Hell Sketchbook Back Cover

BTW, here's the back cover of the Hell sketchbook:



It will change, no doubt...

Hell Sketchbook Cover Update

The cover as it is so far:



See previous posts below for previous versions. I'm going for the palimpsest thing here, obviously, as images get enhanced and/or obliterated by other images.

The Armored One (Hell Sketchbook)

Another new drawing from the Hell Sketchbook:



Brush & ink on recycled paper, 2007, 11" x 8" approx. Just yer everyday monster.

Museum on the Seam

Some of my War Room-related work is to be shown in a group exhibit at the Museum on the Seam, Jerusalem, Israel, beginning in September 2007. More details will be posted here...

Seated Nude On Chair

Another quick-ish life drawing sketch:



Graphite on paper, 2007, 12" x 9". OK, back to business.

Reclining Female Nude

Here's a life drawing from Monday night's session in the studio:



Graphite on paper, 2007, 19" x 24". It came out quite nicely, I think. Makes a change from all this Hell stuff, for a moment. Click on the image for a bigger version.

Strange Vessel

Another drawing from the Hell sketchbook:



Brush & ink on paper, 2007, 11" x 8" approx. This one could become a painting at some point.

Demon In Pantalons

From the Hell sketchbook. And why not?



Brush & ink on paper, 2007, 11" x 8" approx. Hell's a poppin'...

Hell Hand

Another one from the Hell sketchbook:



Brush & ink on paper, 2007, 11" x 8" approx. The series is taking on a kind of whimsical nature, which surprises me a little. I was expecting a roller coaster ride into the abyss, but it's not turning out exactly that way. Innaresting.

Sketchbook Cover Update

I've just re-scanned the Hell sketchbook cover:



It's filling in quicker than I expected. Oh well, there's always the back cover.

Owl (Hell sketchbook)

Here's an owl from the Hell sketchbook:



Actually, that should be "owl", as it's not clear exactly what this thing is. Which is good & I like...

Hell Sketchbook Cover

Here's the cover of the new sketchbook:



Sketchbook is of recycled paper, 11" x 8" or so. WalMart's finest. My idea is to gradually cover the cover with images derived from the interior, of writhing, insectoid, demonic, etc, etc...I'll update this blog with newer images of the cover, probably, as time goes by.

Screamer (Hell sketchbook)

Another image from the Hell sketchbook:



Brush & ink on paper, 2007, 11" x 8" approx. May or may not be a reference to Munch's "Scream". OK, well I guess it is, then.

Sentinel By The Gate (Hell sketchbook)

The Hell sketchbook continues apace. That's not a word you hear every day, "apace".



Brush & ink on paper, 2007, 11" x 8" approx. I'm developing a slightly different, looser, more expressionistic style for this series. Reminds me a bit of Ensor & Felicien Rops, who are influences of mine.

Just Another Day In Hell

Another Hell sketchbook image:



Brush & ink on paper, 2007, 11" x 8". I am starting to get a handle on the look & feel of Hell.

Insect Demon (sketch)

From the new "Hell" sketchbook:



Brush & ink on paper, 2007, 11" x 8" approx. I bought the recycled paper sketchbook from WalMart, which seems somehow vaguely appropriate...

Pile of Human Debris

Another image from (Heaven &) Hell:



I'm still working on getting a feel for this series (Heaven & Hell, which used to be just "Hell"). Acrylic on board, 2007, 8" x 6".

I've also started work on a Hell sketchbook. I'll post images soon.

Burning In Hell

I was going to call this "Self Portrait Burning In Hell", but I thought that might be tempting fate:



Acrylic on board, 2007, 12" x 9".

Final Sunset

While we're on the subject of the Apocalypse, which seems to be this week's theme:



Acrylic on masonite, 2005, 24" x 24". It's the end of the world as we know it...

World's Forgotten Boy

Here's one of mine. Enough of these old guys.



Acrylic on masonite, 2005, 24" x 24". Title is ripped off from an Iggy Pop lyric ("Search & Destroy" from Raw Power). There is not much relationship between the painting & the song. I just liked the words. Image is your basic post-apocalyptic portrait of disaffected youth/something extremely ancient & primeval. Sort of like Dorian Gray at both ends of the spectrum. Does that make any sense? No. Well, OK...

Garden of Earthly

Delights. I mentioned Bosch below (see Breughel entry), so I went & found this. I'm avoiding "real work" right now, so I'm goofing off on the blog. Amazing piece. Also in the Prado. It's the center of a triptych. The right hand side has the "musical hell" (you know, the one with all the instruments. and the tree guy with the hat thing). The left hand panel has Paradise, which is nice, too. This, however, is the earthly paradise of the flesh. Or something like that. I don't know. Go figure it out yourself. Or just enjoy.



Copyright Hieronymous Bosch. Or not.

The lines. The colors. The design. Clicking on the image takes you to a rather bigger one. You're welcome.

Pieter Breughel the Elder

Triumph of Death:



Scorchin'. Most terrifying image of Medieval horror ever. Except maybe Bosch...but he's been so done...

This is in the Prado, in Madrid, where I used to live (1986-1990). Would see it once in a while. Not often enough. Find a bigger version, it's pretty awesome (in the actual true sense of the word).

If This Be Doomsday...

Then bring it on. Jack Kirby, he da man (as we say in the north of England, or upstate NY -- whatever). Here's a nice Marvel cover from back in the 60s:



Copyright Marvel Comics yadda yadda whatever. This is my way of saying I'm looking forward to the "Rise of the Silver Surfer" FF movie forthcoming soon. Stay tuned, true believers. And keep your eyes open for the Stan Lee cameo...

UDHR Article 23

Here's a painting I did years ago:



From the Universal Declaration of Human Rights series, done in 1991. The exhibit toured around Europe (England, Holland, Spain) in the early 90s & the USA in the late 90s (Chicago, Minneapolis, San Francisco, Washington DC & New York) for the 50th anniversary of the UDHR. The image depicts the right to work. I just licensed the image as a book cover for an academic publication. I'll post more details (inc. the cover?) here later...

You can see the rest of the series here.

Pterodactyl Attacks On The Increase

I don't know how these rumors get started.

What?

Seated Nude

Another life drawing sketch from last night:



Graphite on paper, 2007, 24" x 19". Keeping it fairly loose.

Five-minute life drawing pose

This is a slightly longer pose from the same session as the drawings below:



Graphite on paper, 2007, 9" x 12". The extra four minutes or so opens up a luxury of detail. Relatively speaking.

One-minute life sketch II

Here's another one:



Same dimensions etc. as the one below. There are some interesting lines & suggested volumes in there. I was always fond of the way Matisse or Picasso, say, would do something that looked like it obviously only took seconds or minutes to execute (probably), but would contain the soul of the figure or object (do objects have souls? maybe they do) or whatever -- a piece that would be basically a throwaway, but what a throwaway. That's what I aspire to with this sort of thing. Not sure where I am on the scale of things. My philosophy is to aim high, so if you miss you're still doing quite well. Or look like an ass. Either way.

One-minute life sketch

Last night we had another life drawing session in the studio. Same model as last time. Previously, I missed the first part of the session due to babysitter concerns (I had to wait until she arrived from another gig). So, when we started with one-minute poses, I was taken aback & had to adapt to a very rapidly changing subject. It's a useful skill to adopt, as you have to try & capture the essence of the pose in 60 seconds. Less, if you're trying to put a new piece of drawing paper onto the drawing board via annoying & non-intuitive clips, as I was doing. So, the 60 second pose probably got cut down to 50 or even 45, what with the paper attachment thing, finding a pencil, minor adjustments to the angle of the easel & so forth. However...



Not too bad. 12" x 9", 2007, graphite on paper. Less than 60 seconds.

Life Drawing sheet from 2006

Now that I'm doing life drawing again on what appears to be a regular (weekly or so) basis, I was inspired to look through some sketches I did about a year ago when I attended a single open life drawing session at Barrett Art Center, Poughkeepsie.



I hadn't looked at those sketches for a while, and I thought the one above was not bad. I find it interesting when artists do multiple sketches on one sheet of paper, and of course the composition is accordingly off-balance, but in a good way, if that's possible...

When I see your eyes arrive, they explode like two bugs on glass

Couldn't resist putting in another Mercury Rev video, "Goddess on a Highway", from the same album as Opus 40, "Deserter's Songs". Enjoy...



Taking Liberty to the USA? What can it mean? Discuss.

Mercury Rev "Opus 40"

I'm pasting in this YouTube video of Mercury Rev's "Opus 40" as part of my one-man campaign to introduce the Rev to a few more people:



Great song, great video. If I made music videos, they might look like this. Probably not, though. Who knows? Opus 40 is an actual place I've visited, in Ulster County, NY. It's a huge stone sculptural environment that took 40 years to build. There are various other references in this song that you may be able to decode, but that's not really the point. Once you've done that, all that's left is vapor, the magic is gone.

Large-scale sketch

From the same life drawing session:



Graphite on paper, 2007, 24" x 19". Extended drawing session with the model seated.

Another life drawing sketch

Another one from last night's drawing session, same size paper as below, same graphite, same model...



Clicking on the image will give you a somewhat larger view.

Life drawing sketch

This is something I haven't done for quite a while. While most of my artwork contains figures, they're usually invented. So, when an artist friend of mine set up some life drawing sessions, I was interested. The image below is of a fairly quick pose, less than 20 minutes, I think. Life drawing is a useful skill, in that it forces you (by which I mean me) to be analytical. And fast.



Graphite on paper, 2007, 14" x 11". The image above contains tasteful, artistic nudity. I thought I should mention that.

Mercury Rev

Once in a while, something comes to your attention that makes you wonder: how come I never heard of him/her/them/it before? Case in point: the wonderful Mercury Rev:

www.mercuryrev.com

A band I'd never heard of until recently. Lyrical, inspired, floating, eternal. And catchy. Check them out if you don't know them. Tell your friends. They should be huge...

This has been a public service announcement.