Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Scientists spot oldest ever object in universe

In reality, scientists spotted the aftermath of an dying star, which exploded 600 million years after the universe was formed.

That beat out the previous oldest object in the universe by 200 million years, which was probably Larry King.

Currently playing: Rolling Stones - Don't Stop
Currently colouring: A yet to be solicited project for Dark Horse Comics!
Proudly in my fourth Cola free year!

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Airforce One skims Downtown NYC near Ground Zero

Hey, I've got an idea!

Over 100 children are abducted every year by strangers. I can only imagine how terrifying it must be for a child to have been abducted or kidnapped from their school or home by a complete stranger. Why not bring some joy back into their lives by putting on a carnival with a bunch of fair rides for them to go on! And to add to the element of surprise, let's send a bunch of strangers (claiming to be friends of their parents, of course) to sneak into their homes, or intercept them on the way home from school, or at shopping mall restrooms to grab them, and bring them to the event!

One can only imagine the excitement on those kids' faces when the burlap sack is pulled off their heads and they get to see the tilt-a-whirl, candy apples and ball tossing games!

Okay, I'm obviously being facetious here. Anyone with the capability to think would know right away that this is an idea so insensitive that it borders on ridiculous.

With that knowledge, one can assume that White House Military Office Director Louis Caldera is a complete idiot.

Caldera approved a flyover of Air Force One over lower Manhattan yesterday for the express purpose of having it photographed with the the Statue of Liberty in the background. Since announcing to the public that Air Force One would be flying so low over Manhattan at a certain time could invite radicals to attack the jet, this event was kept secret.

But let's think here - what happened the LAST time a giant airliner skimmed the Manhattan skyline? Caldera seems to have forgotten, but the people of New York City didn't!

The following YouTube video captures the frightened public's reaction.


How could one fail to think this through and realize this was as bad an idea as my hypothetical "kidnapping previously kidnapped children for a carnival" stunt? The last time a jet skimmed the Manhattan skyline followed by an F-16, 13.4 million square feet of real estate was destroyed and 3,000 people lost their lives.

Why would you do this to those poor people?

And all this for a photo shoot?

Hey, Caldera! Adobe Photoshop will run you $699. Stock photos of the Statue of Liberty and Air Force one are cheap! How much did it cost you to fly Air Force One and an F-16 over New York?
Currently playing: Lee Aaron - Only Human
Currently colouring: A yet to be solicited project for Dark Horse Comics!
Proudly in my fourth Cola free year!

Thursday, April 16, 2009

Chronicles of Conan

I haven't had a chance to blog in the last little while, as April finds me in the thick of a May 1st colouring deadline!

A few months ago, I was working on Dark Horse's Chronicles of Conan volume 17: The Creation Quest, which came out last week. It's chock full of fantastic Gil Kane artwork, so click the link and buy a copy now!

Reaction to this series has been mixed, as the team of colourists I work with use a more modern colouring treatment rather than reproduce the colours as the would have originally appeared in the comics. That being said, I found a positive review online last week! Sure, our work is only referenced in one sentence ("And the colors look fantastic in this collection!"), but good press is better than none at all!

Also on the comics front, I had the opportunity a few months ago to make a very small contribution to a huge reprint project from Marvel that I hold very close to my heart. There's a chance that this contribution won't make the final print, so I'll hold off on announcing it until I can confirm with my own eyes that it made it in to the finished book, but needless to say, the ten year old inside of me is VERY excited about this!

Currently playing: Pete Townshend - Slit Skirts
Currently colouring: A yet to be solicited project for Dark Horse Comics!
Proudly in my fourth Cola free year!

Wednesday, April 01, 2009

The Museum of Bad Art

I've recently become obsessed with the Museum of Bad Art. Located in Massachusetts, the museum was founded in 1994 by antique dealer Scott Wilson after finding the now treasured painting Lucy in the Field with Flowers in a trash bin.

The Museum's motto is "Art too bad to be ignored", and new additions to the collection have to meet some pretty strict requirements. Museum curator Michael Frank defines their inclusion philosophy as follows: "We collect things made in earnest, where people attempted to make art and something went wrong, either in the execution or in the original premise".

In other words, poor children's drawings, or deliberate attempts at kitsch or camp are ineligible.

I'd like to highlight a few of my favourite pieces in this fantastic collection!

Lucy In the Field With Flowers
Oil on canvas by Unknown
24" x 30"
Acquired from trash in Boston

The painting found in the trash that started it all! The Mona Lisa of the MOBA collection!

The subject's granddaughter, Susan Lawlor, revealed the painting's origin to the museum (from the MOBA website):

Anna Lally Keane lived with her daughter Eileen (Ms. Lawlor's aunt) for much of her adult life. Anna Keane died in her 70's sometime around 1968. A year or two later, Ms Lawlor's mother dug out two photos of Anna Lally Keane and sent them to an artist, and commisioned a painting. The painting was to be a present to her sister Eileen.

Ms. Lawlor told us of the day that the painting arrived wrapped in paper. Everyone gathered around to watch as the paper was torn off, the thirteen year old Susan bit her lip to keep from gasping.

It was a wonderfully accurate likeness of her grandmother's face in an oddly postured and formed body against a bizarre, surreal background.

A "gorgeous mistake... an elderly woman dancing in a lush spring field, sagging breasts flopping willy-nilly, as she inexplicably seems to hold a red chair to her behind with one hand and a clutch of daisies in the other".
Kate Swoger, The Montreal Gazette

"...the old woman with an armchair glued to her ass".
Cash Peters, Travel Writer

Sunday on the Pot with George
Acrylic on canvas by Unknown
22" x 37"
Donated by Jim Schulman

"Can the swirling steam melt away the huge weight of George's corporate responsibilities? This pointillist piece is curious for meticulous attention to fine detail, such as the stitching around the edge of the towel, in contrast to the almost careless disregard for the subject's feet".
Michael Frank and Louise Reilly Sacco - The Museum of Bad Art - Masterworks

Ronan the Pug
Acrylic on Canvas Board by Erin Rothgeb
18" x 24"

"The artist's affection for her dog far outstrips her artistic skill. Paint is slapped on the canvas with random brushstrokes, creating matted, impossible fur. Done in such a hurry that canine anatomy was not even considered, the artist still captures Ronan's playful sweetness".
Michael Frank and Louise Reilly Sacco - The Museum of Bad Art - Masterworks

See Battle
"We don't need binoculars to predict which dreadnought will be victorious in this nautical fray. The MOBA curatorial staff has determined that the object below the ship at right is, in fact, a ladybug on the window just in front of the binoculars".
Michael Frank and Louise Reilly Sacco - The Museum of Bad Art - Masterworks

Currently playing: Heart - Alone
Currently colouring: A yet to be solicited project for Dark Horse Comics!
Proudly in my third Cola free year!