The Man Who Left the Earth...

 As most of you know by now, we lost the iconic David Bowie a few days ago. And also most of you also know...That it's been a long while since I posted any work on the blog.
 But with Davids passing I felt compelled to do something...to say something, to create something voicing my grief over the passing of a man, that for all purposes, has always been a part of my life in one way or another.
 I grew up listening to him when I was a teen. And as I matured, and my taste in music matured and changed, his always seemed to fit somewhere in the playlist of my life. I've always felt Davids music had a certain sensuality to it. (His soundtrack from Cat People oozes it) And as outward appearances go, he carried himself a certain way...a classic look. Stylish...but with that bit of punk, eccentric appeal that I've always admired. I listened to a broadcast interview on my way in to work this afternoon. As they played samplings of his music, they shared little tidbits of info about some of Davids songs as they played. I just found out today that the song "Heroes", written during what some called his Berlin Era, is actually about two lovers separated on either side of the Berlin Wall.
How did I never not know that?
 I think I'm going to be doing a lot of delving into Bowie music over the next few months.
 I personally feel....we may never see another of his ilk ever again. And at this point, if you have children or grandchildren, be sure to play Davids music for them. So that his legacy never dwindle...he truly does become immortal. Travel well David...and thank you for the years of inspiration. A friend of mine over on my FB page wrote this...and it feels so poignant...so perfect on how I feel,aside from the sadness and loss, I feel the need to share it here as well. (My thanks to my long time I-friend on the other side of the pond, Aidy Gerrard for these words. You inspired me to create this.)
REV~
""Go make some art. 

Write a poem, draw a picture, play a song, go into the city and be a mime, bake a ten-tier lemon cake, wear your Gran's old dresses combined with a flat cap and high tops, build a shed, tell some one you love them using only abstract levels of expression, paint a big, red, lightening bolt on your face - do whatever. Just make it mad, bold, avant garde, irreverent and be your own Zeitgeist.

It doesn't matter what anyone else thinks. Doesn't matter if it sucks, or even if it doesn't. Just give it a try, tomorrow it will be something to look at, touch, feel, laugh at, smile about and remember.
Just make some art.
That's what Bowie did. Today you should. "

The creation of Ringworm: The Beckoning......

Howdy.

Rev here...

I've made it my goal to quit complaining about how I'm too busy to post to the blog...and start posting to the blog.
This is something I worked on for the Breakneck Gallery Rock N' Roll Show on Saturday November 8th. I had fun with this one...letting the pen and brush just wander around and play with textures.
I selected the band Ringworm...because...well...I like their music and the other was...I like the name. So I thought I'd post up some of the roughs and the progression of the work, along with the finished results.
Working on this I went into the bands past album covers for inspiration and listened to the music. As in some cases with metal music, the subject matter can be of questionable subject matter. I'm picky about my metal...I look for bands that have an unusual sound... out of the norm. One image in particular I came a cross was of a young woman...long flowing hair sporting horns. I didn't want to repeat the same image and I didn't necessarily want to use the all to familiar demonic symbols usually associated with some covers.
I began thinking of the the term "ringworm" or rather the skin decease. A disease of the flesh...of rot and decay. I also began thinking of what it must have been like many years ago when the world was much younger...and more naive. Superstition...monsters...demons and ghosts invaded the minds of humans to explain many things we see as a mere fact of science now a days.
So...I have this old deer skull that hangs in my garage. Coming from a family of hunters, but not one myself, I got it from one of my relatives. I was in the garage looking for Halloween decorations..and saw it hanging there, forgetting its there most of the time. And that's when the idea kind of took shape...This being the first rough..
As I said...I did want to incorporate the nubile young woman from one of the bands cover...just not in the same manner. And I also wanted to incorporate the worm shape...The name Ringworm taking on more of the name of an ancient  demon god...maybe the birthplace of the name for the disease.....instead of the disease itself.

The rough pencil sketch.

The inking in progress......

At this point I just started having fun going in and playing...adding textures....Paying a lot of attention to the texture of the trees. Allowing the texture lines to add depth, but also help and define shape and form of the tree bark. I paid attention to line direction so that most of the lines moved toward the shape of either the prone figure of the woman or the demon god Ringworm.   

Of extra note are the bell bracelets around each of his wrists. The night I was working on this...I was out back letting our dogs run in the backyard. As I stood on the back steps...the wind was blowing slightly and somewhere out there in the dark I could hear this small bell, like that on a cats collar, or maybe a chime on someones back porch...or maybe...just maybe, the bells placed on the wrists of some ancient demon god, placed there by an ancient race of people as a sign, a warning of the coming of the evil one. Yes...I do let my imagination run wild at times.

              

And this is the end results. Now...you all stay frosty...and listen for the sound of the small bells. You just never know....

A Knight in Gotham

Hey...Rev here.

My piece for the upcoming Carol and Johns Comic Shop Batman 75th anniversary party this Saturday the 26th curated by good friend and outstanding fellow artist Ryan Finley. If you were to boil Batman down to his basic essence....take away all the hype....all the crazy nefarious criminals...it boils down to one thing. Batman is just a man. Just a guy that dresses up in a bat outfit. Driven by a relentless desire, a need to avenge the death of his parents who died tragically at the hands of a criminal. Wrong place...at the wrong time. That being said....all he has is his money (being a billionaire and all), his wits and his training.

So I envisioned what it must be like for him at the end of a night, after running around and stopping as many crimes as he can. Muggers, rapists....robbers...taking on all these in one night...only to come home, mend his wounds and go back at it again the next night. 

Ink...ink washes, red ink...and white paint marker. I wanted a really wet look to this as Bats comes in from the rain...so I worked wet. Well....not me personally, but I kept the paper wet as I worked and allowed it to dry before wetting it again.

Happy Mothers Day....

Greetings and salutations,

Tis me...Reverand Jim, doing my best to keep posting when I can. This sketch was something started at Drink'N Draw on Wednesday in my sketch book...and it felt like something that needed finished. I'd like to do a final piece for this...work out the the details of the hands and weapons in the foreground....the breast feeding infant...
Anyways at Drink 'N Draw we had asked, for those that wanted to participate, to do your best strong female character. Instead of the obvious..( Wonder Woman, Power Girl...Supergirl...etc.,.) I had this vision in my head of a mother trying to breast feed her child.....and then rouge Ronin...lowlife thugs happening upon her, thinking they would have their way with her. A bad mistake...Sword drawn and still performing her motherly duty, she waits ready to cleave the first man dumb enough to come within distance of her katana. I'm a huge fan of Koike & Kojimas Lone Wolf and Cub. And this kind of just fell into place...and on my sketchbook...see you soon. Stay frosty.
J~

Everyone should be punished...A History of Violence

Or...at least that's what Frank Castle seems to be brooding over. Hi..it's me, Rev. Jim. It's been waaaay to long since I posted anything to the blog...(something the devious Crider nonchalantly screams out at events.) So I thought I'd throw this here. This is a piece I did, entitled "The Punisher: A History of Violence", for the gallery show for the upcoming Free Comic Book Day event at one of our bestest buds, Carol and Johns Comics Shop. There will be sketches done at the Friday night Pre-Party and on Saturday, the RBMC and myself will be doing the live mural thingy. So come by and see us and the rest of the talented artists Cleveland has to offer. You can get the skinny on everything here...Carol and Johns Comic Shop
So until we meet again...Stay frosty.

Go west young man

Hey there....Reverend Jim here.

I do love westerns...I should say, I love a good western. I'm definitely particular...and skeptical of anything made in say...the last ten years. There have been the surprises...Blackthorn...The Proposition...I even liked Open Range.

However the other night I finally had a chance to watch The Coen brothers True Grit. It's movies like this that renew my faith that today's filmmakers can make an entertaining western. Especially with such a talented cast. 

So last night at DnD I was inspired to sketch this one up real quick. Jeff Bridges was amazing as Rooster. And even though I loved John Wayne's version at the time...Bridges replaced that. A quick sketch with ink and markers.

Round 34: Surrender the Booty!!!

I must have drawn that stupid pirate...turtle...sweet cuddly bear hundreds of times. But I never ordered the course. I did however have a cousin who did...and they were nice enough to turn some of the course books over to me...I think I still have a few of them laying about. Anyway...I dig pirates...and robots...and explosions. And da booty...so there you have it.

A little Halloween love...Farmer style!!

The results of this past Drink and Draw...and yes...I just recently watched MOTEL HELL. What else can you do with a severed pigs head? Ink and white marker on red...blood red, paper

WEEK 27: Batman Begins

I've been watching Bats since I was a kid. Although my first sighting of The Batman was Adam West and Burt Ward, I fell in love with the character enough that I manage to try and steal my dads black ford (with red interior of course) and rip the shower curtains down trying to climb the walls...all at 4 or 5 years old. I read the comics, wore my first Batman costume. And though over the years we drifted apart...he has always been my favorite. (Although I will admit a slight teetering on the fence when I saw The Green Hornet and Kato mop the floor with Bats and the boy wonder in one episode...I did slightly convert for a while to the Hornet. My second childhood hero) It wasn't till years later when my wife bought me a copy of Millers Dark Knight that I had seen what he'd become. Then Burton's two films came along (The rest are dead to me...DEAD I say!!!) and I got my dose of that boyhood adrenaline again. After the following debacle of films...he seemed to lose his luster. Something I'll never forgive Schumacher for.
Then came Batman Begins....and I was blown away. This was the guy that I knew he was...what he was capable of becoming. As you can tell I love Nolans films. And they will always sit as my prize possessions in my DVD collection. This was the scene that did it for me. The moment when Bruce Wayne not only faces his boyhood fears, but decides what he is to become to combat the criminal element of Gotham. This 3-4 minutes of film is just...goosebumps. The bats, the cave..the soundtrack. And though this took me a while to ink the textures...I loved doing it. Hope you like. You can click the link to my site to see the penciled version. As always thanks for lookin. J.