the world of todd v

more new graf art!

2006-08-11T11:57:00.000-07:00

"thick and thin

"cool kat"

exciting new works!

2006-07-31T16:13:00.000-07:00

So I have been playing around with some grafitti art and pop art for a while... then I put together this AVAX event at Ingenuity, and was totally inspired working with so many other graf artists, that it sent me down yet another path/obsession. I have created 3 large new works this week and I really love how they came out. check them out!

Sketch Project 12

2006-01-17T12:55:00.000-08:00

I just started another ga-roovy project! Its called Sketch Project 12. And its really an outgrowth of my current vision. I wanted to start keeping a sketch diary, in an attempt to continue to hone my drawing skills. Of course once you have all these neato drawings laying around, it seems like you should do something cool with them. right? So I started the Sketch Project. Basically I will spend each month creating all these nifty little sketches, and then bring them together into a singular print at the end of the month. To make it even cooler... I thought why not have other people join in the fun? So everybody can now begin sending me submissions to add to the finished works. Of course you need to understand the terms and conditions of the deal so check out this page CLICK HERE

the toddv photo blog...

2006-01-05T08:25:00.000-08:00

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the toddv photo blog...

2005-12-22T10:41:00.000-08:00

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Random stuf...

new title for todd v

2005-12-05T05:49:00.000-08:00

Hey all...

I am now the Executive Director of Art and Fashion at TapItFame.com!

If you are an artist (visual artist, fashion designer, musician, or entertainer) you should check out the site! We have a very powerful artist search and representational tools! If you are serious about building your artistic career visit TapItFame.com today. Also, be sure to pass this information along to anybody you think might be interested.

Got questions? Let me know.

todd

the toddv photo blog...

2005-12-01T16:33:00.000-08:00

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the toddv photo blog...

2005-11-30T10:39:00.000-08:00

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So, if this works, you will be able to see these images on my blogger account too!

Missing Scene from Empire Strikes Back

2005-11-22T10:38:00.000-08:00

Missing Scene from "Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back"
I don't know who wrote this. It came in a forwarded e-mail. But, this is some funny stuff!

A furious lightsaber duel is underway. DARTH VADER is backing LUKE SKYWALKER towards the end of the gantry. A quick move by Vader, chops off Luke's hand! It goes spinning off into the ventilation shaft. Luke backs away. He looks around, but realizes there's nowhere to go but straight down.

Darth Vader: Obi Wan never told you what happened to your father.

Luke: He told me enough! He told me you killed him!

Darth Vader: No, Luke... I am your father!

Luke: No. It can't be. That's not true. That's impossible!

Darth Vader: Search your feelings Luke... you know them to be true.

Luke: NOOoooo!

Darth Vader: Yes, it is true... and you know what else? You know that brass droid of yours?

Luke: Threepio?

Darth Vader: Yes... Threepio... I built him... when I was 7 years old.

Luke: No! ... Wait, huh?

Darth Vader: Seven years old. And what have you done? Look at yourself. No hand. No job. And you couldn't even levitate your own ship out of the swamp...

Luke: But... I destroyed your precious Death Star!

Darth Vader: But that was when you were 20! When I was 10, I single-handedly destroyed an entire Trade Federation Droid Control ship!

Luke: Well, it's not my fault...

Darth Vader: Oh, here we go... "Poor me... my father never gave me what I wanted for my birthday... boo hoo, my daddy's the Dark Lord of the Sith... Nobody loved me... waahhh wahhh!"

Luke: Shut up!

Darth Vader: You're a slacker! By the time I was your age, I had already exterminated the Jedi knights!

Luke: I used to race my T-16 through Beggar's Canyon.

Darth Vader: Oh, for the love of the Emperor... 10 years old, winner of the Boonta Eve Open... the Only human to ever fly a Pod Racer... right here baby!

Luke looks down the shaft. Takes a step towards it.

Darth Vader: I was wrong... You're not my kid... I don't know whose you are, but you sure ain't mine.

Luke takes a step off the platform, hesitates, then plunges down the shaft.

Darth Vader looks down after him.

Darth Vader: And get a haircut!

2005-11-17T05:26:00.000-08:00

Check out the look of utter fear in the eyes of Stone... although it doesn't look like it in this picture (of a picture...) he really did have a blast on this ride. It was his first ride on a really big coaster, actually, Florida's biggest coaster.

I will get a better scan of this image when I get home.

Enjoy!

2005-10-26T12:28:00.000-07:00

Fewer posts here

2005-10-13T08:53:00.000-07:00

I am going to start doing most of my bloggin at my personal webpage. I mean really I want to drive my visitors to my personal site, not all over the internet looking at various locations... I will still use this space to share pictures and stuff as I have time. But the fact is, I just don't have time to keep updating my info in so many different spaces...

So to stay in touch please visit me at my site www.toddv.com

See you there!

2005-09-07T09:55:00.000-07:00

Article in the Plain Dealer about the race.
You will no doubt notice, the image in the paper is my sacrificial bike before any mods. The bike has gone through a major metamorphosis as you will see below...

2005-09-07T09:54:00.000-07:00

the dragster in repose

2005-09-07T09:53:00.000-07:00

test drive

2005-09-07T09:52:00.001-07:00

The back of the Dragster

2005-09-06T11:45:00.000-07:00

Here it is... My Dragster at 90% completion. Its so funny to see my cartoon concept drawing, fully actualized in real life! hahaha!

2005-09-06T11:44:00.000-07:00

Well, Dragsterday is coming up! And here is the team. Tim Shreffler, lead Fiberglass Technician. Jeremy Moor, Bobsled Team Captain. Victor, Bobsled Team.

Red Bull Dragsterday!

2005-08-17T09:10:00.000-07:00

Have you heard about this? This is an outgrowth, or I guess an americanized version of their popular Flugtag events. Except in this case people were asked to create human powered dragsters, instead of flying machines. (to me this whole idea seems a lot safer. I am not really into trying to fly off of a 40 foot platform into the lake!)

Anyway, as you may have guessed, my design was selected along with only 32 others, nationally, to be built into a fully functional human powered dragster. (gulp..) yeah, I guess when I was drawing it, it seemed like it would be easy, hahahaha! To make matters worse, the day after I got the news that I made it in, I lost my whole team to a wedding... Long story, suffice it to say, I was alone on the project. I thought I was going to have to pull out, and I even called the people at Red Bull and told them as much.

But, they would not be dissuaded so easily. I am not sure why, but they kept pushing me to create my dragster anyway. Finally I gave, I told them that if I could find a sponsosr, I would do it! So I started my search in earnest looking for a bike shop to help me in my dreams of drag racing glory. As it so happens I found a sponsor immediately! Marty's bike shop in Stow. Tom, the owner fell in love with the whole idea immediately, and said he would provide all the bike parts I needed at cost. Now I just needed to find another couple of sponsors to cover the 'at cost'. I made a few more phone calls and now I am also sponsored by Liquid Living, and R & R mechanical both in Cleveland. Woohoo, the dragster will live!

Now is the tough part, I have about 3 1/2 weeks to get my legs in shape, and actually build this beast. Fortunately I have a friend, Tim Shreffler, who knows his way around the fiberglass stuff, and the guys at the bike shop are helping me build my custom components. I will, of course, be creating a video diary of this creation, and I will share it with you after the race on sept. 10th.

The sketch above is the original concept drawing that I entered into the competition. The final car will be a little modified but all in all, pretty much the same. ESPN2 will also be there on raceday, creating an hour long special to air at a later date.

So, if you are in Detroit on the 10th of September, or if you want to make the trip out to see this crazy day, stop on by the pits and say hi!

See you later.

More cool developments!

2005-08-17T09:07:00.000-07:00

I have been selected as one of only 10 artists to complete a special commemerative painting for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame! Sonsored by the Rock Hall "Ten of the city's hottest artitsts have been asked to create a work of art that expresses what 10 years of the Rock Hall in Cleveland means to them". I am very excited to be a part of this 'historic' event, and I am creating a very experimental piece. It utilizes some of my existing techniques with some totally new things incorporated into the design. I am using some new materials and some salvaged items to create a piece that makes an old electirc guitar look like its a fossil.

The idea behind the piece is to say, that the Rock Hall is like a modern history of popular culture. Much of what we take for granted today in our culture was born out of this musical movement. And without the electric guitar, there is no rock n roll! So I wanted to make a piece that would look like something you might find a couple of thousand years after today, and scientists would make all kinds of interesting reports on, suggesting where the guitar came from and who played it an so on...

I am going to document the creation of this piece, and once its done I will put up a short video on my website to share this creative process with you all!

See you soon.

Lots of cool stuff to do in Cleveland

2005-07-25T14:29:00.000-07:00

Wow, I just got done updating my cleveland.com blog and I have so much more to post this week. I have to pace just to keep all the events organized!

Be sure to visit my cleveland.com.weblog often. The address is http://www.cleveland.com/weblogs/canvas and remember for the true web geeks, you can even get RSS feeds from my blog too! Talk to you soon.

Todd
toddv
Owner iSmudge.com
TheClevelandCanvas.com

2005-07-20T13:22:00.000-07:00

My painting of Kenny Crumpton, one of the anchors on Fox8 News in the Morning. I painted this piece on location at Crocker Park, during Kenny's Grillapalooza. It was a BLAST! I can't wait for my next appearance.

2005-06-08T15:03:00.000-07:00

Moonset at Moss Lake - by todd v 2005

2005-05-26T08:48:00.000-07:00

Current pop art project - 95% complete at this point. 1 of 2. I will post the next one very soon!

WOW - now this is getting cool!

2005-05-25T13:31:00.000-07:00

Greetings fellow bloggers! Just wanted to share this groovy little tidbit. I just finalized a deal with cleveland.com (just in case you don't know, thats the .com for The Plain Dealer, Ohio's largest newspaper) to provide arts and cultural content for their site via their proprietary blogs. Now I can spread the message even further than ever before!

If you want to see the page CLICK HERE!

2005-05-17T14:17:00.000-07:00

revised version of concept art for video

2005-05-17T13:08:00.000-07:00

Possible concept drawing for poster/dvd/tshirt art for a friend's upcoming snowboarding dvd entitled 'from nowhere'.

2005-05-17T09:29:00.000-07:00

Her Pink Bow - Stage 3. Now there is more detail coming into view. You can see more of her facial features, and some of the details of the dress and hands are coming in now. Also, if you look real close you'll also see her mary jane shoes taking shape. Hope you like it!

Come on down to the Luau!

2005-05-12T12:37:00.000-07:00

Big ad for an upcoming appearance! Free Times 05-12-05

2005-05-10T12:33:00.000-07:00

dog portraits - a commission.

Firewater Burn - The series.

2005-05-06T09:00:00.000-07:00

Firewater Burn - The series
I was recently commissioned to complete these pieces to go along with a piece that I sold to one of my clients. I was very pleasantly surprised how nicely these turned out. I am definitely going to do more of these really soon!
by todd v - Copyright 2005

2005-05-06T08:58:00.000-07:00

Firewater Burn - Consumption
by todd v - Copyright 2005 - be sure to click on the image to see a larger version!

2005-05-06T08:57:00.000-07:00

Firewater Burn - Spark
by todd v - Copyright 2005 - be sure to click on the image to see a larger version!

The AVAX Lives...

2005-05-03T12:34:00.000-07:00

The AVAX has booked its first live performance... see the AVAX blog for more details...

avax.blogspot.com

Thanks!

wow! they finally fixed it

2005-05-02T05:55:00.000-07:00

i haven't been able to remote blog for weeks. woohoo! now i can be really annoying.

talk to you soon.

2005-04-27T07:53:00.000-07:00

Reduction Block print

Bowling Fashion

2005-04-25T08:01:00.000-07:00

The most stylish of bowlers will be wearing this subtle flourescent orange numbers this year.

Gathering in Red

2005-04-24T14:17:00.000-07:00

The AVAX is coming...

2005-04-14T12:21:00.000-07:00

Well, its an idea thats been flying around in my head for a while now... Mixing music and visual art into a singular experience... and now it looks like it may actually become a reality!

Here's the short version of the story...

So Sparx in the City has been putting out a call for street performers. I really didn't react to the call, as I am primarily a painter. I didn't figure that people would be that interested in seeing me live on the street painting, you know the expression 'about as fun as watching paint dry'. But then I get this call from a talent agency in Boston who is doing the talent recruiting for Sparx. They wanted to know if I would be interested, so I thought about it some and said SURE!

The next step was this, I wanted it to be a wild experience, full of energy, and interactive with my audience. So I thought why not add some funky music, and learn some new ways to do my paintings REALLY FAST! REALLY FAST! Like painting a tiki in 7 minutes or less to the reverberated tones of my buddy Brett Everett. I gave Brett a call, and he was down, so I started putting the concept together.

Today was our official tryout for Sparx. There were many more judges than I was expecting. Brett layed down a sweet surf track while I flew through a tiki painting in 5 minutes!!! I am guessing it was a success as I sold the painting right there on the spot! Not only that, but there were others who wanted to buy it too!

We will know the final results by next week, but I feel like we nailed it! Stay tuned for the results. And be looking for AVAX soon! I think that even if we don't get this gig, we will be doing it anyway, just on account'a it was F-U-N! If we get the gig, remember this address http://avax.blogspot.com Once we have done a couple of gigs, we will have video and pics up on our site.

Pesky Little Butterfly

2005-04-05T14:28:00.000-07:00

This piece was created using several different processes. First drawn with pencil, then filled in with marker, and then worked with colored pencil. After that I reworked it with markers again, and finally scanned it into photoshop. From there I tweaked it even further to create this print.

copyright 2005 todd v

2005-04-02T11:13:00.000-08:00

Now I have entered stage 2 of 'And She Loved her Pink Bow". Some of the details are coming into view now... enjoy!

2005-04-02T11:11:00.000-08:00

Pink Bow stage 2 Detail image

A whole new world for me - sculpture!

2005-04-01T08:21:00.000-08:00

"And She Loved her Pink Bow" - the sculpture. So here's the deal... I have an awesome opportunity to understudy with Walt Horton, a world renown bronze artist, so I decided to take the plunge into sculpture. Walt has been watching my work as a painter, and has really encoraged me to give my style a try in a 3 dimensional form.

With that said, I decided to start with a little bit simpler form, taking inspiration from my painting with the same title. It will be a bashful little girl with a very large bow in her hair when its all done. At this point I am still building up the form, but I wanted to blog this process, just because I think it will be fun to watch her come together. Stay tuned for updates!

Looks like my son wants to be an artist too...

2005-03-27T12:52:00.000-08:00

One of my son's, Stone, is really starting to take to art as well. He recently did some very cool work on our garage floor. Since he is having so much fun with it I decided to let him start up his own iSmudge.com home page. If you want to see his work just click on the link below:

http://www.ismudge.com/art/stone/

Hope you like his work!

2005-03-24T10:28:00.000-08:00

2005-03-24T10:27:00.000-08:00

Foiled Again - office pranks gone bad!

2005-03-21T10:53:00.000-08:00

Foiled - brought to you by Jeremy!
So this has been brewing for some time now, and I was wondering how long it would take for Jeremy to exact his revenge for the tp-ing that occured in his cubicle only a few weeks ago... well, I guess we have our answer. Also we now know that Jeremy has tooooo much time on his hands!

todd

2005-03-21T10:52:00.000-08:00

Foiled again! -

"Its only metal?"

2005-03-21T07:21:00.000-08:00

Okay, I have a completely nutty story to relate this morning. And as stories go its not so amazing or anything... Its more about what there person said to me, I was incredulous.

So I take my family out to a local Mexican restaurant, we'll call it El Cramp-esino, to protect the innocent. Now, the food is average, but you can't beat the prices. I mean I can get a sit down dinner in a restaurant for 6 bux! So, its a no brainer when you don't want to eat at home, but you don't have a ton of cash.

I am enjoying a particularly large beef burrito and shooting the breeze with some friends when I detect something is amiss. You know the feeling, you are chewing away, and then... whoa, what was that? Your tongue starts the exploration mission. Slowing trolling the interior of your mouth seeking out this foreign object. You can't find it at first, so you continue chewing, but more cautiously this time... crunch... There it is again! Its not quite bone, but you know its not FOOD! What in the world is it. The tongue continues its patrol. (By the way while all of this is going on, you usually keep acting like nothing is happening. You don't want to needlessly gross out your dining companions, until we are aware of the identity of the intruder..)

Click - there it is... I carefully wrangle the object to the front of your mouth, all the while my brain is going crazy trying to determine its origin. Carefully I turn aside from my dining companions to hide the fact that something that I was dining on is now making a grand re-appearance at the table.

I pull out this thing to examine it, and what do I find? Its a metal twist tie! With of course some of the decorative red paper still hanging on all gross and mixed with pintos. SICK! Now my stomach starts to turn. (Of course, I know that its an irrational response, as a twist tie in itself is not so gross, but you start to wonder what ELSE is in your food.) My friends are now equally grossed out and demand that I bring this to the attention to my server. I call her over and show her what I have discovered in #8. The Burrito Especial, and this is where we are all blown away.... She replies with some disdain. "Ees only metal"...

EES ONLY METAL?!?!?!

What kind of reaction is that? I expected an "I am sorry", or "please forgive us"... But no! Ees only metal!!! As if to say, "what a wimp! People usually only complain when they find a body part" Ees only metal, means to me that much worse is USUALLY found in the Burrito Especial. Like I should be happy it was only metal. Aye! This may be my last visit to the Crampesino for some time. I don't think I am ready to engage in the mystery food lottery any time soon. Especially considering that I apparently was a winner this time around. Who knows what I may find on my next visit...?

"Ees only a mouse"
"Ees only a leetle rat"
"Ees only used chewing gum"
"Ees only a leetle beet of finger"

Okay, I am done now. And I am not hungry again....

2005-03-18T14:44:00.000-08:00

remote blogging

2005-03-17T11:39:00.000-08:00

now you are in real trouble because i can blog from anywhere at anytime!

Are you an artist, a gallery owner....

2005-03-17T08:42:00.000-08:00

Are you an artist, a gallery owner, or do you know an artist or gallery owner? If you do, you should tell them about iSmudge.com!

iSmudge.com is an online showcase of artists from all over the world. Our massive size helps our artists be found! There are several different membership options, including a FREE one. We have all kinds of cool tools, and features to help you maximize your career. At the very least - visit us! www.ismudge.com

Also, if you want to reach a whole new audience with your art - why not sign up for the iSmudge.com Global Art Listings? We are about to begin sending out targeted emails to patrons, galleries, and other artists very soon. If you would like to add your information to our listing please contact us!

If you are in Northeast Ohio YOU NEED The Cleveland Canvas (www.theclevelandcanvas.com). We are a monthly arts and cultural newsletter that goes out to thousands of subscribers every month. If you are an artist you should send in your press releases, and if you love art, you should sign up!

Thats enough advertising for now!
todd

2005-03-17T08:41:00.000-08:00

I was recently featured on Fox Television's Morning Show (the morning of 03.15.05). The painting you see here between the two anchors was created live on tv that morning from 6am-9am. It was a total blast! I am scheduled to return this summer ('05).

2005-03-17T08:37:00.000-08:00

2005-03-17T08:36:00.001-08:00

I was commissioned to create a guitar for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame here in Cleveland, Ohio. This piece was eventually sold at a live auction at the Rock Hall, in November 2004

2005-03-17T08:36:00.000-08:00

2005-03-17T08:30:00.000-08:00

This is a dog sculpture that I painted for a benefit we held at the gallery I work with. My friend created the dogs in ceramic, and then we distribute the dogs to area artists to sell in an auction. I painted this dog "by hand", and when I say by hand I mean literally with my hands all covered in paint. I named him "Flower Puppy"

Just wanted to share some of my recent art...

2005-03-17T06:16:00.000-08:00

I wanted to test out the whole Picasa - Hello thing and post some of my latest works. If you like them please feel free to post some comments... if you don't like them please feel free to go away.

You can see all of the art I have for sale at my iSmudge.com page - www.ismudge.com/art/toddv

or on my homepage at - www.toddv.com

If you are an artist and would like to participate in my upcoming co-op global newsletter please contact me! I will add you to our growing email list.

todd

2005-03-17T06:13:00.001-08:00

2005-03-17T06:13:00.000-08:00

2005-03-17T06:12:00.000-08:00

2005-03-17T06:11:00.000-08:00

Bubble Pop Electric - by todd v

Welcome to the todd v blog...

2005-03-10T12:08:00.000-08:00

I am just testing this puppy out. I really don't have anything to say right now, nor do I know when to tell you to come back...
How 'bout this... just add me to your favorites (you know you have a million dead links in there anyway.) and, you know, like a year or two from now, when you come across the link in your favs, just remember to click on the link before you delete it, and see if I wrote anything else.
Later,
todd