TURBO-LASER!!

Power Metal Brits TURBO-LASER asked my buddy Will 'INKWOLF' Towles to bust out a logo for them. With a bit of help from yours truly here are the results!

Gad-Darmit Varmit: Rough & Dirty

HEY!


Attitudes...


Sheesh! More attitudes...!


Obstacles... I mean, "supporting cast".


Out for a stroll.


More to it. More or less.


"HOW-DEE-DOO?!!?

ROLLER DERBY: TA-TA TAKEDOWN

Breast Cancer Awareness Bout,
and the last of the season.

Anton LaVey hey hey nonnie na

Eh, minimal...

ROLLER DERBY: HOT SUMMER FIGHTS!

Steven

This guy makes hilarious art.

Graphic (violence) Design

A heaping dose of the metal.

The last flyer's show was cancelled.

Miley couldn't make it.

FLYER WORK...

In prior entries, I mention how much I like to do flyers and posters. I'll also say there are good flyers around town, but not many. Some people just slop together some picture with 5-8 different fonts without regard for contrast, arrangement or flow. It hurts me to see bad promotional flyers and posters.

I'm not saying I'm a master but I think, as do others, that I do a pretty good job. It's something that I enjoy doing given the right motivation. Having been in numerous bands in the past I'm sensitive to this art form. I started with hand drawn, hand lettered flyers until I learned to use Pagemaker and Photoshop back in '98. These days I use the Adobe Creative Suite on a Mac. I still do custom art for flyers and even a little hand lettering, but mostly I pick a suitable font or fonts. I have been known to use other artists' artwork that is typically considered public domain usually because it's quicker.

This flyer was assigned to me last night and I jammed it out because my roomie needed to pass out handbills at Metal Mondays. His band just landed the gig and only has a week to promote. I decided that the elements of the bands on the bill and the dynamics of their music deserved dynamic and esoteric imagery. One of the elements I found on Akris' myspace profile (I listen to songs of bands to make sure imagery fits their sound) was the praying mantis. M.C. Escher's 'Dream (Mantis Religiosa)' sprang to mind and I banged out this flyer.

Click on the image to enlarge and FLYERS AND POSTERS link in STUFF to see more flyers and posters work.

ROLLER DERBY: RED, WHITE & BRUISED!!!

For the upcoming Ft. Myers roller derby bout!

The Shape of Things to Come...

Work in progress for the latest derby flyer. Due tomorrow. Whatcha think?

Metal

Ham-fisted gouache on mat board. Sketch out the cartoon. Slop on the paint. 997 more crappy gouache paintings to go before I 'get it.'
Dance, robot, dance!

Gad Darmit Varmit

I've had this little guy for almost a decade. He's been through a lot of changes and I've just about got him nailed down. Nobody wants this guy but me...

ROLLER DERBY: SHOVE HER SOLSTICE!

June is picking up for me on illustration and design. But not everything I've been working on I'll be posting. Except for this!

Blue Mountain in Salmon Mist

I don't paint very well at all. YET! But I aim to remedy this with enthusiasm, practice, diligence, and patience.

Really, I just set up, sat down, and whipped this little jobby out without a sketch, a plan, or a clue. This was plain jumping in both feet! I simply wanted to see whatever I might be capable of doing to conquer my irrational fear of painting! I feel better...

I've been looking at ukiyo-e prints lately along with animation background artists like Mary Blair and some pieces from one of my favorite cartoons, Samurai Jack! There are some awesome artists that I link to on the side that I study (and envy) that I hope to glean their secrets from their works. I'm stoked!

My ambition to work up animation background style paintings will be spurring me on to experiment and make mistakes. Here are plenty of mistakes but among them is NOT quitting or being shy about my progress. Any constructive comments and critiques are welcome!

7" x 8" gouache on mat board

Genzo & Kanzaburo

These are character design tests I worked up for my Pirate Ninja Yarrri-Kari comic.

ROLLER DERBY: KENTUCKY FRIED DERBY

The latest bout for my Ft. Myers Roller Derby client!

Suite Hearts

Here are some of the first things I had ever done in Illustrator, probably 2004, for class. Much of my contrasts are poor, but I was learning.

Yarrri-Kari Pirate Ninja!!!

These headturns are the latest character designs for my Yarrri-Kari Pirate Ninja character.

POLISHING THE LENS...

My time for reflection is important in order to be able to move forward once again. Since I have been caught in place there is nothing else to do but to take stock of where I have been and what I have done. For me this will open up new paths of beneficial creativity and positive growth enabling new chapters and adventures to be written. I look forward to being able to share them with you soon.

Easter Y'all...

Okay, Easter Bunny, I know I haven't been all that good so far this year, but I've been good enough! Right?!? I'm gonna throw some stuff out there that I think you should put in my Easter basket.



I've been smiling at people and I turn my venomous glare to the ground away from the combustible heads of those weaker than myself. So whaddaya say?!?


I like little fuzzy creatures! YOU'RE a little fuzzy creature! Easter Bunny, I swear I won't eat anymore of those eggs you've been hiding! I'll swear off omelets! Pleeeeeaaaassse???


Alright. Fine! But you just better stay out of my bathtub!
...Got it!?

ROLLER DERBY: Buh-Rownie Buh-Roozers!

Ah, revisions... Orange instead of pink, add a sash, make the skates more skatier and the boobs less Russ Meyer torpedo-y.

Brownie Bruisers!

I love doing team logos! I just have too much fun with them!

ROLLER DERBY: SCHOOL'S BOUT FOR SUMMER!

I've got the gig for the Ft. Myers Derby Girls again! I'm very happy about that! I really missed doing pinup style cartoons for their bout promo posters. Here is the first of mine for the season!

Dr. Alec Holland

AKA the SWAMP THING !!!

That Guy...

Here's a self-portrait from 2006, I think, done with crow-quill pen, brush and india ink. I like hatching and definitely don't do it enough. Hell, I don't even draw enough, hence the 2006 artwork. I'm loathe to initiate any new projects until I get settled in my new apartment. Sounds dumb, probably, but I've got a plan...

"All the time, I say-- with my FISTS!!!"

So I started my Wu Xing Ba Fa (Five Animal Style) Shaolin Gong Fu again today after not doing anything for over a year now. It was really good to see Sifu Tracy Fleming again. Sifu has a great spirit and disposition, very positive in spite of any adversity. 

Class was excellent and I didn't suffer as much as I thought I would after my hiatus. The kicks were definitely my weakest point since I've got these giraffe legs to swing around.

My endurance surprised me but my cardio was as rough as ever. Sometimes I wonder if I have exercise induced asthma. I think after 2 months of steady, diligent practice I'll be back to where I was before I fell off my exercise.

I'm looking forward to this journey again as it's one of my favorites. Remember, to taste sweet you must eat bitter.

Elevate Music 'BROKE CITY' cd party

Local hiphop duo Elevate Music are debuting their disc 'BROKE CITY' at the end of the month.

And the cd cover for 'BROKE CITY.'

"Not As Brightly Lit..."

Well, I revamped the logo layout for the album. My 'negaforest', as I call it, is more of a photographic film negative than a screen negative. It feels better that way. Can't be a complete rip, eh? It makes more sense this way and is more in keeping with the homage to Tales from the Darkside that I'm referencing.

Speaking of which, I've always been completely ensorcelled (believe it...!) by the opening title sequence for this show that I watched as a wee runt. It's completely creepy and chills my blood beautifully. A while back I sought out a possible dvd set of the complete series. I found a bootleg set and when I got it delivered, home and put into my player I was wicked bummed. Not one episode had the opening title sequence!!!

Well, Cthulhu bless the interwebs, because on the old YouTube I found it. And, man, does it still give me the willies...

Tales from the Darkside Intro
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UnE3-0X-174

Latest Haps (Frrreeeeaaaakkkkkyyy...)

First, my apologies for indulging in the mundane drivel that I usually don't have the stomach for. But there have been some interesting, borderline bizarre, occurrences here of late. I'm blaming Facebook.

I got an e-mail on Saturday morning that Jason Willingham sent me a Facebook message. I hadn't seen Jason in 20+ years. He was responsible for turning me on to the gospel of punk rock in 1984 in podunk, intolerant Lynchburg, VA. We ended up meeting for a late lunch at the Village and then we hung out a little afterward. Blew my freaking mind...

So, today after band practice, I'm checking my e-mail again and an old girlfriend sends me a message via Facebook! Unbelievable. Jena Mae Tway and her family put me up for a little bit here in Richmond when the crew of punks I was running with in '92 turned on me like a pack of dogs. Strange times...

Seeing as how these things usually happen in clusters, whether Mercury is retrograde or whatever, I'm getting a little freaked out.

Again, I blame Facebook. But in a good way.

I decided to see who else was out there and happened to contact another old girlfriend, whom I've yet to hear back from. It's just weird.

None of this is what I'd expected. And since I haven't been turning out any artwork lately, here's the latest (freaky) haps.

Witchy Woman

Some flyers just break my heart to see. It really hurts my feelings.

The one that inspired this flyer is one such.

Fake Ass Flyers

Sometimes I take my punky self and make some fake ass flyers. Yeah! Stuff I'd like to see. Bands that would rock together and tear shit up! And then I like put those flyers on a dirty wall and smash the staples in with my freakin' head! Raaaaghh!!! But I can't do none of that crap withouts me chamomile tea...

LONG TIME COMING or "get off your ass, you worthless bum!"

So, I've been in this terrific slump of not creating artwork, really not even drawing anything at all. Not even sketches too much. I couldn't tell you why for that matter. Just a general ennui and a desire to place myself in a new environment.

Aside from my day job I've really only got 2 major things going for me that are rather encompassing on which I'm focusing my energies.

Firstly, I've decided to move to Austin, TX in about six months. And so I'm putting my plan into effect of all the usual: saving money, figuring out a job, finding a place to live, downsizing possessions, thinking about the move, etc.

Secondly, I'm seriously writing music again for the first time in 10 or so years. I've got a

 garage punk project called Drop Dead, Johnny!

This is starting out as some equal parts "Static

 Age" Misfits, "Psychedelic Jungle" Cramps, and "Experiment Zero" Man or Astro-Man? with a smattering of Tom Waits for seasoning.

The self-published debut disc will be a 7 song e.p. titled Other Side.

I might surmise that, in the past, I hadn't written any music for so long because I'd been focusing on artwork for so long. And now that I'm writing music again the flow has been redirected from the artwork to composition. Is that safe to assume?

In any case, I'm frequently guilty of 'spending too much time upstairs.' As the gears turn, the hours burn. Whether I can count the mental gestation of ideas any sort of accomplishment is probably suspect, but that's where I've been. I'd like to think they'll pay off in the future, hopefully soon enough.