Blog
Saturday June 30th 2012, 8:16 pm
Lavish, sultry and seductive, swirling creaminess that colorfully twirls inside my mind into intoxicating sparkles of retro glamour. But yet there is a modern smoothness to it all, an ease to which it moves in and out of hypnotic spacey pumped groove beats dancing with dreamy electro keyboards. It loosely reminds me of when ELO worked with Olivia Newton-John, when they produced a few songs of pure timeless mesmerizing magical pop songs that you couldn’t help but fall in love with the overblown otherworldly cheesy charm of them. It feels like that.
Head First By GoldFrapp
June 30th 2012
Friday June 29th 2012, 7:53 pm
Sleep? What is sleep? Proper sleep? I don’t remember that. Its been one of those times where sleep eludes for long periods of time. The flesh drags, mentally knuckle dragging one’s arms on the floor, reverting to some primordial passable semblance of human. Wanting to only speak in grunts and gestures. Food, good. Coffee need. Urgh ugh. It feels like forever and a day since getting enough sleep. It adds pain to my already allergen affected eyes. There is nothing worse when currently experiencing this, lack of sleep so easily affects mood and personality. Sometimes it seems like no matter what, a proper night’s rest is denied, some form of interruptions occurring each evening. Certainly doesn’t allow the mind to operate with any real coherent consistent train of thought. Some significant thought arrives, but before it can be expressed its vanished as if never being there at all, leaving one feeling a bit stupid. You find yourself doing things on autopilot but not accurately, and end up putting the milk in the pantry rather than the fridge, with no memory of having actually done that. Sleep?
Sleep, Where Are You?
June 29th 2012
Friday June 29th 2012, 12:36 pm
I heard from someone today about some very sad news, and sad circumstances that are involved. This was a story that I wasn’t aware of until now, but it raises important questions about our society and our industry. How creative contributors lives are affected and sometimes how they’re ended. This is about Robert Washington III. There isn’t a lot I can personally say about the man, as I’ve not had the opportunity to ever really speak with him. But he went down a path of hardship many of us could face one day, depending on circumstances put before us. As a comics creator he had done work at the beginning of DC/Milestone, the place that really helped me get my start as well, for a bigger picture of his story you’ll need to read at the links below. And its really important that you do so, please. But once you’ve done that, if you can, please donate to the Hero Initiative. This organization was created for the sole purpose of helping comics creators in need, much like Robert was in need.
Robot 6
Comics Beat
MTV Geek News
CBR
Hero Initiative
Thursday June 28th 2012, 8:23 pm
I’m in some strange city, or at least I cannot recognize my location. Its drab and grey, but somehow quaint and comforting. I’m driving along in a car, alone. The sky is golden sunset colors, big blue Maxfield Parrish clouds that seem miles tall, magnificently arc across. I’m now pulled over to the side of the road and exiting the car, I’ve reached the outskirts of the town. To one side of the road I see a low dark wooden fence that runs parallel with the street. Beyond this lay large rolling hills of golden grass that subtly shift in brightness as a breeze pushes along the slopes, kicking up flecks of dried brush and pollens. The hills have spots here and there where groupings of dark green cypress trees of various heights gather. They’re all perfectly shaped and pruned to picturesque perfections, like storybook trees.
But now the sky is rapidly becoming gloom, and I look toward the distant horizon where the clouds have become oppressively darkened, the blackest most wicked clouds I’ve seen. They permeate the atmosphere with menace. The wind gusts become tumultuously defiant, blasting ears and skin. I see groups of other people now, all headed for the nearest crop of the cypress trees. I take another look into the sky and the threatening wall of clouds looms ever larger, ever closer, swirling with rage. My heart begins to quicken, and my nerves set on edge.
I make a run for the same apparent safety of the thicket of trees as everyone else. A violent roar booms as if a giant lion were chasing, nipping at my heels, anxious to devour. I make it to the tree line and immediately flatten myself to the ground, next to me, doing the same, is a dark haired brown skinned woman. I note that she is wearing a simple red t-shirt. She briefly looks at me acknowledging my presence, then immediately tightens her eyes closed as much as she can, her brow furrows.
The blasting archaic engine of the storm hits, fearfully realizing that my legs are partially unsheltered. The winds grasp and scrape at them, clawing and pulling at them. For the briefest of moments the primal force is lifting my lower body up, there is sense of partial weightlessness, but then suddenly I’m released. And violent roars seem to wither as my legs drop to the dusty surface. We slowly rise up and peer outward, the black bestial clouds are breaking up before our eyes, and shafts of golden light cast to the ground. I turn to the woman, but now her shirt has become pastel blue. I begin telling her what I felt as my legs were violently tugged and yanked upward, that I’m amazed and elated by this experience. She looks at me questioningly with her round dark eyes, not saying anything for a moment. She finally speaks in a bewildered expression, “Thats impossible. There is no way the thing could’ve done that and you still stand here, you’d be gone. You must’ve imagined it all.” I was taken aback by this, offended by her disbelief.
Sleeping Visions From Another Dimension 7
June 28th 2012
Wednesday June 27th 2012, 11:28 pm
Juno is typically known as the goddess of marriage. Interestingly the month of June is named for her. So this comes as no coincidence that so many weddings take place in this month, hence the commonly known phrase or term, A June Wedding. But June is also interesting in that it acts as a halfway point of the year, its end beginning the transition toward the end of another cycle. Marriage is just one type of cycle for lives to take. Also there is information purporting that some of the longest days of the year are in June. Sort of symbolic with the idea that we wish people who marry to live long happy lives. June 1st also acts as a marriage between the northern hemisphere and the southern, marking changes in weather between the two, but come together on the same day. June 1st is the first day of summer and winter, either depends on your geographical location, a marriage of summer with winter on the same day. The northern hemisphere quite often views the first day of summer as June 1st, and the southern hemisphere will commonly view June 1st as the beginning of winter, so the seasons cross, sharing a beginning that signifies change. I also find this symbolic for the idea of marriage, as two individuals come to together to start a new life as a union, celebrated on a single day.
Pondering June
June 27th 2012
Tuesday June 26th 2012, 8:58 pm
My quest for the arch villain of Time has led me to yet another world on the fringe of the galaxy. Far different than last time I had set foot on solid ground. Here it squishes underfoot, like stepping on mounds of wet fatty flesh. The air here is thick and hot, and a red jungle rises up all around me into a layer of dense mist. The trees loom over head like giant creaking and swaying beasts. The cracks and jitters they make almost sound like some incomprehensible language. They have giant round leaves that dangle from long sloping branches, the shapes reminding me of a birthday balloon bouquet from childhood.
I had received a partially broken distress call that alluded to my enemy being here. But there is no signs of sentient life that I can discern. As I set the mech-lock to my vessel’s cockpit for Identify Mode, all I can hear is the damned creaking forest and the occasional wild chirp or squeal of the creatures that are out of sight in the underbrush.
The signal I picked up as I approached the planet, seemed to know who I was, communicating their request to continue my mission here, sending coordinates. I’ve tucked away provisions obtained at the last port in my saddle-pack, enough to last for a for few days journey at least. However, the thickness of this haunting place may not allow me to move more than a few clicks, but I must follow every possible lead. I’ve very little time left, maybe 6 months or so at the most to locate this fiend of Time before he reaches the Whiteout weapon. Gods help us all if he launches that infernal device. The ultimate doom machine, its sole purpose to cause a hiccup in the timestream, essentially being able to remove a designated target from existence. There is a lake of fire at the very bottom of a pit in perdition’s waste waiting for the maker of that thing.
I head out due north, the transmission had left a beacon signal to follow. The squashing of the meaty ground felt a little unnerving, the red wetness slowly seeping through the leather of my boots to my quickly moistening skin. I’ll have to be careful of blistering. As I move deeper into the scarlet forest, a sudden chill set in, and what little there was of the sun seemed to be vanishing into shadow. This was highly unnatural, the sun isn’t to meet the horizon for quite a few hours. The cold is immediately penetrating, my breath visible on the chilled air. My vision tunnels for moment. The trees nearest me begin to change color in the darkening light, becoming cobalt and now had the appearance of glass. Its as if reality is warping around me. I then hear chimes from behind, the sound of clear ice cracking and splintering. I whirl around quickly, hand on the hilt of my blade. Before me was unlike anything I’d ever seen. Standing close to twenty feet high, the top of it barely scraping past the lowest of the now cobalt crystalline branches, and roughly human in shape but spindly, the body maybe only ten inches across. Was this alien thing a man? It glistened and sparkled in the dim light. The reflecting cobalt blues giving this creature an icy appearance. As I glanced across its body, whatever it had for skin was of spikes and shards, translucent crystals, each coming to a point like the tip of a dagger. Gazing upward toward it’s angular pointed face and head, it glared back at me with diamond shaped red eyes, emanating what I could only perceive as intense anger. At this very moment I couldn’t help but wonder if I’ve been led into a trap.
Then it spoke a voice that was like shattering glass, “I should puncture your noisy heart with the tip of a finger, but I’m feeling tired this cycle. You do not belong here, you thing of pulp and bone! What dare you seek interloper? It had better be worth the risk of your disgusting pumps of blood.”
The Hunt For Mister Time
June 26th 2012
Tuesday June 26th 2012, 11:20 am
The Inkwell Awards at Heroes Con over the weekend, apparently I’ve won. A surprising category for me, considering its mainly for inkers, but they have an All-In-One category for people who ink over their own pencils. So nice to win this, because I never considered myself an inker per se, just doing my thing. Thanks for who voted for me. More results at…Inkwell
Monday June 25th 2012, 8:08 pm
Nothing much to say today, just one of those days where my mind is kinda weeded out and blank. So what do I talk about when I’ve not much to say since I’ve set up this scenario for myself to blog each day? I talk about the fact that I’ve nothing to talk about, ooh exciting. I really dislike feeling this way, makes me feel like I’m a droll dullard who can’t find something interesting to explore. But really I know its just that I’m in burnt mode for a short while. I get to points every so often where everything just fuzzes out. And so now you’ve had to read this crap of a blog post. Thats a minute you’ll never ever ever see again.
Sorry, Gone In Wisps Of Zilch
June 25th 2012
Sunday June 24th 2012, 8:51 pm
As I slowly became coherent, my vision was sealed off, the light of day barely peering through the red membranes of my skin. Stuck and cemented by a thick layer of crusted goop, I had to pry using my fingers to break the lids open, I could almost hear the sound of stickiness. Reflected in the mirror I could only half see, blinded by the pasted ooze and swollen flesh. Thick viscous yellowish white smears across my cheek, but gritted and abrasive like sand. The tissue of one eye, was as blood, soupy with excess fluids. My sight was like staring into a wound.
An Infectious View
June 24th 2012
Sunday June 24th 2012, 12:48 pm
Photo by Andy Wana
Photo by Andy Wana
Photo by Straw
Photo by Straw
These photos are of Melissa Echo as Batwoman, pretty damn cool. And you can view more photos at Flicker at the above menu tab, Batwoman Lives Set. Or you can go to…
Melissa Echo
Melissa’s Tumblr
Andy Wana
Straw
Saturday June 23rd 2012, 9:39 pm
Click drag. Click drag. Click drag. Click Drag. Click Drag. Clicking and Dragging. This part is always so tedious, especially when immersed in grays and washes. Meticulous comprehension of what is front of me zoomed into almost the molecular level, or at least thats how it seems. In some ways I suppose its true, just in the realm of pixels blending and merging ranges of tones, digital molecules. Click. Drag. Click. Drag. I hate this part. I suppose its the balance that must be maintained, because whence this is done, then the fun begins.
Creating Layer Selections For Color
June 23rd 2012
Friday June 22nd 2012, 10:13 pm
After having escaped from my grasp and fled, I’ve tracked him to world after strange world, but always he remains just out of reach. I imagine his mocking visage every tiring step I take. That leering face keeps my soul burning for revenge. The desolate landscape is remote and alien to me, the barren outcroppings of craggy giant purple and orange jagged boulders shaped liked spearheads penetrating the surface of the dusty and pebbled slopes remind me of just how bleak I feel about my predicament. As I trudge to the top of a small hill, I witness plumes of black smoke rising into the yellowed sky. The source of this lays some short distance down into a large valley where burning embers from a couple of small dwellings crackle and smolder. There is no signs of life here. As I warily approach the damaged structures, I can see blast marks and blackened holes all around, bricks flung and crumbled. There has been a deadly skirmish here and I fear for my unknown brethren that had made lives for themselves in this place, the beast of Time has decimated them. The slight breeze pushes the smoke around in swirls and ribbons, for half a moment there is beauty in its wispy movements, but then it fills my lungs causing me to choke and gag on the air. My inflamed nostrils return me to my senses, the foul odors are like a threat unto themselves. Clearly my enemy has come this way. He always leaves a swath of destruction in his wake, the bastard. I feel like I shall never track down this elusive foe. But in my heart, I know that is not true. We will have our final confrontation in this war, I will have my hands around his throat, and only one of us will be the victor.
The Search For Mister Time Continues…
June 22nd 2012
Thursday June 21st 2012, 10:07 pm
Its a luxury when I actually think about it, in that we have this sort thing at all. It really does make our lives better. But its also a quality issue. Some are much better than others. Sometimes its silky smooth, glistening between the fingers. Sometimes its too watery, feeling unsubstantial and disappointing. Other times its thick and creamy like pudding. It can smell wonderful, but there are some that the scent is kinda funky, something off putting about it. I’m sure formulas are fretted over, plotted, trying to find the thing that will make them different than their competitors. Sometimes its divine, but too expensive to take seriously, other times it can be super bubbly, and sometimes it tells stories on TV.
The Trivial Important Differences Of Soaps
June 21st 2012
Wednesday June 20th 2012, 8:11 pm
Released last week…
Wednesday June 20th 2012, 8:01 pm
Hot oranges and intense reds, earthy greens and autumn russet. All set against black and grey shades, and lines forming fire and reptilian myth rising up to greet a symbolic sun. Only partly finished as the flesh flakes away to reveal the image repeated on another layer. The healing and transformation appropriate for the meaning of it even in this undone form. It will be made glorious when complete, vivid and powerful.
The New Tattoo
June 20th 2012
Tuesday June 19th 2012, 11:35 pm
Crusted edges keep returning. Scraping with every movement. Burning intensively. Murky with excessive moister, but yet there is no relief. All causing cloudiness of vision causing cloudiness of mind.
My Fucking Eyes
June 19th 2012
Monday June 18th 2012, 7:30 pm
By the end, there are smears and smudges, messy, all mashed into the grooves and folds and pours. Covered like a child finger-painting, the stains blackening and caking up on the tired flesh. Caught up under fingernails, like I’ve been digging through charcoal and ash, leaving me with artistic grime and residue to be scrubbed away. Annoyingly some tiny fraction of bits refuse to release, appropriate since the visions attempting to be conveyed still linger in my head for awhile, slowly drifting and melting.
My Art Working Hand
June 18th 2012
Sunday June 17th 2012, 9:15 pm
Blending into rays of friendly metaphorical sunshine descending down upon my head, built from electrical digital synapses crossing through time and space and beamed straight into my voodoo machine, giving me the Warm and Fuzzies in 140 characters or less…
Tweetverse Greetings
June 17th 2012
Sunday June 17th 2012, 2:23 pm
I’ve been dragged and kicked into the now by my wife Wendy and our friends to join the Twitter-verse. I’m @JHWilliamsIII
Hopefully I won’t be too inane
😉
Saturday June 16th 2012, 10:24 pm
I thank all who came out to see us, and some of you drove a long distance. I so appreciate it. Another kind of thank you is written in the 2306152 blog at the tab above.
Saturday June 16th 2012, 10:21 pm
An excessively warm day here, but nothing compared to the smiling faces that greeted us this afternoon. Warming our hearts with their eager enthusiasm for the event at hand. When doing public appearances, its always so gratifying to be met by good friends, and lovely new people, all with shining expressions giving me a real sense of gratitude for those who gravitate to my efforts to bring them the best craft that I can. Its a gift that I relish.
A Red Sky Day
June 16th 2012
Friday June 15th 2012, 11:16 pm
Its dark out, almost thick with it, and I’m hiding at the base of some tree looking upward. I can see there is a thicket of silhouetted treetops against the brownish grey black night sky. Towering above this, and softly illumined from some distant ambient golden light, is a giant humanoid creature that appears to have a canine head, with floppy ears. I can see it’s glistening large round eyes looking to one side as if its heard something, but not toward me, it doesn’t know I’m here. Suddenly, I can hear the snapping cracks of splintering breaking trees, something enormous is moving through these dark woods. Now coming upon the giant dog-man is another colossal being, but this one definitely has a human head, but its skin is blue, the body muscled, the face regal with short black hair, a curled black goatee, and crystal eyes, I note the ears are pointed, elven. This new giant is speaking with the other in a voice that booms with deep bass clarity, but yet I cannot understand what he says, cannot understand the words, but I can tell there is sinister meaning in them by his tone. Their conversation ends with the giant blue man laughing, revealing yellowish teeth, he laughs broadly as a conquering king might laugh.
Now I find myself in a large park sized clearing in the woods, still a dim brown night. I’m with a group of others but can’t really see them, the nightly shadows playing heavily across their features. We’re all staring into the far night sky, the black treetops forming the horizon. Then we see several small points of light flicker into existence. At first these would appear as stars might, but then with split second rapidfire movement, these lights flash toward us. Quite large, they impact the grassy grounds violently, exploding plumes of soil and dust into the air. This happens repeatedly, and each time the result is the same, the dust plumes leaving in their wake terrifying giant grotesque dark things, all spines and scales and talons, though they walk upright like men.
As these otherworldly beasts herd toward us, we seem to be paralyzed from escape, standing in quiet fear. Then there is another sudden burst of light from the gloomy sky, striking the ground in a radiant kaleidoscopic brilliance of color. As the light immediately subsides, standing before us to block the path of the insidious creatures, is the most enigmatic being I’ve ever scene. A transcendent beautiful gleaming shape of a woman, all clad in silver and red from head to toe. From my vantage I can’t see her face even remotely, she has turned away to confront these monstrous foes. I notice a single supple ponytail of strawberry blonde hair pours very neatly from a small opening in the back of her silvery metallic helmet. She bursts into action, creating a swath of devastation on the beasts. Though they seemed fearsome and giant to us, they were cut down with relative ease by this female warrior wielding energy weapons unlike anything earthly, blades fashioned from some alien force, glowing white hot blue. Dismembering the enemy almost voraciously, a clawed limb here, a ghastly head there, entire bodies eviscerated into heaps of muddy gore, until not a creature was left standing. There were smoldering chunks of beast-flesh left scattered across the now serene clearing.
During this cacophony of violence I could couldn’t help but be in mesmerized awe of what transpired before my eyes, forever emblazoned to memory. At once, something tickled the back of my mind, there was something strangely familiar to me about this exotic and powerful woman, as if I knew her from somewhere. She stood firmly, still facing away from us. I’m only slightly embarrassed to say that I found myself aroused by her presence, her perfect feminine form was alluring to me, and I felt as if I would be forever in her thrall.
She slowly turned toward us, her gaze coming to mine directly. Her silver glinting helmet covered the top portion of her face, her eyes completely hidden behind large black cat-eye shaped lenses. But her smooth lined jaw was visible, revealing creamy skin, like buttery porcelain, her lips vividly ruby. She starts to step forward, her stride broad and powerful, commanding. As she approaches me seemingly uncaring of the others around me, I feel a slight shiver up my spine at her attention as she comes closer. The light breeze that has picked up, billows her fiery blonde strands in almost slow motion. She steps up to me, but without any pause she kisses me vigorously, deeply. There is familiarity in this kiss, a deep love. She releases her embrace to smile at me with grandness, with life and passion. And somehow I feel that I actually have always known this woman from the stars, as if we were longtime lovers.
Sleeping Visions From Another Dimension 6
June 15th 2012
Thursday June 14th 2012, 9:16 pm
Ick! What the hell did I just step in?! Gross and disgusting, leading off today with stress and a mess. That old cat Sam sneaking around doing wetwork off in the shadowy hall, to be undiscovered only until the auto-vac spread it across the wood floor, ack! Sterilized everything.
Pissed (literally)
June 14th 2012
Wednesday June 13th 2012, 10:15 pm
As a reminder and a bit of a tease, the charity piece I did for the event is being revealed one ’tile’ at a time. The store’s link below takes you to facebook, and for every 25 likes they post another tile. Tweet it! So hit ‘like’ on repeat…
Batwoman-Redsky
Wednesday June 13th 2012, 9:38 pm
Almost blaring, certainly glaring in its annoyance. Incessantly whistles, squawks, screeches, and chirps. All seemingly random. The pitch penetrates the house like the wail of a harpy baring down on it’s prey. It goes on and on and on and on. The worse part of it being in the middle of the night, leaving us to stare up at a blank ceiling in red irritated eyed gritting our teeth sleepless frustration. The damn thing is lucky we’re not the types to just shoot it to end our misery.
The 3am Blundering Bird
June 13th 2012