Artists - Who We Are

The New York Times has just done a report on a report on artists. Very interesting.

WildClaw

The Great God Pan has completed it's run. For a first production of a new theatre company it was an unqualified success. Thank you to everyone who saw the show and to the many, many folks who helped behind the scenes.


Striking the Pan set. Michaela is on the ladder cleaning blood off the walls.

It has been a smooth venture of creativity, problem-solving, passion, and fun. It's been nice to work on a drama without the drama. Hats off to Charley Sherman for creating an atmosphere to work in that invited collaboration and gave people room to breath and grow.

The First Fear Lives

It has been an exciting 2008 so far. I started with ConceptArt.org's Revelations art orgy in Seattle, did 8 large paintings and a big sculpture for the play, we opened The Great God Pan, in connection with that I interviewed Clive Barker and seem to be starting a biz relationship with Weird Tales magazine. Sue had her baby! We got a visit from Donna. The Devil's Candy Store is ramping up again. And...

I'm back on The First Fear story. I have a beginning, middle and end. I have a cast of characters and I have scenes. I have themes and character arcs. I will soon have sketches and dialog. All the research and all the sketching and thinking and writing came together this weekend.

What did it? Imagining how I would do it as a play in a little blackbox theater with a small cast and limited resources. The blessing and the curse of a comic book is it's limitless potential. You can have millions of characters, endless scenes, thousands of costume characters and it can go on for decades. A two hour, low budget play is quite another story. I've always worked better under restraints (or is that - in restraints?) and thinking this way is just what I needed.

more soon...

Ralph the Punk (1985)

Wow. Very weird, but not unexpected these days. My video that was created with Johnie Horn in 1985 has appeared on YouTube via EVL. 4 bit color, ZGrass animation language, digitally scanned referenced footage from shooting a monitor with a video camera and converting that to digital. Wow. Flash from the past.

It's a little truncated on the front and Johnie's cool credits are missing, but that's a lot to ask for a video made 23 years ago.



The song, Hot Monkey Love, was written, produced and performed by Brian Messiah and myself, along with Byron Smith engineering. That's Lori B Jones on narrating at the front of the track and me squawking on the rest of it.

This video opened a lot of doors for me in the world of computer graphics. A big thanks goes out to Johnie, Sally and the EVL family.

Happy Birthday to Me

Well, I got a nice little birthday present today. There is an article in Animation World Magazine (AWN) on comic books and computers. The author, Joseph Szadkowski, was nice enough to mention that Shatter was the first computer-generated comic book and throw in some quotes from me.


One of my pieces from Shatter (First Comics)

Happy New Year 2008!

To all three of you who read this blog - Happy New Year!


My much better half, Julienne, and moi.

2007 was quite a treat in Burning City's life:
- San Diego Comic-Con
- The Devil's Candy Store
- Los Angeles Movie Studio Trip
- My father's 90th birthday
- My 50th birthday (and Sputnik!)
- Many family visits!!!
- My sister's wedding!
- Sue's wedding!
- WildClaw Theatre company
- Many, many great new friends
- My new Electra bike
- Working out with a freakin' trainer
- Regular pickup basketball games in the park with the Comix Revolution guys
- The official start of The First Fear comic book production
- And much more... all worthwhile.

2008 should be quite the rollercoaster. I'm starting it off with a bang at the Conceptart.org Revelations Symposium in Seattle this week. And to help start your year off right, I'm going to remind you of the one-day Comicraft Font sale that only happens on January 1.

Blade Runner

Wow. I have just watched all the DVD extras on the super-duper 5 DVD collector's edition of Blade Runner and I am blown away. It took a couple of nights to do it, but it was worth it. Blade Runner was pivotal in my life as an artist, a movie fanatic, a science fiction fiend, amateur futurist, and cultural outsider. You either loved Blade Runner or you didn't. I did.

I think I'm going to watch it all again.

Burning City Redux

I am planning, designing, researching, and mostly thinking, thinking, thinking, and taking notes of said thinking on the revised business model for The Devil's Candy Store. Since I often think better while performing a mundane task, I am also rearranging the Burning City World Headquarters. Wise? Hmm, maybe not, but people who know me will recognize this as a creative exercise I do with maddening regularity. When in doubt, change your surroundings.


Chaos


My new view from my biz desk

100th Post

Erin at Elaine's wedding reception in the Masonic Lodge

For my 100th post, I thought I would show you my favorite picture this year. The photo is of my great-niece, Erin, at my sister's wedding this summer in Jackson, MS. It was 110º outside, but she was serene, beautiful, and collected. We were lucky enough to see Erin and her family here in Chicago this summer and we hope to see them all again real soon. We had a blast.

Summer Where I Live

Beating the Odds

Went to Arlington Racetrack today with Julienne and Mary. Bet on seven races. The horses I bet on won four of those races. Four winners. Whew. I hope I didn't use up all of my luck for the six years.

Now, back to work.

Pink Raygun Interview

Pink Raygun came by the Rolling Thunder booth at the San Diego Comic-Con where The Devil's Candy Store was hanging our shingle and did a fun interview with Denise Dorman and myself. Lisa Fary and John Dallaire of Pink Raygun were very cool.

San Diego Comic-Con: G4 Stars

Well, I'm back from the San Diego Comic-Con and what can I say - it was a hell of a ride. There will be a BIG report this week with lots of photos, but for now you'll have to satisfied with seeing Alex Wald and I on the opening minutes of G4's live coverage.

The Devil's In The Details

Detail from theater poster for "Lord Byron's CAIN"

The three of you who read this blog may have noticed that I suddenly stopped posting First Fear stuff when I appeared to be on a small roll. Well, I am still working on the comic book and hopefully you will see a nice finished piece before San Diego Comic-Con and certainly before Wizard World Chicago.

This interruption has been caused by a Top Secret Project to be unveiled at San Diego. At this point I can tell you that it will likely involve some of the finest illustrators working today, the game and movie industries, and some world building. It will all be done under the auspices of a new business called The Devil's Candy Store. Wicked.

Interview 101

Thanks to Denise Dorman, I've got a nice little interview up at Alina Sandor's 'Suite 101" blog.

One Hot Wedding

I took a break from comic books and had a great weekend. My sister, Elaine, got married to Dan this past Saturday in Jackson, Mississippi. It was 102º.


Mr. Daniel Ferguson and Mrs. Elaine Strickland Ferguson.

It was really great to see almost all of my immediate family in one place. With the exception of my father, who was too ill to travel, everyone was there. My sister was beaming as a beautiful bride and her groom was absolutely giddy. My nephews and niece have all grown into smart, decent, warm adults and their kids are marvelous. And as much as I give the South some grief when I visit, this time really reminded me of a lot of the good aspects of growing up in the South. People really are friendly and courteous and there is a slower pace that can remind you to look around and appreciate your family and friends. All in all, a really good weekend.


They got hitched in a little chapel that was originally built in the 1800's.

Ice, Ice Baby

The source of all my wisdom, at least the wisdom in my teeth, is now gone. Four wisdom teeth - ow. How was your Monday morning?

Sherman

Burning City, Inc. - the next chapter.

That Face

50 years later...

Fifty Years Old

Thank you to all of the well-wishers. I have many, many good friends.

Sick Leave

Well, wasn't that fun? Around 9AM Friday morning I called both Alex and Dave to tell them that I wouldn't be attending a lunch that had been planned for awhile. After I hung up I proceeded to puke hour on the hour until about Saturday afternoon. It is now very early Tuesday morning and I am finally feeling remotely human again. Back to work.

Fellow Traveller

This year, in October, we will celebrate the 50th anniversary of Sputnik's launch. That's right, Sputnik, the first orbiting satellite. Man's maiden voyage into outer space. Which, of course, makes me a Sputnik baby.

Charlie the Younger

A friend from college was kind enough to dig up this picture of me from around 1978. I was sooo ready for the Sex Pistols. It is this sullen, obnoxious, fuck-the-world artist that the older me is seeking to recapture just a tiny piece of these days. I was thinking creatively 24 hours a day and had no limits. Reality and experience has a way on knocking that confidence out of you over time, but I'm working hard to push through those scars and find the spirit of that kid in the photo again.