Office Ewok

 I received a Facebook message from Altered Esthetics with a link to a review for the Lutefisk Sushi E - Bento Box of Mini comics (the cartoon show currently on through November)

A massive thanks to the good people at Stumptown Trade Review for mentioning my work:

"The standout of the entire set is Office Ewok by James Powell.  It deals with the harsh realities of what happens when an Ewok comes into conflict with an office dress code.  The end is laugh out loud funny and works whether or not you are a Star Wars fan.  This one has already been passed around the STR office a few times."

The full review with mentions of some of other artists and links to their sites is here.

HAUNT

 

 I have been a little absent from the Illustration Friday page of late but here is a something I did this morning for their topic of "Haunt". I have thought about this as the story line for something before, all the animals you have eaten coming back to haunt you.

When I was traveling I told my young cousins that I was going to eat an animal for every letter in the alphabet. in Vietnam I had Porcupine. P......as in Pig.......total waste of a letter meal. I've eaten loads of little pigs. 

Porcupine is not very nice. I know, complete shocker right?!

Saint Paul Art Crawl!!!

SAINT PAUL ART CRAWL - THIS WEEKEND!!!!

*WHERE:
Rossmor Building
500 Robert Street
St. Paul, MN

*WHEN:
APRIL
12th (Friday) :6-10pm
13th (Saturday):12-8pm
14th (Sunday) :12-5pm

I will be at my usual spot on the 2nd floor - Just go through the main entrance (pictured) and up the stairs and I'll be to the left.

Because sometimes people don't want a scared looking woman staring at them....one would hope.

I tried something a little bit different over the last two days. This painting was done straight onto the canvas without any initial pencil sketching, no colour plan and no real idea of what it was going to change to. She started off a little scared then I made her angry via a roller girl phase now she is getting a little more confident.

"ROCK OUT WITH YOUR EWOK OUT"

Only two days left until FALLCON - I'll be there with some new paper cuts, paintings and prints - Ewok 'N' Roll!!

                       

Fallcon 2012 Star Wars paper cuts

 

FALLCON the MCBA Comic Book Party (aka the One Day Wonder) is this Saturday (October 6th – 2012 – 10AM to 5PM) I got some good feedback on the paper cuts at the Springcon so here are two (of three) new Star Wars themed paper cut pieces. Above is "Proud Boba" below "Never trust a Droid" (or "Cheeky little R2")

 

I first started doing paper cuts thinking it would be loads quicker than my usual paintings. It isn't. It takes bloody ages, but I like how they turn out. I have a third one finished and a few ideas for some others....and less than a week until Fallcon to do them.

Lutefisk Sushi : Volume E - Mini Comics Show

 Every year Altered Esthetics Gallery in Northeast Minneapolis dedicates one of it's monthly shows to comic art. This November comes the Lutefisk Sushi: Volume E show. Lutefisk Sushi is a series of limited edition, screen-printed boxes filled with mini-comics by Minnesota cartoonists.

 

I just finished my mini comic which will be printed 160 times. One for each Lutefisk Sushi box.

My comic has Ewoks.

I found out about the Lutefisk sushi shows when I was in England still and my then girlfriend, now wife found one of the promotional postcards for the show and sent it to me....that made me find out about the International Cartoonist conspiracy which I am now a member of and also about Altered Esthetics, which I am now a member of the board and part of the committee that helped plan out this years Lutefisk show.

Pac Man...London Underground...something...

Here is a piece i had in my head for a while which was submitted to the 8-Bit show at Altered Esthetics. I think I called it something like "Pac-Man underground" or "Pac-Man on the London Tube". Something to do with Pac-Man and the London Underground anyway,  on account of it being Pac-Man going along the Victoria tube station platform in London and me being really creative with my painting titles.

How 'bout those Olympics huh? Pre-tee good!

2012 Olympic tribute Foomi (from Kidrobot's Munny World) - Olympic flame head, limbs inspired by the torch handle and the team GB uniform.

An overdue catch up - Saint Paul Art Crawl and Springcon

Thanks to everyone who came out to see me over the last month or two. I have been out and about a bit around Saint Paul. The first stop was the Saint Paul Art crawl (27th-29th of April) back in my usual place at the Rossmor building. It was a great weekend for going out and seeing some art. The only negative from the whole event is that I can't go and see all the buildings displaying. I was able to cover the 7 floors of the Rossmor in little breaks when no one was looking. Some awesome photography this year!

 The open studios are also amazing as most of the people actually live within their space so you get a real feeling of how their work comes about and how much of themselves are in it. A lot of them also lay out wine and snacks as well. Always good.

I was a little worried about my next stop at Springcon 2012, a "comic book celebration" held at the Minnesota state Fairgrounds on the weekend of may 19th-20th. Most of the "creators" (it said that on my badge) were independent comic book artists and as an artist without a comic book I feared being chased from the place by plastic light sabers and sonic screwdrivers. I wasn't though. I saw loads of said light sabers and screwdrivers but the people wielding them were some of the nicest I have ever met at any show.

Although I didn't have an actual comic book the paper cuts and other prints went down well and it is always nice to actually have Batman come up to you (because he never calls or writes anymore) and take a look at your work. Also, where else are you going to find two brothers standing a clear foot in height taller than everyone anyway, dressed in Darlek and Tardis inspired attire?!

Not only did this show and such people as my table neighbour JP Pollard (the creator of "Thomas Vs The Monsters" -hit the link, go read the the comic then come back) inspire me to finish a comic book project I have been working on for a while now (by "working on" I mean "started, never finished, have done nothing with for about a year") but I am also trying to plan out a few more Conventions. I have my eye on one in Chicago in 2013. Taking this show on the road!

SPRINGCON - This weekend!

This weekend I will have a table at the Minnesota Comic Book Celebration "SPRINGCON".  Come by and say hello!

Avengers Assemble

I saw The Avengers movie yesterday....it was pretty darn good. My Nephew saw it in England today so my brother can look forward to his trashing the place in a Captain America/Hulk/Iron man/Thor/ Hawkeye (although probably not Hawkeye so much) theme.

Was it you who wanted some art for your Grandson?

Awesome! I found the person who contacted me anonymously to do a piece for their grandson. panic over people!

"I find your lack of faith....and excess of eye shadow...disturbing"

The Saint Paul Art Crawl (MN) kicked off tonight. I have been working on a few new things for this event. I still have some paintings and paper cuts as well as a few Vinyl pieces but The Force is also strong this year.....In the form of mini Darth Vader helmets:

 Vader #1: "Rebels on my mind" (Front)

    (Right Side - Left Side)

 

Vader #2: "Devil Fire"

Vader #3: "Something for the ladies"
OR "I find your lack of faith....and excess of eye shadow...disturbing"

 

Vader #4: "Use the Force"

Each stands at about 4 inches high. They were originally plastic which has been reinforced and prepped. All additions are made from Apoxie Sculpt clay and painted with Citadel Paints. Each one is presented in it's own display case. Hopefully I will be able to get some better pictures (not from my phone) later on this weekend.

All the Vader Helmets are available for purchase at the Saint Paul art Crawl in the Rossmor building THIS WEEKEND!

Saint Paul Art Crawl

Hey people! The Saint Paul Art Crawl (MN) is on again this weekend, April on the 27th, 28th and 29th. I'll be in my usual spot on the 2nd floor of the Rossmor building (500 North Robert Street, bound by 10th Street and 9th Street, next to and above Key's cafe).

T-Rex with a jet pack

A little sketch I am working on at the moment. It was based on a Face Book comment made by a friend on how to make a picture of a DeLorean flying in a future inhabited by Robots riding donuts by Eric Joyner (go and check out his amazing robots!) even better. the answer? A T-rex with a jet pack. This is him returning via jet pack.I am undecided on what he is so vocal about...I am thinking of putting a DeLorean or a Tardis in his little speech bubble.

RoBatman

I am taking part in an April Doodle Challenge via Facebook where you sketch something based on that days given theme for every day in April. Today's was "ROBOT". Today was a good day. If the word was "Batman" that would also have been great. If it had been Robot-Batman?.....

A large coffee at the Library

I have a few pieces in the Children's Book Illustrators Guild (CBIG) Exhibit at Penn Lake Library. One of the pieces is a new paper cut based o a previous design.

March 1st, 2012 to April 30, 2012

Penn Lake Library

8800 Penn Ave South

Bloomington, MN 55431

612-543-5800

Hungry Hungry Games

Most people I know have either read the books or watched the movie Hunger Games. I have done neither, I did used to like the game that started the whole idea though. They were some Hungry, Hungry Hippos!

"Come on in, the swamp is lovely"

Testing out a couple of paint styles with a paint sketch on canvas. Down in the Swamp, it's awesome being green.

Two birds with one shark!

I haven't done anything for Illustration Friday for a while due to other commitments and deadlines but I was commissioned to do a piece which involved a couple of animals, one being a shark. This is a rough draft of a shark I painted to test a colour scheme. The client asked that it be wearing shades...Illustration Friday's topic this week? - SHADES.

Wedding Stuff

I've been working on a few commission pieces lately (or some other excuse for not updating anything here) one of which was for a friend back in England. My friend is attending a wedding where the bride and groom are to be wed under an arch decorated with cloth messages from the guests. I was sent a couple of photos and came up with this picture to be printed on the cloth from her:
Since I haven't updated in a while here are a few other wedding related things from the past year or so......

The wedding topper from my own wedding cake in 2010.

Another for a friend's wedding complete with cat (who couldn't make the actual wedding).

The following were a few decorations I did for the amazingly talented artist and bride Kirsten Sevig. Kristen designed a flock of birds who were scatted around the wedding as if attending a birdie version of the wedding itself. There were even a little bird bride and groom in similar attire to their human counterparts. I only painted about a dozen of the paper-mache birds but tried to give them all different personalities and styles. Swanky silver tux. A Robin robin. Burly Tattoo bird.

CHICAGO Mascots

Just looking through some old photos and forgot about this piece I was commissioned to do as a Christmas gift last year. After a show where my Minnesotan Mascots piece was seen I was asked to create a shadow box version of the sports mascots from the Chicago teams.
There are loads of Chicagoites (Chicagonites? Chicagonians?) in Minnesota!!

From top left to bottom right: Staley Da Bear from Chicago Bears (American Football), Chicago Cubs Player* (Baseball)Tommy Hawk of Chicago Black Hawks (Ice Hockey), Benny the Bull from the Chicago Bulls (Basketball), South Paw from the Chicago White Sox (Baseball), Chicago Cubs Logo bear** (Baseball).

*According to Wikipedia: The official Cub mascot is a young bear cub (like the little blue guy I added at the front), which has gone through various transformations through the years. The Cubs have no official physical mascot, though a man in a 'polar bear' looking outfit, called "The Beeman" (or Bearman, B-man), which was not very popular with the fans, was employed by the club briefly in the early 1990s.

**Apparently a mascot by the name of Billy Cub wants to step up and be the official mascot for the Cubs and break the Curse of the Billy Goat put onto the team in 1945. Unfortunately he is not allowed into the Wrigley Stadium due to "no costume" policy.

Illustration Friday - GROUNDED

A version of this picture has been swimming (fluttering? What do moths do? That!) around with me for a while. I am actually planning on a larger painted piece but thought IF's theme this week of GROUNDED was a good chance to work on some character sketches.