Will Towles's art and lifestyle rant

Better than nothing

2012-01-24T16:58:00.001-08:00

More Fliers

2012-01-19T08:57:00.000-08:00

Here are a few fliers I've done in the past few months. I really wanted to do something cooler for the Anvil flier but it was a real rushed job and I didn't have the time to draw anything for it. Regardless of what's on it, it was cool to get do this at all.

This flier below ended up getting changed after Mortuary Drape and Deceased dropped off the show. This one ruled, Inquisition is indeed as good as everyone says.

Take the old ideas off the shelf, Recycle in 2012

2012-01-15T06:03:00.000-08:00

It's a new year and I'm going to do more drawings(this time I mean it!!!) and post more art, DAMNIT! My son is two years old now. I have enough income to justify sitting at my drawing table. My life has fallen into a rhythm that I can work with so it's time to get back to work.

I've already been hard at work but my first order of business this year was to clean out my dusty dark studio and excavate enough space to work in. Instead of throwing away thousands of bits of paper I checked through stacks of old drawings, in search of something usable.

Yeah, none of this stuff is magic but it's all usable. And beats throwing it all away, too.

I did this Dan Seagraves looking thing above, at a friends house and let him keep it. This image was taken from my phone.

I did the drawing below awhile ago. One of the dudes I'm working while now made a general comment about women warriors in comix, video games, ect, never clothed in enough armor to protect their vital organ, or their not so vital organs either.

I did this drawing for an English punk band, who ended up keeping my the rough drawing, hiring another artist who inked over my work. Don't worry, I'll change the composition so it isn't the same drawing, yet again...That would be lazy and me stealing from folks who stole from me.

More soon. I'm off to the mall to run the kid and spread his cold!

BLACK METAL 2 Monday!

2011-10-03T05:32:00.000-07:00

Alright! I finally got to see a copy of Black Metal 2 and I have a pin-up drawing (above) in the back of the book. I did this one in the mid summer. It's been really hard keeping this under wraps but there was no guarantee that the art would be in this book. Loose lips and stuff, you know?

Black Metal should be out in the next few weeks. It's on Oni Press, written by Rick Spears and drawn by Chuck BB. (who won an Eisner Award for his artwork in Black Metal 1) Don't sleep on this one! Buy some comix!!!

My band Gnawed is back in action in a few weeks, opening up for Deceased and sporting our new demo. I'll have more news about that soon and I'll try to offer a few tracks here.

Below are a few other fliers I've done in the past few months, enjoy. Happy Monday!

Oh Gawd...It's GNAWED!!!

2011-07-25T05:38:00.000-07:00

I start recording vocal for my band GNAWED's demo tonight. On top of doing these design and fliers, I've been busy on a few long term projects, that I have to keep under my hat. So, the rock band has not taken away all my drawing time, if anyone is worried about that.

An Open Invitation

2011-06-28T18:08:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures you might have seen before with color added to them. I was going to make a long winded statement about how lame it is that some folks roll their eyes at compute art but I'm tired. I had a long hot day of yard work and house renovation. So, I'll keep it short. You can go ahead and call my art cheap and amateur . Go, do that. If that's what you need to say to prove you have an opinion then you kind of HAVE TO, right? I finished a color picture, sold it, worked a night as a door man, played a metal show the next day, slept a few hours and got up to work the house renovating jams. I invite anyone with an opinion about what I do to just keep talking while I get stuff done.

Sorry I'm worked up, I'll go to bed now....

This is happening tonight, dudes.

2011-06-27T15:52:00.000-07:00

My new band Gnawed is playing a free show with Mutant Supremacy, in a few hours. You should go download there music form some other blog or better yet, buy a record from them.

I'll have some artwork and some words of wisdom up tomorrow, so get ready. If your in the Richmond Va area, I'll see you tonight.

And then I did this one...

2011-05-09T05:09:00.000-07:00

May is Metal Month

2011-04-19T15:57:00.000-07:00

Here is another show flier I draw and designed.

Seven Days Later...a new post, Two in One Month!!! It's a 2011 Record!!!

2011-03-23T05:47:00.000-07:00

Yeah I said there would be more text but a week later I figure that text is over rated. HOW IS THAT FOR WISDOM?

This Week's Excuse

2011-03-23T05:20:00.000-07:00

It's been a few weeks, maybe more, that I put a blog up. This weeks excuse is that I have an art show going up in a few weeks. It will be all new Tiger Boss stuff. Exciting! Here are some more drawings out of the old sketch book to tide you over.

I'll also work on a bit more text content for future posts. I understand that some folks require something to read in order to enjoy a Blog. I pledge to release another addition this time next week and include a few words of wisdom or some master crafted cuss words.

Night of the day of the return of the things that came from the Sketchg Book!

2011-01-28T07:53:00.000-08:00

Here are some more drawing from the sketch book. My wife lets the baby play with the key board, I guess this is way the text is under lined. If it isn't in the final post, then never mind....

...IT CAME FROM THE SKETCH BOOK...

2011-01-20T16:24:00.000-08:00

I have nothing funny or interesting to say about any of these drawings. They are out of my sketch book. POW! BANG! This week has kicked me in the face. Check out the link at the bottom, it's an aminated cartoonly pichure.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJmUKjbMyq0

What the cool kids want for X-mas.

2010-12-07T16:51:00.000-08:00

Who dose not need wicked ace "Thank You" cards after the holiday season is over? Show a little style. Don't be a jerk send a card with character to let your loved ones know you appreciate the cheap junk they sent you.

Yeah, I should have set up an Etsy account. Well, Shut Up all ready!

Happy Hanukkah!

Also in time for the gift humping season my seriously keen coloring, activity book Tiger Boss #1 and #2! Help Tiger Boss and friends thwart crime, save the day and have fun.

Let me know if your interested in have a happy safe X-mas with socking suffers that will delight young, old and subhuman. I'm not telling you that you won't have one without these treasures but I am warning you.

If you can read these logos then you don't need glasses.

2010-12-06T17:30:00.001-08:00

I"m doing some fliers.

It's not a release-It's an escape!

2010-10-14T07:39:00.000-07:00

A flier for this month's art show.

$ell Out Time

2010-10-05T15:38:00.000-07:00

http://vimeo.com/15468160

Coloring Book

2010-09-28T07:31:00.001-07:00

I'm working on a coloring book.

OLD DRAWINGS. CHAPTER TWO, ANSWERS

2010-03-09T09:37:00.000-08:00

OLD DRAWINGS. CHAPTER TWO. BACK STORY, THEN ANSWERS

The painting below was never used for anything....

Below: Earache Records', Thrashing Like a Maniac, a new school thrash compilation. It's not great but not bad considering that I taught myself how to use PhotoShop as I worked on it. Some jerk from Terrorizer Magazine called it, "just crap", that stung a bit....

Above: demo art for Fatal, Born to Thrash.
I really wanted to draw the little baby dick.

Above: T-shirt art for Battlemaster

Look up for: record cover for No Way Records' Compilation No Bull Shit #2

The great folks who did this comp also run a amazing record store called Vinyl Conflict located in the illustrious Oragon Hill neighboorhood. If you're in Richmond, you must visit!

At 12 o'clock you will see flier art for a Municipal Waste show. I worked so hard on this, and it still ended up awful.

Above: cover art for Cannabis Corpse's Blunted at Birth. I took a day off from work to do the inks for this one. I draw too slowly...
Above: T-shirt for Homicidal Threat. I think that they broke up before they ever printed the shirt. I also think they paid me in one dollar bills and quarters.

Above: T-shirt and Cover art for River Freshney

Above: T-shirt for Final Attack

Above: This never was used for anything...

I came up with the psudonym Inkwolf, because I was hunting for a "real job" and I didn't want the Cannibis Corpse album cover to pop up in a Google search on my name. I got the idea for the name from the movie Wild Zero. It stars the Japanese rock band Guitar Wolf, whose members are Guitar Wolf, Bass Wolf, and Drum Wolf. I figured I'd be Inkwolf.

Great story, right?....

Well, how about more art next time.

OLD DRAWINGS. CHAPTER ONE. THE RISE OF INKWOLF

2010-03-08T11:16:00.000-08:00

OLD DRAWINGS. CHAPTER ONE . THE RISE OF INKWOLF

A drunk friend of mine asked to see my portfolio the other night. She wanted me to design her tattoo in the way drunk people I talk to at parties often do. It gave me an idea. I figured this would be a good time to post my old wares. It will offers people who haven't seen much of my art before a better notion of the caliber of lowlife I am. It also presents me an opportunity to post lots of content because I'm not finishing drawings as fast as I was a few months ago. Enjoy!

Above, t-shirt design for Battle Master http://www.myspace.com/battlemaster

Above, t-shirt design for War Graves http://www.myspace.com/wargraves

Up, t-shirt for Raw Sewage, I think they broke up...http://www.myspace.com/rawsewage

Hate Beak cover http://www.myspace.com/beak666

Alcoholic Mosh http://www.myspace.com/alcoholicmosh

Painting for Municipal Waste t-shirt. You can look up this band on your own.

"Who or what is INKWOLF?", you keep asking. What dose this strange name have to do with drawings, heavy metal and t-shirts? The questions begin to multiply in you head and you are unable to stop them. Is Inkwolf among us in flesh or is it an ever present conviction, a theme, that haunts the darker corners of our minds? Did Inkwolf do stuff for Cannabis Corpse? Did I drunkenly ask Inkwolf to design a tattoo for me that I never got? I will try answer those stupid questions in the next installment of Old Drawings. Thanks for playing, yal.

Street Pizza and Fan Male

2010-03-04T17:48:00.000-08:00

Here is some more art work I did for the band Street Pizza's new album, Cancerous Planet. The drawing below is taken from a really old sketch book. I didn't have much time and we needed another image. It just goes to show that you should never throw anything out, RECYCLE!

I got this helpful e-mail from a FAN the other day. It was a reply to a quote I gave him Tuesday March 2 of last year. Better late than never or in this case much better never.

Hello, I was the guy looking for the (Zombie on a Skate board)

to be used as a tattoo. Just for a 5x5 black drawing I was thinking more like $20. That is what most designs go for if I buy them for a tattoo from various sites. (He gives me links to two sites that show artwork, thanks,) $80 seems a bit high. If you are firm on that, it is o.k. I just won't be purchasing it from you at this time.

Maybe I'm being bitchy, you know, "Don't look a gift pig in the mouth, just take it to bed and shut up..." This guy want to give me money for my art right. Yeah, just like 7-11 or something.

and now the print is really big, i wonder if it will look like this in the blog...I have no idea how that happened, really.wacky.

When things work out gooder than you planned.

2010-02-10T20:19:00.000-08:00

This is going to be the record cover for the grind/thrash/power violence band Street Pizza. There are a few more details that may be added to the final piece, because less is more, but more than less is better than none at all. They wanted the art to be kind of ugly, and I was tired of polishing my work, so it was a perfect match.

This will be a t-shirt design for the British Metal group Turbo-Laser. As you can see, evil space mutants are storming Buckingham Palace to kidnap the Queen. I really hope that there is a sequel to this song so I can draw more space mutants. They are really fun to draw.

I'd rather have one pound of atmosphereum than a ton of unobtanium.

2010-01-30T12:54:00.000-08:00

This is the mutant from film sci-fi classic, The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra.

Below, is the skeleton holding a meteor containing the rare element atmosphereum and Animala.

Drawing, Yelling and Watching a ton of Movies and T.V.

2010-01-10T18:55:00.000-08:00

So, I have this baby now and I've been awake for the better part of a month eating junk and watching trash to pass the time. I watched the 1975 sleeper hit, The Land that Time Forgot, which was much better when I was six years old. I also watched The Fantastic Voyage to the Center of the Earth, which was no good either. The movie seemed to be made by the same British production team and was also based on a novel by Edgar Rice Burroughs. There was an unintentionally funny running line about the sheep herder hired to lead the (un)fantastic voyage being paid in sheep. I also watched Texas Chainsaw Massacre Two--a slasher movie without a body count. Not even its cool sets and Dennis Hopper could make it decent. Ice Pirates kicked TCM II's ass.

The biggest happy suprise I had was a five part British mini series called Day of the Triffids. Not to be confused with 1962 movie of the Triffids which is not nearly as good. Day of the Triffids crushes most zombie movies into the dust.

I should have drawn a man eating plant that would have been useful because the Triffids are man eating plants from outer space. Just watch the movie and stop making that stuck up,"what an idiot" look. Killer plants are no joke and they teach use about the dangers of socialism.

It's been a long while, but I finally got back to marking up the sketch book. After my spiral into fat daddy land it feels good to be back into a sort of routine. I started off with some of the funny animals. They're fun and easy to draw. At this point with all I have to do in a day, it's got to be fun, easy, or nothing at all.

I've also been fooling around with some wacky word bubbles.

My bands demo is done please check it out. Loud, Dark, Heavy, Ugly.

http://www.myspace.com/occultistrva

So sorry it's a myspace link, ugh!

This kid heard it...

Check out this Blog. The person that does this has said some nice things about my work.

http://cathode13.blogspot.com/

Year end and looking ahead.

2009-12-22T06:44:00.001-08:00

This first one is an evil mutant from Planet X . I did all the Ufos behind him for another painting but because of the specifics of the job the client only wanted one UfO to appear in the background. I have to scrap these others and it broke my little heart. Because I saved them on another layer I was abile to copy and paste them to the new painting that whipped up this from a sketch I had done earlier. You can't do that on canvas.

As I putting this together I can see that this next picture still needs some work done. The T.V.s and computers need some more dark purples and blues. This is what happens when you work at 2:30 in the morning, you remember things the way you want to remember them.

I'm doing this for my friend Jon Ramsey and his new record Sever Connection. Jon has taught me a thing or two about sticking to your goals and being true to yourself. He has insisted on paying more money for my artwork than most of my other clients. Most people I know want artwork as a favor and would tell me they didn't make enough to pay for the work. BUMS!

What kind of Art Blog would this be if I didn't show you some work that was rejected by a client and bitch about how unfair life is sometimes? Not a very good one! I did this pen and ink drawing for a Metal Band(No way, Get out of town?!) who i will not name. I spent a ton of time on this and it was the first drawing I finished after the birth of my kid.

I would have been a lucky man if that was the worst thing that happened to me in 2009 but this wasn't the case. My dog Babygirl pasted away in August. Everyone who got to meet her agreed that she was the best dog ever. Losing her was one of the hardest things I've ever gone through. My wife mentioned that she would have really enjoyed the snow we got this past week and then someone e-mailed me this picture from last Christmas out of nowhere. We love you little dog.

(Why is this blue?!?)

To end on a happy note, this is my son, Joe. He was born on November 20th around 11:00. He is my greatest work of art. He is also a tyrant who has taken sleep away from my wife and I. We still love him and are looking forward to getting to know him.

I used to Blog stuff...

2009-10-27T20:24:00.000-07:00

So, I was Blogging every few weeks for while and then I stopped. I don't stop drawing, pick up a drug habit or get a job. I've been working on a few bigger projects that took up more of my time. I didn't have anything new that was finished. No, nothing was done but I figured it's time to blog about it regardless of this because I'm almost up to ten viewers. It's time to shine.

This is the new t-shirt design for my band Occultist. I feel that the band counts as one of the long term projects. I've been in the group for a few months...

It's a bat.

I'm working on a comic book with the writer/director Eric Miller. His movie Mark of the Damned is one of my favorites. Good thing he lives in Richmond Va. This makes working together easier.

This "comic" is going to take many of my times so please don't hold your breath on account of this stuff. At this point I'm still only working out characters in my sketch book and doing a few thumb nail pages. (I will show some more of these later in the Blog)

more sketches...

dinosaurs and more...

and a robot.

Remember the good old days when I did Blogs about the cute cartoon animals? Well they're back! And I've got big news, I'm at work on a comic with some of these animals in it.

"Two comic books?!?" you say' "You must be out of your skull!?! Where do you find the time?"

One answer is, I don't Blog anymore. Another answer is that, I have a habit of biting off more than I can chew. Just look at this damn Blog, it's waaaaaaaaaaaaaay too long. I just can't stop myself. It's not like I don't have plenty of things I need to be working on. I have deadlines looming, a child on the way and I need to get my drives license. So, what do I do? I start not one but two comic books and then I Blog about them, genius.

The idea was also to get this Blog done quickly.

It has not been a quick process at all. It's taken me a while and, so I'm not getting it checked for spelling. Please be kind with the criticism.

The book is going well. I think people will like it in the end.

Here are a few thumb nail drawings. I put them all together so 1. you could just read them and spoil the comic and 2. thumb nails are drawn quickly and don't look that hot. I thought putting these together would make them look cooler. I don't know if that's the case but it did take me a lot of time. So, please enjoy this on a few different levels because I worked too hard on these.

I was also listening to this crappy comedy radio station on my computer while I worked on this, torture! Please, please enjoy this, even though it's a bit long.

It's like ideas in motion or something. Please agree, now.

So in conclusion, I spelled some stuff wrong and the Blog has too much junk in it. Better luck next time.

!!!Get This Album!!! In Defence, Into the Sewer

2009-09-01T07:57:00.000-07:00

In Defence, Into the Sewer

I just got Into the Sewer in the mail a few days ago, and I think this is one of my favorite albums that I have done artwork on. I worked with these guys back in the winter of '08 while they were recording. In Defence is a hardcore band from the midwest who have been playing and touring for a while. This new album swings in the direction of cross-over (Hardcore Punk Rock mixed with Heavy Metal) that is very popular these days. This might be a strike against them, but they really hit it out of the park with Into the Sewer. The record is tough, mean, and a lot of fun.

Right or wrong, at the time I was working on these two pieces I was way way into the idea of painting in Photo Shop. It would have been great to be able to paint on a canvas but I was low on time, money, and space. I picked up a few copies of Imagine FX, a great digital art magazine. If you are at all interested in PhotoShop artwork, do yourself a favor and pick up a copy. It's a very useful resource even if you're painting outside the computer.

Into the Sewer is a fun record, and you need to give it a chance!

Yes, they spell there name wrong on purpose and they have a song about that too. Check this one out!

New Work. British Invasion, Clothing Mutation and something really BIG!!!

2009-07-31T07:52:00.000-07:00

Here are a few newer finished pieces that I have done on commission as well as some other stuff. Not a lot of great insights about these, and I guess that's the point of a commission most of the time. I've learned to listen to what the customer wants or else risk drawing the commission over and over and over again.

This is a new design for Slaughter Beach Co. "Speak no Evil, See no Evil, Hear no Evil". SB offers an array of brutal clothing from t-shirts to underpants for the undead fiend in your life who's hell on earth to shop for.

This will be used for a split record for the British speed/filth metal group River Freshly and Nebukadnezza. Perhaps it will end up of a t-shirt, too. They are great dudes as long as you have an ocean's worth of safe distance between yourself and them. The drawing may also be used for a tour poster with River Freshly and fellow British thrashers, Mutant. Catch them when they crash through your grotty town, SAAAFE!!!

Pravus is another clothing company to keep an eye on, lest they hold your Mother for ransom or make you walk the plank. I did this devious design for them a while ago but it's a killer. It would have been even more of a killer if I had spelled the logo correctly but that is all the more reason to be on the lookout. Comb the ocean horizon for the black sails to keep clear of the ghost ship PRAVUS.

If you check out the rats in these two pictures you may note that they are pretty damn similar. As the tattoo artist Bill Stevenson said just before he tattooed "WILL POWER" under my right arm, "If you're not cheating you're working too hard!"

Will British metal health specialists Hospital of Death be involved in the retooling of the American Health Care system? Maybe they should be. Maybe Micheal Moore should have used these dudes to score his 2007 movie "Sicko." Maybe, the chainsaw nurse lady in the following picture is a really nice person just about to cut down a stack of lumber to heat an orphanage.

Hell, while I'm at it here are some drawings that I've needed to get out of my computer. This is the first drawing I sent to the band Ramming Speed. Yeah, sure, it's a little more than a year old, but I got my copy of the record almost exactly a year ago, so it's topical, in a way... Anyway, I saw them last year in Raleigh, North Carolina with Battle Master and Ugly Law. Good times.

Those dudes didn't dig this drawing and asked my to try another one. It was there loss...If you want to see the real Ramming Speed cover get the album. It's great, and one of my favorite album covers I've ever done, but this isn't what they used.

I did this drawing below for a band that I won't name because they were kind of dicks. I even talked to them at a show and asked them if they thought they would use the drawing, and still don't know if they will or not. LIMBO CITY! GAAAAAAHH!!! I hope they don't end up using it so I can send it on to another group. A good group like Insect Warfare, Triac, Magrudergrind, Crom, Mammoth Grinder, Suzukiton, The Endless Blockade, Infernal Stronghold, Trasher, Akris, Three Faces of Eve, Woe, Ugly Law, Street Pizza, Juice Tyme!, Weekend Nachos, Heathens, Parasytic, Deathammer, Drugs of Faith, Withered or Antietam. I really like this one... The whole situation reminds me of any given strip from the Brian Walsby book, "MANCHILD."

Last but not least I have gotten some exclusive photos of the newest member of my family taken by a cut throat ninja paparazzi. This is my son who will hopefully be may greatest work of art and not just the bum asking me for an advance of his allowance.

"It Came From the Other Sketch Book..."

2009-07-21T12:02:00.000-07:00

Why can't I remember the simple things? Like when my wife calls me in the middle of the day to asks me to pull out some butter for her so she can make some cookies with it when she get home. WHY OH WHY CAN'T I REMEMBER TO DO IT??? I want to be good and remember I just don't always follow through because I terribly distracted. Sometimes I think I'd be much happier if I were better at memory than art.

On top of all the trillions of cute animal drawings that I've been diverting brain power to over the past few years, I have started up a new sketch book that has me working in a different direction. I'm working on a more traditional comic book style of drawing that's proving to be much more challenging than my happy rabbit/lizard-on-surf-board fair. Unless you're a supreme master artist super star (which is annoying), a big mouth drooling numbskull (which is common), or too busy baking cookies with cold butter (all my fault) no one would claim that drawing the human figure comes easy. Consequently my sketch book look much more like an honest actual SKETCH BOOK with more half finished drawings and mistakes inside of it then cool drawings to show off. My wife would be most impressed if I could remember where I left my shoes last night.

Can you name all the characters?

The new sketch book is also much bigger than one old >>>> by ????I was using in the past. One of the many cool advantadges that comes along with a bigger sketch book is that I now have much more room for stickers. I could probably have more room to take notes about things I need to remember for the sake of OTHER REAL PEOPLE if I hadn't already forgotten them in my scrambled birdbrain. One of the many joys I have found in keeping a sketch book is that it employs the Obsessive Compulsive side on my personality. I tote these little books around with me everywhere I go like a toddler with a security blanket. It's more than safe to say that on top of using the books to sharpen my skill set, build a body of work, keep new artworks handy to show the public, these books also help me stay passified and able to compartmentalize the world around me like a high school year book.

So, I'm a sticker freak. I go to a lot of punk/metal shows and I'm always on the lookout for cool stickers of bands I like. I had a hard time putting the Septic Death sticker in my book because it came with the Crossed Out Twice discography which is most likely worth a little more with the sticker in it. I really need a "Your wife just might kill you in your sleep if you don't grow up, jerk" sticker.

There is also that rad Skullz sticker by Bobby Evil. He was the first artist I ever traded with and to this day he sent me the best package of stuff I've ever gotten.

Yeah, I still have some more...You have the classic" We're the MeatMen ... and you SUCK!" A great Triac, C.O.C. worship sticker and a really cool smoking banana by Frank Kozik. Anyone remember Pop Faction? Skeleton Witch are a great band and the coolest dudes ever that's why I got a hundred million stickers from them.

You want some more, well here you go. Overkill not the band just the concept. Yeah, that's a Common Enemy sticker upside down for no other reason that I had too much to drink one night. Sorry Bobby, thanks for all the great stuff! While I'm looking at this nerd pile all at once, I'll add that it's a good chance that Andy of UGLY LAW can name to most of these Ultra Man dudes...

I also have gotten a few autographs in some of these books. I got one from the animator Bill Plympton, best know for his 1987 short film "Your Face" He didn't really get why I wanted him to sign my book. I think his hands were a little tired.

I also got the cartoonist Doug Marlette to sign my sketch book. He did the ho-hum strip Kudzu and also won a Puliter Prize. He was a really interesting guy. I could tell he wanted me to buy one of the books he was selling and I didn't but he was cool about it and signed anyway. Doug died in a car wreck a few months after I got his autograph and it was in the same sketch book that I have the Septic Death sticker in and that means NOTHING!

Cartoon Dudes Part 1. Rabbit & Squirrel

2009-07-08T14:24:00.000-07:00

I couldn't help but get caught up in some of the Michael Jackson death media choke hold of 2009. One talking head made the comment that all the fanatics in public mourning were a symptom of what is wrong with the world today. He went on to say that anyone that fascinated with any artist has their priorities in the wrong place. This point of view seems a bit extreme to me, but I was brain washed at an early age into beliveing that art is important to human culture. I hope to push the earth farther down the tube with these drawings. I hope you enjoy them and then you rethink your stupid little life .

Here is the first of two of the cartoon animals I have been drawing for the past few years. The first one is Doyle the rabbit. I began drawing this guy over and over again around 2003. The idea was to create a kid's comic strip, learn to use a brush pen and draw in a sketch book during my lunch breaks at work.

Doyle seems like the kind of name a little kid would call a stuffed animal, doesn't it? I don't think I really ever had a reason for drawing a rabbit. It took me about an entire sketch book of copying him to get the dude to look correct. At first he had whiskers but I got sick of drawing those after a few months.

It's been brought to my attention that I have a problem with content, and I guess the criticism is fair in the case of Doyle and his friends. There isn't really much to them except cute drawings at this point. As I got better at drawing Doyle I became less and less in love with the idea of comic strips. Comic strips are a dead sport. For proof all you need to do is check out the Sunday funnies. It's a creepy bummer if you ask me.

I could also just be spinning my wheels though...

The next one is Patton the squirrel. I see squirrels everywhere, so drawing one was a no- brainer. I also figured that it would be good idea to draw animals I see around my neighborhood. Patton is named after the comedian Patton Oswalt and the singer Mike Patton. Like Doyle the rabbit, I've drawn Patton a few thousand times over the years. It's too bad my computer couldn't handle many more images than these or the blog would have more content. It's also real pity that I never found a better use of my lunch and break time.

Squirrels are funny to me but my priorities are in the wrong place.

Next time I will introduce the Chipmunk that that ruined Western Civilization and the Meerkat who stole your youth and beauty.

The Blog Preview Post

2009-06-24T14:48:00.000-07:00

The good good thing is that i've got a lot of great projects in the work at this moment. It's not too many irons in the fire, it's just enough. The not so great thing is that nothing is far enough along to really have much to show for yet. I have a lot of chickens waiting to hatch. What i do have however is more sketch book drawings of cute cartoon dudes.

So my first Preview for the "Blog Previews Post" is that, I promise to do a blog in the very near future that will name and explain some of the cartoon dude about as well as I know then myself.

Next up for this weeks Preview Package is my pledge to post some news and picture from the up and coming film, The Taint. The Taint is a horror comedy being shot in Richmond Virginia and I am helping out and playing in the production. I spend most of today working on a death scene and I will be acting in another role tomorrow. Look out for a The Taint blog, coming soon.

This next preview will be done without the annoying alliteration. This coming saturday night my heavy metal band Occultist will be playing it's second show. We are all very exited to be playing again and (I think) the t-shirts will be ready, on sale . I think it's going to be a good time. I have been writing here and there about the musical project in this blog but it may be time to dedicate an entire post to the dark tyrant Occultist.

Lastly, I just returned from San Francisco this past weekend. It was my wife and I's honeymoon. (???is that how you say that???) We had a wonderful time. I don't plan on showing a bunch of happy photos of us smiling like goons yuppies from the home office in Action Wisconsin so don't worry. As you may know there is a ton of really cool art and culture going on out west. We saw as much of it as we could in our short time on vacation. Look out for a blog coming soon detailing thoughts adventures.

Sunday morning funnies

2009-06-14T07:57:00.001-07:00

here are some pages out of my latest sketch book. as i go on with this blog, i'll explain these characters in more detail but at the moment just try to enjoy them...

over the past five years i've been drawing these little cartoon animals in sketch books to pass the time at work, in between illustration jobs and when i get bored. over the years they have developed and multiplied.

i've been meaning to put together a comic book or strip with them but i've yet to get it together...one of the first reasons being is that i don't really like comic strips very much. i don't find them funny or cute. i wouldn't want to trap my dudes in an unfunny unsatisfying world.

i have hundreds of pages of these guys, i hope you look forward to seeing more of them because they are on the way. please ask questions and make comments. thanks

Knocking down the deadlines

2009-06-10T20:16:00.000-07:00

I was really worried i wasn't going to finnish this one, EVER. As it turned out a little ultimatum was all i needed to get this dude done. It's going to be a t-shirt for my band, Occultist. One of the guitarists is printing them for our show on the 27th and needed them by Friday...

a week later...

2009-06-07T08:04:00.000-07:00

yeah, so, it's been a week, maybe more...still need to post some pictures. (need learn how)

i leaned one thing this past week, i really need to make some ding-dang business cards! Here are two good examples of why.

Thursday night went out with my old work buddy Josh and got got some drinks at Capital Ale house, as they presented "Hoperation Alpha". It was a festival celebrating "Humulus Lupulus" and featured over 15 special editions of "intensely hopped-up drafts". If you get a burger at the Main Street location and you want it medium ask for it medium well-done or well-done, ect. My burger had it's own blog called "i'm bleeding all over your french fries". Some of Josh's friends i met over burgers and beers were working on there own line of Stouts and IPAs and one of them was very interested in packaging. I brought along my sketch book and he seemed really impressed, really he like what he saw and our waiter, who was also an illustrator mentioned he like my work. In conclusion, the moral of the story is if ANY of us had carried business cards this bog would have a few more specifics, rather than "our waiter the illustrator" or "some dudes i met, who brew beer"

Saturday i went to the "FantaSci" a Sci Fi convention at the Chesapeake Central Library. I tagged along with Eric Miller, who was showing his short film "Taste of the Blood of Fankenstein" and a preview of his feature length movie "Mark of the Damned". We didn't sell much at all but we had a great time and met a lot of nice folks. The stuff happening at the Chesapeake Central Library keeps me really hopeful for the future of oddball monster/fantasy culture. Once again Eric and I failed to bring business cards of any kind so we'll have to visit Chesapeake again soon or risk being forgotten.

In other news tonight, i have band practice, need to work on lyrics...

band practice/Magrudergrind/plans for tomorrow

2009-05-26T19:58:00.000-07:00

had band practice tonight. practice was good, good stuff. got a text from Logan sewage, he was at Nara Sushi wanted me to come, hangout. really wanted to go to Nara Sushi tonight (Cathetere, Maruta, Rotten Sound, Endless Blockade, Magrudergrind) but i am still recovering from the Maryland deathfest and not after band practice either...

listened to the new Magrudergrind disc today while i was cutting the grass, it's incredible. i wish i had the energy to go to that show tonight, whatever...i've got the disc.

have not done any art in a few days. tomorrow i need to do some stuff for Russell Bell, maybe i'll post that up tomorrow after it's done, if you are lucky.