Keep A Breast Cast #5 - "Action" Star Wars (Christie Burns)

I started working on my fifth cast for Keep A Breast as part of their mantra series: Art. Education. Awareness. Action. For this cast I decided to use one of my favorite subjects to convey ACTION: Star Wars. This cast is the second from a Keep A Breast charity event. At the event Keep A Breast Traveling Education Booth was onsite with some limited cause merchandise available. This event was quite special because they did a LIVE CASTING with two of  San Diego’s finest ladies, Claudia Miranda and Christie Burns. This ACTION cast is of Christie.

To read about my history with the Keep A Breast Fondation click here.
To see my daily progress of this ACTION cast check out my Facebook page.

Sketch of the Day

It all started with Greece Wither Spoon. My old art school friend, Spencer, went to the Oscars this year- it was so exciting to see him hanging out with the stars! On Facebook, one of his friends wrote: "I saw you behind Greece Wither Spoon." We thought that she was being funny, but it turned out to be an autocorrect error from her phone. I commented on it and Spencer suggested that we both draw quick sketches of Greece and submit them to each others timeline the next day. Here's what I came up with:

 

Next thing Spencer suggested we take turns picking subjects to do quick sketches of every day or so. We did a couple more sketches back and forth, and we realized that it might be something our friends would be interested in doing as well so I started a Facebook group (Sketch of the Day or SOD). Without forcing people into the group, we acquired over 70 members in only a couple weeks! Please feel free to join as well. It has been so much fun and there is no pressure to draw every day, but like me, you might just find yourself doing it anyway!

Here are a few of my own recent favs:

Transgender Aladdin

Superhero or Villain

Mermaid

Morrissey Looking for a Job in a Glass Box

Zombie Wizard of Oz

60-Year-Old Princess Leia

Favorite Movie Character as a Fish: Shark Vader

Alter Ego

Polina

 

Polina Kadiyska

I didn’t know Polina. I saw her perform in the Nutcracker and in the hallways of The Rock School but never had a conversation with her. I was very affected by Polina’s story and even more disappointed by the outcome. How could anyone not be saddened by the loss of such a young and promising life? I was very upset as I heard the news about Polina almost a year ago, in the Rock Café alongside the other talented ballet students. It made me terribly sad. 

I felt inclined to paint this in Polina's honor and I will be presenting to The Rock School. It was one of the more difficult paintings I ever attempted for various reasons. I haven't draw a realistic portrait in years, in fact I have spent my whole career trying to distort the human form. I also haven't painted in oils for a while-- except for the Keep A Breast casts that I worked on this summer. The painting gave me a reason to get my homemade easel out of the basement and actually paint. It was difficult yet rewarding, and I only hope that Polina's family and the staff and students of The Rock School enjoy it.

 

"Polina" - detail (look closely and you will see glitter in her costume)

 

"Polina" - detail

The Wonder Years Part 2

Here is my finished illustration of The Wonder Years! Notice that Winnie has a math book... haha!

The Wonder Years

The Wonder Years first aired 25 years ago last week! We have been watching it on Netflix and it still holds up as a great show. Here's a quick drawing... I need to work on Kevin more. I tweeted this drawing to the actors that play Paul, Winnie, & Kevin and heard back from Josh Saviano (Paul) and Danica McKellar (Winnie)! They both liked it and now I'm encouraged to make it a full-color illustration.

Portlandia!

 I was picked to run the Twitter account for IFC's hilarious sketch comedy show Portlandia, for a week! I started last Friday and it has been so much fun. I have been running some arts & crafts contests and asking the natives about Portland. It has been a great opportunity to bond with the fans of such a creative show. IFC is extending this Portlandia Co-op project to guest tweeters during the run of their third season. You can read more about Portlandia's Co-op project and my Q & A on their blog: www.ifc.com/shows/portlandia/blog/2013/01/meet-the-portlandia-co-op

As part of the Portlandia Twitter fun I have been drawing sketches of my favorite characters. Here is my colored illustration of "We Can Pickle That", one of their catchy skits in the vein of "Put A Bird On It".

You can catch me on Portlandia's Twitter for a couple more days: https://twitter.com/ifcportlandia
Or on my own Twitter for updates on my artwork: https://twitter.com/mcillustrator

Anne Hathaway

Here's an old caricature I did of Anne Hathaway for the Philadelphia Weekly back in '06. Now she is in the biggest movies of 2012 (Batman and Les Miserables). Back then, in the course of a year she went from "Ella Enchanted" & "Princess Diaries 2" to "Havoc", a dark movie where she plays a drugged-out girl and well, read what Craig says about it: http://www.philadelphiaweekly.com/arts-and-culture/top_5_of_the_moment-38410889.html

Romney cover for OC Weekly

Roxy

Last Friday my heart was broken. My dog, Roxy, had fluid in her lungs and died of heart complications. We were lucky enough to have a couple of days with her after she was diagnosed. I'm going to miss so many things about that little dog, she was such a character- everything she did, she did it with style. She was 12 years old and she lived with me for the past 8. My mom and step-dad got Roxy as a puppy and just as I bought my first house they were down-sizing, so I offered to take her in. We were buddies ever since. That dog had been through so much in those 8 years, I thought she'd live forever. She had Lyme's disease and couldn't walk for a day, she was bitten by a spider and covered in hives, she fell in our pool twice (once with the cover on), she got in a fight with a doberman and made it out with just a scratch, she got out of the house and was lost for a couple hours until my sister and I found her- in the dark... all you could see was her white spots, she was known to explore- she just had a curious nature and that's what I loved about her.

The photo above I took on the first day that Roxy came to live with me. I always loved the photo- the composition, the colors, the way Roxy is gazing to the side... it's a classic portrait. It inspired me to do a caricature of Roxy, my first-ever pet portrait. Since that illustration I have done many other pet portraits but that was the one that started them all. My portrait of Roxy was also incorporated into my logo- it can be found on my website and I have used it in mailings. I plan to keep using it now in memory of Roxy.

Keep A Breast Cast #4- "Awareness" Werewolf

 

Click here to see the process of the cast from the beginning!

I just finished my fourth cast for Keep A Breast, in time for Halloween! AWARENESS- Don't be a werewolf, be aware! Check yourself once a month!

I found out this cast came from a Keep A Breast charity event. At the event Keep A Breast Traveling Education Booth was onsite with some limited cause merchandise available.  This event was quite special because they did a LIVE CASTING with two of  San Diego’s finest ladies, Claudia Miranda and Christie Burns. This AWARENESS cast is from Claudia.

DONATIONS NEEDED for a Breast Cancer Fudraiser

LOCAL ARTIST FRIENDS: this is our first call for donations for TEAM MAUREEN! It is a breast cancer fundraiser coming up- October 19th at Masso's Catering. Erin and I are donating some artwork and we would love it if you can help too! A collection of local artwork (if you are not local, you can probably still mail artwork in!) would be a great contribution to Team Maureen's Chinese Auction. If anyone has something they would like to donate- originals, prints, or framed items- please get in touch with me (Jim) at mcartalacarte@gmail.com or Team Maureen at teammaureen3@gmail.com and tell them I sent you!

Thank you!
Jim

A Springsteen illustration I did for the Philadelphia Weekly many years ago.

Look what I got in the mail today!

Two more casts to paint for Keep A Breast's mantra series: Action, Art, & Awareness (I already painted "Education"). For "Action" I'm going to do a Star Wars-themed one! "Art" will be a bunch of my favorite artists, including the first lady of breast casts, Frida Kahlo. And I'm still taking ideas for "Awareness"... if you have any!

I found out these casts came from a Keep A Breast charity event. At the event Keep A Breast Traveling Education Booth was onsite with some limited cause merchandise available.  This event was quite special because they did a LIVE CASTING with two of  San Diego’s finest ladies, Claudia Miranda and Christie Burns. (Sorry, I'm not sure of who they are- let me know if you know!)

My Keep A Breast Story

I <3 Boobies!
I first heard about Keep A Breast a few years ago. I remember I saw a clip on the news about this foundation that makes torso casts to have painted and they auction them off. All of the money goes toward educating young people about breast cancer by teaching them methods of prevention, early detection, and support. It's such a simple idea but it needed to be addressed. Cancer, in any form, is becoming too common to be ignored and many other "non-profits" only address ways to cure cancer, not ways to prevent it. Having lost my stepfather to throat cancer a few years ago I saw just how horrible and ruthless the disease can be. 

I also was a substitute teacher at the time and I started seeing these "I <3 Boobies!" bracelets on the wrists of several students.

Aunt Pat
My Aunt Pat died of breast cancer several years ago. It was very upsetting to me and I wanted to pay tribute to her. She was the kindest and most selfless person one could know. So I reached out to Keep A Breast to see if I could get a cast to paint. They sent me a cast and also asked if I wanted to volunteer to do live paintings in the Girlz Garage at the Van's Warped Tour. It was a great experience and I got to meet a few of the awesome people who work for Keep A Breast, including Erica Leite.

 

Dumb & Dumber- Cast #1

The first cast took me a while to come up with the right theme. I originally wanted to paint something deep or meaningful, but nothing inspired me. I was going to paint dinosaurs all over it as I love painting dinosaurs, but that still didn't seem right to me. So then I concluded that it has to be a caricature or caricatures since that is really what I enjoy doing the most. My brain storm was "two boobs" and then one of my favorite movies came to mind, Dumb & Dumber. Which is so fitting now because Keep A Breast decided instead of auctioning it off to take the Dumb & Dumber cast with them on tour in their Traveling Education Booth!  I like to make the connection of the end of the movie when Harry and Lloyd turn down the opportunity to join the Hawaiian Tropic Bus that is traveling across the country. That cast has been all over the country now and I am so proud of it. I know my Aunt Pat and stepfather, Terry would really get a laugh out of this cast as well!

Click here to see the process of the Dumb & Dumber cast on my Facebook page!

Check Yourself (Katy Perry)- Cast #2

I kept in touch with Erica and let her know I would be honored to do another cast for Keep A Breast if the opportunity ever came up. So recently she sent me two casts and had two themes in mind. This first cast would reflect their "Check Yourself" cards they hand out that explain the proper methods of screening oneself for signs of breast cancer. My original sketches for the cast were just a made-up female figure in the poses on the card, but again- I wanted to do a caricature. I instantly thought of Katy Perry for two reasons (haha)- 1) because she was the most famous person I know of that had a cast made by Keep A Breast and 2) well, her cupcakes. 

Her cupcake bra is so iconic and I thought it would be a great way to imply breasts without having to show them. Plus most people could recognize her from the caricature and possibly relate to it better. The video "California Gurls" has so many great visuals that inspired me to go with the whole Candyland theme. It was a fun cast to paint and took a lot of time!

Click here to see the process of the Katy Perry cast on my Facebook page!

Education (Erin)- Cast #3

The third cast had the theme of "Education" to go with Keep A Breast's mantra: Art. Education. Awareness. Action. Erica gave me a few key words to work with, all classic school-related ideas. I used my wife as the model for the teacher on this one. She was the perfect subject for the part as she fancies anything school-related and she's the smartest person I know! She is a constant inspiration to me, she even inspired me to put "5318008" on the calculator... spelling out "BOOBIES" upside-down. The Education cast is the first of their mantra series, I will also paint a cast for the other words: Art, Awareness, & Action.

Click here to see the process of the Education Erin cast on my Facebook page!

On Tour

Currently, all three casts are on the road with Keep A Breast in their Traveling Education Booth and Girlz Garage on the Vans Warped Tour! If you catch the tour this summer, stop by their tent, pick up an "I <3 Boobies" tee shirt, and check out my casts! And please, tell them Jim sent you!

Finished Casts!

Both Keep A Breast casts are finished and on their way to The Warped Tour! If you're going to the tour this summer look for the Keep A Breast Traveling Education Booth and you may see one of these! Pick up an "I ♥ Boobies" bracelet and tell them Jim sent you!

Keep A Breast Cast #3- "Education"

Here is my second of two new Keep A Breast casts I'm working on! The theme for this one is "Education" as part of their theme "Art. Education. Awareness. Action". My wife is the model for the teacher!

Keep A Breast Cast #2- Check Yourself

Here is my first of two new Keep A Breast casts I'm working on! The theme for this one is "Check Yourself" and it ties in with KAB's self-check guide. I thought it would be fun to use Katy Perry in her famous cupcake bra!