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Today's the day... January 28, 2010 18:34

Okay, so I always said I'd get the word out if I sold any original art.  Today's the day.  I'm currently selling two of my favorite drawings.  Ones that I swore I'd never let go of.

But this is an exceptionally good reason to change that rule.

The first drawing is the first Kiskaloo thing I ever did.  I wanted to see if I could draw that cat and ink him successfully.   I tried for a couple of weeks.  Then I got it right.

This is actually a good size for hanging on your wall.  Or as a placemat.

The second drawing is a pencil sketch I did for my Sketchbook 2.  I liked the way this came out, and since I don't get that much time to draw, any art from me is relatively rare.  Again, this is pretty good-sized.  At least one person in America has this tattooed on their calf.  Their lower leg that is, not a young bovine friend.

And...(and this is the important part) you should know that if for some reason these aren't your thing, go to the links anyway, and click the 'see other items' button.  Because there are some once-in-a-lifetime drawings and paintings being offered for sale.  And if you aren't interested in any of them, you should know that someone out there is, and will thank you for spreading the word about this auction.

Links -

http://cgi.ebay.com/Tattoo-Girl-Original-Drawing-by-CHRIS-SANDERS_W0QQitemZ250569849839QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item3a57207bef

and

http://cgi.ebay.com/Original-KISKALOO-Comic-Art-by-CHRIS-SANDERS_W0QQitemZ250569846648QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item3a57206f78

There's a Charles Schultz drawing offered, for goodness sake.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Original-Peanuts-Charlie-Brown-Art-by-CHARLES-SCHULZ_W0QQitemZ250566071183QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item3a56e6d38f

Hula girl is on her way January 19, 2010 11:55

I've been so busy it seems like forever since I started this project.  Well, now its underway again, and I'm gunning to have it ready for the San Diego Comic Con this year.  If you check an older Blog post, you'll find pictures of a little sculpt that was intended to be a dashboard Hula girl - the sort that has a spring under her skirt that allows her to bobble back and forth.

The prototype


The first big hold-up was the skirt.  The old nodders from the 50's had a cloth fringe that was probably used for drapes and chairs. The soft fringe was the perfect accompaniment to the soft features of the hula girls. But after several trips to the garment district, I could only come up with one fringe that was thick and full enough for a skirt, and it was unfortunately too short, as you can see by the picture. It wasn't just too short aesthetically, but the fringe is also there to hide the wide gap in the girl's legs that will be cut out for the spring. As you can see, this isn't going to work for that.  The other problem was cost - they were going to be expensive at the numbers I was intending to make, and thus the whole thing went on the back burner till I had more time to devote to the project.

But its back on now.  I am planning on a run of only 150 to 200.  They will be cast in resin, and thus will have more detail than the vinyl girl from two years ago.  The resin will also give them the weight they will need for the spring to work.  As for the fringe, I'll just move forward and hope something can be turned up.  The smaller run will compensate for the final cost.

But there is something else I've been wanting to do with this...

Prototype Mark II

 This is the prototype for a huge version of the dashboard hula girl.  It will be an exact duplicate of the normal one, but at around three feet tall.  It will be fiberglass, and the four or five finished pieces will be hand painted by myself.  They will be scaled up versions of the smaller in all aspects, even down to the spring, which we'll have to do a little research on in order to get the action just right.  The base will need to be weighted with sand to accommodate the spring action.  Who would buy such a thing?  I'm frankly not sure.  I'm hoping a gallery or two in Hawaii might sell them for me.  Or even someone here in Los Angeles.

Side view

Reverse angle

To answer a couple of questions up front, I'm not sure what the final price of one of these is going to be.  Just making the first one is likely to run to between six to eight thousand dollars.  I'm planning on making four or five, but the first one is likely to be sawed apart and used to engineer the balance weights and spring placement.  Even if I make five all total, I'll probably be charging around three thousand dollars for each.  The skirts will be custom made, and I'll start figuring out how to do all that in the next couple of weeks.  I'd like to have a traditional woven grass skirt, only using synthetic grasses so it retains it's texture.

Do I think these will sell?  Hell no.  I really don't expect to sell one, so I'll probably end up with an expensive set of giant wobbling garden hula gnomes.  At least it will be easy for people to find my house.


New year, new website January 18, 2010 23:51

Through the wonder of modern technology, I'm attempting this very first post during a flight to New York.  We're doing a bit of press for How To train Your Dragon before continuing on to London where John Powell will record the score.

The wondrous Nicolette Davenport is responsible for this beautiful upgrade to the site.  I really think she's outdone herself - Thank you, Nicolette!  I am delighted with the way it turned out.

Now its my job to keep it current and interesting.


New site, new stuff to come! January 18, 2010 06:21

Chris is currently traveling to promote his film "How To Train Your Dragon" and will be posting from the road very very very soon. Here is a Kiskaloo sketch to sink your teeth into in the meantime (and check out the gallery section for new sketches!).