Oil Painting of Fetal Kitten for "Rescue Me"

"Fatal Enlightenment."
12" x 12" Oil on Panel by Cody Raiza
exhibited with "Rescue Me"(group show promoting pet adoption) at The Egan Gallery in Fullerton, September 2013

This painting features a fully developed white fetal kitten seemingly in utero. I wanted to create an image that initially strikes the viewer with sentiment. The illusion of the womb-like environment brings the viewer into a maternal state, coveting the delicacy of the subject. These emotions are almost immediately replaced by angst when epiphany takes place that this beautiful being may no longer be living, which in fact, it is not. The subject of this piece is a feral kitten, aborted in the womb when it's mother was turned in for a routine spay, her babies aborted to prevent unwanted feral cat populations. Such a topic is highly controversial yet overlooked by many, as millions of homeless animals are overlooked by the public and euthanized due to overpopulation every year. This piece illuminates the very thin boundary between life and death while paying homage to those forgotten upon our path as humans.
-Cody Raiza

"Rescue Me" art show aims to promote pet adoption

"Rescue Me" is an art show curated by myself, Cody Raiza, which opens the first weekend of September in Fullerton, CA. The show features artists from Orange County, Los Angeles, and cities dappled across the United States. These talented artists have created artwork exclusively for this show and the works aim to promote pet adoption in our community.

Artists contributing to the show are:  
Gene Guynn
Nick Baxter
William Zdan
Chantal Menard
Craig 'Skibs' Barker
Kelly Castillo
Glenn Arthur
Apricot Mantle
Michael White
Cory Benhatzel
John Sollom
Mojo Foster
Jel Ela
Sam Soto
Christina Ramos
Misaki Sawada
Louie Becker
Valeri Lewis
Michelle Orozco

"Rescue Me" art show, Art by Glenn Arthur

 Millions of animals are euthanized in our city shelters every year in the U.S. This art show hopes to give a voice to the issue and a face to the many needy animals in our own communities that need our help.

The grand opening of the show will also be accompanied by a pet adoption event at The Egan Gallery, hosting local rescues: A Home 4Ever Rescue and 4Life Animal Rescue.
A portion of the proceeds from art sales go directly towards saving the life of a shelter pet(s).

Media Contact: codyraiza@gmail.com

Our Facebook Event page: (join and invite your friends)
https://www.facebook.com/events/574881562532032/

artwithananagenda.org 

"Rescue Me" flier, artwork by Glenn Arthur and John Sollom

Where: 

The Egan, inside the Magoski Arts Complex in Fullerton
223 W. Santa Fe, Ave. Fullerton, CA 92832

When:
FRIDAY, Sept. 6th, Fullerton Art Walk 6pm-10pm
SATURDAY, Sept 7th, Grand Opening of "Rescue Me" ART SHOW and PET ADOPTION event 11:30am-3pm

"Rescue Me" flier featuring artwork by John Sollom

"Rescue Me" Instagram flier featuring artwork by Glenn Arthur

Art is Love. Love is All.

I have had the privileged opportunity of participating in a love-themed show along with 98 other artists that opens to the public on May 3rd in Fullerton for the Art Walk. "Love. Sex. Unity. Respect." aims to promote love, equality, and understanding in our community.

My painting titled "Awaiting a Brighter Future, Together" will be on display and up for auction at this show, half of the proceeds of this show go to charitable causes.

This painting is not typical of my usual subject matter or themes, but the issue of equality is one that is very dear to my heart and I wanted to treat it appropriately: with lightness and care. My painting features two male cardinals, toes clasped together as they fly or fall together, symbolizing the bond of love. Love is not dependency, it is a willingness to live selflessly with another, and share each others' triumphs as equally as one's defeats. Love is a delicate bond and should be treated with respect; I hope we can learn to respect others' choices to love beyond societal boundaries of gender.

"Awaiting a Brighter Future, Together"
Oil on wood panel, with metal and glass framing elements 9" x 12"

"Awaiting a Brighter Future, Together" by Cody Raiza

"Awaiting a Brighter Future, Together" by Cody Raiza

"Awaiting a Brighter Future, Together" by Cody Raiza (detail)

'Blood and Oil' at The Hive in Los Angeles

This coming Saturday at The Hive Gallery in Downtown Los Angeles, I will have a small oil painting in a group show curated by White Matter. The theme of the show reflects the relationships between human and machine.

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My small piece titled "Cage Free" is oil painted on a 6" x 6" panel.
The image is of a 16 day old chick growing in its shell. As a society, I feel we are too far removed from our food, millions of boy chicks are thrown into grinders every day to perpetuate the growing commercialization of our food system. I want the viewer to connect the essence of life being shown in the painting with their own consciousness of being.

"Cage Free" by Cody Raiza

cover art for flyer by "Jel Ena"

 

'This Wilde Abyss' in Laguna Beach

"This Wilde Abyss" at Gallery AR4T in Laguna Beach was a success!

Hosted by Splendor Device, a female art collective I am a member of, artist and founder Kelly Castillo played DJ as artist Michelle Orozco live painted during the opening on March 2nd, 2013. Many thanks to Torrey Cook of Artists Republic 4 Tomorrow!

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My oil painting for the show, available through AR4T in Laguna Beach:

10" x 20" oil on canvas wrapped panel.

"Wild Abyss" by Cody Raiza

Cover art on flyer by artist Jennifer James.

Rat King : First finished piece of 2013!

This work titled "Rat King" is only about 9" x 7", graphite on paper.
A Rat King is a real phenomena in which large groups of rats living together become intertwined at their tails; they almost become one living organism as they must struggle to survive, blood and feces bonding the knotted tails together. They were seen as a very bad omen, especially around the time of plague.
I am a stickler for detail, so this piece, extremely detailed in nature, took me a very long time to create.

As a child, I went to the Nutcracker ballet near the Holidays with my mother, and when I discovered what the true meaning of a "Rat King" was, I was inspired to create this piece of art.

"Rat King" by Cody Raiza

Thank for looking! I hope you like it!
Find me on InstaGram : officialcodydanger
and Society6.com at the link below

http://society6.com/CodyDanger
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The Creative Appetite

All artists experience a creative drought at times. Then, as if lightning had struck, you snap out of it, engulfed in a fiery blaze of motivation and hunger. A blood-thirsty hunger to become better, stronger. 
We starve ourselves of the lust to recognize beauty in our world until our minds can no longer live through the withdrawals, and it screams "ENOUGH!" Gasping for air, we realize we need to create to survive.

Keep your eyes peeled for new works...

Cody

"The Descent of Man" for Kat Von D's 'SKULLS' show at Wonderland Gallery

'Hell Hath No Fury' at Rothick Art Haus in Anaheim

 Splendor Device is a new all female artist collective based out of Orange County and are hosting their first group show at Rothick Art Haus titled 'Hell Hath No Fury' this Saturday.
I created this small illustration called "Becoming The Wolf" specifically for the show. 

Inspired by the need to return to nature whilst fighting an inner battle of being a human, I felt the red riding hood and wolf imagery was appropriate. The illustration is colored pencil on 100 lb paper and will be displayed matted in a wood frame.
Details for the event are as follows...

"Becoming The Wolf" by Cody Raiza

Splendor Device show at Rothick Art Haus

Michelangelo's Utahraptor

Here is a graphite sketch I recently completed of Michelangelo's Utahraptor reaching out to Adam as in the famous painting on the Sistine Chapel's ceiling. As this is not a pose a dinosaur would ever find himself in, the  anatomical balance was a lot of fun!

Humanoid Creature Design

Look into those beautiful eyes, makes you melt, right?
I will post this character in an environment as well, but as he had been quite a challenge I decided to go ahead and share him with the world. My main influences were human skeletal anatomy and bones, and anything creepy crawly.

Follow me on Instagram and Twitter!

Follow me on Instagram under my handle officialcodydanger or on Twitter @CodyDanger007 to see what I am up to !

Seven Deadly Sins show @ Rothick Art Haus , "Hungry Hungry Glutton"

I am a day late and a buck short on this blog entry! Last night was a very successful Seven Deadly Sins themed show at Rothick Art Haus in Anaheim, CA, that I was super fortunate to partake in. I met some new friends and got to spend time with the Rothick family, a good time was had by all. I chose Gluttony as my sin and theme for my 16" x 16" oil painting titled "Hungry Hungry Glutton."

The piece was a culmination of several ideas and influences, one being a video of two hippos in a vicious territorial battle in Kruger National Park in Africa, and a watermelon that I was gluttonous enough to devour in Costa Rica. I love painting animals and reflections so this was a ton of fun, get it? Ton of fun? Okay okay I'm not funny, but I hope you enjoy this hippopotamus!

"Hungry Hungry Glutton" hippo

Rothick 7 Deadly Sins show flyer

"Gilding the Lily" Rhinos for Wonderland

Here is my entry for the "I Want To Be First" show at Kat Von D's Wonderland Gallery. The title is "Gilding the Lily" and it is a fairly large piece with dimensions of 30 inches x 40 inches. 
My artist quote for the painting :  "An international leader in wildlife conservation and animal husbandry, and founder of the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust in Nairobi, Dr. Dame Daphne Sheldrick was the first person to successfully hand-rear milk dependent elephants and rhinos. Orphaned due to poaching and left for dead, these animals are given a second chance at life while living at the Trust's nursery, slowly being rehabilitated and introduced back into the wild. With the help of de-snaring projects and patrols led by the Trust, I hope that someday poaching will be a problem of our past and not our future."

The issue of poaching is one that is very dear to my heart. 
It is believed in Asian cultures that rhino horn cures ailments and cancer; this has been clinically proven as FALSE. Therefore these animals are being slaughtered for no other purpose than human greed and traditions. It is projected that if rhino poaching continues at the same rate, we will lose them in three generations, that means that in 30-60 years there will be no more rhinos on planet Earth. What a tragedy. I hope that you will share this image with friends to spread awareness for the campaign and help The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust and others that are on the forefront of saving our wildlife.

"Gilding The Lily" framed

"Gilding The Lily" Detail shot

"I Want To Be First" art opening at Kat Von D's Wonderland Gallery

"I Want To Be First," an all female art gallery exhibition inspired by female pioneers, muses, and heroines. Opening Reception is the evening of March 23rd, 2012 and I will have a fairly large oil painting hanging amongst other artists that I admire. I hope you can make it! and please share

Damn-dirty-Ape Concept

I am having a tough time calibrating my monitors, so my apologies if the image is a bit dark.
This was really fun to play around with as I had not done an ape concept before.
If this guy was walking around my hood, I'd be terrified. I want to know what he is thinking!
I'd also like to know what you think...

Succubus Concept

Here is a concept for a succubus that I finished but will be redoing. I thought of her as a young woman that could not age but was centuries old and cursed with a disastrous appearance. Banished to spend eternity alone, she was only surrounded by the riches of men who would attempt to overtake her wealth, only to perish at her hand.

 

Pterosaur - Hornbill concept art (Version2)

As promised, here is the Pterosaur-Hornbill concept Version 2! He is a little more whimsical, less-sinister looking than the first concept.

Pterosaur - Hornbill concept art

This concept was done as homework for Jerad S Marantz ' Creature Design class as Gnomon. This is version one, I will also be posting version two. Enjoy!

Appreciation for birds

There are two sounds that when I hear them I stop whatever I am doing and smile... the "croak" of a crow and the "twip twip" of a hummingbird ♥ Until recently, I didn't realize how much I appreciated birds and how large of a role they play on our planet. Had the women in my family not been birdwatchers I probably would still not understand them


Here is a bird/pterosaur-like creature I am working on. WIP

All the lovely unicorns...

A lot has been going on lately, and I fear I have neglected my blog. I am studying creature design at this moment in time and putting all of my energy into it. That being said, I will be posting some new stuff super soon! Also on the horizon, I am working on TWO paintings for Rothik Art Haus in Orange County for two separate up-coming shows. So I guess you could say this is a teaser post, but to keep an eye out for new schwag coming from this very blog. I am striving to make this year very productive and I have already seen growth in my process and technique.

Here is a teaser photo for a painting I am working on for Rothik...