Thomas Doyle Is Kinda Like God

and his latest work just proves my point. At least I think so.

Firing for effect
Mixed media
44 inches diameter
2010

I can't even begin to describe how in awe I am of this man's work. Just in case you don't get how awesome it is just by the above pic, this is a closeup of the detail within the inner sphere...

Yeah, mull that over for a split second then click on the pics and go to his website to see all the closeups of this piece as well as the rest of his Distillation Series. There's more details that'll blow your little brain. I, for one, am happy to have stumbled across Arrested Motion this morning who happened to be posting about this piece.

The day suddenly seems a bit brighter for it too :)

 

My Grandmother Loved Tom Jones

I remember my cousins and I always making fun of how much she loved him. I found out a number of years ago just why she was enamored by him - he's freakin' awesome!! And he's still rockin'. He's got a new album out and his performance of a John Lee Hooker clasic on Letterman the other night was top notch. Just him and twin brothers Paul Stacey on guitar and Jeremy Stacey on drums. And remember TJ is 70. Enjoy!

Weee...I'm Flying!

Ed showed me this the other day and we just about fell to the floor. It's the 727 Fuselage Home at the Hotel Costa Verde. The place is breathtaking. Then we noticed that the view was very familiar...

Yup, it's in Costa Rica overlooking Manuel Antonio Park and probably about 100 feet from where Ed and I spent a part of our honeymoon, 13 years ago.

We"ve decided that for our 20th anniversary we're staying here. How could we not?

Enjoy!

Limbo

Even up until last week this probably would have freaked me out. But then again, even going to sleep at night freaks me out (damn my brain). However, today, it inspires me. So I thought I would share. Haven't played it, but the whole atmosphere of it is amazing. Totally reminded me of Silent Hill combined with Little Big Planet. What a great job, kudos PlayDead.

Cuddly Coffin via Orneryboy

I had the best email yesterday from Michael Lalonde who creates the comic Orneryboy He made a little coffin for the Zombie I had made for he and his wife, Jen, and sent along pics of it. It is awesome and I wanted to share a bit of win with you all today.

And please check out his flickr account for closeups and how he made it.

AND...while you're looking around at cute, morbid things, check out Jen's shop, Sick On Sin. It's chock full of Michael's characters on tshirts, buttons, etc. Like this Cupcake Fiends button set (and you can get any of these illos on tshirts as well)

Or the Gulf Gang set where Sick On Sin is donating 100% of the profits from sales of this pack to the National Audubon Society, an organization that has protected birds, wildlife and their habitats for over 100 years.  

Check them both out and give them some love. They are wonderful people who have supported CRM and myself over the years and I'm honored to know them.

Enjoy :)

Cupcake Heaven

I have the unpleasant task of creating an illustration for Tattoo Flash Magazine involving cupcakes. I am totally kidding. About the 'unpleasant' nature not the illustration. So I went to Google image search and up pops this:

Brilliance and deliciousness all rolled into a tasty hand-held package. These wonderful creations are done by Hello Naomi. She makes cakes, cupcakes and cookies and each one looks better than the next.

Peruse her site and partake of her sweet goodness :D

Kick Ass Stitching

I was going to do a little entry about Ernst Haeckel and feature some pics of other artist's interpretations of him. Then I got to talking with Penny Nickels and well, this is just going to be about her!

I saw her work below on Flickr and just about shat myself. Not only is it of one of my favorite E. Haeckel pieces (Siphonophorae) but it's just so...impressively large!

What a long way we've come from the days of only having needlework patterns that involved eagles or kittens or winter snow scenes. Now we have brilliance such as this:

Penny Nickels -- work in progress, 200 hours in and barely halfway done (dear lord it's...amazing!)

A close up

What I loved most after chatting with Penny is that she was looking to challenge herself (and hopefully other artists will take a cue from her) by not doing the 'usual' needlework patterns.

"I just felt like, if we're going to stitch someone else's work, let's pick something that's beautiful and unusual." -- Penny

I agree, Penny, I totally agree! Keep on going - you're doing great!

Visit her blog that she writes alongside Johnny Murder -- Donkeywolf, their Etsy shop and enjoy!

Funny

I have nothing inspiring for you today. I looked and if anything there's TOO much out there right now for my brain to choose just one thing to showcase today. And yet, I felt there was a need for me to show you something. This, my dear friends, is from Bubbledog on their Flickr page. Enjoy!