Altered Spaces

2009-07-21T15:42:00.001-07:00

Update your Links!

2009-04-15T10:32:00.001-07:00

danielhughesillustration.com

danielhughesillustration.blogspot.com

!!

2009-02-13T10:35:00.000-08:00

The older I get, the more I realize that I am a bizarre and hilarious combination of my parents' best and worst traits. If nothing else, at least I know we're related.

This Friday!

2009-02-09T16:52:00.000-08:00

Ely's are almost done, but school remains just as, if not more, hectic.

In the meantime, come check out this show at Jinxed on Friday.

I, as well as many of my friends and colleagues, have pieces hanging. Sweet!

Also, the Punk Rock Flea Market was a huge success. Thanks to everyone who came out. I sold more prints than I ever have before.

Art Brut

2009-01-20T23:48:00.000-08:00

Awesome drawings of famous explorers by elementary school kids I found while performing half-hazard searches on google images.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lewisflickr/sets/72057594050359875/

I think I've been inspired.

I Couldn't Agree More

2009-01-19T03:05:00.001-08:00

"Nothing is original. Steal from anywhere that resonates with inspiration or fuels your imagination. Devour old films, new films, music, books, paintings, photographs, poems, dreams, random conversations, architecture, bridges, street signs, trees, clouds, bodies of water, light and shadows. Select only things to steal that speak directly to your soul. If you do this, your work (and theft) will be authentic. Authenticity is invaluable; originality is non-existent. And don't bother concealing your thievery-celebrate it if you feel like it. In any case, always remember what Jean-Luc Godard said: "It's not where you take things from-it's where you take them to."

-Jim Jarmusch

Recovering from Jetlag

2009-01-13T14:51:00.000-08:00

I love how mid-century design and illustration can feel so contemporary.

cross-posted

2009-01-02T13:53:00.000-08:00

I always tell myself that I’m going to try and compile a best of the year list at the end of every year, and I usually abandon it halfway through, on account of it being a completely disorganized mess. During the course of a year, I tend to acquire more music than I can even listen to and so I have a habit of missing out on albums I should probably be listening to. This year, I decided to take a different route and have compiled my favorite and most listened to albums of the year and apparently I’ve been listening to a lot of folk and Baltimore spazzpunk. So without further adieu, my top ten albums of the year:

10. Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy – Lie Down in the Light
This should probably be way higher, but I haven’t gotten the chance to listen to it as much as I would have liked

9. The Mountain Goats – Heretic Pride/ Black Pear Tree EP
John Darnielle had a busy year, releasing his third full length in four years, as well as two Eps. For me, The Sunset Tree and Get Lonely felt too produced for John. The songs on Heretic Pride feel more aggressive and emotional than the previous releases. I’ve been particularly fond of “Lovecraft in Brooklyn” for awhile. Aesop Rock also does an awesome remix of this song. The line ‘I woke up afraid of my own shadow, like genuinely afraid. So I went down to the Pawn Shop, and bought myself a switchblade’ is classic Darnielle. It reminds me of my favorite line from Going to Georgia, ‘The most remarkable thing about you standing in the doorway is that it’s you, and you’re standing in the doorway’. Also, make sure to check out “Thank You, Mario, but Our Princess is in Another Castle” from Black Pear Tree.

8. The Death Set – Worldwide
I’ve seen the Death Set more than any other band this year, and they always killed it. Definitely one of my favorite bands of the year, in general.

7. Parts and Labor – Receivers
Not as good as Mapmaker, but still awesome.

6. Beach House – Devotion
Baltimore again, but representing the other side of the spectrum. I put this album on when I needed to chill out or take a nap.

5. The Mae Shi – Hlllyh
If you’re going to make an eleven minute remix of all the songs on your album, you might as well stick it smack in the middle. I never really felt like it disrupted the flow of the record at all, and if it were the closing track it would most likely be overlooked. Dance party kicks in at 2:28. The whole album is pretty religious (they don’t really strike me as the god-fearing type), but it’s not in your face and easy to overlook if that kind of thing rubs you the wrong way. I’ve been a fan of the Mae Shi for awhile now, so I was psyched that I finally got the chance to see them this year when I was in Baltimore.

4. Mount Eerie – Black Wooden Ceiling Opening
This isn’t really a full length, but I think it deserves to be on the list anyway. I haven’t listened to Lost Wisdom enough to consider it yet.

3. TV on the Radio – Dear Science,
Awesome. Period.

2.Ponytail – Ice Cream Spiritual
The last Baltimore band on the list. I thought they killed it at Whartscape over the summer. I wish I had been able to see them when they came to Philly in August. I think it’d be hard to top the energy of seeing a Baltimore band in Baltimore, anyway. I liked Kamehameha more than Ice Cream Spiritual, but this album is still amazing.

1. Why? – Alopecia
I had almost forgotten that this album even came out in 2008, but even now, it still remains one of the most consistently played albums on my ipod/tunes/record player. The lyrics on Alopecia are much less surreal than Elephant Eyelash and Oaklandazulasylum.

----

Honorable Mentions

-Karl Blau – AM
-High Places – High Places
-Titus Andronicus – The Airing of Grievances
-No Age – Nouns
-Magnetic Fields – Distortion
-Crystal Castles – Crystal Castles
-Woods – Woods Family Creeps/Some Shame
I wasn’t feeling Woods Family Creeps as much as I was hoping I would, but the vinyl version is so beautiful (clear red vinyl!) that it’s worth buying for that reason alone. Some Shame (a tour-only cassette) is more reminiscent of At Rear House or How to Survive in the Woods. You can download it here.
-Pocketknife – Tambourine Dream
A mixtape of dance remixes of indie/folk songs. Sweet. The illustrations on the vinyl are really well done and probably the main reason I bought it. I’m a huge sucker for that kind of thing. The cd version has 18 tracks, while the vinyl only has six.

---
I need to reupload Worldwide and Hlllyh, so those albums are currently not able to be downloaded.

The Light at the End of the Tunnel

2008-12-11T14:27:00.001-08:00

I think I can see it....

Here are some product shots courtesy of one Jose Diaz of his new ep that I painted:

Poster concept for this years Ely Senior Thesis Show, not quite finished yet.

I got zero votes! Woo!

and here is my second Ely, finished without type. It's the cover. For those unfamiliar, I'm illustrating the song The Luckiest Guy on the Lower East Side by the Magnetic Fields as a psuedo graphic novel, adult picture book, type of thing as my senior thesis. I'm pretty excited about it so far and feedback has been positive. I'm doing three spreads and a cover. I thought I had my first one available to post, but I guess it's currently lost in the ethers of cyberspace at this moment. Number three is due over winter break (what break), so I've got to get it started soon, since the studios close next week and I'll be traveling for portions of the break,,,

Anyway, here ya go:

---

and here is number one, finished.

---

Long time no Update

2008-11-30T12:35:00.000-08:00

I've been busy working on my Senior Thesis and finishing up the semester, so I guess I've slacked on updating. Here are some things I've done since the last time we've talked, blog.

s/t featuring Jose Diaz from Jose Diaz

2008-10-20T09:51:00.001-07:00

new stuff from senior year

2008-09-29T14:09:00.001-07:00

here are my first three pieces from senior year. i've been working really hard and it feels great to be back in the grind.

A portrait of Dan Deacon, commenting on how he's helping to reinvigorate Baltimore.

A painting of FDR Park.

Editorial about traveling, road trips, and americana tourist traps.

for jose

2008-09-08T12:21:00.001-07:00

VOTE PLEASE!!!

2008-08-22T19:36:00.001-07:00

a new threadless submisssion

2008-07-23T13:30:00.001-07:00

Vote on my design at THREADLESS

2008-07-16T15:18:00.000-07:00

PLEASE!!!

2008-07-07T15:17:00.000-07:00

this wednesday! art by nose, myself, jamestarnolddotcom, lorrie nichols, paul westerman, and more! this is a one day show!
free drinks!!!!

also, my vinyl toy is now on consignment at jinxed clothing. check it out!

new print available on etsy:

gum-bichromate from last semester:

also, also: look for threadless submissions by the end of the weekend. i need to step it up.

and finally, thanks to everyone who came out to the flea market last weekend. i had an awesome time.

2008-06-09T12:25:00.000-07:00

front

back

and come visit me at the punk rock flea market on the 28th!

online shop

2008-06-05T15:25:00.000-07:00

http://dnlhghs.etsy.com/

Spring Semester

2008-05-12T10:35:00.000-07:00

I've slacked a little in regards to updating this blog, but here's almost everything I've done this semester since the last post, in no particular order.

2008-02-22T10:43:00.001-08:00

2008-01-23T09:16:00.000-08:00

2008-01-21T11:18:00.000-08:00

2008-01-21T11:15:00.000-08:00

2008-01-13T10:13:00.000-08:00

2007-11-28T22:03:00.000-08:00

I thought this was funny.

It's Been Awhile...

2007-11-05T16:15:00.000-08:00

Here's some stuff from thus far in the semester.

about 11x17, acrylic, oil, tissue paper, and crayon on a park bench

about 9x12, acrylic, oil, cut paper, colored pencil and crayon on found wood

about 9x12, acrylic, oil, cut paper, and ink on found wood

about 6x12, acrylic and oil on masonite

for yis

2007-08-23T23:06:00.000-07:00

-----------------------------------------

End of Semester part Duex

2007-05-19T09:06:00.000-07:00

This semester went rather well for me, and I've managed to put up most of the stuff that I did after I did it. Here is a recent painting, and a long overdue one.

Guache and oil again

and an oil painting based on a masterwork. This is about 3 ft x 3 ft and is based on Gustav Klimt's Life and Death. It's the various versions of me, throughout my life, including when I sell out to become a yuppie, and when I turn into my dad.

I didn't bother to scan the whole thing, but here is the final version. I ended up using colored pencil over the cyanotype to get the blues right.

and a CMYK seperation, printed in Gum, of a slide my grandfather took proably fifty years ago. I didn't bother to stick with the process colors, instead just picked a red, a yellow, a blue and a black, and running with it. Out of the three gum prints I did from his slides, I think this turned out the best and most visually interesting.

I need to get a real website.

2007-04-30T22:01:00.000-07:00

but in the meantime, here are some painting i did for my last pictorial foundation assignment ever.

guache, oil, and colored pencil on wood

2007-04-29T10:05:00.000-07:00

I am now an exhibiting gallery artist.

http://www.copygallery.org/

2007-04-23T18:49:00.000-07:00

Some new stuff, newest to oldest, for the most part...

Oil, silkscreen, acrylic, and mixed media on wood. Postage stamps. 8.5 x 20 somethingish

and here's how they would look as stamps:

and the sketches that inspired the idea, in montage format:

It's been gorgeous out, so I've been drawing in Rittenhouse Square. Here are a few sketches from those sessions. I've been reading a book on Egon Schiele and kinda soaking up a lot of his tendencies and trying to employ them to my own work. This might be a new direction for me to head in, not to sure yet... I need to develop the style more.

^are you freaking kidding me?

and finally some non-silver stuff

experimenting with mixing cyanoype and vandyke brown. I did a second layer of vandyke on this one, and kinda fucked it up. Where the two layers overlapped it got super dark, "ruining" an otherwise perfect print. No one else seems to really notice but me. The scan doesn't really show it. Live and learn, I guess. I think I'll reprint it anyway...

this was a "happy accident"

older gum print and cyanotype of meg being a bitch.

Birdz!!!

2007-04-01T18:19:00.000-07:00

2007-03-27T16:48:00.000-07:00

A few things from Non-Silver, beginning of the semester...

Vandyke Brown

acrylic life drawing

and I got a better scan, or actually bothered to scan, the last image.

more to come shortly...

"In the saloon, it was business as usual... outside it was the same"

2007-02-23T21:28:00.000-08:00

*see above*

more stuff

2007-01-30T13:13:00.000-08:00

Made with layered tissue paper, white acrylic, and my good friend, the Pilot Super marker

This one is from the summer. never got around to posting it.

And just for fun, some exquisite corpses from class. We had 1/4 inch of the previous drawing to work with, without seeing the rest.

Robots. Mine is the top.

Heaven and Hell. Middle

Paranoia. Bottom

Into the New World

2007-01-21T21:23:00.000-08:00

Go buy the March issue of Political Affairs... in March.

Merry Yuletide to All

2006-12-27T00:11:00.000-08:00

Here's a couple old ones:

PLEASE NOTE: All prints I post are for sale.
Godzilla - $10
Golden Section - $10
Jellyfish Lino - $20
framed w/ mat (1 available) - $50
Bear and Girl - $15
Owl (ed of 5) - $30
Owl T-shirt - probably 20-25$

*Prices and availability are subject to change. Check for updates!

End of Semester

2006-12-14T14:08:00.000-08:00

I'm looking forward to going home on Saturday. A little break will do me good. I feel like all I've done this semester is work work work.

Things to do: Finish bike
Political Affairs illustration
Learn something new
Write a short comic based on this: http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/view.php?StoryID=20061213-044148-1974r

Anyway, here are some of my favorite works from this semester. I'll put up more when I get the chance.

Newest to Oldest:

I also made a t-shirt (navy on light blue). If you are SERIOUSLY interested in acquiring one, let me know, and I can print some up after break.

That's all for now. As I said before, more to come... eventually.

Peace and love,

daniel

Like a Pheonix from the Ashes...

2006-12-01T11:58:00.000-08:00

I haven't had a website since I lost my hosting and I've had the itch for awhile now to throw my hat back in the ring, but was too damn busy (see also: lazy, unmotivated) to make that happen. Well, things haven't changed, so until I have free time and a good idea, this will serve that purpose.

The primary purpose of this blog will be to function as a makeshift "portfolio" of my work, but I'll also throw in random tidbits and rants, or relevant photos. Don't expect any sappy updates on my life. If you actually care, and who does, you can just ask me in person, aka over the internet, because no one actually talks face to face anymore. Gross.