The Human Canvas - SLASH! At the Vault! In Redlands!

First off...

Ya, ya... I know. 

That's not Slash. That's Katie.

But We'll get back to that.

A little over a year ago (or so),

we had just left a University of Redlands

end of the year gathering, and ended up back at

our place. I had done a couple of Human Canvas sessions

AT the gathering, but at this point,

we were just talking.

Katie said that if she ever got a tattoo

(or if I ever laid my pens on her - I don't remember which)

it would be a lotus flower.

A little over a year (or so) LATER then...

It was Katie's birthday... At the Vault in Redlands.

I reminded her.

It went (fairly) quickly.

The next shot is called

"Priya Pointing to Pretty Pretty Petals".

Thank you Katie.

Next that night... Andrew!

I don't recall if it was he that showed me, or if it was the other women at the table (not drawn on), but SOMEONE got his sleave up...

...and it was collectively decided that this

real tattoo needed an update.

I also don't recall if he was a Guns n' Roses fan...

...But after giving some color back to that rose...

...The rest, while impromptu, fell into place.

And then we got Slash!

At the Vault!

In Redlands!

Sorta.

I think I wanna do this'n again, except add some crossed pistols underneath.

Until then...

...Thanks again Andrew... AND Katie...

Canvases for this evening.

And thank YOU for stopping by,

for spreading the word, and possibly...

for being next.

The beginnings of The Human Canvas adventures

can be found and followed through a couple of tabs near the top of this page.

The Human Canvas at the After-Party!

Meet Ralphyy.  

And that's NOT a typo.

A koi has become kinda quick by now...

Still though...

I DO like to get the step-by-step shots.

This'n turned out well, and it's a cool process...

Which makes for a cool slideshow, if yer so equipped.

So...

Meet Ralphyy Bardoux, guitarist with 

Dead End Gypsies.

I'd gone to see Cam Loves LLND 

at The Wire in Upland California. When Ralphyy 

walked into the venue, dark as it was, I thought Vinnie 

Vincent was walking up to the stage to sat hi to Cam. 

It was DARK, okay? And out here, you really, truly, DON'T know who's gonna walk into ANY club.

It was a cool night, 

with Cam's band being the best of the evening. Original material (I do believe) throughout their set.

Rounding out the group - Tommy Lopez on drums, and brothers Adam and Ryan V, on lead guitar and bass, respectively. 

I met Cam through another 

friend out here, and I have to say... 

His story got my attention.

Cam introduced himself to me by 

saying that due to some unfortunate circumstances 

(which I don't know if I should go into here), 

he had died - then been brought 

back to life. 

He did some musical reorganization, 

has been cranking out new material, and recently 

appeared onstage with Carlos Cavazo 

(you know...the guy who 

replaced Randy Rhodes in Quiot Riot? 

Now in Ratt? Yeah, him).

Cam told me all this, and my first thought was, 

"Jesus! He got to play with Carlos Cavazo? 

At THAT age?"

It wasn't until WAYYYYyyyyy... 

later that I thought to myself, "Wait a minute. 

Did he say he died, and was 

brought back?"

But that's another story.

It was great to catch this band, 

though Cam told me later that the size of the 

venue severely prohibited some choreography which 

would normally be included. 

I'd totally go see these guys again though. 

And I truly appreciate being invited to the after-party. 

This is where the Human Canvas session 

with Ralphyy took place. 

Besides Ralphyy, 

I did another canvas that night. 

Unfortunately, this is the only photo from that one. 

I think I kinda petered out on the mid-section, toward 

the tail. I DO however like the color blend on the 

TIP of the tail. I also quite like the head, 

and the little burst of fire.

Oh well. Ever learning. 

I DID crank out a REALLY nice dragon 

on a friend a few weeks later. 

We'll get to that.

Having to work rather early 

in LA the next day, Ryan was amongst 

the the first to leave. While I WAS able to get 

right next to the stage for some photos earlier in the 

evening, Ryan was always on the other side. 

So - he DID oblige me with a photo 

on his way out the door. 

But given his look, the photo didn't seem quite right... 

Until we struck a fitting pose.

Thanks again to everyone, 

canvas or not, involved in making this night a success! 

It was a great night of great music. Also, some new friends, 

and the continuing adventures of the Human Canvas... 

In all SORTS of surroundings!

Thanks again, Cam.

And thank YOU.

For stopping by, for spreading the word, 

And MAYBE even for being the next canvas! 

I'm ALWAYS looking!

The Human Canvas - Splat - Drip - VENOM!

Bootz. 

AKA - Lil' Dave. 

We worked together at KVCR at one 

point, so I was David - or Dave - and he was 

Lil' Dave. Simple 

as that.

You've seen him on these pages before. 

A long time ago, before he went out to hang with 

some friends, he became my first shot (on skin) at 

a Lewis Carroll character... 

...or two.

Problem was - the 

fresh ink on ONE shoulder 

made the REAL tattoo on the OTHER 

shoulder look kinda washed out. 

 So, add a quick, quick 

border...

And there ya go. 

Fly, little bird. Be free.

But back to this night. Dave's REALLY into Spiderman. 

He also has an old tattoo that he REALLY wants to cover. 

So here's where I come into the picture.

While these explorations into The Human Canvas 

have been, and will continue to be, a personal art project, 

they also occasionally been a 

service of sorts... 

Allowing a person to "test the waters", as it were, 

when thinking about getting 

a tattoo.

In this case...Venom. 

In a nutshell, Venom was an alien life form 

which became a part of Peter Parker...and Spiderman. 

At first, it seemed to be simply a cool new set of 

powers acquired in The Secret Wars. 

Later Venom was shown to have 

certain "Blob-like" 

qualities...

Allowing it to sort of drip, splat, and reform as a being.

So tonight we were testing the waters on this idea...

...exploring as we went...

...and coming up with something kinda cool...

...which WILL receive some alterations/adaptations 

when we hit this again.

Meantime -

Drip...Splatter...

...Done with this piece...

...and onto the next.

Coming soon... 

Another Session with Lil' Dave... 

Struggling with the blues.

Please come back for another visit.

It was the highlight of 

the night!