APE show ends today!

No, not the show in San Francisco but an art show going on at the Atlantic Technology Center in P.E.I.

The original pages for the Angora Napkin short comic "Zesty Pineapple Sprig" (Chiaroscuro #6) and "Feedbak" from the February 2006 issue of The Buzz are on display, as well as one of my few oil paintings (*not pictured. The old man is a painting of William S. Burroughs I did back in '98).

Today is the last day of the exhibit, but it may become an annual event. For more info on APE, click here.

The Narrative Corpse Lives...

You all remember Art Spiegelman's "The Narrative Corpse" game, right? Kinda like a comic jam over long distances but with only a small glimpse of what transpired before. In this case, only one panel! Not a lot to riff on, so the outcome should be interesting.

Anyway, somtime last year (August?) I signed up with 32 other people to take part in an email version of the game. Unlimited page contribution but only a week to do the art. I managed to finish my 3 pager last weekend. A bit Goreyesque methinks, but it was fun to do. To check out the other artists involved or follow the progress of the project, check out this link.

I always think I'll do something quick and simple, then go and start hatching like a fool. James Kochalka's got the right idea.

Good eatin'

Mygrains in Colour

At some point last year I decided it wouldn't hurt to put together a pitch package of the "Mygrain" comics and send them off to the major syndicates. Knowing full well that they are too odd for any mainstream newspaper didn't deter me for a moment. The responses (from those who chose to respond) were of the form letter variety. I particularly liked the one that said my stuff was "..Not up to the caliber and quality.." of their syndication. This coming from the publishers of "Marmaduke" and "Family Circus"? Man, I'm in the wrong ball game.

Anywho, I dolled up two of the old strips with fancy Photoshop colours. Now c'mon... Wouldn't you rather read these puppies than suffer another "Garfield"???

Weekend painting

Last Friday I was called to meet with the publisher of The Buzz and asked to do the cover art for the big ECMA (East Coast Music Awards) issue. Only catch is it had to be done over the weekend!

I've been struggling with painting for some time. It's something I really would like to get better at but that takes time, something that I find very little of as is these days. Nothing like a tight deadline to throw me into panic mode!

The picture is still a work in progress. I started out using acrylics to block in the picture but switched over to oils. I can't stand using acrylics anymore. The only drawback is the drying time, so this is as far as the painting goes for the time being.

I don't know why it never occurred to me before...

Since my site at www.meanwhilestudios.com has been inactive since April 2005 and I plan on re working it anyway this Blog has become the new home for news and updates until such time. Only problem was, how do I let people know that I'm still out here?? Then I remembered two key words: Domain Forwarding.

So "Hello" to everyone who logged on to the old site and found themselves here! The link on the side should take you to the old site, just in case you want to buy a comic or read some old online comics...

Flashing the Beaver

Every once and a while I find a moment to work on the loooooong in the works teaser short for "Blue Collar".

Way back in 2002 I started an animatic using Photoshop and Premiere. Lately I've been trying to adapt the style into Flash to see what they look like and how it will work. These are a couple of screen shots of the "Hero" Cameron Davis (He's a beaver) rushing to get to work.