Well, June 20th's "Blood Orgy of the Behemoths" exhibition was a SMASHING Success!
With fellow Behemoths Doug Horne,BigToe,and Candy,we laid waste to Fullerton and made heads and eyeballs Explode with delight!
A Big Thank you to Bax baxter, our curator,
Frank,kind and attentive owner of Max Blooms,
and lastly Deadhead Rum,and Sapporo Beer for supplying libations for the events!
Pictured above are the Four Behemoths in the midst of the Fray!
Here are ALL the pieces in the Exhibition
and here is our promo for last Saturday's Drunken Docent Tour
A little Classier than the previous 80's Action Film meets grindhouse biker meets Radioactive Monster meets Phillipine Exploitation Film "look" of the previous promotional material..
This one just OOZED Fine Art and all that... And the King of france resembled Tommy,sooooo........i had to use it... Plus,seeing as Doug shined the Docent Tour to go to a BIRTHDAY PARTY,it was a pleasure to transform him into a hulking naked angel....
having enjoyed discussing the art with audiences before
via slide lectures,and "docent" tours
it was a relaxed intimate way to help the viewer understand each work
beyond the 3-minute scan of each picture....
So many folks responded so positively to the Opening,
we thought a Docent tour would be in order...
and thanks to the generosity of Sapporo
we still had PLENTY of beer from the Opening
and The Drunken Docent Tour was BORN!
Seeing as Candy and Doug were in absentia
it was up to Toe and myself to be able to convey a well rounded understanding
of the art of our missing behemoths...
So,this blog will be sharing prepatory sketches
with only my notes from the Docent tour to accompany them.
i don't have Tom's notes because he is a firm believer in the oral tradition of Docenting.
Nor his brilliant and rough original studies and inspirations... if he decides to post them somewhere,i'll add a link...
1)
Category: Tiki Temple
"Spirit Hut at Dusk"
and here is the sketchbook study for it..
Notes
links to Doug and Candy's pieces described above...
http://kinnyruzic.com/images/midnight-at-the-maori-temple
http://kinnyruzic.com/images/goo-goo-muck
2)
Category: Polynesian Legend
"Moai Reaper on the River Styx"
Sketchbook studies and drawings for this painting
"Hawaiian Reaper"
and here is where the original concept of the Skeletal Moai was first conceived...
It was for the 2009 Tiki Tarot show at the esteemed Freaky Boutiki in San Diego.
As it was the Death card,i tried to apply that skeletal look to artifacts from
Easter island,New Zealand,Marquesas,and Papua New Guinean locales.
and two developed drawings
"Journey to the Underworld"
"Moai on the River Styx"
Notes
the first appearance of our Drinking word "Psychopomp" amongst the notes...
links to Doug and Candy's pieces described above...
http://kinnyruzic.com/images/menehunes-in-the-jungle-of-delights
http://kinnyruzic.com/images/pele-caliente
3)
Category: Classic Monster
"the Drink" (Leopard man-the Island of Dr. Moreau)
Sketchbook Notes and studies
Finding the perfect image for this piece amongst such a dense amount of visual and emotional material was quite a challenge...
Notes
links to Doug and Candy's pieces described above...
http://kinnyruzic.com/images/the-modern-prometheus
http://kinnyruzic.com/images/wasp-woman
4)
Category: Musical Figure
"the Siren's Song"
Sketchbook Studies
As a side note
Almost did a portrait of Bach,but wasn't sure how he'd react amongst contemporary songwriters...
Notes
links to Doug and Candy's pieces described above...
http://kinnyruzic.com/images/devo-now-for-the-future
http://kinnyruzic.com/images/the-big-o
5)
Category: Alien Encounter
"the Kelly-Hopkinsville Encounter"
Sketchbook Studies and Drawings
Notes
links to Doug and Candy's pieces described above...
http://kinnyruzic.com/images/garnish-of-the-gods
http://kinnyruzic.com/images/going-back-to-transylvania
6)
Category: Oceanic
"Atlantis"
Sketchbook studies and Drawings for this piece
Notes
links to Doug and Candy's pieces described above...
http://kinnyruzic.com/images/curious-kraken
http://kinnyruzic.com/images/happy-hour-at-mermaid-lagoon
7)
Category: Prehistoric
"Mokele Mbembe"
Sketchbook Studies
Notes
links to Doug and Candy's pieces described above...
http://kinnyruzic.com/images/dinner-at-dels
http://kinnyruzic.com/images/madame-poobah
8)
Category: Science Fiction
"the Renegade"
Sketchbook studies and Drawings
Notes
links to Doug and Candy's pieces described above...
http://kinnyruzic.com/images/neptune-5000-with-real-beating-heart
http://kinnyruzic.com/images/beep-beep
9)
Category: Literary Figure
"Portrait of Benvenuto Cellini"
No studies for this one.
It was sketched onto the wood and worked from there...
Notes
links to Doug and Candy's pieces described above...
http://kinnyruzic.com/images/jules-verne
http://kinnyruzic.com/images/paul-bunyan-and-the-babes
10)
Category: Mascot
"To Observe and Enslave" (NSA Mascot)
Sketchbook studies
Notes
links to Doug and Candy's pieces described above...
http://kinnyruzic.com/images/mr-tiki-mug-man
http://kinnyruzic.com/images/fire-danger
Thank you again for visiting and taking our Virtual Docent Tour.
Please Visit Often!
Hokusai was truly a genius... Shunga prints,as they are called,usually had more LANDSCAPE around the figures (which were usually smaller). This was so that a narrative could be constructed (ie: a peeping tom/amorous activity during a fire or battle outside,etc...) Hokusai,in his usual brilliance,decided to let the figures,the activity become the story....and a universal one at that....
and here's the pieces of mine they chose..
After that,it was a matter of doing horse studies ,and then figuring out how the torso of the human part was going to react to that pose...
Welcome to 2015!
the mass of humanity pours in as the doors are finally open. A mass of onrushing cold and creases and squeals and slips as rabid consumers rush for their holy grail...
With cracked glass as a backdrop,the shopping carts vie for space amongst the scrambling packs of Holiday shoppers...
Upper left of this detail shows a man cradling his unconscious friend,unable to find any medical assistance amongst the throng of pulling and grabbing Sale Seekers...
Here is a pack of individuals fighting over a big screen... In the right corner there is a respite from the bustle as a man aids a fallen comrade...
One last close-up ... a struggle for a dress while a madman laughs and enjoys the chaos below them...
This one is about human distance in a public place... Isolation and self-entitlement... Lack of human contact in a crowd....Lack of connection....
"the Eager inmate"
"the mad Monk"
"the Crazy Dog"
"Self portrait at 2 am"
"Screwtape"
"Man with Glasses"
"Angry Enos the Chimponaut is escorted off a plane"
"Ham the AstroChimp"
"Barking Dog"
"Dog studies"
"the Attack"
"the Yak"
"Wolf"
"lion"
"Figure"
"the Council"
"the Patient Waiter"
"the Farewell"
"Deciphering the Scroll"
"the Old man at the Door"
"the Distraction"
"the plotters"
"the Contemplator"
"Contemplation"
"Blind man"
"Shame"
"Yeti"
"Girl and Rose"
"Paradise"
"the lost table"
"Refuge"
"Fallen Angel after Gislebertus"
"study of Devil 
"study 
"the Ascent"
"the Advance"
"man and Dog"
"Overwhelming force"
"Plus-Size to Protect and Serve"
"the Protestor"
"Submission"
"the Officer"
"the Fence"
"Figure Study"
"Ignorance"
"the fallen"
"the Fallen"
"Pen and Ink studies"
"Mob"
"Looking back"
"Restless Angel"
"Old Age"
"the Ascetic"
"the Private thought"
"the Secret dream"
"the Shoveller"
Let's start in the top corner
Here we float along the top of the painting....
Here is a little lower so you can see the Angel tear out of the archway in the upper middle of this vignette...There are two pillars in this shot that have little symbolic clues/support imagery that we'll discuss shortly....
Well... Looks like "shortly" is here! I have carved the ten commandments on the pillar to the right of the repentant devil...This is a reminder of the Law...Also note the trumpets at the top,
Here is a shot to give you a roadmap as to where these closeups are located...
As this picture shows..a sort of boundary is formed between the Upper and the Infernal Regions. The Clouds of Heaven spilling and gathering around the hems of this area...
As we float towards the right end of the top
In this vertical Shot,we finally get to decipher and clearly see the second pillar mentioned earlier.. it pictures an Angelic winged eye shedding tears into a Flame... This part of the work is a good spot to see the Black,indigo,forest outlines being used to achieve more depth in the picture. 
Here is the Accusing Angel and Devil,all framed for emphasis and examination...
And at last,we reach the top right of the painting...
Pictured here is the heavenly fortress with domed central building. There's a Brueghel-inspired fallen angel with a hood and another figure with disintegrating wings up near the top....
This angel as inspired by the Michael of European religious art.... He is often pictured holding scales in the center of a Last Judgment piece.(Until Michaelangelo's replacement with Christ who acts as the actual fulcrum of the scale in his Judgment painting.i chose to place a heart and a brain that are being waved... I meant this to represent Lucifer's mindset that caused his demise....That would be a battle between Heart (love,obedience,humbleness) and Brain (Pride,entitlement,Jealousy)...his desire to set himself above his creator...
Here is an earlier piece, "God Creating the World" where we see Lucifer(Blue ,on the bottom, second figure from the right) As you can see,his expression is thoughtful, serious, doubtful, not the joy and adulation of the other angels.... It is here,and finally when Man is created and given dominion over the animals and the earth,when his dissatisfaction grows into rebellion.
I'm not sure if this painting was shared.. It's an earlier,vertical version of this theme. I had it next to this huge piece for additional inspiration,as well as to force me to produce something even better...
A closer look at the serene face of this angel (Michael?), with the fourth wind gently blowing a breeze amidst the clouds.
As we slide lower don the right side,lower down the angel with the scales' form we see the drapery slowly encircling an astonished fallen angel,fully transformed into a mishapen demon. His look of worry is merely a realization of his fate. There are plenty of prisons in this UnderWorld...
Here is an extreme close-up of his concern...And Look! a Cherubim floats peacefully by, gathering intelligence to report back later,,,
Another Angel flaps his wings proudly here,with a shield on one arm,and the Word-the only Law,in his other hand... You'll notice later as we creep downward to the bottom of this painting,that Lucifer ALSO holds the LAW.The only reason he isn't completely destroyed is his challenge to God concerning destroying and punishing a third of his faithful Creations,the Angelic Ones...
A Nice view of the Shield and some Hellish architecture swarmed by flames...
And now we sail back over to the middle/bottom left of this Epic MasterWork!.
This manner of allowing the Angels to flow and curl and twirl through the air,apparently with Bolts and Bolts of Divine fabric at their disposal,was inspired by the way Gothic sculpture began to achieve this ornateness of movement,this stretching of a form for emphasis' sake....and the drapery....AH! Well it all was smeared and blended into a big homogenous gob of 12th Century European/Romanesque art themes...and then there's GISELBERTUS ! His sculptures for the Autun Cathedral in France is kind of the benchmark of this wonderful,slightly cartoonish,with beautiful flowing figures peppered amidst confused stumbling forms....
The elongated angel on the left has inspired and haunted me for around a decade..the perfect drapery and slight bend....the folds and flow are akin to the Russian icon...very grooved and graphic. Also the size.... the Hugeness when compared to the poor mortals awaiting judgment....
Well....Now that you've been given a lil bit of culture,let us return to the painting at hand....
Here is a great peek into some of the Architecture of the Damned... Also note the Black, Indigo, and Forest outlines..just as i used them to instill depth of field up above near the top...here it is applied to the subterranian depths.... Of course,there are trumpets blasting from the clouds,a constant reminder of the violations of the fallen.
The little red gentleman is entranced by the shield and the blue fellow scrambles towards a fiery escape. Far right are some more Buildings and prisons.
at the VERY bottom of the left side,a surprised newly transformed devil looks upon the scene with surprise and confusion.
And,as mentioned earlier,you can now see the LAW in Lucifer's hand... I added the horns just to make identification easier for the viewer. Behind him is a mourning fellow rebel,clutching his heart as his wings merely fall off. Also note the angel located at the middle top of this shot. He's carrying some chains to bind some troublemaker. And of course,we wander to the right to spy the Adonis Angel....
I call him Adonis Angel because a large majority of women who have viewed the painting
On the far right of we are introduced to another sword handling angel ascending upward.
And for the ladies.... 
And, finally, we can discuss one of my favorite characters in here... the winged bulldog chap! He appears to have gotten entangled in some of the angel's tumultuous robes...
Also, when one peers farther back,a descending denizen covers his face as he plunges into the flames.
This picture allows us to see the encompass of all the architecture on this side..Some appearing closer,and others appearing farther away,same with the flames...
Here we can see the flames that are in the foreground contain more red than the flames that are farther back... just a lil parlour trick that helps make my job as an artist/illusionist easier.
Pictured here is a structure with kneeling praying figures,wings and whatnot adorning it's outer walls...
Along the bottom right of this painting,we have the last angel,with sword upraised and ready to strike. Far right ,in the foreground is a mesmerized devil,influenced by the japanese demons of Hokusai and Kuniyoshi
the Skull-headed figure was inspired by both Bosch and Brueghel. I dig his withered little wings....
With this final shot we will conclude our first tour and will get on with the second shortly...
(paintings awaiting their delivery to the gallery)
This is the wall the visitor sees when they first walk in.
looking to the left is the title of the show and 'the Conversation" amidst two tiki-themed pieces...Two different storylines,but connected by the element of fantasy.
Here's a backaway view of that wall....
to the left of the Saint Surveillance piece is the main hallway of the magoski Art Colony. We were able to design the show so that it starts in the front and leads the viewer down the hall into the mass of paintings . See how your eye is led to the Rebel Angels piece? EXACTLY!
Here is the first part of the hallway pieces.. These are Tiki pieces.. Ranging from a childhood Von-Danieken (sp?) fascination with otherworldly interstellar visits via Sepik River Spirit hooks to a study in relationships with the Bar-themed "the Constant Crier".
Move Along! No time to Dawdle! Let's get to the next grouping....
Before we enter the main collection of work,there is another wall that echoes the magenta wall in the very front.
Here's the view looking back towards the front.
On the main wall we have the Rebel Angels piece and a framed Artist's statement.
Like it says...such a terrific undertaking cannot be created alone... No man is an island..
a little oasis from the the tumult of the War in Heaven around the corner...
Hidden behind the Rebel Angels wall, a Self portrait and some disparate paintings dwell...
Here's a view of one corner...
and here's the other...
if we turn completely around from facing the Waterfall painting,the wall of Classic greek myth will be revealed... Hercules and the nemean Lion,a Siren,and a Tragedy figure.
Added to the mix is an Orpheus...
These pieces lead to the corner area where i have a glass case filled with painted mugs
Swarming on the walls around the glass case are some woodburns and a few other showcase tiki pieces,including a six foot Cannibal king...
and here is how theis whole area looks from across the way.
Here's a better view of the glass case...
And here's a view from the next room we're going to enter....
on this wall are two early erotic paintings where i attempted to blend architecture and the human form.... Without the forms interacting,it looked like a warmup before a run.. The solution was to place it in the context of a devil's Courtyard...
The blue carries over to this wall with the Elephant's Secret and the Monkeys... Pieces dealing with human relationships via Anthropomorphism...
This picture gives you a little view of how that corner flows....
as we turn the corner to the left,the paintings in this area are all based on Biblical accounts.
One of the Four living creatures around God's throne and the Trumpets and bowls all share the book of revelation as their source.
To the left od those pieces are a Christ and the Demoniac study and a garden of eden Expulsion woodburn...
Here are how they look all grouped together...
Directly across from the bible area are three tiki pieces,the largest a fantasy narrative involving transporting tribes and cultures via massive wooden ships...
and the final wall,a companion wall is across from the big blue Elephant's Secret painting.
And this appears to be the end of our pre-Opening Tour! If there are any paintings you'd like to see closer,Come on down Saturday the 29th at 6pm for the Closing Reception and a more in-depth docent tour ABOUT each painting!
