Come out to Kiss Cafe Ballard / Seattle, WA for my painting exhibition Agents of Dawn. The second Saturday Ballard artwalk kicks off with a blast of visual mayhem from Beery Method. Stop in at Kiss for some eye-popping oil painting or some of my limited edition prints! They also serve over 100 select beers at Kiss so you can’t go wrong with some great food, extraordinary beers, and my Agents of Dawn show. Hope to see you there!
February 12 2010 from 6-9pm it all pops off over at Band Vibes space in the Greenwood Collective…that’s right my long awaited character series Hobo Eaters: Agents of Chaos. The show is a collection of my coveted hobo characters that maniacally made their way into Seattle’s streets and the hearts of our NW culture. The collection consists of original pieces that are hand inked and painted with wood stain on various wood panels in a variety of sizes. Besides the originals there will also be limited edition prints, jumbo posters, and a line of limited edition tees that all reflect these grungy agents of chaos. I will be giving away a free print and a free tee randomly to those who sign up at the Band Vibes space. Come join me for a night of bad-ass art and mayhem…It’s gonna be an epic event of diabolical debauchery full of twisted 50’s animated style hobos!
Hobo Eaters Flyer
Artist statement (dirt on the show):
Hobo Eaters: Agents of Chaos
The term hobo-eater refers to an entity who, through ritual means, would take on by means garbage and liquor the sins of a deceased bum, thus absolving his or her soul and allowing that person of the street to rest in peace.
What was once a ritual performed by beggars and vagabonds in certain villages of bygone years is now performed in a reverse of roles by animated entities who take on the form of the hobo whose diabolical lifestyle is reflected upon the appearance of the hobo-eater. The hobo-eater would be brought to the dying vagrant’s curbside or stoop, where a neighborhood drifter would place a crust of dumpster pizza on the chest of the dying and pass a 40 oz. of malt liquor to him over the corpse. After reciting the ritual, he would then drink and remove the crust from the derelict tramp and eat it, the act of which would remove the sins and deadbeat-scars from the dying transient and take it into himself.
Often times hobo-eaters are not only filled with the sins and scars of the deceased but take on a ghostly appearance, ragged with the lines of deceit and chemical abuse of the former vessel. The result is a vaporous apparition whose tattered clothes and grungy attitude is forever portrayed among the urban environment. Thus the ethereal term Agents of Chaos has come as a contemporary descriptor for these aeon old hobo-eaters who are destined to drift the streets perpetually consuming fiendish souls.
Hobo Eaters 2010 Poster
Below are a few of the Hobo Eaters character pieces that are included in the show:
Vapor Trails:
Vapor Trails Ink & Wood Stain
Vapor Trails Detail
Vapor Trails / Bummin & Runnin
I find it important to share with you a bit of my process when it comes to putting together a themed gallery show and how I translate my original concepts into original pieces of fine artwork as well as refining them into digital graphic outputs for prints, tee shirts, and other printed products. As I put together my Hobo Eaters: Agents of Chaos show for February 2010 I was able to document the process and can now shed light on the toil of time, blood, sweat, and joy that goes into each character design.
For the intro to my process I am going to breakdown how I created Cascade Vagabond which was one of the first characters created from the theme. Cascade Vagabond not only was created as an original piece of art but also ended up as the winter 2009 shop deck for Snowboard Connection.
All designs begin with a light pencil sketch to define the linework that will eventually be the parameters for inking and coloring digitally:
Beery Method : Hobo Eaters
Sketch
After a sketch that defines the characters details I move on to hank inking the characters with Pigma Micron pens on vellum:
Inked
Here is a side by side view:
Sketch & Ink
Inked Detail
After inking I scan the image and vectorize it in Adobe Illustrator. Once all the character is vectorized I move on to adding colors and gradients:
Cascade Vagabond Digital Version
Below is the final image put to product. In this case it is a pro line skateboard. See the blog archive for more close up details:
Cascade Vagabond Skateboard
Here is a breakdown of how I created Rubix Dude who is another character from the Hobo Eaters series:
Sketch / Ink / Original
Sketch / Ink / Original
Here are some close up shots of the materials and process:
Blue Line Sketch
Inked Drawing on Vellum
Ink & Wood Stain
The original piece was done utilizing the sketch by projecting on wood, tracing, hand inking with brush, and painting with wood stain and finish:
Rubix Dude: Ink & Wood Stain
Details
The fact that the above piece is hand inked makes it the “original” and one and only. I can create variations on this design by utilizing the sketch and inked drawing, but every new edition will be different. No one version is alike since I ink by hand using brush and pen. Some versions sit on finished wood, while others are absorbed directly into the grain of the wood piece.
Below is the digital version with added hues, gradients, and tones that make it very different from the original:
Rubix Dude Digital Version
Last but not least I printed up limited edition tees of Rubix Dude by printing transparencies from the vector output and screen printing to garments:
Rubix Dude Tee Shirts
I still have a few of these limited edition tee shirts available. Printed on silver AA fashion fit tees. Please contact me if interested in purchasing!
To continue this thread the following will be most of the characters from the Hobo Eaters: Agents of Chaos series. As to not be redundant I am simply posting the details of the sketches, inked versions, originals on wood, digital versions, and any products created with the designs. Enjoy!
The Shambler:
Sketch
Inked
Sketch / Inked / Original
Sketch Detail
Inked Detail
Original Detail
The Shambler Original
45 Mack:
Sketch / Inked
Inked Detail I
Inked Detail II
Original Detail I
Original Detail II
45 Mack Original
45 Mack Digital Version
Blood Life:
Sketch
Inking
Blue Line & Ink on Vellum I
Blue Line & Ink on Vellum II
Unfinished Inking Detail
Ink Detail II
Blood Life Digital Version
Coded:
Sketch & Ink
Sketch Detail
Ink Detail I
Ink Detail II
Coded Digital Version
Ol Timer:
Ink Beginnings on Wood
Final Inks on Wood
Ol Timer Tee
Ol Timer Digital Version
Rocket Rocker:
This design actually started in reverse. I did a digital rendering in Corel Painter which I then vectorized in Adobe Illustrator and added halftones. This design was eventually picked up by a Seattle skateboard company Nomadic.
Rocket Rocker Ink on Wood
Rocket Rocker Skateboard
Bummin & Runnin:
This design started as a pencil rendering which I then scanned and added a couple layers of highlights and midtones. It was originally created for soft goods production and ended up on tee shirts which are available from Portland OR based Tilteed.
Bum & Run Original
Bum & Run Detail I
Bum & Run Detail II
Bum & Run Detail III
Bum & Run Ink & Wood Stain
Bummin & Runnin Digital Version
Bum & Run Tee Shirts
As this post has become lengthy with photos of my process from concept to finals and even products I am going to put the rest of this series of characters in the following post regarding the Hobo Eaters show and series…
Beery Method Design Studio
I recently had a design picked up by the team over at Poligraphic. My design “WEiRdos” is a collection of character heads floating amongst pink clouds. The concept is that WE R all weird. All humans are simply strange faces from bizarre places. This design will be available on a variety of products including tee shirts, iPod skins, and laptop sleeves. Pop over to Poligraphic and get some rad gear fresh from the BeeryMethod!
WEiRdos
I had an amazing birthday with all my peeps last week. For all who don’t know, I am the definitive Pisces who was born right on the cusp of Aquarius. These two astrological signs traits seemingly intertwine to form my inner fiber, creative make-up, eclectic visions, wandering sense of freedom, meticulous account for detail, attraction to the dark and evil, and my laid back nature of person. I totally personify these water signs and find that with each year that passes these traits are engrained even more deeply into not only my soul but all of my art.
I find that connecting with so many individuals all across the board in many industries who simply enjoy what I do is the most gratifying aspect of my work. Whether connecting with a young artist, musician, or skater I hope I can always inspire and nurture the original creative qualities in all who I link up to. When working as an independent artist and consultant it is the journey through creating exceptional imagery for clients who respectively come back to give praise and seek future collaborative opportunities that keep me engaged and inspired.
Thanks to D Port and SkinnyBuddha for representing my hard work and offering good wishes on my birthday! Skinny Buddha family always!
Beery Birthday
This is just a huge shout out and enormous thank you to all my fans, fellow artists, friends, and family who have supported my all my goals and work. I couldn’t do it without you all…you are the best and I got nothing but hot lava love for you all…MAD THANKS!
Here is my latest design for Nomadic Skateboards Seattle 2010 line. Originally titled Rocket Rocker (now Sky Rider) it was my inner ghost trying to be released that went into this killer deck design. Breezing though the air or carving out some pavement, this phantom is dropping the dynamite to explode into the skate shops near you. Available from Nomadic Skateboards and through various retailers in the Pacific Northwest.
Rocket Rocker Skateboard
Sky Rider Nomadic Skateboards 2010
Tattooed Rocker tossing dynamite
Halftone Flames
Tail
Nomadic Cloud Logo
Full Deck
Working with other creative cats is my pride and joy as an illustrator and designer. It has been a real pleasure putting together stellar album covers for some extraordinary hip-hop artists who are on the up and come up on the East Coast. If you don’t know who I speak of you simply have to check out The N.O.C from South Florida. It was an honor to put together their debut album layout for Dinosaur last spring and I recently had the satisfaction of putting together some fresh artwork for members K Sos and Rams 2010 mixtape release Murphy’s Killer.
No strangers to stirring the pot of political roughness and kicking raw flavor that amplifies the generation XYZ, it was a duo blast of urban rawness and shotgun imagery from both sides. K Sos and Rams are on the pinnacle of exploiting their freedom of expression and Murphy’s Killer is no exception. In an attempt to squash Murphy’s Law, the facetious proposition that if something can go wrong, it will, these two members of The N.O.C put the clutch down on excelling into a new era of keeping it genuine and representing the buzz of the American street aficionados.
To do justice and reflect the messages broadcast on MK the cover had to be montaged in a seamlessly compact way. Depicted on the cover are members K Sos and Rams who have drug Murphy to his last rights. Murphy is satirized as the obese, greedy, white-bred politician who has been captured and brutalized by the N.O.C crew. A shotgun to his head, stab wounds, and all his dirty money on the pavement, Murphy (Murphy’s Law) is over with.
Murphy's Killer 2010
To complete the full effect of the chaos to ensue I broke into my bank of imagery to montage a masterpiece of mayhem. Surrounded by police squads, cops with guns drawn, tattooed chicks, screaming fans, and flames bursting in the air the focus of the cover (the slaughtering of Murphy) is pushed into the foreground. Photos used in the background came from my trips across the continental USA. The graffiti building on the left originates in the Mission District of San Francisco, the city skyline of Chicago, a water tower from Alcatraz, parking lot in Seattle, deco building and club from Italy, and characters who have been digitally painted and enhanced all come together to form a surreal environment that is reminiscent of a frame from Grand Theft Auto.
Every detail from the ghetto birds (police helicopters) blasting spotlights all the way down to the cracks in the concrete all spin from the depths of my inner beast that roars “make this solid…down to the core”. The effect is an insane composition that keeps the viewer coming back and finding more pieces of gooey visual elements that rock the soul. Here’s to putting the kibosh on Murphy’s Law and the giants of the Southeast…N.O.C. 4 Life!
I had a great experience being an artist for February’s 2010 Artifakt – A Valentine/Anti-Valentine themed event that took place at LoFi Seattle the weekend of Valentine’s Day. This salon style event was a mega-bash of super sweet works in a variety of media that spanned the theme of love and well love/hate. Myself along with other local greats Chani Murat, Dear Earthling, iamintricate, Grym, BurnOne, Dave Bloomfield, Keger, Rob Ripley, and Crystal Barbre hung our “hearts” masterpieces. The evening kicked out a huge crowd who also showed up for musical mayhem from Lost Boys vs. HitGirl! (Sean Majors & Marty Mar vs. Miss Funk & Mixtress) http://www.hitgirl.net/, Bryan J. Furious vs. Venus, and Goner vs. B.Fly.
Artifakt - Valentine's themed art and music event.
The piece I chose to do for the show was an amalgamation of media. As I love to get tight with a lot of my illustrative style works the process is a daunting one that involves laying down a full rendering in graphite, inking with some sienna india inks, oil paint washes, and then redefining through the use of sharp color pencils to inflict contrast. The result is an eye-pleasing, three dimensional look that is nothing short of extremely unique.
Fragment Heart
This particular piece titled Fragment Heart was my take on the effect of broken hearts and how one copes with the trials and tribulations of love. It involves a sexy, medusa-like, animaesque-shiva female who holds the radiating pillowy heart which is the icon of love. She grips it close to her chest with snakes writhing from her hair and a look of dispair. Precariously gripped in her hand is a needle which is on the hinge of poking the “Valentine” to blow up the love that once was. It is also a sort of play on voo-doo and what a jilted lover might choose to do when love has gone wrong. She sits on a sinewy blanket of folds that creatively spell L-O-V-E. She is no longer taking what love has to offer…time to move on…time to put love in it’s place…time for revenge!
Here is a breakdown of the creative process:
Graphite Layer
Beginning with a sketch I build upon the image rendering it with graphite pencils to create contrast and depth.
Ink Layer
After fully rendering the piece in graphite (which looks black and white) a thin layer of clear acrylic spray is applied. Once dry, a mid-tone layer of ink is applied to accentuate details in the drawing.
Oil Rub Layer
After ink dries, another thin layer of clear acrylic spray is applied. Next, oil paint is rubbed into the surface of the image. Highlights are pulled out of this layer by means of eraser to create form through contrast and layered depth.
Color Pencil Layer
The tone is now set into the piece with the hue of the first layer of oils. After another layer of clear spray another hue of oils is added. In this case the piece turns from a ochre/sienna hue to a warmer red/rose. Erasing is repeated to create more depth between tones throughout the piece.
Icon to every generation of rock and blues youth. He was an eclectic character on and off the stage who defined a generation who chose to tune in and stand up for freedom. A martyr to the music industry and an icon to a culture that spans generations and nations. Jimi Hendrix is purely “Rock God”.
Limited edition JIMI tees are now available on luxurious 100% organic bamboo silk from Finroo. This iconic design is sure to sell fast so pop over and get one while supplies last!
Jimi Tee
Created with brush and ink, the Oroborus character is a familiar to the deco age with an infusion of psychedelic wonderment. A morphing of design elements into a figure who sits forward in an urban landscape. This design brought to you by BeeryMethod is now available in limited edition tees made from 100% organic bamboo from Finroo. Oroborus is nothing short of lovely eye candy for those who enjoy organic design infused with simple art deco elements.
Oroborus Tee
BeeryMethod was founded by Nick Beery with a simple mission: to help clients present themselves to the world in an authentic and visually appealing way.
From traditional and digital illustration, photography and design, to the simplest one-off print needs, BeeryMethod is committed to delivering unique, aesthetically pleasing, and clever marketing products in a timely, cost-sensitive manner - instantly enabling your concepts to come to fruition in the means you desire.
Nick Beery brings experience from a vast array of creative disciplines including fine art, photography, illustration, graphic design and typography to each client project as well as a high level of expertise in information artistry and resourcing.
A deep background including prior work with, apparel companies, record labels & musicians advertising & retail, publishers & editors, communication & event, commercial media, as well as commissioned work in multitude of creative venues brings a highly considerable asset to an array of client’s needs.