Monday, November 2, 2009

stickers...

I have a new addition to my arsenal here. I can now print custom vinyl stickers with long outdoor life. I'm sure that these stickers WON'T last as long as a resin ink, screen printed process, but they're great for small runs. The other day I slapped one of my truck and its holding up good... it says:

MY BORDER COLLIE
IS SMARTER THAN
YOUR HONORS STUDENT

I put the sticker right below where my dog Trouble (a border collie) likes to ride in the back of the truck. Its got to be funny pulling up behind me in traffic and seeing this black and white sheepdog look back at you with his tongue hanging out, smiling.

That's about it from here for now.
Tshirts, now STICKERS! Progress ;)

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

sketchy...

Went sketchin' tonight... hit up Denny's for some early late-night food. Eggs, peppers, hash browns, sausage, pancakes. So good. Doodled before the food got there, then afterward drew a bit more.

We then checked out our local Barnes and Noble. I usually just sit and draw while my lady collects her favorite trade magazines to read. Today I picked up a magazine though, out of character for me, but I'm glad I did. The mag is called High Fructose. Lots of great art featured within, I highly recommend it!

Anyway, here's a scan of the sketch from this evening.



Sunday, September 20, 2009

hillbilly...




This is the result of our visit to a local IHOP. They didn't have jalapenos, which isn't good because I wanted a new scramble they offer... but the wait encouraged me to jot this down. I hadn't drawn in a long time so this was fun.

We're trying to make the move from here back to 'there', so hopefully all will go well this week. Only time will tell...

Friday, September 11, 2009

new new...

Big Cartel. They're a great outfit that provides an easy enough experience for those wanting to set up an easy e-commerce site. But as it stands, I haven't been able to post lots of my stuff on there yet. Check it out when you get a chance. The address is:

massiveink.bigcartel.com


I finally got some business cards printed up. The company who printed them is Overnight Prints. (www.overnightprints.com) They look good. I'm happy with them, and the weight is nice... not flimsy like you'd expect for the price.



The first side is obviously my printing and retail apparel business - the subject of this blog. The reverse side is my old website that details more or less my digital portfolio and random websites I've built over the years. I'm an artist first, then an archivist so if there are broken links and such on agentmike.com its because I don't keep it updated well.

All else is good. I have several new designs coming out that I really like. I've just got to remember to update the blog here. Its almost been 2 months since anything new has been posted here. More later!

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

biz card...

I've got a new business card coming out... The amount to be printed still hasn't been decided yet, but I really like the color. Actually, the color in the design comes from a couple old pieces I created about 5 years ago.

My new work isn't as colorful but is much more detailed. So either way, if you buy anything from me, you'll be getting the latest in the progression. I'll start pushing myself to incorporate color into my design work.

Thursday, July 9, 2009

no luck...

No luck on the previous design selling... but I did get my first label print done this week. I think it came out pretty damn good.

Saturday, July 4, 2009

new art...

Scribbles.
I scratched a bit on some paper the other day at the IHOP. That place was a mess... Hickory, NC. Don't go there unless you want to wait for about an hour to sit down. They were apologizing for the long wait until we left. But we ate... and I drew this.




So, that's about it from here... this design will be listed on another site I have. If you want to get more info - or want a print, let me know. I'm feeling creative again, so look out for more cool designs.

Aloha.

Sunday, June 21, 2009

the feel...

I'll probably end up posting fun pictures here from now on... I've been told that I have an 'eye' for taking fun photos of strange people and places. We shall see. We'll start the process off by a couple fun flicks from the last couple days.



So, this is the guy that I found particularly fun. He has a mullet. He is a big dude, meaning that he's not a stranger to fast food. He's also headed to the Sally Salon Store, maybe for some more product to keep the mullet under control. This man was lumbering across the road, I didn't have to slow down to take a picture, he made this completely necessary with his turtle-like pace.


In the tshirt world, I've got a quite a few designs done in the past week. A Ronald Reagan design, a Sarah Palin design, a Merle Haggard fan shirt and finally, the most successful of these - the Chet Atkins guitar shirt. All's well... should be updating the blog more often now, I've been neglecting this duty as of late.

Perhaps my cell phone camera will be ready to take some more public pics soon. I really wish my little Sony U20 will be up to the task once I get some more batteries... the ones I have now only last 20-30 shots and they're dead. So, that's the future. Until then... or next time...

Monday, May 18, 2009

new Massive Ink shirts...



This is the new shirt I print for Massive Ink. I wear them wherever I go - or at least I try to. Anyway, this is just a quick update. More to come later... I've been drawing so that means new stuff soon.

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

part...

I have some news sketches here, but my scanner is missing in action. I will upload some stuff later. Here's an oldie but a goodie...

Friday, April 24, 2009

posts...

Still no new art. I'm a slacker... but not really. I've been super busy getting settled on the farm actually and the art has to take a back seat. But new designs are on the way. I'm excited about some of the new stuff.

More later.

Saturday, April 18, 2009

whiskey...

Listening to Thin Lizzy now. Up on the farm here in North Carolina... so if you're ordering a shirt, there may be a 4 day or so delay because the designs that my screen printer are printing for me have to be shipped here. But I am printing quite a few of the designs now myself, so there won't be as long a wait on those.

My woman is planting a garden and we're prepping for summer. Its already getting hot in the shop. Its going to be uber-hot without fans. I've got to find some industrial fans... that will help a lot. Moving air, that's what its all about.

I'm about to setup the darkroom. Should be interesting.
Here's a cool Lizzy video.

Monday, April 6, 2009

the art...

Its all about the art afterall...
My lovely woman and I had dinner with a couple friends that I went to high school with last night. During conversation, my friend told me that he always remembered me being a great artist. I don't think of myself as that but now look at my life and where I am with my art and can only say "DUH, you should have focused on this all along...".

I guess there's a lot we all think we should have done or should be doing. My art is just a natural part of my life. It only seems right to offer it to the world through my websites. A lot of the shirts I sell now don't really reflect my very unique drawing style, but they will in time. Right now, its all about survival. Period.

Here's my art website that goes along with the massiveink.com website.
http://www.lookatmysketchbook.com

More later...

Thursday, April 2, 2009

drawing?

Nope... no new drawings since the other day. I've got one that I have to scan and put up here at some point. I'll keep the blog posted to new updates. But for now, smile along with me as I laugh at the ridiculousness of this 'news' article.


Woman to 911: Help! I'm locked inside my car

Amy L. Edwards | Sentinel Staff Writer
9:45 AM EDT, April 1, 2009

A 911 dispatcher had to tell a woman how to unlock her car on Sunday.

A woman called Kissimmee police to say she was locked inside her car at the Walgreen's on John Young Parkway near Poinciana.

"My car will not start. I'm locked inside my car," the unidentified woman said.

"Nothing electrical works. And it's getting very hot in here, and I'm not feeling well."

The dispatcher asked the woman if she was able to manually pull the lock up on the door.

The woman said she would try, and then, she said, "Yes, I got the door open."



Wednesday, April 1, 2009

grooming the queen...

I knew nothing of this... ever. But, it doesn't shock me, especially since the elites are completely insane and inbred anyway.
Here's the link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groom_of_the_Stool

The Groom of the Stool was a medieval English groom (i.e., a male servant) who, among other duties, had the task of cleaning the Monarch's anus after a bowel movement.[1]

In the early years of Henry VIII's reign, the title was awarded to minions of the King, court companions who spent time with him in the Privy chamber. These were the sons of noblemen or important members of the gentry. In time they came to act as virtual personal secretaries to the King, carrying out a variety of administrative tasks within his private rooms. The position was an especially prized one, as it allowed one unobstructed access to the King's attention. David Starkey writes: "The Groom of the Stool had (to our eyes) the most menial tasks; his standing, though, was the highest... Clearly then, the royal body service must have been seen as entirely honorable, without a trace of the demeaning or the humiliating."[2] Further, "the mere word of the Gentleman of the Privy Chamber was sufficient evidence in itself of the king's will," and the Groom of the Stool bore "the indefinable charisma of the monarchy."[3]

Sir Henry Norreys, a Groom of the Stool under Henry VIII, was executed for an alleged affair with Anne Boleyn.

The office persisted into the nineteenth century and John Neeld, M.P. for Cricklade held the office of "Gentleman of the Privy Chamber" to Queen Victoria, for which he was elevated to a baronetcy in 1859.[4]

A similar position, the Porte-coton, existed at the French royal court. The position existed in a less scatological but much more senior form, the Groom of the Stole, until 1901. These were always important noblemen.

Monday, March 30, 2009

gramps and the gun...

For God sake... this old man was just using his second amendment right! Right? Well, one way or another, I'm betting 20 to 1 that he gets off scot-free and lives to accost another innocent driver. The question is: When will he actually shoot someone?

Anyway, printing went as expected today. The 4XL and larger shirts are a little trickier to line up when printing... but whatever the case, the deed has been done. Listening to Tool right now. I don't know how such a kick ass band has eluded my Seeqpod list, but they did somehow. There is no excuse for this.

Later.

Saturday, March 28, 2009

listening...

Listening to Digable Planets now. The song is 'art of easing'. As any one acquainted with Digable Planets can imagine, the tune is very chill. I love their music... though I'm sure its dated to some degree. But you know, music ages like wine - unless its horrible in the first place, then it never really mattered to begin with.

We had a yard sale here today at the house. It went well... you meet cool people at garage sales. They're very frugal folks. Its good to meet like minded people. Made some cash, spent a little on lunch at Firehouse subs and then took a nap. Nothing creative happening today. Gotta print tomorrow and do domestic duties at Mom's. Sucks when you get old and can't do things for yourself...

Anyway, keep an eye out for new stuff to head down the pipe. Getting ready to make some new prints. But until then, you'll have to check out some interesting articles from the day...

An Elephant Disappears
http://davehingsburger.blogspot.com/2009/03/elephant-disappears.html

Man Locked Inside Bar After Falling Asleep
http://www.wmtw.com/news/19033102/detail.html

La Marque woman’s charge dropped in F-word case
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ike/galveston/6344414.html

Thursday, March 26, 2009

mug...


Well, its another day over. Didn't get to draw much today... just a bit over at the H&R Block. That's a very boring place. I don't know if I could work at a place like that, not that I have to do that per se, but its just a place that seems very boring. Its hard to say that the guy preparing the taxes there today was really into it either. Although, he better be for what they charge!

In other news, a small part of my time online everyday is spent reading news. Part of the news on our local newspaper website is the mug shots section. Its posted right on the front page, usually with a very tragic shot of a person with a strange look. This evening, I found that 10 out of the 36 people on the list of arrests were arrested for drugs.... those drugs, they really keep the MAN busy don't they?

John Doe has been identified as one of those charged.
He befriended ganja. This is not good for his freedom.
Not at all.



If you can't see the whole image, you may have to right click on it and open the image in a new window. The blog format here doesn't allow for wide images to flow freely about the page.

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

yikes...

Yikes... I saw too many people walking today in our town. If you think things are getting tough out there in the 'economy', look around to see if anyone's walking - unless you live in a big city where walking's a typical mode of transportation. I'm seeing more and more people here on foot.

Used to be in our town, there were only a few people walking -

  • the guy that carries a football helmet and wears the heavy down jacket in the middle of the summer
  • the black dude with the beard and weird walk that yells at himself constantly
  • a family of special people who ride the bus and seem to get off at every stop

One time, I was riding my beach cruiser for fun and was stopped by some people who I hadn't seen in a long time. Turns out they thought I had gotten a DUI or something... they couldn't figure out why I would be riding a bike otherwise. Riding bikes was one of the best things about living in a college town. Gainesville had a such a good vibe for bike riders... it always felt natural to ride a bike there...

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

stolen...

Somewhere in southern California, there's a woman very proud of her new chest... the problem is, if she comes out of hiding she'll be arrested. Apparently, she went under the knife under a fraudulent identity to get free boobs. So here's the headline and her image:

Woman Allegedly Steals Brand New Breasts


Has the economy gotten so bad, people are stealing boob jobs? Police say Yvonne Pampellonne (pictured) used a fake ID to get cosmetic surgery.

link: http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/weird/Woman-Allegedly-Steals-New-Breasts.html



I guess if you see her, either compliment her on her boobs or report her to the police... somewhere in southern California there's a plastic surgeon unable to make his $12,000 mortgage payment. Wait, something tells me he'll be able to make the payment - and that the $12k isn't that big of a deal.

But today, I have a surprise... its not going to be released here yet. Sometime soon though. I will say that it has to do with my art, but that's all I can divulge at this point. Pretty cool though.

Monday, March 23, 2009

four winds...


This evening is coming around... the sun is setting and I've been listening to a Lynyrd Skynyrd playlist on Seeqpod. If you've never heard of Seeqpod, here it is: www.seeqpod.com

I've been using Seeqpod for almost a year now and still love it. When the company / website started out I thought is was too good to be true - to be free - to be... well, just to be. Even with the expected commercial turn I knew the site would take, I'm still very comfortable with the site. True, they do have little 'buy ringtone' buttons here and there, but its still a great site.

Basically all you do is go to the site, sign up, and start searching for music right away. The cool thing is that Seeqpod searches the internet for random servers that have music listings... and the site also seems to rely on audiophiles that have uploaded their collection of MP3's to the internet (all backups of their cd, tape or record duplications) - I say that for legal reasons.

I mean, the site is great. Did I say that already? But seriously, this is the way things are going. Its just amazing. For instance, a while back after watching the Big Lebowski for the 1000th time, I looked up the soundtrack on IMDB.com to see who the artists were and found Townes Van Zandt to be singing the cover of the Rolling Stones "Dead Roses". So I check out to see if any of Townes music was on Seeqpod.

Bingo! Lots of it.

So, now I'm a big Townes and Steve Earl fan (Mr. Earl by proxy to finding TVZ). Its been a great experience. And yet, I am by no means an expert at using the internet and all things new in technology... but little things like free and easily searchable music as just the coolest thing.

Here's a playlist I'm currently listening to:

SeeqPod - Playable Search

That's about it for now.

Sunday, March 22, 2009

doodle...

confused...


I'm confused. This article is confusing... but then, what in today's society isn't confusing. Like, 'where did all that money go?' People can't even understand how much money 9.7 trillion dollars is... graphically, its simply staggering. Most people don't know that a billion is simply 1000 million. So, that would make a trillion a million million. Get it?

That's ok. There's lots of things out there we don't understand. Like this article about a Woman undergoing sex change to become man is pregnant with twins I would rather focus on the simple things in life - like drawing and screen printing. Hey, it may not bring in tons of cash, but its very enjoyable.

Sunday, March 15, 2009

more Denny's art...



This just in... a sketch from Denny's the other night. I used a Sakura .005 archival ink pen and a .5 Staedtler archival pigment liner pen. There's a lot more to do with this piece, but its a good start. Eventually, everything I sell on my website will look like this.

I'm going to be working on some screen prints today out in the shop.

Friday, March 6, 2009

usa...

The United States of Amnesia sketch.


I have several different ideas as to how this one's going to be translated to screen. As one could imagine, this design is about the state of mind most people are in... it seems like half the time, people aren't really awake at all. If you watch tv at all, you'd notice that when you watch it sometimes you'll just blank out for a while.

Anyway, there's a lot to be done in life. The television is "the man's" tool of control. Turn it off and try to be creative!


Tuesday, March 3, 2009

This is a great story. It was on Drudge's main page today. I love cruising the net for stories like this. I find it kind of aggravating though that most of our prisons seem to cater to those with drug related arrests. After all, a report released last week sometime found that 1 out of every 31 Americans are somehow serving time with the penal system. That's too many - double than 25 years ago. Ridiculous.

Now for something even more ridiculous...

A McNuggets "Emergency"
Floridian called 911 three times over McDonald's chicken shortage

MARCH 3--Angered that her local McDonald's was out of Chicken McNuggets, a Florida woman called 911 three times to report the fast food "emergency." Latreasa Goodman, 27, last Saturday called police to complain that a cashier--citing a McDonald's all sales are final policy--would not give her a refund. [To listen to Goodman's 911 calls, click here, here, and here.] When cops responded to the restaurant, Goodman told them, "This is an emergency. If I would have known they didn't have McNuggets, I wouldn't have given my money, and now she wants to give me a McDouble, but I don't want one." Goodman noted, "I called 911 because I couldn't get a refund, and I wanted my McNuggets," according to the below Fort Pierce Police Department report. That logic, however, did not keep cops from citing Goodman for misusing the 911 system. Even after being issued a misdemeanor citation, Goodman contended, "this is an emergency, my McNuggets are an emergency." The McDonald's devotee is seen at right in a mug shot snapped after a previous encounter with police. Last month, a Florida man was arrested after he called 911 to complain about his displeasure with a Burger King combo meal. (2 pages)

link: http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2009/0303091mcnugget1.html

Sunday, March 1, 2009

change...

I'm no fan of politicians... but I do like to read about current events, geopolitics and so on. One of my favorite radio shows is Coast to Coast AM and Alex Jones' broadcasts. Jones is an absolute patriot and its great to hear him tell the real truth... if you haven't heard of him, its because the mainstream media wouldn't dare put him on air.

Anyway, as the people in the Carolinas and southeast are freezing in snow, all of us here in Florida are watching the palm trees bend with heavy wind. Its nice and sunny though and very comfortable outside. I was born and raised here, so this is normal for me. I couldn't imagine getting a foot of snow right now.

Next month, will be fun. More on that later. Nothing else to report really... well, you could listen to Alex's show, if its not live, its a repeat from yesterday! Here's the link: http://www.infowars.com/stream.pls

!

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

the long wait...

The long wait indeed... today is the first time I've actually thought about updating the blog here in months. This happened for two reasons. First, Xmas is a time when my business is simply very busy. Second, business slows way down after Xmas. Thus, I have time to be creative, market, blog and such. So, here it is... the newest of the new... from me to you. Whoever you are.

Anyway, I've been working on my new selling template for the Ebay store for Massive Ink. You can find it by going here: stores.ebay.com/themassiveink

I haven't added a bunch of new products with the new template yet so it will all look much the same as it did. But when I get another couple more days behind the computer, the new designs will be hitting. I like them... some are simple - for simple people. Some are more artistic. I like both styles. Being an artist, my favor would lean toward the artistic side.

I've noticed too that the shirts that have been selling more lately are the second amendment, anti-obuma, and those types. I guess this goes with the current problems were all seeing in Washington and the coming depression. Since I live in Florida, I can tell you that we're either in a depression now or either its a severe, severe recession. Florida's housing market has been hit the hardest I think - besides California and Nevada. The bad economy hits us first.

But all is not lost... and we'll all live through this... unless the poles shift. Then we're all screwed. For an idea on what that's like, check out the movie by Art Bell and Whitley Steiber caller 'The Day After Tomorrow'. Pretty spooky. The tornadoes in downtown Los Angeles were a nice touch ;)