"Into this Wild Abyss..."

This week's series of sketches are based on artwork pulled at random out of my many reference folders of work.  Plenty of artists and illustrators will tell you that trying to figure out how the best did their work can often improve your own work.

The above is from Alexandere Cabanel's 1868 painting, Fallen Angel. Cabanel (1823-1889) was an academic painter and professor at the École des Beaux-Arts and was frequently elected to the jury of the Paris Salon.  These positions show him as having a hand in steering the direction of fine are during La Belle Époque.

The Odd Weekend Post

I was out the other night, and something possessed me to draw this strange fella.  It seemed as though there was some sort of story behind this scene.  In fact, it came out something like a storyboard.  The funny thin is (and I've been thinking about this quite a bit) is that my two creative sides rarely meet.  I like to write, and I like to draw/paint...but I've never wanted to do comics and I've never really thought of illustrating my work.  In fact, other than the covers I did for my two novels, I've rarely ever tried to put down in ink and a line what any of my characters looked like.  The jury is still out on whether that's a good or bad thing.

"My Name is Beam...Jim Beam..."

The last in my series dedicated to vintage advertising is Sean Connery enjoying a glass of Jim Beam Bourbon...

"Luckies...They Taste Better..."

I don't imagine I have to spell out what today's vintage advert drawing was trying to hawk.

"Women of the Future..."

"...will make the Moon a cleaner place to live."  Thanks Madison Ave.!  This week's theme is vintage advertising.  This one came from a bizarre ad of a bubble-helmeted big lashed beauty holding a bottle of cleaner.  Ah, the future of the past...sexy AND sexist!

I'm a Producer...Of Beautiful Children...

Today sees the final installment of my "pick a random friend and draw them" run for the week.  Today's subject and I have successfully horrified partygoers at a number of social events with our bawdy stories and ribald jokes.

The Light You Make a Left

The second in my "pick a random person out of your friends list" sketch.  Today's subject has been quite supportive or my work, and the arts in general.

The Party at the End of the World

This week's slung ink was themed around choosing random people from my list of friends on the social network that shall not be named.  My first subject has continually nearly been the subject of a painting that I've not quite gotten around to.

In the 31st Century Man finally created a machine...with feelings!

The final quickie for this week of sci-fi cuties comes to a close with the futuristic android from Galaxina (1980).  Whereas I can talk with fond memories of the various times I watched Starcrash or Logan's Run from the previous posts, I've only seen Galaxina once and that was some time ago.  I primarily remember it for the same reason most people do: the unfortunate death of its star Dorothy Stratten who played the titular character.  While the film's largely forgotten outside of cinephile circuits, Stratten had two films based on her life and tragic death.

"There...is...no...Sanctuary."

Today's quickie was modeled after the lovely Jenny Agutter as Jessica 6 from 1976's Logan's Run.  Based on the 1967 novel, Logan's Run depicts a dystopian future where citizens willingly turn themselves in to die at 30 (21 in the book), and if they do not, they are hunted by the fearsome Sandmen.  Agutter began her career as a child actress, and is perhaps best known for her roles in Logan's Run, Walkabout (1971), and Equus (1977).

"Computer! Stop the flow of time!"

This week, by strange coincidence, turned out to be dedicated to some lovely ladies from sci-fi.  We kick things off with a quickie from a goofy favorite of mine, Luigi Cozzi's nonsensical Star Wars knock-off, Starcrash (1978), which featured the lovely Caroline Munro.  Munro, a successful model, never quite got beyond the arm candy parts she was offered in her film career despite being both a Bond girl and a regular at Hammer studios.  She was the lead in Cozzi's bizarro space opera alongside a very young Hasselhoff and a seemingly embarrassed Christopher Plummer...oh, and former child preacher, Marjoe Gortner.  And as I can't help but mention: how can you not love a movie with a villain named Zarth Arn?

"Those Who Live, Live Off the Dead."

To get back in the swing of things after then holiday, I was looking for something interesting for a quick sketch and came across this classic photo by Man Ray of Theatre of Cruelty founder, Antonin Artaud.  I'll admit that apart from dabbling in some of his writing, I don't know much about this legendary creator in avant garde theater.  Still, the portrait was a striking one, and I couldn't help but try to set something down in ink.  The nose, however, threw me off and I'm afraid the lower part of his face juts out farther than I intended...but I was pleased enough with the results that I present it, despite its faults.

An Amazing Gift...

For my birthday last month, I was treated to an extraordinary gift.  Two friends had gone to the estate sale of an architect and secured for me a parcel of vintage drawing goodies.  You wouldn't think that simple rolled tidbits of metal like nibs could have actually been better manufactured way back whenever, but they were.  Naturally, it took a bit after the wild time that was my birthday (evidence of which can be witnessed here... ) before I got to take them for a test drive, but the above was the first quick quickie I hashed out with my new toys.

"The trouble is we're neglecting football for education..."

Happy New Year, everyone!  It appears to be time to climb back in the saddle and get off and running with some artwork.  The above illustration was done as a Christmas gift for a relation's office/study/den room.  My mother had suggested something to do with sport, and I've always enjoyed the old uniforms of the early years of football.  I must also admit that I was also inspired in part by the sports work of my drinking and drawing buddy, Dave Crosland (Some of Dave's sports illustration can be seen...Here.) 

I should also mention that today's title is from the Marx Brothers hilarious collegiate comedy, Horse Feathers (1932), which features one of the best football game closers ever...certainly of the "leatherhead" era anyhow.