Alex Ariza

College Education is a Hoax

2012-01-13T09:58:00.001-05:00

Music Theory in Gangsta Rap

2012-01-04T18:48:00.002-05:00

I remember a minor chord progression that had me laughing to myself when I heard it in class for dictation. It was Koolio's, Gangster's Paradise.

Gold.

Igor Stravinsky

2012-01-04T12:29:00.000-05:00

Rachmaninoff's Isle of the Dead

2012-01-02T17:58:00.001-05:00

Blasting this in my basement as I clean off layers of dust from the construction of new walls. I should really get more of his music in my life.

Composer Sergei Rachmaninoff

New Year's Resolution

2012-01-02T15:07:00.000-05:00

One of my major resolutions for this year is to not be so damn critical with my work and to actually "put it out there." I hide and forget a lot of what I do. People tend to question whether I do anything at all, especially with music.

Anyway, here's a song called, The Night Expanded, that I'm pretty happy with. My friend Jennae is going to finish vocals for it as soon as she returns from her native land of California.

We will also be making videos for our songs. I want to be able to collaborate with different talents for these videos, so if you want to help us out shoot me an e-mail!

Billy the Goat

2012-01-01T19:41:00.000-05:00

My spacing/composition sucks so damn much. Need to give more head space to this little guy. I guess it's back to drawing frames for me. Perspective was kinda fun, but a total pain in the ass as well. If you look real close you can find some discrepancies here and there, but I'm still pretty happy with how it turned out. My humor is equivalent to a boring school teacher from elementary school as you can clearly tell from the text. Whatever, I thought it was cute.

I read this funny article from CNN about art.

Happy New Year

2011-12-31T15:21:00.000-05:00

My sister and I sat down again to come up with these drawings. We got into an argument about something stupid just now, until we resolve our differences, our collaborations will come to a short halt. Sad.

SCANNER!

2011-12-28T18:06:00.000-05:00

Got my Epson Perfection V30 scanner today...this is a HUGE upgrade from what I had before.

Here's a cute little drawing of the Brooklyn Bridge I did a few days ago that would have looked like poop if I used the old scanner. Shit is CRISP!

My sister and I sat down together and came up with these characters...

Total Rip-Off of Plank from Ed, Edd, and Eddy. I know.

Saps could use some bees flying around him...

This guy is boring...

This one is just lousy and half-assed.

Maybe I should start making more detailed background scenes since this scanner can capture EVERYTHING.

New Scanner

2011-12-27T21:23:00.000-05:00

Finally updating my old scanner to a pretty Epson Perfection. Excited to put up the stuff I've been doing here and there for fun.

This wonderful piece of machinery should be coming in tomorrow.

Watched Fiddler on the Roof last night. Freaking amazing.

Bella

2011-12-22T17:41:00.000-05:00

(BEY-YA) not (BELL-AH)

"If you want to see something ugly, you never have too far to go, but if you want to see something beautiful, well, that's not too hard either..." -Jean Michel Basquiat

New video full of shots I thought looked cool at the time throughout a period of a few months. The imagery in the video is what I saw to be aesthetically pleasing to me. Now you can see what I see...at least I hope.

SANTA

2011-12-22T15:44:00.000-05:00

Saw this on my way home.

REJECTED

2011-12-22T08:58:00.000-05:00

Last night I went to my company's Christmas party, which was at some lounge out in Long Island. Naturally, with a few drinks here and there I felt like dancing with a pretty lady. I go up to some random girl that looked bored sitting all alone and asked her to dance. She looked at me as if I was offending her in some way when I asked. She got up and sarcastically said she would, and right under her breath she called me a creep. I got the message that she wanted absolutely nothing to do with me when she began to completely ignore me by texting on her little Blackberry phone. I asked her what her deal was and why she was being so rude, and of course she played the dumb card, pretended that she didn't know what I was talking about.

And then a song came to mind that fit in this moment so well. Song #5 entitled, Stuck Up, by Lacona. These guys are great and if you haven't listened to their music then you should get on it.

Weird culture that Long Island culture...

Stuff I've Been Watching and Listening To

2011-12-21T09:18:00.000-05:00

When I saw this on TV I started screaming like a little bitch...I'm such a loser, I know, but this commercial has two of my favorite things, Serge Gainsbourg's music and Natalie Portman.

Any time classical music is introduced in a film, no matter what it is, I feel that Chopin always gets picked.

Yeah, the 80's was probably the best decade for make-up in horror films.

Gray

2011-12-12T10:31:00.000-05:00

This is pretty cool...

Do I really hear any difference in the experimental music made today compared to what was being made during the 80's? I better keep my mouth shut before people get upset at me.

Brigitte Bardot

2011-12-11T12:11:00.001-05:00

Strings and a moaning Bardot...what more can a man ask for?

Francoise Hardy

2011-12-04T14:03:00.001-05:00

Fantastic song, can't get enough of it.

Jane Fonda

2011-11-30T22:31:00.001-05:00

Barefoot in the Park

Awesome.

Video Fare

2011-11-27T23:54:00.001-05:00

Night on the J Train

Next time I'll make something easier to listen too.

Charlotte Gainsbourg

2011-11-23T13:23:00.001-05:00

This song blows my mind at how great it is. The chorus is totally original and caught me off guard the first time I ever heard it. So much great stuff out there that is still yet to be heard.

<br><br><br><br>here

Here's another one that I fell in love with:

My new anthem before heading out tonight haha

Osarentin Ighile

2011-11-22T14:04:00.001-05:00

I recently got to see Osarentin Ighile's MFA Thesis exhibition at Queens College. It's located on the 4th floor of the Paul Klapper building, in the Student Gallery.

Unfortunately, tomorrow is the last day that this great exhibit is up. I think from now on I'm going to let everyone know about the MFA shows that take place in Queens College. They are usually very good and pretty legit.

Here are some pictures of the show. (I should probably carry around a better camera as well.)

This one was my favorite.

Patron Saint of Pavement

2011-11-20T16:20:00.001-05:00

FRED the Shark

2011-11-17T22:38:00.001-05:00

When I was at my previous job doing internet marketing, I had these cool co-workers that I bonded with pretty early on. I met them tonight after not seeing them for while and made them these FRED the Shark watercolor paintings. FRED was our personal mascot (our champion through dark times) who happened to be a rubber toy shark. I brought him to life with a voice that was sort of raspy and southern sounding (I don't know its just something that came up naturally). I ended up making a bunch of drawings of FRED for my co-workers. They enjoyed them immensely, and I decided that I would make an extra special reunion edition for them.

Here is FRED in all his glory:

FRED based off of the 1931 classic Fritz Lang film, M.

FRED as a Roman Emperor, who could ask for a better dictatorship?

Ave Maria

2011-11-16T11:30:00.001-05:00

Learning this on piano currently.

What?

2011-11-15T10:36:00.001-05:00

Are you supposed to be? So angry.

The following are a couple of images by Hans Hoffmann. Pretty amazing stuff!

The rest are Albrecht Durer's Drawings.

This one looked cool, but I don't know who it's by.

We Need A Costume Designer...

2011-11-11T13:05:00.001-05:00

...who dresses up our action heroes in this sort of garb. I'm tired of the "bad-ass" look in films, it just breathes douchey lameness all over the screen.

But imagine a ridiculous gun fight with a man dressed in this:

Now that would be cool....

I know some of you can't visualize this sort of awesomeness, so I took the liberty of add some extra effects for you:

Yeah, way more "bad-ass."

ORIGINAL PHOTO FROM HERE

Inspiration: Stuff I Look At

2011-11-08T08:50:00.000-05:00

SAVAGES!


"Hey not bad man, you're getting pretty good at the whole chest ripping thing!"

Always found these kind of drawings fascinating. They seem like children's drawings, only it contains the dark subject matter of human sacrifice.

I've always enjoyed the Bible story about God testing Abraham to sacrifice his own son, Issac. God was a fucked up character in the old testament.

Salem witch trials, even more fucked up religious paranoia.

Anything by Gustave Dore. Anything.

I should really take an engraver's class. I would love to learn to do shit like this.

Been listening to this group called TEAMS a lot lately. They're pretty awesome.

Halloween Costume Process

2011-11-06T11:17:00.000-05:00

This year for Halloween I decided to make my own prop inspired by the classic Ridley Scott movie, Alien.

I'm sure everyone is familiar with this iconic scene.

Still creeps me out today as it did watching it as a kid.

This project was one of those rare occasions in which I enjoyed the process from start to finish.

I constructed the frame with cardboard from a Cheerios cereal box.

Then I paper mached the exterior giving the general mold of the creature.

I used Sculptamold after the paper mache finished drying to give it a smoother finish.

Cool thing about Sculptamold is that once it dries and hardens you could actually sand it down, unfortunately, I didn't have enough time to do that part since I thought of making my costume 3 days before Halloween.

Damnit Giger, stop making things that looks like a penis!

Nathalie, my wonderful costume designing girlfriend, helped me with the shirt. She's very very good with details, particularly on the logo patch and blood.

I whipped out my air brush to give the creature it's first coat of paint. The airbrush was very efficient in getting into all the nooks and crannies than with your typical paint brush.

Looks like a freshly baked loaf of bread.

After the first coat finished drying, I moved on to the second with normal paint brushes and acrylic paints.

I painted the teeth on a separate piece of cardboard.

I forget the last time I've been to the dentist.

I feel like I'm missing something...

Blood. Lots and lots of blood.

This is how it looked like when assembled. It took a lot of duct tape, and a piece of string to keep that paper mache prop supported on my chest.

It was a hit at the Halloween parade, particularly with African American and Hispanic women... there's something about large phallic items that just get 'em going, they're so weird...

Serge Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin

2011-10-27T17:07:00.000-04:00

This was probably the best couple ever.

Frustrated

2011-10-26T21:24:00.000-04:00

Today just wasn't my day. Nope, not at all.

It came fairly close to us

Dog

Where are my clothes?

Total cover up.

Boo.

Sleep Paralysis Painting

2011-10-26T14:35:00.000-04:00

I realized that I never put up a high quality version of this Sleep Paralysis painting I made back in college online.

It was rejected many times over. Maybe I should go back and throw a street background in that piece...

I rolled it up and forgot about it, it's currently being flattened out by a bunch of heavy books...that's a start right?

Gonna listen to this in the meanwhile:

Delictum Gravius

2011-10-20T16:20:00.000-04:00

This is gonna turn into a painting about sexual abuse to minors by Catholic priests.

Nightmare Before Christmas - Sally As A Slut

2011-10-20T13:49:00.000-04:00

Every so often I like to see how my blog is being discovered by people's searches. Sometimes they make sense, they type Alex Ariza in hopes of learning more about Pacquiao's (the Filipino allstar boxer) trainer. Then there are searches that kind of make sense, drawings of the Brooklyn Bridge, Sleep Paralysis Women, The Mars Volta, The Smiths Suck...etc. etc.

and then of course we have this...

Yeah, you read that right...nightmare before christmas sally as a slut. I had uncontrollable laughter when I saw that. How that search pulled up my blog is beyond me. Doesn't make any sense to me whatsoever.

I felt compelled to satisfy the needs of horny emo/angsty/loser dudes who want to see that beloved Tim Burton character whore-ified. I picked up a discarded piece of cardboard and had at it. Felt good to paint that way, quick and enjoyable...almost how those boys will...oh nevermind.

Anyway, here's the painting of Sally (from the nightmare before christmass) as a very well endowed slut. Used acrylics this time instead of gouache, it's nice to change mediums every so often I guess.

FUN!

This is NOT fan art. I hate fan art.

This is probably how Jack Skellington would react if he saw those new and round undead chest puppies on his woman.

MERRY CHRISTMASS!!!

Hugh Ferriss

2011-10-09T13:58:00.000-04:00

Hugh Ferriss has become one of my favorite artists of all time. As I was searching for art deco drawings on the internet, I saw an image that looked a little something like this:

"Holy shit..." Those were the first words that left my mouth as I laid eyes before his work.

Hugh Ferriss is known as a "delineator," which is a fancy word for an artist who draws buildings in perspective. His job was to realize the buildings architects had in mind for their clients. During his career, particularly the 1920's, he created a plethora of super futuristic designs and ideas for people to look forward too. His charcoal renderings created a mood in his drawings that has influenced many architects, set designers, and film makers. Where exactly did Batman fight crime again? Oh yeah, Gotham city. Clearly, you can tell the artists who created those cityscapes were super inspired by this guy.

The way this guy rendered light is absolutely amazing.

Anyway, here are the links that have kept me mesmerized the last few days:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kosmograd/sets/72157603512259334/

http://www.johncoulthart.com/feuilleton/2007/12/30/hugh-ferriss-and-the-metropolis-of-tomorrow/

I even felt compelled enough to buy this book:

When I went to Chicago I bought a reproduction of the New York Central Building poster. It makes me very happy to see it in my room. This wasn't done by Hugh Ferriss, but you can tell what they were going for.

I know it's cliche, but it doesn't make it any less great!

Steve Jobs

2011-10-08T10:36:00.000-04:00

Steve Jobs passed away. Everyone is "sad". My condolences go out to his family and friends. Newspaper headlines are trashy and insensitive on delicate matters like these. Everyone thinks they're being clever adding the letter (i) before some word relating to death or the afterlife. I hate the media and I hate people's "tributes".

Steve Jobs didn't change the world as most news headlines would claim. I am not understating the changes he has made between people and the technology they use, he has certainly made a difference, it's just not as grandiose or earth shattering as the media makes it out to be.

He successfully updated the image of Apple and made it into a brand people use on a daily basis. He changed the perception of technology and the way people relate to it.

Because of Steve Jobs and his team at Apple, I am able to do work on my Mac computer with great ease. He has given Apple consumers confidence in the products they've developed over the years. It is built with the consumer's best intentions in mind, especially for professionals who hold high standards and need solid technology to accomplish their tasks.

Thank you Steve Jobs, for your leadership, and for always looking to push technology further.

I don't why...

2011-10-05T08:40:00.000-04:00

but I really really like this remix. I hear this playing all the time at my wedding gigs. Guess it's one of the those songs you end up liking through constant repetition. Ignore the retarded YouTube image...stupid.

T Pain

2011-10-04T16:30:00.000-04:00

Really? We are just doomed as a species...

What's next?

In The Visual

2011-09-29T13:25:00.000-04:00

Queens College has a pretty kick ass looking art building.

When I first started going to Queens College, I wandered a lot around campus. A lot of the campus holds pretty ugly crappy looking 1970s-80s modernist buildings that I cannot stand to look at. When I
"discovered" Klapper Hall, I immediately walked inside to find out what this beautiful building was for. I found out that it was the college's Art Department building. I took a stroll in and out of classrooms to see what kind of work was being produced by the students. Eventually, I wandered into a gallery space. It was a legit space. High ceilings, white walls, and wooden floors, what more can a man want? The gallery space was used to exhibit student work. A sort of envy came over me. FIT never had any proper viewing space for their student's work. How is it that a normal Joe Schmoe college have a gallery space, and an art school not have any space available for their students?

I made it a point to find out how I can get my work to be hung on those Queens College gallery walls. I learned about a show that was going happen in October. The submission date was sometime in late September. I gave it a try, I went out bought frames, made mattes myself, and even tried making a new piece for the show itself.

Unfortunately, the new piece didn't get in. Guess it didn't look as finished as the other ones. At least I can take it back home and work on it some more.

Here's how they all looked framed

The opening reception is on October 5th from 5:30pm-7:30pm at Paul Klapper Hall.

I'll probably check it out early on, but won't be able to stay since I'm seeing a Portishead concert later that night.

Can't wait to hear this song live:

Rococo Lips

2011-09-28T11:58:00.000-04:00

I have a band called Rococo Lips.

Here's a song I wrote a few months back. It's a nice blend of stuff, check it out.

Also, I've decided to write out lyrics now. You ought to know what the hell is being said or going on I guess.

Fabric
by Rococo Lips

Trace skin
with the fabric over
warmth shared
with the fabric over
heart to heart
with the fabric over
sounds then silence
with the fabric over
your face

smother you 8x

Lay still
with the fabric over you
cold solo
with the fabric over you
no pulse
with the fabric over you
dead air
with the fabric over
your face

smother you 8x

Struggling to breath
you press your hands
against my weight

Struggling to breath
I hold my self right
over you

Struggling to breath
the life in you
escapes under

Struggling to breath
your screams muffed
into soft surrender

Struggling to breath
my god you aren't
who you were before

under the fabric

Marina and the Diamonds

2011-09-21T11:00:00.001-04:00

super crush.

Song of the Volga Boatmen

2011-09-20T22:30:00.000-04:00

Listening to this gives me chills every time the full choir begins to sing. There is such a sense of masculinity in this music...something I think only Russians are capable of doing honestly.

Still Alive, Just Busy...

2011-09-11T23:54:00.000-04:00

Went back to school. Attending Queens College, majoring in Technical Theater (set design, lighting design, etc.) and minoring in Music (always wanted to learn music proper). I still draw, I just don't post as often as I should.

Death of a Phoenix

The colors in this photo don't represent the actual colors of the piece...damn shame.

Gyorgy Ligeti

2011-05-24T18:45:00.000-04:00

If you've never watched Stanley Kubrick's, A Space Odyssey: 2001, then you are missing out on one of the best films ever made. This film was made in 1968 and till this day looks fresh and cutting edge. The music for the film really made it all the more amazing for me.

Gyorgy Ligeti's Atmosphere was a fantastic beginning and had me mesmerized from the very beginning of the film.

I became a huge fan of his music after watching the film.

Here is a portrait I did of him with the iconic monolith behind him.

Here are some of my favorite songs by him.

Super awesome stuff to creep you out with.

Richard Ariza

2011-05-20T18:15:00.000-04:00

My brother Richard, what a character...

Serge Gainsbourg

2011-05-20T16:42:00.000-04:00

One of my all time favorite musicians is a Frenchman named Serge Gainsbourg. I absolutely love the music this man creates. He's known for his perversive lyrics (which I can't understand since it's in French) and kick ass film scores. Fashion-wise he wore perfectly tailored suits which he made a style of his own. Charismatic as fuck he got to hook up with many gorgeous women of the 1960s. Anyway here's a portrait of Serge Gainsbourg.

Here are some of my favorite songs by him.

An Oldie...But a Goodie!

2011-05-20T12:38:00.000-04:00

I made this as a Birthday gift for a friend a while back, I just recently found my old flash drive with a bunch of scanned images from my college/just out of college stage. I used to be so much more into this whole art thing...

Bunny Girl

The Well-Informed

2011-05-20T10:43:00.000-04:00

I was recently commissioned by Paul Loren of The Well-Informed to produce a few drawings for a booklet he is providing his fans for his upcoming Fancy Chance Tour 2011. Let me start by saying that I was flattered for him to pick me as the artist to represent their visual style this year. It was lots of fun working on this project, especially since all I had to do was draw the way I like to draw.

Here are the set of drawings he requested:

Brian Ver Straten

Brooklyn Bridge

Evan Duby

Grand Army Plaza

Famous writer, Henry Miller

Paul Loren

Carroll St. Subway Station

I'm excited to see them printed. The Well-Informed are definitely a band to check out live. You can go listen to their music on their bandcamp site.

Box of Fantasies

2011-05-14T21:17:00.000-04:00

I had the pleasure of working with a film student from Fordham composing original music for her short, Box of Fantasies. The director's name is Emma Wang. The deadline for completion was very very tight, but I managed to pull together a number of tracks that I'm proud of.

You can check out the short film on vimeo.

Box of Fantasies from Emma Wang on Vimeo.

Unfortunately, not all of the music I composed were featured in this film.

Below are my orphaned tracks that you can listen too.

I had a lot of fun coming up with themes and creating moods. Hopefully, I'll be working a bunch more projects like these.

Sacrificial Sketches

2011-05-10T01:20:00.000-04:00

Still working out these "designs"
Currently working on a sketch that I want to blow up to a much bigger size...don't know what medium I'll end up doing it in.
Tired of planning...ready to make some moves.
Yeah, moves.

The High Priest

My friend has a shitty scanner...I should really draw in my own books.

Preparing the virgin for sacrifice!

Igor Stravinsky's music works so well when I draw these things.

Best stuff around.

The Woods

2011-05-05T14:38:00.000-04:00

Here's a new song called The Woods. You should be hearing it soon in one of Kosinski's videos.

Words Are Pretty Powerful, Especially the Ones From God.

2011-04-28T15:23:00.000-04:00

Props to my comrade at arms for editing this fine piece of video with my music as a backdrop.

Shower Song: Don't Want To Go Home

2011-04-27T22:03:00.000-04:00

I was singing this phrase while taking a shower. Decided to record it. Enjoy.

Anti-Gauguin

2011-04-05T09:32:00.000-04:00

This story is hilarious.

Happy Birthday Nathalie

2011-04-03T17:51:00.000-04:00

My lady turned twenty three today. This is what I made her.

That bear is such a jerk.

Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now

2011-03-17T18:04:00.000-04:00

More stuff from that sacrifice bru-ha-ha.

The High Priests must rotate shifts to sacrifice their young victims, otherwise they go crazy...

The Highest Priest watches with approval as the followers worship the blood drained of their victims.

The ghost of the victims must be cast away.

The Highest Priest demands more blood to the gods.

Still need to ink this one.

This has been a very trying week for me. I hate the Smiths...but this song clearly knows what the hell I'm feeling currently.

Sacrificial Rituals Resumed

2011-03-07T23:20:00.000-05:00

Took a break from these images...had the time today to work on them, so I finished 3.

High Priest sacrifices yet another virgin.

The victim is drained of her blood. Her spirit rises.

The followers watch in utter fascination of the victim's spirit.

The gods demand sacrifice!

Today Sucked

2011-03-03T20:47:00.000-05:00

I should have gone out.

All my songs seem to be forming into just filler. I really gotta start thinking of structure.

Mars Volta

2011-02-20T11:20:00.000-05:00

Ha, I don't remember why the hell I drew them this way...poor concept, sure makes me laugh though.

What are you up to lately?

2011-02-17T19:09:00.000-05:00

I got laid off from my job on January 31st. I'm not upset about it though, in fact, I'm very happy it happened. I now have time to work on a new portfolio gear towards industrial design. My new plan would be to get myself into Pratt's masters program and land a REAL job utilizing my talents.

The following is all the stuff I've been working on lately for the portfolio:

It's been a long process. I won't even bother putting up all the reference I went through to get ideas for this robot of mine. I really wish my sketches looked nicer and on better paper, but I feel way more comfortable drawing on scrap paper. This piece is definitely coming together though, and I'm excited to tackle the creation of this robot. I'll probably begin next week on constructing the prototype. I have way more drawings to do, but lord knows I have the time to do it all, and that's the beauty of it.

Mad Nath

2011-02-14T16:47:00.000-05:00

Long Live The King

2011-01-04T00:31:00.000-05:00

I Dream of Sacrificial Rituals

2010-12-27T00:02:00.000-05:00

A virgin captured for sacrifice.

The Sacrificial Ritual has begun.

AMEN.

So lately I've been dreaming about sacrifices. Thoughts?

Una Cancion Para La Navidad

2010-12-25T20:07:00.000-05:00

Got bored, made a short. Funny how bells easily make anything sound like Christmas.

Enjoy.

Daily Doodle 6 & 7

2010-12-18T17:39:00.000-05:00

Got side tracked.

Note to self: stop painting on crappy paper.

Daily Doodle 5 - Seahorse Painting

2010-12-09T23:59:00.000-05:00

DAILY DOUBLE!
I love horses. I love the sea. When some brilliant dudes thought to put the two together they came out with:

X-Rated Material

Painting of a Seahorse

Darling Sister

Daily Doodle 4

2010-12-08T23:11:00.000-05:00

"I Fahted"

Daily Doodle 3

2010-12-07T23:26:00.000-05:00

Father Christmas's Feast

Daily Doodle 2

2010-12-06T21:06:00.000-05:00

Daily Doodle

2010-12-05T21:26:00.000-05:00

Yeah, let's see how far this goes.

Triumph

2010-12-02T00:53:00.000-05:00

Don't you love those songs that make you want to do shit with your life? The ones that make you get up and do things? I tried making such a song, and I'm not sure if I've succeeded. Let me know your thoughts.

WARNING: Cheese factor is so powerful in this song it'll make your head numb.

Collaboration of Comrades: Film 1

2010-11-08T23:21:00.000-05:00

Hanging with the Wrong Crowd

2010-11-07T18:11:00.000-05:00

It would sound a little something like this. I love those movie about teenagers getting into the wrong kinda shit. They always have this weird 80's kinda vibe to it with some stupid electric guitar playing some ominous riff. I think it's hilarious and wanted to try doing something like that. I have mixed feelings about this track...kinda how I feel when I watch those sort of scenes in the movies. I wanna take it seriously, but it's just too corny.
The footage is taken from various scenes from the movie, Thirteen. If you haven't seen the movie, do yourself the favor and see it. Everything that can go wrong will go wrong in that movie. Love it.

Kissy Face

2010-10-28T21:29:00.000-04:00

Sounds of the night. Sounds of sloppy drug induced kisses.

Halloween is for Chumps

2010-10-25T20:18:00.000-04:00

I will be spending my first Halloween away from home this year. I wonder how Chicago celebrates it? Probably nowhere near as good as New York, but you can't blame them for trying. We'll see. I really hate this kind of art but decided to do it anyway. Need to loosen up more!

Boo, you dirty son of a bitch.

This makes me feel so damn itchy.

I so need a vacation.

It Was an All Day Affair

2010-10-24T18:15:00.000-04:00

New Painting

2010-10-24T12:55:00.000-04:00

I give birth to an image. I work with it for a short period of time. I abandon it because it gets boring. How do I come up with subject matter that will keep me driven? Next painting I promise to make a background...maybe that will keep me focused and interested.

Amphibo-Man

DUH.

"If you get bored, make it better." - Richard Ariza

Truer words were never spoken. I then sought out inspiration for painting. I came across Andrew Hem.
Now that guy knows how to keep shit funky fresh.

In the music world I have finally been completing songs. Two more songs and I might just have a demo album. We'll see.

I have a recipe for Lame Sauce

2010-10-13T22:15:00.000-04:00

Add ten loud obnoxious barks of a dog, a bit of dog dander, and a horrible case of dog breath.
I think I know where I went wrong with this... The next time I try this sort of deal I will succeed with flying colors.

You Reek of Alcohol

2010-10-08T21:37:00.000-04:00

My sketchpad got soaked in beer. Can't have a better primer than that. Unfortunately it's all to waste with these incomprehensible images. Make sense of it if you can.

I hate this one the most because it reminds me of college.

This one sucks as well.

The model was so boring I ended up drawing some of the people.

Favorite spot.

Yeah, not a fan of too much from this session. A mixture of feeling like I was back in school (model was boring as fuck) and not warming up properly lead to crappy results. My good comrade, Kosinski, actually got some pretty good stuff out of it though (like a butt load of PBRs).

I've been recording all sorts of stuff as of late which explains the delay in the visual department, but not to worry, I will have better things to show in the future.

In a World of Maybes...

2010-10-02T12:20:00.000-04:00

I was supposed to exhibit work at some shindig that Daniel Bonilla orchestrated. It was a good idea and I really wanted to have work up, since it's been ages that I have done any new work worth looking at. Anyway here are my incomplete pieces (of crap).

The last painting of the sheep boy was an idea I had back in my college days. Having gone to a Catholic school you can imagine all the religious crap they feed children since the day they can understand language. Silly stuff, poorly executed (composition is boring and sucks ass), the form it self looks like a turd smeared on wood. I'll have to rework this big time.

Sleep My Darlings

2010-09-30T23:55:00.000-04:00

Forget it all kids. Just forget everything mama ever told you.

The Mystery of the Park

2010-09-28T21:47:00.000-04:00

I have always been fascinated by Forest Park at night. Growing up in the small town of Richmond Hill, Queens I would see all sorts of stuff. On many occasion as a child I would see figures in the dark on the playground. Naturally as a kid I always asked my parents what possibly could be going on at the playground so late at night. Everytime I asked my parents the question the answer was always the same:

"Teenagers."

I think I'm finally going to take up the project that I've been wanting to do since college.

Norman Rockwell became a famous illustrator for portraying the all American family. He captured the essence of good values, strong male figures such as fathers, soldiers, athletes, soft loving women such as mothers, sisters, aunts, grandmothers, and a humorous take on not so loving women and their incompetent husbands, and of course your All-American wholesome kids.

Imagine if Rockwell were still living and captured the America we live in today. I think it would be hilarious. Black kids, spanish kids, ghetto white boys, emo kids, hipsters, spoiled children, teenagers getting their first car, texting, sexting, internet junkies, video game addicts, people smoking pot, coke heads, strippers, mafia, gang bangers, politicians and their scandals, abusive fathers, struggling single mothers, dysfunctional families, divorce, muggings, economical hardships, teenagers in a world of shit, rape, drugs...just to name a few subject matters non-existent in Rockwell's work.

I want to be the anti-Rockwell.

So this is a color sketch for my first painting in the series of America's youth.

Teenagers at the Park: Drinking, Making-Out, and Up to No Good.

Sometimes I miss being a teen....eh, not really.

"Esploded"

2010-09-27T23:17:00.000-04:00

A giggle parade gone horribly horribly wrong.

All you heard was chaos.

Sounded a bit like this.

Drawings from Third Ward's Drink and Draw

2010-09-26T17:04:00.000-04:00

We start off weak the first week.

Truth be told I like to drink. Some may say that I enjoying the occasional drawing here and there. Putting the two together must be a dream come true for me right?

Of course it is.

These wonderful nude model drawing sessions take place in Brooklyn at a wonderful place called Third Ward. These drawing sessions have the Alex Ariza stamp of approval for great price (just ten bucks!) and unlimited PBR.

The following are drawings I did from the two times I attended.

The first week wasn't all that glamorous at all.

Hipster chicks look very very weird in the nude.

The second week I really wanted to stop playing it safe so I drank a bunch of beers, which may or may not have helped in drawing but it definitely loosen me up. I laugh every time I see the progression of drawings after each beer.

One beer in.

Two beers in.

Three in.

Five in.

Six.

This is my favorite out of all of them.

Hi there Blobbert.

The Smiths Suck

2010-04-16T21:22:00.000-04:00

The Smiths suck. Yes I said it, and I'll say it again,the Smiths suck.
There is one song, though, that I really can't get over.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_U5HpeA_WSo&feature=related

For some reason Morrissey's voice doesn't annoy the hell out of me when singing How Soon Is Now? What is it about this song that makes it so freaking good? There are a lot of instrumental elements that bring the song together. From the continuous choppy chord progression that seems to get mush through an oscillating tremelo effect, to the sweeping guitar effect, which is my absolute favorite part of the song. The cool synths that come in and out of the song How Soon Is Now? is definitely NOT your typical Smiths song. In fact, that was the first song that aroused my curiosity in the Smiths. Unfortunately, that song was the only one of its kind, the Smiths suck after that. I've been wanting to know how to recreate that sound, or how Marr even got the guitar to sound like that.

I researched wikipedia and found this somewhat helpful quote that was pulled from somewhere.

“The vibrato sound is fucking incredible, and it took a long time. I put down the rhythm track…through a Fender Twin Reverb without vibrato. Then we played the track back through four old Twins, one on each side. We had to keep all the amps vibrating in time to the track and each other, so we had to keep stopping and starting the track, recording it in ten second bursts…I wish I could remember exactly how we did the slide part- not writing it down is one of the banes of my life! We did it in three different passes through a harmonizer, set to some weird interval, like a sixth. There was a different harmonization for each pass. For the line in harmonics, I re-tuned the guitar so that I could play it all at the twelfth fret with natural harmonics. It’s doubled several times.”

What the hell can you even take out of that? Harmonizer and Harmonics. My next quest to find the ultimate badass sounding sweep/slide has presented itself. Can you imagine how awesome it would be to control that effect? The possibilities are endless.

So maybe, the Smiths don't suck so much after all. Actually, yeah, they do, for keeping Morrissey as a vocalist. Horrible, horrible vocals. Still that track makes up for his shitty voice somehow.

We need more guitarists like Marr that explore their instruments to create awesome sounding effects and songs.

Anyway, maybe I'll throw up a song soon...till next time!

Bullshit.

2010-03-30T00:17:00.000-04:00

I'm tired of it. I hate almost everything I do now at days, music included.
What the hell can I do to escape the redundancy?

Probably going away would help lots.

Meh, I don't know anymore. Something smells.

Guns.

2010-03-26T14:12:00.000-04:00

They're lots of fun to draw.

Perspective is still a bitch, but I like
doing this more than any thing else right now.

Ghost Mall's Portrait....Finished.

2010-03-24T17:05:00.000-04:00

Wow, that's a word I haven't said about my work in a long time.

I think it's finished...no I'm pretty sure it's finished this time.

Meh, whatever. Enjoy this portrait of Ghost Mall that never got published.

Ghost Mall loves sharing their bed.

More Progress

2010-03-16T15:08:00.000-04:00

So I worked on it a bit more...
but now I have to go to work.

Almost...

2010-03-16T01:22:00.000-04:00

Like I promised,
the progress.

Should be done once I get my head together again.

Here We Go Again

2010-03-11T17:46:00.000-05:00

There is this up and coming magazine/blog
called Young Eight Four Five.

http://youngeightfourfive.blogspot.com/

It's run by this chill dude, Ethan.
I admire his efforts, but I think he needs more
support from other artists, writers, and people that
can help make this project amazing.

I'm hoping you guys will contact him to lend him a helping hand.
Think of it as a way to have your working published and being part of
a team!

Here's a sneak peak of how I'm contributing.

Ever heard of Ghost Mall? It's these couple of goofball kids
making a bunch of racket. Check 'em out. http://www.myspace.com/ghostmall

Digitally Mastered Color Version will be up soon, so keep an eye out for it.

So very stuck.

2010-03-09T19:30:00.001-05:00

I'll give the biggest warmest embrace, and coolest high five for anyone who can help me
structure this bitch of a song.

HELP!

This is what I have recorded down now.

Your Room

2009-12-14T12:20:00.001-05:00

I decided to make another simple song to take my mind off of my complicated structures I'm creating with the band. So many ideas that need trimming and molding. This was written relatively quick after I was messing around with some guitar tunings...this one being GABGBD (don't ask).

Anyway here it is, hope you enjoy my nonsense stress reliever.

Be up soon.

The Mind Scrawls of a Mad Man

2009-12-08T12:15:00.000-05:00

or...just boredom.

Bone Bash Baby CheeseBalls

You DIRTY SON OF A

2009-12-03T20:56:00.000-05:00

So the last few days I have been trying to get back into
the whole visual art world. I hate it. Very frustrating, mind numbing...work?
Would people consider this work? I'm not getting paid...but Jesus.

Anyway here's the shit that will probably end up in the nearest receptacle.

I do have a new project that I am actually excited to get started though, more on that later.

So of course first sketches...

The idea here was to have a music box, winter themed, and looking like it was Queens College, more specifically the awesome LeFrak Concert Hall, which has a huge organ.

http://www.nycago.org/Organs/Qns/img/QueensCollBedient.jpg

My sister helped me come up with the idea, I feel I work much better when I bounce ideas off someone else. I then realized I wanted a certain kind of look for this music box, perspective wise.
So I looked up some different forms of 2 point perspective. Isometric perspective caught my attention, it's what engineers use for industrial design. Naturally, I was excited to learn a new method of drawing. It involves a grid system with vertical, horizontal, and 30 degree diagonal lines.

LOTS OF FUCKING LINES in other words.

I drew a countless number of lines and grids trying to get the right look, it was mentality frustrating and as you may imagine time consuming. I later learned that they sell sheets called isometric paper. This would have saved so much TIME!!!

Anyway here are my attempts.

that was my "organ" background...you can see all the crooked lines
I need a drafting table...the floor ain't cutting it anymore.

I realized just as I was adding the piano that all my lines were off in the first painting. I got fed up and abandoned it decided to work from scratch again...stupid me I rushed it and did it on shitty watercolor paper which didn't work in my favor at all.

Eventually I said fuck this shit.
My father told me I was making things much to complicated and that I should just keep it simple. I just drew a sloppy ass piano and called it a day. I don't wanna touch this project until I've cooled down.

This is how it turned out...exactly what I didn't want.

I will finish that fucking painting.
I must finish that fucking painting.

New Song

2009-10-23T00:04:00.000-04:00

So I recorded a whole song myself today with the power of garageband.
It's called Killer Chase, originally named by Charles George himself.
Written and arranged by myself, played by Starving Children.

It's one of my more poppy kinda jams.

Enjoy!

Art is Fun, but Music is Funner.

2009-10-12T23:32:00.000-04:00

Been having a lot of time on my hands as of late,
that'll all change very soon once I start working,
and I will be working very, very soon.

I bought a mac, and it is my new addiction.

Here's a little something something I worked on,
not everyone's kinda joint but it was fun for me.

Noise is the name of the game.

Christian Castro

2009-07-28T13:05:00.000-04:00

The singer...no...the artist, oh yeah.

Christian feels it is time for a long over due update, and he is absolutely right my brothers and sisters. I will be presenting a new series starting today.

Input/Output (2009)

Like woah scoob!

Come back tonight for extra special update.

Oh Baby

2009-04-01T16:46:00.001-04:00

Heres a quick sketch/watercolor painting of me as a baby. Yeah, I was that annoying, and yea not much has changed...

I should post the original picture too. Eh, maybe next time.

smells like chocolate body paint to me

2009-03-30T23:52:00.000-04:00

I just got some stuff from the watercolor sketch book Bil Donovan told me to fill up, shouldn't be to hard to do.

Here's some pieces I'm somewhat happy to show.

This I did at that New York Public Library...you know, the big one with the lions at the entrance.

Some chick was studying, so I decided to draw her too.

This I did for Bil Donovan's class. The lady model was dressed in a skimpy skirt with a wonderful view of her ass hanging out. Wish I got more time to draw her.

Tonight I stayed after school to draw some nudes thanks to one of our teachers, Peter Emmerich.
This piece would be my favorite if I didn't fuck up the hand. It annoys the hell outta me, but I'll post it up cause I like how the rest of it came out.

No Updates, Now that's just Irresponsible

2009-03-23T14:41:00.000-04:00

Long time no update.
Been a busy bee lately, doing things more than just illustration.

Here's some stuff collected over the span of...weeks?

I have 4 works hanging at the APW gallery in Long Island City. The show's turn out was great. I had family and friends check it out with me, and I got to say I'm pretty proud to have my work alongside some damn talented artists. I only got three uploaded on this post, the 4th never got photographed...oops.

Unfortunately I didn't get into the Society of Illustrator's Student Show, but it's alright, I'll just try again next year.

For Valentines Day, instead of having nobody due to my shitty single position, I asked my friend Steph to be my Valentines and made her this, I think she liked it, I liked her present too =)

I'm also performing with my band Starving Children.
My buddy Charles did the illustration for this collaborative poster,
I designed the text and this is what we got:

This piece was made for the blind kids waiting room at the SUNY Optometric Center
Too bad they won't be able to see this little guy.

I did two illustrations for W27 recently. My friend Charles gave me the chance to do the cover for the "Oscar's" Issue, which unfortunately isn't on this computer to upload. Take my word for it though, it was pretty cool. The second was for an article about Miss FIT, a drag queen show. This is was done pretty quick but I like how it turned out.

Last but not least, this piece I did a while back for David Gonzalez's Zine Asterisk. He ended up using another image I made instead, but I don't want to let this piece go to waste. The senior show for my school is taking entries soon, I think I'm going to rework this concept and make it into a full fledged painting. We'll see. There's so much more to show you guys, but I'm tired of uploading stuff. Maybe I'll upload more often to get all that shit on here.
Till Next Time!

Society Of Illustrators Student Show Submissions

2009-01-16T17:24:00.000-05:00

Been real busy lately as the deadline for the Society of Illustrators was today. I will make this blog short just cause nothing is coming to mind at the moment.

First we have two pieces from the series I've started called Kids With Guns

I also did this piece especially for the show itself within the span of three days. Really happy how it came out. I give some credit to my brother Richard for pushing me to get extra detailed, pain in the ass but totally worth it.

That's all for now folks. New projects coming soon!