Summer Paintings

I kept myself busy over summer painting these little 6"x6" watercolor paintings, 2011.

 

Death Face

My favorite print that was accepted along with three other designs of mine for the Inkahoots printing event, held every year by the printmaking students at Ohio University. Sadly this design was not as popular as my others but it is my personal favorite. Included are the Low Brow 3"x6" screenprint and the original drawing, 2010. Inkahoots' Facebook Page

Apocalypse Babes

Here's my first commission, a video game artist named Brian Menze asked me to do an apocalypse themed work that he could put in his office. Brian Menze has worked on games like Fallout, where he did all of the "Pip Boy" illustrations. Apocalypse Babes is 8.5"x11" watercolor and ink on a paper and found wood base, 2009. Brian Menze info on Giantbomb.com

Monster Smackers

Some of the play medieval weapons that I crafted to have wailed upon me in my last performance. I've been fascinated by the humorous and cathartic effect beating someone with big padded weapons can have. In my performance I acted out peoples problems as a monster, one student had art school and I was a three headed dragon that stomped on your dreams and wanted you money. It was kind of like a trip to the psychologist for some people, they laughed and felt better about the stuff that they had to deal with. These are made out of lightweight PVC piping and PVC insulation wrapped in duct tape and decorated with acrylic paint. The images were a visual language that I was developing where each symbol represents a trait, like strength or wisdom, to help people deal with their problems.

Conceptual Ceramics

My first ceramic project of the year. My accomplices were my sister and fiance. Based off of the concept of picking five verbs and finding a way to create conceptual explorative work four times for each one. I was interested in ceramics and it's relation to the body. The verbs that I picked were dry, stab, dig, slap, and throw.

Undergraduate Art Show 2011

My piece, "Give and Take," displayed at the Undergraduate Art Show. From the 2011 Undergraduate Art Show, there were 211 art works submitted and only 70 works accepted.

How the piece was first intended to be displayed.

"Give and Take," watercolor, ink, and marker on paper mounted on found wood.

Monster Portraits

Monster self portraits from a series of seven self portraits of different aspects of my personality illustrated  as monsters.

"Monster Self Portraits," watercolor on illustration board 18"x24"each, 2010.

Autobiography

   I've been drawing since I could hold a pen. My subjects have always been violent, dinosaurs, vampires, imaginary monsters from imaginary worlds. Drawing was always just a thing to do until I turned ten and moved to California where we lived in the suburbs surrounded by other kids. Pokemon was popular and so I wanted to play but it never crossed my mind to purchase the actual game cards, so I found collectors magazines and copied the cards. I drew all the rarest Pokemon for my deck, on cut up cereal boxes and used office supplies. Drawing Pokemon threw me into a frenzy, I wanted to create my own world so I came up with my own card games that I illustrated. When I was 15 I wanted to be a video game designer so I started to copy Star Wars concept art, fantasy art, and even more collectible cards. Going to college started me off in a whole other direction, I wasn't interested in the digital, the intangible worlds of fantasy, I wanted to bring my imaginary world into this one. The art I create is so inspired by video games and role playing culture because they are artifacts to me that bring the imaginary into the real, but I want to take their ideas further and create a new level of experience with the viewer.

   Right now, I am trying to advance the field of the imaginary, the same thing that fantasy artists have been doing since fantasy art existed as it's own entity outside of religious art and fables. I want to use the experience of being someone else, that video games and role playing games can do so well, to bring a new way of looking at life to people who experience my art. Mixing performance, painting, and medieval play weapons people will know what it is to be Keegan McGee.

83Gallery Show

Some of my pieces showed at an 83Gallery gallery hop show in the fall of 2010 in Columbus Ohio on the short north art gallery district. 83Gallery is curated by Geoff Collins. 83Gallery Home Page

Drawgasmic Images

Images submitted to the Drawgasmic art show in 2010 held in the Cranky Yellow Gallery in Montana. The selected pieces were printed into a book, only one of these pieces was selected. All of these work are untitled watercolor, ink, and marker illustrations, 8.5"x11." Drawgasmic Home Page

This piece was the work selected to be shown in the Drawgasmic art show.

Undergraduate Art Show 2010

Images from my first show at the Undergraduate Art Show in the Ohio University Seigfred Gallery. My piece titled "Am I A Monster" was awarded the Juror's award by Catherine Evans, chief curator of the Columbus Museum of Art.  Columbus Museum of Art Home Page

"Monster City", 2010, Sharpie Markers and Watercolor on paper, mounted on found wood, 2'x5', 2010

Close-up

"Am I A Monster" 2010, Crayola and Sharpie markers on paper, mounted on found wood, 24"x24," 2010

Images From My Studio