A Michigan To Texas Birthday Wish 2010

Today is the birthday of my internet pal, Sandra, and on this day she likes to collect photos from all her internet friends across the globe. My picture was taken back in November on a chilly morning hike in a park somewhat near my house. I really liked the cloud formations; they seemed to have settled over this scene like a blanket.


Happy Birthday, Sandra! I hope that you enjoyed the picture and your day!

Happy Holidays 2010

However you celebrate and whoever you celebrate them with, I'd like to wish you and yours a happy Holiday season full of mirth and nose picking.

Trains Of Thought

The Haunted Track (3 views)
mixed media
10x3.25x4.25

Occasionally, I dabble in sculpture. The Haunted Track is a sculpture that I completed earlier this year and will be in the Trains of Thought show at the work.detroit gallery from January 7th to February 4th, 2011. The theme or topic of this show are trains as a concept, as a symbol and/or a system of transportation. I haven't had the opportunity to display my work, especially my sculptures, in a gallery setting much since most of my time is spent with doing freelance illustration work, so it's nice to have a piece in this show. My last gallery appearance was a couple of pieces at the Detroit Artists Market back in 2008 and before that, a show in Iceland in 2007.

This piece does have a story, a personal one that I haven't shared with too many people because it probably would anger a few members of my family since this deals with the death of my grandfather. But, those people who would be offended wouldn't come to this blog anyways, so I'm not too worried about that.

A few years ago, I was reading an article in a sculpture magazine about Honore Daumier, who at that time, I did not know that he was a pretty good sculptor, as well as an expert in drawing and painting. Anyways, he was doing these small caricatures of legislators, royalty and politicians and it landed him in plenty of trouble. These notables that he chose as subject matter were so offended by these sculptures, they had him thrown in jail. That story, as interesting as it was, inspired me to do some small caricatures of people that I know, mainly family and friends. I had done a pencil sketch of my grandmother that I thought captured her likeness, so I used that as my first piece (and only one to date).

Even though I don't think that I captured her likeness with the exaggerated  and ghost-like features, I do feel that I captured the personality of her later years. When I solved the problem of making this part of a larger story, I took some wood from a weathered white picket fence that we used to have in the backyard and screwed a piece of model railroad track that used to belong to my grandfather onto that. Even the metal hanger at the top was from his workshop, so I thought that it was great that I could use something from his life in the piece.

Without getting too much into detail, I've always felt that my grandmother hastened my grandfather's departure from this world and that her negative words about him since have always seemed almost as if she was a ghost haunting his own personal railroad. He spent a long time with those tracks and she has spent a lot time trying to dismantle what he built. My thoughts on this ebb and flow like the tide, but I think that this captured my overall feeling on the matter, and that's what matters. But, this is just one man's opinion...

Anyways, as one can see, this is a very personal piece, another journal entry of a slice of a life, so I hope that it is well received.

ink.re.ments #8

This latest episode of my more autobiographical cartoon experiment is from something that happened more recent than the others. This cartoon is about a Saturday night in Chicago area hotel bar with some of my, ahem, artistic cohorts.
My hope with these cartoons is that I can convey the story that I want to tell so that the viewer, who was not there, can understand and enjoy it. There are definitely some elements to these episodes that are and will seem like inside jokes, but I try to let you in on the joke, so I hope that that works on some level.

I would appreciate any comments concerning how these are coming across.

Clone Wars: Rise Of The Bounty Hunters Sketch Cards-returns

Here are my 10 return cards from Topps' Clone Wars: Rise Of The Bounty Hunters set. As usual, if anyone is interested shoot me an e-mail. As you can plainly see, these are Embo heavy.

Star Wars Galaxy 6 sketch cards

Here are the first of my Galaxy 6 cards from Topps that have been approved to show. On this set I am taking more of a cartoon look to the images, so I hope that they come across well. How about that wonky sandcrawler? And as you can plainly see, I was enjoying doing the gangster Hutts (including Mama Hutt!).

The Anchor sketch

Here is a quick sketch from the ol' moleskine sketchbook. It's about a theme that's been haunting me lately. More to come on this subject, for sure.

The Empire Strikes Back 30th Anniversary Sketch Cards (Returns)

As I'm chipping away at my Galaxy 6 and Cult Stuff cards I thought that I would post my return cards for the 30th Anniversary Empire Strikes Back set from Topps. The three top left cards may be spoken for, so e-mail me for details on the rest if interested.

ink.re.ments #7

This 'toon was based on day way back in the 80's when I had a friend of mine help me help my grandparents move a big awkward piece of furniture of some kind down into their basement. My grandma invited us to stay for dinner as thanks for helping out. Who's going to pass up a home cooked meal by a grandmother? Not us. Well, the friend in question was not familiar with my grandpa's rather thick New England accent and he was quite scared for a brief moment. In fact, none of us could figure out why he wasn't answering my grandpa's question until my grandma began laughing from the kitchen...

Belle Isle Aquarium Koi Wrangling 2010

This Saturday, November 6th at 10:30am will be the annual koi wrangling ( a much more appropriate word) at the Belle Isle Aquarium in Detroit. If it's anything like last year, those little buggers are going to be a struggle to get in the nets and more than a few will winter over in the pond, I'm sure. There's always some trouble makers in every group.

The weather doesn't look like it's going to cooperate like last year, so dress accordingly if you plan on coming.

Oh, and you can check out the group on facebook.

Detroit Fanfare

This weekend, October 30th and 31st, I will be a guest artist at Detroit Fanfare in Dearborn, MI. If you show up, I will be stationed at table #75, so stop on by and say hello. However, I will be away from my table for a bit on Saturday at 12:30, because I'm giving blood and again at 3:30 because I've been 'volunteered' to be part of a panel discussing sketch cards along with Bill Pulkovski and Tony Miello. So, if you are interested in that type of thang, come on by and give a listen.

You can get all the pertinent information by going here.

Woodstock Generation Sketch Cards

Above are a few of the 3.5x5 inch sketch cards that I did for Breygent's Woodstock Generation set. This particular set was just recently released this past month.

Muck Man #10

Tales Of A Checkered Man

Recently, I was fortunate enough to take part in Denver Brubaker's webcomic Tales Of A Checkered Man by doing a guest panel in the strip's current story line. Denver wanted a panel that was very different from his style and reminiscent of a John Buscema Conan type of look and the panel that you see above is what I came up with (through his direction, of course). So, go and check it out and you can scroll back and read all of the previous strips. It's a fun time and you can check it out here.

And a big thanks to Denver for letting me play a bit with his creations!

Clone Wars: Rise Of The Bounty Hunters Sketch Cards

Back to showing some sketch cards. The above cards are from the Topps set The Clone Wars: Rise Of The Bounty Hunters. I did somewhere in the realm of 230 cards for both the hobby and retail markets and I'm sure that Embo is my new favorite character to draw.

Abe Sapien

Here is a painting just recently finished of everyone's favorite amphibian humanoid. He has some great colors, so naturally I had a blast experimenting with this one. I was going to do something different with the background, maybe put in some bubbles or some swirling currents or something like that, but as I came closer to finishing I liked the way he seems to pop out of the darkness. It would be as if he took one step back the darkness would swallow Abe up completely.

Abe Sapien

10x15

acrylic and colored pencil on illustration board

Classic Sci-Fi and Horror Movie Poster Sketch Cards

Above are some of the over sized (3x5) sketch cards that I did for the Classic Sci-Fi and Horror set released not too long ago by Breygent Marketing. As you can well imagine, this was a spectacularly fun set to work on and it was great to be a part of. I do have one Artist Proof card from this set that is not shown here and if anyone is interested, just send me a message.

Chicagoland Entertainment Collectors Expo 2010

Fresh off my appearance at the Durand Fantasy Expo, I will now be heading to the Chicago area (Carol Stream, IL) for the Chicagoland Entertainment Collectors Expo this Thursday through Sunday. Way back in the winter, February or March, I think, I did a few sketch cards for their Pediatric Oncology Treasure Chest Foundation event. You can get more info at their website. The sketch cards are shown above. I believe that I just heard recently that some of these are still pending for approval by the various licensees, but should be available in time for the event. Just so you know. Back when I did these I really had no idea that I would actually be in attendance for this show, but things fell into place and lo and behold, I will be now. So, stop by and say hello.

Copy & paste:

The Durand Fantasy Expo 2010

No artwork this time, just a quick note to say that I will be at the Durand Fantasy Expo this Saturday, the 4th from 10am until 5pm. Durand is located near Flint, Mi for those in the area and you can check out all the details here. Stop on by and say hello. I don't bite. Well, I usually don't draw blood.

Muck Man #9

How about another rip roaring Muck Man tale?

Muck Man #8

It's been awhile since the mighty Muck Man has made an appearance here, so here he is in another astounding tale of righteousness.

Batgirl

Batgirl

10x15

acrylic and colored pencil on illustration board

San Diego Comic Con 2010

So, it's been a quick two weeks since the San Diego Comic Con and I'd better do an equally quick write-up about my week there before too much time slips away. As you can see by my super awesome Galactus hat that a fun time was had by all. Just slip on your very own magical Galactus hat and you shall be whisked away to geek heaven. Trust me, it worked.
I was fortunate enough to get a table this year in Artists Alley and was very happy with my spot at the end of the aisle. I had a great vantage point to not only attract potential viewers and buyers, but I also had a front row seat to people watch and there was plenty to watch! The above pic shows what my little corner of con looked like.
Harley Quinn came by and it didn't take her long to whip out the old cork gun and threaten me (actually, she was quite charming).
One of the cooler exhibits was the Iron Man booth. They had all of the suits of armor from both of the movies. Being an exhibitor has its advantages; after all the crowds departed I was able to meander through the hall and see a lot of this stuff up close without a bunch of people clustered together. It was pretty cool.

It was a great experience to have a table at the biggest show on earth and to talk with all of the people who stopped by my booth. Thanks to all and I hope to see you next year!

Alice In Wonderland

While I'm gearing up for the San Diego Comic Con next week, I thought I'd try to catch up a little in my posts here. So, I have the three images that I did for the Alice In Wonderland book called The Looking Glass. In the book there are 17 artists and over 30 illustrations all depicting their own version of Alice and her world. You can purchase the book directly through me or by clicking on the banner at the bottom of this page.

The book was concocted by fellow illustrator Bill Pulkovski and also has artwork by Matt Busch, Alex Buechel, Jay Shimko, to name a few.

The Queens

15x16

acrylic on illustration board

Alice And The Caterpillar

15x16

acrylic on illustration board

We're All Mad Here

15x16

acrylic on illustration board

I'd like to add that I used the likenesses of two of my nieces for the two Alice paintings.

Golden Age Comics Heroes And Villains Sketch Cards

Here is my run on the Golden Age Of Comics: heroes And Villains sketch card set that was put out by Breygent back in the spring. The last two cards in the bottom row are my Artist Proofs if anyone is interested in them. In all, I did four sets for them recently including the Cartoon Series, Classic Movie Posters Sci-fi/Horror and the Woodstock generation. All very much fun to work.

Neptune Hates BP

Well, don't we all at this point? We should.

I haven't posted anything from my sketchbook in quite awhile, so here is a little quickie that I did a few days ago that pretty much sums up my feelings about the gulf oil spill. Actually, I could go on and on about this in many different ways (and probably will). It's times like this that I am so happy that I made the necessary lifestyle changes to make myself happy and also to not have to depend on my vehicle (i.e, no addiction to oil here) to get back and forth to work. Keep it local and tell these fat cat corporations to suck it. Before they kill us all.

The Empire Strikes Back 30th Anniversary Sketch Cards

Above are a few of the cards that I did for the 30th Anniversary Empire Strikes Back set from Topps that is currently on sale. The red cards will only be available through sets sold at Target stores, hence the red.