well, probably a little longer than that, but as i continue to screw around with putting digital icing on the traditional cake, it is interesting to see how it affects a piece. take this michonne (from the walking dead) for example....this is clearly a comic book version, but as someone who is used to more traditional materials, i'm not sure it's enough. this process of implementing photoshop is intriguing, but unless i tap into some more satisfying techniques i cannot say with certainty that it is how i will proceed in the future. sure, there is a polished decisiveness about it, but is it unique? my inclination is to next time further explore step 3 first......because i see more and more artists relying on digital wizardry (to varying degrees of success), but really, a good foundation can take you far in whatever medium.

originally posted 7/7/14- ahhh. a bit of a break.

a few things in the works that would be premature to discuss, so let's go with what i know is happening.... like taking the opportunity to illustrate a kate bush song. to be honest, it has been on my mind for years.

i like to think that, while i certainly don't know ALL varieties of music, i am pretty thorough about what i do enjoy; mining those veins of alternative/modern rock/post-punk/lo-fi/shoe gaze/whatever you want to call it, that i grew up on. and when someone asks me what my favorite album of all time is. it is a photo finish....but it is not pixies, or the cramps, or thee oh sees, or wolf parade, it is kate bush hounds of love/the ninth wave. it's true!

odd thing is i am not even that huge of a kate bush fan, but some songs, and that whole album especially, really hit the mark. and maybe, too, it was about where i was in my life when i heard it. that goes for everybody, right?

hounds of love/ninth wave can be a little 80's pop at times, but it is so much more. it is romantic but brooding, hopeful at times...but undeniably poetic in its totality. it balances buoyancy and menace in a way i find fascinating. her voice is undeniable, but it's the collage of sound she experiments with on some songs that makes it important. and it is a story. a story bloated with imagery. she herself has discussed translating it into another art form before as well, but i take the initiative here.

here is page one of hello earth. the rest to be posted upon completion. 

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originally posted 4/21/14- happy to report that adventure at the highland house is included in andromeda quarterly #7. it's a pittsburgh-based anthology of art and comics from little tired press that packs a punch and is put together by cool, talented people. can't go wrong there.


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originally posted 3/11/14- aside from doing a bunch of weird drawings lately, here is a sneak preview of a painting in progress. it's for a figurative show at miller gallery in may. perhaps it's that plume of smoke that resembles the bride of frankenstein's hair, but there's certainly a touch of horror, a dash of sci-fi, a little nod to the ziegfeld girls of alfred cheney johnston. oil on canvas, 36" x 24"


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originally posted 4/4/14- just submitted this piece for a pixies lithograph contest over at creative allies. this contest is in conjunction with the release of their 6th studio album (and first since 1991), INDIE CINDY. there are some good designs over there so regardless of how it all pans out, it's been fun. i've been a fan too long to resist a chance to do anything for the pixies. this piece also marks the first full marriage for me of traditional hand-drawn work with digital treatment. it was pretty satisfying and i see a lot of potential in this approach.



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originally posted 12/15/13- the waiting room is a syndicated new music radio show based out of cardiff, england. you might occasionally hear a larger act (larger is a relative term) on their airwaves, but hosts drunk country and the woman of the house specialize in mining for rare musical gems by bands looking to get a foot in the door. i've listened to this show since it was picked up a few years ago by ohio's own (late, great 97X) woxy.com and jumped at the chance to illustrate something for them. here's the original and the ad with text for their show #169...go listen!

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 originally posted 9/1/13- here's another ancient discovery: a photo(s) of frank miller and bill sienkiewicz at the mid-ohio con in 1986. these guys are living masters in the comic world and were really hitting their stride at the time with their collaboration on elektra assassin. equally impressive is, for all their later royalty, they were basically holding court in a corn field, where the con was held then in mansfield. mansfield  isn't near anything. kind of like seeing nirvana at a hole in the wall with 15 people.

anyway, both are major influences on my artistic development, so to meet them at the age of 16 (along with john byrne, who was also there that year), was huge. I have since read that sienkiewicz would attend cons from this era with his shirt unbuttoned to the navel. clearly not the case here, but i admit that kind of swagger is almost picasso-esque.....and justifiable if you ask me! that guy turned comic book art upside down.

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originally posted 8/5/13- here's something interesting...about 10 years ago i wanted to put together a website and didn't get very far. this was the mock-up for the homepage, which i still very much like, so i thought i'd share.