Super Doodling

Every now and then I get bored and I doodle super heroes. It could be known guys like Batman or Spiderman but sometimes it's just generic super people. Like this guy:



I actually drew him a week or so ago but the color I added today. I was playing with some inks and concentrated watercolor a graphic designer friend gave when she was cleaning out her clutter. I enjoy the "long-john" feel of his tights.

Just wanted to put a little something to keep up with my "one-a-week" pledge. I'm working on a new cartoon but I'm still waiting for some input from a fellow grumpy political mind (Mel, you know this means YOU, right?)

It's a Paintmonkey kind of New Year!

First order of business: Happy New Year everyone! Hope everyone had a fun and safe ringing in of the holiday!



Now on to art business. I am not a fan of New Year's resolutions for all the normal reasons...too much pressure, setting yourself up to fail, yadda yadda. Change is inevitable anyways so why force it upon yourself? ANYHOO...so I don't normally make resolutions. Okay, we get it.

However, my wife asked me if I was making any this year and my first thought was the usual "Heck no! I'm perfect the way I am!" (HA!) But the more I thought about it the more I thought about applying it not so much to me as applying it to the Paintmonkey (can you tell I read a LOT of comics? I think I just gave myself a poorly guarded secret identity.). And in this pondering of ways to better my artistic side and budding career I came up with my first resolution (possibly EVER).

I am going to attempt to post a new artwork every week for the year of 2011.

Be it painting, drawing, cartoon, or just a sketch I'm happy with (yep, gave myself an easy out anyways.) I spent the better part of today coming up with the above self portrait and I think it is a fine way to kick off what is to be (hopefully) a BIG year for all of you and the Paintmonkey!

Paintmonkey Sale!

Just in time for the holidays, Paintmonkey Studios is having a sale on pen & ink/watercolors! For a limited time, the prices on these originals are slashed! Starting at 4"x6" pieces for $35 and going up to 12"x16" pieces for only $100! (Full disclosure: the final painting will be a LITTLE smaller as I will give the piece a border for framing purposes.)

Here is a look at my latest effort, a rhino that goes along with the other smaller pieces of the elephant and giraffe I've done before. This one is slightly larger at 6"x9".



Commissions welcome! Take a look at past pieces to see if there's something that you particularly like and we'll get you one of your own. If you take a look at our Facebook page it might be a little quicker as all the work is a bit more organized and located. If you want to purchase anything just shoot us an email at paintmonkey@comcast.net and we'll see what we can can come up with for you!

More Previews!

Okay, technically it's the SAME preview but I got the comic book inked and it is being lettered and colored as we speak. But I thought I would show how the first two pages look inked anyways.





I think they look a lot better now.

Previews and Perception

I want to start today's entry with a sneak preview of two pages from the Paintmonkey's upcoming dinosaur comic book debut. Obviously the story hasn't been put in yet but these are the first two pages.





Just pencil roughs but they give the idea I want to convey.

Then the second part of my post is about reality versus perception. The Fox theater in Atlanta is currently undergoing a public relations nightmare because of the controversy involving the "Phantom of the Fox", Mr. Joe Patten. The reality is, well, I don't know the reality. The perception is they are giving the proverbial boot to an 83 year old man who helped save the Fox theater twice. It has been pointed out that the Paintmonkey (and MANY, MANY others based on comments on the Fox's facebook page) may be making an uninformed judgment based solely on media reports. That is true. HOWEVER, that is the only thing we have to make judgments with. The company that owns the Fox, Atlanta Landmarks, LLC, keeps re-stating the same vague press release and the biggest blow to their case came when they had a uniformed police officer escort Mr. Patten's lawyer from the meeting he had with the board.

In this particular case, the only reality IS the perception. And unfortunately for Atlanta Landmarks, LLC...that reality is that they are screwing over a little old man.

So I came up with this...



I hope it all gets worked out for everyone. Enjoy!

Edward Abbey Would Be Pissed!

So I'm perusing my usual news outlets the other day, seeing what is going on in the world around me. One of my checkpoints is the GPB website. It usually gives me state goings on that you can't find in, well, really ANY other place.

The article states basically that the state of Georgia has formed a blue ribbon committee to decide the feasibility and implementation of CORPORATE SPONSORSHIP OF OUR STATE PARKS! Naturally, (after I picked myself up from the anger stroke I suffered) I reached for my pens and paper...



If anyone needs me, I'll be at my local state park with a chainsaw, a surly attitude, and a dog-eared copy of "The Monkeywrench Gang".

Buzzword: "Irritable"

One of my biggest problems with the modern political machine is the usage of catchphrases and buzzwords. They do it to pound an image into the heads of the public but all it does to me is enrage and drive me to things like cartooning.

So Sarah Palin is at it again. Flying around the country endorsing GOP members in state races, she has taken to referring to all of them as "Momma Grizzlies" (oddly ALL of them are women. "Not sure about their politics but hey, you can't call a DUDE 'Momma'. Jeez! THINK, McFly!"). Say it once I'm okay with it, do it the second time and I think you're lazy with metaphors, and any more than that I want to shove your head into an industrial meat grinder. Yeah, she keeps doing it...

So I wondered what a REAL grizzly momma would think.



My favorite part went from the joke to the baby bears when I worked on it. They were just making me laugh as I drew them. They still do.

In the course of my daily consumption of news and information which will only anger me, I came across a story about Newt Gingrich visiting Iowa for the sixth time THIS YEAR. I bet Iowa is a beautiful state. I would LOVE to go see the Field of Dreams. But the only reason a politician goes to Iowa that much in one year is if he is gearing up for a run at the White House. And I think the one thing that Democrats and Republicans can both agree on...



...Newt Gingrich is a terrible person.