March 2011 Preview

Two post in a week... Oh My God!
Been at the drawing table a lot the last few days. Here's little of what I've been working on. First is an almost completed panel... cleanup, and little white out... from the new comic Psychopomp.

Next is the pencils for an illustration I'm working on. When finished I'll have prints at SpringCon.

Well that's all for now. I'll keep everyone up to date.

PS... These were shot with my phone, so... not the BEST quality.

Sleepless In Seattle

Where you living right now? What happened to Seattle? What's going on? I've been oddly quit about Seattle and what's going on in my life. I've been looking for the right words... not too many to bore or be TMI.
I'm back in Iowa right now. I'm moving back to Minneapolis on May 14. I took an unplanned break from art, but am hard at work on something great. I'm a stubborn son of a bitch and a bit thick headed at times. And it took me awhile to realize where I wanted to be... in every since of the phrase.

I didn't adjust well to life after college very well and moved to Iowa to get my shit together. I also left because I felt like I was trapped. Trapped somewhere I wasn't sure I wanted to be. I went with my tail between my legs and a sense of shame. I felt like I could never move back. I went back to Minneapolis when I could. When I did I felt wonderful, alive again.

While in Iowa I dealt with some depression and person issues. I did some freelance work, worked for a pre-college high school program, and at a gas station. The gas station job I tookback after coming back from Seattle.

I moved to Seattle to recreate myself, to try something new, prove something, and much more. By moving so far away from the mid-west I could break out of my feeling of being trapped. I was once toldl that the reason that I am ANYTHING or have ANY kind of success is because of friends and college professors that have taken pity on me. It stuck with me... and made me upset. I shouldn't worry what people think or say... but it hurt.

In the past I have put parts of myself on the back burner... my dating life for example. When I left Seattle I had dated many people.

I explored parts of myself. After working at a really bad job at a bagel shop, I had a wonderful job at a bookstore. Went to parties and get togethers and became friends with folks at a local publisher. I had made friends and was living a life. Seattle was great, I became a new person. I had or was on my way to having everything I wanted... and I got ALL on my OWN. But I didn't want it anymore.

I proved to myself what I wanted to prove. Got what I wanted... then wanted to come home. Not Iowa. Minneapolis. I became a man in Minneapolis, my friends are there, I became an artist there. Seattle was great, it was a wonderful life... but it wasn't my life. My life is in Minneapolis.

I packed up, gave my notice at work, and fly back to Iowa Christmas Day. After the new year, I went and offered to work again at the gas station. And plotted my return.

Another part of my life that I shut out was a major part of my childhood. Anyone that saw my senior project knows what I'm talking about. Before moving to Seattle I went and confronted my "demons" from the past. Only to find old friends that where hurt that we lost contact.

After catching up with who we are now, and what we have done... there was no more hurt. The wounds of the past healed. My friend Josh told me that I was the same guy I was as a kid. I didn't care what overs thought, I drew... said... did... whatever I liked, and to hell with anyone that didn't like it. It almost made me cry... it was true as a child, but knew my adult self has not lived up to that. But... that has changed

You draw from your life to make art. But I was using art to hide from my life.

I'm moving back to Minneapolis cause I WANT TO. I'm a comic book artist, and a damn good cartoonist. My current project is called Psychopomp.

It's been awhile

I've had a number of things I've been dealing with and working on. Here's the list:

1. I'm working on a new story. This will be long format, as such I'll be posting it a page at a time, web comic style. I want to get far ahead before I launch. The working title is Psychopomp, I'm looking at a late April early May release date.

2. I'm building a web site. I need one. It's taking a while, I'm not really a wiz with web site building. This will launch right before/with the comic above. The "theme" or "style" of the site will be previewed soon with my new avatar.

3. Been trying to find some regular work, so I can save up and move. I have a second interview tomorrow for a job. If I get it I'll be heading west in August. This little detour/exile/meditation/institutionalization back in Iowa has been... interesting. But it's time to leave. SOON!

4. I've been doing studies of: various artists, philosophy, religion, story structure, and many other things... to better understand myself, life, and my work.

Canada 2/3

C4 was great. My best show money-making wise. And one of my top favorites over all. What was so good about it, you ask? Well, the general atmosphere that I talked about yesterday was present. It was nice not having, as many, snobby comic fans walking by. The kind who walk away in disgust when they find out you don't draw Batman.

The convention was about the size of Fallcon, but with many more people attending. There was a greater diversity attending as well. Age, race, and gender balance.

Was there negatives, sure. But I'm not going to dwell on them to much, they were few and far between. Will and I sat back to back with a.. less then pleasant artist from New York. That's the worst I'll say.

The comic scene in Canada, at least Winnipeg, doesn't have that interlockingness that cities here in the States have. Which is both good and bad. Good: far less drama, and he said she said. Bad: less support for each other.

There wasn't very many people doing it all themselves, like Will and I are use to. A lot of people were shocked that we write, pencil, and ink our own stuff, let alone design and print it on our own as well.

I only bought a handful of stuff; a Smurf with a canvas and a paint brush, a copy of Captian Canuck #1, banana pocky, a sumi-e ink kit, and a print.

I met a lot of Canadian comic artist. I'm only going to talk about the ones that really blew me away, just cause I don't have time to talk about EVERYONE!

The print I bought was by Aaron Navrady. He was a great guy from Calgary. He does bio comics about his travels all over the world. He's a hell of a nice guy and a fine illustrator. With a number of comics on Top Shelf 2.0 and a fat list of illustration clients, this is a guy to watch.

Another guy I met was GMB Chomichuk, who runs Alchemical Press and has a project called the The Imagination Manifesto. This guy does some cool horror, surreal type work. He was another super nice guy, and one to keep an eye on.

Some times you meet someone at a con, get alone. Then after the con is over you realized you forgot to trade comics or even contact info. Well, it happened to me. There was a Muslim woman that was a hoot, again so nice, it's Canada... it's a given. She did some fun work, and would love to keep in touch with her. SO... if anyone reading this from C4 knows the artist I'm talking about PLEASE point me in the way of a web site or e-mail address.

Was C4 good? Hell YES! Would I do it again? HELL YES!!! But... it looks like I'll be moving to the west coast this summer, so it may not be possible. More on that later.

The long awaited return of My Holy Three

Sorry folks, I've had a bunch on my plate. Here you go... more art up soon-ish.

Stumptown is Good Enough!!!

Off to Portland, for Stumptown, in the morning. Back Monday... until then Radio silence.

Another My Holy Three

New Comic

T-Shirt Contest

I'm in a t-shirt contest! I submitted this t-shirt design for TGWTG, along with a hand full of other's not picked for the final voting. If anyone is a fan of TGWTG, especially the Nostalgia Critic, check it out. If anyone is a site member (or want to join to help push SOMEONES design to the front *winkwink* it's free) it would be cool if you voted for my shirt.

Because it's the "Nostalgia Critic" I thought the shirt should look Nostalgic, i.e. the color zip tone.

Go HERE to vote. Voting ends next Monday.

I'm BACKkkkk!!!

My GOD what a messed up few weeks. Being sick. Then taking meds... only to have side affects. After the med stuff I had to hurry and do t-shirt designs for a contest... it's great publicity if I win, and was for some very COOL guys, I like a bunch. More on that later as it develops.

I'll be posting new stuff VERY soon. But until then I thought I would share a review of my Slide story I did last year. In October readcomics.org did a review, mostly positive, of said story. I should have posted this sooner... but I guess I was bashful. I met the reviewer, Jason, at Fall-con, he was very nice and it was a pleasure to talk to him.

CONvergence 2008 1/5

Hey everyone! This week I'm posting ink wash paintings I did for CONvergence last summer.