Art Monday: Tra-la-la-lobite!

The day after Hallowe'en is the perfect time to order Trilobite holiday greeting cards.

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Original artwork on The Flying Trilobite Copyright to Glendon Mellow
under Creative Commons Licence.

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Trilobite Boy with Gargoyles (completed!)

© Glendon Mellow 2010
Click here to enlarge: the link on the actual pic is broken. 

“Dammit. It’s raining,” said Trilobite Boy. He sat for a while thinking of her, the rain pattering on his cephalon and soaking his socks. Then he flapped his fossil wings and headed over the city.

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This painting was so much fun to do, and I learned a lot about using ArtRage while I did it. I tried to keep my style loose, and just play with the digital paint. And thanks to Eric T. Jones for suggesting the Chuck Taylor's!  Better than combat boots.

The only part of this that was done in Photoshop, was I realized I had painted a decent sneaker on his left foot, but it was too small. I exported the file to Photoshop, used the selection brush to highlight it, and did a free transform to enlarge it, before importing it back into ArtRage.

There's been a lot of posts of this in-process, but here it is, finally completed.  If you click here, you can go to my deviantArt gallery, where you can click again to get the super-big high-resolution picture.

It's also available in my print shop, as a postcard, greeting card and a variety of prints and framed art.

You can see the in-process stuff here.
You can see more about Trilobite Boy here. 

What should I do next with this guy?
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Original artwork on The Flying Trilobite Copyright to Glendon Mellow
under Creative Commons Licence.

Portfolio
Blog
Print Shop

Art Monday: Haldane's Precambrian Puzzle

This post originally appeared on the 29th of November, 2008.  

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"...Evolution makes the strong prediction that if a single fossil turned up in the wrong geological stratum, the theory would be blown out of the water.


"When challenged by a zealous Popperian to say how evolution could ever be falsified, J.B.S. Haldane famously growled: 'Fossil rabbits in the Precambrian.'



"No such anachronistic fossils have ever been authentically found..." -Richard Dawkins

-p127-128, Richard Dawkins, The God Delusion, 2006.
Houghton Mifflin Company. ISBN-13: 978-0-618-68000-9.

A scan of my Haldane's Precambrian Puzzle. Oil paint on 9 pieces of shale, 2008. Prints now available.
Haldane's Precambrian Puzzle (configuration A): False Rabbit 
available as greeting cards, mounted print, matted print and canvas print. Click here.

Haldane's Precambrian Puzzle (configuration B): True Trilobites
available as greeting cards, mounted print, matted print and canvas print. Click here. 


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Original artwork on The Flying Trilobite Copyright to Glendon Mellow
under Creative Commons Licence.

Portfolio
Blog
Print Shop

Scicurious Caffeine Swag!

Remember this caffeine molecule tattoo I designed for Scicurious?  

Click to enlarge.

Now you can get that molecule for yourself, on:

a variety of mugs

Hyperactive undergarments

Messenger bags

Shirts

The message on all of them is "Are you scicurious?"

All my above links are to the items in Canadian dollars.  Check out Scicurious's online shop in American here, and Sci's own announcement here.

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Original artwork on The Flying Trilobite Copyright to Glendon Mellow
under Creative Commons Licence.
The Caffeine Molecule Tattoo design is under copyright exclusive for use
by Glendon Mellow and Scicurious.  Ask first kthx.
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New poll - choose my own adventure

There's a new poll at right below.  My freelance career will be beginning in the next several weeks, so I've opened up a poll to get a sense of what some readers of The Flying Trilobite may be interested in.  It's anonymous, and you can choose multiple answers.

My kind of dream-project at the moment is to have a picture book with my paintings complemented by some SF stories by various writers (thanks for the support, Brian!).  I know there are many venues where I could self-publish a beautiful book like this - one Facebook fan has already admonished me and said I should be considering an agent and mainstream publishing (thanks L!).

 What do you think?








[Edit:  the Blogger sidebar poll wasn't working, so I've replaced it with this one by PollDaddy. Please respond again if you tried to a first time.]

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Original artwork on The Flying Trilobite Copyright to Glendon Mellow
under Creative Commons Licence.

Portfolio
Blog
Print Shop

Introducing: "Trilobites had no astrology"

Introducing my new skeptic-paleo mash-up, the Trilobites had no astrology series. Above is Wave 1 (click to enlarge), featuring "had no" Aries, Taurus, Gemini and Cancer.  I plan on doing a poster and calendar once all designs are presented in the next few weeks.

The idea behind it is to make a fun conversation-starter: how could there be a trilobite version of sun signs?  The constellations looked different 500 million years ago, and many of the animals astrological symbols are based on hadn't evolved yet. It's one more way of pointing out the moot pseudo-science of astrology - while sporting an awesome trilobite.

Each drawing has the astrological symbol incorporated into their design: can you spot the Roman II-like symbol in the Gemini trilobites?

Available as stickers, and a variety of colours and styles of 

shirts, hoodies, and toddler clothes.

 

As a now-skeptic who used to fervently believe in astrology, (it's bloody tempting) I think it could be fun to sport your own astrological trilobite or slapping stickers down on your bike or workspace.

Perhaps I've lost my marbles this time.  Aw, whatevs.  Two more waves coming in the next few weeks!
Shop for these here!

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Original artwork on The Flying Trilobite Copyright to Glendon Mellow
under Creative Commons Licence. Portfolio
Blog
Print Shop

Flying Trilobite Print Sale!

From now until June 22nd, The Flying Trilobite Print Shop is having a "10% off almost everything sale"!

Great time to pick up a laminated print of The Last Refuge. Lots of other print formats available, and my artwork looks perfect with RedBubble's print quality.

There's also a new hoodie available, featuring The Flying Trilobite logo in shades of green! Baffle your paleontologist friends. Hoodie available in heaps of colours, and as a t-shirt.

Why not plan ahead, and pick up some Darwin Took Steps cards for next year's Darwin Day? A portion of the money goes in support of The Beagle Project! Also available as a swanky framed print. People will look at it on your wall and think, "Wow. That person's smart. I'm glad I'm friends with them. And Darwin has a staircase on his head."
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Original artwork on The Flying Trilobite Copyright to Glendon Mellow
under Creative Commons Licence.
Flying Trilobite Gallery *** Flying Trilobite Reproduction Shop ***
Details about sale ending date here.

Promotional images by RedBubble who rock.

Blog tweaks.

A few more blog tweaks. You'll notice the button bar near the top. Check out the Shop button, there's some new formats in there! (Stickers!)

I've also added reviews of my art with links to some of the projects and supportive comments I've received. Thanks to everyone who allowed me to use their quotes. Nice birthday present to read those again.

Down near the bottom of the posts, there's a little slideshow of available merchandise and prints: just hover over the image to see the price ranges, click to browse.

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Original artwork on The Flying Trilobite Copyright to Glendon Mellow
under Creative Commons Licence.
Flying Trilobite Gallery *** Flying Trilobite Reproduction Shop ***

From the shop: framed "Life as a Trilobite"

In my reproduction shop, RedBubble makes some excellent-quality frames in a variety of styles.

The being featured in this detail of Life as a Trilobite will be the feature in a number of paintings I'm producing this year.

My recommended frame/mat combination?  Charcoal frame, black mat, in the small size (U.S. $91.20, they also take AUS, G.B., EUR and CAN funds).  Click here to see the sizes and styles.

Let this guy peer over his shoulder at your guests at your next gaming night.
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Original artwork on The Flying Trilobite Copyright to Glendon Mellow
under Creative Commons Licence.
Flying Trilobite Gallery *** Flying Trilobite Reproduction Shop ***

Art Monday: Life as a Trilobite

One of my personal favourite paintings. Click to enlarge. Below, detail views.

Life as a Trilobite Oil on canvas, early 2000's.
Detail view also available in my print shop as a greeting card or in a variety of fine art print formats. Originally debuted on The Flying Trilobite here. Tricky to photograph, as I poured stand oil over the surface giving it a mottled, organic look that reflects light strangely.

I'm working on some new images with a variation of this character called "Flying Trilobite Boy" - I'm adding wings.



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Original artwork on The Flying Trilobite Copyright to Glendon Mellow
under Creative Commons Licence.
Flying Trilobite Gallery *** Flying Trilobite Reproduction Shop ***

Flying Trilobite Business Model

I'm looking for advice.

Since beginning The Flying Trilobite 3 years ago, it has been many things to me. A way to reach other people, primarily bloggers, with similar interests. A continuous art studio critique of my work (thanks for over 1700 comments everyone!). A place for my opinions to find safe haven. Until I launched glendonmellow.com last December, it was also my primary place to promote my artwork, in conjunction with my deviantArt gallery and my reproduction shop by RedBubble.

Current business model
If I have had a business model so far as an artist, it has been comprised of two streams:
1) make art --> blog art --> comments --> take new commissions.
2) make art --> blog art --> put in reproduction shop --> sell.

As a business model, it's not unlike what bands like Nine Inch Nails and Radiohead have done: put some stuff out there for free, and hope payment comes in through other means.

I've had the immense pleasure of taking commissions, collaborations which have resulted in some of my best work. A number of my images have been published in dead-tree format, 7 times last year, and I only sought out one of those, the rest found me. Ditto with the reproduction of Darwin in the museum.

Now the end of school approaches, I've been discussing with my wife Michelle and some friends about how to do even more freelance work. Since beginning Flying Trilobite, I've enjoyed the art process more than I ever have in my life. Art needs an audience - no, correction, scratch that, the artist needs an audience. And you guys rock.

New business model
I still intend to continue these two streams:
1) make art --> blog art --> comments --> take new commissions.
2) make art --> blog art --> put in reproduction shop --> sell.
And add these:
3) make art --> blog art --> open eBay or Etsy shop --> sell originals.
4) send portfolio --> magazine & comic publishers --> make art.
5) send portfolio --> museums & institutions --> make art.
6) send portfolio --> book publishers --> {edit: skip cycle of rejection & doubt} --> make art.

(Add to this that I have discussed the intersection of Art & Science at 4 different venues - could I be one of those speakers with a microphone protruding from my tie?)

This is where I ask the blogosphere, family and friends and strangers for advice. I allow for anonymous comments, so feel free to be frank and honest if you have an opinion and want to be like Batman. Or be your bold self like Iron Man.

Could I make my weird paintings (I'm not weird, you are) into a bigger success financially?
Are there other streams full-time artists employ to make a living?

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Original artwork on The Flying Trilobite Copyright to Glendon Mellow
under Creative Commons Licence.

Flying Trilobite Gallery *** Flying Trilobite Reproduction Shop ***
For those of you who don't want to be Batman or Iron Man, I'm afraid you're
stuck being Zan & Jayna, the Wonder Twins. "Form of...a puddle!"

Art Monday: secular swag

In 2008, I was commissioned by author Dale McGowan to create a blog banner for his blog, The Meming of Life.


Dale is a superb writer about raising children to be well-rounded, happy, moral people without religion - or perhaps I should say with a plethora of religious teachings and stories, and the faculties to think through them on their own. Dale has penned and edited two books on the subject: Parenting Beyond Belief and Raising Freethinkers.

The image was well-received, and I'm still very pleased with it. I enjoyed Dale's enthusiasm for the child's auroch, the little funky blue guy in the corner. And available now...


...secular swag!

Check out the line of hoodies, mugs and magnets that help support this wonderful atheist-parenting and rational freethinking blog. Flying Trilobite approved!


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Original artwork on The Flying Trilobite Copyright to Glendon Mellow
under Creative Commons Licence.

Flying Trilobite Gallery *** Flying Trilobite Reproduction Shop ***

2010 Calendar - atheism months?

Here's a look at two of the more controversial months in The Flying Trilobite 2010 Calendar. Perhaps not controversial to some of the regular readers of TFT. Atheism can still be a charged subject in a crowded room.

May: Science-Chess Accommodating Religion is a painting I did this year inspired by the writing of many atheist bloggers, from Jerry Coyne and Ophelia Benson, to Mike Haubrich and Jason Thibeault. The whole thing actually started out as a tweet of mine, which Mike at Tangled Up In Blue Guy liked. You can read about that here.

October: October has an image called Education: Science Vs. Religion that was created as a poster for a Centre for Inquiry lecture in Toronto by PZ Myers of Pharyngula, in Octtober 2008. It had some interesting disagreements about symbolism at Pharyngula in the comments. You can see a bit more about it from me here, a making of here, and shots of the final poster here.

Both of my calendar collections, dated for 2010, can be found in my RedBubble reproduction shop.

Collection 1: Collection 2:


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Original artwork on The Flying Trilobite Copyright to Glendon Mellow
under Creative Commons Licence.
Flying Trilobite Gallery *** Flying Trilobite Reproduction Shop ***

Art Monday: Darwin Display

From -nieh-'s Flickr photostream.

A mighty tip of a ten-gallon hat to Michael Barton of Dispersal of Darwin for sending me the link. I believe this must be the Casa de las Ciencias display I mentioned recently.

Sweet. I like the Darwin-Moth painting. Anyone know who painted that one? I'm proud to have Darwin Took Steps in such good company.

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Original artwork on The Flying Trilobite Copyright to Glendon Mellow
under Creative Commons Licence.

Flying Trilobite Gallery *** Flying Trilobite Reproduction Shop ***

2010 Calendar Available now!

Holiday ideas from Flying Trilobite

This is a whole new collection of bio-, atheistic and paleo-artwork I've put together as a calendar for 2010. I'm really proud of this one, and it has a few image variants not previously available. I've included a peek at a few images below, and you can click through the entire calendar at my RedBubble reproduction gallery.

June

JulyBack Cover

I loved the print quality of the 2009 calendar by RedBubble. They accept payment in many currencies, Canadian, U.S., Australian, U.K., and Euros. If you missed it, you can also purchase last year's calendar, with the dates revised for 2010!

It's a great a relatively inexpensive way to own a lot of Flying Trilobite artwork. Impress and weird out your friends, co-workers and labmates.

Both calendar collections can easily be found here.

And I've added a new tee! This t-shirt was suggested by one of my blog readers, Alison from the land of Aus. It features my popular Haldane's Precambrian Puzzle. Here's a close-up of the t-shirt graphic: It's available in 4 styles of sweatshop-free shirt, and in multiple colours.

And there is still time to order the popular Tra-la-la-la-lobite cards with delivery before Christmas day!
(Hmm. Next year perhaps ornaments?)

Happy Holidays and Merry Krismas!
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Original artwork on The Flying Trilobite Copyright to Glendon Mellow
under Creative Commons Licence.

Flying Trilobite Gallery *** Flying Trilobite Reproduction Shop ***

Art Monday: Ammonite Flax Flower

Image available in The Flying Trilobite Reproduction Shop, from greeting cards to framed prints. A variation of this image was originally seen as part of the Sowing Seeds & Fossils series.
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Original artwork on The Flying Trilobite Copyright to Glendon Mellow
under Creative Commons Licence.
Flying Trilobite Gallery *** Flying Trilobite Reproduction Shop ***

Flying Trilobite 2010 Calendar now available!

A little peek!


This is a whole new collection of artwork I've put together. I'm really proud of this one, and it has a few images not previously available. Click on the few I've included below, and you can click through the entire calendar at my RedBubble site.

April: December: Back Cover:
I loved the print quality of the 2009 calendar by RedBubble. They accept payment in many currencies, Canadian, U.S., Australian, U.K., and Euros. If you missed it, you can also purchase last year's calendar, with the dates revised for 2010!

It's a great a relatively inexpensive way to own a lot of Flying Trilobite artwork. Impress and weird out your friends, co-workers and labmates.

Both calendar collections can easily be found here.
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Original artwork on The Flying Trilobite Copyright to Glendon Mellow
under Creative Commons Licence.
Flying Trilobite Gallery *** Flying Trilobite Reproduction Shop ***

Happy Origin Day!

Happy Origin Day!

150 years ago, Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species was originally published. It's like a science-blogohedron holiday today - wonderful links and commentary everywhere.

Why not read a few links, become inspired about science education, and perhaps make a donation to the Beagle Project?


Darwin Took Steps, above, will be shown to a new audience in 2010. As part of Casa de las Ciencias 2010 Darwin exhibit, a reproduction of my painting will be shown as part of a display about how Darwin is still making waves in visual media. I'm completely thrilled! My first museum exhibit, and in Spain no less! I have never been to Europe, and Michelle thinks next summer would be the perfect time to head to Spain. Good idea. The building itself is beautiful, and they have a great logo for their Darwin year. (Museum photo from Wikipedia.)

This painting is piling up a nice c.v. of its own - debuting on The Eloquent Atheist, shown on the cover of Secular Nation, the book cover of La Mente di Darwin, as part of the book cover for Open Laboratory 2008 - and hopefully, it will continue to intrigue new viewers to learn about Charles Darwin and his wonderful writing.

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If you like this image, it's available as matted prints, greeting cards and t-shirts in my reproduction shop. A portion of the profits goes in support of The Beagle Project.

Original artwork on The Flying Trilobite Copyright to Glendon Mellow
under Creative Commons Licence.
Flying Trilobite Gallery *** Flying Trilobite Reproduction Shop ***

Tra-la-la-lalobite! Cards for the holidays!

Available now in The Flying Trilobite Reproduction Shop!

A fossil Encrinurus trilobite, tastily bedecked for the holidays! Makes a great Holiday card for the geeky paleo-loving set. Like me.

Choose white or black side panels, and blank inside so you can write your own message.

Suggested interior: "Tra-la-la-la-lobite!"

Available in Canadian, U.S., Australian, U.K. and European funds. Produced by the fine folks at RedBubble. The original is oil on canvas with some digital flourishes.

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Original artwork on The Flying Trilobite Copyright to Glendon Mellow
under Creative Commons Licence.
Flying Trilobite Gallery *** Flying Trilobite Reproduction Shop ***

Welcome "Blogs of Note" readers!

Yesterday, I had the thrill of coming home and finding out The Flying Trilobite had been listed as one of Google Blogger's, Blogs of Note.

Welcome to the new readers!

I love introducing new people to my Art in Awe of Science, and would like to know more about you. So consider this an open thread to say, introduce yourself, and link back to your own blog. Please feel free to be interesting and not spammy. :-)

A quick intro to who I am: My name is Glendon, and I'm a classically trained oil painter living in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. I paint mainly using a mixture of traditional and digital techniques, and I love science, atheism and the wonder of imagination. All three of which can go hand-in-hand! Mainly, I paint subjects inspired by our pale blue dot's rich evolutionary history. And the occasional comic book character.

My art has been cited on numerous blogs about the intersection between art & science, and I attended ScienceOnline'09 to moderate a discussion session on the subject, and I will be attending the 2010 conference to expand on it, co-hosting with the inimitable Felice Frankel.

You can read more about me at my bio page.

I also sell some reproductions of my art in my online shop, including t-shirts. Last year, I launched a calendar, which I have re-named Collection 1 and is now updated for 2010. I will have a Collection 2 out in the next few weeks.

Some of my top posts in my opinion are:
-The making of Darwin Took Steps.
-My thoughts on Inspiration & Drugs.
-Because of the amount of searches for it, I posted about Flying & Asthma.
-If you follow the label "process", you will find many more "making of" type of posts about how I create my work.
-I'm a member of Art Evolved, a fantastic collection of paleo-artists. Check us out!
-I've created a number of custom blog banners:

I believe in charities, and two I recommend very highly are:
The Beagle Project
Foundation Beyond Belief
Take a look, and see if the promotion of science, wonder and the advancement of people inspires you.

Thanks again for visiting The Flying Trilobite!

-Glendon
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Original artwork on The Flying Trilobite Copyright to Glendon Mellow
under Creative Commons Licence.
Flying Trilobite Gallery *** Flying Trilobite Reproduction Shop ***