Categories
Abstract Art

Third Eye

SensesThird Eye
Alex Hinders, 2015.
Colored pencil and pen.

This was another drawing from last year during the period when I was intensely interested in the combination of red and purple. Usually the title of a drawing is easy for me to pick out, but I have to admit, I have no clue what this drawing is about or means. I noticed that there were three eyes featured by themselves within the tangle of the blue frame and so I settled on the title of “Third eye”, even though technically there are six eyes in the picture.

Categories
Abstract Art

Zebra Wilde

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Zebra Wilde
Alex Hinders, 2016.
Colored pencil and pen.

Shortly before coloring this I realized that I was bored with how I colored my abstract drawings. I figured that adding some random patterns would spice up the procedure — and it did! Originally the black zebra stripes in the background weren’t planned. However, there were some dark smudges on the paper that were distracting and I figured I should find a way to cover them up. It added an extra layer of dynamism that a flat white background would’ve lacked in this instance.

You might also note that the piece of paper got bent sometime during the process of creation. (A diagonal crease can be seen in the upper left area of her hair.) Although I worry that this might bring somebody out of the drawing, I personally like to think of it as a reminder that art is something physical and imperfect. A regular mortal sat down with a regular piece of paper and created this. The artist is fallible as a person and the paper is fallible as a physical medium; the artist can get hurt and the paper can be damaged.

I think sometimes we forget that simple truth. Because the viewer is disconnected from the mind of the artist the artwork can seem perfect unto itself and to have otherworldly origins. This feeling can especially be true of the work of artists we most admire — but they too are mere mortals, and their art the product of mortal hands.

Categories
A Night of Clarity The Catty Tales of Mr. Weaver

A Night of Clarity, Pt. IX

The dreaming man has now become the hitch-hiker. A sympathetic trucker pulls over and gives him a lift. Still upset over what transpired out in the woods, the dreaming man proceeds to vent his frustrations to the truck driver. The truck driver has also had some relationship problems in the past and is happy to commiserate — until the end, when he’s had enough of the dreaming man’s complaints.

RogS9p1RogS9p2RogS9p3RogS9p4RogS9p5RogS9p6RogS9p7RogS9p8

Categories
A Night of Clarity

A Night of Clarity, Pt. VIII

At the end of the previous song the dreaming man separated from the hitch-hiking woman after she cheated on him. This song in the story is unique because it has no real narrative element — the man simply grieves the end of that relationship and feels despair.
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Categories
Abstract Art

Blood For Poppies

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Blood for Poppies
Alex Hinders, 2015.
Colored pencil and pen.

This song was actually inspired by a song of the same name by the band Garbage. I hadn’t been listening to it when I put the random lines down but upon seeing the image, I knew it had to be related. The song details a soldier who is currently stationed alone and the only company he has are the voices that come out of his radio — the song was stated by the artists to be about feelings of isolation.

The scanner had trouble with all of the red in this drawing. All together it looks a little less like the texture of bacon in person.

Categories
Abstract Art

Absence of Self

AlexHindersAbsenceOfSelf
Absence of Self
Alex Hinders, 2015.
Colored pencil and pen.

While I was drawing this, I didn’t close off the face by fully connecting the lines. While this would make logical visual sense, it just didn’t feel like something that needed to be done in this particular case. Eventually, it came time to color the drawing, and this presented a problem: whatever I color the background will bleed into the face.  I could blend the background color into the face but that would create a formal line closing off the face, which I’d already decided not to do.

So I decided to just leave the background as negative space. This creates a disturbing effect: At first when you look at the face, it seems pure white — but then you realize there’s nothing there. It’s empty. Isn’t that just sad and just a little bit terrible? To further highlight the absence of self I employed the entire rainbow as well as the color black in the bars behind the partial apparition.

FUN FACT: This drawing was a part of the 2015 Small Works Show at the Chait Galleries in Iowa City and it was my second drawing to actually sell.

Categories
Magical Hamster Gift Shop

The Third Annual Magical Hamster Calendar is here!

2016coverYou probably got a lot of cool calendars for Christmas…But if you hang this up, everyone will know what a classy and cultured person you are! They’ll be like, “(Your name), I never knew you had an interest in the arts!” Just tell them it’s from an emerging abstract artist and BAM! Suddenly people will think you’re intellectual! (It’ll cement your status if they already think that of you.)

The artwork featured within is an eclectic mix of my work from the last five years — and includes an old favorite from 2008! Such variety! Just click on that big and lovely image to go to the store page.

Categories
The Catty Tales of Mr. Weaver

The Catty Tales of Mr. Weaver # 1 is OUT!

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It’s here! Yes, finally! I’ve mentioned that I’m working on a comic series but I’ve been unable to show hardly any of it — after all, why buy something if you’ve already seen/read it all? So at times I feel like people might have doubted that this comic actually existed. But friends — it is true. And it is here.

Buy the Kindle Version here!

Buy the DELUXE Kindle version here! (Comes with 10 extra pages of behind the scenes stuff!)

A print on demand version is on it’s way!

Not in the US? That’s okay! It’s on most international versions of Amazon Marketplace!

What is this story about, you may ask? Well, the wise woman who wrote the Amazon description summarized it thusly:

Did you know there is a secret society of power-hungry cats? No? Well, it is rather secretive. These cats have an ancient prophecy that says one day a man will arrive and lead them onto a glorious revolution! The only problem, however, is that the prophecy seems to point towards a dorky computer teacher — Mr. Weaver — who isn’t even qualified to lead a dodge ball team! This unsuspecting man’s life is about to get CAT-apulted into madness! And who knows? The whole world may soon follow!

Isn’t this great, folks? Tell all your friends! Link to this on Facebook and other such social networks!  Buy 700 copies!

I would’ve posted this sooner, but you wouldn’t believe the burn-out I’ve experienced after all of the energy it took to finish and publish it! In fact, that might be a topic worth an entire post — but not right now. No, this is a post of celebration.

Me.
Ow!

Categories
Uncategorized

A Night of Clarity, Pt. VII

In this part of the story, the man dreams that he moves into a cabin in the woods with the mysterious hitchhiker woman. Unfortunately, things don’t work out, and this proves to be the end of the road for this ill-fated affair. I’ve decided to post the lyrics to the song these pictures are based off of — “Go Fishing” — to better help you understand the narrative at play. The lyrics are, of course, the intellectual property of Roger Waters.

Buckle up, because this is where things get intense.

(Spoken words: “As cars go by I cast my mind’s eye
Over back packs on roof racks
Beyond the horizon
Where dream makers
Working white plastic processors
Invite the unwary
To reach for the pie in the sky
Go fishing my boy!”)

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We set out in the spring
With a trunk full of books about everything
About solar devices
And how nice natural childbirth is
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We cut down some trees
And we trailed our ideals
Through the forest glade

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We dammed up the stream

And the kids cooled their heels
In the fishing pool we’d made

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We held hands and we exchanged bands
And we practically lived off the land

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You adopted a fox cub
Whose mother was somebody’s coat
You fed him by hand
And then snuggled him down
In the grandfather bed while I wrote

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We grew our own maize
And I only occasionally went into town
To stock up on antibiotics
And shells for the shotgun that I kept around

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I told the kids stories
While you worked your loom
And the sun went down sooner each day.

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(Spoken Dialogue:

Man: “Chapter six, in which Eeyore has a birthday
And gets two presents…”

*The sound of a joint being lit*

Child: “Daddy…come on dad!”

Man: “…Eeyore the old grey donkey stood by the side
Of the stream and he looked at himself in the water
“Pathetic” he said, “That’s what it is”
“Good morning Eeyore” said Pooh
“Oh” said Pooh, He thought for a long time.”)

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The leaves all fell down
Our crops all turned brown
It was over
As the first snowflakes fell
I realised all was not well in the camp

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The kids caught bronchitis

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The space heater ran out of diesel

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One weekend a friend from the East
Rot his soul
Stole your heart

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I said “Fuck it then!

Take the kids back to town
Maybe I’ll see you around”

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And so…leaving all our hopes and dreams
To the wind and the rain
Taking only our stash
Left our litter and trash

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And set out on the road again
On the road again

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(Spoken:

Child: “Bye bye, Daddy! Bye bye!”)

Categories
Abstract Art

Games of Chance

GamesOfChance

Games of Chance
Alex Hinders, 2015.
Colored pencil and pen.

This, just after the Fortune Kitty drawing? Am I sensing a theme?

The yellow really pops out at you; I’m not entirely sure what I did to the yellow surrounding the seven to make it so distinct.