My Sharpie Scribble Style Art 2005-2019 - #19

 My first solo art show.  Earshot Music store, Winston-Salem, NC, November 4th, 2017.  I spent the summer of 2017 living in a tent in the woods, scraping up a few dollars a day for food, bus fare, and art supplies, and I was drawing every day.  By late September, Jane, the art director for Earshot Music, liked my drawings, and put two up on their side wall, which featured work by a handful of local artists.  She asked if I could get enough work together for a full show. 

I worked every day for about six weeks to put together eight drawings for the show.  Jane called around, and got me an artist profile write-up in the Winston-Salem Journal newspaper/website.  The standout, the drawing I really upped my game on, was the Kurt Cobain/Nirvana drawing above.  When I first stepped back and looked at it, I surprised myself.  Then Phred, owner of Earshot, used it for the online flyer above. 

This drawing sold an hour after it went up on the wall, the night before the show.  And that really started things going.  The buyer, and artist and collector who was part of the 1980's New York City art scene, mingling with people like Basquiat and Keith Haring, was impressed, and talked the whole night of the show about me doing an art book.  He ended up buying 3 or 4 more drawings from me in the months after. 

About 8 people came to the little show.  My best friend Rick, my sister Cheri, and one of her friends, were three of them.  Tiny crowd.  Yet, I was able to use that little gathering, and the art being visible there for a month, as a launch pad to really get started selling my work consistently for low, but decent prices, $120 to $160 a drawing.  The winter was rough, sales were intermittent, and the tent was really cold.  But I trudged through it, and things picked up in the spring, by April, I was drawing nearly all day, every day, and making about $500 to $600 a month from it.  Not a living, but it was a step in the right direction.

 Here's the drawings hung on the back wall.  Far left (to right) is Gene Simmons/Kiss, then Joey Ramone, , Gwen Stefani, Johnny Cash, then below, Kurt Cobain.  The other two were the "Tainted Love/Harley Quinn" drawing, and The Ramones band live.  All were 18" X 24"

 I did this drawing for me.  I loved the song "Tainted Love," and after drawing this, learned from Phred at Earshot that it actually went back to Gloria Jones in the 1960's.  I knew the song from the 1981 Soft Cell, new wave version.  There are also great covers of it by Social Distortion, Imelda May, and, of course, Marilyn Manson.  There's a fan video to the Marilyn Manson version featuring Harley Quinn and the cast of the Suicide Squad movie, which is where I got the idea for this drawing.  

I hung on to this drawing, but had to sell it after getting out of the hospital here in Richmond, last August.  I was still half dead after a allergic reaction to medicine that damn near killed me, and kept me in the hospital for 6 or 7 days.  I needed money for a cheap motel room for one more night to recuperate, and I sold this and a Bob Dylan drawing to The Mix Gallery at a good price.  Jay there didn't know me, wasn't into the music, but recognized good artwork.  So that deal worked out for both of us.  This drawing is hanging, right now,  in The Mix Gallery, in Richmond's Arts District, at 12 West Broad.  I don't work with that gallery on an ongoing basis, they own the drawing now, but I believe it's for sale.  This is my absolute personal favorite of all the

 drawings I've ever done.  I might buy it back at some point, if I get the cash.  Next we have my "Gwen and Now" drawing.  It's 1994 ska Gwen Stefani on the right, and 2017 pop goddess Gwen on the left.  I tried to give this a kind of old school, punk rock flyer feel.  And it didn't really work.  This one never sold, and I wound up giving it to a person who bought some other work off of me as a bonus.

 I was never a huge KISS fan, but in junior high I heard Kiss's Love Gun, Destroyer, and Rock 'n Roll Over albums over and over, ghetto blasted, on the school bus.  But this drawing came out really cool.  It sold shortly after the Earshot show started, I think.

 This is my second Johnny Cash drawing, "The Man in Black."  I tried a different idea, and it was OK.  The entire lyrics to his song, "The Man in Black," are in the background, repeating twice, I believe.  The couple who bought this drawing moved to Kentucky, but were back and forth from NC to KY for months.  They bought several drawing from me, keeping me working all spring.  I never actually met them in person, I'd drop drawings off at Earshot on my schedule, and they'd pick them up on theirs.  They now have a whole entertainment room in their new house filled with my drawings.  I was really thankful for their interest, and for keeping busy for so long.

My ugly mug in front of Earshot.  Huge thanks to Phred and Jane for giving me the opportunity there, and helping me in the months afterwards.  

The Year of the Tent #4

 Tupac Shakur, 18" X 24", Sharpies on paper, sold,

 I bought this backpack for $4 at a swap meet in Costa Mesa, California, in 2007.  I'm still carrying it.  It's been with me so long, I call it R2D2.  I'm going to retire it soon.  The best $4 I ever spent.

 Above: "Tainted Love- Harley Quinn/Joker" drawing.  18" X 24", Sharpies on paper.  This one is mine.  Below:  Me in front of Earshot music.

"Do the Clam" with Elvis Presley

Here's my Elvis Presley Sharpie "scribble style" drawing I just finished.  I initially started this to go up on the wall at Earshot Music, here in Winston-Salem.  Jane and Phred at Earshot were the first people to put my art up for the public to see, and gave me my first show here in Winston-Salem. I am really appreciative of that.  But Elvis got snapped up by a man who bought another of my drawings from Earshot a while back. 


At the moment, there's one of my drawings of The Ramones on the wall there.  There's not much of an old school punk rock scene here, so nobody has snapped it up.  I'm trying to keep two quality pieces up at Earshot, but I'm now swamped with orders.  They are featuring another artist since my show ended, but the side wall has works by several local artists, myself included.  So while I try to keep up with orders (a good problem to have), I need to do a couple for Earshot on the side, and a new piece or two for Rachel at Designs,Vines, and Wines on Trade Street, who also has my art up on the wall.

So, as you can imagine, my prices will be going up for original drawings after I finish those ordered right now, which is 6 to 8 weeks worth of work.  Rachel has made a few large prints of my drawings of Dr. Maya Angelou, Jerry Garcia, and poet Mary Oliver.  You can contact Rachel for those or me or Earshot if anyone's interested in The Ramones.

For all you Elvis fans out there, here's his classic song, "Do the Clam."  Yeah, that's a real song.

Blues Brothers drawing up at Earshot Music

This is my latest drawing for the show at Earshot Music in Winston-Salem.  It's up on the wall now, and selling for $120.  If anyone here on the interwebs is interested, I can facilitate the sale, and I'll pay shipping (USPS 1st class in continental U.S.).  Sharpies on paper, 18" X 24".

Earshot Music is at 3254 Silas Creek Parkway, Winston-Salem, NC.  It's in the shopping center across Hanes Mall Blvd. from Hanes Mall.  It's the place with Marshall's, Toys-R-Us, and A.C. Moore, next to Marshall's.  Stop by and check out my work and all their music.

My recent Sharpie art, part 5

 This is the last of my Sharpie "scribble style" drawings I've finished.  This drawing of Tupac Shakur was supposed to be for the current Earshot Music show, but it sold before it made it up on the wall.  I'm working on a replacement right now.  Sharpies on paper, 18" X 24".  Sold.

 This is the Kurt Cobain drawing I did, in the online flyer version, because it's way better than the photo I took.  Photo by Phred at Earshot.  Sharpies on paper, 18" X 24".  Sold.

 This is the first order for a drawing I got form the Earshot Music show.  "Bob Marley: One Love."  Sharpies on paper, 18" X 24".  Sold.

This is my personal favorite of the drawings up right now at the Earshot Music show.  "Tainted Love" is a great song, and I was looking for an excuse to draw Harley Quinn from the Suicide Squad movie, inspired by this fan video using Marilyn Manson's cover of the song.  Sharpies on paper, 18" X 24".  Available. 

For anyone who's curious, these drawings take about 25 to 35 hours each to draw.

My recent Sharpie art, part 4

 My first hero as a 5-year-old kid was Bruce Lee.  It was all because my friend Cliff's older brother had this poster in his room.  My take on the epic Enter the Dragon still of one of the most badass guys of all time.  Sharpies on paper, 18" X 24".  Sold.

 Janis Joplin, blues legend and inspiration to generations of female singers.  Sharpies on paper, 18" X 24".  Sold.

My second tribute to Prince, which was part of the current Earshot Music show in Winston-Salem, NC.  Sharpies on paper, 18" X 24".  Sold.

"We were all a bunch of dirtbags"

This is a drawing of Bob Marley I just finished a few days ago.  What can I say, I've been doing creative things my whole life.  I've been drawing since somebody put a crayon in my hand before I can remember, like many of you.  But I'm a late bloomer.  So now, in my 50's, my drawings in my unique "scribble style" technique with Sharpies.  My first solo show at indie music shop, Earshot Music in Winston-Salem, NC, opened a couple weeks ago.  Here's the Winston-Salem Journal artist profile that came out just before the show, written by Lisa O'Donnell.  I gave props to my BMX and action sports roots, and named a handful of the creative people who inspired me.  There was no way to list everyone, but a few of you are named in the article.  Thanks to all of you other former "dirtbags" of the action sports world for showing me that getting art out to the world is actually possible. 

I'm on a couch right now, not fully homeless.  I'm looking to sell enough drawings to get a cheap room as soon as I can.

Earshot Music Show: Take 1

 

 Top: Gene Simmons/KISS, Sharpies on paper, 18" X 24"
Above:  "Tainted Love" featuring Harley Quinn and Joker from Suicide Squad, Sharpies on paper, 18" X 24".

This is my first solo art show.  I had my early Sharpie art up in an indie gallery in California in 2005-2006, but not in any shows since.  It's a small show, but I'm stoked a handful of people came out, and two drawings have sold and I have an order for a third.  I've been doing my unique thing with Sharpies for a long time, but never really considered myself a visual artist. 

It was a crazy summer that led to this show happening, which you can read more about in the previous post.  I've been drawing in my "scribble style" with Sharpie markers since 2005.  It all started when I tried to draw a mural on the wall of my jail cell sized bedroom in 2002.  It sucked, and I started doing huge collages on big rolls of paper, and shading in between photos with markers in different doodle-type designs.  Over 15 years, its evolved into this, and it's still evolving drawing by drawing.

 "Gwen and Now," Gwen Stefani in 1995 and 2017, Sharpies on paper, 18" X 24"

When this show opened, I was trying to do what I could to promote it on the ground. Jane, Earshot art director, lined up this Winston-Salem Journal  artist profile of me, which I was really stoked on.  It didn't show the music related drawings I'm focusing on now, but told my background well.  When the show opened, I was broke, and didn't even have a camera to take photos of the show, and forgot to ask someone else to.  In these three posts you can see the drawings at Earshot Music.  It's a great music shop with rare and hard to find CD's, DVD's and vinyl records.  So if you're in the Triad area, stop by and take a look in person. I work from photos, and would love to draw your favorite musician (or athlete)...if they don't suck.  I have a Facebook fan page at "Steve Emig The White Bear."

Pick one:  "L"  or "F"
______ame ass arteest
Me outside Earshot

Earshot Music Art Show: Take 2

Earshot Music, in the shopping center with Marshall's and A.C. Moore, across form Hanes Mall

 So here's how it happened.  I wound up broke last summer and wound up camping out in the woods of Winston-Salem.  After three days, I ran into a guy who asked about my situation, and he gave me a tent, a big dome one.  That became my headquarters.  Every night I slept alone in the woods, which is sketchy.  Every morning I'd wake up, walk about a 3/4 of a mile to McDonald's, and order a sausage biscuit and a large drink.  Then I'd pull my laptop (a gift form my niece Katherine, after she got a new one for college), and get word out about my artwork.  Two garbage bags inside my backpack kept it dry through months of Carolina rain ans thunderstorms. 

Johnny Cash: The Man in Black.  18" X 24", Sharpies on paper.

Then I'd pull out my big art pad, also double wrapped in trash bags, to keep it dry.  I had a good sized plastic box with my art supplies.  I spread out my stuff on a table at McD's, and I'd draw for a while.  Other times I'd take a bus across town to a library, and draw there.  I sold a 2 or 3 drawings over the summer, and scraped up money when I had to for food and bus fare.  Most days I had two sausage biscuits and a drink to eat all day long.  I got a lot a ton of drawing done, and lost 65 pounds, to boot.  Not the ideal lifestyle of an artist.  But I was determined.

The wall with my drawings up at Earshot Music, 1254 Silas Creek Parkway, Winston-Salem, NC

One day, a couple of hippie looking guys at McDonald's said they liked my drawing.  It was one of the musician drawings, Johnny Cash, I think.  One guy said, "You should show your stuff to that music shop across the street.  They like music themed art, and your drawing is way better then what they have on the wall right now."  I doubted the comparison, but I took the guy's advice.  I walked Earshot Music, completely scummy and smelly from my homeless life.  I showed my work to the manager working that day.  He was stoked on it.  A couple days later, I showed it to Phred the owner, and he said they'd be interested in putting a couple of drawings up on the wall for sale.  Things progressed, and Jane the art director contacted me.  Next thing I knew, they were asking me when I could have enough drawings to do a full show.  So I wandered around Winston all summer, scraping up money for food, living through thunderstorms in a tent, and getting helped out by my friends Rick and Ben in times of need.  Eight of my drawings went up on the wall, two have sold, and I'm busy doing more to replace those.  I'm also working on one for Ben, which I promise to get done soon.  Really, Ben.  I've been putting his drawing off all summer, trying to get the others done.  All the drawings are for sale, $120 each, through Earshot Music.  I will also be glad to do one of your favorite musician (or athlete), IF I can find a good photo to work from. 

Earshot Music Art Show: Drawings sold already

 It's been about ten days since the opening of my art show on the wall of Earshot Music in Winston-Salem (North Carolina).  Living in a tent all summer, meting lots of new people, and drawing like crazy helped make this happen.  The Kurt Cobain/Nirvana drawing, used as the online flyer above, sold the day before the show.  The Prince drawing below sold a couple of days ago.  Getting an artist profile in the Winston-Salem Journal, promotion by Earshot art coordinator Jane Buck and shop owner Phred got word out.  I also pounded the pavement and passed out a bunch of flyers in the Trade Street art district here. 

I'm totally stoked that lots of people seem to be psyched on my work, and that a couple have sold.  I'm not in this to be any kind of famous artist.  I just want to draw things that people dig and are psyched to hang on their wall.  Both drawings are Sharpies on paper, in my unique "scribble style," and 18" X 24". 

Earshot Music Art Opening

 It feels like the start of something really amazing.  I came up with my unique "scribble style" with Sharpie markers 12 years ago, and really started trying to sell drawings two years ago.  I started with literally no money, so it's been slow progress for quite a while.  But the opening at Earshot Music last night felt like a big milestone, one where things shift into a higher gear. 

Earshot Music (3254 Silas Creek Pkwy) in Winston-Salem is a classic record store like all us middle-aged people wandered through as kids.  Life's been pretty crazy for years now, and I spent the summer literally living in a tent in the woods, and drawing every moment I could.  That allowed me to get a lot of artwork done, even though I was homeless.  Phred, the owner of Earshot, and Jane Buck, who handles the art there, liked my stuff, and gave me a great opportunity to get my drawings in front of more people.  Thanks guys!

It was a quiet little show, only a handful of people came by, but we had a good time.  My friend Rick, who's really helped me out over the summer, hung out and listened to me tell stories he'd already heard.  My sister Cheri, a teacher in Greensboro, came by with a friend, and we went through all my older drawings, sharing memories with the others there.  Luba, a Winston-Salem artist I met at the First Friday art walk last month, came by, as did a young couple I gave a flyer to last Friday.  I also met long time artist Lee Tompkins, and he gave me lots of ideas on how to proceed with my work. 

 The Kurt Cobain drawing sold, and I have a couple people interested in other drawings in the near future.  I handed out copies of the flyer I made, along with copies of another small drawing.  I had a great time, and am looking forward to getting back to work on another bunch of drawings.  My drawings will be up at Earshot Music until the end of the year, and I would love to do one of your favorite musician or athlete.  Maybe even your dog.  You can email me at stevenemig13@gmail.com  . 

Artist Profile in the Winston-Salem Journal

I'm stoked to have an artist profile in today's Winston-Salem Journal.  In the profile, I give props to artistic influences ranging from my parents to Bob Haro, Andy Jenkins, and old BMXer/skater friends like Eddie Roman and Ed Templeton.  I haven't been able to shake the homeless thing, though I'm couch surfing at my mom's place after my recent trouble for trespassing.  Hopefully this show will lead to enough orders for drawings so I can rent a cheap motel room, and eventually become an actual human in society again.  Thanks to journalist Lisa O'Donnell at the Journal for a cool write-up.  I also want to thank my friends Rick and Ben, who've helped me a ton over this past summer.  Major thanks also to old school BMXers Alma Jo Barrera and Scotty Zabielski, who have bought several drawings each, and everyone else who's bought a drawing and helped me get here.

Eight of my Sharpie drawings, in my unique "scribble style," including the one of The Ramones above, will be up at Earshot Music, Winston-Salem's premier record shop.  Yeah, they carry vinyl records, CD's, DVD's, analog stereos, and hard to find music.  The opening of the show is this Saturday, November 4th, 2017, from 7-9 pm.  Earshot is next to Marhall's at 3254 Silas Creek Parkway, Winston-Salem, North Carolina.  If you're anywhere near here, I'd love to see you drop by.

Winston-Salem Journal article featuring my art tomorrow

As part of the lead up to the opening of my art at Earshot Music this weekend, I was profiled by the Winston-Salem Journal over the last few days.  The profile will be in the entertainment section of the Journal tomorrow (Thursday, November 2nd, 2017).  Check the link if you want to check it out.

Why I love drawing musicians

Music is one of the greatest forms of magic in the universe.  What else can bring people together from all kinds of backgrounds, all kinds of belief systems, and get them to tune into a single moment?  OK, the recent total eclipse, did that.  But not much else can.  Just like during that surreal moment when day turned to night and even the animals were quiet, music has the incredible power to overcome the things that push us apart.  A great live concert photo captures a faction of a second of that energy when a musician loses themselves in the bliss of creating magic in the moment through their music.

 I love the challenge of taking one of those photos and adding my own flair to it.  I don't want to just make a cool picture of the artist, I want you to remember that feeling of how great music can make you feel.  Then I add lists of songs or lyrics in the background.  I do that so that once someone gets past that initial thought of that musician playing live, they can be reminded of the songs or words that have really touched them at some point in their lives.  Even more, I want people to find songs or lyrics in the back of my drawings that they're not familiar with.  I want them to go look up those songs, and explore the work of that musician, that purveyor of magic moments, even more.

That's why I love doing drawings of musicians.  My Sharpie drawing of Prince above will be at my show at Earshot Music in Winston-Salem, (NC) which opens this coming Saturday, November 4th, from 7:00 to 9:00 pm.  Come by and check it out if you're local.  Check out my work on this blog or Facebook if you're not.  I'd be stoked to do a drawing of your favorite musician... as long as they don't suck.  Ultimately, I want to take my own photos to draw my Sharpie pictures of.

In the course of doing this Prince tribute drawing, I dove into his music, and discovered tons of stuff I'd never heard before.  This clip below is one of my favorites now.  Just let the guitar do the talking for you...

Teasers for the upcoming Earshot art show

Right now I'm working on a series of music inspired drawings for my upcoming show at Earshot Music here in Winston-Salem.  I'm not going to tell you exactly who I'm drawing, but here are a few teasers...

The Man in Black

The Guys with Black hair and Black jackets

The Man in who made his mark in Purple

The Guys who made Halloween an everyday thing and weren't satisfied with just a kiss

And probably...

The Woman who just wanted a Mercedes Benz

The girl who got fed up with being a girl, and filmed a fight scene in India

And maybe one or two more...

I'm stoked to have drawings for sale at Eashot Music

This clip is about six years old, but it shows you the inside of Earshot Music in Winston Salem.  My drawings, one of Johnny Cash and one of The Ramones, are on both sides of the black, vertical chalkboard you see in the background here.  Both are for sale for about $150 (with frames).  I'm totally stoked to have my drawings up in public after only a couple of months back in Winston-Salem.  Earshot Music is in a shopping center at 3254 Silas Creek Parkway, the shopping center with A.C. Moore, Toys-R-Us, and Marshall's, on the corner of Silas Creek and Hanes Mall Blvd.  It's right across the street from Hanes Mall.  Next time in the area, stop by and check out Earshot, and tell 'em The White Bear sent you.  #shadowsandsharpies