Old skool is the new skool

So. I’ve been dabbling in relief printing for a few years now and with the splurge of AI art appearing on my dash has made me think about the value an image or piece of art holds. For some, i guess, it is just the actual visual aspect only. A cool picture of a knight in armour set in a spooky forest is enough for some, It doesn’t go deeper than that. I’m the same sometimes. My problem is that when i see a piece i really like, my mind goes to the inspiration and creative thinking that culminated in a visual representation of their thoughts. The drive to put into the physical world something that the minds eye has directed is a brave thing, especially the way social media ‘opinionistas’ can be. Creating art is sometimes rewarding but often frustrating, which then continues to drive an artist to reassess, rework and continue to try and reproduce what is in their mind. Typing a series of prompts doesn’t take as much soul.

That’s just my take.

I believe a buyer owns the process, the craft it took to make it as well as the visual art. That’s where the value lies. Which brings me back to relief printing. All hand carved and hand printed the art contains a more personal touch, it’s more tactile and authentic. It absorbs the physicality of the process. I’m seeing more illustrators and artists trying this medium and i’m wondering if it is because, subconsciously, of the amount of AI art people are seeing.

AI art, does it have soul?

Man, the Seventies had the shit. Every year had unforgettable movie releases with ’75 prob being my fave year for film. I wasn’t old enough to get in to ‘officially’ watch the good stuff but the trick was to go and watch the giant Spider Invasion or similar then once that had finished sneak into the AA or X movie of your choice. Ah yes the good old bad old days. I definitely have more of a nostalgic feel for these (and early Eighties) movies than anything i have seen since then. So as i have a huge list of genre movies from this decade i’m going to crack on working through it and above are a sample of what’s been done to date. Thanks for your time.

Pulp friction

Whenever I need to flex my inky brush with minimum thought i always default to scribbling pulp/giallo style cover arts. There have been and still are so many great artists that have created attention grabbing covers for fumetti and paperback. Alessandro Biffignandi and Emanuele Taglietti are masters of the sex and horror cover natch but at the moment i’m really loving the more subtle art or Robert McGinnis. His painting style has influenced so many illustrators and you can see why. His use of muted colours and layout is incredible. I find him a lot more stylish than a lot of his contemporaries and would love some of his art on my walls. Check out his work if you get the chance.

Let there be darkness…

No matter how good CGI gets, how impressive modern practical SFX is i will never lose my love for the early pioneers of monster/horror movies. I’m not only talking about the visual nature of these movies i’m talking about the music, the cinematography, the acting, the whole goddam package. The lasting effect they had on me when i was way to young to be watching that kind of stuff has provided me with a constant distraction, a muse and an interest that has developed into a lifetime passion for creating imagery of a dark nature. I owe them all for planting that seed in me that continues to grow and pushes me to get better at doing what i love.