I never really had much interest in working in actual medicine, but I was sort of intrigued by the clinical nature of the imagery and working with bodies. The detachment of medical illustration from its subject can sometimes leave you feeling almost as if you're looking at an alien. Reconciling that strange interiority, especially with your conscious awareness of self, is fascinating, and sometimes frightening to me. ​

It's time for another summer double-header!  First up is our ol' pal Neil Devlin (@lastbosscomics) with a brand new comic and always awesome art show! Neil's been a footnote of the Seattle music scene since 2000. He has also made several comic books and worked with many bands, performers and artists as an editor, designer and illustrator. His artwork has graced the walls of Bruce Lurie Gallery (Los Angeles,) Clutter Gallery (Beacon, NY,) Earth 2 Kentucky (Covington, KY) and, of course, Push/Pull Gallery. Not to mention telephone poles all over the country and record store dollar bins all over the world. ​

Though I am not a spiteful person by nature, a certain vocal minority of bigots and simpletons, who aim to claw their way to the top with the help of a media cycle desperate for a horror story, keep my natural desire to push back against the status quo active and my need to produce art fueled.

​Thus: Spite! My one-person comics anthology of tales I want to tell. An exercise in comics storytelling for immature adults and sophisticated perverts only.  

For my comic release show, I will also be bringing a one-person comic convention of bizarre items that I've produced over the years. Toys, comics, prints, shirts and more insanity. ​

We'll also have Jess Ray (@wobblefincharts), another Seattle local with a wicked sense of humor, and art to match it! Jess explores beautiful ugly things and ugly beautiful things and visual jokes, carrying a sense of wonder and playfulness in their art.​

The world is a ridiculous place, and humans are ridiculous creatures. We are always doing things that go against our best interests, making bad decisions, even when we know they are bad. Cacoethes means an irresistible urge to do something inadvisable, and I think it’s an essential part of being human. At the same time, the world and its inhabitants are so beautiful, surprising, and wonderful. The absurdity and the beauty seem like they should be mutually exclusive, but they aren’t.

Laughter is often a way for us to resolve cognitive dissonance and cope with ideas and experiences that just don’t make sense. My work is a way to look at the absurdity of the world and human behavior, laugh off the contradictions, and celebrate its beauty at the same time. I love to depict the moment just before something happens - often the moment before something goes terribly wrong - and let the viewer imagine the rest. I feel that it’s a way for us to play together, the viewer and me, and share a laugh. We get to feel a sense of dramatic irony, like we know what’s coming before the subject of the drawing has worked it out.