Aping Art In Comics!

Combining a love of apes, comics and art has lead me to commission and buy a variety of pieces. One of my favourites is an unused 2000 ad page drawn by Steve Yeowell.

It has most things you would want from a big gorilla in 2000 ad.

A King Kong homage... Check!

Gorilla dressed like Judge Dredd... Check!

Sailor smooching gorillas... Of Course!!

Intellectual gorilla... duh.

Debonair gorilla sporting a bowler hat and cane.... Yup!
Martial Arts gorilla... Why Not?!

and other smaller gorillas doing daily ape like things.

All this made me very happy and still does so many years later.

In Our Time.

I have been a fan of Ernest Hemingway after reading his books in my late teens.  I have found as much as I enjoyed them I never really came back to them until now.

Reading them with life experience behind me has given me a different insight to much of his writing but not more so than probably my favourite book of his In Our Time.

For such a famous author with so many known books behind him I am still yet to come across anyone who has read this which is why I have chosen to blog about it.

If you have read it I would love to know your take, if not then I hope to inspire someone to pick it up.

The uncertainty about the future, destiny, death, problems within relationships, youth, fatherhood are all very striking and complex  topics. Hemingway covers them with such a strong and insightful way.

There isn’t a direct approach to the problems within the relationships, he takes it on indirectly we never really find out the root of the problems within the characters.

In "Indian Camp," we see  Nick's father teaching him about childbirth and tries to answer Nick's questions about death.

 The father figure always seems somewhat distanced from Nick, and the things he tells him don't make any sense to him as a child.

 I see Hemingway trying to portray the innocence of a child yet the the experience of the father and how difficult it is to communicate effectively .

Nicks father always comes across as a little preoccupied which hinders their understanding of each other.

Like many young people, Nick refuses to believe that he could die.

But with time throughout the book we see how fate troubles young people, it always has and always will, but as (we) men get older  (we) they learn to deal with fate as part of life.

This theme also arises in "My Old Man," but the youthful innocence  has disappeared by the end of the story. We see Nick and George in discuss the downside of relationships. For George relationships threaten his independence which suggest a whole feeling of unhappiness, the words Hemingway uses do not suggest to the reader there is a bright side to relationships for George.

Why does marriage fail? Hemmingway suggests it is like war, it is hard to communicate and it can not be sorted in a direct manner.

 As with ‘’The End Of Something’’ Nick and Marjories relationship ends very abruptly but even when together the tend to side with conflict.

In "Three-Day Blow" Nick struggles with the loss of Marjorie because he believes it to be a permanent and final loss.

But he sees he holds his destiny in his own hands, and that there is a  possibility of "a way out" to getting back with Marjorie, so he starts to feel much better.

 Suggesting there are many things that are lost which are not reversible, even though  his feelings in that moment; nothing is lost forever… in contrast to earlier on where we see his feelings that everything has been lost forever….

There is a lament to the passing of time, we see this in some of the shorter stories.

 Ad Francis's mental capacity in the "Battler" or the love between the unnamed soldier and Luz in "Another Short Story." These are projected as small losses  within the larger loss of life that runs throughout the book but  is arguably some of the strongest most thought provoking scenes in the entire book.

Death and loss is covered  by: war, suicide, execution, accident, and bullfighting but they are certainly not the only type of loss able to cause human pain and suffering….

There is no denying it Death plays a major and complicated role from the very start of In Our Time.

 In "The Quai At Smyrna" the English naval officer remembers the horrors of war.

 Mothers would not give up their dead babies.

 In "Indian Camp" the father of the newborn baby commits suicide, we are lead to believe  from the torture of listening to his wife's screams.

 Death represents a dark side, but seen through the eyes of a youthful  Nick there is something brighter about it.

 I would think this is due to his insistence when Nick asks his father about death,  believes he will never die.

For me, the scenes of the bullfighting repulsed me. 

 Death is celebrated as a victory whenever a bull is killed.  If  a matador is killed he gets replaced by someone new.

Hemingway suggesting a correlation from this to war.

When soldiers on one side die, the enemy claims it as a victory, even though both sides are part of the same race and that soldier is then replaced by another and so on… suggesting there could be justice in killing?...

There is a sense of escapism  to the book in the form of fishing and skiing which keep popping up throughout the stories.

They represent an escape  from the problems of society and relationships and they stand as a beacon to happiness.

In "Cross-Country Snow" Nick and George discuss the future and the possibility of skiing again, and although Nick says they must do so, he refuses to promise.

He recognizes the uncertainty of the future.

It is suggesting it is important that we all have some kinda escapism but we see Nick start to isolate himself from society, he likes to fish on his own…. But is this always a good thing??

 In "The End of Something" Nick and Marjorie are able to exist together as they fish for trout, but once they sit by the fire they end their relationship….

A book with strong emotion which makes you think and reading it 12 years later then when I first did provides  a greater insight to life experience and relationships.

I think Hemingway may just have known what he was talking about.?

A Geek Girls Attempt At Sculpting, Take 2.

don’t hesit to work, and work, to ask some help to anybody in this job. to observe the nature, the master and to have a critic spirit on your work to do a better sculpt. and be patient.

Cyril Roquelaine.

Facebook can be a wonderful resource but from time to time there can be a point where it can make you cringe and feel like you want to slip between the cushions of the sofa and disappear like that 1988 TV remote control as you forget who you have on your friends list...it becomes a friend of friend of a friend etc..

After posting a link to my first attempts at sculpting I got chatting with a guy whom I have never really spoken to before but we have a mutual good friend and a love for comics and art and that mutual friend introduced us.

So with the help and guidance of sculptor Cyril Roqelaine I have attempted my second figure from scratch. Looking at it a totally different way from the first but still using the same material.

There are many many ways to creating little men and many many different materials to use, I just need to find the style and material which suits me the best…. Something which can only be done with trial and error and time.

To create this one we took a classical approach by trying to vision the figure within the block of clay, you then start to cut out the shape you see and start to mould with your fingers as you go. This also gives a much more solid base to the figure as the torso and base are one.

Creating a female figure I found far easier than a male, the curves kinda suggest themselves and it is far easier to correct width than a more angular muscle based masculine form.

After kneading for a good hour I was ready to put knife to clay and decided to just go for it. I got the basic female shape which oddly resembled the statue of Liberty, in my head I knew what I was after. To my amazement the arm stayed in place in an upright position rather than flopping down.

This was due to using the clay correctly and all the kneading with the compounds and nylon gives it extra strength.

After the basic shape I kept the remaining clay wrapped in cellophane and then a damp cloth this stops it form drying out whilst letting the sculpted material dry out.

Then a basic head shape was placed and smoothed onto the neck using very little water, damp fingers… legs and feet only suggested as the stay within the main block.

After watching workshop clips which left me somewhat … WOW!  And a little hesitant to share what I was doing, it was pointed out to me to take things very laterally, don’t look at faces as features look at them as lines and shapes, break it all down, same with forming body parts.

The classic female in comics has very little detail, some hardly have a nose, and the most enhanced feature seems to be the eyelashes which are the indication that it is female.  Thighs take the general () shape, so by using some basic symbols:   -,  \, /,  _,  O,  ^,  ~, .,  along a horizontal or vertical line a human shape can be formed.

So with step by step instruction via the wonder that is Skype! I went in for the kill with trying to get the face better than 711!!

Using my pointy metal tool only a horizontal line was created to indicate a brow, ^ for the nose a smaller horizontal line for the mouth and two slightly larger pin point indentations for eyes… that was it!!

Next was the hands, form a basic shape and used scissors to create a finger and the rest is suggestion with lines. Again to my amazement the finger didn’t drop off…

For sculpting the hair I used epoxy, as this is what I am now used to and like it’s slight adhesive quality.

Another valuable lesson I learnt was not to be too gentle with it, put some strength behind it as it won’t fall to bits.

I feel it is time to throw away my nail files for filing and starting using what the big boys use and have a play with different grains of sand paper as there is no way I can get this stuff smooth by using an emery board.

Otherwise everything else is painted on. Facial features again.. the bain of my life!! She doesn’t quite look irresisatble she has a kinda £10 Blackpool strip club look to her.

I wanted to add a burlesque feel so added texture with making her a feather boa and the base of standing on hearts whilst breaking out of them… Yeah! Symbolism baby!!

SO… Who is she??

This is the classic character known to Europe as CHICA BOOM BOOM!! And across the pond I believe she is known by CLARA DE NOCHE.

Originally appearing in the euro erotica books drawn by the superb JORDI BERNET. And then a somewhat tamed version in a Parisian newspaper strip.

I love the tongue and cheek strip, even though the backstory is the same, Chica is loved by ALL men, no man can resist her feminine charms and she exploits that to its full capacity, there is nothing she won’t do for money to make sure her son gets what he wants. She travels across the world breaking hearts….

So, my 2^nd attempt at sculpting... if you view it from afar with a squint! It Looks OK…

I have learnt an awful lot in the two weeks I have been doing this and the most important lesson I have learnt is to be patient… rather than trying to do a full figure I am going to practice just heads and then move on to another part.

Getting the basics down… then I can move on to create something of worth.

So to all my geeky comic book, sci-fi, arty friends… HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!! May Chica break your heart? ;)

You may like to check out.http://roquelaine.com/site/index.php?lng=en

It Was 50 Years Ago Today.... John, Paul and George To Play!

(From Liverpool National Archives)

Well it has been 50 years since the Beatles played their very first gig at the Cavern club in Liverpool.

The band had a decent sized following during their stay in Germany, but getting gigs back home was tough going.

It was then drummer Pete Bests mother, Mona, who managed to persuade the Cavern club booking agent to give them a slot.

So during a  Monday lunchtime on 9^th February 1961 John, Paul and George took the stage.

It is unclear if Ringo was there as he was not a member of the band at the time, drummer being Pete Best.

It is not impossible that Ringo was playing;  he was known to stand in.

According to Beatles historian Mark Lewishon:  it was Pete Best playing on this day, and I would side his knowledge on the Beatles against anyone.

It is highly likely that the debut of Ringo, George, Paul and John was a lunch time event on the 21^st Feb 1961, but so little is recorded from these times it is hard to put a definitive on it.

From what George and John have said about the lunchtime gigs, we know they were relaxed affairs where they would eat their sandwiches, have a smoke and drink whilst bantering with people who were in the audience.

They got paid £5 for their troubles, not great but not awful for that time.

(webspace.webring.com)

The image of the club was slightly smarter then as to what is was to become. George was  refused entry on this day as he was wearing jeans…  they were known for their strict NO Rock n’ Roll policy, even though the club itself has been described as dark, dank and sweaty.

8 months later Brian Epstein came across them whilst visiting the club and signed them to their first management contract a few weeks later.

My mother was studying at the time at Edge Hill which is part of the University of Liverpool, she left in 1959.

Though they had to be back in halls by 11.00pm she recalls a few of them going down to the Cavern Club to see the Quarrymen (Johns band) back in 1957.

It was the first time she had heard Rock n’ Roll.

Though it is unclear, as my mother is not the greatest of music fans I would like to think her memory is of John when he chose to play Elvis Presley to a disgusted club owner.

My father was 18 at the time though we don’t think he saw the Beatles in 61 it is known he saw them at the Cavern a good few times over the next couple of years, travelling from Manchester each Saturday night with his brother and friend to hang out on the band scene of Liverpool.

Travelling in their Triumph Herald, the story goes it would travel at 74mph and they ragged the arse off their car going from Manchester to Liverpool travelling the scenic route and taking the roads through Warrington tearing down the countryside roads to get there in time....

If by some ethereal chance I got to ask my dad something as an adult I would love to hear his stories from 60’s as he was a known to be quite a one for the clubs, Rn’R records from the States and the clubs. Being good friends with Eric Burden (Animals) and Paul Jones (Manfred Mann) whom were known along with certain members of the Hollies would poor scorn on Davey Jones whom was to become of ‘Monkees’ fame for apparently just being  a self-absorbed wanker.
 (Not my words.)

So today in Liverpool and across the world celebrations are taking place of what is probably the most influential and greatest band in the world  The Beatles!! (but the Stones may be better) ;)



(www.vashauraa.wordpress.com)



When Science And Art Combine. Part 1.

The idea of this post was originally a set of three articles for a website, it consisted of three different artists who are renowned for their work within science and art and looked at the overlap.

 I decided it wasn't really appropriate to the feel of the site and didn't want to put anyone off their breakfast  reading part one.

Whilst funning a friend at the weekend it reminded me I have had these hanging around in my out box for nearly a year. So it's about time they see the light of day.

Dr. Gunther Von Hagens. Body and Animal Worlds.


The word art over the last five decades has taken on a new meaning
There are artists all over the world using the words 'mixed methods' and expressing ideas .

It's a way of experimenting, seeing things in a different way. Letting out frustration which is placed within society and challenging the concepts of traditional art and it's ways.

It allows the imagination to explore our inner-selves and connect the conscious with the sub conscious, but there is a line to be drawn and when does art start to over step the boundary of artistic expression?

The name Dr Gunther von Hagens has created quite a stir over these last few years through out the art world.
Technically von Hagens is not an artist but an anatomist which the art world has embraced due to his controversial studies of putting dead human and animal bodies on display in different states of wellbeing at an exhibition called Body Worlds.

29 million people have visited his exhibition worldwide.

People fall into two very basic categories when viewing von Hagens work, inspired or repulsed.

There is the ethical side to consider but all von Hagens specimens were people who signed up for his revolutionary technique called plastination after death.

Dr von Hagens developed a way to preserve biological tissue (plastination).
Plastination embalms the specimen to prevent decomposition.
It is a three stage procedure which  after the specimen has been embalmed is placed in acetone in freezing conditions, the acetone replaces the water within the cells, it is then submerged in a liquid polymer and as the acetone vaporises the polymer fills the cells and is boiled at a low temperature.

The final stage is to harden the specimen which is done via ultra violet light resulting in a preserved body/organ.

So why the controversy? there has been accusations on how Dr Von Hagens has acquired the bodies despite the body donations.

One of these being they were bought in China and were the bodies of executed prisoners.
Another several hundred bodies being shipped in  from some of Europes poorest countries which were stopped when it came to shipping.

Animal rights protesters were also angered by the use of a plastinated gorilla which was attained from a zoo without the required legal papers for an endangered species that was on display at the Body works exhibition, but it has now been removed from public display.

There is also the fact that he performed the first public autopsy in 170 years live on TV to a sell out audience of over 500 here in the UK 4 years ago.

The police arrived whilst the show was going out live; even though illegal it was left to broadcast as there was no misleading information as to what was going to happen just the sensationalism which could be termed as disrespectful to the deceased and their family.

There was over 700 complaints.

He has since been cleared of most of the accusations and has had a suspended fine for misleading the Chinese government that he was representing a German University.

Body Worlds still tours the globe, but what to expect? it can differ as what exhibits are being shown as different sates and boroughs have different laws on exhibiting human remains, but there are some basics which are expected.

Viewing real human plastinated whole bodies, organs, and transparent body slices as well as configured organs and joints.

It shows poor health, good health and the impact of the lifestyle you lead via the inner process.

Specimens are posed in different ways relating to the lifestyle they have lead e.g an athlete would show how the muscle system works so are posed like they are playing sports.

So where does this tie in with the art world? von Hagens idea might not be as pioneering as first thought.

Yes , plastination is revolutionary, but this insight into anatomy can be seen well into the Renaissance era where anatomical drawings were the way forward and  von Hagnens brought those pictures to 3D.
The Skin Man is a 16th century copper engraving from engraver Gaspar Becerra who is believed to have assisted Micheal Angelo with painting the Sistine Chapel.

The Skeleton, The Wizard and The Praying Skeleton can all be related to the middle ages and the Renaissance.

Suggesting there was intention to cross the lines of science and art.

This could simply be interpreted by Von Hagens adamence that his work is there to teach the public about the body , so giving the specimens a title would insure people went away remembering what they have seen and keeping it firmly in the mind by suggesting personalities in the way the specimens have been displayed.

Otherwise indication would be  via reference number and Latin terminology that is associated within science and easily forgotten.

Whether perceived as 'bad taste' or not? von Hagens can not be put into the same category as Damien Hurst of the 'pickled sheep' fame as some of the media has suggested.

It is a very real possibility that art has  crossed the boundary into exploitation under the pretense of 'artistic expression by education? but that is up to the viewer to decide.

When starting to write this I was set against the whole idea of what he was doing.

 It wasn't all that clear if the people who donated their bodies, donated them to medical science or for plastination and that raises some serious ethical questions.

I did try to keep an open mind on what I was reading and von Hagens background and upbringing certainly has made an impact on what he does today.

Since writing this I had the opportunity to have visited the Body and Animal worlds exhibition.

For me I didn't find anything macabre about it.  It strengthened my interest in physiology and I left with a sense of awe as to how complex and wonderful we are and life is as a whole. How simple daily choices we may take impact our inner workings.

I don't think anyone could come out of these exhibitions without taking a look at themselves.
I would still side it with science rather than art...but hey! that's just me, the next person may think something totally different.

A Geek Girls Attempt At Sculpting...

After finding the allure of Go Hero products and being given some new clay to try out I decided come rain or shine to try and create a little man from scratch.

I shall warn you now before you go any further, the end result is not for the faint of heart… but it could have gone tits up a whole lot more than it did.

Whatever the result was, I was going to document it.

I used nylon enforced clay with silicon. I must say it was a little strange to use, this stuff was hairy inside so made any kinda cutting hard as the fibres would stick to the blade.

 It was fairly pliable but I made many mistakes.  I was using it as I would Fimo and flying blind on how and where the best place was to start.

I had no special sculpting equipment so used my fingers, water, a cotton bud and a rubber tipped pastel pushing art tool.

Thinking of how plastic figures are put together I took each limb separately then attached by gluing…  not a good idea as the glue, even super glue does not stick!

 So using epoxy  to bond the pieces together which added extra length to each limb giving the appearance of swollen thighs and shoulders.

Muscles sure do take strange shapes...especially if you Google ‘human male muscle anatomy’ but mostly, if not all were not natural and bordering on the gross.

 A normally shaped male muscle formation is harder to find than one would think, so did it from my head instead. 2^nd mistake…

I was using plenty of water to smooth the clay which in hindsight would have been better if it had just been sanded as too much water made the clay crack which weakened the whole thing to the point of toppling.

 Again… epoxy was used as a filler then filed down.

First step :  I decided to see if I could get a basic torso shape. I was channelling the idea of the DC Universe body, the way the shoulders round and the basic ^ shape for the neck.

I wanted to create something with movement.  I was hoping I could do this via creating texture within his clothes but at this stage of the game I am ahead of myself in ability.

The shoulders I tried to place one leaning back and the other slightly forward as in this guy’s comic appearances he spends the majority of it fighting.

Meh… it looked OK, so what next?

 I needed something to support it and build around.

Next were the base and two legs. You can see the slight cracking on the thighs which is what I was meaning by using too much water. Luckily it flaked off and could be smoothed.

Attaching the torso was the epoxy way again…which was OK as it was hidden by his jacket so there is not really any groin he just has a hollowed out shape then filled with the epoxy to push the torso into place. Keeping the legs spread slightly  would balance out the weight more effectively.

 I then left it 24 hours to fully harden.

The following night was the addition of the arms, making any kinda detail to resemble fingers was tough going as I found the clay could be washed away or the opposite and looked like big fat sausages, so just left them as a basic indication of a hand shape.

Attached to the torso in the same way as the legs.

This guy sports a HUGE trilby, I really enjoyed making the hat but to go with an oversized hat, you get an oversized head…

 I hollowed out a small amount of clay so it could be placed onto the neck and filled and secured with the epoxy, rather than stuck on at an angle. I’m happy with that.

At this point though, this little man had more cracks than 18^th century China…  fairly superficial cracks but still the potential  to become something more.

I reached for the ‘no more nails’ glue I had been sticking up the towel rail with earlier that night and filled them with that, then rubbed epoxy into them…. Ick… this was messy BUT it held together.

The need to disguise the cracks was fairly strong so decided to primer him and give his first coat. After it dried the details were added and the cape.

With the angle and bend in the back leg and foot withthe weight of the cape made the whole thing topple.
 So more support on the base was added with the creation of standing on rocks, it was easier to give support to the back leg this way.

So the final step of giving him the last coat of paint… so who is this guy?

This little man is called 711 he appeared in the first Police Comics alongside Plastic Man, Firebrand and the bad ass Mouthpiece. 711 got his name as this was his prison number from which he had escaped.

In true Golden Age style, they can’t keep it straight if his outfit is all shades of red or his cape is green. I chose the green as I thought it made him slightly more interesting.

What makes this guy important?

 He is the first character to ever be killed within comics something which these days means nothing as we know they will be back, but as far as I am aware 711 has not made a comeback, not even as a lantern of somekind or zombie!!! ;p

I have enjoyed the whole sculpting experience and I haven’t been put off by it.

I want to try again and not make the mistakes I did and already know who and what I want to attempt.

 It has made me far more aware and appreciative of the work and skill that goes into making figures.

 As a geek within an online geek community I think we can be all be too quick to call the shit out figures if they are not 100% comic accurate to how we visualise them.

 I am not talking about costume designs as that should be correct but we all perceive them slightly different and sometimes I think we should give these artists a break from our nerdom…

Granted I have hit 711 with the ugly stick but that is lack of ability, not that I wanted to.

Creating facial features I found the most complicated thing of all and will no longer look at ANY pre bought little man in the same way ever again!

So 711 stands his whole 9" on my desk next to my computer alongside of my very first paint job Spellbinder.

 For a first, I do feel it could have been a lot worse, but bring on the next one… let’s get some improvement going on this…