A Michigan To Texas Birthday Wish 2014

Each year, my friend Sandra down in Texas gets a pic for her birthday from her internet pals and this year I chose a pic from my trip to Mammoth Cave this past September. It was a fun time squeezing through the rock passageways to get to the good stuff, like the one pictured above.

Happy Birthday, Sandra! Have a great day!

Visigoths

It seems so weird that I haven't run across too many of these Visigoths lately, but I did today. This choad and his wife were delightful. As we were walking across the parking lot of a diner on our way for lunch this car that had pulled in before us apparently bumped the car next to them setting off the alarm. They scurried in front of us and Tina made a comment as to how they didn't seem to mind doing what they did only wanting to get ahead of everyone else going into the diner. Well, they heard this and this rodent (why do they all look like rodents?) stared me down going in and while waiting to be seated. I think he was grinning his rodent grin even after sitting. I thought I was in junior high again for a moment. I will never understand people who do questionable acts and then when someone sees them doing said act they get cocky and childish.

I did like his patchwork beard kind of thing, though. It added to the rodent mentality.

Christmas 2014

I wish you all the best this holiday season and for a great New Year! Stay safe and have a cool Yule.

Electric Eel Cartoon

In honor of the electric eel tank at the Belle Isle Aquarium being completed and the eels in their new home here is a cartoon that I did for a button design that was never used. The flowers were incorporated to tie in with the Conservatory next door. So yes, I can now add tankscaping to my repertoire.

The Guv

So, the mid season of The Walking Dead has aired, so I guess I'll post something related. I did this drawing for a pal a couple of months ago. He's a Governor freak.

Motor City Sketch At The Dakota Inn Rathskeller

 Jay Fosgitt looking as happy as ever at the Rathskeller.

 This was a sing along that everyone in the restaurant participated in. Oh, there were some who were to embarrassed...

I guess I should have checked the sign at the door before entering. I didn't know that no pants was such a big deal.

Some sketches from the night. These were people from surrounding tables.



Last week, Motor City Sketch met up at the German restaurant, The Dakota Inn Rathskeller in Detroit. We had great German food, sketched, sang German songs and had a good time. It was a bit different thing for us to do, but then again, we do try to do different things each month to shake things up.

Portraits Of Poe Book Signing

I will be at Traverse City's The Top Comics this Saturday from 1-4 to sign copies of the Portraits of Poe book alongside Bill Pulkovski, Tony Miello and Dirk Manning, who wrote the introduction. Dirk will also be there signing copies of his own books. There will be a drink and draw at Right Brain Brewery following the signing. So, if you are in the area, stop on by. It should be a fun time! And I look forward to checking out Mike Ackerly's Top Comics shop.

Deadworld Premium Zombie Soda

This past Friday was the launch of a new Deadworld product. Zombie Soda! You can have a variety of flavors featuring labels drawn by various illustrators, such as myself, Jake Minor, Matt Minor, Bill Pulkovski, Mark Bloodworth, Tony Miello, Ted Woods, John Marroquin, Anne Garavaglia, Vince Locke, among others. The above image that was done by me was colored by Demone Amerson. Kevin Minor and some others did more of the coloring.

Check out the Caprice Brand page for more details on the sodas and who drew what labels.

The Wicker Man Sketch Cards

The Wicker Man set will be released at the end of this month by Unstoppable Cards. Above are the cards that I did to contribute to this set. A very fun set to work on. Keep in mind that these cards are based on the 70's movie starring Edward Woodward and Christopher Lee, not the crappy Nicolas Cage remake.

I only have three remaining Artist Proof cards available, so if there's any interest, let me know.

Fall Koi Wrangling

Help them there seahorses wrangle those koi and put them in their winter digs in the basement of the Belle Isle Aquarium. It's that time of year again, so grab the kids, a net and a bucket and head on down to Belle Isle to help out! Festivities start at 10am and hot dogs, chips and pop will be served after the job is done.

I'm going to miss this one, as I will be at the Gibraltar Trade Center for Fantasticon. Catch a fish or two for me! And watch out for the fish poop.

Fantasticon 2014

This Saturday you can find me at the Gibraltar Trade Center in Mt. Clemens, MI for the Fantasticon Comic Book & Pop Culture Show. It seems that this show keeps getting bigger and bigger each year, so I am looking forward to a good one. I will have the usual prints, books, official and personal sketch cards, original art and will be doing commissions, as well. 

The Man Who Fell To Earth Sketch Cards

While I'm working on other projects like the Belle Isle Aquarium weather vane, another sketch card set and the always present cartoons, I will post some sketch cards that I did earlier in the year, but wanted to wait until the release dates were near. So, here are the cards from The Man Who Fell To Earth set that will be put out by Unstoppable Cards later this month. As some of you may know, this is the David Bowie film from the 70's. This was a fun one to do, great imagery to play with. I have three Artist Proof cards available.

Recent Sketch Card Commissions

As the title suggests, these are some recent sketch card commissions. These were done on the clients own card stock and they have a nice antique look to them suitable for the subject matter. I was particularly happy with the Gollum card...

Dr. Who & The Daleks Sketch Cards

Here are the Dr. Who cards that I did awhile back for the soon to be released set by Unstoppable Cards. This set, as well as two more that I was a part of will be released in November. 

Unlawful Good: A Crime Noir Anthology, Part Two

The Kickstarter for the crime noir anthology Unlawful Good has been fully funded and the rewards part of the campaign is coming to a close in just a few hours, so if you want a little extra, such as a page of original art by yours truly, head on over to the site and contribute. Here is an original page (before colors and text) from the story The Burning Sun that Brian Visaggio wrote, I penciled and inked, Harry Saxon colored and Zakk Saam lettered. And the whole book is edited by Heather Antos.

KISS Detroit City Gallery Show, Part Three

The KISS show at Start Gallery in Detroit is coming to an end this Saturday, so you have one last chance to see a pretty good show. Above is the prelim drawing that I did for the painting that is hanging in the show.

James A. Garfield Sketch

I always thought Garfield was a kind of fishy guy, now I know why.

WW Nashville Commissions

Above are some of the commissions and sketches that I did while manning my table in Nashville. The middle two were sketches that I did in books that were purchased. Much fun was had the Wizard World Nashville con. A good show that I hope to do again!

Wizard World Nashville

This Friday through Sunday I will be a guest at the Wizard World Comic Con in Nashville, TN. I will be nestled in between Peter Bagge and Bill Pulkovski in aisle A, so come on by and say hello. I will have original art, prints, books, officially licensed sketch cards and doing commissions.

The Belle Isle Aquarium Weather Vane

My design.

The cupola where the weather vane will reside.

The display of the design for the Butzel Long unveiling.

The unveiling party winding down.

My proposal and bio.

So, this past week was one filled with art and surprises. The law firm of Butzel Long, who is celebrating their 160 anniversary decided to hold a competition in lieu of a party for the design of a weather vane to sit atop the Belle Isle Aquarium. And my design won. To say that I am honored is an understatement. The unveiling party was held last Friday evening at the aquarium where my design was shown and I had to give a small talk on how I came to the design that I did. Most of that is on the board in the last pic (click to enlarge). The  Butzel Long people were great and I enjoyed talking with them and hearing how much they liked my design and for the reasons that they did. Earlier on Friday I had talked with the sculptor who might be in charge of the construction and combine that talk with that evening's talks, it was sinking in that I will have a weather vane that will hopefully be up on that roof for decades, if not longer. And to make things even better, I may be involved in the construction, as well. I'll have more details coming soon!

My sincerest thanks to the law firm of Butzel Long, the Belle Isle Conservancy and the Belle Isle Aquarium for seeing what they did in my design. I can't wait for this to proceed!

KISS Detroit City gallery Show, Part Two

                                                                        Inhumans
                                                                         18.5x26
                                                                  acrylic on canvas

Contemplating Ace

8x12

india ink on bristol

Tonight is the opening reception for the KISS themed show at the Start Gallery in Detroit. Festivities start at 7, so c'mon down and see the show. Above are the two pieces that I will have in the show. I didn't get a proper scan of the top one, sorry for the photo, but I was happy with how that one turned out.

Kiss Detroit City Gallery Show

This Saturday is the opening reception for the KISS themed gallery show at the Start Gallery in Detroit. I will have two pieces in this show and will update on that on Saturday. If you know me, I'm not a fan of the band KISS. I was when I was 11, but that was more due to the makeup and costumes than anything music related. Then I discovered bands like Led Zeppelin and Queen and all that. KISS went bye-bye. So, here is a little teaser for the show. This is a drawing that I did when I was 11 on the inside of a school folder, which has survived three flooded basements and multiple moves. I still have that folder and it contains a bunch of my 'drawings' from that time. SO, on the left is my interpretation of the band and on the right, some scribbled warrior, with text from a school chum Jay Miglia and even a Charlie's Angels sticker. Life was good.

The show will run through October 13th, so come on down and check out what looks to be a fun show with some of Detroit's finest artists and illustrators, including Tony Miello, Kelly Ohara, Jeff Sornig, Anne Garavaglia among others.

Guardians Of The Galaxy Sketch Cards, Part Three

I have a lot going on lately and have quite a few sketch cards to show from various sets that aren't out just yet. But these 5x7 Guardians of the Galaxy cards are the last that I did for this set. This set is out now.

I have a gallery show starting this weekend and some big news that I will share on Friday about a project that I have been working on this summer. I can't wait until this sees completion, but I will have more news on this and the gallery show tomorrow and Friday.

Figure Sketches

Last week I was subbing over at the college for a figure class and did a couple of very loose gestures myself while the students were in a longer pose.

Unlawful Good, A Crime Noir Anthology

There is a new Kickstarter campaign that just launched today for an anthology of crime noir comic stories put together and edited by Heather Antos called Unlawful Good. This volume includes some great talents from across the land, including Rob Humphrey, Jay Jacot, Ted Woods, Jay Fosgitt, about 35 creators in all. The story that I contributed art for was written by Brian Visaggio, colored by Harry Saxon and lettered by Zakk Saam. Above is a sneak peek of the title page. The finished page with colors and headers looks great! The kickstarter has already raised over a $1000 dollars on it's first day and I encourage  any and all who loves crime noir comics to contribute to this project. I had a good time working with Brian, Harry and Zakk on this and I hope readers will enjoy what the teams have produced. Go Here to contribute.

Villagefest 2014

Another Grosse Pointe Villagefest is upon us and I will be set up there with fellow artists Jason Westlake, Jeff Sornig and Anne Garavaglia. We will be selling prints, books, etc. and doing sketches.  Drop on by, it's usually a good time.

It's right on Kercheval just north of Cadieux in Grosse Pointe. Tomorrow it runs from 11am to dusk and on Sunday it will run from noon until 5. There will be plenty of artists and craftspeople and food and music!

Guardians Of The Galaxy Sketch Cards, Part Two

Here are a few more of the sketch cards that I did for Upper Deck's Guardians of the Galaxy set. I have a few more to post and they will be larger 5x7 cards.

Back To School

Here is last week's Stoopid Stuf before colors and text by Kevin. A little stab at the current state of parents and teachers. Make sure to head on over to the web site to check out more stoopid comics. Updated every Friday for your viewing pleasure.