Putting the Mission in Commission

I was commissioned to recreate characters from someone's childhood, reinterpret them if you will, and try to make them look professionally rendered. It was fun and made me want to rework my own youthful power trips.


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D & D is Not Just Fantasy

The COMIC STOP up in Lynnwood...or somewhere North put together a Drink & Draw session the other night. It was a good time and got to hang out and draw with some people I knew and some I didn't know. It's a real boon for me to get out of the studio once and awhile and take my social skills for a spin.


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Italian Movies

I've been listening to a lot of Italian film scores and they're some of the best scores from the 60s and 70s that I've heard. I was, like many a fan of the Spaghetti Western (which I can't help but think is a terribly derogatory name) as well as the horror films which I discovered a little later. What I never was exposed to was the sexy/slasher/thriller which I've been viewing intermittent clips of on Youtube.

I especially like the movie posters and art from Italy. They use crazy garish colors and really bizarre compositions. Sex and violence always seem to drive the design. Given what I know about their culture I guess it makes sense...but that just might be short-sighted and really speaks to the male population as a whole.

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Betteo Made Me Do It

A friend picked up a book for me a while ago by Patricio Betteo. A killer artist and a real innovator. Very inspiring work...something I definitely needed to see, eat, and breath. It just showed me that I could trust my roots a little more and explore fundamentally what makes me tick.
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Moving Forward

There's been a shift in my life and it's nothing like it used to be. I don't know exactly what it is or what caused it but over the last few months things have again changed in a very pronounced way and now I'm starting to realize what I've lost. I'm still not sure what I've gained if anything. But the change is inevitably happening.

That great unknown into what could be is always what kept me moving forward. However when things start becoming inexplicable there's a certain amount of fear wrapped up in ones next step.

The other night I had a dream about having to start over.
I moved back in with my parents and in the move I lost a lot of my belongings...my art supplies, my books, etc. But it was clear I'd have my old bedroom back and not much of my identity in tact. I basically had no usable skills and thought that maybe I'd have to work in the restaurant business in Northern New York. Which seemed to not sit well with me, but it was better than working in a warehouse. There was definitely a lot of fear around that predicament and some freedom as living at home does provide a level of familiarity...until things turn sour.

In talking with Jess we came to the conclusion if you want to change...or cause change to happen you have to risk a lot more. If you set yourself up to risk more you will know for sure whether you've succeeded or failed. Without the risk, what have you really done?

So taking that next step sometimes may seem like walking backwards but there's always something to learn along the way. But if you don't move at all, your muscles will atrophy and you'll become immobile.

Even if you don't know where you're going, keep putting one foot in front of the other. At least that's what I'm doing until I figure out what's going on.

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Some People Like It Rough

Publish Post

My friend Brian wanted to know if I'd be interested in illustrating something for the Jet City Show that he had this past September. I was all for it and then i realized how indecisive I was about the "open-endedness" of the job. Man, I went through a lot of thumbnails for this one.

I eventually had to give up and just pick one...and I still don't think it was the best choice. I always pick some kind of story with bombastic action. A bit classic, but it'd be nice to do some minimalistic stuff with good design every once in awhile. :|

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BirdTales

I worked on this project some time ago for an overseas company. The pitch went well and then it didn't and vaporized into the aether. Who knows what happened with it all?
Not bad for a days work of sketching I suppose.

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