blame it on Uncle Walt...

my very earliest memory is of being 4 years old and watching 'The Wonderful World of Color' (also known as "Disneyland") on a Sunday night in February 1964. The particular show that made such an indelible mark on me that night was "The Scarecrow of Romney Marsh" staring the brilliant Patrick McGoohan.

It's pretty much the tale of a Robin Hood-like character who haunts the British countryside in the area near the cliffs of Dover, thwarting the efforts of the King in order to subsidize the poor country folk.

A fine enough tale for sure, but it was McGoohan, dressed all in tatters and wearing the horrific burlap mask of the Scarecrow that scarred me for life. Me and my brothers were so taken with him in this guise (and his blood-curdling laugh), that we made our mom make up our faces to look like the Scarecrow himself. That next night, we ran around the neighborhood, cackling like a bunch of loonies.

I'm happy to say that Disney FINALLY rereleased the 3-part show in a special DVD set last year.

I'm also happy to say that collector Jim Droese recently commissioned me to do a painting for him of the character (above). It's the first time I've ever drawn him, and I must say, it was fun as all hell!

1968 Academy Award: best picture

"Boy, it would give me a world of satisfaction to horse whip you, Virgil."

You take care, y'hear?"

"Stay cool, Harvey. "

the josh print...

just finished a limited edition print (12X16) of baseball hero Josh Gibson, and thought you might like a looksee. It's a very limited run of 40 numbered pieces that will be for sale in a few weeks through the great non-profit educational organization 'The Josh Gibson Foundation'.

I worked with Josh's awesome Great Grandson, Sean Gibson on the print, and it's something we're both proud of. The org will be selling 20 signed LE prints as well as 20 'Signed & Remarqued' prints (which feature an original pencil drawing on each print). They'll be available soon through the organization (http://www.joshgibson.org/) or through ArtInsights Gallery in Virginia (http://www.artinsights.com).

I'll also be selling 10 'Signed & Remarqued' Artist Proofs of the print, which also feature an original pencil drawing on each print. If interested, you can contact me directly.

I had a ton of fun doing all of the drawings on the 'Remarqued' prints. Most of the drawings are of Josh, but there are also a few of Satchel as well as one of Babe Ruth (the white Josh Gibson!). here's a few of them, hope you enjoy...

...plus a photo of me and Sean at last year's unveiling of the Josh Gibson statue at Nationals Stadium in Washington DC...

comic book LEGENDS #327...

just remembering the lovely julie schwartz...

he was a pain in the ass and loved to flirt with the young girls, but he was always really sweet to me and told me tons of stories about the 'golden days.'

Little known Julie fact: he was an obsessive baseball fan and was actually at Yankee Stadium on 'Lou Gehrig Appreciation Day' in 1939, and heard Lou give the 'luckiest man on the face of the earth' speech.

awesome.

blue train

was planning on a billie holiday painting next, but have been listening to a lot of saint john coltrane, so have decided to capitalize on that.

I hope Billie doesn't feel mistreated, I guess men were always treating her shabbily.

did you know...?

...that my roomates in college were George Pratt, Kent Williams, and John Van Fleet?

believe it or don't!

favorite movie ever?

...is the Pope of Greenwich Village. Then what's with the Blade Runner drawings? Well, I've never done any sketches from 'Pope', so the best I can offer is stuff from my SECOND favorite movie ever...yup...Blade Runner.

Well, ok, maybe my second favorite movie ever is a tie with Chinatown/the Godfather/A Place in the Sun/Paper Moon/A Very Long Engagement/Taking of Pelham 123/Godfather 2/the Searchers/To Kill a Mockingbird and Blade Runner.

please don't make me decide.

goodbye bernie fuchs...

one of the true giants in the history of American art,  a hero to all of us illustrators.

thank you, Mr. Fuchs.

"prez"

had a good painting weekend, got the first piece in a new gallery series done. The series is one of legendary jazz musicians and vocalists, the painting is of tenor sax genius Lester Young.

Next up is Billie Holiday, of course.

and so it goes...

put the final issue (#12) of my baby, Wednesday Comics to bed today. Lots of hard work, lots of great writing and drawin' by lots of great creators. Thanks guys from the bottom of my exhausted heart (except for Stelfreeze and Paul Pope, youse guys were punkass!).

the evolution of a print part 5

...and then I thought I'd go a little bit overboard and have a perforated postage stamp-like seal created for the project that I would affix to each print.  I designed the stamp (based on a painting of Peter Cushing I had done a few years ago), but ran out of time before I could have them printed up. Oh well, maybe next time.

...for your enjoyment, for the very first time anywhere, the Grand Wilhuff Moff Tarkin memorial 'Tarkin Doctrine' stamp:

the evolution of a print part 4

in order to fully embrace the propoganda aspect of the whole concept, I thought it'd be cool to add a hand-stamped seal at the lower lefthand corner of the print.  I did a little research, designed the seal, and had a rubber stamp made up.  It was actually a lot of fun to sit at the convention and stamp the seal right onto each print as they were sold.

the evolution of a print part 3

no, the original isn't a digitally created Photoshop or Illustrator file, it's a goauche painting.  remember real 'paintings'?

certainly the largest painting I've ever done, here's a shot of it on an easel in my studio:

the evolution of a print part 2

here's my original sketch for the print.  You'll notice that the '501' flag idea (a tip of the hat to the really awesome guys who dress up as stormtroopers and appear at conventions, press events and even visit sick kids in hospitals dressed as Star Wars characters!) hadn't hit me yet, as I originally thought it'd be cool to have the Stormtroopers investigating a downed spacecraft on an obscure, distant planet.

the evolution of a print

just cleaning out some old folders on my computer, I ran across all of the files and sketches of the limited edition print I did for Lucasfilm for their 2007 STAR WARS 30th ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION CON.

The print was a huge sell-out success (although it didn't sell out QUITE as quickly as Adam Hughes' print), and something I was quite proud of.

here's the final print:

lunch with the stars!

had lunch at the Society of Illustrators on 63rd St today with some old pals.  It's a yearly ritual with the excellent crew of Tom Palmer Sr, Klaus Janson, Mike Carlin, Joey Cavalieri, and the always awesome Tom Palmer Jr.  Great pals, great Rockwells and Leyendeckers on the walls, and great pecan pie.

thanks, Big Tom!

pictured: Klaus, Tom, and the Great Carlini...

the return of 'matinee' sketching...

a few years ago, artist galpal Christine Norrie and I started a small, elite sketching group.  The weekly subject was always a favorite movie or actor.  We ended up with a whole bunch of fun drawings, mainly because we never took it very seriously. Well, life got in the way and the practice fell by the wayside, but fear not!  We've decided to jump back in, and thus "MATINEE" is reborn.

Our first new subject: everyone's favorite movie star, Paul Newman.

sketch of the day...

just trying to keep the pencil warm.

"HEY OSCAR WILDE, IT'S CLOBBERIN' TIME!"

...shows you how slack I am, really nice guy Steven Gettis invited me to join his fabulous website "Hey, Oscar Wilde, it's Clobbering Time!" years and years ago.  The site features drawings of great fictional characters from literature (or great authors OF literature), done by illustrators and comic book artists.  I told Steven that I'd love to contribute, and would be sending him a drawing of my favorite character from literature, Jacob Marley.

About 12 years (and a lot of guilt) pass, with Steven patiently nudging me every few years.  Well, I've finally found the time to send Steven a drawing of another of my favorite fictional characters: Addie Pray, from the novel "Addie Pray" by Joe David Brown (or better known by it's movie title: "Paper Moon").

Thanks for your considerable patience, Steven.

Please visit the fabulous site and gawk at all of the great artwork:

http://digitalmedusa.com/sgettis/word/

b-day greeting from the Masters...#3

...and the last of my three birth-day posts from the year 2000, this one from the INCREDIBLE Jordi Bernet.  lucky me, huh?

b-day greeting from the Masters...#2

one of about 300 drawings I have from old pal Alex Toth, the greatest comic book artist of all time.  For obvious reasons, this one is extra special.

b-day greeting from the Masters...#1

...from my personal art collection:

waaaaaaay back in the year 2000, good pal Tim Sale helped organize my secret surprise 40th birthday party.  needless to say, I hated the party, but I did love the invitation that Tim drew.  I'll BET you've never seen this before...

Basil Chicken w/ Rose

can't resist a photo of my beautiful daughter Rose, who could?

Kurosawa in NY

Walking down the street, past the Film Forum, of course a new poster for Akira Kurosawa's classic RASHOMON catches my eye.  The poster, by old college buddy Kent Williams (painter extraordinaire).

Don't the funniest things happen in New York?

quiz:

Q...what's better than seeing Spinal Tap at the Beacon last night?

A...how about Elvis Costello coming on stage to take lead vocals for a version of "Gimme Some Money"?

yup.

what life is all about (possibly)

Just got back from a wonderful weekend with my painter pals (George Pratt, John Van Fleet, Scott Hampton, and Chris Moeller), in Washington DC. 

Lots of art gazing, especially at the incredible National Portrait Gallery (the most under-rated museum in America).  Lots of Thomas Dewing (top), Whistler, Abbott Thayer (bottom) and all the boys. Food for the soul.

sorry, i couldn't help myself...

*this trip down memory lane brought to you by the good people at topps, inc.

hats off to kevin & jody!

ok, I know not everyone is as much of a Disneyland nut as I am, but IF you are, you MUST check out the awesome flickr page that showcases Kevin Kidney and Jody Daily's work.  The defining factors to everything they create is an unabashed love of all things Disney, a classy, sophisticated design sense and just darn good taste.

Please give their work a looksee and a round of applause:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/miehana/sets/72157601848341798/

somewhere in the wilds of Germany...

I recently finished an ad campaign for the German branch of Carhartt Clothing.  Actually had a lot of fun doing the paintings (when I could actually find the time to do them!).  My Art Director, Coskun sent me this photo of two of the printed posters hanging in a clothing shop somewhere in Berlin.  cool.

if I must, I must...

Somebody forced me to create a website even thought I don't know why I need one.  Someone else forced me to create a blog even though I don't know why I need one of those either.

The accompanying photo of baseball great Pete Rose is a special gift from me to all those people that force me to do things that I don't want to do.  enjoy.