Art by Julia Rich
Julia Rich of Zeke’s Lunchbox has released some limited prints of her illustrations. She’s always coming up with some really colorful and wild things for your eyes to feast upon.
Buy them here: SHOP
Check out her website: ZEKE’S LUNCHBOX
Ian Watson, whom I interviewed not too long ago, has been busy making some really awesome stuff. His website and blog are full of new posts and I suggest you keep up with them. Support him by buying some prints from him. His zines have sold out I believe.
Ian’s website: IAN WATSON
His blog: UH-OH/PSYCHIC ATTACK
Here is a tribute poster I did for Tim and Eric’s Billion Dollar Movie. I did it for a “fan art” contest they were having, but mine was never posted in their gallery. Oh well. So here it is.
Every character was drawn out in pen and ink on paper and then everything was put together and colored in photoshop.
My first solo art zine featuring a series of 20 full color illustrations will be released very soon through CALICO GROUNDS. Entitled “BENIGN,” it features portraits in shades of pastel and muted pinks and purples and gray.
Each zine comes packaged with stickers.
Purchase here: CALICO GROUNDS
I came across Ian Watson’s work one day and I was blown away. I knew I had to feature him and ask some questions. Be sure and check out his shop and get his newest zine. Here is the first interview I have ever done. Expect some more from other great artists soon.
Where are you from and how did you wind up becoming an illustrator?
I grew up in East Sussex, England and I now live in Cardiff, Wales. I’ve been in Cardiff for 14 years since moving here to get my degree in fine art.
After those 3 years studying I was pretty fed up with trying to be an artist and in tons of debt so I decided that I needed to find a career and I was lucky enough to get training to work in TV post production. That is still my main income for about half of the year, depending on freelance contracts. The remaining part of the year I pursue my real interests of art and music (which I enjoy far more than the day job).
As for how I became an illustrator:
It was about 2-3 years ago when my excellent girlfriend bought me some screen printing gear and my interest in drawing and painting was revived. Almost all of my work is stuff that I’d like to draw rather than meeting somebody’s stipulations on a design or theme so I don’t really think of myself as an illustrator but I think that for others, looking at the style of my work and it’s subject matter, it is easier to label it as illustration than fine art.
I found out about a cassette cover you did for the band Bear-Man while reading a review for it on Dead Formats (devdformats.blogspot.com.) Do you work with musicians often?
I have a lot of musician friends so I do tend to end up producing work for them, most recently for Truckers of Husk’s ‘Accelerated Learning’ album which i’m really proud of as it’s the first LP cover I’ve had the chance to do.
The Bear-Man Cassette was released on my label ‘Phantomhead Recordings’ which is now resting…. I was putting some personal music and sound art projects out on CDRs for a while… I then inherited a couple of thousand cassettes and a bulk eraser which enabled me to recycle them and I started churning out music from friends bands and I’d draw the cover art for each release. As soon as I heard Bear Man play I knew I wanted to do something with them!
Do you have any specific artists or illustrators that you draw inspiration from?
Yes, Many! I think the most obvious, or the one that people draw similarities to most often is Charles Burns, another comic book artist whose subtleties I love is Daniel Clowes. Then there are the Chapman Brothers…. The old print masters like Dürer and Goya for their line-work and the biologist and artist Ersnt Haeckel for his decorative reproductions of plant and animal life and also worth mentioning is Ricky Swallow, the Australian sculptor for his jellutong works - insanely breathtaking detail!… I think I like art that looks like hard work!
Nature is very prevalent in your work and it seems like you are the kind of guy who wanders the woods at night. Am I right about this?
Ha! Actually you aren’t wrong exactly. As a teenager I’d hang about with friends in local woods, parks, building sites… all of those places that we could escape parents or local townie kids who wanted to hassle us because we all had long hair and listened to guitar music… so yeah, we’d often head to the woods and smoke, drink, whatever.
Most of my work is inspired by that time in my life.
The first time I drew a skull when I was a kid, my art teacher thought I might be troubled… Did you get these kinds of interesting things said to you when you began developing your style?
I think i’ve always drawn monsters or things in a slightly dark way - it’s always much better that way and I get a lot of reactions from friends who don’t really ‘get it’ but luckily for me I also have a lot of friends who do.
When I was studying for my art ‘A’ Level, about 16yrs old - I got told off by one teacher for ‘living my life through music’ having long hair and wanting to draw art for album covers - He was pretty wound up and said “I like to drink beer in the evenings but I don’t base my life around it”.
I never really got how he likened alcoholism to being a music fan who drew and I think that was the oddest reaction to drawing skulls and things that I ever had.
You have some serious attention to detail. Do you use any specific types of pens or brushes that you favor? What kind of paper do you favor?
I’m a lefty (sinistra) which, combined with the way I hold pens, means that I ruin drawing pens pretty quickly which gets expensive. I tend to work either with a brush pen designed for Japanese calligraphy that takes a cartridge or just a straight 0 size brush in sable or synthetic sable… those tend to make a cleaner, darker line than a pen and allow you to get a mark which can be a tiny hair’s breadth at one end and a thick, wide swathe at the other end. Really versatile.
As for paper, I use quite heavy and fine cartridge paper… 220gsm, but flat to take the ink nicely without letting it bleed.
In one of your illustrations, someone is wearing a Dawn Of The Dead shirt. So now I must ask, what are your top five horror movies?
Aaaargh - That’s a seriously difficult question!
I’m probably going to regret this as soon as I’ve sent it because I will have missed something:
Dawn of the Dead (Romero version of course)
Suspiria (my introduction to Dario Argento)
Evil Dead 2
The Thing
Hellraiser
Do you have any projects coming up that you want to share?
I’m putting together pics for another zine in the Brain Blood Volume series which should be ready in January. I think it will be quite different this time, with a mixture of colour and black & white work in there. I’m really hoping to do a limited hardback version but we’ll see how that works out.
All artwork is copyright Ian Watson.
Visit his website here: IAN WATSON
Visit his blog here: UHOH-WATSON.BLOGSPOT.COM
Visit his store here: PSYCHIC ATTACK
MOON EDITIONS puts out some of the most interesting, quality made, affordable art I have ever come across. They are constantly doing things that no one expects and this makes them stand out. This Halloween they have created old fashioned Halloween masks and a special “bag-o-bones” skeleton print with art by Florian Bertmer. All prints are hand printed serigraphs, limited to 100, each come with a mystery mini-print and are hand numbered.
They just went on sale now. Get them before they are sold out!
Buy them here: MOON SHOP
Photos and logo from MOON EDITIONS
For more art by Florian, check his website here: FLORIAN BERTMER
Photography by PATRICK KAWAHARA
If you hurry, you can get one of Florian Bertmer’s newest prints from Moon Editions.
“There Is A Light That Never Goes Out”
Both are limited to 50. Eight color serigraph.
Check out Florian Bertmer’s blog here: FLORIAN BERTMER
Check out Moon Editions blog and shop here: MOON EDITIONS
DRINKING HORN shirts are available again. Only $15, limited to 25 each.
Here are some illustrations by Zach Dyer, a talented gentleman from the Dallas/Fort Worth area. Enjoy.
Here is the finished tribute poster I made for the film “Red White & Blue.” This was just for fun and to try and encourage people to watch it. It’s currently streaming on Netflix if you have that. Otherwise buy or rent it!
I’m going away for a little while. The shirts will be available again when I get back.
Until then. Here is a progress shot of something I am working on.
This is for Jerry Hsu, if he cares.
I found a picture on his photo blog of a very pretty lady that is very stunning. I got bored and drew her.
Original photo by Jerry Hsu. Illustration by Brice Baum.
If you don’t know who Jerry Hsu is, just google him.
You can check out his blog full of true snapshots here: NAZIGOLD
Illustration © Tomer Hanuka
TOMER HANUKA, an outstanding illustrator who I’ve been following for a few years, has been releasing giclee prints of artwork from an upcoming graphic novel entitled “God’s Mountain.” This print is limited to 45 and comes signed and numbered. It ships flat in a sturdy mailer and from my experience buying prints from him, they come safe and sound that way and ready to frame.
You can purchase it here: MONOMYTH
You can see detailed in progress pictures and more work outside of Tomer’s website on his blog he shares with his brother here: TROPICAL TOXIC
I recently came across a really outstanding website called FILM ON PAPER. It is an archive of film posters and goes a little in depth in their history. I highly recommend you check it out.
CALICO GROUNDS recently released TOTAL ABUSE’S last recording ever. It is a cassette limited to 100 and won’t be around much longer. Here is the official press release:
“Total Abuse’s live cassette from their last show taking place on March 19th, 2011. The death rattle from one of the best things from Texas. Pro-printed cassette in clear book on tape case.”
I recently got this release in the mail and it really is a beautiful packaged work of art. My cassette player is busted, so it’s on my list of music to listen to.
