I apologize again for the delay between posts here. I have been fighting off a “self-induced” illness, basically stomach problems brought on as a result of an anti-biotic I was taking. I thought I had it taken care of, and it reared it’s ugly head once again. Still, a lame excuse for not posting.
As I was laying here in bed trying to get feeling better, I found a stack of trading cards in the drawer of my nightstand, filled with beautiful detailed artwork from one of my all time favorite horror artists, none other than Bernie Wrightson! I figured it was high time to do a little post here on Toon Academy for Bernie!
The first time I laid eyes on Bernie’s work was in an old issue of CREEPY magazine. At the time I had no idea who he was, and it wasn’t until much later on that I would re-discover his work through the gruesome and detail laden CREEPSHOW graphic novel. Still some of my favorite artwork ever!
Bernie is easily one of the greatest horror artists in history, if not THE greatest. I was very heavily influenced by his oozing, twisting, flesh dripping style, and I have been lucky enough to meet him on 2 different occasions. Bernie is a very personable guy, and is always willing to take time to visit with his fans. He was kind enough to look at some of my art the first time I met him, and I was finally smart enough to remember to ask him for a picture the second time I met him at Monsterpalooza.
Take a few minutes to visit his web site, he recently updated the look of the entire site, and if you get a chance to meet Bernie at a convention, you won’t be disappointed- make sure you take the time to stop at his booth and say hello. I have more autographed Bernie Wrightson merchandise in my art collection than any other artist, and I plan on buying much much more.
http://www.wrightsonart.com/
Please be advised that some of Bernie’s art can be a bit graphic, so if you are a younger Toon Academy reader, make sure Mom and Dad are with you when you visit his site!
Just got back from an “interesting” family vacation- Not the greatest vacation I have ever taken, thanks to a little problem brought on from an anti-biotic I was taking. At any rate, it is nice to be back home, and even better to have internet access again so I can get back to posting here on Toon Academy. I didn’t get a chance to do any artwork while on vacation, but I did get to spend a little time at the Park City City Arts Festival on historic Main Street in Park City. I met a bunch of very talented artists, and I hope to post links to their websites soon so you can feast your eyes on the wonderful talent they had on display at the show.
Sorry for the lack of post from me last week, I will be posting more here ASAP!
by garth on August 7, 2010
I love reading about and browsing old Disney artwork, and looking at Kevin Kidney’s work, you’d think his stuff came from the past. Ah, but you’d be wrong. The piece above was just recently created by him, and obviously he has the same love of old Disney art as well, particularly Disneyland paraphernalia.
Kevin worked for Disney for years, and now is on his own creating all sorts of Disney souvenirs as well as wonderful tiki art, clay and paper sculptures. I dream of having a history so rich in Disney work as he has, and I often lose myself in his blog… just daydreaming… He shares his wealth of Disneyland history knowledge with photos and beautiful artwork. You really owe it to yourself to go check his blog out: http://miehana.blogspot.com/
I love monsters, and it goes without saying that I love monster art. Especially GOOD monster art. Having said that, you have got to check out the blog of the incredibly talented Robert Scott, otherwise known as SCOTTRA.
The majority of Rob’s work is done in black and white, and he has drawn nearly every monster and or horror movie icon you can think of. On top of all that, he is a very cool guy and I am lucky to call him a friend! Here are a few samples of his top notch work:
Check out SCOTTRA’s monster gallery here- show him some love and buy some of his prints while you are there!
http://www.scottra.com/
Illustration Friday is not only a stroke of genius on behalf of the people that created it, but it is also a great place to go to start improving your artwork and showing it to the world. The idea behind it is that on every Friday, a new topic word is posted, such as “Artificial”. It then becomes your responsibility to draw your interpretation of that word, post it on your own blog, then include a link to your art on your blog on Illustration Friday. Your art will then be readily available for viewing by countless other artists and creative types, who can leave comments on your art. Both Garth and I have posted on Illustration Friday many many times, and it’s not only a great way to exercise your creative muscles, but a great place to see tons of artwork from other people across the globe.
Give Illustration Friday a shot, you won’t regret it, and you’ll find it is also quite addicting!
http://www.illustrationfriday.com
