Track 3

So as you can probably see this whole keeping up regularly isnt working so well, but at least im doing better than I have been previously. Today Im kinda going to skip over whats going on in my life to show you a neat thing first.

 So heres a couple of the stuff Ive done for Stellas, I recreated the mural outside into a small version to be used for menus, posters, table tents. They used it for the Rehab Brunch which is still going on every sunday, you should check it out its pretty cool. The bottom left one there is a Happy Hour pinball machine they asked me to make, I dont know that it ever got used, but all the staff who saw it really liked it. Ive got the start of another poster with that little spaceman, and the Downtown Throwdown poster has another awesome tie fighter fight.

this is from the Team Trivia posters I made for McFaddens, I never heard if they used them either, but it turned out pretty cool I think, I had the Millenium Falcon higher up on the poster by the text.

So yeah I guess that satisfies my Barfly art stuff to be posted.

Things have still been struggling a bit in the trying to find art gigs avenue, but I did recently make an awesome album for the Tony LaJoye Trio, check out the poster for it, there is also a date in Traverse on the 5th for you northerners. I might post some of the album art when it gets closer to the date as a preview.

Things have been alittle rocky in my personal life as of current, Im a bit lost to be honest, but I feel hopeful about it, and I think it will work out positivly...

Today I got the whole process started to do substitute teaching, saddly Alex I wont be able to sub for you for your honeymoon, but I will later in the year. I think it could be pretty cool, and since I will be able to kinda choose my days I dont want to work I can make days for myself to work as well that way I can do art stuff and have a paying job, awesome.

  Most recently though, yesterday in fact, I posed a question as my status of what should I draw tommorow, an awesome amount of cool ideas were thrown out there, and I think I might form them all into a crazy awesome painting, Ill post the sketches next time so everyone who commented can see, and Ill keep them updated on its progress, itll kinda be something to work on when im not working on other stuff.

Track 3, my favorite album...

Hi all, probably not a long post, but I told myself I would try to be better about posting stuff. Things have been going decently recently all things considered. Still dont have any job prospects on the horizon really, but I sent out emails to a bunch of different places, Baker Books, Beehive Illustration agency, Highlights. Id like to send more stuff to agencies, but Im not really sure how to go about that. While I loved going to Grand Valley, I do feel like the things missing in my education was how to actually get jobs, I mean in that regard people mostly suggested what to have in your portfolio, not like how to actually beat the pavement so to speak and get contacts and stuff.

    Anyways, my sister had her wedding last weekend, it was a really great ceremony, everyone had a great time, and it was nice to be able to introduce Anne to my family, hopefully it wasnt to overwhelming.  Donovan Cater officiated which was really cool, I think it means more in a wedding when you have a good friend do the actual stuff, especially since its so easy to be ordained these days. He and Jessa are really cool people too, Im looking forward to making a logo for her face painting. Im not a big logo person, but when someone wants me to make a logo and is coming to me becuase they want it to be in my style I dont mind at all, then its fun to see something youve done on letterhead, business cards and stuff.

Anyways Im not sure what art to throw on here today, Im going to start showing some of the stuff that I had made for Barfly when I was working there, they havent really contacted me about anything so Im not sure if they still want me to freelance at all. Heres a couple of the more animated banners (these are the top an bottom, they went on 11x14 posters will all the events an stuff, ones for beer dinners the other is for weekly events), and a poster I did for a hop festival, they didnt end up doing there own text, I added the text in digitally so it wasnt so bad.

Ill add more stuff next time, hopefully have something brand new, but also more of the Barfly stuff.

Goings Ons of Michael Hoskins

So while watching a film the other evening, I realized that I feel alittle bad for Nick Nolte, I dont know that Ive ever seen him in something where he wasnt kind of a dick that everyone hated who was trying to not be but is a bit misunderstood.
So theres that, anyways its been quite awhile, I feel alittle dumb honestly because everytime I blog post I seem to start things off with apologes and reassurances, and promises to be a better blogger, lets be honest, Im not fairly frequent with my bloggering, but I can try to be I suppose.

So firstly a filling in of things that are going in my life at th moment, well I recently kind of, I think it would be laid off, but im not certain, basically for the last, 6 months or so, Ive been working for a Barfly Ventures, better known as HopCat, Stellas Lounge, The Viceroy, Mcfaddens, and the Grand Rapids Brewing Co., it was kind of a dream job really, they hired me to be an illustrator and basically just paint cool stuff all the time, make posters and graphics and stuff. I have no hard feelings, I was kinda stressed out all the time, I was on salary, which compelled me to be constantly working on stuff, and felt guilty to make other art, or even go out of the house. It will also be nice to not be doing logos all the time, they are so frusterating, plus Im not a designer so my logos tend to be cool little paintings. I did make some really cool stuff while working for them, which I post gradually on here. Its alittle concerning though becuase Im not sure where Im going to get money, alittle nerve racking and stressful, but itll be ok, the cartoon should make money, and they asked me to freelance occasionally which should be good. I just dont want to have to go back to working as a bouncer, I worked 40+ hours every week, and never had any money, plus I worked every weekend til 4 am, so no social life either.

I also started dating a pretty wonderful girl, which is cool, shes gotten me to be cleaner, my house is tidier, which is cool, also looks great now becuase I got a new couch (before I got laid off).
My sister is getting married in a few weeks which is pretty awesome, I got this cool suit vest to wear, but it was a bit tight, which is actually good, it gave me a reason to actually start a diet and exercise more, which I needed to do anyways, but its always hard to get started with anything like that, no motivation, it always seems like it would be expensive, but basically im just going to eat eggs, pretty much for every meal, and eat smaller meals, its only been a few days, but I already lost 4 pounds.

So hopefully it wont be over a year before my next post, but Ill try to keep you all apprised of my goings ons, Im making an album for the Tony LaJoye Trio, more to come on that, and when we launch the site Ill put a link to the Conputers Cartoon website, and web cartoon im working on with a group of friends, we will have a kickstarter and it should be pretty great.