When two of the hours in your day to day life are spent on a train, your mind tends to wander. My pen just happens to go along for the ride on those wanderings a lot of the time.
Saturday, October 27, 2007
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
New ZBP page sketch...
So, I've got to apologize to anyone looking at this for the poor quality of the imagery. I currently am without scanner, so I've been using my digital camera to snap these pics. Hopefully that lil' problem will be remedied soon.
THEY CRAWL FROM THEIR PRAMS, AND DROP FROM THEIR CRIBS, THEY WRIGGLE OUT OF THEIR BEDS...
A lot of people that I've shown these images to and who've read the story tend to give me a look that makes me suspect that they've just had a sip of some rather chunky milk.
I'm very surprised at how many people find anything that could be geared towards children that is less than whimsical or has any hints of the morbid or odd to be distasteful.
Listen people; most kids are a bit odd and morbid to begin with. Childhood is a fucked up time magnified by a young boy or girls schewed perspective on everything around them...no, that's not even right.
The world is a fucked up place and kids haven't had years of scars and walls built up around their eyes from shitty jobs and horrible relationships to numb it all, so they tend to see the world around them in vivid, grotesque technicolor.
To be honest, looking back on my childhood and the television, literature and music that I was privvy to; it was all completely bent in some form or another.
Some examples:
The Tom & Jerry episode that pays homage to The Three Musketeers- At the end of the episode, Tom is brought to the guilotine (sp?) and you clearly see him executed from afar
The Original (un-Disneyfied) Little Mermaid story- Ariel dies at the end by the hand of the sea witch I believe
Hansel and Gretal- Roast the witch in her own oven (after vandalising her home by the way)
And let us not forget The Smurfs- Every episode you are reminded that Gargamel wants nothing more than to nosh on some tender Smurf flesh
and the list goes on and 90% of that list would probably be from The Loony Tunes alone. God, I love those screwy animals. One day I'm gonna get me the "Pipe Full of Fun Kit #7" and then the world will quake from my wrath.
Feel free to add your own twisted childhood memories to the list folks.
It's late and I should go to bed. Till next time.
THEY CRAWL FROM THEIR PRAMS, AND DROP FROM THEIR CRIBS, THEY WRIGGLE OUT OF THEIR BEDS...A lot of people that I've shown these images to and who've read the story tend to give me a look that makes me suspect that they've just had a sip of some rather chunky milk.
I'm very surprised at how many people find anything that could be geared towards children that is less than whimsical or has any hints of the morbid or odd to be distasteful.
Listen people; most kids are a bit odd and morbid to begin with. Childhood is a fucked up time magnified by a young boy or girls schewed perspective on everything around them...no, that's not even right.
The world is a fucked up place and kids haven't had years of scars and walls built up around their eyes from shitty jobs and horrible relationships to numb it all, so they tend to see the world around them in vivid, grotesque technicolor.
To be honest, looking back on my childhood and the television, literature and music that I was privvy to; it was all completely bent in some form or another.
Some examples:
The Tom & Jerry episode that pays homage to The Three Musketeers- At the end of the episode, Tom is brought to the guilotine (sp?) and you clearly see him executed from afar
The Original (un-Disneyfied) Little Mermaid story- Ariel dies at the end by the hand of the sea witch I believe
Hansel and Gretal- Roast the witch in her own oven (after vandalising her home by the way)
And let us not forget The Smurfs- Every episode you are reminded that Gargamel wants nothing more than to nosh on some tender Smurf flesh
and the list goes on and 90% of that list would probably be from The Loony Tunes alone. God, I love those screwy animals. One day I'm gonna get me the "Pipe Full of Fun Kit #7" and then the world will quake from my wrath.
Feel free to add your own twisted childhood memories to the list folks.
It's late and I should go to bed. Till next time.
Monday, October 15, 2007
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Everyone Loves Zombie Babies ...
My latest pet project is a children's book inspired by Edward Gorey, HP Lovecraft, EA Poe, Tim Burton and Hellboy (the comic books, not the movie)
Give it a read and check out the preliminary sketches at the bottom.
Too bad it won't be ready for Halloween.
-------------------------------
The Zombie Baby Parade by Jean Michel ©2007
LATE AT NIGHT WHILST ZOMBIE PARENTS
ARE SNUGGLED IN THEIR BEDS,
THEIR ZOMBIE BABIES HAVE VISIONS
OF DANCING AND SINGING
IN THEIR HEADS.
THEY CRAWL FROM THEIR PRAMS
AND DROP FROM THEIR CRIBS,
THEY WRIGGLE OUT OF THEIR BEDS,
AND MEET WITHIN THE CEMETERY GROVE
TO DANCE AND WAKE THE DEAD.
THEY BRING HORNS AND DRUMS,
CYMBALS AND FLUTES,
ALL MANNER OF MUSICAL FARE.
THEY EVEN BRING SOME ROTTING BONES
TO WEAR MERRILY IN THEIR HAIR.
THEY SCREAM AT THE COFFINS,
AND CROON TO THE DEAD
GIVING THEIR TOMBS A GOOD RAPPING
THEY BEAT THEIR ZOMBIE BABY TUNE
ON THE SKULLS WITH A
TAPPITY
TAP
TAP
TAPPING
ALL THROUGH THE NIGHT THEY DANCE AND SING
WENDING THEIR WAY THROUGH THE GRAVES.
WHO KNOWS, ONE NIGHT YOU JUST MIGHT SEE
THE ZOMBIE BABY PARADE!
Give it a read and check out the preliminary sketches at the bottom.
Too bad it won't be ready for Halloween.
-------------------------------
The Zombie Baby Parade by Jean Michel ©2007
LATE AT NIGHT WHILST ZOMBIE PARENTS
ARE SNUGGLED IN THEIR BEDS,
THEIR ZOMBIE BABIES HAVE VISIONS
OF DANCING AND SINGING
IN THEIR HEADS.
THEY CRAWL FROM THEIR PRAMS
AND DROP FROM THEIR CRIBS,
THEY WRIGGLE OUT OF THEIR BEDS,
AND MEET WITHIN THE CEMETERY GROVE
TO DANCE AND WAKE THE DEAD.
THEY BRING HORNS AND DRUMS,
CYMBALS AND FLUTES,
ALL MANNER OF MUSICAL FARE.
THEY EVEN BRING SOME ROTTING BONES
TO WEAR MERRILY IN THEIR HAIR.
THEY SCREAM AT THE COFFINS,
AND CROON TO THE DEAD
GIVING THEIR TOMBS A GOOD RAPPING
THEY BEAT THEIR ZOMBIE BABY TUNE
ON THE SKULLS WITH A
TAPPITY
TAP
TAP
TAPPING
ALL THROUGH THE NIGHT THEY DANCE AND SING
WENDING THEIR WAY THROUGH THE GRAVES.
WHO KNOWS, ONE NIGHT YOU JUST MIGHT SEE
THE ZOMBIE BABY PARADE!
Croquet lawns, village greens, Victoria was my queen...
This is a painting I'm working on for a company called Uneven Distribution http://www.unevendistribution.com/uneven.html
Random sketch of Victorian era gentleman who probably says the word "Droll" a lot.The Art Students League
The portrait I was working on at the Art Students League. It was a nice class, but I think I just needed to take it in order to jumpstart the ole' creative flow.
Welcom to My Shameless Promotion...
Hi,
I don't know what I should be writing here at the zero hour of this blog, so I guess I'll just spout my intentions to you.
Outside of MySpace and Facebook, this is my first real jump in to the world of blogging. Recently I've began to inundate both of those sites with various projects that I'm working on in an attempt to show people that I do have a purpose and a drive for something other than fart jokes and Woody Allen movies, and the whole debacle just seems a bit lackluster to me. I need a designated area where I can spill the guts of my imagination and force people to look at it's fruits without all of it getting mixed up in the many pictures of everyone staring in to their bathroom mirror and all the lonely queries on dating.
I intend this page to be more of a raw ground for my work where everyone can see the process & progress and when my website is finished (such a cliche) that will be where all the polished goodies live.
So, I hope you like what you see and I hope to see you here a lot.
Thanks,
JM
I don't know what I should be writing here at the zero hour of this blog, so I guess I'll just spout my intentions to you.
Outside of MySpace and Facebook, this is my first real jump in to the world of blogging. Recently I've began to inundate both of those sites with various projects that I'm working on in an attempt to show people that I do have a purpose and a drive for something other than fart jokes and Woody Allen movies, and the whole debacle just seems a bit lackluster to me. I need a designated area where I can spill the guts of my imagination and force people to look at it's fruits without all of it getting mixed up in the many pictures of everyone staring in to their bathroom mirror and all the lonely queries on dating.
I intend this page to be more of a raw ground for my work where everyone can see the process & progress and when my website is finished (such a cliche) that will be where all the polished goodies live.
So, I hope you like what you see and I hope to see you here a lot.
Thanks,
JM
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