the opposite page. Here's a few memories from my yearbook...

 

My parting words for High School were borrowed from Roger Klotz, they are words of wisdom.

I'm thankful for my teacher Mrs Trettner. Her classes prepared me to be a professional in everything that I do. In the desert of Three Village, she had true passion & guts.

Sometimes I kick myself for not also buying an official yearbook, because it would've made the process of drawing autobiography "Secrets of Silent James" easier, but I'm proud to say my memory proved to be quite sharp! So... HA!

2009-2011 Screamin' Jay Hawkins

Screamin' Jay Hawkins Ol' Man River by Silent James 2009

Screamin' Jay Hawkins is one of my favorite musicians. I first saw him in the movie American Hot Wax in Vincent Di Fate's illustration class. Screamin' was outrageous! I dove into his music and loved pretty much all of it. I was mesmerized by any live clips I could find, the above illustration was based on his performance of Ol' Man River (with a homage to Ashes at the end!). At the time, this piece was a breakthrough for me. It was the first piece I had done in years that was actually fun to create.

Screamin' Jay Hawkins by Silent James 2011

I created this next one during my next phase of illustration, which I still use to this day. His singing ability was truly special. Jim Jarmusch said it best, "He's a national treasure." I loved him in JJ's film Mystery Train, I wish he had acted more- he was great!

Screamin' Jay Hawkins by Silent James 2011

I eventually saw the documentary "I Put a Spell on Me", which was fascinating. I especially loved the clips from the original "I Put a Spell on You" music video. Screamin' said that everyone thought he was a joke dressed like that, but he believed he was dressed like a warrior; an African warrior.

Screamin' Jay Hawkins by Silent James 2012

The last one I painted was in 2012, I really like the colors I used. I also got to paint a spell like in my books Three and Dee. I loved his entrances in the casket, he said the scream he would bust out from the coffin would cause half the audience to faint!

My favorite songs of his besides ones mentioned above are: Voodoo, Poor Folks, I Hear Voices, Shattered, Monkberry Moon Delight, Whistlin' Past the Graveyard, Portrait of a Man, Frenzy... sheesh, there's too many to list.

2006 Illustration for 11211 Magazine, Let's Grow Art Show

Another early job I got was to illustrate Roni from Laila Lounge in Williamsburg for 11211 magazine. There was no direction or images sent to me, so I went down and interviewed him/sketched him in person. This was not typical in 2006 and is practically unheard of today, but it was a really great experience. Roni was a very funny and interesting person, he told me all about the place and himself and I was able to add some details into the image. I really like the way the spray came out in the background; the gradient and textures. They only ended up using the image as a quarter page, which meant my already tiny compensation would be even less. I never got to see the image printed, and I also had to fight for months with the owner of the magazine to get paid. But, Roni loved the image and wanted me to show my work in his place.

Flyer designed by Esther Westwood, art by artists in show

I organized Let's Grow! Art Show on Aug 17, 2006 with some of my friends including: Fumiko Yoshioka, Jason Raish, Rob Harrigan, Stephanie Buscema, Esther Westwood and Magie Serpica. We had about 5 or 6 pieces up each and there was a pretty good turnout. My childhood friend Lucas came, and my friends Matt and Morgan, Molly Crabapple etc. It was a really nice night and all came about from one tiny job.

2003-2014 Hunter S Thompson, Dan Valle, Ralph Steadman, Death Positive

Dan Valle and Silent James, Halloween 2003

In 1998, I saw Terry Gilliam's Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas film. It had a big effect on me, I used to run up and down the halls in high school quoting Raoul Duke. I read the book, I especially loved the artwork by the great Ralph Steadman. In 2002, I met a punk kid at FIT named Dan Valle. He became one of my best friends. It turned out he loved Fear and Loathing as well, and we both dressed up for Halloween in 2003.

Silent James attending Ralph Steadman's show at AIB, Feb 2006

Hunter S. Thompson died in 2005. I remember my sisters and I were visiting our Mum, and we were so sad when we heard the news. We were crying in the snow. In 2006, I piled into a car with my sister, her husband, and Esther and headed up to Art Institute of Boston for Drawing Breath: A Retrospective Whisper, which was a huge Ralph Steadman show.

The postcard flyer for the show

Silent James w/ Cardinal Zin

The show was a comprehensive collection of his school work, ink illustrations for books in the 60's (my favorite of his work), the Big I Am images which were stunning, as well as new work including beverage packaging.

Soon after, Ralph Steadman's book The Joke's Over came out, about his relationship with his friend Hunter S Thompson. He came to the Barnes and Noble bookstore on 6th ave and 22nd st for... not quite a signing, since we all got pre signed book plates... but he did have give a talk and even dressed up as Hunter (cigarette holder and all!). I remember hearing someone banging on the window of the bookstore at one point, but I didn't pay it much attention because I was so mesmerized by seeing Mr. Steadman.

Illustration of Ralph Steadman by Silent James, 2006

I painted this huge watercolor of Ralph Steadman, in the style of one of his favorite artists Goya, and gave it to him. His friend laughed, "He's got more hair than that!" I got to ask Ralph a question during the Q+A, "Hunter always told you not to write, that it would bring shame upon you and your family, and now you've written a book. I'm curious, did Hunter ever draw?"
The room kind of went dead, as is usually the case when I'm given a microphone, and Ralph just said that "Hunter couldn't draw."
He was rushed out by his wife, as people were trying desperately to get him to sign their stuff, and I yelled a big "Thank You!", he stopped in his tracks, turned right to me and yelled, "You're welcome!" It was amazing.

Illustration of my friend Dan Valle, 2014

Dec 2008, I met Dan at Kenka near Saint Marks and we had a great night catching up. He told me all about his new band Hollow Jones. Obama just became president. He asked me if I'd like to create some illustrations for him. He was happy and excited. We talked Ralph Steadman and I mentioned I saw him at B+N over a year ago and he told me it was him banging on the window. He said he saw something was going on but had to run.

A few days after Valentine's Day 2009, I received an email out of the blue from my friend Sasha that Dan Valle died in a bike accident on the Williamsburg Bridge.

Ghost Bike for Dan Valle at South 5th between Driggs and Roebling

A kind artist made a Ghost Bike for Dan. I went to the funeral in Howell, NJ. At first I was crippled by this devastation, but I began painting his picture every year, which I found very therapeutic. I learned to accept death and become death positive years later thanks to mortician Caitlin Doughty and the Order of the Good Death. Dan's birthday is on April 6th, this year I spent it listening to Tragedy (one of Dan's favorite bands) and flying home from the east coast.

2005-2006 College Work

I still like some of the work I created during this time, it has charm and energy. These drawings were done on blue paper from direct observation of the models. Mia Paloma Sorada was among the best, I called this one Waiting For Him.

Conversely, here is Waiting For Her. I don't remember his name, but they were both great models. I used a quill, brush and an awesome retractable multi-colored ballpoint pen I got from Japan. Drawing live really does add so much. These were done in Karen Santry's class, she had fun, elaborate setups.

This caricature of Owen Wilson was made to market my work to the NY Times. I like this, even though it is in such a generic editorial style. My friends thought it was funny I chose to draw him, but I loved him in Zoolander.

My friend Jason Raish and I were among the 10 finalists in the Dave Chappelle's Block Party Poster Contest. This would have worked much better if I was allowed to do a landscape composition, but I really love all the likenesses here. This was the first in a series of renaissance homage paintings I would create.

My favorite: Jack Nicholson's Joker! Since seeing Batman in the theatre in 1989, I have thought about the Joker every single day of my life. I began experimenting with spray backgrounds a la Ralph Steadman. You mix a batch of watercolor in a spray bottle, mask the areas you don't want the spray on using frisket film, then go to town! It adds a quality and directness that is missing when you piece the background together (like the block party background).

"That obscene giggle!" I love the film Amadeus, and created this large scale watercolor. I remember this was the first piece I framed with acrylic instead of glass, I was happy how light it was but it was prone to collecting dust and scratches. Amadeus and the Joker were given to my older sister.

I took my portfolio to every magazine and newspaper, it was a grueling and frustrating process. Most of the art directors would not meet with me in person and I had to leave it with the mail room. I'm sure they never even looked at them because I installed a trap to tell if it had been opened.

I met with Steven Heller from the NY Times, he flipped through quickly and mumbled something about my work being a "Chinese Menu". He went on and on about a drawing I did of Elvis, he loved the expression and the technique. I met with him again 6 months later and he honed in on that same drawing of Elvis and spent the entire time telling me how much he didn't like it.