WHERE'D THE WEEK GO?

Hey there sports fans, Al here with the latest:

Yeah man,  where did the week go anyway?  Seriously I have no idea. where the last couple of weeks have gone but I have been SUPER PRODUCTIVE as things move forward with a new art show coming up this mid July- The Scratch and Burn Art Show

I am really excited about this one but there are a few things that need to be done I hope before the show starts up to reflect the changes I have been talking about over the last several months.
One of those is getting a real active website that really reflect the personality of Black Box Visual Arts.  Both for the gallery work and the commossion pieces as well.
The other thing that has to change and evolve are the business cards for the company.  I woukd like to have both of these ready by the time the show opens on the 18th of July, from 6 PM to 9 PM.  At least that is my goal as well as two new pieces of art as well.
The new pieces are both 16"x20".  I decided to yank two of the lesser received images from the last two shows I have had and replaced them with "fresh stuff".  One of which is nearly completed at the moment "Death from Above" for

"Death From Above"  16"x20" Scrathcboard.  Nearly completed.
copyright 2014 Alan Bennett and BBVA

one.   It stems from a old piece of artwork that I wanted for a company logo years ago.   But now it seems that it will again get the chance to show again in a much larger and bolder piece.
The other piece is called "Walking with Richard Parker".  This image seems to go right along with the deep sea diver motif I have been working on over the last year.  What I like t about this one is the fact that the figure is coming right at you rather than off to just the side at a three quarter view which is something that I like to do.
I've got a feeling that this is going to be  a very strong piece.
The poster is already done and looks awesome.  So this is a show that I can really get behind.

Close up of "Walking with Richard Parker" in progress
copyright 2014 Alan Bennett and BBVA

The wand scanner that I have is okay but not fantastic.  For smaller scratchboard piece it's great but the stitching together process is a major pain.  I just wish that the so called "industrial scanners" could be made more affordable to the working artist so we all could make one pass over larger pieces of art work without the flaws that come along with the smaller ones.
Nice to keep the little guy down.

AS OF THIS writing now, "Death From Above" is completed and is ready to be sprayed with varnish and framed -sweet!
NEXT is "Walking with Richard Parker".  I am hoping to have completed this evening and ready for varnishing.

OUTSIDE OF THE SHOW STUFF- is now onto other work pertaining to....

DREAMS OF ELYSIUM:

It's been a while since I have been able to cobble up some imagery for the Graphic Novel but I still keep plugging away this because I KNOW IT WILL ROCK!
There has been one difficult hurtle to jump though and it has to deal with the ever pervasive illustrated love scene between characters without coming across without being super pervy to readers let alone any friends and the repercussions of what family and friends think of your work (and your inner psyche).  A whole personal expose into your inner sexual workings comes out and I am sure nobody like to let that all hang out!   A depiction is hard to illustrate and I don't think I am alone in this feeling of "GAWD, do I really have to do this?".
The answer is no you don't but IF IT IS IMPORTANT to the story and the motivation of main characters you have to do it.  Especially when there is no text being written down.
So there you go, buck up and show that trust!

SO THIS KINDA GETS ME RILLED UP-

so as I am looking over Facebook this morning through the newsfeed I see that Eric Powell posts this image of one of the most annoying thing that any comic book buyer/fan can do to another artist's table.

   I would normally have been like "Jeez dude do you mind?" or at least ask BUT after the piss poor deal at Crypticon this last year this really fucking bugged me.

   Cmon!  Really?

   I think that me tabling these days is going to be akin to the Old Man Johnson sitting out on his porch and saying "Get off my table, damn dirty kid!" (regardless of age of the offender).


AL'S OTHER SOAP BOX:
There are always things that get me and this was a positive aspect that I like about people learning their own personal style of artistry.  So take a look here I think it is enlightening. 

ODDITIES:

Not at the moment- unless I look in a mirror.

More of this info can be found at  www.thevelvetcoffin.co.

and at Ratchet Raven Productions.

OTHER NOTE WORTHY THINGS :

If your wanting to look at some of the older blog for Black Box Comix you can check them out here. Black Box Comix Blog.

There is also Twitter https://twitter.com/blackbox13 to follow and Tumbler The Other Scratchpad

blackbox13.tumblr.com/   as well 

Or if you're interested in purchasing something that catches your eye  check out here on the Big Cartel web site.  Big Cartel.

And of course is always the backlog of comics here at Indyplanet.

And the kid is out of here!

"WHAT DO YOU WANT BE REMEMBERED FOR?"

Hey there sports fans, Al here with the latest:

So as with anything else that is going on in my life a question was asked of me that made me take pause to not only the meal I was eating but everything else else that I was thinking about / feeling.
Kind of a loaded question.
The statement carried with itself a long list of ideas and concepts that had been floating around my brain since days of Junior High School (when they still had those) back in 1980's.  The English teacher back then Miss Kelly had possed the question "What would you want on your grave stone?"  That idea was brought up again by my friend Dax after talking to him about the abysmal sales at the Crypticon show.
He asked me "Ben, would you want to be remembered as the guy who could draw and pay his bills OR would you rather be remembered for being a great artist?  Both are equally valid answers but they have different ways of getting there."
It was a valid question for me and I had to stop eating and made me think about that earlier statement.
I answered with enthusiasm which I am sure wasn't a big surprise for Dax.  "A great artist." I know my work is good and it is sellable.  I also know that the scratchboard work I do currently isn't wildly used by many people but it is gaining popularity and I want to be at the forefront of that movement.
And with that things that have been in a log jam of sorts such as when the next show will be and newest if commissions to fill and art to create not only out of vanity but work that ispires.  There are three pieces that I have done that transends vanity.  Something that moves through me not from me.
A little woo woo?  I'm sure that is how it sounds but like Stephen King once wrote about how he was writting the Dark Tower series he wasn't writing so much as he was channeling it.
There are pieces that I have done over the years that are like that.  The first was a pencil drawing that I did in High School- Scarecrow.  

The next was a image of Jeff Goldbloom using several inking techinques for art school.   The next one was an airbrush piece of Anthony Perkins as Norman Bates from the orginal Psycho. 
Then a long hiatus as always due to personal bs.  Then the scratchboard came into view.  WOW!  Three pieces that have really come along are the

"Watery Adventure of Richard Parker " was the first,  then "Into the Future", and finally "Down with the Weirdness".
All are really nice complete images.

As my girlfriend had pointed out to me is that im taking the story sensibly. of the comics and transposing them into a single image that tells a story not just a part of one.  She right.
And I know where it origin lies- Jim Starling.  
As a kid I collected comics and his work on the Avengers Annual #7 and Adam Warlock and Captian Marvel all had a great story telling device the illustrative comic montage. 
This was so much more apparent in his work of The Metamorphosis Oddesy.
Also that story was much more adult in its content than the other comics I was reading.  It was fucking awesome.  In content, layout and design.  I tried very hard to pull those kind of elements into what ever I working on at the time.
And now, as of this date, time to put that kinda work to the test.

BECAUSE....
Now there is a new OMS taking place OR SCRATCH n BURN SHOW 2014!- as I like to call it currently.

Since nothing has progressed with My Brother's Crawfish as far as a show is concerned, I'm moving forward.  In my case I had already talked to the people from SeeSee's Coffee  to have a show over there.  Now it seems that they were ready.
This is the kind of venue that seems to work for me really well.  
But it also means im gonna be putting in some time to make twi new 16"x20" pieces and a ooster to promote the work.  The weather is great outside so I think I can do a show well.  No as big a space as the Slingshot Lounge or NWIPA but big enough to show  for about 10 pieces to go up.
  Half of my inventory with at least two new pieces= Awesome! 
So here is to my next show.  Cheers!


DDREAMS OF ELYSIUM:

Well work continues but it has been a trial to to keep at task.   I keep hoping that I will be able  to get the rough version of this book done before the end of the year.  I does take a bit of doing considering what I want to do.   

ODDITIES:

Fun stuff.

As Doug Jones was the HIGHEST point of the Crypticon Experince I also received notice from Tumblr that Doug Jones is now following me!  That's pretty awesome in my book.

More of this info can be found at  www.thevelvetcoffin.co.
and at Ratchet Raven Productions.

OTHER NOTE WORTHY THINGS :

If your wanting to look at some of the older blog for Black Box Comix you can check them out here. Black Box Comix Blog.

There is also Twitter https://twitter.com/blackbox13 to follow and Tumbler The Other Scratchpad

blackbox13.tumblr.com/   as well 

Or if you're interested in purchasing something that catches your eye  check out here on the Big Cartel web site.  Big Cartel.

And of course is always the backlog of comics here at Indyplanet.

And the kid is out of here!

A WEEK LATER.....

Hey sports fans, Al here with the latest:

Well the week has been interesting and of course assessing the fallout from the Crypticon show this last week but the Kid isn't gonna take it and lay down and curl up in a log and go into hibernation and wait till next year for something to happen.  

Nope, not by a long shot.  Again, those fragile egos artists have can get jilted pretty good and I thought that I was past that years ago.  But having shit happen to be throw at you like monkey poo like printing and shows can still hit me.

I guess I was wrong and I'm still affected by that kind of stuff.

No biggie really though because I did what I had to do and relieved myself of this issue like a hiker getting up in the morning and stepping out of a tent and taking a wiz right into the face of nature.

But art don't stop just because yer having a bad day bucko, shows or anything else like that  your personal life.  It (the ART)  says you got just buck up and do it, so with that I move on.

There will be other shows for sure to go to but as this latest  one it was a learning experience and  either I pony up the cash for a vendors table and not worry about people encroaching in on my territory that I paid for OR don't go to a show.

Simple as that.

But then there is the art that needs to be made which has  been put on hold for the last couple of months but I will get to that in a second.

But firstly art that does sell!

And one of those sales took place at the 88 STRONG show that went up about month before the Crypticon came on.

Now in years past this show is a group that I had been part of which was always kind fun for me since I get to hang out with my art buddies and swill beer and munch on chips and down a few brauts.

So now "Gunslinger" is hanging up in somebody's house.  Yay!

So when you sell a piece like that,  that's kinda cool.  And that happened on top the my bad feelings from the Crypt show.  And of course when I also got  word that I had sold another t-shirt at NWIPA- bonus!  And I wasn't even there having to push it.  COOL! 

 When work like that goes out to the public you feel that even if you had a bad time at a show other things come together to prop you up when you're feeling down.

Now keep in mind that this group of work (The painted stuff not the t-shirts) was painted in color not etched like the scratchboard.  Thats a big deal for me because color and my painted work (in my opinion) are my weak points for art so a sale like that is awesome!

And now with the show worries outta of the way other projects can be focused upon.  That means Corpse Cop can finally get lettered and edited like it needs to for the next comic show.

COPRSE COP NEWS:

"Inhuman Torch" is going to move forward with the help of Paula Akin to help edit the book for me.  With Jason Pott (NeoTrash Comix) who has edited my books as well a Adam Watson (Darkslinger Comics) I can't take up any more of their time as they focus on their separate projects for their companies.  I do really thank you guys a lot for helping me out over the last couple years dudes.  Go out there sell your books and kick ass!

But after this  Corpse Cop story gets edited and printed the previous  "Arctic Wolf" storyline will be printed too. After that  I will  need to focus of the secular pieces of artwork to sell at other shows up and down the I-5 Corridor.  And that means making different t-shirts, tons of more buttons, more types of postcards (Like modeled after Richard Parker, the Deep Sea Diver) and the prints!

BUT THAT doesn't mean I will stop creating comics though.  I will continue to keep thumbnailing stories and posting images every once in a while because I have a small window time to crank that stuff out.  It's fun for me to work on that and just keep it for a later date to work on when I have more cash to spend on printing it and time to work on it.  

HOWEVER along that point I will be working on one comic related project that I believe that has great potential to stand out from the rest of the stories I have ever worked on and you probably have already guessed at what I have been talking about - The DREAMS OF ELYSIUM story.

DREAMS OF ELYSIUM;

It slowly comes together as I continue to work on the marker compts for the rough layouts.   The physical book is beginning to look like a monster of a book.  The scratchboard idea could be very labor intensive for me but when that work is completed and completely edited and ready to print that's where the hard work is gonna come in.   Kickstarter or GoFundMe will come into play to help pay for the printing, shipping and the incentives.  And that will take some planning and research to market it because I need to look at the international copyrights of printing and selling books overseas because of the way the book is set up to sell.

Any worth while endeavor like this is worth doing well and prepared for.

A long process to sure of but I don't want to go in blind with a work like this otherwise I'll get blind sided and spend a shit ton money that I don't have.

OTHER SHOWS;

Nothing yet, but this is Portland and anything could happen.

ALAN'S SOAP BOX THIS WEEK:

Already mentioned it above.

ODDITIES:

Fun stuff.

As Doug Jones was the HIGHEST point of the Crypticon Experince I also received notice from Tumblr that Doug Jones is now following me!  That's pretty awesome in my book.

More of this info can be found at  www.thevelvetcoffin.co.

OTHER NOTE WORTHY THINGS :

If your wanting to look at some of the older blog for Black Box Comix you can check them out here. Black Box Comix Blog.

There is also Twitter https://twitter.com/blackbox13 to follow and Tumbler The Other Scratchpad

blackbox13.tumblr.com/   as well 

Or if you're interested in purchasing something that catches your eye  check out here on the Big Cartel web site.  Big Cartel.

And of course is always the backlog of comics here at Indyplanet.

And the kid is out of here!