So long Bettie

Bettie Page passed away this week, she was (is) the definitive pin up girl icon. Her carefree and playful nature inspired photos that really define what pin ups are all about, at least for me. While I've done my share of girlie drawings, I often joke that I prefer the '40's and '50's style imagery, back when sex was cute ;) And none were cuter than Bettie Page.

So what can you say about someone who put a smile on generations of faces and inspired a zillion artists??? Well, I just did this little painiting of you Bettie, and I'll say so long and thanks!

starlets make the best models!

I like to use old Hollywood pics for drawing and painting practice since the lighting is usually really good. Before the days of all flash photography, there was a lot a great dramatic lighting in photos and on the screen. Oh, yeah and the women were are stunning... that helps..

little watercolor heads

I haven't had much time lately for commissions etc but I have been dabbling with small watercolor (gouache actually) heads in black and white. Whenever I'm trying out a new medium, it makes sense to take it easy on myself so in this case, I'm just using diluted black gouache rather than going full color. I start off by spraying some water on a piece of 8.5x11 bristol board, then taping it down and letting it dry, this way it won't buckle once I start painting on it. That green tape is awesome for art by the way, I picked it up at the home depot in the paint department, it peels up easily without damaging the paper. It's called Frog Tape.

My Demon Buddy!

I love Jack Kirby! I was a '70's comic kid so I discovered him through reprints of his Marvel work and the stuff he was doing for DC at the time. Kamandi was probably favorite DC Kirby book but Demon was a close second...neck and neck with Mr.Miracle...(Big Barda..oh yeah!)
Like I said, I love Kirby but my buddy Peter Laird takes it to a whole 'nother level! He's a Kirby evangelist, singing the praises of Jack and encouraging other artists and fans to dig in and catch the Kirby bug. At Heroes Con last summer, Eric Talbot mentioned that he was kind of getting into Kirby and then when Pete came back to our artist alley table after a break he had picked up all of the Fourth World Archives for Eric!
He's passed out copies of Mark Evanier's Kirby book, TwoMorrow's Jack Kirby Collector...do you see a pattern here?
Well, today was another unexpected Kirby day! Pete came walking through with an armload of DC's latest Kirby Archive book, the Demon.
It's a beautifully designed and produced book. The coloring is classic, not photoshopy which I really dig, and it even has some pencil pages reproduced throughout, it's a beaut.
I've pawed through it a few times already when I'm supposed to be working ;)
Today was a good day.
Thanks Jack!
And Thanks Pete!

Skrulls and babes

I'm clearing out some of my remaining con sketches on Ebay this week. Once the comic con season is over I like to wipe the slate clean and start over so they gotta go!

POISON IVY

Another watercolor head, 8.5x11 inches on bristol board.

ANDREW LOOMIS LIVES!

I've mentioned before that Andrew Loomis' drawing books are the very best and since the book publishers are too dim witted to keep them in print, folks have taken it upon themselves to keep the knowledge available by posting the complete books online. The very least I can do is point you folks in the right direction. Download these, look at 'em or just take a peek because it doesn't get any better than this folks.
The website Scribd has tons of art books online if you care to browse, I know I will :)
FIGURE DRAWING FOR ALL IT'S WORTH
CREATIVE ILLUSTRATION
SUCCESSFUL DRAWING
FUN WITH A PENCIL
SUCCESSFUL DRAWING

Jack Hamm is my hero too!

Even though I draw for a living, seeing how other artists work is still like magic to me. I'm always prowling artist's blogs and sites to glean some tiny tid bit that might make my art life easier. I've always been fascinated by drawing books for this same reason. Unfortunately while Barnes and Noble has shelves full of totally useless drawing books, most of the really good ones are out of print . I won't bore you with the ones that you wont be able to find...okay well just a few...you should make a real effort to track down ALL of the Andrew Loomis books (there are pdf versions on line if you hunt around) and get yourself a copy of the Famous Artist School course. Those binders are pure gold..more useful info than you will get at most art schools, I kid you not.
But there is one classic drawing book from the fifties, that by some miracle can still be found in most book stores..and it's cheap too! Drawing the head and figure by Jack Hamm is not flashy, but it's quietly great. He's got some other drawing books as well, but this is best. This is the book I tell people to get when they are interested in drawing because it explains things simply and visually.
I don't know anything about you Mr.Hamm, but thanks!

Last con of '08!

Forgot to mention that I'll be at the Boston Comic Con this Sunday, Nov.2 with my Turtle pals. This is my last con of the year. I'll bring a bunch of art and I'll be drawing all day so come one by!

More watercolor heads

A couple more heads in watercolor that will probably find their way to a con or ebay one of these days. The Mary Marvel is watercolor and the Wonder Woman is goauche, both 8.5x11 on bristol.

x-23 watercolor commish

Here's a recent watercolor commission I did of Wolverine's daughter, X-23. It's about 8.5x11 on bristol, which is my favorite paper to use for watercolors.

Black Widow Artist Proof card Ebay

For those of you interested in such things, I just posted one of my Artist Proof cards from Marvel Masterpieces 2 on ebay.

More Legion girls...Dreamgirl and Shrinking Violet

Here are a couple of recent LOSH commissions. I wasn't sure if the Legion members had the flight rings (or that Legion logo for that matter!) way back in the Silver Age, but I liked the image so I went with it anyway for the Shrinking Violet drawing.

WATERCOLOR COMMISH AUCTION

For those of you that have been bugging me about it, I'm doing a quickie one day color head commish auction....ends Sunday if you are out there and interested!

Ninja Turtles Commission auction

I've worked on a ton of Ninja Turtles projects over the years and while I do tons of girlie commissions, I've never posted a TMNT only auction before so I thought that I'd give it a try. If you've always wanted your favorite turtle drawn to order here's your chance. If we were closer to the holiday season I'd say something about the perfect present for that hard to shop for Turtle fan ;)

Sketchbook is sold out

Just a quick note to say "Thanks" to the folks who ordered the book and "Sorry" to those of you that didn't get one. They went fast . I decided to hold onto a handful to keep for myself and I'll probably do a sketch of whatever character I feel like on one and post it on ebay from time to time . Here's one.
I do like the little book format so I'll probably play around with it some more in the future.

MD sketchbook for sale...

I just got an email asking about the availability of the little sketchbook I did recently for cons. I honestly forgot about it ;) I do have some left (I only made 50 copies). I was selling them at shows for $10 with an original grey marker head sketch on the back cover so, let's say $11 including shipping. Sorry, I don't have my act together enough to create a paypal link here, so the easiest thing would be for you to post your email here or email me directly using the EMAIL ME! link in the right hand column here, and I will send you a "request for payment" invoice via pay pal.
'tanks!

COMMISSION TIME!

I 'm running a couple of commissions , one for a grey marker drawing and one for you card collectors out there...a full color ARTIST PROOF SKETCH CARD from Marvel Masterpieces 2. Both auctions end Sunday so time's a-wastin!

Black cat

Here's a little (5"x6") Black Cat painting. It's watercolor with some white acrylic for highlights etc. For now I'm just doing these to figger out how to use watercolors but I may eventually do some color commissions this way. I don't know if I'll ever get to the point where I'm doing color sketches at con like Paolo Rivera or my pal Eric Talbot but who knows!

Back from Toronto

Well, Canada's FanExpo 2008 is a wrap. Toronto is a fantastic city, and one of these days I'm determined to spend some real time there. I loved seeing the sun come up over the city every morning, really a beautiful sight. I had a great time at the con as usual but it's nice being home where nobody is asking me where Ethan Van Sciver went! I did a ton of drawings and in typical MD fashion, I took a pic of the first one and the last one...everything in between was a blur! Well, my intentions were good at least. I think that I've got just one more con appearance this year, Boston Comic Con on Nov.2 before I hibernate for the long New England winter.

I made a little book...Aww, ain't it cute?

I've noticed that the whole "artist sketchbook" fad has died down a great deal at cons but what the heck I decided to do one anyway :)
It's a tiny little thing that I put together yesterday using a bunch of the grey marker con sketches I've done recently. I'll have some for sale at the Toronto con so come on by and snatch one up so you can , you know, put it right on ebay ;)

Some Turtles for Toronto

I usually like to have some drawings already done with me when I go to cons since I can only draw so many at the show. I realized the other day that I didn't have any Ninja Turtles left after Heroes con, so I did some new ones yesterday.

Toronto bound...

Head's up to any of you guys planning on attending the Fan Expo in Toronto next week...come by table P 41 in artist alley and say Hey! I'll be there Aug 22-24 doing sketches and gabbing with folks. Toronto is a fun town so I'm looking forward to the con!

Rough Day!

No time for drawing girlies this week so here are a bunch of roughs I had on hand for some previous commissions. Sometimes I like one of the other sketches than the ones that are picked and I think that I'll draw it up later...but I never do! I used to bring these to cons and sell them for $5 each, just for fun, but too many folks were buying them to flip on ebay for more $ that I pretty much stopped selling them at shows.

Zatanna in color

Here's another little watercolor (like 4x4 inches) One thing that I've discovered right away about watercolor is that the kind of paper you use is very important. I'm used to working with acrylics where you can paint on anything, but watercolors work differently on every kind paper!
If you want to see little watercolor paintings of girls done right, check out Bill Presing's blog!

Phantom Girl commish done

Here's the finished Phantom Girl commission drawing. I had fun working out the cape coming out of the wall ;)

Poison Ivy in color

Here's a small Poison Ivy I did the other night when I was thinking about doing some color art for cons. While I've painted in acrylics for years, I've got zero experience with watercolors so working with them is very different and interesting.
These days artists are doing a lot of different types of "con sketches" some in full color. I think that we need a new term here, because the kind of loose marker or pencil sketches that folks used to turn out at shows are becoming a thing of the past as they put out more and more elaborate art. I'm impressed with the equipment that some artists are willing to lug to a con, like Paulo Rivera god love him! Scroll down his blog and you'll see a photo of his overhead mirror set up.

Con sketches for sale

Hey gang, I've gotten a bunch of emails asking what sketches might still be available from the ones I took to Heroes con, so here you go. If you are interested in any they're $50 each (plus $6 shipping in the US, $12 shipping worldwide). All are 8x10, drawn in black ink and grey tone marker. First come first served of course, thanks.

Phantom Girl commish

I don't actively seek out commissions in the Summer, I'd rather be outside...but if you catch me on a good day or mention a character that I like I sometimes make an exception. Here are the roughs for a Phantom Girl Legion of Superheroes drawing I'll be doing soon...which one would you have picked?

Con sketches

Just remembered that I took pics of some of the drawings I did at Heroes Con. The photos are always terrible, but I like to remember what I drew since I'll probably never see the art again. I usually only remember to take pictures of the first couple then I forget all about it till I get home ;)

Back from Heroes

Finally back to the real world after my first trip to Heroes Con. I had a good time in Charlotte. This is definitely a comic fan's show....tons of back issue sellers and square footage-wise, the most artist alley space of any comic show I've seen. I did a lot of drawing there. I thought that since I had a lot of drawings already done that I'd probably be spending less time drawing...uh, nope. While I sold a bunch of the art I brought with me, I ended up drawing even more than usual.
I'll be bringing whatever sketches I have left with me to the next con I do...Toronto in Aug.22-24.
If you are interested in one of the sketches I posted last week, drop me a line and I'll let you know if it's still available. I was selling them for $50 (so via mail they'd be $56 with shipping)

See you at Heroes Con!

You can find me Friday-Sunday in artist alley with Mirage Studios/Ninja Turtles gang...come on by!

Girlie book is full!

Here's that last two pages in the sketchbook of drawings for Heroes Con. My marker exploded as I was working on Batgirl's face so I actually had to re-draw that one...grrrrr!

more...

Almost there...just a couple more pages to fill....kinda wish that I could keep the sketchbook now, it's neat to see them all together in one book ;)

SOME MORE GIRLS HEADING TO HEROES CON...

Here's a few more girlie sketches that I'll have on hand at Heroes Con. I've been drawing them in a Strathmore sketchbook with "micro-perforated pages" so they come out of the book nice and clean. There's 24 pages in the book and I'll almost done!