A Man-God Reborn!!!

Our second cosmic character this week is the strange hero, Adam Warlock.  A long time favorite of mine, I believe I have all of his early appearances, save those first couple of Fantastic Four's where he debuted as...dun-dun-dunnnnn...HIM!  The Warlock persona was later created by another favorite character, the insanely inconsistently written High Evolutionary, in a series which led to Adam become the messiah of counter-Earth (an Earth on the other side of the sun that is in many ways our opposite) in a controversial story-line.  However, it was Jim Starlin's run on Warlock that drew me in as it picked up, in many ways, where Starlin had left off with Captain Marvel.  One of the most unabashedly bizarre books of the 70's, it would lead to the second great takedown of the mad Titan, Thanos...a storyline that would again climax twenty years later with the Infinity Gauntlet series.

This rendition of Adam in gouache was adapted from one of the early tales by Jim Starlin.

The Entire Universe Stands in Grave Peril

Late once again. Well, this week, I decided to tap into some comic book simplicity.  First up is the Mighty, Mad Titan, Thanos!  I've always had a soft spot for the cosmic heroes and villains, and few did them better than Jim Starlin. First appearing in Iron Man #55, Thanos became one of the premier event characters in Marvel comics.  Though more than a little overused these days, when this villain used to show up, it essentially meant that everything positive in the Marvel Universe was soon gonna have join up to stop him.  The aspect I enjoy most about this gristle chinned monster is that more than once he's joined the side of good to further his own means...and too my surprise, does not always pull the sneaky double-cross...

This sketch was adapted from an early Captain Marvel appearance by Starlin which I modified here and there to look more like the modern incarnation.

Aggrandizement of the Self

And breaking out the gouache ultimately only meant one thing: New Self-Portrait.  And if you're going to paint yourself again, it might as well be vaguely creepy...

V the Volcanic

This weeks entries start off late because of the more involved nature of the work...if there's a theme, I guess it's the Gouache.

A few months ago, I assisted filmmaker Seaton Lin make a round of the southwest chasing Morrissey's 2012 multi-continental tour to capture the performances of chanteuse Kristeen Young.  Kristeen's sets cannot nearly be captured nor conveyed by some shaky cell phone footage on YouTube (not that you can't still block everyone's view behind you with your smartphone waving around in the air to catch one).  An absorbing mixture of melody and intensity, I was fairly well convinced that I'd have to commit something to paper from the footage we gathered.  In any even, I would recommend catching her, with or without Moz (though always a consumate showman), if she burns through your town.

"I rob banks for a living. What do you do?"

My second vintage criminal is bank-robbin' bad boy, John Dillinger. Dillinger's audacity and colorful personality made him a stand out and public favorite in the same era as such notorious criminals as Bonnie and Clyde and George "Machine Gun Kelly" Barnes.  To me, Dillinger fits snugly between the "gentleman" thief and the Depression-era criminal who many people were overjoyed to see sticking up the very banks that were repossessing their homes and belongings.  Over the years, he's become a pop-culture staple being played in films a dozen different times, and has become more of a romantic figure than a violent criminal.  As I mentioned in my last post, this has always fascinated me about American culture, where we have this Old Testament sternness against crime but this glowing admiration for the guys and gals who made it look fun.

"Prohibiton has made nothing but trouble..."

For this shortened week, I decided to do a couple of vintage criminals from a stash of old photos I came across.  We'll start with Alphonse Gabriel "Al" Capone, known to some as "Scarface," and perhaps the best known of American gangsters, who came to prominence through smuggling and bootlegging liquor.  It's still a fascinating irony to me that the outlawing of liquors greatest achievement was to cement the foothold of organized crime in America (although, when you think about it, the suppression of one evil does often open the door for a larger one to move in).  Also, I'm equally fascinated by the contradiction by which Americans detest crime and criminals, and yet adores gangsters and outlaws...but more on that next tme.

Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe!

Our final serial movie character for the week is the might Ming the Merciless from the Flash Gordon serials.  Ming was the imperial ruler of Mongo, a planet with disparate features that are similar to Earth. Flash and Ming were created by the great Alex Raymond, and whose use of the brush while inking was partly the inspiration for this series.  Buster Crabbe's iconic Flash battled Ming, played by Charles B. Middleton, in three different series of serials in the 30's. I think the Might Ming is more than appropriate as the closer to this series.

The Adventures of Captain Marvel!!!

Another serial movie hero inked with a brush.  This time it's the great Captain Marvel (who for years, as a kid, I thought was known by his magic word, "Shazam!") from the 1941 serial, The Adventures of Captain Marvel.  It was the first film adaptation of a superhero, which just edged out The Mysterious Doctor Satan (1940), which began life as a Superman adaptation.  Marvel was played by Tom Tyler...who, though I think still looks heroic in my depiction, I must admit that I lost him a bit in the inking.  Tune in next time for what will be the final and one of the greats of serial stardom...here...at the B-List Super Hero Role Call!!!!

Radar Men From the Moon!!

This week, I  thought I'd do up some of the serial movie heroes of the past...using just a brush to do the ink. We kick off with Commando Cody, star of 1952's Radar Men from the Moon and sequel series Commando Cody: Sky Marshall of the Universe (1953).  Cody's suit was also worn in the amazingly titled non-sequel Zombies of the Stratosphere (1952) which, incidentally featured a small part for a young Leonard Nimoy. We'll see you in TWO DAYS for another Thrilling Installment of ACTION and ADVENTURE!!!

Mrs.Ralph Curtis

Portrait the Third from this Second Round of Learning from the Masters: John Singer Sargent Edition.

Each of this week's drawings was taken from portraits created by the great John Singer Sargent (1856-1925).  Sargent, one of the best known American artists as well as one of the greatest portrait painters, was both commended and criticized for his ability to draw with a brush.  I settled for just trying to drew like he drew...only with a nib.

Mrs.Waldorf Astor

Portrait the Second from this Second Round of Learning from the Masters: John Singer Sargent Edition.

Each of this week's drawings was taken from portraits created by the great John Singer Sargent (1856-1925).  Sargent, one of the best known American artists as well as one of the greatest portrait painters, was both commended and criticized for his ability to draw with a brush.  I settled for just trying to drew like he drew...only with a nib.

Charles Stewart, Sixth Marquess of Londonderry

This week, we return to another round of Learning from the Masters.  Each of these drawings was taken from portraits created by the great John Singer Sargent (1856-1925).  Sargent, one of the best known American artists as well as one of the greatest portrait painters, was both commended and criticized for his ability to draw with a brush.  I settled for just trying to drew like he drew...only with a nib.

Last Night's Monstrosity...

Sorry for the brief inactivity this week...it's been a little kooky around here.  Before the week ends, just thought I'd toss what I doodled last night while socializing.  

The Revelation...

Sorry kids, I let it slip my mind that I had one more post to make this weekend concerning my less than beloved Roman Emperors series (sorry Commodus, maybe next round).  Our final entry is the painting I did of Titus Flavius Domitianus, better known as Domitian, twelfth emperor from 81-96 AD.  Domitian is another tricky one in terms of reputation, and this is what fascinated me about him.  Roman historians and Judeo-Christian tradition has him marked down as awful tyrant and persecutor, but modern scholarship has found that though he was no doubt an absolute autocrat, he was less the insane tyrant than another victim of posthumous slander.  In other words, he ticked off the Roman aristocracy and they're the ones that paid to get the histories written.  And yet, he was the one that banished John to Patmos where he wrote the New Testament's most infamous book, The Revelation.

This painting came about because of a conversation I had with the great Barron Storey at a show he participated in here in Los Angeles.  Barron, in addition to being a great artist and illustrator, was the professor to a great many of the artists and illustrators of whom I've been enamored of since my youth.  After a conversation about the French Revolution and a variety of historical topics, Barron asked if I ever included my studies in my work.  The answer was a timid "not really", but the question stuck in my mind.   Then I recalled my fascination with the conflicting points of view on Domitian, and felt I had struck upon something that begin to fill that gap.  So I searched for photos of the few remaining contemporary busts of Domitian, and pieced together a portrait. However, due to the conflicting views between past and present, I left the chips and cracks to the bust on his flesh, and the tarnish soiling his cuirass.

A Horse, A Horse...A Senate for My Horse...

Of course my final sketch of a less than beloved Roman emperor had to be Gaius Julius Caesar Germanicus, now better known as Caligula, who ruled from 37-41AD.  While he started out as a welcome relief to paranoia driven tyranny of his predecessor, Tiberius, we now know him for having upped the excess marker for royal living...at least we think we have, there are few surviving contemporary sources from his reign, and Romans had something of a habit of excessively denigrating the excess of those rulers they didn't care for. So whether he actually romped in the sack with his sisters or put his horse in public office, we may never know, but we do know that he made enough people to be murdered by his own guards.  The name Caligula means "little boot", a nickname he earned from his father Germanicus' soldiers who had him made an unofficial mascot and dressed him in a miniature uniform.

Either later today or this weekend, look for a post on my latest painting which also features a less than beloved Roman emperor.

A Nice Relaxing Bath...In Blood...

Today's less than beloved Roman emperor is one Lucius Septimius Bassianus, now better known as Caracalla.  Ruler from 198-217AD, Caracalla was known for four things: killing his co-ruler brother Geta, massacres and persecutions, eventually being assassinated while taking a leak on the side of the road, and the elaborate baths he had built that lasted until the 6th Century when they were destroyed by the more body image conscious* Ostrogoths.  The nickname of Caracalla referred to the style of Gallic cloak that he favored and would NOT have been a name you'd ever call this guy in person.

(*pure speculation on my part...)

...While Rome Burned...

To celebrate the piece I showed at the Hive Gallery over the weekend, which we'll get to some time this week, I thought a week of Roman emperors would be appropriate...particularly the ones with a less than stellar reputation.  We'll kick things off with Nero Claudius Caesar Drusus Germanicus, commonly referred to as Nero, who ruled the Roman Empire from 54 to 68 AD before committing suicide while on the run from rebel forces supporting Galba, the following emperor. A rule of tyranny and extravagance, when a great fire destroyed much of Rome, Nero himself was blamed, even though modern historians believe he wasn't in the city at the time and spearheaded organizing the forces that put it out.  To allay suspicion that he had started the blaze to clear land for his new palace, Nero blamed a relatively new religious "cult," The Christians, but his punishment went to such excess that it only worsened his reputation.  Also, he's the only emperor I've seen the rocked the weird neck-beard.

The Hive Gallery 7 Year Anniversary: Best of the Hive

Tomorrow night, I'll be a part of The Hive Gallery 7 Year Anniversary with my latest painting.  I'll be hanging out at the opening for at least a solid chunk of the night.  (Then I might have to slip over to the Titmouse show in Alhambra where several of my friends will be showing...).

"I take sounds and change them into words."

My final musician isn't quite the flamboyant icon he once was...but, in many senses, he's become a cornerstone of modern music (and one of the most frequent musical crossword answers, alongside Yoko Ono).  That of course is Brian Peter George St. Baptiste de la Salle Eno, or simply Brian Eno.  Eno has worked as a musician, a producer, a multimedia artist, and a technological innovator.  His professional music career began with his two album tenure with Roxy Music, after which, he went on to record a multitude of solo albums, collaborations with the likes of David Bowie, John Cale, and Robert Fripp, and has produced albums for The Talking Heads, Devo, and U2.

Ah, The Name is Bootsy, Baby...

Our second iconic musician funked things up...simply because I couldn't have done this week without doing the beloved Bootsy Collins.  William Earl Collins has been a major part of the funk universe playing with such acts as the J.B.'s, Parliament, Funkadelic, and his own Rubber Band in addition to lending his talents to many others.  Bootsy is easily identifiable by his Star Bass if not is outlandish wardrobe and veritable cavalcade of amazing glasses (I am a particular fan of the ones that look like a mini-boom box...).