vis-a-vis my progeny

More sharpie sketches, this time of my kids...

sharpie sketches

Stream-of-consciousness marker stuff from my sketchbook...



After two pages I had to take a break to get away from the sharpie fumes...

Lynd Ward's Frankenstein

When I was a kid I had (and still have) a copy of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein with full-color plates placed throughout...the color paintings were all done in something of a photo-realistic style, and they were fine, but the rest of the book featured stylized black-and-white woodcuts that absolutely captivated me.

These woodcuts were by Lynd Ward...turns out whoever put out the edition of the book I had just used the interior drawings by Ward from an earlier edition (1934). These drawings had a big effect on me...here's a sample of them:

anselm kiefer

I originally wasn't sure if I wanted to keep this portrait black and white or paint it...I liked the starkness, but sometimes painting can be a hell of a lot of fun...I love the feeling of loose abandon you can get from it, especially after working in pen on comics panels for so long, which can be fun in retrospect, but at the time feels sort of like an exercise regiment. Plus, you don't ever get the happy accidents in comics that really expressive painting can deliver.



Anselm Kiefer, by the way, is one of my absolute favorite artists.

nom de plume

If I ever need to use a nom de plume, it will be "Stork Longbarrell".

portrait of the artist as a young batman

Today's world needs more underoos. Back in the late 70's/early 80's there was an embarrassment of riches as far as kids underwear apparel went.

Along with Batman, I also had Superman, Spider-Man, and Luke Skywalker (X-Wing flight suit version)...I have a vague memory of having Flash underoos, too, but the internet doesn't seem to confirm the existence of such a thing...which, if true, seems like a strange omission to me...I mean, they had Aquaman underoos, for God's sake...

mystery panel

A panel from the secret short story I'm working on.

Leto II

A wash sketch of Leto II, the God-Emperor of Dune:

"...when God made man the devil was at his elbow..."

the human condition

Some photographs taken by my 4 yr old daughter. I think she's really captured the existential confusion mankind feels when it comes to trying to fathom its place in the universe.

Newcastle

The cat's the only one who will pose for me at three-in-the-morning.