Wonderfest 2010

Another Wonderful Wonderfest. Here are just a few photos that express my joy of being a returning guest for twelve years now:

New artist Lee Copeland was selling these fabulous caricatures of me, and also had one of fellow guest William Stout. I love it, because it looks like me on any given Wonderfest morning!:



This shot was taken by Anita Pace, as I moderated the RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD Q&A panel, with my friends Jim Karen (pictured), Bill Stout and Linnea Quigley:

A candid shot taken in the Guest Room. Look how happy I am to be there!

Me, Crazy Joe Nejberger and Bill at the Sunday Night Banquet, taken by Beau Kaelin:

My dear friends Tim and Donna Lucas, publishers of VIDEO WATCHDOG magazine. I love these folks with all my heart...

More photos to come...Big thanks and big love to Dave Conover, Donnie Waddell, John Davis and Dave Hodge for continuing to include me in their WF family!

Wonderfest Sketches

With Wonderfest 2010 looming on the horizon, I thought I'd take a look back at some of the images I've created for this fabulous convention in the past. The Louisville, KY event is still my favorite event of the year. This year I will be moderating a 25th anniversary celebration of the classic RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD, with my friends production designer William Stout and actors James Karen and Linnea Quigley. It's being held May 15-16 at the Crown Plaza Hotel in Louisville. Hope to see some of you there!

It's Delicious And Deadly!

Just for fun...Murder's favorite cocktail...

The JAWS Boys

Thinking about one of my all-time favorite films, and three reasons I enjoy it...

Classic Examples: Phantom And Phibes

In my last post I mentioned Lon Chaney's PHANTOM OF THE OPERA and Vincent Price's ABOMINABLE DR. PHIBES as two characters that we classic monster artists love to sketch and paint. Here's two recent additions. The Phantom is done in oils, Phibes in watercolor...

Oliver Reed's Werewolf - An Artist's Dream

For classic horror artists, there are certain characters that just beg to be rendered. Lon Chaney's PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, Boris Karloff's FRANKENSTEIN monster and Vincent Price's ABOMINABLE DR. PHIBES are three that immediately come to mind. Oliver Reed's lycanthrope is another, because of Roy Ashton's unique makeup and the torn, romantic costume he wears. How can an artist resist a werewolf in a red cumberbund?

The proof is below, which two recent pieces from myself and the Mozart of monster sculpture Mike Hill. Mine is done in watercolors, his done in all sorts of materials. Both capture the essence of the character, who only is seen in the final 20 minutes of the Hammer film.

Mike's sculpture is built upon actor Oliver Reed's actual features, which is why is it so spectacular. Without a doubt, you can see Ollie in the eyes.

I liked the idea of making this watercolor look kind of like a tarot card. Werewolves in cinema have been linked to gypsies and fortune tellers since Curt Soidmak's screenplay for THE WOLF MAN in 1941.

A Quasiwatercolor!

After a year of almost continuous professional work, as both an artist and screenwriter, it's nice to have a few days to just kick back and do some artwork for myself. Today I broke out the watercolors and dove into yet another Lon Chaney Sr. piece. As I've said before, watercolor is probably the most challenging of mediums, as there is little room for error. But today I was relaxed, and the colors flowed peacefully. I know that after the New Year I'll be back in full work mode, so I really appreciated the opportunity to just do what I love to do.