Doot Doot Garden: The Blog of Craig Thompson
paintallica August 28th, 2008

I’m a bit anxious about what I’ve gotten myself into…
…agreeing to participate in a chaotic painting/performance/installation/collaboration called PAINTALLICA.
The namesake should cancel out all the artsy-fartsy pretensions. My understanding is that there will be
a couple sleepless nights of a group of us ransacking a PICA-ordained gallery space. And the project is
headed up by my recently-mentioned Wisco’ art buddy Dan Attoe. It’s all part of the famous
Time Based Arts Festival in Portland. Here’s some details. And at the Portland Mercury.
For comics fans, Jeremy Tinder will also be joining in on the action. Also there will likely be much shirtlessness.

summer’s gonna turn into fall August 24th, 2008

Summers are always a bit chaotic, but I apologize for neglecting blog posting.
Here’s four steps towards a recent page of HABIBI. 1) rough pencils 2) refined pencils 3) half-inked 4) finished.

And below is recent documentation of my rural adventures visiting my sister in Nebraska — paired with an old doodle from my
sketchbooks, referenced from a National Geographic photograph perhaps? (let me know if you recognize it.)

Please note that I don’t wear a helmet while drawing or in everyday life.

you still have some time August 4th, 2008

My longtime Wisconsin buddy & famous painter Dan Attoe and I are doing a talk at the Portland Art Museum
~ This Thursday, August 7, 6pm, 1219 SW Park. The museum is exhibiting some of Dan’s paintings and neon as part of
their Contemporary Northwest Art Awards show. They’re really sumptin’ to behold — Epic naturalistic landscapes
speckled with smaller vignettes and revelatory text. Dan might be hesitant to admit it, but they’ve much in
common with the beloved medium of comics. Difficult to capture in crappy photos and jpegs, but here’s a glimpse.

Anyways, Dan and I will be doodling live on stage and sharing scandalous stories of our shared upbringing as troubled rural youth.
I’ve got some embarrassing doozies to tell about Dan and you can be certain he’ll retaliate with shameful accounts of this
scrawny country lad awkwardly growing up in the agricultural heartland of Wisconsin. Here’s a link to a community college scholarship
trip we took in 1995. And here’s a photo of us from last September.

What am I showing him in my hand? Come to the talk and find out!