Thirty-Three: Celebrating 33 Years of the Independent Spirit & Sundance Film Festival

If you are attending the Sundance Film Festival be sure to stop by the Kimball Art Center to check out the current exhibit, "Thirty-Three: Celebrating 33 Years of the Independent Spirit & Sundance Film Festival" which runs from January 19, 2017 - February 12, 2017. Curated by Independent filmmaker, Morgan Spurlock and Jensen Karp and Katie Sutton of Gallery 1988, the show features some major contemporary artists. I'm honored to be a part of this and sharing wall space with some folks whose work I love. Thanks to everyone involved for having me.

You can learn more here.

Ask Me Anything #60

This "Ask Me Anything" begins with the new year, a time of new beginnings and a hopeful look forward. Ask me anything you want.  Anything except what is happening with the Milestone relaunch, because I don't have an answer for you beyond "it's still moving forward."

Questions can be posted in the comments section below, and I'll either answer them there, or in a separate post sometime later in the month.

I've been asked a lot of good, thought provoking questions in the past as well as some really banal ones, all of which I tried to answer. You can see the previous questions by visiting Ask Me Anything  #1, #2 ,  #3, #4, #5, #6 , #7 , #8, #9,  #10,  #11,  #12 , #13, #14,  #15 , #16, #17 , #18 , #19,  #20,  #21, #22,  #23, #24, #25, #26, #27, #28, #29, #30, #31, #32, #33, #34, #35, #36, #37, #38, #39, #40, #41, #42,  #43, #44, #45,  #46, #47,  #48, #49,  #50,  #51, #52 , #53, #54, #55, #56,  #57,  #58, and #59.

Answers not found following the questions can be found in the archives section for each associated month under Ask Me Anything.

Now ask away. 

At the Sundance Film Festival

I'm honored that filmmaker, Morgan Spurlock has chosen my cute paper portrait of Joel and Ethan Coen to be part of "Thirty-Three: Celebrating 33 Years Of The Independent Spirit & Sundance Film Festival" to be exhibited, in conjunction with Gallery 1988,  at the Kimball Art Center in Park City Utah. The show runs January 19, 2017 - February 12, 2017, during the Sundance Film Festival.

If you are attending the Sundance Film Festival, please check it out. There are some amazing artists participating.

For more information please check out the Kimball Art Center's website, or this article from The Salt Lake Tribune. 

Random Objects In My Office

I haven't posted any random objects from my office in ages. Here's one now. This is a poster of the Wolfman that I got from a box of Honeycombs as a kid. I've always loved this image. It glows in the dark, too.

Joel and Ethan Coen

Here's my cut paper portrait of the Coen brothers for the show dedicated to the filmmakers and their films which opens tomorrow night at Gallery 1988 (West).

Opening Friday...

A multi artist tribute to Joel and Ethan Coen opens this Friday at Gallery 1988. I'll be previewing my piece here tomorrow.

Ask Me Anything #59

This "Ask Me Anything" closes out the year, a time of looking back and a time of pondering what lies ahead. Ask me anything you want.  Anything except what is happening with the Milestone relaunch, because I don't have an answer for you beyond "it's still moving forward."

Questions can be posted in the comments section below, and I'll either answer them there, or in a separate post sometime later in the month.

I've been asked a lot of good, thought provoking questions in the past as well as some really banal ones, all of which I tried to answer. You can see the previous questions by visiting Ask Me Anything  #1, #2 ,  #3, #4, #5, #6 , #7 , #8, #9,  #10,  #11,  #12 , #13, #14,  #15 , #16, #17 , #18 , #19,  #20,  #21, #22,  #23, #24, #25, #26, #27, #28, #29, #30, #31, #32, #33, #34, #35, #36, #37, #38, #39, #40, #41, #42,  #43, #44, #45,  #46, #47,  #48, #49,  #50,  #51, #52 , #53, #54, #55, #56,  #57, and #58.

Answers not found following the questions can be found in the archives section for each associated month under Ask Me Anything.

Now ask away. 

Now on Kindle

While it has never been collected in a trade paperback collection, for those of you who may have missed it, the first five issues first series of Midnight, Mass. is now available to read on Kindle. Amazon has many other comics I've written on Kindle as well. See the links below.

Next Month...

This is the next show I'm participating in at Gallery 1988. It opens December 9 and runs through December 23. Check back for a look at the piece I made for this show.

Ask Me Anything #58

It's the first Monday of the month which means it is time for "Ask Me Anything".  This means anything you want; questions about my work, influences, opinions, anything at all. Anything except what is happening with the Milestone relaunch, because I don't have an answer for you beyond "it's still moving forward."

Questions can be posted in the comments section below, and I'll either answer them there, or in a separate post sometime later in the month.

I've been asked a lot of good, thought provoking questions in the past as well as some really banal ones, all of which I tried to answer. You can see the previous questions by visiting Ask Me Anything  #1, #2 ,  #3, #4, #5, #6 , #7 , #8, #9,  #10,  #11,  #12 , #13, #14,  #15 , #16, #17 , #18 , #19,  #20,  #21, #22,  #23, #24, #25, #26, #27, #28, #29, #30, #31, #32, #33, #34, #35, #36, #37, #38, #39, #40, #41, #42,  #43, #44, #45,  #46, #47,  #48, #49,  #50,  #51, #52 , #53, #54, #55, #56, and #57.

Answers not found following the questions can be found in the archives section for each associated month under Ask Me Anything.

Now ask away. 

Visit Hoth

The postcards for the Second Annual Postcard Show at Gallery 1988 (East) are now up for viewing/purchase at their website. Included are my "Visit Hoth" postcard which is also available in an Aurebesh variant (scroll down to second previous post for a look). There are also lots of great pieces by some outstanding artists. They are all inexpensive, too.

The Grim Gallery hits 2000

My companion blog, The Grim Gallery, has posted it's 2000th post today. If you love monsters check it out. At one monster image a day since its inception, 2000 is a lot of monsters.

Tonight

The Second Annual Postcard Show opens tonight at Gallery 1988 (East). It will feature lots of super affordable art by a bunch of incredible artists. 

My piece (shown below), inspired by Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, can be seen below both in it's English and variant Aurebesh form. There's a discount is you by both.  The text (shown at bottom) is the same on both. 

Opening this weekend at Gallery 1988 (East). I have a postcard in the show which also is available in a variant edition. Check back for a look at both.

Little Shoppe of Horrors #37 - Now Available

I have an illustration in Little Shoppe of Horrors #37, which provides in depth coverage of The Lost Continent and is now available, all behind this fantastic cover by Mark Maddox. You can order your copy here.

31 Days of Halloween - Day 31

Fledgling by Octavia Butler

Seven Stories Press. 2005.


Physically an eleven year old black girl, Shori Matthews wakes up blind, with burns covering most of her body and serious skull fractures in two locations. She is able to quickly heal her physical wounds but her memories prior to her awakening are gone. It's apparent that Shori is not a normal human being and in her search to recover her memories, discover who she is, and what happened to her, she discovers that she's an Ina, what we would call a vampire, and also the target for a group set upon destroying her because she's also something more.

I first read this book upon its initial publication and was just stunned by how well it works. I was already well aware that Butler was a first rate author, but Fledgling succeeds in every aspect: the mystery behind Shori and her amnesia (which also works as a perfect way to bring in exposition as needed); Butler's fascinating biological and anthropological approach to the Ina, making them at once familiar as vampires and new and fascinating in the approach to how they function as both living organisms and as a culture; the rich, well-rounded characters; and the threat of being pursued by the unknown. While it is a completely satisfying self-contained story, it's clear that Butler had planned to explore this world further in subsequent books. Unfortunately Butler died in 2006 at the age of 58.

31 Days of Halloween - Day 30

After the People Lights Have Gone Off  by Stephen Graham Jones

Dark Horse Press. 2014.


Stephen Graham Jones is one of the finest writers of horror fiction living. If you don't believe me, then pick up a copy of this book. The stories here favor a minimal, matter of fact narrative style that serves the stories well. Not only is there an "I'm telling you how it went down" aspect that makes what's happening feel more immediate and more intimate, it disallows easy answers. The reader will have to draw their own conclusions in some cases, but that makes the stories even creepier (and they are creepy) and allows them to end with a real punch in the gut. This book is definitely a high note on this list. Jones has around twenty other books out there and I plan to read all of them.

31 Days of Halloween - Day 29

Something In the Blood by David J. Skal

Liveright Publishing Corporation. 2016

Dracula expert, Skal, concludes his defining explorations of Dracula from novel to play to movie with this massive biography of Dracula's creator, Bram Stoker. Skal's excellent storytelling ability and attention to detail makes this an engrossing read, but Stoker often vanishes into the shadows of his more flamboyant contemporaries such as Oscar Wilde and the theatrical star to whom Stoker devoted his life, Henry Irving, but their story illuminates his own. This is probably the greatest scholarship we'll see on Stoker barring a large discovery of important missing letters which could provide any real revelations still unknown. Like all of Skal's other books, this one is excellent.

31 Days of Halloween - Day 28

Through the Woods by Emily Carroll

Margaret K. McElderberry Books. 2014.

I've been a fan of Emily Carroll's work for a few years now. Her art is beautiful; deceptively pleasant with a true creepiness lying in wait underneath. Her storytelling is similar in nature. Spare, almost matter of fact but so unnerving and often delivering a real punch to the gut by the end. Casually flipping through the pages you'd probably think there's no way this book could give you the willies, but trust me, it does. This collection of short stories in comic book form is one of the most disturbing books I've shared this month, and one of the creepiest graphic novels I've ever read, and I've read a lot. Best read while alone in a remote house in the country on a dark and stormy night. I'd also suggest by candle, but you'll want more light to see the artwork and what might be in the room with you. 

31 Days of Halloween - Day 27

An English Ghost Story by Kim Newman

Titan Books. 2014.


A fracturing family moves into The Hollow, the former estate of a popular children's author, in the country. Strange things begin to happen there, but it's more of the opposite of a haunting which they think of as being charmed. The magic relaxes them and brings them closer together patching over all of the differences that seemed to be driving them apart as they fall into harmony with the Hollow and it's invisible residents. This is a horror novel though, so while everything is indeed magical and idyllic, you can't but wait wondering when the other shoe will drop. When it does it hits with a wallop. The change is almost too abrupt, but by then you are so invested in this family that watching it, and each member begin to unravel as the harmony they once felt with the Hollow becomes cacophonous discord, that you are swept up in their turn towards tragedy and there's nothing you can do to stop them. It's a refreshing approach to the haunted house story and comes with an ending that's unexpected.