Ray Sumser Art Online

2011-12-09T23:34:00.001-08:00

Current Whole Image

2011-11-19T03:13:00.001-08:00

I Love San Francisco

2011-11-04T18:53:00.001-07:00

Amazing

2011-10-30T17:28:00.000-07:00

www.cartoonuum.com

Installation Photos, Ray Sumser at Treehouse Gallery

2011-10-26T17:38:00.000-07:00

Here are photos from my show at the Treehouse Gallery. The opening was an amazing experience and I am very grateful to my family, all the wonderful guests and of course Colin and Hadass from Treehouse Gallery.

Thank you everyone.

Ray

Current Whole Image

2011-10-24T01:20:00.001-07:00

Key2Cosm

2011-10-20T14:15:00.000-07:00

I finally made a key to the comicosm.

I will be showing it for the first time along with the orignal piece, it's sequel and it's predecessors this Sunday at the Treehouse Gallery this Sunday 2-5pm.

And be sure to check out my kickstarter.

What Good is a Kickstarter?

2011-10-19T02:43:00.000-07:00

Thirteen days left on my Kickstarter and it's stalled out around 25%. I'm not too worried about it. I feel confident and mostly I'm in awe of what the Kickstarter concept has done to my life.

Even if I miss my goal on November 1st, I'll have had a more productive and efficient month than any other in my life. I've made five promotional videos, a key to 2009's 'Comicosm,' and endless secondary material. Not to mention have taken major strides in the project itself. If you don't know, it's a painting of 2,000 cartoon characters. I'm learning how deep and broad the Cartoon Universe really is.

I'm also learning about the real world. I'm two months into San Francisco and I'm learning my lessons. I biked to the top of Twin Peaks for the past three sunsets - but two of those times I got a flat tire.

I showed at the Alternative Press Expo which lead to a great connection at the Cartoon Art Museum, who now carries my poster. I've had two amazing group shows at Go-For-a-Loop Gallery this month and am approaching my first solo show in San Francisco (Sunday 10/23 2-5pm @Treehouse Gallery.) My plans are aligning and that show will be amazing. If you're reading this and you're in or around San Francisco on Sunday, please stop in. I'm also showing all month at Java Junction of Seabright in Santa Cruz.

So maybe the best thing to come out of a Kickstarter isn't the financing, but the way it can make you adjust your life. It's been a righteous sort of crystallization of priorities and actions. Either way, I'm happy going where I'm going and doing what I'm doing...

But you should go support it anyway.

Think of it like this: if it fails, you paid nothing but you bought a big piece of my heart.

Thanks,
Ray

Here's the invite to my Show.

Kickstart the Cartoonuum

2011-10-15T13:00:00.000-07:00

Kickstarter!

Since my move to San Francisco in August, I've been working on a painting that is 11' wide and will include over 2,000 recognizable characters from cartoons, comic books and video games. I am calling the piece “the Cartoonuum.”

In order to help fund the project, I've launched a Kickstarter. This is a website where you get rewards for making a pledge to support my project. Included in the rewards are postcards, original oil paintings, and the best (in my opinion): a 24" by 36" crisply detailed print of the piece to be delivered in time for the Holidays. So long as I hit my goal of $4,500 by November 1st, I'll be sending out perfect nerd holiday gifts this year.

I completed a similar, smaller project in 2009. “The Comicosm” was nine feet wide and included a cast of 1,546 characters.

"the Comicosm" (2009)

The new project is brighter, broader and better planned.

This time, I'm taking Character Suggestions through facebook andtwitter. I'd love to hear who YOU would like to see in this new painting. A lot of the fun of this project is getting to interact with others over shared cultural experience. Come tell me who you think is great.

Thanks for reading and thanks as always for your support. Send in those Character Suggestions!

Ray Sumser
San Francisco, CA
Cartoonuum.com

*Attention San Francisco Bay Area:

I will be showing both “the Comicosm” and “the Cartoonuum” (in progress) in a rare double showing at:

the Treehouse Gallery,
2604 3rd Street (just south of ATT park)
October 23rd, from 2-5 pm. RSVP to get a gift on arrival.

SHOW: Oct. 23, 2011, San Francisco

2011-10-14T14:41:00.000-07:00

Hi there.

Come see my work in my first One Man Show in San Franciscoat

Treehouse Gallery
2604 3rd Street
San Francisco CA 94107

I'll be showing the Comicosm, a 6 by 9 oil painting of 1,546 recognizable pop culture characters, and a number of other large colorful works including the /in process/ sequel-painting to the Comicosm, the Cartoonuum.

I'll be adding suggested characters live so put on your thinking hats and come add to a live in piece.

Be sure to check out my Kickstarter, it's helping me fund this new project.

Thanks so much,

Ray

Spider-Mantra

2011-09-25T03:36:00.001-07:00

'Nuf said?

The painting is flying along faster than I ever imagined and Sponsors have been showing up in an awesome way. I'm so excited to be working on this project and proud to have your support. Ray

Art Sponsorship 2011

2011-09-12T15:39:00.001-07:00

Howdy folks,

Below is a short video about what I've been up to lately. I hope you'll watch it and consider participating in my Fall 2011 Art Sponsorship Program.

This year's Sponsorship is helping me to complete "the Cartoonuum," an 11' by 6.5' oil painting that will include over 2,000 recognizable pop culture icons when finished late 2012.

Here's how you can help.

$25 - Be a Supporter. Get a 2' by 3' print of 2009's "the Comicosm."

$50 - Be a Believer. Get a signed, numbered print of "the Cartoonuum" after project's completion, late 2012.

$150 - Be a Sponsor. Get an orignal oil painting with up to 10 details chosen by you. (11" by 17") Great gift idea! Order by November 1st to ensure holiday delivery. You'll also get a copy of the Cartoonuum print after the project's completion, late 2012.

$300 - Be a Super-Sponsor. Get an orignal oil painting with up to 15 details chosen by you. (16" by 22") You'll also get a copy of the Cartoonuum print after the project's completion, late 2012. In addition, your name will appear in the Cartoonuum.

$600 - Be an Artist's Patron. Get an orignal oil painting with up to 25 details chosen by you. (20" by 30") You'll also get a copy of the Cartoonuum print after the project's completion, late 2012. In addition, your name will appear in the Cartoonuum near the character of your choice.

Please email me about larger contributions - we can work out something amazing!

...

This is a really great time to support my work. I have just completed a move to San Francisco and am assertively pursuing the next steps in my career. Thanks for looking and thanks in advance for your contribution.

Raymond J. Sumser

Artist, 3pm PST Studios

San Francisco, CA

The Comicosm

2011-09-11T08:55:00.000-07:00

Where's Waldo? and Mickey and Big Bird and Cartman and Yogi...Click to Zoom!

"Nice." - Danny Devito

What would it look like if you were able to pry open America’s pop culture subconscious?

Artist Ray Sumser thinks he knows. The 24-year-old Santa Cruz artist says on his blog that “I come from the suburbs. I come from Saturday cartoons and public education. I come from crushes on girls and backward hats and cheeseburger patriotism.” That background gives him as good a perspective as any to call forth the common imagery of the United States of Entertainment. And the result is a remarkable new work he’s calling “Comicosm.”

The new painting — nine feet long, six feet high — features 1,500 separate pop-culture icons all competing for space and attention. It will part of Sumser’s new exhibit opening Friday at the Mill Gallery. A reception takes place Friday evening at the Mill.

“Comicosm” is a storehouse of American dream images, a dazzling reminder that our common national language is dominated by cute cartoonish symbols.

To anyone who grew up in front of a television screen, a vast majority of the icons are instantly familiar — Charlie Brown, Ronald McDonald, Porky Pig, Jabba the Hutt, Cap’n Crunch, etc., etc. Spend some time gazing at the painting and you’ll find yourself engaged in a “Where’s Waldo? (yes, he’s there too) game of finding your favorite.

“My idea was to collect all the icons of real cultural importance in the last part of the 20th century that had been depicted graphically in some way,” said Sumser, who is one of the artists living at the Tannery Arts Center.

Sumser grew up in the 1990s, and as a result, many of his favorite icons are from realms with which older folks might not be too familiar — X-Men, Nintendo, etc. But, he said, thanks mostly to cable television, the familiar tropes of baby-boomer culture are still quite iconic for younger Americans as well. That means Disney, Marvel Comics, network television and other wellknown channels of popular culture are also well represented.

Sumser, a graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design, studied painting and film in school, and professes to be a big “Spiderman” fan. To balance his viewpoint, he also collected the beloved icons of friends and family, to open his vision to areas where he wasn’t as comfortable.

A great majority of the 1,500 images are fictional characters, but there are several real-life figures depicted as well, if you look close enough, from Abraham Lincoln to Martin Luther King Jr. to Barack Obama.

Wallace Baine, Santa Cruz Sentinel

Buy Art by RAY

2011-09-10T01:32:00.000-07:00

NEW ART SHOP

This cart is a selection of some of my smaller work form the past two years. Unless otherwise stated, these are all orignal one-of-a-kind works, mostly completed in acrylic paint.

Go to BuyRayArt.com to not have scroll picture-in-picture.

Cartoonuum Process

2011-09-09T23:11:00.000-07:00

Here's a little image from an upcoming video. This is how I've been making sure to include every character from the original painting. Can you spot Goku, Snow White, Thwomp, Jaws or Cruella DeVille? I can.

Rolling in the Deep (Ukulele Cover)

2011-09-09T09:28:00.001-07:00

A more recent Uke recording. Enjoy!

I also added a few new ones to the sidebar. Check them out!

Facebook Fan Page

2011-09-09T03:00:00.000-07:00

Check out my Facebook Fan Page...

Cartoonuum Progress

2011-08-31T01:31:00.001-07:00

The sequel to my 2009 painting, the Comicosm, is underway. This one is called the Cartoonuum. It is 11' by 6.5' and will portray at least 2012 distinct and recognizable fictitious pop culture characters.

You can watch the progress and make character suggestions on the twitter feed at www.cartoonuum.com.

The Comicosm

2011-07-19T21:15:00.000-07:00

My 2009 pianting, the Comicosm. 6' by 9' oil on canvas featuring 1,546 recoginzable pop culture icons from comic books, cartoons, video games, corporate banding and the like.

I'm down to the last 250 of the first print. Get one while they last for 34.95 (tax and shipping included.)

Gone to Comic-Con

2011-07-19T20:36:00.000-07:00

This will be my third year at San Diego's Comic-Con International.

I have been coming here to present my painting "The Comicosm" since the July after it was finished in 2009. That first year I carried the painting around the convention center, stretching and unstretching it for each new corner. I learned the whole routine of pointing out characters and soliciting audience involvement. Danny DeVito drove by just after the above photo and gave a passing "Niiiiiice." I hadn't made posters yet and was just trying to buy eye time from anyone who would sell it to me. I made a ton of amazing connections and had some great conversations. I only walked into the convention hall once, on Sunday night, to use the bathroom as everything closed down and the security guards gave up. That whole time I was sleeping in my car on the roof of a skyline garage.

The second year I bought eight feet of wall-space in the Official Comic-Con Art Show. That meant the painting had a ticket in but I didn't. I hung the piece inside a fortress of a frame that I built and left a huge stack of business cards and a huge price tag. I walked the city with a box full of rolled posters, selling with some mild success. I got really good at sneaking into the Convention Center. I saw Stan Lee and bought a couple collector's items. I broke down and spent poster money on a Hotel room the second night and found a friend of a friend to stay with after. I couldn't do the car anymore. I met more amazing people and saw more strange and wonderful things.

This year I'm back and for the first time I didn't drive and I had a place to stay before I got here. I have the painting scrolled between two dowels and am working out the tripoded support system. By tomorrow afternoon I should be able to take it up and put it down in a minute flat. I'm hoping that this year is like the first two combined. I'll have the posters and the painting and myself all in the same place for the first time in San Diego. Updates to come.

Ravenous

2011-06-22T17:04:00.000-07:00

Howdy All. I haven't been posting much lately, but don't think I haven't been at work.

Come see my show at Ravenous Cafe in Healdsburg CA

It's up through July and I'll be there this Monday, June 27, showing the Comicosm, Selling Prints and having a blast.

See you there.

ART Card

2011-05-04T23:29:00.000-07:00

A friend asked me to mock this up. Feedback needed!

Short Poem

2011-05-04T16:26:00.000-07:00

The time is flying.
Not in the way
where you feel like
you're missing something
or losing anything.
Just below that.
Just the way where
it all seems full, nearly,
sometimes overflowing, maybe.
Some water in the sand.

Art Car

2011-05-03T23:23:00.000-07:00

Newer

2011-05-02T23:23:00.000-07:00

New

2011-05-01T23:20:00.000-07:00

What Have I Got Myself Into?

2011-04-30T02:06:00.002-07:00

I left for a party last Saturday -six days ago. I met a girl and ate ribs in San Francisco, edited a commercial in Mill Valley, finished a character design, walked with my Dad and hung a painting in Bodega Bay, had two crowns put in in Santa Rosa, negotiated a gallery show in Healdsburg, was driven, drunken, to Goat Rock, agreed to a 48-hour editing project, gave a bird a bath and packed a car, closed a deal with the UPS Store, took a job a start-up in Palo Alto, got stood up by the girl from San Francisco, got over it, drove to Twin Peaks and then to bed, crashed really hard, bought art supplies and a subscription to the Economist, made Tim a birthday card, leisurely drove down the 35 in time to get a burger with my sister, Kate, filled my tires, biked to an amazing concert at the Crepe place, woke up and came here, to the Digital Media Factory, where I am editing the heck out of a Reality Show.

Associated Residents of the Tannery

2011-04-30T02:02:00.000-07:00

This could be better. In the meantime it could be useful.

Tannery Arts Center Logo

2011-04-29T14:54:00.001-07:00

I was asked to recreate a hi-res image of the Tannery Arts Center logo for the Junk Art Scramble. Here's my ten minutes of effort. I have a psd if anyone wants to take the temple and do something with it. It has some simple interesting possibilities.

The Scientific Method

2011-04-28T11:03:00.000-07:00

A Scientific Method from Wattz_Kraken? on Vimeo.

Drew Peth, Ian Benedetti and I won second in the Bay Area Xpress 24 hour Earth Day Film Festival with this. All the heavy lifting (script, shoot, edit) were handled by Drew. Ian provided eye candy and I got weird all over the set.

Santa Cruz Film Festival Bit

2011-04-27T07:00:00.000-07:00

Heres the video I was in for the SCFF. Directed by Drew Crocker, co-Tannerinian and hilarious filmmaker.

Incidence Installed

2011-04-26T18:50:00.000-07:00

Installed my 2008 piece 'Incidence' for Heather Bussing in Bodega Bay. Thanks for the photo, Heather. Got my teeth worked on and had a great drive along the Russian River and out to the coast. Lots of memories. Planned an opening at Ravenous Cafe in Healdsburg for June 14 and another in the Santa Cruz Art windows on Seabright in July. Applied to Open Studios, which happen in October, I believe. Got to get that Comic-Con application in post-haste. Got to do a lot of things post-haste.

Wrapping up a lot of loose ends as my summer starts to look pretty booked. Tomorrow I take care of all things Oaklandic and San Franciscan. I'll squeeze in another drive down 35 if I can. Really feeling like I need to write a script.

Will I ever finish my Spider-Costume? Yes, eventually.

Junk Art Timelapse

2011-04-26T17:35:00.000-07:00

Check out this time lapse video. It's from a reality show I was in that goes online May 7. I also edited the video and made the soundtrack.

The Media Department

2011-04-25T17:37:00.000-07:00

I'm quickly becoming the media department for a really cool education based start-up in Silicon Valley. Here's an image I mocked up today.

Team Tamnnery

2011-04-24T17:39:00.000-07:00

This is my crew from the Junk Art Scramble. Way to go Team Tannery. The show airs May 7.

Put Down

2011-04-23T18:38:00.000-07:00

2003, this is from my first drawing class at RISD.

Character Design Round Three

2011-04-22T16:29:00.000-07:00

The Big Red Tannery

2011-04-21T19:09:00.000-07:00

Big Red Tannery by ray.sumser

Closer to a studio cut on my first song. Needs more instruments.

Character Design Round Two

2011-04-20T15:55:00.000-07:00

Fixed this guy up on client request. Think he's getting somewhere. We'll see.

More From a Long Weekend

2011-04-19T14:34:00.000-07:00

This is another from the new series of 30. Will have to figure out a good way to present them all at some point. For now the slow trickle is alright with me.

The American Flag

2011-04-19T13:43:00.000-07:00

Playing with the flag.

I love what it represents and I love the simple graphic possibilities of the form.

Trying to Define a Pattern

2011-04-18T18:01:00.000-07:00

Working on Artist Packet and Promo Video. Updates shortly.

Coming Home from the Shoot

2011-04-17T12:15:00.000-07:00

I live in Santa Cruz which, by most estimations, is about 90 minutes south of San Francisco. I go by one of two roads to get there. Highway 280 is inland and runs the bottom of big empty yellow hills next to Stanford University and Silicon Valley. Highway 1 runs the coast through Pacifica and Halfmoon Bay.

Today I tried a road I've never taken before but have been increasingly curious about. Highway 35 "Skyline Highway" runs right between 280 and 1 along the tops of big hills. Being a person who gets excited about new vantage points on the same landscape, this was a really great drive.

Within five minutes driving time I was able to see the entire South-East corner of the bay (from Oakland to San Jose) and was then suddenly facing westward to the sea. It shrinks the Peninsula. Right after you change to Highway 9 and start the downgrade to Santa Cruz, you are shown an amazing view that lays out your next 30 minutes of driving.

I love that you can travel between two place for years and years and still find new ways of getting from one place to another.

Bay Area Express 24-Hour Film Festival

2011-04-16T02:29:00.001-07:00

It's 3am and at 9am I have to be at a Cafe in Piedmont to get the prompt and props for Bay Area Express's 24 Hour Film Festival. I'm working with Drew Peth and Ian Benedetti on Team Supdoc. Here is my outline of a schedule. Will update with progress.

One Like From You

2011-04-15T19:18:00.000-07:00

This is my second song with words. Once those are written I'll start recording a good track.

Border's Books and Music

2011-04-15T18:31:00.001-07:00

I went to dinner with my little sister, Kate, last night. Among the topics covered were the collapse of Border's Books and Music and our family's historical interactions with the franchise. I take part credit for their bankruptcy, considering how muck less I go there than I did in high school.

On a whim, Marshall and I went downtown today and I stumbled us into that rapidly deteriorating husk of a megastore. It is wild. All Sarah Palin manifestos and canine fluff. Kate was there incidentally, cutting down the "Pay Here," "Food and Cooking," and "i" signs. I went for it and bought the letters spelling "Children's" and "Music." I pulled them right out of the wall.

And so I contributed to the end of something very much linked to my childhood.

Now I have a /very professional/ nametag on the wall.

Last Night at the Tannery

2011-04-15T18:28:00.001-07:00

After 39 hours of being awake I found myself with a completely dominated to-do list. I made this in a sort of half present stupor at 1am at Gazelle Rider's House. It's not good or done but it's something on it's way to something else.

Is This the Dorkiest Thing I Have Ever Done?

2011-04-14T03:16:00.000-07:00

I took nine months to paint a catalogue image of every notable cartoon character from the history of animation, video games, comics and pop culture at large. I recorded a Ukulele cover for each song from Paul Simon's first solo album (self-titled) after he split with Garfunkel. Still, I'm pretty sure investing time and money into a custom fit Spider-Man costume may take the cake as the biggest dork move of my life.

Here's to further adventures.

Series of 30

2011-04-13T04:36:00.000-07:00

a batch of paintings

four stormy days solitude

in Bodega Bay

Character Design

2011-04-13T03:14:00.000-07:00

Working on this little guy for some family friends.
We'll see what he becomes.

The Tannery Aesthetic

2011-04-12T02:23:00.000-07:00

A bird and a cow's skull that've been in my life for -basically- ever. Fitting, they remain cherished symbols of my childhood but also reflect the Aesthetics of this place that is more my home than ever. The Tannery - we who live here can't help but talk about what it is, what it means, if it will stick. Truth is: this place has a long way to go and it will. It's already got an amazingly strong style and mode.

Dreaming, Architecturally

2011-04-11T02:06:00.000-07:00

All of a sudden I want to build. I'm envisioning spaces I want to inhabit and the drafting tools have gotten so easy that it's really just right there. I know there's growth into other media coming down the road and I'm excited. Right along with this structure stuff, I'm starting to think more about the writing and acting sides of motion imagery.

I get warned about being a 'jack of all trades,' but honestly, I think I'd take the pejorative title if I meant always getting to put the things I imagine into existence.

Don't Ask Me Why

2011-04-10T18:06:00.000-07:00

Considering a Billy Joel follow up to last year's Paul Simon cover album. Mostly because I don't think I have irritated my roommates enough.

Scramble Progress

2011-04-09T21:52:00.000-07:00

We close the competition on Sunday and I feel good about our piece. It has been a great learning experience to collaborate with my neighbors and to spend time getting to know the folks at the digital media factory. I'll keep tight lipped about the outcome until the show goes to air on the First Friday of May.

Thanks to Kirby, Art, Gayle, Maha, Steve, Glenn, Ed, Marty, Robyn, Team Cabrillo, Chip, Greg, Wallace, Kate, Pasquale, Gazelle, George and anyone else who has currently slipped my mind. Also Dad, as ever, for use of his car.

Junk Art Structure

2011-04-08T12:38:00.000-07:00

This is the basic structure we're using for our piece in the Junk Art Scramble. They were left-overs from a construction job and donated to the process by Art and Gayle Pitts.

The Ticket Guy

2011-04-07T00:16:00.001-07:00

Another still from the short. What are we so worried about?

Santa Cruz Film Festival

2011-04-06T00:11:00.000-07:00

Here's a still from the piece I'm in at the film festival. This 60 second bit will run at the start of each night of the festival. Stoked.

PS - Now I know where the Plipt co. logo came from.

Dambe - Malima Kone

2011-04-05T19:00:00.000-07:00

Finished cutting this yesterday. Was great to work with Malima. He's an amazing musician and someone to watch out for in the future.

Color and Thrust

2011-04-04T15:17:00.001-07:00

Doing little bits of work on this one. Thinking about interiors which are hard to get at.

Sculpture Concept

2011-04-03T20:13:00.000-07:00

Been meeting with the team from Junk Art Scramble. Here is my interpretation of our initial concept for a sculpture to be built on set in the next eight days. I'll post the poem we're working from soon.

Plipt Video

2011-04-02T18:28:00.001-07:00

The Plipt website is up and running and it features the just released video for Dambe by Malima Kone.

Cards

2011-04-01T15:15:00.000-07:00

been making a new animatic logo for the end of each new video. Am slowly coming around to some ideas that will make it into the next print of business cards.

Clip #100

2011-03-31T22:01:00.000-07:00

Fast water and short conversations outside the Tannery.

It was flooding a week ago. Now it's late summer. Oh, Seasons.

The Carved Block

2011-03-30T22:03:00.001-07:00

Video can be the practice of collecting strings of time, weaving them together and snipping the knots out.

This video is coming together.

Sound Sync

2011-03-30T15:37:00.000-07:00

15 segments of video in need of syncing to a single audio track.

The track is ambient in the first eight so, aside from funky sample rates and sliding bits two or three frames off, it's relatively easy.

The other tracks were recorded independent from any source audio. This means I have to identify the largest groups of phrases and lines that can all move together.

The carrot is how great it looks once it is synced.

Peinture en Masse

2011-03-29T13:49:00.000-07:00

I love image collections.

I'm thinking about how one displays a massive amount of imagery in one setting. There must be a way to do it that feels natural, graceful and appropriate - but I haven't found it.

Here is all of my documented artwork with any mark-maker on any surface.

Malima Wrap

2011-03-28T16:02:00.000-07:00

Wrapped the shoot for Malima Kone.

Am reviewing the footage and will have an edit shortly.

Junk Art Scramble

2011-03-27T23:00:00.000-07:00

So it looks like I'm going to be on TV. Well... reality TV... on the internet. Yeah.

It's a found art competition and it shoots from April 1 - 10. It sounds cool enough and it will give me ample opportunity to get to know the Digital Media Factory, here in Santa Cruz.

I'm excited about the networking side of Video work. I've made a hand full of connections working with Malima Kone and once that shoot wraps tomorrow I'll start getting my demo reel ready for circulation at next month's Santa Cruz Film Festival.

Dream Space

2011-03-26T15:35:00.000-07:00

My dreams are often site specific.

Forms from architectural space can leave imprints on psychological space. That idea really excites me.

I've been using Google Sketchup to refine a vision I had of an amazing mansion on a mountain top.

Watch for progress.

About Everything (2007)

2011-03-25T18:21:00.000-07:00

I completed this 20 minute piece as my Degree Project in the Film/Animation/Video department at the Rhode Island School of Design in 2007. A friend reminded me of it today and I thought I'd put it up on YouTube. I used some the very same backgrounds - at least at a distance - while shooting recently with Malima Kone.

This project started with an idea about layering consciousness within a narrative. Or narratives within consciousness. Hrm. It may not have ever been very clear. I went about it with some overall questions and staged situations in which I thought answers might come up. They were about the nature of human interaction, the dual reality of observation and the isolation of thought.

What resulted was a flow of images and sounds that is sort of a crystalized memory set for me. The players in the piece also have stake in the footage but I never really heard how this was experienced from the outside. For me this video is both finished and unfinished. At Some point I think it will serve as the skeleton for something more expansive and coherent.

Most of the footage was shot on borrowed money, time and floor space that January in Santa Cruz, California. If you can't tell by the credits, a lot of people helped out. They are loved.

Gooru

2011-03-24T14:57:00.000-07:00

I'm doing some more work for Gooru. You can learn about them by watching the video or by going to their website. It's a pretty awesome approach to educational enhancement via digital media.

I edited this one for the folks at Ednovo. You can check out more of my video work by going to the new Video page, which will be under development until I'm happy with it. Thanks for looking.

Running Down Mountains

2011-03-24T02:17:00.000-07:00

At some time in the past few months I ran down a small portion of Mt. Tam and video taped it. I started to think a feature length movie about people running downhill could be kind of funny to watch. Also potentially dangerous to shoot and tricky to dialogue.

Hank Roark, Fire Man

2011-03-24T02:11:00.000-07:00

A Firefighter must battle his way out of Hell with his poorly-animated demonic Sidekick to save his Girlfriend, the angel.

My grandparents sent me a check for my birthday and with it, in part, I bought an 18" by 24" pad of 50 sheets of recycled brown paper and a handful of varied width sharpies.

I gave myself the assignment of filling each page with a human form in a proportional comic style. This was the first one and I like it. I wonder what other characters will emerge...

SoundCloud

2011-03-24T00:10:00.000-07:00

Ukulele Covers by ray.sumser

I started using Soundcloud as a place to host my Ukulele Covers online without the problem of needing an image on Youtube. Here's 38 of the 50-some-odd songs I learned to play on the Ukulele in 2010. None are perfect, but all are meant.

After preliminary research, I now suspect that Google will have a comparable streaming music feature before very long. That sounds cool.

Green Screen

2011-03-23T18:40:00.000-07:00

I've been playing with my green screen. I am generally inclined to learn toward an end. In school I always wanted to know why something was worth knowing. This is one of those exceptions where I have no idea about the endpoint or outcome but am so intrigued by the medium itself that I see serious potential in just being able to do it, if shoddily. I'm getting excited about a Green Screened dramatic short.

And hey, at absolute worst I'll make a "SkyGuy plays the Ukulele" video.

Notes on Funny Times

2011-03-23T17:59:00.001-07:00

I used to work at a Starbucks.

Now I show up off the road and wait for a seat with a power plug to open up. Don't get me wrong. I'll always go with a nice looking local cafe when available but Starbucks is ubiquitous and always as utilitarian as you need it to be.

*aside: Requiem for the the megastore booksellers.

I'm just tall enough that a 17" Macbook Pro in the passenger seat of a standard four door is only pretend-comfortable for about half an hour. That equals approximately squat for video editing.

I've been building a traveler's studio for so long that having permanent committed floor space is a whole new animal. That's what I have now. Back in Santa Cruz.

Something New

2011-03-23T16:57:00.000-07:00

A year and I'm back.

For reasons too boring to go into, I stopped posting art every day about a year ago.

I'm ready to experiment.

I'll tell you what I'm doing and what I've done that you may have missed.

Please Comment.

Comicosm T-Shirt

2010-07-22T16:38:00.000-07:00

Get one at the Shop.

ELEPHANT SELF PORTRAITS

2010-03-07T17:19:00.000-08:00

ELEPHANT SELF PORTRAITS
collaborative effort by the SCAM Artists

Elephant Self Portraits @ the Mill

2010-03-06T17:17:00.000-08:00

Elephant Self Portraits @ the Mill
photo by Catherine Sumser

Be a SCAM Elephant!

2010-03-05T04:55:00.000-08:00

Be a SCAM Elephant!
design by Ray and Mo
instructions by Mo

See you on First Friday!

Copious Winery Preview

2010-03-04T04:51:00.000-08:00

digital photos 2010

BIG PAINTINGS
Come see 'em!
427-A Swift Street, Santa Cruz

Moving Art

2010-03-03T04:48:00.000-08:00

digital photo 2010

Monterrey Bay

2010-03-02T01:30:00.000-08:00

Monterrey Bay
digital image 2010

Green Eggs and Ham

2010-03-01T13:33:00.000-08:00

Green Eggs and Ham
documentation of culinary efforts 2010

It's March, so: Rabbit Rabbit

Three Shows this month:

New RISD Artists in Santa Cruz
Carr-Prindle, Halligan, Rock and Sumser
Coffeetpia on Capitola Rd.
Up Now

Elephant Self Portraits
presented by the Santa Cruz Arts Movement
The Mill on Front St
7pm Friday

BIG PAINTINGS
by M. Halligan and R. Sumser
Copious Winery on Swift St.
Opening 5pm Friday

Three Old Pieces

2010-02-28T12:40:00.000-08:00

Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots
digital image from marker drawing 2002

Faces: RISD Summer 2002

photo series 2002

Sunset Shootout
digital image from acrylic painting 2007

Dog Cloud

2010-02-27T12:17:00.001-08:00

Dog Cloud

10" by 14" tempera on paper 199_?

Cliff Tree

2010-02-26T12:26:00.000-08:00

Cliff Tree
digital photo 2008

Into the City

2010-02-25T12:23:00.000-08:00

Into the City
4x 3' by 1' acrylic on canvas 2008

Dreams

2010-02-24T12:04:00.000-08:00

Dreams
ukulele and vocals 2010
by the Cranberries

Heart of Life

2010-02-23T12:29:00.000-08:00

Heart of Life
10" by 8" photo collage 2008

- owned by Kate Sumser -

Studio View

2010-02-22T13:59:00.000-08:00

Studio View

acrylic on blanket 2010

Night Eye

2010-02-21T12:06:00.000-08:00

Night Eye
digital photo 2006

- playing catch-up! -

Painting in Process: Stadium Arcadium

2010-02-20T12:12:00.000-08:00

Painting in Process:
Stadium Arcadium
9' by 6' oil and acrlic on canvas 2006

see the final image here

Color Study

2010-02-19T12:19:00.000-08:00

Color Study
8" by 8" color-aid 2003

- for Irv! -

Costume Test

2010-02-18T22:55:00.000-08:00

Costume Test
sweatshirt glue and accessories 2010

The Big Lebowski in Golds

2010-02-17T00:30:00.000-08:00

The Big Lebowski in Golds
22" by 28" acrylic and marker 2010
-painted on commission-

-more open subject commission work available, ask about pricing-

She's an Angel

2010-02-16T14:15:00.000-08:00

She's an Angel
uke and vocals 2010
by TMBG

Painting in Process: The Traditional Act...

2010-02-15T14:42:00.000-08:00

Painting in Process: The Traditional Act...

completed in 2008

see final image here

Lay Lady Lay

2010-02-14T05:45:00.000-08:00

Lay Lady Lay
ukulele and vocals 2010

600th post