Gore! Workspace! Spera!

The dead guy that brings the end to all humanity... and my home work space. It's small, but I love it. At least it isn't a meat locker like my usual space at the moment (though I love my arctic chamber)..

There's a lot missing from this image, it's just the first layer of the drawing. I'm planning on adding another layer of bugs and disgust. It's an image from a series I'm working on for a short story.



Always on my desk whether I use them or not:

"It's not how good you are, It's how good you want to be" -- Paul Arden
Araki, photofile (gotta love mini photobooks) --Thames & Hudson
When You Are Engulfed In Flames" -- David Sedaris
ART/WORK: Everything you need to know and do...
One Hundred Demons... roughly translated, Yoshitoshi
Handjob: A Catalog Of Type -- Michael Perry
Fables Covers -- James Jean
Acme Novelty Library -- Chris Ware

And my latest sketchbook:

At the beginning or very end of every year I end up buying a sketchbook. Not on purpose, it just sort of happened. They haven't all made it through the full year, they usually are "full" (whenever I feel like stopping) after several months. It's tough picking out a good sketchbook, this may not apply to most people but I have to really personalize and at the same time make the book less precious to me. If I can't manage to do both with each new book, somewhere along the line I lose interest in working in the sketchbook. HEY, maybe it's strange? But that's how I relate to my books. This is why I own a million moleskine's that are precious and unfinished and stacks of black canson books with scribbles and mistakes. I'm looking forward to my new cotton rag paper sketchbook though--off white pages? heavy paper? I think this one will make it.

Yeah, I'm kind of a paper geek.

EDIT!!




I wanted to mention a project I took part in a few months ago that has been steadily and epically coming together. Spera! From the about page:

Written and created by Josh Tierney, Spera is a collaboration between artists from around the world, illustrated and told in consecutive sections that incorporate character designs by Sarah Ferrick. These sections form a tapestry of artistic styles and storytelling methods, turning the world of Spera into a poetic, surprising and wholly unique realm.

Above are two of the images from my section. Here's a link to the site! http://spera-comic.com/ Check it out! There's a lot of beautiful work to enjoy.

Happy New Year people!


--Ray

Nothing goes as planned.

Personal work is still progressing, I had a few set backs on the pieces I was working on a few weeks ago-- when I said I was originally updating. Things are back on track though. Trust me, I want to post an update.

As far as life goes, the band is practicing pretty intensely (I play the drums. Aaand we play metal. Evil evil metal. Word.). As soon as we start having shows, I'll post something-- or at least a link to our site. I'm still sketching and drawing new ideas, and I'm still a teacher.

I've just about completed my first semester as a teacher at Harlem School of the Arts... and I have to say, I have an even greater appreciation for every single teacher/mentor I've had up to now. The kids I've had the honor of teaching are incredible! I'm constantly blown away by their creativity. I've even been introduced to new concepts just helping them develop their ideas, which has been really enlightening. This sort of thing happens to me just about everyday I teach, and has caused me to question and reevaluate all the lessons I've learned on my incredibly caffeinated path through art education.

How many hours of figure drawing? Making god awful paintings? How many gallons of ink did I go through to this day? Is that enough? How many different medium's did I try before I decided I loved ink? How many different sizes felt comfortable to work at what stages of my development? Who did I look up to in the comic world when I started? .... it goes on. I've heard it a million times, but as cliche as it sounds, it's the truth when people who work with kids/teens say they draw inspiration from their students. Also, overcoming the terror of all the eyes and ears paying attention to you is damn good for us creative introvert types. There are scarier things out there than having people listen to you. I promise.

It really makes you think when a 10 year old looks at one of your pieces and in two sentences gives you an idea that helps you take it to a finish. Don't underestimate the youngin's!

--Ray