Adventures In & Out of Boxes: TRANSITION.

You let me violate you
You let me desecrate you
You let me penetrate you
You let me complicate you
Help me
I broke apart my insides
Help me
I've got no soul to sell
Help me
The only thing that works for me
Help me get away from myself...

 

You bring me closer to God- Nine Inch Nails

 

 

Reflecting on Pain, Regret, and Escape.

Looking for an exit from Chaos and Disrespect.

There is none.

There is no Escape-

only Completion.

 

 

      I tried to complete this story to separate and lay to rest what is Past.  To take advantage of NOW.  I embraced and exhausted the Physical, until all that was not Divine would fall away.

      Striding through a world of panels; jumping in and out of boxes, on the carnal Altar I discovered the power within.  When there is nothing else to fill you appetites you find the vast potential of NO-thing.  Past drunken Bacchanalia and misty smoke outs there occurred an awakening.  There is joy in the Party and pleasure in the afterParty but the awakening is transformative and redemptive. 

 

 

 



Down here on the ground

ain't no place for living

Down here on the ground

Watching the sparrows fly

I watch the birds

As they make their wings

Flying solid free

How I wish it were me

But I'm down here on the ground

And I'm wanting something better

I'm down here on the ground

Wanting something more

One morning soon

You will find

Some wings on my mind

To take me high

So if you hear a sound

From down here on the ground

Don't you know?

It's only me trying to fly- George Benson

 

 

      Down here on the ground there is nowhere to go but up.  The fair forms that offer distraction and release fall away leading to a higher Adoration.  But first the right Companion must be found.  It takes stumbles and hard lessons to realize: to learn from being wrong you have to accept Responsibility for the Wrong...

 

 

Reading List:  AvsX.  Bendis-Brewbaker-Fraction & various artist.

                       Avengers Forever.  Busiek-Pacheco-Merino

                       Bridgeman's Complete Guide to Drawing from Life. George B. Bridgeman

 

Music List:  Bob Marley Radio on Pandora.com

                     Drops of Jupiter- Train

                     

 

Movie/Television List:  Thor: the Dark World

                                       The Directors: Spike Lee

                                       The Seven Samurai- Kurosawa

                                        Star Trek Voyager. Season One  

Adventures In & Out of Boxes: Who Am I? Page Five.

There is magic in the carnal world.

 

The freeing of pent up physical energies can open the doors of perception. 

Or maybe that's my liberal arts education talking. 

To quote an old pimp the only thing better than old ----- is new -----. 

Fill that in with whatever you want.

 

 

 

 

This story was always intended to have a soundtrack. 

This page is inspired by

Gut Bucket Blues,

 Southern Hood hip-hop,

Violin Adagios,

 Pink Floyd Animals

 and

Vintage Al Green.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Adventures In & Out of Boxes: Who am I? Page Four.

    Art is doing. 

Looking. Thinking. Planning. Doing.

 

Being a professor forced me to constantly reflect on basic skills, structure, and observation.  Every artist needs a PROCESS.  Every artist has to trust the discovery and application of a Process.  Every artist must be prepared, once a process is not enough, to ChANGe.  And start all over again. 

 

  Reading List:  New Teen Titans Vol. 2 Issue 10-16, & Annual #1  Marv Wolfman & George Perez. 

                               Titans of myth, Doom Patrol, Omega Men.  The stuff that made me check who

                                the creative team was for the first time in comics. 

                           Legion of Superheroes Annual  #1. Paul Levitz & Keith Giffen.

                               The story that introduced Invisible Kid II, holographic D&D, and the prelude to

                                the Great Darkness saga. 

Music List:   My Being Petty playlist on iTunes.  Created for my ex-wife...

                                 Songs like:  Funny How time Slips Away- Al Green.

                                                     Hello Like Before- Bill Withers

                                                     Say Hello Wave Goodbye- David Gray

                                                     Blame Game- Kanye West

                                                     All in love is Fair- Stevie Wonder

                                                     Anna's Song- Marvin Gaye

                                                     Theme from Mahogany- Diana Ross

                                                      Papers- Usher

Movie/TV List:  Star Trek Enterprise Season 2.

                           The Hobbit.

                            The Dunwich Horror.

 

 

 

Adventures In and Out of Boxes: Who am I. Page Three.

      Out of the Abyss.  This page creating it, reflecting on it,  and the time it represents was an exercise in ego destruction.   Every acceptance of change in life is about destroying who you were to accept who you are as circumstances and intention demands.  Rough collage is represented by the badly photographed and copied paintings down the center tier of the page.  Large paintings (4'x2') I made while in the relationship relating to the object of my love, the maturation of passion from lust to love, and the acceptance of death/change. 

 

http://irfuel.blogspot.com/2006/06/sorceror-series-long-walk-cross-my.html  

 

http://irfuel.blogspot.com/2006/05/sorceror-series-slowly-surely.html

 

  

 

 

 http://irfuel.blogspot.com/2006/05/sorceror-series-with-death-on-your.html

 

 

 The Links above connect to an old blog I had with a group of friends: Intellectual Rocket Fuel we used to inspire each other to create. 

 

 

 

Reading List: Bhagavad-Gita translated by Barbara Stoler Miller.
                      

Music List:  Next Lifetime, Didn't Cha Know. Erykah Badu
                    
Movie/TV list:  Miami Vice Season One.
                          Parks and Recreation.
                          Star Trek: Enterprise Season One.

Shit I dig! ComicsI read this week 11/20/2013

 

 

I came to Sandman late.  Picked up the final arc Kindly Ones because Marc Hempel was drawing it.  Hempel caught my eye in college when My roommate Bill collected a coulpe of graphic novels about a simple man in an asylum named Gregory.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hilarious and touching stuff.  I had no interest in Neil Gaiman though I quickly became a fan. Luckily a gaming buddy of mine Eric, had all the trades in his collection and I caught up.  Now my Vertigo title was the Invisibles and I was deep into that journey, but Sandman mixed all the magical story sources I enjoyed.  I was in. I was affected by its ending and never found another Gaiman joint that held my attention like he did on Sandman.  Imagine my excitement when it was announced that Gaiman was returning to Dream and the art was being helmed by one of my favorite current comic artists, J H Williams III.  I missed the first issue when it came out two weeks ago.  So I held my reviews until I read it.  I am also finishing up a big move, so time has been a tight commodity.  Anyway I finally got it so let the show go on...

Adventures In and Out of Boxs: Who am I. Page Two.

    Busy week.  Moving to be with my lady. Anyway here is page two.  I call it heartbreak in the Gump. 

Adventures In and Out of Boxes:Who Am I. Page One.

This is how CHANGE occurs. 

 

Through ACTION purpose is met.  I am leaving the Bunker.  The Studio.  Continuing forward on this Sorceror’s journey.  I am  actualizing the Turtle Triumphant.

                This is how the story begins.  This is how I enter a new state of being.

 

Being a Father. 

            It begins with a packing box of my favorite books from my special bookcase.

 

Shit I dig! Comics i read this week 10/28/2013

 

The New52 catches my attention....

 

 

         Not a bad comic week and a little different.  Only one Avengers book and no X-books.  And more DC books then Marvel. 

 

 

 

Shit i dig! Comics I read this week 10/25/2013

 

7.  Fantomax MAX #1

What!? Me name drop?!

 

            Okay so I know the artist that drew this comic.  Shawn Crystal was in the Sequential Art MFA program at SCAD Savannah with me, and is currently a Professor of SA at SCAD ATL. Good memories.  Good artist.  That said I have to admit Fantomex is one of my least favorite Grant Morrison creations.  I also have not followed his activities in the Marvel world up until his current antics in Uncanny X-Force, I like the movement of his characters in this but the use of zip tones distracts from the art.  And the women are drawn very gratuitously… but it is a MAX book.  The story didn’t hold me.  Lot of unnecessary cursing and EVA is out of control.  I’m lost with what is going on as there is really no setup for the violence that occurs by Agent Fleming’s fellow agents.  I’ll check out issue two at BAM but, it is nice to see folks from SCAD making good. 

 

Of Mythic Proportions: Extinction. Character Sketches

 

 

         It took me years to begin to appreciate how useful sketchbooks are.  Here are four characters of OMP: Extinction. 

 

 

 

Lord Lizard

 

Lord Lyonmane

 

 

Lord Tapestry with his whips

 

 

Escora of the Northern

Oh How Brechtian. Of Mythic Proportions:Extinction. Book One. Part One. Page Ten.

"Because things are the way they are, things will not stay the way they are."

 

Bertolt Brecht

 One of the greatest and most difficult lessons I took from SCAD and storytelling was to start small.  Often new sequential artist want their first story to be an epic saga.  When the daunting task of drawing one good comic page is really before you, you learn.  I realize I have the attention span to work on five to ten page stories.  This is the end of part one of the story. 

            For a week or so I’m gonna drop some sketches and drawings connected to OMP but I have another story I’ll be presenting here in two weeks.  I’m working on the next ten pages of OMP now… we’ll see when I finish. And as soon as I do it’ll be here. 

Reading List: The Book of Daniel: A Novel.

Music List: E.S.P. Miles Davis
                    Ne me Quitte Pas. Nina Simone

Movie/TV List: Fringe Season Five
                          Breaking Bad Season Two.

Shit I Dig! Comics I read this week 10/09/2013.

            ITS AN AVENGER WORLD!!

 

 

 

 

 

Shit I dig! Comics I read this week 10/8/2013

It’s like they let loose a Virus.  Like a strain of that virus that first ran through the X-men around the mid-nineties, spreading the concept beyond the limitations of one or two monthly titles.  The Avengers have really caught on!  I blame Brian Bendis, or maybe the editor, Tom Brevoort is the culprit.  Since Bendis’ departure from the Avengers, the brand has exploded.

            So I ended up with almost all Marvel books and an Image title and a final issue of a DC title... for me (that’s been happening a lot lately).

 

 

 

The Walking Man Walks.Of Mythic Proportions: Extinction. Book One. Part One. Page Nine.

 

 

 

     So a story can be incredibly personal without giving the real names of anyone involved.  You can take jabs at a person from your past who broke your heart are secretly thank an old flame for changing your life for the better without ever leaving yourself vulnerable.  That's what made me appreciate story.  Lyonmane is the unrestrained libido.  His passion is his greatest distraction.  He is the Hunter.


Reading List:  The Bible- Old Testament
                        Mask of God vol. 1: Primitive Mythology.


Music List:   Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell radio on Pandora.com.

Movie/TV  List:  Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
                             Bob's Burgers   

Shit I dig! Comics I read this week 9/23/2013.

MARVEL Wins!

 

 

 

 

Shit I dig! Comics I read this week 9/23/2013.

 

      My Beloved DC.  What is wrong with us.  Out of the seven books I read only two came from DC.  One of those being a Vertigo imprint title that got grandfathered in under Wildstorm... so I don't completely count that.  More nostalgia than any sense of loyalty, I have been a consumer of the DC Universe perhaps a moment before I discovered Marvel.  Like I discovered the Justice League of America before the Avengers.  The New Teen Titans was my team before I even cared about an Xmen.  The only oddity is Byrne's Fantastic Four.  It stands in a place all its own.  Point being I know more about and care more about DC lore than almost any other pop culture... "thing!"  So I wanna kinda sorta be down with this 52 thing.  I have even found a gem or two as I've stated before, but my hold box and take home tell the tale. 

    Me and Mrs. Marvel got a thang going on. 

 

 Two sets of event tie-ins, Cap impulse buy, Astro via Vertigo, and a LSH book picked because of the artist & yeah, nostalgia. 

 

7.  Avengers #19. Infinity tie-in

       Still not feelin' it.



    I never want to be that cat that continuously hates on a book.  Still I realize more than the Event I do not enjoy this title.  Yu's art is not my favorite.  Lot of beautiful poses but no acting.  Understanding the storyline better but it seems to add cosmic problem to cosmic problem.  And it grows at that Hickman pace that loses me right around now....  I do know I have missed stuff in this story arc by not paying close attention to the plot but it seems like everything that happened before this in the story was a device to get us to this story.  I like the New Universe stuff but... am... nodding.... offffffzzzzzzzz.   I do feel like I would gain some info by reading Guardians of the Galaxy.Hmmmm.

 

6.  Captain America #11

Artist Stalking, part one.







    Carlos Pacheco.  I been digging his work since he was doing a Marvel UK gig around the same time Bryan Hitch was coming out the box.  Both reminded me of Alan Davis with a different dynamism to them.  After Avengers Forever and  The JLA/JSA Virtue & Vice Hardcover I was hooked. He has moved from his old inker Jesus Merino and lost some texture and detail but his layouts are strong and his anatomy is always interesting.  I liked his Schism work and pick him up when I can.  Wasn't real interested in Cap's current adventures but, you know, the trades say great jumpin' on point so...

   Enjoyed it.  I like how Rick Remender writes and think I may follow this story arc.  Pacheco is inked by a legend, Klaus Janson, who is great at giving emotion to figure.  For me he made the old Frank Miller Daredevil stuff, not to mention the Dark Knight Returns. Can't believe Cap burned all his stuff, but a nice statement.

 

5.  Astro City #4

   Its all about perspective.





  I am a fan.  I mean quiet as its kept probably even a fanboy for certain comics.  Astro City is one of them.  I'mm glad its back and find Kurt Busiek an insightful writer.  This take on the multiverse of comics is always layered and thoughtful.  Brent Andersons pencils seem to have gotten looser and his inks have gotten darker and harsher.  His emotion and storytelling is still spot on.  A story told from the point of view of those with power who choose not to wear gaudy costumes and patrol the streets.  These Powers use their powers in their everyday life.  And they look out for each other.  Always great to see the fall of a villain destined for small things.  Another tour through Astro City is worth the trip. 

 

4.  Legion of Super-heroes #23

This is the END beautiful friend or Artist stalker, part two.

  I like Paul Levitz on Legion.  I jumped in and out of this cause it seemed to lack cohesion.  Something the LSH has been cursed with since Crisis on Infinite Earth.  Repeated approaches and iterations of the Legion have plagued the last twenty or so years of its contemporary existence.  Some great creators some great stories.  Seems once again DC throws in the towel and puts the title back on ice.     

  So I got it for that and I got it for Kevin Maguire on pencils.  Love his work and was excitedly looking forward to JLA 3000.  Then DC flipped again and fired him.  I read this was one of the gigs he was doing at the end.  Visually this book is a beautiful farewell.  Not knowing the plot points I was just excited to see old friends say goodbye...again.  Pure nostalgia.  Though it makes it harder to get a series when all you have is memories of great things.  Long Live the Legion!

 

3.  New Avengers #10.  Infinity tie-in.

  Another pause in the rising action...







 

  I will say it again New Avengers is follows the Made men of Marvel.  Another layer to this Infinity event Thanos is coming for his son...his SON!  And we got the builders coming, oh yeah and another Earth is hurtling towards our dimensional space...again.  Deodato art carries the story and I love the tension and distraction.  Don't like how Hank looks and feel like Dr. Strange is being treated like a Mitch but in the end we get back to the "Crisis" at the center of this story.  Still like the pacing. Like a slowly bowling unattended kettle.  Look forward to when it blows its top.  Just hope Hickman doesn't lose me.

 

2.  Uncanny X-men #12.  Battle of the Atom tie-in.

   Bendis & Bachalo

 

  I followed him over from the Avengers universe.  I even keep getting Avengers mostly because of him.  Now I have to say I am again an X-men fan because of Brian Bendis.  I have enjoyed this book and the cast of new characters.  Bendis teases us with a reminder of the scene that began this event and gives a nice character study of Scott Summers on the sneak.  Emma has become Summers best psychoanalyst.  A telepath, go figure.  Love Bachalo's designs in this issue.  A lot of talking turns into a nice education in using figure to great depth of space.  Not as crazy about the coloring but for a book filled with talking it moved visually.   Magneto makes a speech echoing Storm in X-men #5, while I am still waiting for the reveal that will turn this story on its side(keep following Illyana I'd guess) and move into high gear.  Looking forward to the upcoming conflict from Scott's exes.   

 

 

1.  X-men #5.  Battle of the Atom tie-in

I try to get out but you pull me right back in!





   I have to admit I only started collecting this series because Olivier Coipel (Artist Stalkin' part three) was the artist on the first story arc.  Enjoyed it but my pockets forced me to make a  choice on these X-family books and this book was a casualty.   Because of the Event I picked up this book and got a treat!  Woods take on this team's principle personae shined in spite of the guests of the event.  I realized how much I missed Rachel as a character and the importance of these characters very different and long relationships with each other.  I even enjoy Storm's organic community approach to leading.  She sets parameters but doesn't lose it when others think and decide for themselves. I like Lopez's art too.  The final page as young Scott and Jean pull up to Utopia to see grown Scott's X-men is poster worthy.  An visual moment in this time lost teams journey.  My favorite colorist is no slouch either.  Laura Martin uses coloring and subtle shading to add to the mood of the book.  I might have to keep getting this book after the Event is over. 

 

     So yeah Marvel is getting my money though I feel like I'm sleep-walking through Infinity.  And no Sigler I'm not hatin', I just realized after rereading the first two issues and the tie-ins that I'm not invested in the stakes 'cause they are a little nebulous and all about revelation for revelations sake.  But the drive is somewhere off in the distance to be explained if you endure all this other stuff.  I never finished Hickman's run on FF but I really liked how it started.  Because of that I feel like I'm missing something here.  We'll see.  

 

 

 

 







The Primal Reptile Brain. Of Mythic Proprotion: Extinction. Book One. Part One. Page Eight.

         One of the other inspirations for this story are backyard lizards.  I spent afternoons and evenings meditating on my parents back porch.  I would watch ants, birds, lizards, and all type of natural phenomena, while contemplating storytelling.  One day I watched a small lizard wreak havoc on the small insects skittering across the cement porch.  Stalking and gulping done all kinds of little insects.  Oddly enough it reminded me of a comic book run.  Silver Surfer Vol.3 as drawn by Ron Lim and written by Steve Engelhardt.  I remember part of the story arc involved Silver Surfer traveling with a vicious reptilian alien.  If memory serves the subtext of the story talked about the oldest part of the brain, the reptilian brain.  I gotta find those issues. 
The Reptile brain deals with necessity. Survival.

Lord Lizard is all about survival. 

Reading List: Comic Book Events: Trinity War, Infinity, Forever Evil, and Battle of the Atom. 


Music List: Nina Simone Ne Me Quitte Pas & Don't let me be misunderstood

Movie List: Life of Pi.  What a revelation.  Ang Lee gets me again.

Shit I dig! Comics I read this week 9/10/13

Shit I dig. Comics I read this week 9/10/13

 

BIG EVENTS & TIE-INS

 

            I haven’t been to MY comic book shop in a few weeks.  Thank goodness (REALLY, but not really) for the Forever Evil Event!  The handful of New 52 titles I get, I didn’t cause I’m not interested in learning about villains who would be better served to be explored in STORYLINE.  These books come off as filler and desperate merchandising.  Anyway saves me some dough for…Events! 

            The end of Trinity War, the beginning of Battle of the Atom, the continuation of Infinity and a Zero issue from Valiant filled out my “box” this week.

            And THIS is what I have to say about THAT…

 

9.  Forever Evil #1

Really New 52.  REALLY?

            The bad guys win. Does anyone remember Villains United?  Final Crisis?  This issue, I was not impressed.  I’m even beginning to hope for another Reset button pressing.  Lost Earth2 and Batwoman on some creative bull-ish.  Batman Inc… ended.  Green Lantern lost me two Geoff Johns happenings back.  I had even just discovered Wonder Woman and Justice League of America.  Then THIS happens. 

            The art by David Finch looks rushed and over inked.  The four page villain spread is under designed with a lack of consistent proportion.  I’ve seen him do much better… and worse.  I do look forward to Ted Kord maybe becoming Blue Beetle in the New 52.  The character has been one of my favorites since Paris Cullins drew his reintroduction after his appearance in Crisis on Infinite Earths.  I think Geoff Johns is running himself out tapping from the same well. 

 

8.  Infinity Part Two

What..? What the..?  What the HELL is going on???

            And Hickman just lost me.  The moments in this event confuse me.  I feel like I’m missing what the drive is behind this event.  And I’ve read everything in list of tie-ins so far.  I’m just lost.  I liked the first book with the Jim Cheung art and pacing.  But this issue I just don’t know what the hell is going on… The art is nice but there seems to be no storytelling, just exposition. Why didn’t he use the Celestials?  Don’t they serve the same function? 

 

7.  Avengers #18 Infinity tie-in

Words, words, words, etc. 

            I get more and more lost as all the pieces get on the board.  If I was Skrulls I’d get the hint and stay far away from Earth and Earthlings.  Lenlil Yu’s art is interesting but is more visually interesting than serving the progression of the story.  The more important characters appear the more I lose the progression of the story.  Bad Event Tie-in.  BAD! 

 

6.  New Avengers #9 Infinity tie-in

I’m just saying…

            So ever since this book started I thought, “This is clearly Crisis in Infinite Earths done Marvel style.  I have even enjoyed the almost glacial pace of the book.  Any book that maintains T’Challa as an O.G. has my attention.  And I’m still waiting for the redemption of Reed Richards (my boy since Byrne) and Tony Stark for that Civil War bull-ish!  So I’ve enjoyed this book.  Then this damned Infinity event.  It just cuts in and stills the ponderous momentum this book was gaining.  I consider it a device to show how tough the Black Order are.  I’m still down, but this is a misstep in a nicely growing character study of the MADE MEN of the Marvel Universe. 

 

5.  Bloodshot #0

ChrisCross will make ya’….

            Read a lot of Valiant back in the Jim Shooter days, so I have been curious.  Still I got this book for my ChrissCross fix.  And artist I’ve been watching since Blood Syndicate.  Nice background information on the Bloodshot project and its evolution.  Liked the point of view.  I have bee curious about this Matt Kindt cat since his name has been popping up.  Not sur if I am ready to enter the Valiant U. fulltime yet(still torn about Quantum and Woody without Priest and Doc Bright) but very pleased with this product.

 

4.  Justice League #23 End of the Trinity War.

Now how does this lead into Forever Evil again?

            The ART!  I love Ivan Reis and his crew, though I avoided his work on New 52.  Really a shame because he makes everything a lot better.  I have yet to read a story that is equal to his visual work but the Green Lantern stuff (before Brightest Day) came close.  I enjoyed this issue despite coming in at the end of the story-arc.  Fed my fanboy lovefor multiple team slugfests.  Not crazy about where this story leads, and there was a whole lot of exposition through the Outsider, but damn this is a pretty book!

 

3.  Uncanny X-men #11

Bendis is now officially my favorite bald white comic writer!

Grant get back on you’re A game!

            I am sooo down for this book.  Since Schism I have become a serious Scott Summers fan.  Still learning about the manipulative stuff he did with X-force, but Cyclops was right!  I am fascinated by his current journey.  Still I hate Sentinels.  Always have and have never found a story beyond Days of Future Past, that I liked them in.  Love Frazer Irving’s art and his rendition of the “new Mutants.”  Bendis rocks!

 

2.  Battle of the Atom Part One

Age of Ultron…not so much…

            Visually striking.  Fast beginning. I like the way this Event is starting.  Seems like a very planned out event and flows right into the story arc.  Bendis is on with his X-books and this book help prove it.  Nice introduction of the players and a surprising beginning.  Bendis seems to be giving Illyana layers. 

 

1.  All New X-men #1 Battle of the Atom Tie-in

ART ADAMS! BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS! STUART IMMONEN

            First the Art Adams covers got me.  Second my favorite comic super-team creative team: Bendis and Immonen.  Third Jean Grey.  This team never lets me down.  And I have just realized how much of a mitch I have become for Marvel Girl.  I can feel Bendis’s love for Kitty, but his devotion to Jean is comparable to Claremont and Morrison.  I never got the feeling Byrne or any other creative team liked her as much.  I teared up at the end.  Finally after two decades I can proudly say these are MY X-men! 

            Its nice to see an Xavier again.  The best thing about this run is that I am wary of every twist and turn and excited about what comes next.  I am a student of Immonen’s work and really appreciate his work when von Grawbadger inks it.   

Sowing the Seeds of Derision. Of Mythic Proportions Book One. Part One. Page Seven.

    Thinking a lot about layers.  Layers of space, layers of perception, and layers of meaning.  I have done a lot of editing of my original script.  Paring down to necessary text for available space and design.
    Lizard, Lyonmane, and Tapestry are brothers who care deeply for each other.  For these long lived comrades the expanse of time will test their ties and the Greenheart of Behemoth has sown its poison seed.
       But who are these young heroes....


Reading List: A New Earth: Awakening to your Life's Purpose by Eckhart Tolle.
                      The Invisibles Omnibus by Grant Morrison and Various phenomenal artists!
                    
Music List:  Miles Davis.  Nefertiti
                    New Edition. Everything on Youtube.
                    80's R&B.

Movie List: The Lone Wolf and Cub Boxed Set.  Six movies based on my favorite Manga
                    series:Lone Wolf &cub by Kazou Koike and Goseki Kojime. INCREDIBLE!

It takes a village OR On the Souls of Clan Folk. Of Mythic Proportions:Extinction.Book One.Part One.Page Six.

  When the idea for this first part of a much larger story was forming I was teaching art at a University.  I came into contact with a lot of young men(and women) who had issues with male authority figures as a result of the absence of fathers or strong male figures in their lives.  Consequently I thought hard on these young men and their lack of an accessible role model to allow a maturity from adolescence.  The absence of Lord Lizards father and the fate of his mother, the leader of the combined clans, is a central aspect of his character arc and the overall story.  I think if I painted this page it would have the power I want to express.  We'll see.


Reading List: Heretic: Betrayers of Kamigawa. Kamigawa Cycle Book II by Scott McGough.
                       The Path. Issues 1-12. CrossGen Comics.  Ron Marz & Bart Sears

Music List:  Jay-Z. The Blueprint.
                    Street Faerie. Cree Summer

Stepping Out of the Abyss.

Self-Absorbed: The Fool on the Hill.

2013. Acrylic on Canvas Paper.

 

 

But the fool on the hill

Sees the sun going down

And the eyes in his head

See the world spinning round.

                                     Lennon/McCartney

 

 

This painting is a product of Education First Tours (EFTours),                                             Rembrandt, Impressionism,Van Gogh: A Retrospective, Divorce, The Magical Mystery Tour, and Narcissism. 

So let the first, be last.

            I have drawn and painted myself numerous times in my life.  Each self portrait records a Time or an Attitude or perhaps a Thought. A Reminder of how the interior is expressed through the exterior.

            The intentions of an armchair psychologist.

            During its execution, I was determined to recover my Bliss, as defined by Joseph Campbell. The activities and proclivities that make this experience a joy



Like Painting.

Summer Plans 2012

2012.Watercolor and ink on watercolor paper 

 

 

The Magical Mystery Tour

 

            The Beatles album.  One of many great ones.  An incredible highway album.  Nice for long rides.  The journey is about what you see and what you do.  The song came on my ITunes playlist after I finished the painting.  I was looking at the painting at the moment.

 “and the eyes in his head…”





 

DIVORCE

 

            My divorce was final Dec. 21, 2011.  I am mostly done processing.  After a time I decided to I was still an okay dude.  I opened back up and met a real nice lady.  Like a lotus flowering…

 

… And it changed me. 

            So my Lady digs Thrift stores, Goodwill, and Flea Markets.  Now I find treasures at these places.  The best are books.   I found a gem at the Goodwill in Macon, Georgia (incredible café and book section if you are ever in the area.) 

 
 
 

 

Van Gogh

A Retrospective

Edited by Susan Alyson Stein

 

            I already liked Vincent.  His tragic story, the intensity of his vision, and the beauty of his use of color made Vincent an integral tool for Art Education.  Years ago (nearly a decade now…) I saw his work in person in Amsterdam.  At the time I was not a competent enough student of painting to appreciate the technique or his execution.  Two years ago I saw his work repeatedly while journeying through the U.K. to Paris.  Courtesy of Education First Tours. 

 

 

        

Van Gogh, A Retrospective contains a painting in particular that exploded from the page with energy and light. 



Pink peach trees (Souvenir de mauve)

1888

 

            BRUSHTROKES!! 

Brushstrokes became important. 

LEARNING TO PAINT

So I am looking  forward and moving forward.  Learning to layer the paint and swirl the brush.  Stepping out of the Abyss. The Fool on the hill.

 

 

H.P Lovecraft and African Locs...Of Mythic Proportions:Extinction.Book One.Part One.Page Five.Antagonist.

Every comic story needs a villain.  The evil that birthed Behemoth threatens the Realm.  I have realized in the years since I first created this image that the tentacles have become a motif in my work initially unintentionally and now purposefully.  Wild primordial tangles streams of potential energy creative...and destructive.

Reading List: Dante's Inferno
                       Earth2. DC Comics

Music List:   Kanye West. My Beautiful Dark Nightmare.
                     

An obsession with forward progression...Of Mythic Proportions:Extinction. Book One. Part One. Page Four. Title Page

I know I've falling behind but I'm still dedicated to get this stuff up and use this technology.  Sequential art is sibling to film and shares many of the same storytelling conceits visually.  I am a fan of Akira Kurosawa and Stanley Kubrick.  I am interested in movement from left to right and a sense of progression in my pages.  Here we see the five young Heroes of our story.  The Title page.

Music List: Steely Dan... anything nostalgic and metaphoric. 
                    Kanye West. The College Dropout.
                   
Reading List: The Gospel of Thomas
                       

Dragons have always been Female to me! Of Mythic Proportions: Extinction. Book One. Part One. Page Three. Behemoth, Seeds of Destruction.

  The art on these pages are two and three years old so I don't have an immediate connection to what I was thinking when I drew it, still there is a narrative intention that tingles when I see the words with the pictures and it SEEMS to make sense.  I do know I was beginning to think a lot about movement and forward progression.  Left to Right.  Behemoth is a fiction of my wounded Anima.  Not understanding how to balance the good and bad in a person that is loved, I create an Ideal that always fails...always destroys. 

  Music List: T-Pain(on you-tube)
                      Ludacris(also on you-tube)                     
                     Charles Mingus, Mingus mingus mingus mingus.

 Reading List: DC Secret Origins(Kevin Nowlan Covers!!)
                        James Bond Movie Posters, the Official 007 collection from Chronicle Books.

What becomes of the Brokenhearted. Of Mythic Proportions:Extinction. Book One. Part One. Page Two: Sophia's Touch

Change often comes after pain or tragedy.  Ruminating over the whys and wherefores of a broken heart inspired the design for this page.

Music List:      A Love Supreme John Coltrane.
                        All is fair in love, Stevie Wonder.
Reading List:  Man and his Symbols, Carl Jung
                        On the Origin of the World, Nag Hammadi Library