Slings and Arrows

Of outraaaaaaageous fortunes! Trying to paint and paint as much as I possibly can. Still a bit too tight than I'd like, so I have to set a quicker time frame to paint. This one is about 24 hrs. Average...

Pretty Young Thing

Sketching to the Oldies Night

Montserrat College of Art's Illustration Department
hosts a night of
Sketching to the Oldies

March 10th, 2008 7:00-9:30pm
Hardie Building, 2nd floor

Let's go ladies!

Thais, Cheers, and Beers OH MY!

I think the amount of spoofs that can spin off this might be gross. The most recent "Cheers" moment I've had is snagging the one open row in a crowded flight. In fact, I think I did buy myself a $5 beer.

Although I have not had Cheers, I heard it was nothing to write home about. I'll keep my eyes open for it though!

Peur(s) du Noir unleashed!

Going a bit video posting crazy today, but I just wanted to announce that PrimaLinea's Peur(s) du Noir is out in French theaters as of February 13th, 2008. Must see NOW.

Elles vous rappelleront les vôtres, à moins qu’elles ne les deviennent…

Ferdinand!

You have to give it up for Ferdinand, one of my most favorite children's stories ever written. I think he's a very good example of you can't fight who you really are. Ever since I read the book/saw this animation... I've wanted to see a real cork tree.

Published more than 50 years ago (and one of the bestselling children's books of all time), this simple story of peace and contentment has withstood the test of many generations. Ferdinand is a little bull who much prefers sitting quietly under a cork tree-- just smelling the flowers--to jumping around, snorting, and butting heads with other bulls. This cow is no coward--he simply has his pacifist priorities clear. As Ferdinand grows big and strong, his temperament remains mellow, until the day he meets with the wrong end of a bee. In a show of bovine irony, the one day Ferdinand is most definitely not sitting quietly under the cork tree (due to a frightful sting), is the selfsame day that five men come to choose the "biggest, fastest, roughest bull" for the bullfights in Madrid. Ferdinand's day in the arena gives readers not only an education in the historical tradition of bullfighting, but also a lesson in nonviolent tranquility.

And it's safe to say that Robert Lawson's clean line work is absolutely stunning. It's refreshing to take a look back at the simplicity of color and line due to the technologies limitations compared to today's printing press capabilities. I heart Ferdinand.

Illustration Friday: Multiple

Valentine's Day was a bit tricky for Terrence, since everything had to be in twos. But, that's the trouble of being a two-timer.

I've been trying to work a lot quicker these past few days. Trying to find a balance between artful messiness and color control.

Under the Water

Another Shybird illustration.

Please take a minute to check out Shybird Studios' brand new website! More work is on the way, along with a promotional feature in this year's Altpick Deck!

www.shybird.com

Influenza of 1918

I had a little bird,
and its name was Enza.
I opened the window,
and in-flew-Enza.

World War I claimed an estimated 16 million lives. The influenza epidemic that swept the world in 1918 killed an estimated 50 million people. One fifth of the world's population was attacked by this deadly virus. Within months, it had killed more people than any other illness in recorded history. Strangely enough, my high school history class seemed to overlook this incredible fact. Why?

The plague emerged in two phases. In late spring of 1918, the first phase, known as the "three-day fever," appeared without warning. Few deaths were reported. Victims recovered after a few days. When the disease surfaced again that fall, it was far more severe. Scientists, doctors, and health officials could not identify this disease which was striking so fast and so viciously, eluding treatment and defying control. Some victims died within hours of their first symptoms. Others succumbed after a few days; their lungs filled with fluid and they suffocated to death. My grandmother would often tell the story of her older brother, a fit 21 year old Irish lad went out in the fields to work in the morning. By evening, he turned a blueish black and passed away. She, too had the disease where her hair eventually turned bright white from the high fever and fell out later.

The plague did not discriminate. It was rampant in urban and rural areas, from the densely populated East coast to the remotest parts of Alaska. Young adults, usually unaffected by these types of infectious diseases, were among the hardest hit groups along with the elderly and young children. The flu afflicted over 25 percent of the U.S. population. In one year, the average life expectancy in the United States dropped by 12 years. In Europe, World War I did not cause the flu, the close troop quarters and massive troop movements hastened the pandemic. Researchers speculate that the soldiers' immune systems were weakened by the stresses of combat and chemical attacks, increasing their susceptibility to the disease.

A large factor of worldwide flu prevalence was increased travel. The modern transportation systems made it easier for soldiers, sailors, and travelers to spread the disease quickly and to communities worldwide. Knowing the virus was airborne, people were forced to use protective gauze masks, which in the long run probably didn't do much.

Now, I am still wondering why all this was skipped over in my high school?

Evolution of a Bookcover

No matter what point you are in your career, there will always be lots and lots of resketches. SOmetimes for good reasons, sometimes for bad reasons, but hopefully in the end, things come out perfect. Covers are extra tricky, since there is typically a whole separate group of peoplewho need to approve it. Marketing. Makes sense, since we all know that a cover does sell a book!

Black Thursday

Kelmurphy.com v4 is live!

Come check out the new website. It's been about 4 years since it had had a new look, so I am kind of excited. It's just the beginning of more updates, so stay tuned.

Also another big announcement, Shybird Studios is also recently launched! Come check out all the new webtastic happenings!

Flash Snowstorm

A Star is Born

A recent drawing that was given to a friend for her baby shower.

Bombed Again at the Bombardier

One of my favorite (or should a type favourite) pubs in Paris is the Bombardier right next to the Pantheon. I know... a English pub in France, what's wrong with me. The atmosphere is so cozy though, and mighty condusive to drunk drawing! It's one of my favoUrite social past times. Looking abck at the drawings, they act as a visual dictation of the topics discussed around the table that night. Scarily enough, my personailty is screaming through: an abundance of Ghostbuster characters, a to-do list, a map of the Bristish Isles, drawings of Lily, and a bouncing unicorn. Frightening. Also featured, a sad girl getting a Duncan hat (a friend's Great Dane will rest his drooly lips on visitor's heads, thus becoming their hat) and some Japanese artifacts. I scanned in both sides, since it was done on a piece of trace.


Antoine Revoy was my cohort in this catastrophe!

Shakespeare's Rejects

Here are some of the aforementioned rejects. Poor things.

Illustration Friday: Tales and Legends

My entry for this week's "Tales and Legends" is from an artbook I made for the indie horror film I worked on called Little Erin Merryweather. It's a retold version of Little Red Riding Hood only involving a female serial killer from a small New England town. Regrettably, I am having trouble finding the full sized files. Sorry that things are so small. Just another hint that I need better organization in this room I call a studio. Uuuugh. It never ends.

Four Years!

I've never felt "seasoned" in my profession, and I am not too sure I ever will. It's one of those careers where someone is always doing more than you, whether it be in skill level or quantity. But honestly, when I look back at consecutive jobs, I do kind of sort of want to put a feather in my cap. One of the projects I look the most forward to each year is Shakespeare on the Sound's annual theater poster. This year was Julius Caesar, and my fourth in a row. I absolutely love sketching out ideas for them. Being a ginormous fan of the polish poster movement, I shamelessly rip them off... unsucessfully. But regardless, this client gives me the opportunity to go great guns on concept... or at least more than I am used to. Above are the last four years: Tempest, Comedy of Errors, Macbeth, and Julius Caesar. Below are some sketches for this year's Julius Caesar. Oddly enough, the finish products seem to be focused on eyes and noses. Maybe a bit of my own personal likes are shining through! Mayhaps in the next post, I will show all of the previous sketches. Mayhaps!

An Abundance of Sketching

Since almost all of my long term projects are over (still shaking from the very notion), my brain has been on an almost far worse overdrive. MAKE SOMETHING GOOD. LEARN SOMETHING NEW. PROMOTE. Needless to say, I haven't been sleeping much, but I have been trying to calm myself down, and not take things at such a fever pitch. I do have so many things I'd like to experiment with, but I am so nervous that something to engage my time for the next year is on the doorstep. Ahhh, the freelance panics. And they wonder why we hide indoors for days. It's because we're a roller coaster of frustration: HAPPY SAD SAD SAD CONTENT ANGRY OHWAITIFEELABITBETT.... OHGODNOPE MAD MAD MAD MAYBEISHOULDGOTOAMOVIETODA... ASSGETBACKTOWORK WORK WORK WORK!

A sketch from another plane flight. Tumultuous ocean!
Lots of sketching these days. Here's more.

And one of a strapping Grecian, just because I typically give the ladies more of a spotlight.

Pierre Jean David (dit David D'Angers)
"Philopoemen"
Louvre, Paris France

Illustration Friday: Plain

Being one of my first flash animations, I have an aversion to all things vector. Thus, this plain girl is plainly animated. Sorry for the redundancy. I feel as though my artistic tendencies are way too messy to be controlled by the Beziér pen tool. Don't get me wrong, I have crazy respect for those that can harness that power. As for me? I will remain unfortunately messy.

In my mind, plain girls tend to have thin, stringy hair. But I think they say it's the quiet, plain ones that are the fruits!