cynophobia

Just thinking out loud.

I've been making some drawings inspired by Julie Mehretu . Well, sort of. At least the layering of gestural elements. I saw her work in Vitamin P a couple of years ago and since then I've loved it. I even bought her book of drawings two years ago. I don't know what it is that attracts me to her work. I'm a pop culture guy raised on a diet of genre lit, comics and figurative art. I don't know why I've been trying to somehow work the influence into what I've been doing (continue after the jump along with a bunch of drawings...)

Matagal na akong tagahanga ni Optimus Prime. Kung dumating siya dito at mag-concert sa Araneta Coliseum, pupunta ako. Magdadala pa ako ng malaking placard na susulatan at dodrowingan ng mga energon cubes at puso.

Noong grade school ako noong 1985...(READ ON)

I like drawing people when they're not looking. I get self-conscious when people see I'm drawing, which is why I find it difficult drawing in very public places. Robert Alejandro did it during his travels around South East Asia and made a book of out of his sketches. He doesn't seem to have a problem with people staring while he works. I wish I could be the same.

Anyway, here are  a bunch of sketches of people over the past couple of days. (MORE)

Abi the sleepy head

There are no malls in Los Banos, Laguna. Nor does it have any fabulous date places (although that depends on one's definition of "fabulous"). But there is something to be said about slowing down and just chillaxing in the province on a Valentine weekend.

Abi and I got to talk about plans for Osomundo, visit the UPLB Fair and brainstorm over website names and story ideas. With the submission for the INK catalogue a little over a week away, I've gotten started on a very short children's story I'm going to include into the catalogue.

Here's an uncolored preview spread of a little story I'm calling "Maharlika".

David Carson became one of the most influential designers of the 90s, having art directed the magazine Ray Gun and propagated the whole "grunge typography" look.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFpANOqSdi8]

Reinventing Comics

Comics smart guy Scott McCloud speaks on Ted Talks about the future shape of comics. It’s basically stuff that’s in his book Reinventing Comics, wherein he talks about applying comics onto an “infinite canvas” with the use of digital technology.

This was written way back in the late 90s and despite the proliferation of webcomics, digital comics won’t be replacing the printed page anytime soon. Granted that comic scans are now widely available, the format still makes use of the printed page and doesn’t adapt the content to the peculiarities of the digital medium. (READ MORE)

We rushed my Dad to the Chinese General Hospital Emergency Room at around 4am this morning. He was coughing very badly and his nose started bleeding profusely. There were blood splatters on the edge of the bed, the floor and even on his legs. He tried to stem the bleeding with tissues and towels, so the floor was littered with blood soaked and crumpled tissues that look strangely like paper rose blossoms. It wasn’t the first time it happened but this time there was so much blood this time that he really had no choice but to allow us to take him to the hospital.

From the New York Public Library’s Channel:

“The New York Public Library holds a wealth of unexpected sources of inspiration for artists and designers—from vintage valentines and textile patterns, to fabric samples and turn-of-the-century menus from around the world.

For this online-only miniseries, “Design by the Book,” the Library partnered with the leading design blog Design*Sponge to invite five New York City-based artists to sift through our collections in search of inspiration.

Stay tuned for future episodes as the artists, who range from a glassblower to a letterpress printer, create unique works inspired by what they found; special guest Isaac Mizrahi will also join us to share his sources of inspiration. The artists are: Lorena Barrezueta, Rebecca Kutys, Mike Perry, John Pomp and Julia Rothman. Music by Clear Tigers. Visit www.nypl.org/research/chss/bythebook for more information.”

(WATCH THE VIDEOS HERE)

It had been drizzling all day. It was one of those wish-i-didn't-have-to-get-out-of-bed days or those curl-up-with-a-good-book-days. I went to Starbucks to think of a story, the kind of story where a product you sold on a supermarket was a hero and...(READ MORE)

Something wrong with my thumb, it hurts when I write or draw.

Kisses can be violent and explosive but holding hands will always be tender, or so it was explained to me. In the movies, couples locked in torrid kisses look like they’re eating each other’s faces off, but people holding hands look so peaceful and at rest. If desire is in the lips, intimacy must be in held hands. (READ MORE, plus an old comic spread)

Plus a comic page I did for the Lingua Comica Project here.

I downloaded a whole batch of French lessons for the iPod. I've always wanted to learn French. Never more so than when I went to London for the Comica Festival. (READ MORE, more pics after the jump)