Sketching Celebrities

It's probably fair to say that each of us could define the word "celebrity" a bit differently.

For myself -for the time being- I'm going to define a celebrity as being a person who has gained a rather widespread notoriety for having a productive and/or entertaining skill, which they use to say things of artistic & cultural value.

No, there is no way to quantify this.

This means that my definition of celebrity is, in practice, just famous & kinda famous people that I like.

I've been keeping a sketchbook of my bizarre little doodles of celebrities for some time now (I've been ignoring said sketchbook for most of that time), and I want to start showing some of those sketches to you... the three people who ever see this blog.

We'll start with the first in the book; Tom Waits (looking rather more like John Steinbeck)

And, hell, why not, a watercolor sketch of Ornette Coleman

What Would Tim Gunn Say?

This is inspired by (but should in no way be blamed on) my little homie, Kenny.

He's been working on a new, more rapid style of drawing, and this had led to a series of sketches of comic book heroes with tragic costumes.

I decided that I wanted in on this action, so I present a rapid sketch of Wolverine, in his original costume:

All apologies to Logan. I'm aware that someone else designed it for you, and that you would never have picked this absurd look for yourself.

Holy Crap!

I have not been paying enough attention...

Tomorrow is 24 Hour Comics Day.

I'd best gather my supplies.

Oh, wait... I can't. Tomorrow I'm visiting my grandfather's grave. Never mind.

A Decision

I have decided that I am going to add a new angle to this blog, in part because the current angle of self-aggrandizement is a bit inconsistent (this does not mean I'm eliminating that angle), and in part because I just bloody well feel like it.

So here's the intent: I'm going to start using this space for purposes of review.

I intend to review comics, publish comic related interviews, maybe even review comic related media.

I am aware that there is no shortage of such things on the internet. However, I feel that most other review sites have three flaws: 1) Their writers can't tell an adjective from an asshole. 2) They aren't honest with themselves, or with the rest of us, that they really are just rants & opinions. 3) They aren't MY rants & opinions.

Alright, with that all decided, if you want me to review your book, just leave & comment & we'll work something out. If you're a friend, I want you to think really hard about whether you want me to review your comics, because if they suck it's going to really awkward for both of us.

Let's do this.

The Scam

An album cover I did for (now defunct) Boston-based band, The Scam. The album was called The Buried Secret, and contained an INXS cover, which makes me so very happy.

It was done by scanning a watercolor painting, and just having a party with it in Photoshop. The lettering was done by hand, & given a similar (though far less extreme) treatment.

Gramps

In April of 2009 my grandfather ended up in the hospital, and after three days the team of doctors, specialists, exorcists & janitors surrounding him determined that he was afflicted with being 93 years old.
A little over a month later he ended up back in the hospital, after a series of small strokes.

I spent the next several months living with & taking care of him, until his death on the morning of September 29th.

He would spend many of his waking hours working jigsaw puzzles in the dining room, and a rotating cast of weirdos, myself included, would participate in the hunt for pieces to interlock.

He would often have a bowl of snacks in there with him - Cheez-Itz being a favorite - and on one occasion he was terribly flustered, trying to find a missing piece. We looked for it in all of the boxes, on the floor, on the table, and finally, struck by a mad inspiration, I asked him, "Is it the piece you have in your mouth?"

"What?" And there it was, having been confused for a Cheez-It. "How the hell did that get there?"

This is a lengthy preamble to a painting I did of my grandfather, during that summer, using colored inks on watercolor paper. The image quality is not so hot (a quick photo taken a year-and-a-half ago), but I was just thinking of him, and wanted to put something out there for him.

I am working, slowly & carefully, on a graphic novel about the experience. Because he deserves it, and because the story deserves to be told.

It won't be done any time soon, because it deserves to be done well.

Tom For The Barron

Two quick paintings of Tom Waits I did for Barron Storey:

  

I thought that the first came out looking rather more like Mark Sandman (front man for Morphine), but I ran with it.

Both are colored ink on watercolor paper.