Checking in with the Metaphor

The metaphor has grown to a pretty good size.

It is struggling I think.  A soil/sand mixture is the place where I have planted it and it is
suffering from thirst, possibly got planted later than it should.

There is a lot going on with it though.  The birds like it and it's still alive.

The head is drooping because it grew quickly and is tired.

As it continues to grow in stature and resiliency and proves out well it's promises,
the whole thing will bear forth something new and exciting.

Lots of projects all at once right now.

It's all terribly exciting. 

- J.

My Brain is on Fire

On occasion I will fall into such a work trance that my whole body begins to tingle.

Do you understand that moment, when your fingertips go cold, and your veins begin to feel like fiery goats-heads are pulling on the insides of their passages?

Let's use these moments to surge forth the necessary steps in our project problems, let the manic energy give us strength of physical momentum to carry us along. 

Today will be a very good day.

Today let's say is Pilot Light day.

- J.

Spacy Collaboration

Collaboration is interesting, watching one person's ideas literally become a different person's thoughts and dreams.  Sometimes, what the other sees...

...completely affects yer own processes.

It is from time to time acceptable

to think the same thoughts,

        to view the same 

                   sights,

                          and to

                               consider

                                      the other 

                                             view.

                                                  - J.

A Brief Professionalism

Professionalism can be a difficult thing to pick up on, and to explain to people.

Professionalism is a daily marker of focus and consideration. 

Key to this whole concept is the understanding that other people are unique and powerful too.

Maybe they don't know it.  Perhaps they forgot, or nobody ever told them.

Planning ahead and asking for help is part of it.
Mentoring and considering others with respect.
Confidence and self respect.

Charts too.

I often forget how to do these things but probably other people do too.

My metaphor is growing rapidly.  It is reaching above the fenceline.  Now it will get sunlight twice as long every day.

It is planted in sand and the water just leaks through.  If anyone knows how to nurture one any farther than this, it would be a great time to be my sunflower mentor.

- J.

Figure Drawing

Figure Drawing is good for you.

Every time that I am in a slump, or an artistic valley, or just really not producing work on par with what I SHOULD be doing, it's always a good idea to do Figure Drawing.

While I can't speak for all artists, it is true for me that I no longer actually see arms, or breasts, or noses, but that it all breaks down into shapes.  Distances.

The place I do Figure Drawing at every so often these days is unique in that it's actually clothed models which may be a first for me.  Additionally, the artists are all more mature and the sessions are REALLY long.  It's a good mix of experience in there, a lot of good work is produced.

My goal with this stuff has never been fancy looking finished pieces, but learning and understanding the figure more.  This session actually really gives people time to make a finished piece and that's nice.

Most of my interest in models these days revolves more around getting ideas on how people dress or groom themselves.  Sometimes it's hard to understand what someone might wear or shape their hair like if you are trying to imagine what they are thinking.

How do you imagine a character you are not supposed to understand?  As a writer, it doesn't make sense.

During the Rose City Con last weekend, I stood in Greg Rucka's line of fans to ask him how he writes a character with a deep understanding of who they are, and how to create a character you don't actually understand... not as a writer, but as a person.  How do you know when you are ready to commit to writing that character?

He gave me a solid answer, based on his brief understanding of my situation.  Organic works are okay, he said, and characters can change.  The character in particular whom I thought would be a decent representation of what I had in mind, he let me know, was fully formed before he went into it.

That's helpful.  If I need to spend more time with the gal in mind, I probably should.

Follow your gut instinct.

That's really helpful, and NOT the only lesson I picked up that weekend, though it's the only one I can share with written word (perhaps).

So, I need to write comics with her.  Take it off the pedestal and play with it.  I can roll with that.

There's a preview up on my comics page of another corner of that story, but she's not living in that segment.

She will be.

It's organic.

- J.

Big Meat

Yeah, that's right.

It IS art.

You know what's funniest about these?  I was driving around with my wingman Will and we see this ENORMOUS potato.  Why? 

Who can say?  It doesn't matter.  It was the levity needed during a serious conversation and it was one giant ass spud.

Maybe five minutes later there was a big weiner too.

I don't have the picture of him climbing on the potato but if he reads this and sends it to me then I'll replace my pictures with his.

- J.

Rose City 2012 (4)

"People are Piranha"

That's what someone told me a few months ago.  I was working on a tattoo design for her, and since I was just doing it on a handshake, without any formal agreement, I ended up putting in about 20 designs and not making a cent.

What!  Yeah, I know.  Shame on me.

So at Rose City 2012 I visited my friend S. Mann at her booth and saw that she had produced a RAD wood press litho piece with piranhas.  "Love piranhas."

My first instinct was to go, "oh, too bad it's a piranha, because that has negative connotations for me."

That's right, I'm a tool.  How could I let a former experience which went bad affect me so much?  Oh, well, I got my head straight and snapped that baby up.  Why let ANYTHING cause you to feel so, so upset?

Anyway, I'm glad I got that figured out.  S. Mann creates the self-published comic Eyebot which only gets more interesting as you go.  Something tells me there's a lot more going on here with this story than I could even guess at.  As a fan of post-human technological speculation I'm really intrigued.  You can see S. Mann's work (including gallery paintings) at http://artsymann.com/.

Not personally sure what this whole Face Book thing is, but there's something like that available as well!
https://www.facebook.com/pages/SMann/206132482735976

People are not Piranha, not unless you let them be.

I'd like to thank Cori B. too, who has helped me to get a lot of PolitiK and my other comics online.  I LOVE webdesign, but it's a lot of hard, monotonous tedium, and without her help only 3 of my comics would be online.  She's put in a lot of hours of time helping me get stuff put online and duplicating my page designs over and over to help me get that comics site to where it is now.  That was just wearing me down, and since she helped me get that stuff going I was able to move on to my portfolio site and my "meadow" site.

Thank you.

- J.

Rose City 2012 (3)

Collaborative Works

In the past, I have eschewed collaborative endeavors due to bad experiences.  However, there simply is no good reason for that.

It has become my determination that I will now consider collaborative works.  The reason for this change in my work philosophy is simply that such work is valuable as a learning tool, and also that I now have the confidence and knowledge to go into a project with another, without getting busted or taken advantage of.

So, if a person brings me a sample, of either art or also writing, and wants me to either write, or draw, their work, then we can together learn to collaborate, write contracts, and complete something.

I will not work on any project with another creator for more than a small, fast project.  It will not be an extended partnership.  This way, it can be like "courting," as my new friend Richard suggested.

At first I told him that's not how it works, but sure, I can see that.  Easy in, easy out.

Let's make something together.

- J.

Rose City 2012 (2)

Extra worn out right now.  Just time to talk about this piece briefly.  This was one of my new thingies I trotted out for Rose City.

If you're old like I am, you'll remember Ollie North.  Finally somebody recognized him at Con which was pretty awesome!   Notable guesses included Andy Griffith and W Bush.

To call him controversial is an understatement.  To some, he's a hero who took the fall, to others, a war criminal.  Hmmmm.

Contrast that with V, who has a similar dual nature.  Terrorist, or freedom fighter.

It's all "paradigm."

One of my buddies directed me to the trailer of Call of Duty Black Ops, the videogame trailer.




"They could be anyone."  That scares the tar out of me.  It's meant to be scary.

So, that's were that imagery is derived from.  As soon as the video concluded I launched into the print.  If you can believe it, I actually made it something like a day before a family member's wedding in the bride's mom's basement with glittery black acrylic as my "india ink" and a variety of brushes and pens.  The original is 11x17.

I don't think people are scary.  Pretty much everybody I know is basically a down to earth, simple person.  Everybody wants to have the same comforts and securities in that deepest part of their cores.

Why the fear mongering?  It's not just one source which does it... everyone is supposed to be afraid of something.

Of all the wacky stuff  I've done that everybody raises their eyebrows over,  Paradigm is my favorite, because it really is closest to explaining my worldview.  Most of the time, I feel that I misrepresent my intentions by accident, due to poor focus.  Working on that.


Nobody wants to be told what to DO.  Well, unless they're banner waving partisan-apt people.

This is the cover to PolitiK: Paradigm.

It's actually originally a 3.5 by 3 foot watercolor heavy paper stock which I painted for the North Bank Artists Gallery in Vancouver Washington back before first moving to Portland and beginning my comic book study stuff there.

Now it's a nigh-postage stamp size cover to my little zine.  I think I'll try to make some as prints for the Jet City Con, in Seattle in a little under two weeks.  I'll be excited to see everyone who shows up there.

- J.

Rose City 2012 (1)

Just got back from Portland.  I'm probably more exhausted at this minute than I have been in a very long time.  That's maybe saying something, I think.  



I got a new hat.  My favorite hat got left at my buddy Dag's house by accident, so I picked it up at the First Thursday fair in Portland.  It was a super convenient find cause I was mad at myself real fierce for not having my good luck charm on me.  I was spending that day with  my old bud Mood and his pals Tuan, D., Petie, and Samhir.

 

 My favorite part of the weekend was my wife's reaction to a homeless man's sign.  He was going for one and he got it.  His sign said something fairly much like:

Please Help!  

Ninjas stole my girlfriend

and I need to collect 

ransom money quickly!

(or learn kung fu).

Since random inspirational cards are frequently to be found scattered around my home in times of stress or overwork, I thought I would leave her one for in the morning.  It's taking up her whole front seat.

It was a good weekend.  Off to bed now.  Early morning.

- J.

Elite Marketing

This was part of a marketing campaign which was brought to me.

- J.

30 Characters

Last November I took part in the 30 Characters Challenge online at 30 Characters dot com. 

It was one of the most difficult challenges which has ever presented itself to me, in a similar vein as to making a 24 Hour Comic, which also is hard.

Many of them are sort of fun, and a few are dreadful as can be.  Lots of them are actually people I know, or sort of knew at the time.

The intention was to make each one funny and engaging.  I wanted to avoid genres such as superhero or cowboy unless done in a heavy lampooning manner.

Here's a few of my favorites:

http://www.30characters.com/2011/12/01/j-james-final-characters/

They all have funny descriptions but you can go read them yourself if you would like.  As of the moment I am posting this, my final index is all available still on the front page of www.30characters.com where it has been sitting in plain view for random passersby for 10 months or such.   I expect it will be pushed away pretty soon into obscurity since it's about time for the next competition. 

- J.

Captain America

... throws his mighty shield.

A new clip of the Avengers premiered last night online.  It's likely gone by now, and if you are into it you'll see it on blue ray, but MAN, that should have been in the movie.

This quiet, serene series of moments where Steve is walking through his new life, remembering old friends and old love, viewing old film clips, and having a brief moment of realization that he needs to move on and let old times go.  There were very few words, it was powerful storytelling.

I made this for a young relative of mine.  He was going out for Halloween dressed like Captain America and didn't have any shield.

WHAT!  NO SHIELD!  Gotta rectify that situation.

So this was my solution.  Heavy foamcore so it's light enough for a kid, thick straps with buckles on the back so that it won't fall off.  It was painted in about three hours.

Concentric rings are funny things to paint.  There is not actually any shadow or curvature to the surface of the shield, that is only indicated through the painting, as well as the inset rings.

- J.