Weird Sci-Fi Tales

Here's a new comic book released by Sparkle Comics. It's a science fiction anthology containing three serious stories and a humorous wraparound concerning two characters created by Scott Scarborough: an anthropomorphic space exploring mouse and his duck companion. I drew said three-page wraparound in an unabashed cartoon style. In fact, the book is an eclectic mix of styles, and if you collect science fiction comic books you might want to investigate further by going to Sparkle Comics' website at www.sparklecomics.com.

Adventure Man 3

The latest issue of "Adventure Man" is now out. Like its sisters, it's edited by Matthew Brassfield, written by Jeremy Hoyt, print formatted by Juliet Fromholt, and a cover colored by Jason Gilmore. It also has a delightful letter to the editor! What more could any comic book reader ask for? Maybe how to order it. For that, you can go to Sparkle Comics' website at https://sparklecomics.com/. Oh, and I drew the issue.

You May as Well Know, Timothy

This drawing was done twenty years ago. That amount of elapsed time amazes me. It certainly does not seem that long ago that I drew this. As is obvious, part of the idea of this picture has to do with the remorseless passing of time. Death steals upon the saint and the sinner, the doer and the idler. It is impartial and universal, so all one can do is try to make the noblest use of whatever time one is blessed to have in this life. I know it's been some time since I posted anything new, or since I've even had anything new to post. It's not that I've been oh-so-busy as that I've been oh-so-lazy. But now this drawing, done so many heartbeats ago, brings home that I might well be in the last mile of my journey here, and that if I want to try to produce anything worthwhile, then I better start right away. So, it is now my ambition to start producing new work... starting maybe tomorrow.

They Were Happy Times

This was done way back in 2003. You can tell by the faded images and the creases in the paper that it's old. It's supposed to be a family portrait. Kathy and Sarah have changed a bit over the intervening years, naturally. I, unnaturally, have not aged one second. Sometimes it pays to be friends with Dorian Gray.

The Player

I confess I never heard of Pierino da Vinci until I read his biography in Vasari's Lives of the Painters, Sculptors and Architects. Just in case your memory is a little faulty at present or if, like me, you hadn't heard of him, he was the nephew of  Leonardo da Vinci. Per Vasari, Pierino seemed destined to follow in his uncle's footsteps, being blessed with "a most beautiful countenance," "great grace in every movement," and "a quickness of intelligence that was marvelous." He was also a wonderful sculptor whose genius, again according to Vasari, was "admired by all." So, with all those attributes, why isn't he as famous as his uncle? The answer is death. He died "not having yet reached the age of twenty-three." Fortunately for art-lovers, even though he did not reach his maturity, he was industrious and so left behind some completed works.

And now I'm going to use poor Pierino as an excuse to start preaching the obvious. We are all allotted only a few breaths in this life, but we do not know the number. Whether it be a 16th century plague or a 21st century one, whether by accident or nature or whatever, death falls upon us all. Let's hope we don't waste the brief opportunity and squander our limited time, be it as short as Pierino's or as long as Picasso's. We may not be able to produce works like Leonardo or Pierino, but we can create something unique that will make the world a bit more beautiful, or at least a bit more interesting. And that ranting memento mori, trite and obvious as it is, is all I have to say. 

For Bluebell

Bluebell was my daughter Sarah's cat from the summer of 2003 until today. This drawing is not a very good likeness of the cat... such as, for one thing, she had longer ears. And I also couldn't get the scanner to reproduce the colors too well (Bluebell was gray, not blue). I drew this in 2015 to accompany a book Sarah self-published titled Mystic Dreaming: A Book of Poetry. If you're interested, you can find a copy at Amazon.com. I think Sarah is a gifted poet, but then, I am extremely biased.  Anyway, this is the poem Sarah wrote about Bluebell way back in 2015:

Bluebell

(For my she-cat)

She is gray as storm clouds,

Striped with darker fur.

Her eyes are sage green.

Her fur is soft and thick.

She walks on silent paws.

Her ears are pricked high.

Her nose is darker gray.

Her purr brings calm and peace.

After a long, contented and, until just a few day ago, a healthy life, Bluebell quietly passed away today. Rest in peace, old friend. You were always quite the charming character.

Rumpelstiltskin

Here's another old painting, done in 2005. Along with the skeletons and sad-eyed, emaciated ghosts whispering their mournful laments, it's surprising what all else one may stumble upon when cleaning an attic. There's not a great deal I can say about this piece. Obviously, this painting was done just for the fun of it.