Flaming ArtistThis drawing is not at all
influenced by Picasso, except that it’s mostly blue in color (referencing Mr.
P’s Blue Period), and seems to be set in Africa (Cubism was heavily influenced
by African Art).
I
rather like it, though, looking at it a year later, it would have been better
without the shadow of the foliage that runs directly behind the black man’s
penis, thus making it almost unreadable. Or maybe that’s a good thing.
I drew this for inclusion in “Dames of the Atomic Age”, published by Art of Fiction Press in 2012. Unfortunately, I didn’t have time to ink it or color it; I’m making up for that now. At least, I’m inking it. In stages. This is stage one.
Whereas many of my illustrations concentrate on phalluses, both symbolic and overt, I was being purposefully vaginal, symbolically speaking, in this illustration. The male astronaut bursting through the vaginal wall onto the alien family partaking in their Thanksgiving feast, is the one intrusive phallic element.
This drawing is an almost
direct swipe from Picasso. I found a version of the classic Greek comedy,
“Lysistrata”, generously illustrated by Pablo.
I have
been a fan of the Spaniard’s non-cubist drawings since the late’70’s and early
80’s, when I was a museum guard at the Norton Simon Museum, in Pasadena,
Calfornia, USA. My favorite galleries where those devoted to Modern Art,
specifically the Blue Four room, and the Picasso room. I have always found his
depiction of men really erotic.
Happy Thanksgiving.
I am grateful that I can
draw, that I can post my drawings on my daily blog, that I have 32 followers to
my daily blog, that I live in a time and place where I can be open about my
sexuality and my primary relationships, that I am recovering nicely (some have
even said “miraculously”) from my April 2nd stroke, that I have my
old job back and can perform my professional tasks to everyone’s satisfaction,
that my boyfriend ordered matching wedding bands (one of which I am wearing),
that I live by the LA river and can walk my dogs there every day, that I am
able to walk my dogs every day, that it rained last night and the night before
but isn’t raining at the moment (so I can walk my dogs without getting wet),
that I haven’t lost anyone I love to violence, that all of my close relatives
are alive and healthy, that I can sing and play the guitar, that my boyfriends
likes listening to me sing and play the guitar.
I am grateful for all the
love and support I received when I was recovering from my recent stroke. I am
grateful to Richard and Sonia, who traded off spending each night with me while
I was in rehab, so that I never had to be alone in the hospital. I am grateful
that I’ve only gone hungry from my own choosing, that I have a roof over my
head and all the food and water I want. I am grateful for the apparent esteem
in which I seem to be held by my fellow professionals.
I am grateful to all the men
and women fighting the good fight when I am no longer able to, at least for
now. I am grateful to my current employer for offering my pre-stroke job to me
when I felt ready to step back into place.
This
is yet another self-portrait, less flattering than yesterday’s, though not
necessarily more realistic. Done with a Tombo Brush Pen, no underdrawing.
Self-portrait. Ballpoint pen. Tombo fountain
brush pen. Too much information,
or not enough? A year later, I look back on this drawing with nostalgia, or
PTSD.
I’m pretty sure this was drawn with a Japanese
Fountain Brush, the kind where one has to squeeze the flexible plastic barrel
to get the ink to flow. In this case, the cartridge was almost empty of ink,
creating a dry-brush effect. I think I was drawing from a photo.
Cut paper collage. I purchased a couple of (expensive)
packets of scrap art paper at my favorite art supply store (Swain’s, in
Glendale, California, USA), cut out the various shapes with an Exacto knife and
glued them down with good ol’ Elmer’s glue. Then I drew into it with
colored pencil
This one is cut paper. It could make a cool logo, with
some refinement. For “The World Wide Federation of Dicks”. Or something like
that.
I revisited the subject matter of Wednesday’s post. I
decided a symmetrical composition would be more interesting. The
hands-behind-the-head in the foreground still needs work. Maybe in the next
iteration…
I have passed a major
milestone in my career as an artist: I’ve been swiped. A week ago, at Bent-Con
2013, I purchased several graphic novels; The only one I’ve gotten around to
reading thus far is “Al-Queda’s
Super Secret Weapon”, by David J. Zelman, published by Northwest Press in July of 2013. http://northwestpress.com/I was pleasantly amused by its
droll sense of humor and pleasing illustrative style, when I came across this
page, page 16 in the book.
You’ll notice the 5th
and 6th panels on the page— in panel 5, a standing man swaps a man,
tied into seated position in a chair, so hard that the seated man is knocked on
to the floor while remaining tied to the chair. In panel 6, the assailant
stands over the prone form of the bound man.
I read right past this on
first reading; on the second reading I realized that I had seen these two
panels before: I had drawn them myself in my independently published graphic
novel, “Harry & Dickless Tom”, published by Flaming Artist Press in 2006.
Notice panels 10 and 11. Different cropping, same compositions.
At first I didn’t quite know
how to react. Should I be insulted? Feel ripped off? Flattered? Upon
reflection, I decided on the third reaction. “Al Queda’s Super Secret Weapon”
is a hoot and a turn-on besides, working on several levels simultaneously. I
feel proud to be an unacknowledged source for part of this material. You should
definitely support this work (as in, buy it).
Actually,
you should support my work as well.http://www.flamingartists.com/