Alphabet Sea - Success... almost.

A big heartfelt thank you to Kathiy Trabert for a generous pledge on Kickstarter. The choice of any of the original paintings is now hers. I'll post her choice soon. Meanwhile I'm one $15 pledge away from Kickstarter success. Tomorrow I'll be posting the letters R and S to make up for the lack of posts lately (Sorry, life and stuff...) so stay tuned!

Meanwhile a relevant quote...

We do not write because we want to; we write because we have to.
  - 
W. Somerset Maugham


Writing, Art, Making music; It's a compulsion at times. I hope to find a broader audience for my creations so that they may live somewhere besides my shelf.

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Kickstarter reward update

I'm offering a unique reward on Kickstarter. An original painting from the series (your choice) for a pledge of $300. This single pledge meets my goal and funds my project! This will only happen once!
http://kck.st/gs2D4G

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Kickstarter Goal - 66%



http://kck.st/gs2D4G - 66% of the way toward my crowd funded goal on Kickstarter! You can get a set of Alphabet Sea flash cards printed on Recycled paper, or the über-green version - a PDF of the entire set with the raw photos of the original artwork. Pledge now! Every penny counts! If you didn't catch the write upon the Kickstarter blog here it is (for now) http://blog.kickstarter.com/page/2

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Alphabet Sea - Q


Q is what Quahog starts with!

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Kickstarter Headline, read all about it!


Alphabet Sea made the front page of Kickstarter today! This is great for bringing awareness to this project and helps it get one step closer to funding. Spread the word and help me hit my goal on Kickstarter - http://kck.st/gs2D4G

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Alphabet Sea - P


P is for Prawn, a jumbo sized shrimp.

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Tell your friends!

As you know word of mouth is the best way to spread the word.Please tell your friends and family about Alphabet Sea and help bring awareness to this great project!
http://kck.st/gs2D4G

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Alphabet Sea - O


O is for octopus, who can't find his boots.

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25% there

Alphabet Sea on Kickstarter is 25% toward it's goal of $1,000. Please take a moment and back this unique project - http://kck.st/gs2D4G

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Alphabet Sea - N


N is for Narwhal, "That's not a horn, that's my tooth!"

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Alphabet Sea - Book Concept

I've been playing around with the book layout. I'm not happy with this one,but it's the best one yet. I think the final will have more of a classic, "Golden Books" feel to it.

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Alphabet Sea - M



Mollusk starts with M, the slowest sea creature.

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Alphabet Sea - Kickstarter interactivity

Head over to the kickstarter page and help shape the project, I'm having backers decide which version of the Lobster to include, but you have to be a backer to cast your vote. http://kck.st/gs2D4G

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Alphabet Sea - L


L is for lobster who scavenges his dinner.

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Alphabet Sea - Animated




Here is an animated clip I did for Angler Fish. I have the idea to record the song and have all of the characters will come to life in this way. It will be a sea chanty of course.

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Alphabet Sea - K


The Crabby old king, King Crab starts with K.

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Alphabet Sea - The Goal

This Blog has a simple goal; I hope to raise $1000 through Kickstarter to print and package this special limited run of unique A - Z Flash Cards. If you haven't yet, please back my project and reserve your Flash Cards now - http://kck.st/gs2D4G
I'm offering one of the original, unique paintings used in the Flash Card series as a reward on Kickstarter for one special backer. Please spread the word.


THANK YOU!

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Alphabet Sea - J


J is for Jellyfish, I prefer grape.

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Alphabet Sea - Kickstarter Interview

Kickstarter did a Q & A with me for their blog. It came out really nice, take a look - http://blog.kickstarter.com/post/3183974670/creator-q-a-alphabet-sea

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Alphabet Sea - The sketches


Instead of doing a sketch for each character, I did thumbnails for all the characters. You can see some of the early letters like, F for fish sticks are pretty funny. Some of the letters went through a few designs and creatures before finalizing them. 11 X 17 pen on paper.

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Alphabet Sea - In the Studio


Adding some stencil touches.

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Alphabet Sea - The Kickstarter Video


One day I might refer to this as the video that kickstarted it all! Please visit Kickstarter now and back this unique project! http://kck.st/gs2D4G

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Alphabet Sea - Behind the Scenes

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Alphabet Sea - An interview

Just finished a short interview for Kickstarter. The interview will be featured on their blog next week sometime, but here it is in it's entirety for your enjoyment. Thanks for stopping by!


-Of all the ways to teach the alphabet, why sea creatures?
I'm always drawing different creatures and I painted a jellyfish one day and thought, I like this guy. What other sea creatures can I do? Instantly the A-Z idea popped into my head. I thought it was going to be a book, like Richard Scarry or something, but somewhere along the way it became a Flash Card set.
-Is there possibly a relationship between your passion for marine life and your daily life in the desert?
The contrast of it, for sure. I love the ocean and it is a place to get away, in a sense these paintings help me escape as well.
-(following up on that ...) How does your Hesperia environment influence your work and/or creative process?
It's great for the creative process because I have a lot of space. There is a lot of open land and atmosphere. I spend a lot of time outside, my studio is outside, and I love the fresh air we have up here and undeveloped land.
-You mention that you salvage the wood from the desert where people dispose of it improperly. Is dumping like that a common practice in your area? What else have you found there? Do you upcycle any other materials from there to make art? Is up/re-cycling a major part of your daily life?
Because of the open land and relatively few dumps, there are areas that have become dumping grounds. I've always been intrigued at how one mans trash is another mans treasure. I upcycle mainly wood. I've built some really cool privacy fences around my yard besides using the wood for art canvases, and I built some skateboard ramps for my kids out of reclaimed wood. I also built a lot of furniture in my house out of old wood. I recently found a pool table dumped in the desert, so my eyes are always open to what I can re-use. I try to teach my kids to save our resources whenever possible, so recycling and repurposing things is part of our daily life.
-Your bio says you make films, music, and animations as well as paintings. What else (if anything) are you working on now besides Alphabet Sea? 
I've always got a few projects cooking, it's a curse. I just finished doing a web series on the Food Truck scene in LA. There's a website with clips at www.foodtrucking.tv I have a puppet project that got picked up for the "Handmade Puppet Dreams" series about a Skeleton out to avenge his own death after being pushed into a vat of salsa you can see here -http://www.youtube.com/newimagemedia#p/c/3/LnTRuOjpM4w I recently put up a youtube channel with a few of my songs -http://www.youtube.com/jerroldridenour and I've written a comedy feature that I plan to direct later this year, I'll be putting it on Kickstarter when it's ready to be launched.
-I see the aesthetic and educational value of these cards as kind of Dr. Seuss meets Edward Gorey. ...Any comment/rebuttal on that assessment? What artists inspire you to create as you do?
I'm honored that you would make that association! I grew up on Dr. Seuss and feel there isn't enough whimsical kids stuff out there. I love his art and rhyme structure, the hand made nature of it. Gorey is another artist I love. It's those kind of artists that inspired me to put my art out there even if I don't have formal, classical training. I love the Obey stuff as well as Banksy, artists putting art out there even if you're not looking for it. I try to work in that influence with the stencil elements when I can. Basquiet is major influence in this series. I saw his show at MOCA, twice, and I realized that the roughness of it let you into the artists frame of mind. The visceral connection you get with art that has visible brush strokes, paint can residue and footprints on it reminds you that it was made by someone. You can almost feel the energy of the artist.
-Do you have kids? If so, what are they like and how have they affected your work?
I have two boys that I have sole custody of. They inspire me to go out and fight the good fight every day, to keep a roof over their heads and keep food on the table. It's hard to be a single father and be an artist, but they help me to never lose sight of my dreams. I definitely make art that is more kid friendly or kid-centric a a result of having kids, but I play with puppets and animate for a living, so I'm a pretty big kid myself.
-Do you remember how you learned the alphabet, the first book your read, and/or how you learned to read?
The Richard Scarry "Busytown" series and Sesame Street. Mercer Meyer and Dr. Seuss Were huge as well.
-You say on your blog that promoting literacy is akin to "saving our future." Can you elaborate on that point?
Cursive is dead, reading isn't cool, kids spell in shorthand via text... Reading is the gateway to imagination. I'm a prolific reader as are my boys, and I can't imagine the child who doesn't get to explore the land of make believe with a good book. All knowledge comes through reading, and all expression comes through writing. If communication is to survive, reading is paramount to it's success.
-Do you have a favorite out of the 26 cards? Why is it your favorite?
They all have a character to me. They have personality even if they can't talk. I think the Octopus is my favorite because he's goofy.
-Wherever did you get that sweet Star Wars sweatshirt?!?!
I know right? I have to think my wonderful girlfriend Luci Norris for that bit of geeky goodness.

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Alphabet Sea - I


Isopod starts with I, and I have nothing more.

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Alphabet Sea - Preview

Mock up of the flash cards.

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Alphabet Sea - H


H is for Halibut, on the ocean floor.

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Alphabet Sea - Mission


Alphabet Sea is a set of Flash cards that will use my hand painted art to illustrate the letters  A - Z with fun sea creature names along with fun rhymes to remember them by. They will be limited to 1000 sets and printed on recycled paper for the initial run. The paintings are done on large plywood scraps that I salvage from the desert; upcycling them into one of kind art, instead of littering our planet.

I want to sell enough Flash Card sets to cover print costs of the initial run through pre-selling downloads and sets of the Flash Cards. By ordering a set now you help to launch a new franchise while at the same time saving our future by promoting literacy.

The "Alphabet Sea" Flash Card set makes a great gift, and is a great addition for the active, involved parent.

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Alphabet Sea - Kickstarter project launched

Click the link to get the Kickstarter info!

Click me!

Visit the Kickstarter project page to order your set of Flash Cards today and help fund this quirky and fun filled way to promote literacy!

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Alphabet Sea - G


G is for Grunion, they travel in a bunch.

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Alphabet Sea - Kickstarter update

I'm finishing the Kickstarter project overview now, and later today there will be instructions on how you can back the "Alphabet Sea" project!

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