Reverend Thorn's Travelling Medicine Show

Ancient Fan Art

2011-06-22T14:21:00.001-07:00

I deleted my Deviant Art account today.

It ceased to be amusing. The only thing that ever generated any interest was my fan art, and then only the glamor shots. (My big-mouthed-Bono, f'ex, wasn't exactly a hit.)

I don't mind when people don't like my work. But it just got too painful when literally everyone ignores work I'm really proud of and fawns like sycophants over a pencil sketch that took less than 10 minutes. I know, welcome to the art world - yeah.

But when the positive feedback inevitably humiliates or infuriates you, you know it's time to move on.

Anyway, since I've long since chosen not to be ashamed of my inner fan girl, and since I'm really fond of these and they no longer have a home anywhere else on the internet, here are a few really old paintings of... well... I guess you could call them "rock stars" if you've got a really loose definition of "rock." And "star," for that matter.

Aren't they just dreamy?

My Studio

2011-06-19T14:45:00.000-07:00

I thought these might be fun to share. The chaos in which I work:

My desk with storage and shrine to Brighid in the background. The microwave is for first aid on touchy colored pencils. (Prismacolor users, you know what I'm talking about.)

Facing the desk - my shrine to Dionysos and favorite painting. Inspiration watching over me while I work.

My easel. The light in this corner is excellent in the morning. (I think this photo was take late afternoon.)

My drawing table. This table is made of awesome. It's from IKEA and has a built in light box. Go get one.

Close ups of my wall. Photos of people and art that inspire me - it changes constantly. (Currently wishing I'd included the Dali Lama or Stephen Hawking or someone amidst the musicians and actors, but hey - I never said I wasn't shallow.)

I love this room.

So I lied...

2011-06-14T14:34:00.003-07:00

A while back I mentioned in passing it had been U2 week at our house. I lied. It's been U2 month.

I used to be such a huge fan. From the ages of 15 to "too old to be comfortable admitting this" I was convinced I was in love with Bono. Then I lost track of them for about 20 years.

A month or so ago, our computer had crashed and our DVD player thought that would be a good time to commit Hari Kari. So went looking through old VHS tapes for something to watch. (You know, anything to avoid doing anything productive.) Put in my old copy of Rattle and Hum and immediately remembered why I was once so obsessed. (Then Bono came onstage, and also I remembered why the huge crush. It wasn't all about the politics. The words "sex god" come to mind... Is that over the top?)

So I've been playing catch up. Fortunately, they're not the type of band that churns out an album a year - I'm only 4 or 5 behind. Loving every minute of it - but then I expected to, unlike a lot of long time fans, I never objected to their 90's techo dance phase that turned so many people off.

So, art wise, I've been playing with screen caps from Rattle and Hum. The painting up top, of Bono looking very un-sexgod-like, is a still from "Desire." I've got another planned from "Sunday Bloody Sunday". Here's a sneek peek:

Blurry Pictures from the ICC show

2011-06-14T14:13:00.000-07:00

Rena was having some issues with her new camera and the lighting at the center. We didn't realize how bad the issues were until I downloaded them yesterday. But still - it's proof: My art, on a wall, and not one in my own home.

(And the one clear shot. Francis and Arnold the Racoon are obviously magic good luck charms.)

2011-05-27T11:52:00.004-07:00

I love my MP3 player.

I love downloads. The instant gratification of "want it, get it, have it" without ever leaving the house. Plus, instant access to obscure artists that even the big chain record stores* would have to order. I even love the ability to buy one song off an album even if the artists didn't think it merited release as a single.

But this last bit worries me, because I love albums even more. And I'm afraid they are a dying artform in the MP3 age.

I wonder what, if anything, would have been different in my life if, say, back in 1984 I could have gone online and bought U2's "Sunday Bloody Sunday" without ever having been exposed to the rest of the War album?

(45s and CD singles never seemed to have the universal popularity that MP3s do. At least, I personally never knew anyone over 15 or so who had a large collection of them. The fact that I wasn't over 15 myself in 1984 is beside the point.)

Bands get to experiment with album cuts in ways they never could if they were constantly worried about making hit after hit. They can be truly themselves here, and more often than not, it's these songs that make me fall in love with them. To continue the War example, it is, for the most part, an album full of politcal anthems like "Sunday Bloody Sunday" and these are brilliant, but the quieter moments really shine. Imagine "40" on the average American rock station. Can't do it? Me either.

A good album is a piece of art in and of itself, seperate from the individual songs that comprise it. This doesn't just apply to concept albums that are united by a strong theme or storyline. Musicians and producers put a lot of thought into what songs are included, which go where in the order, and how they segue from one to the other.

When we chop them up, song by song, we lose that completely.

What does this have to do with my art blog, you might ask? Nothing really. Though my art is heavily influenced by the music I listen to, and I hate to see any art form die, its mostly just that I've been listening to the perfection that is The Joshua Tree (it's been U2 week at my house) and feeling nostalgic.

[*I also miss record stores. Even the big chain ones. But that would be another blog entirely.]

Dionysos Katharsios

2011-05-21T21:28:00.003-07:00

Anyone remember when I posted a WIP of this back in my very first entry, like 2 years ago?
Well, it's done! It's done! Woo hoo!!!!!!! (*Does happy dance around computer desk.*)

Ahem. Both Francis and the deity this was made for seemed to be encouraging me to finish in time to show at the ICC. Due to a last minute crisis of confidence, I was 2 days too late. So now it's hanging over my shrine, which is what it was designed to do, anyway. Have to have something to awe the public with for the next show, don't I?

The white bits are mirrors. I left most of the reflections as is (since that's what they're there for after all), but the ones in the lower left were reflecting another painting that was really throwing off the color scheme in the photo, so that's been (badly) photo-shopped out. I don't mind the badly - this shot isn't for reproduction, it's just to show the world that... IT'S FREAKIN' DONE.

If you're curious, the title, "Dionysos Katharsios," is Greek for "Dionysos, he who releases." At least, I don't actually speak Greek, but am putting my trust in Sannion's list of epithets.. (An excellent resource for all things Dionysian, by the way.)

So, the ICC show. First Friday went really well. By which I mean, the turn out was really low due to onging construction, but the people who did come - many of whom had no vested interest in my well-being - said really nice things.

In other news, no one in our house was raptured today. Not a big surprise there, since I don't think any of us were the target demographic - what with everyone being pagan and all.

Oh, and I now have an internet enabled computer in the studio. Which means we can look forward to more blogs and probably even less productive activity.

Francis and Arnold

2010-10-09T12:59:00.003-07:00

All the pen practice has been leading up to this - a birthday present for my sweetie, Francis. (He's the one on the left. That's our buddy Arnold on the right.)

The present was a smashing success. Arnold really liked it as well. So now I'll have to do one for him.

And, continuing on the pen and ink theme, here's a couple of recent fan art pieces, just for fun. The original take on Dumbledore was part of a mail art trade, and the other - well, I just love the man's face. (Plus - Jack Aubrey = Awesomeness.)

Master's Hands

2010-07-18T13:19:00.001-07:00

Decided a while back that I didn't like how terrified I was of drawing hands, so I decided to try my own version of "snake pit therapy" (and indulge my guitar fixation at the same time.) Now I love doing them.

(Prints of these are available at thorn1125.deviantart.com. Just so ya know.)

Monochromatic 4 x 4's

2010-06-27T12:31:00.002-07:00

More mail art. Playing with monochrome for a swap on illustratedATCs.com. For the record: monochromatic yellow is hard. (Which would be why I cheated.)

Did not think I was going to get these done by the deadline. Deadlines are a real challenge for me, but I need to work on that discipline.

They are:

"St. Brighid of Kildare" (yellow)
"Skeleton Keys" (purple)
"Remy and Anne Marie" (grey)
"Chinese Dragon Stops to Sniff English Daisies" (turquoise)
"Dragonfly Nymph" (lilac)

Surprisingly, the b&w one was actually the hardest, just 'cause of the concept. I was going for X men on a day off, but it just turned out kinda goofy. (At least Rogue looks a lot less like Lily Munster than she did when I started.)

The dragon started out as my cartoon character Clancy, but he really needed a moustache & horns, so now he's Clancy's Chinese cousin - "Yang Tse."

Will dig out some Clancey the Dragon comics and post them on here next time.

Upcoming Art Show

2010-06-20T00:45:00.002-07:00

I hope.

Chances are good that I'll have a forum to show some of my work early next year. It won't be confirmed until November, though.

In the meantime, I'm trying to put some pieces together so I'll be ready when the time comes. I need the equivalent of 12 good sized paintings, enough to fill a good sized wall.

I've got a lot of things almost ready, but very few that could go up if this thing were to happen today.

These, I think are ready to go now:

(I was going through a spiral phase there for a while.)

Besides those, these next two are the closest to ready:

(Love everything but the coyote. HATE the coyote.)

(Sofa needs a lot more detail. And her left foot needs to be fixed, obviously.)

All of them but The Fool are pretty small, though. Feeling a little overwhelmed. I guess I should be grateful the show won't be til next year...

The Saga of Robin Hood

2010-06-13T10:03:00.014-07:00

It seems that, for me at least, there is always a point in the process of creating something where, when I step back and look at what I've done so far, everything looks horrible and completely beyond hope.

At this stage, it's usually takes everything I've got not to curl up into a little ball and give up. I'm experienced enough to know that if I can just work through it, there's a good chance everything will come out OK in the end.

But it's still absolutely terrifying.

It occurs to me that other people might have the same problem, so I thought I'd share a story of one of my recent experiences.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So, there I was, brand new set of Rapidograph pens in my hand and dying to try them out. Problem was, I didn't have anything in particular I felt like drawing at the time.

Then I noticed the popcorn bag sitting on the coffee table with the big ol' picture of Robin Hood on it. (We'd just been to see Iron Man that Friday, and I'd brought home the bag. 'Cause well, you know - it had a big ol' picture of Robin Hood on it.) Great angle on the hand, I decided I'd draw it.

The hand turned out great, and I was absolutely in love with the pens and didn't want to put them away. So I decided to continue with his face. Which is pretty much where it went to hell.

The result (on the right ) was, as Francis put it, a good drawing of Robin Hood, generic, but a pretty lousy one if it was meant to be Russell Crowe.

But, what the heck, it was basically just a doodle. If I'd wanted to do a real drawing from the film, I would never have chosen to work from big iconic image that they put on all the posters. (As pretty as it is.)

I put my sketchbook away and went to bed.

But now this is nagging at the back of my head. I've got Robin on the brain - really looking forward to the premiere - plus, I want to play with my pens again. So I dig out that popcorn bag, said pens,and a shiny new piece of bristol board and attempt to do this thing seriously.

An hour or two later, version two has really begun to take form. Never realized Colin Farrell played Robin Hood.

(Version two not shown here because it was promptly torn to pieces.)

A week goes by, during which I finally get to see the movie. (We went opening night. Fantastic. But then, Russell and Ridley rarely disappoint seperately, never together. As long as you go in expecting, you know, them and not Erroll Flynn and Michael Curtiz you should enjoy it.)

So Friday night, see movie. Saturday night, get the flu. Four days sick as a dog. Day four, bored and recovering, decide "what the hell, third time's the charm" and come up with this:

Up to y'all to decide if this story has a happy ending.

Am I not self absorbed enough to keep up a blog?

2010-05-26T16:26:00.004-07:00

Well, we all know THAT's not the case. So I don't know why I can't get one of these things going once I've started it. It's been almost a year and a half since my last (only) post. That painting's still sitting on my easel unfinished BTW. Maybe the problem isn't so much about the blogging...

So, what's been going on since March 2009? you ask. Always assuming there's any "you" out there.

Artwise, doing a lot of mail art trading. I like it. The very small sizes involved - usually 2.5" x 3.5" to 5" x 7" - lets me experiment with a lot of techniques and ideas without any real sense of commitment. It's freeing. Plus, it's all for trade, so the stuff leaves my hands before the urge to start mucking about with it again sets in. Meaning, I actually "finish" pieces. Win/win.

(The art in this blog are all examples of mail art pieces I've done over the last year or so.)

Personally, not so good. Dealing with financial crises stemming from, and likely contributing to, my partner's health issues. Almost lost the house. Saved it. (Thank you, Mr. Obama.) Now in danger of losing it again. Francis in and out of hospital. Work giving me crap about missing too many days in short period of time because Francis is in and out of hospital. Almost decked manager when the phrase "technically, he's not your husband" left her lips at the worst possible time. Probably good that I didn't hit her. Probably.

(No one from work reads this, right?)

(Right?)

Spiritually, also in holding pattern. A lot of thought, introspection, but little action. Hoping to rectify.

(Plus, started using twitter. Can you tell?)

Current WIP

2009-03-07T12:43:00.021-07:00

I thought I'd start this art blog by sharing a current work in progress.

It's a piece of devotional art for Dionysos, and I'm having some trouble with it. It's been sitting on my easel for most of the last year.

Lately I've been forcing myself to paint loose and sloppy, to counter my natural tedancy for fussy realism, as in the piece on the right.

The problem is that, while I like the overall effect I'm getting, alone it looks too much like a 3-year-old did it. I need to bring back a little of the fussiness, to find a middle path.

I'm also trying to deepen my understanding of Dionysos as I work. To me he's never been the fun loving frat boy god that is prevalent in popular culture. Even the Carravagio version, though I love it, seems a bit superficial. I'm best aquainted with the gentle Melikios, but I think it's time for me to delve deeper and embrace the more frightening aspects of the mad god. In this painting it is the raving Bakkios screaming to get through. I'd like to continue what I was trying to do with the masks, happy, smily in the forefront, raving chaos underneath. Perhaps by painting the top layer more traditionally. I'm thinking I'll add some big cats on the left, tighten up the grape and ivy leaves, but I'm not sure what to do with the big green area on the right.

I just added the broken mirror last week, and am really pleased with how it looks - and how it symbolizes the insanity of the god - but now I've got to paint around it - something I'm dreading.