Merry Christmas!

From the whole gang at Potter's Sketchbook (all one of us) to you, here's hoping you indeed have a most merry Christmas and a happy New Year!

Respite

This is a piece loosely based on an image by Andrea del Castagno. You know his story from Vasari. He hypocritically courted the friendship of his fellow artist (and thus, rival), Domenico Veneziano, with the heinous intention of murdering him; an ambition he achieved one fine day by attacking Domenico from behind on a street corner, beating him to death with pieces of lead and then, undetected, flying back to their shared abode. When a crowd appeared at his door to tell him his friend was discovered dying in the street, Andrea rushed to the scene, and, cradling Domenico in his arms, listened to his victim's pathetic dying lament of "Alas, my brother!" Domenico died never suspecting his friend was his murderer. Per Vasari, no one would have ever known if Andrea had not confessed to the deed on his deathbed. A truly shocking tale of cold-blooded cruelty, is it not? The only thing even more shocking is that the alleged victim outlived his alleged murderer by a good four years. Ah well! I guess that just goes to show you can't believe everything you read, not in Vasari and perhaps not even here.

Eternal Sleep

This was a fun project. It's a comic book based on an unfinished Independent B Movie film about Dracula that was written and directed by Josh Weinberg. The writing credit for the comic book lists Mr. Weinberg, Matt Brassfield and myself. Juliet Fromholt did the print formatting and the cover lettering and colors were done by Jason Gilmore. And, if you didn't already suspect, I did the artwork. Not only was this a fun project to do, but I think it's also a pretty fun read. If you'd like to judge for yourself, you can either pick up a copy at any of the finer comic book shops or order the title online at www.bloodscreamcomics.com.

Riddles in the Round

"Isn't it curious," Iago suddenly said, "how geography affects so many things?"

Quasimodo put his hands on his hips, smiled and gave his companion a sidelong glance. "I'm no C. Auguste Dupin," he replied. "There is no way on earth I can deduce what led to that question. It just came out of the blue. Besides, what exactly are you talking about?"

Iago was surprised. "Why, dragons, of course. You know, things like that. How could you not know what I was referring to?"

Drawn Hearts

She walked up behind him, put her arms around him and nestled her head on his shoulder. "Good morning, Frank," she whispered in his ear. He did not turn around, but patted her arm. And so they stood there quietly, two people almost melted into one, looking out their patio door at the flowers in their backyard. 

Punchinello, Mourning

A second piece inspired by a book about Domenico Tiepolo's Punchinello drawings. Some of the biographical sources I checked flatly state that the artist was born  in 1726, while others just as confidently state 1727. The Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication (CIP) Data on my book's copyright page states 1726 but with a question mark after it. And that's why I followed the Library of Congress' subject heading for the gravestone's inscription... as if you were really wondering.

The Good Shepherd

When I was a child my grandmother gave me the above plaque as a Christmas gift (yes, the colors are off and it has a distracting flash. I never was a very good photographer). I've often wondered who was the artist. There is no signature and no title. Not only am I a terrible photographer, I'm also a terrible detective, so I have no idea how to track down the information. If you know who the artist is, I'd be delighted if you'd tell me. Oh, the accompanying pencil sketch is merely my feeble attempt to copy the image.

Credit where credit is due! Almost a month after posting the above, I discovered the artist was Bernhard Plockhorst.