...HAG 6 and the kiss of life drawing...

Hi, and welcome to one and all. 

Our sixth meeting saw the appearance of not one or two but three (or maybe four if you count Tom, who was persuaded to join in with a drawing), new attendees/members. 

A big hello to Sarah, Bette, Linda and Tom. 

This week as well as the all-encompassing mahonia still life with vintage (60s) ceramic Stergene flask, some of us also bravely ventured into the realm of life drawing.

The table arrangement making full use of the lighting at stage right.

Since it was my idea I felt obliged to strike the first ten minute pose, which I felt I did with confidence. Although as ten minutes turned first into fifteen, and then twenty, the rifle I was holding began to rotate as it became heavier - I was relieved of this heavy burden by a concerned member of the group. Ann I think or perhaps Jean.

At 35 minutes - phew! - I triumphantly left my post. At first glance it was clear that the drawings had captured my riveting gaze and iron grip. Congratulations also to those for whom this was their first attempt at life drawing. I'm always pleasantly surprised when, after having said they haven't done this or that before, someone turns in an informed and successful drawing or painting - brilliant!

 

Ann's dynamic pencil drawing of my first pose.

After a well earned break for tea and biscuits - of course,  Ann assumed her position in the spotlight and on the staircase for her ten minutes of fame. I noticed various members switching from still life to life drawing and vice versa - and back again in some cases. 

I'd like to think the class is as versatile as you want it to be. And please if you have any suggestions, just let me know - I'm sure we'll try anything once, and twice if we like it. 

There were times during the meeting that I was sure that Chango - as he wandered from still life to staircase - would inadvertantly become part of the life drawing study. Anytime your ready Chango. 

Ann maintained a steady and almost effortless pose as she approached forty five minutes, placing me if not to shame at least to second place. Hmm, can you practice posing? I guess dozing off doesn't count...

Jean's all encompassing mahonia - watercolour.

Above is Jean's interpretation of the mahonia still life - a case of someone having said they haven't done this or that before, and then turning in an informed and successful drawing or painting - brilliant! 

And not for the first time. 

Thanks to everyone for attending, producing great work, and helping clear up at meeting's end. Keep up the good work. If you get time - even ten minutes - fill a page in your sketch book - black technical pens are ideal for this, or even a biro. 

Cheers and see you all on Monday the 30th July. 

There may or may not be more life drawing, but there will be hats! 

...the Replacement Heroes - ZORCH!...

While attending either the Bristol or Birmingham Comic Convention a while back, Dave Evans of Futurequake Press offered me a third script to draw. Thanking him I asked what it was about - he said '...you know - giant monster/reptile causes chaos in Chicago, hero and his mentor enter the fray to confront threat and eventually defeat villain'. 

Again, I said thanks - but have you got anything else to draw, I don't know if I fancy superheroes? Yeah, and me having drawn only two short stories up to this point - whaddaya talking about?

'It Came From Somewhere...' page 8 Story Michael Moreci, Art Andy Scordellis, Letters Jim Campbell

As it happens writer Michael Moreci had created 'The Replacement Heroes some time ago and had pretty much consigned them to comic script limbo, until I turned up with thumbnails and sketches. If I remember correctly just as we were getting the Futurequake strip going, events at the time pushed this script back into limbo.

The event in question was the 'Reading with Pictures Anthology' project. 

Michael explained the 'Getting Comics into Schools, and Schools into Comics' ethos of 'Reading with Pictures' and asked if I was interested in getting Butch and Talbot into the book of the same name. Of course I said yes, and with the help of the editorial team, letterer Jim Cambell and colour artist Chris Beckett, we produced the 5 page 'Civic Service' which became The Replacement Heroes first appearance. 

Time passed and Michael and I eventually returned to the production of the story now called 'It came from somewhere...' 

Good or bad, the considerable length of time between the strips I draw normally shows a huge jump/improvement in quality compared to the previous strip, which at the time is always your best work - well that's the general idea. 

Following a rewrite or two, the dialogue was added to the finished inked pages by Letterer Extraordinaire Jim Campbell. Owing to just too many good stories, the strip appeared in a later copy of Futurequake than planned. Unexpectedly Butch and Talbot were to confront their reptilian foe in the final story in the book, which lead to Editor Dave asking me at the last minute if I could provide colour artwork for the last page. 

Of course my first reaction was panic. 

Sure I can mess about in photoshop, but had no idea how to colour a comic page. I had to remind myself that for my illustrations I do work in pen & ink and watercolour. 

It's obvious - copy the line artwork to watercolour paper - paint - scan - job done. 

And thanks to the Queen's own printer Dolphin Graphics for a great scan, and Jim for relettering page eight - we made it to the last page in time proving that every cloud has a silver age lining.

...town hall, town square, town where?...

Pen & Ink commission work very much in progress... 

'Downham Market Town Hall' at Festival time - pen & ink

When asked by client to Kelly Todd to reprise my original 'face on' drawing of Downham Market Town Hall at festival time - only this time to include the sideways perspective - I naturally said yes. I'd drawn the hall, the square and the famous clocktower several times in the past - including Captain Downham and Mr Fentastic - so why not?

Preliminary pencil sketches featuring the Clocktower.

I'd emailed Kelly photos of the Town Hall from a variety of views so that she could decide which appealed to her the most. Having scheduled a site meeting on a rainy Saturday afternoon, as we stood in the archway of the Swan pub looking across the square - I'm sure the conversation went like something like this - 

me - '...so how do you like the look of the Town Hall from here?' 

Kelly - '...I really like it, particularly the way we can see the side of    the Town Hall...' 

me - '...Great - I agree...' 

Kelly - '...I'm thinking, although it wasn't part of the original brief, maybe it would be nice to include the Clocktower...' 

me - '...sure, why not...?' 

Kelly - '...and maybe the fountain as well...' 

Preliminary pencil sketch of Town Square.

You guessed it - this is where I went into overdrive... 

me - '...OK, I can see the sense in that. I think we should extend our view so that we can provide the appropriate environment for those landmarks. By adding the buildings to the left of the square - William Brown and Johnsons Cleaners, and the shops to the right as they recede from Key-Lets at the front down Bridge street passed the Crown Inn and into the distance, we can draw the viewer into the square, past the various foreground, middle and background elements, and create a complete experience. 

Kelly Todd's Town Square, in historic Downham Market - pencil and pen & ink...

Kelly - '...that sounds great...' 

me - '...I think it's going to be a longer and larger commission than expected though...' 

Kelly - '...that's OK, do you know what would be really great...?' 

me - '...'

Kelly - '...if as in your previous drawing, you could include the festival flags...?' 

me - '...no problem, another element to make the finished drawing more interesting and enhance the feeling of perspective...' 

So in the space of a few minutes an A3 commission of the Town Hall grew into a pen and ink drawing of the entire square just over twice the size - including Bridge St. 

I always like a challenge. 

Watch this space to see how an A6 pencil sketch grew into an architectural drawing and finally a pen and ink illustration!

...STOP PRESS - MURAL HERE!...

This just in from the Lynn News news desk...

Myself and eight very talented artists.

2012 Jubilee & Olympics Mural.

2011 Jungle Mural.

Many thanks to Lynn News Photographer Alan Miller for photos.

...me and Lazarus and Lee...

 Pamphlet/poster for Comic Art Exhibition 'AAARGH!' - the ICA London 1970

'Aaargh!' pretty much sums up my feelings that Saturday in 1971 when I realised I'd missed the opportunity the day before - to see none other than Marvel Comics writer-editor-art director, and Jesus of Cool himself - that undeniably irrepressible man - Stan Lee! 

Aaargh! was also the name of the comic art exhibition held at the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London. That's ICA for you acronym lovers. England was always a little way's backwards in regards to comics distribution, so you never really knew what was happening in 'real time' Marvel New York. 

Avengers 84 - Big John Buscema and lush inks of Titanic Tom Palmer

So long as Annihilus was in the Negative Zone and  the Green Goblin was in upstate New York the Marvel universe would be rockin'.

Unfortunately while Marvel's heroes and villains were all where you'd expect them to be, the man who helped put them there was not. 

'AAARGH!' reflects exactly how I felt when I read in Stan's Soapbox that none other than Jack Kirby - co creator, visionary and founding father of Marvel Comics was leaving. 

New Gods 1 - Jack and Vinnie

This also explains why the exhibition displayed alongside current Marvel original artworks such as the fabulously lush splash page to Avengers 84, Jack Kirby's unexpected and for me hitherto unheralded artwork for his new cosmic series at DC Comics - New Gods 1! 

As a young almost fourteen year old this was completely out of left field, and as much as I soaked up the golden glow of this good old Kirby/Colletta artwork - from which parallel comic universe the hell did it come from??! 

This was a conundrum of cosmic proportions which for me, and many english fans would not be answered until months later when we stumbled across Kirby's Fourth World DC titles in whatever newsagent we could find them in. 

But that's a story for another day.

Stan & Jack & Joe - 'Nuff said!!

When by chance I was surfing the net and read that, more than forty years on, none other than Stan Lee was appearing at the London Super Comic convention in February - I knew what I had to do. 

They say a picture is worth a thousand words - here's one worth ten thousand comics - with my smiling self, son and comic con companion Laz, and finally - 'Just a guy named Stan!' 

From the ICA 1970 to the SLCC 2012 - Andy, Stan and Laz

"Nuff said."

...Babylon and on...

Well needless to say I have framed and mounted artwork, cards, calendars, prints and bookmarks on show and for sale at the Craft & Design Showcase - please do go along and have a look - it's a great venue, and being beside the award-winning Peacock's Tea Shop and Ely Marina doesn't hurt either...

And what a great looking poster...

...you wear the crown...

Almost there - students adding final brushstrokes.

Year 6 students upped the artistic ante as we approached the end of week deadline - or lifeline, as they go on to spend the next two weeks at the High School prior to returning as Year 7 pupils in early September.

And we're done!

Early Friday morning the great unveiling took place in Hilgay playground. Teacher - and essentially Lady of the Mural - Teresa Murawski, welcomed the parents to the school, and proceeded to recount the creative journey from initial sketces and ideas to finished acrylic and marker artwork. 

Teresa conducted the the presentation admirably, and was extremely generous when it came to thanking me for my own contribution and efforts. I felt a little overwhelmed on the third 'hip hip hooray' and am very grateful for the vouchers for local art shop 'Framin' Art' and also the signed card and gift from Year 6. 

Students proudly posing while taking instruction from off-stage photographer Alan Miller.

It being a little too early in the day for me to communicate with any more than a handful of people I mumbled my thanks and explained that the students had all the talent and team work, and all I did was steer them along the way. 

Particularly since without the efforts and organisation of Teresa Murawski and her fellow teachers, there would be no Year 6 Jubilee/ Olympics Mural with or without my help - three more cheers please.

Admittedly - having diverged so much from last year's painted style of mural - it was as much try it and see for me, as it was for the students - who took it all in their stride and rose to the challenge admirably.

Photographer Alan Miller joined us later in the morning to take photos of the kids and this year's mural for local paper The Lynn News, and posterity of course. 

Final signed version of Hilgay School Year 6 Jubilee/Olympic Mural 2012.

On Friday afternoon the students completed their end of year Jubilee/Olympic mural by 'signing' it Hollywood style - with their handprints! 

But not by pressing them in cement on the pavement, but by pressing their patriotically painted hands onto the mural margins, drawing around the coloured hand shapes, and then finally signing their names beside the handprints.

 Congratulations on a great job well done! 

Three cheers for Year 6 eight Mega Mural Artists Supreme!! 

One of eight certificates awarded to Year 6 Muralists.

And following the execution of the last few handprints, I couldn't resist taking the following three photos, for whose title I am indebted to Gary Bird and the Gary Bird Experience...

 'You Wear the Crown...'

I don't know what next year's mural will look like or what it's theme might be - but I do know there'll be teddy bears...