Parker

Been busy, but I haven't been doing stuff I'm ready to show here. I'm starting a new project that requires a skill set I haven't completely mastered, so I've been doing some self-instructions. It's getting there, but it's not ready for prime time.

One thing I have managed to put together is a picture of Parker - the character from a series of books by Richard Stark (aka Donald Westlake). Over at the Almost Darwyn Cooke blog, there's a contest to win an advance copy of Darwyn Cooke's adaptation of the Parker novel, The Hunter. All you need to do is submit your take on Parker. My original plan was to do something more in the style of the MODOK I did a while ago, but I started doing some sketching based on a photo and I got a bit wrapped up in it. I think if I can find some more minutes I'll do another (because I really want that book - I've been on a huge Darwyn Cooke kick of late).

Yin Yang

Good news and bad news this week. Good news: my cheque and sample magazines came in from subTerrain #52. It's on the shelves, go pick one up. They also threw in a complimentary subscription, which I thought was very classy. Bad news: my bike was stolen. By cowardly, disease-ridden pricks, I have to assume.

Win some, lose some.

Here's a caveman.

Nerd Boner

Cool news. My site has been mentioned on ¡Journalista! - The new weblog of The Comics Journal. I'm a comic nerd (we'll, truth be told my nerdiness isn't confined to comics, but comics are high on my nerdometer) and to be even tangentially connected to The Comics Journal is enough to give me a big, broad smile. Happy day for Gav.

And, to keep my promise of a drawing for each post, here's a sketch.

Also, I've updated the images on my illustration page. Check it out, yo.

Flying VW Bug

The issue is back from the printers, so I'm told it's safe to post the illustration I did for sub-Terrain magazine.

I'm pleased with the way it turned out. I can't wait to see it in print. Let me know what you think.

Over the weekend, a couple of my prints were auctioned off at a Pile o' Bones Roller Derby fundraiser. Besides getting some nice attention for my art, I got to listen to some good local bands and enjoy the sight of tough girls on roller skates (not blades - never even mention blades) selling shots. The hottest Roller Girl by far was Ang Xiety - MROW!

The sad news related to the above story is that in getting the two prints to donate, I discovered that they were the only two not water damaged. The portfolio in which I had them stored was victim to my leaky basement. Sad, sad day.

Success and commerce

Much has happened since my last post, but I've been plagued by a devil virus that's been decimating the Queen City. I've seen this cold linger for over a month in some unfortunate wreches. It's a dirty tease, too, occaionally waning and delivering hope of recovery only to return with a mucusy vengence. I believe I'm on the mend now, but I'm not getting my hopes up.

First exciting piece of news: I got my first postcard-generated commission! YAY! I'd almost tossed the e-mail as spam, but luckily I took the time to read it. It was from a Vancouver based literary magazine called subTerrain. They requested an illustration to accompany a short story by J. Jill Robinson. So I did one. I don't want to post it yet, as the magazine hasn't been published, but once I get the go-ahead from sub-Terrain, I'll put it up for all to see.

The other news is that the store is open!

It took longer than expected, but I've put together a Cafe Press store featuring a ton of products featuring my artwork. Please buy something. My son is hungery.

The answer is no, it's not too offensive.

"The pictures uploaded to your shop seem fine for now. If we find any material questionable at any time you will be notified."

I'm glad I asked, though. This is about the most offensive thing that I plan to merchandise, so it guess it's full steam ahead.

The other quick note of good news is that my sowing of postcards has yielded it's first harvest. I'm pretty happy to report that I'm in the process of doing an illustration for a Canadian literary publication. I'll post more details when I can.

I'm more than pretty happy. I'm really super happy. Should I use an exclamation point? Okay. I'm happy!

Is this too offensive for Cafe Press?

I'll soon find out. I've finally decided it's time to start up an online store. I've looked at some of the sites out there that offer on-demand products, and I've decided to give Cafe Press a try. They've got some good points, but under their list of prohibited content is "Inappropriate content or nudity that is not artistic in nature" and "Material that is generally offensive or in bad taste, as determined by CafePress.com." I'd consider the above artistic in nature, obviously, but does Cafe Press? We'll soon see. When you sign up for the Premium Store, you have a 15 day free trial before you need to start paying. I'm using this as a window to see if my work is considered artistic in nature, or if that tag only covers beautifully lit black and white photos of attractive nudes. I'll keep you posted on how this turns out.

If you want to check out the store, it still in its in infancy (closer to a zygote than anything else) but you can find it at http://www.cafepress.com/gavindelint. If all goes well and they don't shut me down for depicting a ding-a-ling, I'll be adding more items. If they do; see you at zazzle.com.