Something different

I did this Jim Aparo swipe/knockoff/homage as a commission for a mother's son, a returning Vet.  Lot of fun to do.  I'd like to say I learned a lot but the brilliance of Aparo so far eludes me.  The ease with which he creates the dynamics of the pose and the simplification of the figure that looks so detailed is just AWESOME!  Wish I had one of my Windsor Newton brushes to ink with and if this had been on Bristol board and... well, you get the idea.  Overall I'm happy and I hope the recipient is happy.

RIP Joe Kubert

Williamson, Frazetta, Jones and now Kubert.  The great influences of my artistic life are all passing on to the next life to mix with the other greats such as Sargent, Mucha, Klimt, Fechin and others.  All I can say is that I am the better for having them as either mentors or influences.  My thoughts are with the Kubert family and all those that have been touched by Joe's teachings.

RIP Eduardo Barreto

Eduardo Barreto died yesterday. Many who come to this site may not know who he is but he was the artist on the comic book series "The Shadow Strikes", my favorite incarnation of The Shadow in comic book form. I've copied a obituary from The Comic Book Catacombs below. I really loved the work he did and feel a loss today.

Born in Uruguay, artist Eduardo Barreto made his name on DC Comics series like The New Teen Titans, Atari Force, The Shadow Strikes, and on specialty issues such as DC Comics Presents Annual #4 (1985). He drew Elvira, Mistress of the Dark for Claypool Comics; and The Long Haul for OniPress; and for Marvel he drew Marvel Knights. In 2006, Barreto took on artist duties for the syndicated comic strip Judge Parker from Harold Ledoux. Shortly afterward, he was involved in a serious car accident and was in the hospital for a few weeks, which left him unable to draw Judge Parker; others took on the responsibilities. He resumed his work, but in 2010, Barreto contracted meningitis, which finally forced him to stop drawing the strip, although he continued working on other projects such as a recent Captain Action Special and on July 31, 2011, Baretto became the artist for the Sunday comic strip, The Phantom. He passed away today at the age of fifty-seven.

Another Al BatMan sketch

I'm not sure if this was over my pencils or just one of Al's quick doodles. Either way, Al hadn't done much BatMan work so I feel privileged to have as many as I do. Would love to have seen him do a weekly BatMan strip ala Secret Agent Corrigan. What could have been...

No drawing last night...

so I'll be posting various things this week. This is one of a precious few Al Williamson original "doodles" that I am grateful to own. When I was a student of his at The Joe Kubert School he would come around to each student and correct their work by placing a piece of tracing paper over the student's page and fix our obvious mistakes. His corrections were remarkable and the ease with which he did them made one feel not so much inadequate but rather hopeful that one day we could do the magic in such a natural way. Al never put anyone's work down, but made you feel you were ever so close to being where you needed to be.

The Batman sketch I'm showing was actually Al's pencils over mine and then he inked his own pencils. Amazing man. Rather than feel awful about his no longer being with us, I prefer to think about how wonderful it was to have him for as long as we did. As much as he will be missed, he will be remembered even more.

Good bye, Al

Sunday, a man, a teacher & a friend died. At 79, Al Williamson passed away. I know that his health was failing and that he wasn't the same man who had so much to do with my vision of art but Al will always be a singular influence in my life. He was not only a master of the medium of comics but he was a gentleman of no small measure. He showed a young, arrogant artist how to be a better artist and person. I'll never be able to make an accounting of how important he has been in my life. I last saw Al nearly 10 years ago in San Diego and it really saddens me to think I'll never get another chance to thank him. I've been blessed to have some very influential people pass through my life but I have always cherished the relatively short time I had with Al. I could go on and on about this man but how does one find the words to adequately describe and convey how one's artistic nature was fundamentally changed. I've listed my influences ad nauseum here and over the years, but Al was always at the top of my list for reasons other than strictly art. Perhaps The Fleagle Gang can get back together in Art Valhalla. Be seein' ya, Al.