This is the blog for lookupgospelchoir.com, the art site of Ryan Callis. Here is where I post about influences, and the stories behind my art. To see the art that this blog refers to, visit www.lookupgospelchoir.com.

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

New Jams......


6's and 12's, 6's and 12's. Parameters make for good times (whoa, what a metaphor). But that's my own trip, trippers.

Saturday, March 20, 2010

Hunches


So luckily I've become re-interested in "hunches". A huge part of my practice is based on trying to use my intuition for choices. Trusting my eye/brain in a way that is beyond reason. "It just works" is what I try to achieve. Ol' Fred Hammersley's work and practice of hunches turned me on to the idea.
So I have re-started my ritual of working on little hunches while I'm at home with the girls. Just practice, like simple brushtrokes, collages, etc. and seeing where they go. The above is todays and yesterdays has turned into a larger piece. It's been fun and I like what has come out thus far.

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

After Work

The shack and a few trees
float in the blowing fog

I pull out your blouse,
warm my cold hands
on your breasts.
you laugh and shudder
peeling garlic by the
hot iron stove.
bring in the axe, the rake,
the wood

we'll lean on the wall
against each other
stew simmering on the fire
as it grows dark
drinking wine.

Gary Snyder

Monday, March 8, 2010


I was driving on Saturday night and Henry Rollins' show was on and he played a whole live record through the duration of the show by Trouble Funk, who sort of blew my mind. They were the dad's of this sub genre of DC funk called "Go Go" which also gets me fired up. The live record he played was amazing and is re-issued by Rollins' defunct label Infinite Zero, and is expensive, but out there. He said him and Ian Mackaye were driving when they first heard this record on the radio in '80 and literally had to pull over and just listen. Hence the mutant bill in the poster above. They were hooked.


And another thing. I have this record in digitized form, and I love it, but I never took time to appreciate how bitchen the cover is. That bright stage light in between the fonts is rockin' it.

Sunday, March 7, 2010



Two new paper works and a new painting. Still sticking to my 6 and 12 system proclaiming that "It's O.K.", and believe me, unclench the sphincter, it is o.k. (life I mean, but I hope the work is at least o.k., hopefully much better than o.k.).

Thursday, March 4, 2010

Delveness....





Delve Clothing did a few shirts with my designs for Shelter surf shop in Long Beach and for the museum store at the Laguna Art Museum where I am in a show at the moment. We also did a sweet sign to direct people as to what to drop $20 on for the store. Thanks Ryan Bryant, as you are awesome. I endorse him as a fine t-shirt maker, beardo, and casual (in a Ray Barbee way) styled surfer I know. Buy some Delve shirts.

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

New gospel songs...



2010 has felt like a really inspired year so far and I have been really stoked on what and how much I've been making so far. I'll start posting new stuff for the rest of the week.

Monday, March 1, 2010

The Choir hits the 'Ho pt. 1












The students at NNU were amazing and did so much of the work. I brought the original drawings (view previous posts) which I turned into transperancies. I literaly brought 6 drawings and the below happened. It was magic. These kids went nuts. Monday and Tues. were spent finishing my "templates" which was basically filling in the pictures to the point that I had furthest conceptualized them, and then we all collaborated for 2 more days, which both went into the morning, to finish them out. New Grizzly Bear, Beach House, Atlas Sound, about 40 pots of coffee, and a ton of tacos helped fuel the funk.

The bottom two pictures are of a sub-concious art connection with one of my drawings, which Chris had pointed out, and the bottom picture was post a night of rooftop cigarettes, early morning painting, a couple of hours of sleep, and a snowstorm. It was an unforgettable time and Andrew, of my hosts, Andrew and Amanda, sent me home with an IPod full of new tunes which made for a killer flight. Woooord.









Idaho pt. II
























































Idaho pt. 3













































Click on the collage picture because Chris, Ian, Joey and Nate really did a killer job putting in a ton of pictoral jokes in there. I mean top notch.