re: liquor.

hello friends, fans, foe, lovers and leavers,

how's it going? i'm well. really well. just found out i've got another book deal. my next book, 212 pages of short stories, non-fiction and pomes should be out in 2014. i love planning ahead, and a book deal always does that for me. now i've got to figure out a few things and how to kick this years ass to really open the doors for next year.

i finally just finished reading that book by Kirk Hammett, "Too Much Horror Business," and found it to be a fun read, good interviews, insight into the world of collectors, and amazing collection of horror art, memorabilia and props. my son picked it up and started reading it, and kept saying, "COOOOOL!" which made me happy.

a long time ago, i used to be a comic and action figure collector, and sadly "outgrew" that phase, rather, was told/nagged by various girlfriends to grow up, and "act my age," and like an idiot, i listened to them. fortunately, i did out grow them, and now when i see them, they're either fat and miserable with 5 kids, or super hot, haggard and miserable, with 1 or 2 kids and an awesome cocktail and martini problem. either way, i outgrew them and am getting back into the things i love. music, art, movies, comics and books in general. i do what i want and am wasting no more time because life is far too short. i'm realizing that if i had stuck to my guns, goals and ideals, i'd be where i am now, but twenty years ago. fuck.

so, the moral of the story? stick to the plan man. or woman. stick to the plan. hahaha.

in the meantime, enjoy yourself and this image,

cb

re: too much horror business........

Hello friends, fans, foe and lovers,

todays image was brought to you by satan! hahaha. kidding. but another in way, it was, haha, so what i mean is there are two different versions of the same one. i like the second one more. 

and, last night i picked up "Too Much Horror Business," the book by Kirk Hammett of Metallica fame and his horror movie collection of toys and posters. How cool is that? Mr. Hammett is one of, if not my all time favourite lead guitarist in metal. He's inspired generations and probably thousands, if not tens of thousands of kids to pick up the guitar and try to change their lives by becoming a musician, or at least a decent guitarist! haha. 

thanks to his success in Metallica, he was able to indulge in his passion for the business of Horror, and what a collection it is!! this book is hard bound and beautifully done, showcasing not just one man's obsession, but through his collecting, he's actually saved 90 years of posters, props and toys! he talks about the stone lithography process they used to do for the posters way back in the day. he knows about archiving props, books, scripts and posters and the care they need to be appreciated. he is no different from any other art collector, it's just his fascination is in the macabre. there is nothing wrong with that in my books. haha. 

plus there are three great interviews throughout the book, where he talks about growing up in the 1960's and 70's in San Francisco and the Haight Ashbury scene, how it affected popular culture as well as his parents and family. heady times to be there for sure. it's fun to read about personal accounts from back then. as for myself, I grew up in the 1970's on the run with my under age mother, living in hotels, abusive stepfathers and redneck towns across western Canada. not even close to San Francisco, but, i did watch a lot of television during those rocky times and saw a lot of horror movies, many of which are listed in this book. thankfully he doesn't wax poetic or attempt to "intellectualize" his collection, he just simply states this was something he wanted to share and do instead of it sitting in a storage box somewhere. i'd love to see this show tour!!

anyway, it's a great read and the artwork in the posters, props and toys are inspiring, since i'm already on a bit of a strange, macabre scary trip this year in my artwork. i've spent so much time, effort and energy in "serious" artwork and films, that it's really nice to take a break and do something fun creatively and not have to be soooooo serious all the time with my art. because we all know serious people can be a bit of "bring down." haha. that ain't me. so check out the book and enjoy 90 years of horror business!!!!!

nice guitar!

looks like it was done by Mark Ryden!

Now that's a book launch!!

awesome mask collection!!!

until next time lovers,

cb.

re: too much horror business...

Hell-o, friends, fans, foe, lovers and leavers,

it's 2 a.m. and i cannot sleep. i think i fell asleep quite early, say around 10:30, and whenever that happens, i usually wake up and start doing art. 

anyway, back to the card set i'm working on. it wasn't planned. but they are card shaped and will be more or less about the macabre, the occult influences, and just plain weird. hahaha. 

i'll figure out what to do with them in a bit. but here's three variations on a theme i worked on the past few days for one such card.

dig the creative process. i really wanted to use the gothic, vampire/zombie girl in one. plus the cat's eye, long an omen and they say the cat is one of the animals that inhabits the spirit world and the present one. a guardian perhaps? 

well, here you go.

until next time lovers,

cb