The Plainest Plane

In Limbo

2012-01-19T14:02:00.000-08:00

In case anyone was wondering what I have planned for The Plainest Plane Website, one important thing coming is to have art prints available for purchase. I'm still working on having a comprehensive selection available before I go live, but here is one print that will be available. It was a poster I did for a local Radiohead cover show. I'd like to do similar poster for other bands or topics. If anyone has any ideas of what they'd like to see let me know.

-erwin

Memory

2012-01-14T15:38:00.000-08:00

Nothing too exciting, just more art from the up coming book.

-erwin

A Taste Of Honey

2012-01-11T10:24:00.001-08:00

The opening page to the up coming Plainest Pictoral Periodical is a parody of Herb Alpert's album Whipped Cream & Other Delights. Hope everyone is getting excited. The book is nearly print ready, and I've vowed not to shave until the book is printed and in my possession. So instead of looking like a hobo, I look like a sexually deviant hobo.

- erwin

Soon...

2012-01-04T23:08:00.000-08:00

So today I learned Dreamweaver and the site is now up and running... sort of...
Not bad for Day 2 of unemployment.

Plainest Plane Dot Com

-erwin

MegaMan

2012-01-02T02:20:00.000-08:00

Not really sure why... but I was bored, and needed something to post.

-erwin

Paper Plane

2011-12-30T00:36:00.000-08:00

Remember that book I was supposed to print 2 years ago, that a handful of people got excited about, then slowly forgot existed... Well it's finally on the way! In all its mediocre glory.

Here is the cover I worked up for The Plainest Plane's Plainest Pictoral Periodical Volume 1. In all its artsy, trying too hard, glory.

-erwin

Hocus Focus

2011-12-27T21:52:00.000-08:00

So... I need to draw more. So I am going to do that.... Startiiiiiiing now.

- erwin

The Plainest Setback

2009-11-12T06:40:00.000-08:00

So recently I caught a nasty little computer virus that forced me to reformat my entire hard drive. Unfortunately that set the zine back a little while. I said mid November, but it looks like its going to be late November to early December. Apologies to all two people who preordered. To make up for it, here's a low rez sample of what you can expect in the center fold. Didn't want to give away too many details, so its really low rez. See this and much much more in glorious HD (or real life) by buying the book. The Plainest Plane's Plainest Pictorial Periodical. Facebook, Myspace, email (odderwin@yahoo.com) or comment below to reserve a copy for the low low price of $2.

-erwin

Song of the Moment:
The Rolling Stones
"I Am Waiting"

"Well, like a winter storm, fears will pierce your bones, you'll find out."

Luchaween

2009-10-29T23:35:00.001-07:00

The luchador pumpkin has unfortunately withered and has been peed on by a local dog. Matt was gracious enough to take this picture on its first and last night as a jack o lantern. RIP Lucha pumpkin.

Happy Halloween everyone.

- erwin

Song of the Moment:
The Buckinghams
"King of a Drag"

"I still love you, I'll always love you, Anyway, anyway, anyway."

Plain In Print

2009-10-20T04:40:00.001-07:00

I just got back from The Alternative Press Expo with a bag full of art, and a mind full of inspiration. I've been working on a home made mini zine for a couple of weeks now, and since APE, I've really turned up the productivity on it.
I've dubbed it "The Plainest Plane's Plainest Pictoral Periodical." The zine will be the first volume of an ongoing series which collects mini comics and art by yours truly. Expect some comedy, some tear jerkers, and even a little Erwin nudity. The image above is the working cover art, although looking at it again, I will most likely make changes. I'll be printing only 100 copies, so start messaging me ASAP if you'd like a copy. They're going for the low price of $2 an issue. I'll keep track of everyone who preorders and make sure you get a copy.

- erwin

Song of the Moment:
The Beach Boys
"I Can Hear Music"

"The sound of the city baby, seems to disapear, when I can hear music, sweet sweet music."

The Creative Process

2009-09-09T03:44:00.001-07:00

A rare glimpse into the life of an artist. In the epilogue I'm playing video games.

- erwin

Song of the Moment:
Leo Kottke
"Hear The Wind Howl"

"You can't go back, it's not the same."

Lil' Erwin

2009-09-03T08:35:00.001-07:00

There was a brief period in my childhood, when i started putting on weight rapidly. Around 6th grade I believe, I hit a growth spurt (got fat), and I began to get picked sooner for sports, and I was constantly told I would make a great football player. Pretty soon kids began to see that despite the size increase, I was still just as terrible at sports. This mini comic is both an ode to those times, and the first of a series of "Lil' Erwin" mini comics.
Enjoy.

- erwin (now with more substance!)

Song of the Moment
Cat Stevens
"Father and Son"

"Why, think of everything you've got. For you will still be here tomorrow, but your dreams may not."

CitruHipster

2009-09-03T04:33:00.000-07:00

pen & ink on Sonic bag

- erwin

Song of the Moment:
Love
"Alone Again Or"

"I heard a funny thing, somebody said to me. Y'know that i could be in love with almost everyone. I think that people are the greatest fun. And I will be alone again tonight my dear."

Love, Is A Burnin' Thing...

2009-08-08T03:25:00.001-07:00

Today, Robin and I celebrated our three year anniversary! We stopped in for a late afternoon Hummus snack in which I (jokingly?) posed the question: "Would you still be with me if I was burned in a freak accident, and despite numerous skin grafts still looked horribly disfigured?... also I have to wear a wig because my hair was burned in the accident... also i drool when we kiss." (A question i pose from time to time.)
She jokingly (at least i hope) replied "mmmmNo..." to which I then posed the question: "Well what if we were in the same accident and you too were horribly disfigured? Would you stay with me or leave me for a better looking, more successful burn victim?"
Reluctantly, she replied: "well... guess I wouldn't have much of a choice."

Now that's true love folks.

The impromptu drawing was done on the parchment paper we shared hummus on.

Happy Three Years Robin.

-erwin

Song of the Moment:
The Beatles
"Here Comes the Sun"

"Little darling, the smiles returning to the faces"

The Plainest Ad

2009-07-09T05:29:00.000-07:00

Apologies to those who were actually interested enough to follow the ad and come to the site for lack of interesting content.

-erwin

Song of the Moment:
Mr. Loco
"Hombre Religioso"

"Cause I have prayed I just behave, Cause saints and sinners, Are quite the same, Cause it's my temple, The whole wide world. That's why I think I am I am."

Roll Out!

2009-06-28T03:33:00.000-07:00

I was commissioned to do this fun little project this week. I used to work for a company called Douglass Truck Bodies as their in-house graphic designer. My time there was spent re-vamping their print design, but on my lunch break I would draw these funny cartoons of their trucks as Transformers. Not for much else than making my brother, whom also worked there, laugh at my nerd-references. Certain terms like "Maximizer", and "Equiptos" just sounded like Transformer terms. After I left my boss had stumbled across one of the doodles, and on a whim asked if I would do a serious version to hand out as gifts to the customers for Independence Day. Nothing too in depth, in fact I had about 24 hours to complete it, just something quick and silly for a Tshirt. I was a little disappointed in his slightly-hunched-over pose, but i am proud of the attention to detail. If you visit the site, you'll notice little details included. Most of the credit of course goes to my brother who mapped out most of the drawing. My favorite bit was making the removable drawers (or equiptos) his abs.
That's all for now, I promise I'll post more once I get into a new apartment. Its hard to stay up to date when all my supplies are packed away.
Also thanks for all the kind words from all the kind strangers who actually pay attention to my little blog. Hopefully this encourages others strangers to comment and feed my ever growing ego which will one day supernova, thus destroying the universe.

erwin

Song of the Moment
Joe Dassin
"Les Champs-Elysees"

"Aux Champs-Elysées, aux Champs-Elysées Au soleil, sous la pluie, à midi ou à minuit Il y a tout ce que vous voulez aux Champs-Elysées."

Denny's Induced Art

2009-05-22T03:57:00.000-07:00

Credit on the idea of this piece goes to Robin, Matt, Conrad and Oscar. All i really contributed was the one head wearing glasses and growing a goatee, so he can set himself apart from the group as "the creative one"... oh and the fact he has tiny toenails, which disturbs me more than anything else. It is the result of hours & hours, and many many cups of Denny's coffee. I thought about writing "I fuck on the first date" on his shirt, but decided that would be in poor taste. We never touched on what is going on, on the other side of his head... more heads? a large George Carlin ponytail? Discuss...

I swear one day I'll post content with substance.

erwin

Song of the Moment
The Kinks
"This Time Tomorrow"

"Seven miles below me, I can see the world and it aint so big at all."

The Great Squanderer

2009-04-13T23:04:00.000-07:00

Well, today officially marks the beginning of the 24th year of my life, and the end of my squandered early-twenties. I unfortunately had to work today at Young's (the market in which I am employed). It was, however, slow enough to squeeze this drawing out during my shift.

It depicts the aforementioned squandering of my early-twenties, whilst simultaneously depicting the future which I will no doubt squander as well. Upon further meditation, the moment it was drawn I was at that very checkstand squandering my present. The squandering of one's past present, and future.... Hmm yess... Very deep indeed. Drawn on 8.5x11 yellow Mead legal pad.

I'd like to thank Stuart and Stephanie for drawing these extra special birthday wishes:
Stuart's Blog
Stephanie's Blog

Love you both dearly and everyone else who took the time to wish me a happy birthday!

Cheers!
-erwin (is now a meme)

Song of the Moment:
Olivia Tremor Control
"Jumping Fences"

"Lazy man who can't find his words, all caught up inside his head. He is there with you."

Shameless Self Promotion

2009-03-19T23:43:00.000-07:00

Song of the Moment:
Run DMC
"Run's House"

"Ah once again my friend, Not a trend for then, They said rap was crap, but never had this band, Till the ruler came, with a cooler name, Made ya dance and prance and draw the fans insane. Name is Run my son, Number one for fun, Not a gun that's done, and get done by none. The others act, in fact, is just wack I kill... Why?... It's fun my son, and Run heads the bill! Whose House?! Run's House!"

A Lack Of Vision

2009-03-04T01:52:00.000-08:00

Today I found a French documentary on Chris Ware. In it, Ware speaks a little about how he thinks he's gotten back (or as close as he can) to the point he was at as a kid when he truly enjoyed drawing.
I do enjoy drawing, however I do agree with Ware to some degree on how laborious comics can be. Furthermore, I've become obsessed with this idea that if i dwell enough, I can find a median, where my work will be universally admired, and considered both literately admirable and unpretentious at the same time. When I was young I would draw so much, and to a degree where I didn't care what it looked like or whom it would impress.
The truth is, whatever you create, it will be met with criticism; a point I need to bore into my consciousness more and more before it completely hinders me from producing any work at all.
James Kolchalka wrote a great comic (or illustrated essay as I like to think of it) about this school of thought called The Cute Manifesto. While I don't agree with Kolchalka 100% when he says "craft is the enemy," I do agree with the fact that craft, and our obsession with it, can stifle an artist.

Happy Drawing Everyone,

-erwin

Song of the Moment:
Pedro The Lion
"Promise"

"Now we've established a lack of sight, maybe vision's the right word."

I Left My Briefs In San Francisco

2009-03-03T02:40:00.000-08:00

Here is a comic I made on a whim to tide you over until I am reconnected to the internet. Not that I was in the habit of updating my blog regularly.

I'm in a bit of a foul mood. My backpack was stolen in San Francisco during Wondercon. I lost half of my wardrobe and my cell phone charger. Not a huge loss, but still incredibly inconvenient. I do take solace in the fact that all the laundry was dirty. When youre moving hundreds of long boxes all day, and then standing on your feet for nine hours at a comic convention, your dirty laundry doesn't smell very good. The wet towel I stuffed in with it, i hope, exsacerbated the smell, thus ruinging the day of whomever stole my bag.

To top it off, the one thing I wanted to get my hands on this weekend, couldn't be found. Acme Novelty Library 16 and 17 are out of print, but i figured San Fran being the cultural alternative comic mecca, I'd have no problem. The third largest comic convention, two local comic stores, and one used book store later, and still no luck.

Kiss my ass San Francisco.

-erwin

PS: I should be fair and mention that I did pick up these books which I loved immensely:

Blue Pills by Frederik Peeters
Let Us Be Perfectly Clear by Paul Hornschmeier
Blues Man (HC) by Rob Vollmar and Pablo Callejo

Song of the Moment:
The Beatles
"For No One"

"Your day breaks, your mind aches, There will be times when all the things she says will fill your head. You won't forget her."

Our Eighth President

2009-03-02T23:48:00.000-08:00

I followed an exercise on Stephanie's blog, in which you make one of the US Presidents a super hero. Steph's was slightly disturbing, and my knee jerk reaction was, of course, to make it more disturbing.

You've all seen Martin Van Buren's penis, and you can never unsee it.

I know the coloring is a little shoddy, i kinda rushed through it. Regardless, I hope this catches on as a meme (or has it already?), I found it very amusing.

-erwin

Song of the Moment:
Neutral Milk Hotel
"Holland, 1945"

"The only girl I've ever loved, Was born with roses in her eyes, But then they buried her alive, One evening 1945, With just her sister at her side, And only weeks before the guns, All came and rained on everyone."

Today Was A Good Day

2009-01-10T23:01:00.000-08:00

-erwin

Song of the Moment:
Ice Cube
"Today Was A Good Day"

"Mama cooked the breakfast with no hog, I got my grub on, but didn't pig out."

Blag-Oy Vey!

2009-01-08T06:17:00.000-08:00

I was going through some old photos in my mom's wallet, when i stumbled across this picture of me in the 4th grade. Check out the chic Blagojevich cut!

I seem to remember the hair starting out as a Conan O'brien swoosh, but it must have fallen limp into a crooked politician cut by photo time. I went on to sell the stool to the highest bidding student.
On a similar topic, what the hell is wrong with elementary school photos? Is the over sized pencil, book, and paper really necessary? Or was i actually like 8 inches tall in the 4th grade and took this photo on my desk?
Upon further inspection of said photo, i just noticed this was the free sample photo they give you. My mom no doubt kept this without buying a full set of photos. Ha!

-erwin

Song of the Moment:
Dexy's Midnight Runners
"Come On Eileen"

"Sounded sad upon the radio, he moved a million hearts in mono. "

Little Horse

2008-12-30T23:22:00.000-08:00

Sometimes greatness just comes to you. Sometimes greatness hits you during a violent coughing fit. Sometimes greatness can't wait for a decent sheet of paper, and has to settle for a Taco Bell napkin.

Heh heh... hoarse.

- erwin

Song of the Moment
Peter Sarstedt
"Where Do You Go To My Lovely"

"Your loveliness goes on and on, yes it does."

Wee Wee, Doo Doo (REMASTERED)

2008-12-23T02:45:00.000-08:00

I wasn't incredibly impressed with the way my last comic came out. I was really disappointed in the stylistic choice i made in drawing Wee Wee the cat.

HOWEVER, with modern technology, I present to you, a far superior updated, digitally remastered version. Behold the latest, cutting edge, 3D animation!

George Lucas has nothing on me.

-erwin

Song of the Moment:
Beck
"The Golden Age"

"Let the window down, Feel the moonlight on your skin."

Wee Wee, Doo Doo

2008-12-20T00:24:00.000-08:00

Oh what a lazy web i weave. My goal from here on is to post at least once a year. The idea is to aim small and perhaps, work my way into producing a blog worth following.

Here now is a story of the next door neighbor's cat, who one day rubbed poop on my shirt.
Enjoy

As always, click to make bigger-er

- erwin

Song of the Moment:
Creedence Clearwater Revival
"Have You Ever Seen The Rain?"

"When its over, so they say, it'll rain a sunny day"

Sounds Like

2008-10-29T20:36:00.000-07:00

Oh my poor blog how I've neglected thee.... Wow I haven't posted since July?! I've been so swamped these last few months I didn't realize how long its been since I've posted.
Well I just wrapped up album art for Mirage Blue's new album "Sounds Like." Not sure how I feel about the font, but the rest of its not bad eh?

Not sure why but the image is uploading with a sepia tone. Click the image to see the true colors.

In other news, for those interested in whats been going on with the comic store, we may or may not be signing with Darkstar Records to open a comic/record store. For the full story email or call me or something.

Until next time, (three months from now)

-erwin

Song of the Moment
Emerson Lake & Palmer
"Karn Evil 9 (1st Impression Pt. 2)"

"Right before your eyes we pull laughter from the skies, And he laughs until he cries, then he dies, then he dies."

Post-It Paradigm

2008-07-19T03:09:00.000-07:00

While i was working as a designer for a truck body company, i spent a few free moments doodling on Post-it notes. All drawn with common office place supplies such as white-out sticks, and highlighters. I'd like to put together a whole book of these:

Side note involving this photo. I didn't realize most free image hosting websites had a file size limit on each photo, so unfortunately you can't really make out some of the line quality details. If anyone can recommend a good file hosting site let me know. Otherwise I may just purchase a professional Flickr account.

- erwin

Song of the Moment:
Sly & The Family Stone
"Hot Fun In The Summertime"

"First of the fall and then she goes back, Bye bye bye bye there"

How I Met Jeffrey Brown

2008-07-14T16:28:00.000-07:00

I finally got around to scanning a couple funny pages from my sketchbook. The mini comic is about my run in with indie comic writer Jeffrey Brown. I was so caught up in meeting him I didn't realize i was walking away with his book without paying for it. Awkwardness ensues.

- erwin

Song of the Moment:
The Littlest Man Band
"Stayed Away Too Long"

"I've searched this world all over girl, And some day I'm gonna find, That I guess I stayed away too long this time."

Comic Art Show

2008-07-12T13:38:00.000-07:00

Tonight some of my work will be on display at The Empty Space. I realize its short notice (it starts in two hours), but in case you can't make it to the opening tonight from 4-7, here are a couple pieces I will be showing.

Artist Introduction Card

Public Transportation

Sketch For: Fight Test

This is just a preview, so come by the empty space to see the whole thing:
Details

-erwin

Song Of The Moment:
Seu Jorge
"Life On Mars"

"Meu amor nao estamos sos , Tem um mundo a esperar por nos"

Mini Comic From Heroes Con

2008-07-03T20:50:00.000-07:00

I've been touring the east coast these last few weeks doing some work at a couple of conventions. Heroes Con in Charlotte, North Carolina, and Wizard World in Chicago, Illinois specifically. I actually got some personal art on the side done believe it or not... some sketches, some mini comics, some photography. I'll scan some of that stuff in the next few days as well as some art I'm doing for a local art exhibit, so stay tuned.

erwin

Song of the Moment:
Eric Clapton
"San Francisco Bay Blues"

"Think Ill catch me a freight train, cause Im feeling blue, and ride all the way to the end of the line, thinking only of you."

The Plainest Plane's Maiden Voyage

2008-05-11T22:12:00.001-07:00

I never realized how awkward a first blog can be. I must have erased this text a hundred times before committing to the text you see before you. Unfortunately this is as good as it will probably get so ill cut it short.

Until next time, please enjoy this little drawing i did at work using common office place supplies.

Cheers!
Erwin Ledford

Song of the Moment:
Leo Kottke
"Louise"

"A deceiver, don't believe her, that's her trade."