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I was a given a sketchbook for Christmas and I promptly filled it up. I was eighteen, pissed off I was stuck in Huntington, WV and had met an illustrator who tried valiantly to teach this stubborn ex-varsity baseball pitcher how to cartoon.
A prodigy I was not. Turns out what I lacked in talent, I made up for in tenacity.
Skeptics doubting the stories of The Grappler can't explain what happened to Miss Jenkins on that fateful evening of June 7th, 1879 in Bloodshire, England.
Thought this was a decent web illustration for a local radio blowhard here in Atlanta.
A little multi-media study juxtaposing the soft organic quality of the figure with the hard edge graphic quality of the wood working tools.
Hans Hoffman (1880-1966) was a painter of squiggly lines and colorful blobs.
A bit of "problem solving" before I committed this detail to canvas.
Daniel Howell runs BigRedKitty for gamers with a medieval bent. Luckily, Daniel does it all with a dwarf hunter's portion of humor.
Beyond the Octoroon Splinter, the Nefarini cast a formidable shadow of eternal hatred over human space. Were it not for the Galathan Ultimatum, Second Incinerator Stark would have passed on negotiating with these vile creatures and spent a long SolSpan in Sector Azurine.
FANCY DIVE
by Shell Silverstein
The fanciest dive that ever was dove
Was done by Melissa of Coconut Grove,
She bounced on the board and flew into the air
With a twist of her head and twirl of her hair
She did thirty-four jackknives, backflipped and spun,
Quadruple-gainered, and reached for the sun,
And then somersaulted nine times and a quarter-
And looked down and saw that the pool had no water.
I'm thinking this is a Crichton thriller where quantum physicists discover an ancient conspiracy that reveals the REAL reason why organic food costs more than canned food. Mayhem ensues.
Ummon (864-949) was a Zen master during the T'ang Dynasty. He also once said,"Be the ball."
THE MARTIAL WAY
24" X 24", oil on masonite board
I was shooting for a visual representation that captured the meaning and vitality of China's exotic ideography.
Logan Pearsall Smith (1865-1946) was an essayist and came up with a bunch of aphorisms and epigrams. I don't know what those are, but I want 'em.
This gives y'all an idea of how I get to a finished ink piece. Quite messy, isn't it? I usually don't make any final detail decisions until it's time to ink. There are many tiny nuances in a piece that really don't translate in pencil. I like to think of the pencil rough as a road map, and the final inking as the funky little side trips along the way.
Messing around with head studies.....
'Tis I, stickin' it to the Man. Notice the posh surroundings and the gaggle of dancing girls bringing me endless cocktails. Living the dream, baby.
Flight of the Conchords is my new favorite comedy duo. They do a fantastic job of lampooning "lounge music" by putting all these musical genres in a blender and then serving it up within a story line about weird, lovable losers trying to make a name for themselves. Enjoy.
ONCE JANICE OPENED UP THE GALACTOR XK3000, HER PAROLE VIOLATIONS JUST MELTED AWAY....
I think this could be a Wes Craven flick about Scientology and its strangle-hold on the shoe industry.
OVER HER SHOULDER
8" x 5", oil on paper
Simplicity, simplicity, simplicity.....
Did I cross a line here?
This is a 5" x 5" graphite study I did a while back. Can you name the statue?
Now that it's been a few months since Rumsfeld has been out of the D.C. Shuck 'N' Jive Show, I"m having a hard time imagining him spending his days doing sodoku puzzles, finishing off a pot of Badger Breath herbal tea.
Part-time A/C repairman, Nick Webb rolls through the city's underbelly, scratching it and making it belch.
APPALACHIAN DOOR (watercolor study)
51/2" x 81/2"
Meanwhile, Luigi's committee deposition kept getting weirder...
Herman Hesse (1877-1962) was a German-Swiss poet, novelist and painter. My favorite is "Steppenwolf", his novel about spirituality and what it means to be happy.
Been reading up on Rene Magritte lately....
MALE FIGURE AND ARCHES
8" x 10"
mixed media on masonite
Samuel Beckett (1906 - 1989) was an Irish poet and playwright who maintained a reputation as a genius wrapped in ash cloth. Not a party guy, Beckett
John Cox is a painter, cartoonist, and illustrator for hire. For information about purchasing existing work or commissioning new work, contact him by e-mail at john555cox [at] hotmail.com.
This page contains all entries posted to John Cox Art in August 2007. They are listed from oldest to newest.
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