An Idea and A Statement


A few days ago, I was sitting at Empresso Coffeehouse soaking up the free AC and staying cool on a scorching Californian summer’s day. As always, my trusty and ever present sketchbook was lying open in front me with a fresh blank page beckoning me to put down something. Not feeling overly interested in delineating any of the locals, I set my pen down and started drawing, not knowing what would appear. This Surrealist technique of automatic drawing is something that I’ve used often in the past, but not so much recently. Some of my best ideas have come about this way; my drawing, Raven is something that was created by starting with no preconceived idea whatsoever. As time went on, a female figure began to emerge slowly, but surely on the blank page before me. I thought that this might be a good opportunity for me to do something different from what I normally do — something that would surprise people.

A couple of days before starting this idea, I had been looking at Moebius Oeuvres: Les Années Métal Hurlant, an omnibus volume containing every single story that legendary comics creator Moebius contributed to the groundbreaking French science fiction comics magazine, Métal Hurlant. Feeling inspired by Jean’s brilliant line work, I proceeded to craft a faux comics cover in the spirit of his now legendary work. In order to capture some of that essence, I knew that I was going to have write my text in French. Luckily, one of my dearest friends speaks fluent French, so that certainly made things easier for moi, as my French is limited to a few phrases and pick up lines. Looking at my drawing, I spontaneously came up with some things that I thought would make a strong statement. Now, mind you, I wasn’t concerned with being politically correct or anything like that at all. I wanted to say something, and I wanted to be very direct about it. When I texted my friend to see if he could translate my text for me he said, “Oh man, this is going to be a challenge.” Of course, he came through like he always does, and thus I was able to finish work on my idea. Despite the fact that this is fairly detailed, it’s still nothing more than just an idea for now. With a little more effort, it could really become something quite strong. I’m not exactly sure if I’ll work it up into a more finished piece, but the possibility is certainly is there.

Finally, I’m sure that you’re all wondering what my faux cover says, right? Well, part of the idea was to make you feel the way I felt when I would look at one of my French
hardcover bande desinée books. To this very day, I still sit and stare at them trying to decipher bits and pieces of the wonderful puzzle that lies within them. The fact that I do not speak French has never ever been important to me. My French
hardcover bande desinée books have spoken to me loud and clear from day one in a language that transcends any and all cultural differences. Anyway, I’m sure there’s quite a few Francophones out there amongst my readers who will enjoy the statement that’s being made in my faux cover; Leave me a comment and tell me what you think.

Doing What I do Best


I was recently looking at my old blog, Cubist Comix, via the Internet Archive: Wayback Machine. It’s interesting to see all the changes that my work has gone through and the progress that I’ve made since I started my first blog in 2008. Since then, my internet presence has grown and I’ve, unfortunately, become too distracted by things like Facebook and Twitter. I know some bloggers that have all but stopped updating their blogs because of social media. Facebook and Twitter certainly have a place, but I don’t feel that they can entirely replace  what you can do via a blog. For this reason, I have decided to focus more time and energy on updating this blog more often and growing its audience in 2017. My sketchbook is an important part of my work and it’s important for me to share my day to day experiences along with my ideas, thoughts and opinions as recorded in the pages of my sketchbook. It’s what allows people to get a glimpse into my artistic life.


In addition to refocusing my energy on my blog, I would also like to focus on giving people a better overall picture of my work.The gallery and store sections of this site will be getting updated more frequently from this point onward. I love my sketchbook work, but I can’t live from just that. In order to remedy this situation, I plan to start offering prints of my work in small limited edition runs along with originals pieces. I’m doing this in order to make my work more accessible for everyone – serious collectors and fans alike. In order to do this I will need to make some changes. Please bear with me as I get things all worked out.

I think these changes will bring balance and variety to this site and give me the satisfaction of knowing that I am showing all facets of my artistic skill. The best is yet to come.

It’s All About The Work

 

Abstract 1 - February 2016

After a nice long break from blogging, I feel refreshed, energized, and ready to jump back into it. My break was good for me; it allowed me to reconnect with myself and things that are important to me, and it also allowed me to put things into perspective.

So, here I am. Most people who know me well know that I am hugely influenced by both American and European comic book art, especially French bande desinée. I get just as excited by seeing an original Robert Crumb or Dave Stevens as I do by seeing an original Jean Giraud, Philippe Druillet, or Enki Bilal. I love comic book art, but I also love Picasso, Burne-Jones, Lord Frederick Leighton, and Joaquín Sorolla too. As an artist, I must be able to express different things in different ways and still retain my own identity. Doing that is the trickiest thing for any artist to do but, ultimately, you have to deal with it; otherwise you’re doomed to becoming boring and one dimensional. I’m not too impressed with artists who are limited in their outlook — it’s like talking to someone who only talks about one culture or one interest and nothing else. I’m even less impressed with artists who put creativity over craft. The quick, slap-dash style doesn’t mean crap unless you’re a strong and competent draftsman. Trying to be cute and clever is even worse. Learn to draw first, then get creative. People want skill for free today. They don’t want to work for it, they want to acquire it by an act of magic. Get a clue folks. It doesn’t work that way. Bust your ass, master your craft, then come and talk to me about it.  

Retaining your identity despite stylistic changes is one of two huge challenges an artist faces. The second, and more important, is being yourself through and through no matter what. Maturity and experience have taught me that it’s not about what school you went to, or if you’re self taught, or if you have a drop of fame, or if you have a million followers on social media or whatever. It isn’t about any of those things — it’s all about the work. My credo is and always will be Draftsmanship is craftsmanship. If you don’t draw well, then you simply cannot move forward. You can’t break the rules when you don’t know them. It’s all about the work. When I was 19 years old, I was accepted to one of the best art schools in the world and I’m also an ex-student of Barron Storey, an illustrator who’s a noted figure in the history of American illustration and whose students have influenced a generation of comics artists, BUT it’s not about any of that. Someone can brag all they want about what they do, who they know, or where they studied, but that won’t hide anything from a trained and experienced eye. In less eloquent words, at this stage in the game I’m not easily impressed and I can see right through people’s bullshit. If I come off as arrogant because of this, then so be it. I’ve been drawing since the age of five and I’ve been a professional since the age of 25, so it is what it is; take it or leave it. Beautiful, well-crafted work will always take precedence over ego.  

The drawing that adorns this post is something that started as a smaller doodle in my current sketchbook. My love of Picasso’s work is pretty clear here. As I often do, I scanned the page with the doodle on it and posted it to my social media accounts. Not long after I posted my page, Michael Kalman, co-founder of Stallman & Birn sketchbooks (my faves), came along on Twitter and kindly left me a very encouraging comment. His comment inspired me to expand my original doodle idea into a bigger drawing. I feel as comfortable working in this style as I do when I draw a portrait of someone, when I do a comic style drawing in brush and ink, or when I paint in watercolor — it’s the same thing to me; all those things are part who I am. I’m fortunate that I can easily do different things equally well; t’s something that not everyone can do. Switching between different approaches is something that I’ve always been able to do, but not something that I do too often. That is going to change.

In closing I’d like to inform all of my dear readers that I reached an important Twitter milestone a couple of days ago: 500 followers! I’ve been on Twitter for quite some time, but the majority of my new followers have come in the last 2 years – 430 followers in that time. I am so grateful to all the people from around the globe who follow me here and on social media. THANK YOU to each and every one of you for helping me reach the big 5-0-0 on Twitter. I greatly appreciate your continued support.