negative thinking on comics

Why would one draw comics?

Does one consider the brief and rare flickers of joy worth all the of frustration? is it justifiable to spend such large periods of time staring at a sheet of paper thinking nothing at all, until some thought of no consequence appears. If something you love is putting you in a very real state of misery and negativity, should you leave it behind? 

Is it even possible?

Fuck it, draw some comics, because it doesn't matter if you cant draw a convincing hand, just draw a hand. If you have something to say just say it, right? 

But if you don't have anything to say, why would you speak? and if you don't know the right words, how can you argue convincingly.  Do you ever draw for others... are comics really the cheapest form of therapy? I don't think they help me much at all... writing things down doesn't alway help one process anything. Comics make me happy sad, angry and bitter.

not everyone is able to reach the point they hope to, my goals are mediocre, and my inability to attain them leaves a taste in my mouth. Plus I live too much in my head, and I'm open to negativity at the best of times. 

just thoughts, nothing else.

anyhow this is a good album, specially tracks 1, 6 and 11

KAREN O AT HOME FULL ALBUM

yawn etc

Hi, how are you... sorry I haven't posted in so long, its simply that I have nothing to show for the time. ce la vie. Above are two pages, which go nowhere, but I enjoyed drawing the first.

so theres that.

I just returned from the cinema, where I watched Calvery. a fine film, I enjoyed it immensely, though its hard to stomach at times, It asks many questions similar to the Great Beauty, but in a more "obvious" way-- Brendon Gleason is a priest (and one of only three sympathetic characters)... the constant stream of existential and religious queries headed in his direction are in the line of duty i suppose. blah de blah... sorry Id be more eloquent if I were to just talk ... typings dull stuff... Maybe I should cast a really shitty podcast eh!

yawn... 

this is great 

Hailu Mergia - Hari Meru Meru

Im not blue, call me azure

Wasn't sure which version I preferred, anyhow... I drew this little four page thing yesterday on my day off..

I'd like to say that I feel lucky today, so Im not even going to rant or complain at all in this post. Can't promise for t' next post, so enjoy a rare respite. 

I love this song.

Mira Niñita - Los Jaivas

Winona never stopped calling me, despite the court order.

I still receive missed calls from 90's winona ryder, ce la vie... I guess one can get used t' anything eh.

Anyhow, I put the comic up on my TUMBLR 

Cat Power - Sea of Love

A drawing I made in the afternoon, because I draw in the afternoon, and I'll fight for my right to

I just finished colouring this piece... I suppose there'll be some kind of narrative later on... but who's t' say?

ups and downs and sideways motion, I wish I was a skateboarder sometimes, but I get around on my bicycle just swell. 'The Rocket' was a beautiful film, capturing life in a wonderful way. If you dug 'Beasts of the southern wild' then this film will sit well with you. Heres the trailer which doesn't do justice entirely 

Katie Parrish does awesome comics 

I loved this film, and the music was something else..

SQÜRL (featuring Madeline Follin) -- Funnel Of Love

Scrapes and scraps, things I drew yesterday whilst others were making love in the room above

Creative full stop. It'll take time.

Only lovers left alive - great film, hipster vampires and deep (yet lighthearted) melancholy. fantastic soundtrack by Jim Jarmusch's outfit.

The Grand Budapest Hotel - An enjoyable romp, not a new favourite Wes Anderson, but fun 

nonetheless

Samurai Rebellion -  Fantastic old Toshiro Mifune/ Tatsuya Nakadai film, about a family taking a stand against the cruelties of an oppressive system.

Listen.

Jozef Van Wissem & Jim Jarmusch - Apokatastasis (Restoration)

Hold me up, pin me down, leave me by the side of the road and give my suitcases to the captain

Don't assume anythings going anywhere, these are just two pages from my sketchbook, drawn last week.

Three films I've seen in the past week:

Stranger by the lake - An excellent  thriller, beautifully shot and composed... also features real sex, which is always kinda unsexy, used perfectly though. a great film for sure.

Synecdoche new york - finally got a chance to see this quirky piece.. both a heartbreaking look at misery and an unrelenting exploration of life. A pretty special film, and a hard thing to watch at times.

Le Ronde- fun.

I wish I had something witty and profound to say, but at times though my mouth moves, and my fingers type, no noise comes out at all. ho hummn.

This is an amazing album/film, my favourite piece is Killer crane, and it comes at about 39:10

TV On The Radio - Nine Types of Light

Rambl'n nonesense, and sensible ambling

I felt like I owed the internet a blog post.

Just some rough scribblings on spare paper... I've been considering my drawing, and its shortcomings, how I use colour and texture to distract from the problems I have with certain aspects... Its pretty sad to be twenty-five and unable to draw trees for instance... long story short, Im attempting to work through it in my sketchbook... 

Did you ever think that Life was simple... and then it suddenly seemed a lot more complicated then anticipated, and then one day you woke up by the Swanee river naked, clutching a bag of salted liquorice... ho hummn.

Lots of great comics to read over here at Electro Comics

does he require lyrics to break your heart? non.

John Fahey- Sligo River Blues

I'd love to be around whilst history is judging me, but I have a hair appointment

Just a page I made today, made a few others, but this one looks the nicest.

Nothing seems broken, its all just in a state of flux... and who knows what'll emerge, when or if? I forget the hows and whys of it all, but they no longer seem so important anyway... I'll count to ten and spin on my toes until I wake in Anatolia. 

Do they sell free range eggs on Jupiter?

Tired, sorry... but It's been a week of thinking too much, of peaks and of course.... and this piece is pulling my heartstrings, which is just fine with me.

Arvo Pärt- Spiegel im Spiegel

bon nuit

Friend of a friend you used to call, until you didn't call anymore

The top two are little things I doodled at work.. the first is a ten page story I put up on my TUMBLR

The third page is a comic I made a few months ago, but only got around to colouring it recently. ho hummn.

Inside Llewyn Davis... go see it. A brilliantly understated and subtle look at a moment of quiet crises in a musicians life. The characters are never entirely sympathetic, but nor are they overly callous, just fragile and engaging. A new favourite Coen bro's film..

Anyhow, not much to say at present... heres a nice lil' piece...

Broken Social Scene - Sentimental X's

Things I found in the discotheque, and meaningless thought about 12 years a slave

How'do... So the first of the images is from a lil story I drew yesterday on a bench at the southbank, with gradually freezing hands, feeling all 'romantic' or whatever... check it out over HERE

Then some sketchbook draws, and the final three are showing the process of me lil colouring trick, borrowed in part from Olivier Schrauwens method of printing and then re-layering on top of the Initial piece, though of course my work pales by comparison... theres a swell interview with mr schrauwen up HERE

Im still not quite certain what aesthetic I should be aiming for, but experimentations the name o' the game, eh!

I saw The Light Thief... a fantastic film from Kyrgyzstan, about a small town electrician, who steals energy for his poor townsfolk... Its beautiful and quiet, and packs a punch by the finale...HERE'S the whole film, alas without subtitle, but hey... go buy the dvd! 

I also saw twelve years a slave, and It was a fine film... I did however take slight issue at the structure of the piece... Being a series of vaguely connected events and moments, it all but left out any sense of time whatsoever, to the point where it felt it was more six months a slave.

I guess it let the title do the heavy lifting there...

Hmmn... Brad Pitts timely arrival in the last 20 mins or so, and his two scenes, the first showing what a good guy he is, and the second showing what a good guy he is, were almost laughable... Mcqueen has a fantastic aesthetic, of that theres no doubt, but the film is a long way off a classic status (as so many of the newspapers proclaim) in anything save its subject matter and fantastic performances by Fassbender, Ejifor and Dano.

Im sure it'll continue to ride the wave its on to much success.. but If you really want t' catch a special film from the past six months, check out the great beauty

time to out with...

TV on the Radio Mr.Grieves

Today I drew a little and thought about Sylvie, in whose city I am not.

So, a few weeks ago I think I finally arrived at a point where I have a genuine story. a longer piece that I'd like to tell, and which might capture something of my experience of life... I hope I manage to tell it, but my track record is oh so poor, I enjoy drawing, and presuming I have things to say... but I often wonder how valid my voice really is... 

Still the thing is to get the work done eh.

I watched the Three colours films for the first time last week. I found them strong as a trilogy, of which White stood alone well, whereas Blue worked best in its role as introduction and Red as a conclusion, but both lacking slightly as stand alone films... still well worth watching, and Im sure I will revisit again.

I also re-watched 'dans la ville de Sylvie'... and gosh... such a perfect film, every single time I see it I enjoy it more... or the same. which is a lot. The director Jose Luis Guerin gives a great insight into art and film in an interview included on the dvd. one thing he said which grabbed me was. "All stories are possible, but later the knowledge of 'words' excludes the stories, narrows them down..."

perfect. HERE'S the trailer anyhow

The goal is to create a quiet story of looks, with few words and many opportunities for interpretation, the characters are existing, and we join them for a spell, but it is not about building their biography.

Here's a piece of music from another film I love..

Nicola Piovani - Bambini al telefono (Caro diario) - 1993

bon nuit.

Old unused drawings from the past 6 months, that I picked up in my time machine. For your pleasure.

Just a bunch of stuffs that I haven't done anything with, figured I'd put them up on the old blog... Im actually pretty happy with the first one's aesthetic... nice n' rough... anyhow. felt I owed a post or whatever.. ho hummn.

anyhow, stop looking at my rubbish attempts at comics, go read some good stuff by patrick kyle

Today I finished 'For whom the bell tolls', a great read indeed, and built up most subtly to a dramatic ending, written without drama, but affecting non the less.

Oh, so beautiful..

Tim Buckley - Song to the Siren

bon nuit

ho hummn. ummn

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I just put  this little self-censored comic up on my TUMBLR

Drawn between boxing day and new year, in a tiny little A6 sketchbook I was given at Xmas, mostly doodled at work, in between doing things. Ho hummn. I showed it to someone who asked, despite my reservations (as its pretty introspective), and got an "awwww... cute.." kinda response. That killed it for me, to see how easily misread it was... boo. It just wasn't working. 

Hence the censorship. Plus It's private.

anyway... I love to read old Jesse Moynihan comics, at least till Forming's back up and running.

This may be the greatest music video ever, i just love how beautifully detached his wife is, whilst Louis and the band prance n' dance et al...

Louis Prima Just a Gigolo & I Ain't Go Nobody