A Good Egg, All in All

Here's a piece done in 2006. Sarah would have been too old for fairy tales then, so I don't know what led me to paint what is supposed to be Humpty Dumpty. I doubt even all the king's horses and all the king's men would know either.

When He Returns

This painting was done in 2007 and is based on a photograph by my sister-in-law, Barb Stork. It shows a young Sarah with a dog named Patches. The photograph, like all of Barb's images, is striking, which is one reason Kathy wanted me to make a painting of it. As for the painting itself, for some reason I can't comprehend, there's something about it (maybe the light?) that reminds me of John Singer Sargent, even though this piece is woefully beneath his awe-inspiring abilities. As I told Kathy when we stumbled upon this long-forgotten work in the attic, it looks like something Sargent might have painted if Sargent didn't know how to paint. Still, as previously mentioned, the Barb Stork photograph it's based on is impressive. You can see some of Barb's work by visiting her website at www.barbstork.com. You'll be glad you did!

Four Days After

I haven't painted in what feels like ages, so I disinterred an old piece of canvas and started daubing oil paints on it with no idea or plan in mind. Unlike doodling with a pencil, one cannot take oil paints for a casual ramble and let them completely lead the way and go where they will, otherwise I'd blame the paints for the colors being too sweet. Since I'm not a very good photographer, the colors in this post are more candy-colored than the original, but even the original's colors are a bit over the top. Still, it was wonderful just holding a paintbrush again and I hope to do another painting before this century ends.

Spring Heeled Jack 2

Well, the fine folks at Blood Scream Comics have just released the second issue of "Spring Heeled Jack." I did both the art and writing for this comic book and it was originally self-published back in 2006. Enough time has passed that I'm almost able to read the book disinterestedly... almost. The artwork is worse than I remember but the storytelling, although heavy-handed and self-conscious, among other faults, isn't as bad as I feared. This is certainly not something that will survive the ages, but it does provide a quick and inoffensive diversion. Jason Gilmore did the stunning color for the cover. I cannot praise him enough. Juliet Fromholt did the print formatting. I remember only printing a few copies of this issue in 2006 since I had a terrible time getting the pages aligned for printing. Her accomplishment amazes me. And Matthew Brassfield, editor of Blood Scream Comics, is the one responsible for this reissue. He's hoping to release other older works by the other Blood Scream Comics staff. They're sure to be a delight! You can see all the comics released titles by going to www.bloodscreamcomics.com.

Christ and Child

Kathy and Sarah do not care for this piece. Their criticisms start with how awful the baby looks and then spread out from there to the very edges of the paper. I was fully aware of some of the image's weaknesses while working on it, but I'm stunned to see an additional million-and-one mistakes suddenly revealed in reproduction. Yet, in my defense, if one starts correcting all of one's errors, then at the end of one's life there will be nothing left but an overused kneaded eraser and the faulty memory of a paper that long ago disintegrated beneath countless erasures and layers of frantic redrawing. Life is short and one has to decide what to cling to and what to let go. For a heavy-handed and moralizing example, wouldn't it be pathetic to waste a life fiercely clinging to passion yet abandoning compassion, to being swallowed whole in a crazy emotional maelstrom caused by transitory events and silly ego, to be "full of sound and fury, signifying nothing" while rejecting that which is our eternal birthright: things sublime and noble? Wouldn't it be sad to think so little of ourselves that we give up on being humble, merciful, sacrificing, forbearing, forgiving and loving for... for what? Someone else still loves us despite and through all our failings. Maybe someday we'll grow up enough to be guided more by Him than by our own spleen.

Black Jack

Another comic book I had a hand in creating. The cover is lettered and colored by Jason Gilmore, the story is by Matthew Brassfield and the print formatting by Juliet Fromholt. The signatures you see are my fault: I forgot to scan the cover before I asked some people to sign it. The title character is a comic book superhero from the 1940s, now in the public domain. Matthew has brought him back and placed him in the present day. Black Jack's antagonist on the cover is a real person, New Jersey horror host Halloween Jack, who kindly gave permission to use his likeness. Jason, Matthew and Juliet did a wonderful job on this comic book and I had fun drawing it. If you would like to purchase a copy you can order it at www.bloodscreamomics.com.

The Conversation

There's not much to this. It's just a small representation of a universal reality.