CURRENT - 2007 - 2006 - 2005 - 2004 - 2003 - 2002

11.15.03

New painting added to the gallery. It's more of a painted up sketch. I finished it last week, but I just didn't have time to upload. I've sketched out all pages of the first chapter of EOG. and have 2 pages done (except for lettering). I'm gonna take a nap, then start on the next page.

11.08.03

I once told a close friend of mine that I didn't really consider myself a perfectionist when it came to my artwork. I believe her response was "PPhhhhet" Which translates to "Bullshit". I am working on EOG again, but it's to redraw a page I'm not happy w/ before moving forward w/ the story. But I am moving forward. I also finished 1 piece of artwork yesteday and have another that will probably take less than an hour to finish. I don't want to get overly excited, but I have hopes that my personal output is picking up again.

10.26.2003

My latest painting isn't something I'd typically do, but it was a request from a family member. I'll be back to the F**ked up stuff shortly. I plan to focus on getting another piece of artwork done and making a tiny bit of progress on the much lagging "Eyes of God" project.

10.19.2003

Thanks to all my friends and those who stopped by the Artwalk in Sherman Oaks on Oct. 11th. I sold a couple prints and shirts and met a few interesting people. I look forward to doing it again sometime soon.

The process of getting more personal work done is slow going. I'm running around trying to get slides of my work made so I can submit work to galleries. I'm also working through the weekend on that "other project" for work. It's very fulfilling, but I haven't touched EOG in months. I may work on it a little today, but first I have to finish work for the "other project", do a painting that's going to be a present for a relative, then finish a stand alone sketch/painting I started yesterday...and I have to watch ALIAS tonight. So it may be a little while longer, but I will finish it (by it, I mean chapter 1 of 12...Arrrrrrghhhhh!!!)

G

10.06.2003

I'll be participating in an artwalk in Sherman Oaks next Saturday There will be several artists and musicians from all over LA performing or showing and selling work. Come out and see some fresh new art, have some fun, and get a little fresh air and exercise.

Date: Saturday, October 11th, 3PM - 7PM.
Location: Ventura Blvd, Between Van Nuys & Cedros ( I will be located in front of Dementia - 14512 Ventura Blvd, Sherman Oaks, Ca
Driving directions :Click Here

9.23.2003

Disappearing Acts - Part 1
So what happened to me...? Well, the move went relatively well. I now have my own place. Perfect for me to hide away and make art, which is exactly what I've been doing for the past month. Unfortunately, I can't show you any of it. I'm continuing work on a series of comics that won't see print until next year and that's all I can say about the project.

I wrote, drew, lettered, & colored the first issue, which meant living off of 4-6 hours of sleep a night for 3 weeks. I'm in pretty bad shape psychologically right now. I desperately need rest right now. I'm still unpacking and getting my place together and my buddy Olin (http:olinmusic.com) just brought my guitar back from the music shop, after taking it in to get it setup - Thanks, Man! I've decided I want to learn how to play Peter Gabriel's SOLSBURY HILL. Music will be a nice way to relax.

The break I'm having is only temporary because the project I'm working on is long term and I'm going to be committed to it for several months. One upside to the frantic schedule I've been working is that any doubts about whether I was meant to be an artist or not, have been destroyed. One might think that being pushed has hard as I've been lately would make me sick of drawing and painting for a little while. When I was in the middle of the a 3 AM art session last week it occurred to me if I can put this much time into one project, then once my work schedule returns to a normal 9 to 5, I should have no problem cranking out the rest of my personal comic books and paintings. Am I a glutton for punishment or what? And, I just came up with a new short story that's very near and dear to my heart.

That's it for now. I've got unpacking to do, rest to get, music to play...and then art to make.

G

8.16.2003

It is hot, nasty, and miserable in LA. The only consolation is that it's the same in a lot of other places too. I have come to an almost grinding halt on the EOG project. The good news it that it's because I'm actually getting paid to write and draw a comic book.

The updates will be slow and few for the next couple months.The amount of time I have to put into this comic is significant, but it's a great project, so I'd rather not fuck it up. I'm also moving, so it's going to take me a while to get situated. Then, I want to add the ability to buy some original artwork and expand the store. I figure, If I'm making more money, I can afford to work less and focus on my art.
That's it...

Peace,
G

7.25.2003

I finally feel like I'm really taking advantage of having a laptop. I'm working on this update from an airplane, heading up to San Francisco to visit a friend. I've got a new T-Shirt added to the OPTIC HOUSE STORE, so go check it out...and better yet, buy one.

I've got a painting I'm proud of for this update, but I've also got a failed painting.This painting is one that came from a sketch I scribbled months ago and thought it might make a good finished piece. It started off well enough, when I was just painting in the monster, but when I got around to the female figure, it just fell apart. I tried repainting her, and painting her all black and adding detailed highlights. I could paint over her completely and start from scratch, but this one doesn't feel worth it. It's D.O.A. The magic isn't there, and I've got to let it go.

I'm on the comeback trail. I have less desire to go out and party these days, and I really want to buckle down and focus. We'll see how much artwork I get done in the next two weeks. One downer I have to look forward to, though is that I'm planning to move at the end of August, which will definitely put a crimp in my art time (Plus, moving just blows!!).

G

7.20.2003

I'm trying to pimp the artwork a little more, so GO BUY A T-SHIRT! I'm going to add a couple more designs and maybe a poster or two over the next week.

I went to the San Diego Comic Con yesterday. Every time I go I get re-inspired to start working again. I really have been tired lately and feeling like I need a break, but seeing so much good art and people out there doing unique storytelling and coming up w/ innovative ideas, has got me reved up again. I just need to get enough sleep so I have the strength to do all I want to accomplish.

7.07.2003

Not the happiest of updates -
Work on EYES OF GOD has ground to a halt due to other creative/business commitments. I'm dying to get back to it, but there's so many things little things I need to take care of, that it feels like I never will. Where I was once envisioning a grand multimedia experimental comic, at this point, I'm considering drawing the thing bare bones in a sketchy style and doing whatever I can to get the story out.

I skipped last week's update because I had LASIK surgery. I'm very happy w/ it, but my eyes are still a little sensitive to being in front of a computer for long periods of time, which impacts almost everything I do creatively. I've become incredibly digitally dependent. I need to finish some new pieces and get my ebay store up and running. Time needs to slow down...

G

...and yes, the year anniversary of Optic House has come and gone w/ no fanfare. I can only hope next year is more promising.

6.22.2003

INTEResting...A visual website where the updates are mostly text. Considering that Eyes of God is a long form project that will take a long time to finish, I really want to ration out the new work I put up. I have a couple of pieces waiting in the wings. I'll put one up next week.
I'm a little confused about how to handle this. On one hand I feel like I should write about what I'm working on and describe what it is that you aren't seeing yet. On the other, I have the desire to blab on and on about what's going on in my life, because I love reading about what the lives of other artists are like. I'm too lazy to do both, but what the hell, I'll try.

On my laptop, just below the window, I'm typing this text in, is the scanned artwork of page 2 of Eyes of God. EOG is a comic book story I've had in my head for years, which I intend to publish online. It will take 12 chapters to complete. The chapters will be as long as they have to be to tell the story, although I anticipate they will come in at about 15 pages each. I'm experimenting a lot w/ this one. I've already completely changed styles between page 1 & 4. I'm trying to stay completely open to any possibility in how I tell the story, both visually and narratively. If one page looks good as a painting, and the next as a pencil sketch, so be it. I think I need to not be afraid of mistakes and fumble for a while in order to grow.

There's two things that are keeping me from drawing the whole thing digitally. One, I spend all day staring at a computer at work. Even though I'm going to be doing a lot of digital illustration on this project, I need to sit in front of a drawing table instead of a screen for at least a little while. Two, Wacom Tablets. I love my graphire tablet, and I have used it to make art that's entirely digital, from sketch onward, however, I still don't feel completely comfortable drawing with it the way I do w/ traditional art. I know it will be years in the making, but I'm holding out for a Mac Tablet PC before I switch over to complete digital art. I need to draw directly on my drawing surface (not completely true...I just really want to). I know there's the Wacom Cintiq, but at $1899, it's so not happening. I'm almost ready to switch to PC just to get a Tablet PC, but I think it might be worth it, if I can hold out for a few more years. Besides, my powerbook still has a lot of mileage left on it.

At a friend's suggestion, I'm going to update the about section, adding an artists bio, a picture or 2 and some other crap. People seem to think it's a good idea from a marketing standpoint, and who am I to argue. I'm also getting ready to open up an EBAY store to sell some of my original works. Did you know when you sell through an art gallery, they take, like 50%. Some day, I'm gonna move into a live-in studio and just advertise my open studio nights. I can have my own little gallery. Of course, that would mean I really need to get my ass in gear and keep painting. Anyway, if anybody as looked at some of the paintings on the site and thought it would be nice to own one, soon you'll have a chance. I need to work out the best and most economic way to ship them.

Here's a question? I almost never sign my work. It just feels funny to me and it seems to mar the surface of the art, but a lot of people are encouraging me to start. What do you think?

Music - I Bought the new Type O Negative CD LIFE IS KILLING ME. It is soooooo good. Type O are in classic form. I also got the new Tomahawk CD. The lead singer is Mike Patton from Faith No More fame. Also an ass kicker. While in the Best Buy, I couldn't resist buying CLERKS and CHASING AMY on DVD. I should have gotten them years ago. I could ramble for a while longer, but I have art to make an research to do.

Peace
G

6.15.2003

My how time flies. On Wednesday, June 25th, Optichouse.com will be one year old. Wouldn't it be great if I had a cool new animated short or the first chapter of my webcomic ready to post, in honor of the occasion. Guess what?! Not gonna happen. I'm still at 3 pages and holding. I probably won't have time to draw more pages until the end of the week. Fortunately, I still have some new work that I will be posting in the coming weeks.

I'm going to try to do text updates weekly or bi-weekly, even if I don't have any new art to post. Why...because I love to babble like an idiot! No, the real reasons are that people who visit the site will know that it's still being updated on a regular basis, and in the hopes that it will shame me into putting up at least a sketch or something ( which, looking back at earlier entries, was something I really wanted to stick to) Well, that's it for now. I'm going to research the possibility of opening up an EBAY store to sell original works. We'll see how that goes. Happy almost Birthday to Optic House.

BTW, right now, I'm listening to a song called Bleeder by NOTHINGFACE. It's a song I've been hearing on a webstation I listen to, Chronixradio.com. It's been stuck in my head in a positive way. I may have to run out and get their CD. I've spent way too much on music lately. Blindside, Interpol, Static X, Tomahawk, Hate Dept, and Sevendust, are all bands who's CDs I've recently bought and enjoy.

Oh yeah...Happy Father's Day. I love you dad.

6.09.2003

I guess I've fallen off the face of the earth for a while. The sad thing is I've had new stuff to put up on the site for a while, but things have been too crazy for me to have the time. What exactly have I been up to? First, I was working on a website for a talented young musician named OLIN. Check out OLINMUSIC.COM. I also have an exhibition to prepare for on June 28th. Email me if you live in the LA area and are interested in swinging by.

I've gotten three pages of EYES OF GOD drawn, but I really don't want to post them until I have the whole 1st chapter finished. I might post a page or panel if I use up the artwork I've recently finished. I have a bunch of slides of artwork to sort through, so I can start submitting work to galleries (wah- poor me :-( I know I have no reason to bitch). I may also have a chance to do a comic book for a paying company in the near future (which could halt all Optic House activity for a while)

That's about it. I'll try not to let the time between updates slide too often anymore.
G

4.09.2003

As soon as I'm done uploading this new painting, I'm working on the dialog for chapter one of EOG. The new artwork came out pretty well. My roommates are happy w/ it (and they're the ones who have to live w/ my art on the walls). I'm going to try submitting some of my works for a few juried exhibitions soon.

4.09.2003

I finished the plot for all of the chapters of EOG. Oringinally there were going to be eight, but in the process of revising it and fleshing out the story, it's been expanded to twelve (I was hoping to shorten it, actually). At least now, I'm satisfied w/ the way the entire story plays out. I just need to crank out the dialog for part one and I can get drawing. Meanwhile, I wanted to make sure I keep doing individual art pieces. The latest upload is a work in progress. It'll only take me a few more hours to finish it, but I have a couple of sketches of the early version and the pencil sketch of the final, so I thought it might be interesting to let others see how it evolved.

3.24.2003

Still writing. I want the story for EOG to be as good as possible. I don't expect it to be brilliant or anything, but I've got to at least make it worth while for people to take the time to read it. Also, another angel/demon painting....back to work (Insert whip cracking sound here)

3.16.2003

Well, I'm not actually going to sell it for $5, but EYES OF GOD is a new comic I'm going to start posting online soon (meaning after I start drawing). I've still got a few things I need to finish up first. Not much else to say other than that. I've been pretty drained lately. Working on shit that's not that creative, so I'm burning to start this. Like I said before...soon...

2.18.2003

I'm really pleased w/ my latest painting. I don't do too many large paintings because 1) I'm impatient and 2) I can't fit them on my scanner. On this one, I got a fair amount of detail in (not as much as in my smaller ones - which doesn't make sense, seeing as how I have more room for detail, the larger I work). I think the way my brain operates is that there is a certain amount of detail that I will put into any one piece. The larger the picture, the more spread out the detail is.

I'm a little anxious. I'm going to start involving myself in a project which is non-art related and will take a significant amount of time. I don't like jeopardizing the head of steam I've built up creatively, but I have to set art aside for a while. Hopefully, I can still squeeze out a new painting once a month. It also means that it will be that much longer before I start my webcomic. What can you do, though? Life must march on. I'm also getting to the point where I should start looking into finding a gallery to exhibit my work. If anyone knows anybody, feel free to email me gerimi@optichouse.com

G

2.08.2003

Strange update-
Well, I doing something a little different. I'm working on a big piece (30"x24" - I think) and it's gonna take a little while to finish, so I figured I'd toss up some pics of the work in progress, and the sketch that I started w/. I've always liked art books that show an artists' creative process, so here's some of my creative environment. (I know I'm not showing a lot or going in depth, but it's a start)

The other thing I'm working on is a new business card for the site, which is why I bothered to throw up that old ass sketch. That's what I've decided to use as the main graphic. I have no idea how old the sketch is. I know I did it sometime in the last 2 years, but I forgot to date it. I was trying to decide between the sketch and a clean line black and white version of THE KISS. The KISS card was just a little too visually cluttered at that scale and the piece loses something when it's not in color.

G

1.28.2003

I'm trying to fall into a steady creative groove. Not much to say. I think I'm just gonna go paint some more. I'm getting the itch to work on another long form narrative project. Soon...

G

1.20.03

Better. I feel much better about this self portrait than the last one. The fact that I like the work as a visual piece means that I can go forward, focusing on the psychological aspect of self examination through artwork. Otherwise, I'd just sit around fussing about how everything comes out looking like crap. I can't let myself forget that it's the act of creating that takes me places (not necessarily how well every piece is created). In fact, I'm so enthused about it that I don't really want to waste time writing about it. That will come later.

G

1.13.03

So this is what it's come to? Instead of updating the site once a week, it's once a month if I'm lucky. You'd think I'd make this more of a priority if art were really so damn important to me. I'm trying to squeeze out more work, but I can't seem to relinquish my need for sleep. I can't believe I waste a third of my life on that shit.

Anyway, I'm moving in an uncomfortable direction artistically. I've been doing some self-examination lately about what really matters to me and makes me happy in life. In the process of looking at myself intellectually, creatively, and spiritually, I realized that I've never taken a look at myself as subject matter. I decided that it was time to embark on the time honored tradition of the self-portrait.

At first, I wanted to do a second painting at the same time, just so I wouldn't have to put the portrait up on the front page, but then something occurred to me... Why am I self-conscious about the idea of paintings of myself being up on the home page. Do I feel that it's too egotistical? Am I afraid of being judged? I don't know why, but I feel like part of the answer and part of what makes the self-portrait an interesting piece of art, lies in challenging this insecurity and finding the answers to these questions.

It doesn't help that this first one is a steaming pile of shite. In my opinion, this is one of the weakest illustrations I've done in months. Of course, portraiture has never been a strong suit of mine. Doing these self portraits may help improve that, but I'm more interested in the psychological ramifications. Either way, shitty or not, I'm going to put them up.

In deciding to do these images, I was thinking to myself "Self," I said, "You may feel weird about doing these, but it's not like they're nude self portraits.". That got me thinking. If I really want to uncover what's going on in my head and stretch myself in an uncomfortable direction, that's exactly what I should do (a nude self portrait). So yes, at some point I'm going to do at least one. I was talking this over w/ another artist/ friend of mine and he said "If you really want to be ballsy, you'll do a close-up crotch shot painting.". I've never in my life considered doing a illustration of my genitalia. Now that the challenge has been thrown down...

G

CURRENT - 2007 - 2006 - 2005 - 2004 - 2003 - 2002