"Midnight"

(You can click on the image to go to "flickr" to view it in "all sizes")

With these new images I have been thinking a lot about Francis Bacon, and his process of working spontaneously and allowing chance to come into play. As per Bacon, I started without a clear idea of where I was going to end up -trying to capture something transient. 

Here's are some details of the eyes:

Don't forget to say, "hey!"

-Sam

Sam Graham is a los angeles artist, photographer, animator, writer, and musician

"I"

This is a new image that I created -primarily on my birthday, May 16th. You can click on the image to be taken to my "flickr" page where you can look at the drawing in "all sizes."

Don't forget to say, "hey."

-Sam

Sam Graham is a los angeles artist, photographer, animator, writer, and musician

"Black Magic"

lips wet with your saliva

speak to you in dark rooms.

you are listless

you give somebody your hand
a concealed door twists open

you walk inside..

the orchestra plays on
rusty horns
the song of your life..

you dance

there’s a spotlight on you

you twist around

there is a skeleton 

holding your shoulder

you look into its
sockets..

you drop to your knees

and spin deep into the floor

into a dark red crevice.

New Colorful Image: "Swirl"

Don't forget to say, "hey"

-Sam

Sam Graham is a los angeles artist, photographer, animator, writer, and musician

New (old) drawing! "Cupcake"

This is a drawing I unearthed recently and worked on a little bit by adding shading and the like. I think I originally drew it in photoshop. 

Originally it wasn't shaded as much, so I added some shading to it using the "burn" tool. It was also originally black and white, so I tinted it blue to give it some semblance of color.

I enjoy this drawing, I hope you do to!

Don't forget to say "hey!"

-Sam

Sam Graham is a los angeles artist, photographer, animator, writer, and musician

"Alley": Photo from Paso Robles Workshops Taught by Strobist's David Hobby

Another photo from Syl Arena's "Paso Robles Workshops" taught by David Hobby (Strobist.) This is of my friend Stephen. I have a light coming from behind him creating the cool texture on the metal and a warm colored light coming from the right hitting his face.

We had a great time shooting this, except that we shot it in a dank rat infested alley way.

Don't forget to say, "hey!"

-Sam

Sam Graham is a los angeles photographer, artist, animator, writer, and musician

New Drawing: "Shine"

Here is a new drawing I did today! It links to my flickr page where you can see it in super size if you so wish.

Don't forget to say "hey!"

-Sam

Sam Graham is a los angeles artist, photographer, animator, writer, and musician

What I want to create -o please o please let me do it!

If I could have one thing, it would be to be the best artist I could be. To create to the best of my ability. To make profound and interesting works that titillate the imagination and excite the mind. To create explorative works that pose hard questions with no easy answers. Works that throw the nature of reality and the purpose of existence into question. Works that illustrate new ways of seeing the world, a unique perspective on who we are, and what our purpose is. Works that take you on a journey -into yourself.

The works should be “psychedelics” in the sense that they alter your sense of time, place and self, and show you new meanings in what was previously thought to be fully understood. The works should unlock parts of yourself, showing you a you that you didn’t know existed, or didn’t understand yet. They should be adventures into unknown places, or places of uncertainty. Perhaps a place that is more native to dreams than our waking lives. Perhaps dreaming is our native place. Perhaps in death, we enter our native space.

Model Photo from Paso Robles Workshop with David Hobby

Here's another photo that I took during Syl Arena's Paso Robles Workshops taught by David Hobby of Strobist. This model was really great, especially since it was her first time modeling on this shoot! We shot this photo in an old victorian house, but you can't tell that by this picture. 

To light this, I used a single flash (being set off wirelessly by a pocket wizard) to her right, and diffused it by shooting it through the shower curtain. To make the light bluish in the background I used a trick I learned at the workshop. The trick is, you put the camera's white balance on incandescent, which makes the image more blue to compensate for orange light. Then you gel the flash to be more orange (CTO) to make the subject look like they are in white light, but everything else -not hit by the stobe- will look blue. Specifically, I wanted the window light to look bluish to contrast with the warmish light on the model. 

Don't forget to say hey!

Sam

Sam Graham is a los angeles photographer, artist, animator, writer, and musician

Impromptu Photoshoot!

I took this photo during an impromptu shindig at my house last wednesday night. I decided it would be fun to do a portrait of my friend Nick. I set up the lights using techniques I acquired during the Paso Robles Workshops with David Hobby (Strobist) and Syl Arena (Pixsylated). 

The photo is of my friend Nick Arciaga, another Los Angeles artist. He studies visual art at Art Center, a private art college in Pasadena, CA. According to Wikipedia:

Art Center is particularly known for its Transportation Design (automobile) and Product Design programs. It also has notable photography, graphic design, advertising design, illustration, fine art, film, environmental design and entertainment design programs. 

Nick went to Mira Costa High School with me in Manhattan Beach, CA.

This photo was shot on a Canon 40D using two flashes, one with a red, and another with a green-colored roscolux gel on each of them. The flashes were set off wirelessly using pocket wizards and held up by Manfrotto stands.  

Don't forget to say "hey!"

-Sam

Sam Graham is a los angeles photographer, artist, animator, writer, and musician

"Ikon of Sam" revisited: 1 yr+ art project

I've returned to working on my ongoing sculptural drawing, "Ikon of Sam,"(see above) which I've been working on for a year and a half -since January, 2008. This piece was featured in my 2008 Cal Arts thesis exhibition of the same name (see below).

After taking a break this year, and working on flash animated works -I returned to working on this piece last night! We'll see where this goes!

Don't forget to say "hey!"

-Sam

Sam Graham is a los angeles artist, photographer, animator, writer, and musician

My photo featured on the Strobist!

I am happy to report that a photo that I took (see above) from Paso Robles Workshops is featured on the Strobist Flickr. The photo lighting workshop was hosted by Syl Arena and taught by David Hobby of the popular Strobist lighting blog. Syl Arena fed us amazing food and made our experience wonderful. Thanks again to them both! (See below, our class, photo by David Hobby.)

I thank David Hobby for posting my photo I took which has gotten me a lot of great exposure (no pun intended.) David Hobby was a really amazing teacher, and you really should check out his site Strobist if you have any interest in D-I-Y, MacGyver-like, off-camera lighting techniques. 

Don't forget to say "hey!"

-Sam

Sam Graham is a los angeles photographer, artist, animator, writer, and musician

500 views for "I Shagged an Alien"

http://heysamgraham.blogspot.com

My flash animation "I Shagged An Alien" is up to almost 500 views on Youtube -partially thanks to me posting it on animationforum.net  -I got almost a hundred hits so far from my post there! Now I'm one step closer towards getting a better internet presence -also hopefully soon a presence in some Los Angeles art galleries or Los Angeles animation festivals. Thanks Braun for the suggestion to post on that forum! Braun studied art with me at Cal Arts. (It is ironic that while I was matriculated, I never took an animation class in the Cal Arts animation program which is world renowned.)

I know my animation may not be up to par with a lot of the animation that they have on animationforum.net, in part because I self-taught myself animation only about two months ago. In response to my post on the animation forum, "Ferx" said, 

"Not bad, like the idea. Think you need to work on character animation, to put the life note to your characters, but this animation is a good start  Keep it up."  

Thanks for your feedback, Ferx!

I am so happy that I have been able to get so much great response, especially on Youtube! "I Shagged an Alien" has almost 20 comments as of now, and I have almost 50 subscribers, so my animation can't be all that bad.

Anyhoo, if you like my art, tell your friends! Thanks again for stopping by and reading my blog!

Don't forget to say "hey!"

-Sam

Sam Graham is a los angeles animator, photographer, artist, writer, and musician