Saturday, March 27, 2010

Ten Years

It is now ten years since I first arrived in Vancouver.

Ten years!

It was back in March of 2000 that I took my flight from Dublin, destined for the shores of Canada. Originally I was brought over to work with an animation company on a years visa; that job didn't quite work out as well as I had planned so I resigned after five months while having already taken another job in Luxembourg. Then I was informed that the Luxembourg gig had been reduced from a years contract to a mere couple of months...wonderful!! During all this I had sent a bunch of resumes and some portfolio work to a few other local companies in Vancouver in the hope that one might bite. I was contacted by a games company who subsequently renewed my visa and contracted me for what ended up becoming three years. So with being kept busy and enjoying how the Canadians say "Eh!" quite a lot I decided to take root in Canada and well, here I am -- a whole ten years later!

To be honest I find it hard to believe how the time has just seemingly flown by. It feels like I literally, just stepped off the plane.

Anyhow, here's a monkey (I drew earlier)giving you dear reader the proverbial finger. Please in a similar fashion raise your finger to your monitor in an act of joyous celebration.


C'mon "Show me the finger!!"

Thursday, March 25, 2010

Rafael Grampá.

I bought Rafael Grampá's Mesmo Delivery some time back and have been completely enamored with it ever since. Grampá's art influences are obviously far reaching, his style a wonderful eclectic mix, reminiscent of everything from Basil Wolverton to Geoff Darrow with a little bit of manga thrown in for good measure; but in saying that the resulting art is most definitely his own.



A brilliant comic which just gets better with every read.

check out his blog: furrywater

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Four Lions

I have just found out that Chris Morris of The Day Today and equally excellent Brass Eye has a movie coming out:

<a href="http://video.msn.com/?mkt=en-gb&from=sp&fg=shareEmbed&vid=05c571ca-2619-47f2-89c5-7bf454f4ec5a" target="_new" title="Four Lions - Trailer">Video: Four Lions - Trailer</a>
Via: The Daily What

The great thing about Morris is that he never compromises on his chosen subject matter leading his brand of humour to be often viewed as highly-controversial: take a look at the Brass eye spoof investigation into paedophilia for confirmation of this. So the fact that he has a movie that is set around a bunch of Islamic terrorists should make for some interesting viewing.

Morris told The Sunday Times that the film will seek to do for Islamic terrorism what Dad's Army, the classic BBC comedy, did for the Nazis by showing them as "scary but also ridiculous".

Here are a couple of interviews with the man himself:

chris-morris

SUNDANCE-Four-Lions


--and here he is with Steve Coogan.

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Titanic-Bot



Yeah, bring that fu*cking iceberg on bitch!!!

C'mon tell me you wouldn't buy that?


Thanks Jae.

Friday, March 12, 2010

The Years Have Pants

When I went to the comic shop on Wednesday not only was the volume of comic book modern masters: Guy Davis staring down at me but also this:



www.topshelfcomix.com

Probably the the best book that I will buy this year.

Also means that I will now have "How to be an Artist" returned to my collection!

Never lend books people--


--that is of course unless you are a library!

Thursday, March 4, 2010

Ronald Searle



The great illustrator Ronald Searle turned 90 yesterday. He was interviewed on the Channel 4 News. He's still working, and smart as a whip and very funny. It is interesting to see his desk and drawing tools. I was surprised to learn that he is more highly regarded in France, Germany, and the US than his native country of England. A blog about Searle posted a recent profile from the Times Online:

For years he and [wife] Monica travelled the globe. She, too, is a survivor: she was treated for breast cancer in 1970 [Searle was a POW in WWII and almost died of malaria and beriberi]. They remain as interdependent as newlyweds, their 50-year togetherness reflected in their symbiotic duologue, finishing each other's sentences. "If our relationship hadn't worked so beautifully," he says, "you couldn't spend 24 hours a day here. We both respect our own corners." They meet at 6.30pm to watch a "ghastly" TV quiz, Questions Pour Un Champion. Monica cooks. "An ideal life, because I am a solitary person, and Monica lets me concentrate on my work." "The phone hasn't rung in this house for 20 years," Monica says. "He chose that it should never ring again, and had the bell switched off." Yet they are clearly gregarious; they send Christmas cards, and welcome friends.

Via: www.boingboing.net