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Even before I ever experimented with hallucinogens, I've always been intrigued by this man. He went - overnight - from being one of the most respected names in psychology to one of the most hated people in America because of his ideals.
I guess I empathize so much to him because I, too, am often disliked for some of my "radical" ways of thinking, and overall attitude against the system.
Anyhow, I felt it was only suiting to create a portrait image dedicated to his memory and how he has changed the world and continues to change people's minds about the way we think about life, happiness, sanity, peace, government and beauty.
As you can see, this is a major work in progress... I've only gotten down the basics, and it will all be painted when I'm done with it (acrylic simply because this is all I am comfortable with now).
If you think it kinda resembles Medusa, that's okay, because me and Nero also got that thought!  But those are not snakes; they are Liberty Caps (Psilocybe Semilanceata - one of the most potent magic mushrooms).
I plan on painting in an upside down rainbow over his mouth as well, as to give off the impression of the rainbow surrounding his smile.
I'm thinking about using either swirled colors in the background, or some sort of prismatic effect, or maybe I can use the "fish effect" I always see when I am broadening my horizon.
I'm also thinking about throwing in some text in the background (faintly)... I'm going to go with either just one of his famous sayings or several of them in different places (such as: "turn on, tune in, drop out", or "in order to free your mind, you must go out of your head").
His birthday is coming up on October 22nd, so I am hoping to have it ready then, so I can send it to a few sites (maybe erowid too) so his spirit continues to live on.
In the words of Pink Floyd, "Shine on, you crazy diamond"!
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I just posted an updated version of my recent painting. I changed a small area by making the shading a bit more faint and less obvious (to the left of the nose), and I adjusted the brightness a bit so that it isn't as dark as the last scan was.
Check it out here:
http://www.levlive.com/item.php?id=576
This is the Swedish king... "värdelös" is Swedish for "useless" (or "worthless" you could argue). "Hans Majestät Värdelös" would basically mean "His majesty useless".
As some of you may know, Sweden is a democracy, meaning the king has no real power and serves no purpose other than carrying on a tradition and grasping onto any remnants of a fading culture.
Or as I see it: a waste of tax payers money. The man lives in wealth while people like me pay for him.
Useless.
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I just noticed a very minor detail which is big enough to make me retouch it up and re-scan it.
It is the small shadow to the left of the nose.. I made it too defined and overlooked it during the touch up phase but noticed it now when comparing the pictures... Let's just say I rushed finishing it up. I normally hate to add any more ink/paint/charcoal or whatever to a piece after I have signed it, but I'm making an exception here because this bothers me a lot.
I will post the updated scan of it later this evening (I have to let the paint dry before I can put it on the scanner! ).
I will also make sure to adjust the brightness because my damn scanner drivers in Linux aren't doing the contrast and brightness justice.
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I just added an "Artwork" section to my site here, which will feature all the stuff I draw or paint. Right now it just contains my earlier Thoughtcrime piece, plus the latest one I just finished today of the Swedish King.
Check it out!
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Here's an update on how the "Mr. Useless" painting is coming. I haven't even started painting yet, but I think I've drawn as much as I will in pencil to give me a good guideline.
I liked the pencil drawing a lot so I made a high resolution scan in case I end up mutilating the drawing during the course of painting.
I will probably post a bunch of pictures I took during the course of drawing it all, when it is all finished.
Oh, and if you don't know who this is... It's a picture of the Swedish king. It will be a normal portrait only with a stamp reading "useless" over his forehead (in Swedish).
This is more art I want to have because if I will be putting out the magazine I anticipate, I will be writing an article about how useless the role of traditional monarchs are in democratic societies (such as Sweden). It is in no way a reflection of a belief that the man is a worthless individual, but a belief that his role is useless.
Pardon the texture... this is done on canvas paper.
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Okay, I've already gotten started on my next painting. With any luck, and a lot of a persistance, I will continue to create new paintings regularly again. 
The one I will be working on now is going to be of the Swedish king, and my blunt general feeling about who he is.
It will be a portrait with a slight sense of Lev added to the mix.
Anyhow, I am still in the preliminary layout phase and I thought I would take a photo of how I've begun so far, to possibly give other aspiring artists an easy tip at capturing lifelike proportions when doing faces.
Basically what I've done is measure the height and width of the face and then plotted out position boundaries for where facial features may not exceed. By having everything laid out with ratios in proportion, you are guaranteed to avoid making any part of the face out of scale to the rest.
Of course it is more time consuming then just rushing into it, but if you are a bit timid as to how to begin it's a good idea for a starting point. Since it's been a really long time since the last time I was drawing regularly, I'm taking my own recommendation and approaching this one cautiously.
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Well, it's finally done!
I call it "Thoughtcrime" after much inspiration and dedication towards Orwell's 1984.
It's acrylic on canvas paper (10" x 14").
If you have any constructive criticism I'd love to hear it. Everyone sees things differently, so I'd love to hear how you see them.
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I did a whole hell of a lot of painting today.
I'd say I'm roughly 50-60% done now!
I'm satisfied with how much of it has been going so far, but quite disappointed in certain aspects of it. It was a real wake up call to me that I need to get back to practicing regularly, otherwise much of the skill is forgotten.
I will post a picture of the painting when it is complete, which will be sometime this weekend.
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Hopefully I will get a little painting done tomorrow. I've been looking forward to it for a while now since I bought a bunch of paints and brushes I have never used.
It's been many years since I've painted so I hope I haven't completely lost it. I did a bit more touching up on the drawing I'll be painting, and the only thing I am really worried about now is if I will be able to get as thin of lines as I've drawn in some areas (particularly the gun).
With any luck I will fall back into the hang of it in no time. I am hoping so, because I'd really like to get back in a habit of drawing and painting.
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For those of you who know me in "real" life, you're probably aware that I haven't been drawing in years. It all started after a certain leprechaun stole my drawing pad containing my favorite drawing of all time. Anyhow, since then I have only drawn incredibly rarely and I never can seem to get back in the groove of it.
After tripping a couple weekends back, I came to realize that I should go back into art, since it is a productive and constructive way to express feelings, as opposed to how I normally bottle them all up.
So bear in mind I haven't drawn in years...
I've been doing a lot of serious thinking lately about starting a free magazine publication, and if I would be doing this, I'd like to have a lot of nice cover art to go with the themes.
What I am working on here is a picture of a prisoner who is being executed. If you've read 1984, then the "2+2=4" on the shirt (where the serial number would normally be) should be obvious to you. To those of you who haven't, it's a popular statement regarding freedom. In the book, the protagonist discusses the issue to himself in his journal as he is speculating on what true freedom is. In a society that has gone rampant with brainwashing (much as our own), he asks himself if the government or party says 2 plus 2 is five, then is it really so? He goes on to saying that, "freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four. If that is granted, all else follows." In other words, freedom is the ability to see the truth within the lies and to be able to stand up for that truth (much as Winston does in the story).
The guy who is being killed is not supposed to represent a "bad guy", but another prisoner of oppressive government rule. Since the magazine will be centered around political and religious dissidence as well as freedom, I felt this would be an appropriate cover for an issue.
This is going to be a painting... I recently bought a bunch of oil and acrylic paints, canvasses and brushes and I plan to begin painting it any day now. I wanted to post a picture when it is in it's sketch form so any of those interested can see how it progresses.
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  I got a package today from my mom for my birthday, and inside it she enclosed a mosaic that she made for me. It looks really nice, and I'm not just saying that because "I have to". I was quite impressed, and love the shiny, reflective, metallic looking pieces that were used.
I've scanned her business card as well, and figured I'd post a link to her homepage, for anyone who is interested in mosaics. She's won some awards at local competitions in Texas, and has some featured on "Mosaic Art 3" CD (published by Mosaic Rocks, LLC.
See, I'm not the only one who is creative in the family!
Her web site can be found at:
www.mosaicsbymassaro.com
She freelances (to my understanding) as well, so if you want something custom made, just contact her.
Oh, and if you're one of those buggers who has been trying to track down my real name for the past 8-9 years, let me just inform you that my last name isn't Massaro; that's her maiden name!
PS: I know it's obviously a musician playing an instrument, but couldn't one also see a punker with a mohawk, hitting a bong? 
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