Unpublished Book Cover

Since I posted the photos I took of Katherine Streeter's dolls, I thought I'd post the cover they were used in. This is a piece I did as a cover for White Wolf Books a few years ago. The author was William Browning Spencer and I had the honor of illustrating four of his books, three of which were published by White Wolf. This one was scheduled, but wasn't. It was a fun job nonetheless, and I thoroughly enjoyed reading Mr. Spencer's stories. My favorite was Zod Wallop.

Women are Heroes

This is an amazingly powerful and beautiful project. Please take a look. Women Are Heroes

Dolls

Some photos I took some time back of illustrator Katherine Streeter's beautiful dolls for a book cover. I couldn't have done it without her help.

El Greco and Velazquez

If you are in the Raleigh/Durham area between now and November 9, 2008, take a trip to the Nasher Museum and see the show, "El Greco to Velazquez." here is a link: Nasher Velazquez painted the above piece when he was about 18 or 19.

America

Recent journal drawing done while listening to "Horse With No Name" by America.

Monotype

This is a monotype of my cat, Oliver. A monotype is a single print made by painting on a flat plate, usually with oil based paint or ink and then laying an absorbent piece of paper on top and printing the image using an etching press or hand burnishing the image onto the paper. Another way of making a monotype is to lay a thin piece of paper over a plate that is covered in ink or paint and then draw with a pencil or some other type of stylus on the back of the paper, causing parts of it to come into contact with the plate and thus printing the image. This piece was made using the latter method. If I am industrious, I can pull, or print about 40 to 60 prints in a day with this method.

Underwater Sculpture

I recently found a site featuring the works of Jason de Caires Taylor. Check it out and you will be treated to beautiful photos of his underwater sculptures. They stand, sit, and converse in the aqua depths as if waiting for someone to wake them from their timeless state.


Jason de Caires Taylor

Cool Places and Spaces

If you are in the Raleigh area, check out some of these places:

Flanders Art Gallery
This gallery features a variety of established and upcoming artists. They are located at 18 Seaboard, just north of downtown. Currently showing: Float: engravings, photographs, and silverpoints, and featuring prints by artist Andy Farkas.

Marbles Kid's Museum
Located at 201 East Hargett Street in downtown Raleigh, this is the place to take your young and curious. There are a variety of things to see, touch, and learn about. While there, check out their IMAX theater, showing movies about bugs, the Grand Canyon, and also, "The Dark Knight".

Artspace
To see a variety of local art and sometimes artists at work, visit Artspace.

Artspace is a non-profit visual art center dedicated to presenting quality exhibitions and educational programs within an open studio environment.

Artspace promotes the visual arts by making the creative process accessible to the public. Since 1986 Artspace has provided the community with a unique environment where artists, working in a variety of media with studios open to the public, have invited the community to become part of the creative process, a visual art center where children and adults can express their creativity through enriching educational programs, and a venue for exhibitions by regional, national, and international artists.

My Dad

15 years ago today I received a call from my mom telling me that my dad had died. She didn't know the exact day, but it was within a couple days prior. He was 66, and had a heart attack, his second that I know of. He was far from perfect, as I am sure my son will say of me. But he was my dad. Born in 1927, he lived through the depression, served in the final years of World War II and was father to four of us, two girls and two boys. Even after so many years, I still feel sad on this anniversary, and I guess I always will. This drawing was made while at a meeting this morning. The details of the meeting drawn and written around his head, then blacked out, because in the end, at that moment in time, as I thought of him, none of it was very important and all of it overshadowed by my state of mind. It's funny, his is the only face I can really draw from memory and still have it look like him.

Kim Frohsin

I recently purchased a copy of Kim Frohsin's new book, "Figures with Edges 2007-2008". It is a soft cover catalog of 50 of one of Kim's beautiful figurative series of works. Kim Frohsin has been a longtime friend since art school days and is one of the most talented and hard working artists I know. Her work has been exhibited in New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco to name a few. Below, is a link to her site, where you can see her work and also buy original art, prints, and books.

Kim Frohsin

Nagasaki

In two days, we will come upon the anniversary of the dropping of "Fat Man" on Nagasaki. I was reminded by a fellow artist that the firebombing of many Japanese cities equalled if not dwarfed the the atomic bombings in the number of human beings killed. It is a bullies' game, to always hit with a bigger stick, always hit harder, and ensure that your opponent is more devastated. I have been thinking of the religious people lately and the idea that human beings were made in "God's image" and given dominion over all beasts. This kind of thinking, is dangerous I think. It seems to me that it leads to a kind of superior attitude and arrogance. The fact that we can write, make things, and speak in multiple languages does not in my mind make us superior or evolved beings. If this is the legacy of humankind and the world continues to suffer for our dominion, perhaps it's time we step down and let some other animals run the place. They certainly couldn't do worse.

Hiroshima Anniversary

Today, August 6 is the 62nd anniversary of the United States dropping the A-Bomb on Hiroshima, killing hundreds of thousands of people, and ushering the world into the age of WMD's, as they have been labeled by the Bush administration.
In honor of those who died on that day and suffered and died in the years that followed, I post this image as a reminder to not follow our leaders blindly into battle, sing hymns of patriotism, or be too quick to think that we are the keepers of some sacred legacy. This event is also part of our legacy to the world. Consider that we are all human and all the same. And for that matter, not much different than the rest of the planet's species.

Lost Angels II

Here are some additional pages to the Lost Angels in Mississippi project I mentioned in my previous post.
In the opening sequence, two angels appear in a field and argue as to why they are there. One has all the answers and one has all the questions. They can witness but not act, and what they witness fills one of them in despair and full of angst.

Lost Angels In Mississippi

Many, many years ago I began writing and illustrating a graphic novel titled, "Lost Angels in Mississippi." I have recently pulled out the pages I was working on and began writing on it again. It exists inside of a worn out, cracked paged sketchbook that seemed like the perfect vehicle. I will post more pages as I scan them in. Please send me feedback, I will try to post a synopsis and some script pages soon. Thanks, Bill