X-Men Week: Marrow

This week I'm working on some obscure X-Men characters for fun.  This cutie is Marrow.  She's really gross. This was how she looked back in the day when she first showed up.  Eventually the X-Men let her join the team.  Likely, this was because she got prettier and spunky.

I always liked her icky and bitter myself. 

- J.

Denver Comic Con Part Three

Denver Comic Con had those nice big tables so I could really stretch.  At this point I can fill a table of any size, so it's mostly a matter of trying to minimize my work into a careful arrangement, and a lot of decision making about what material to show and what to remove permanently from the table.  The last two years I have been letting much of my early prints and books run out and disappear, and that's a nice feeling.

- J.

 

This was a different commission for me.

Usually when art is commissioned from me, it is owing to an interest in my art style or personality.

Is this one random?  Oh well, Darkwing Duck, hey, he's rad.  I'll draw him any day.

Some of my favorite cosplayers from this day.  Say what you will,

Venus DeMilo is a cool looking ninja turtle. Also, creepy Skull Kid, Flash Thompson Venom with Asuka (she's rad), and a wicked cool Warpath and Dani Moonstar.

Denver Comic Con 2014 Part Two

Denver Comic Con 2014 - two months of planning, three days of confusion and bewilderment! pic.twitter.com/Stk9jt5iAf
— J. James McFarland (@JJamesMcFarland) June 16, 2014

 

Here are my two favorite commissions from DCC 2014.  The first one is Shipwreck from Gi Joe who is sort of a weird character in that the cartoon treated him like a joke, while the comics treat him as a capable Navy roughneck.  His '85 filecard even mentions time spend at Gitmo and fighting Mekong Delta insurgents so I wanted to portray him in action, giving him a Navy issue firearm.

It was actually made for a local cosplayer who brought the whole family out... you can see him here.

The second one is Barbara Gordon, which was made for a young woman who is a local librarian here and a big fan of Babs.

 Both great fun.

- J. 

Denver Comic Con 2014 Part One

There is so much happening at this con that I don't even know where to begin.  This event has taken sleep deprivation and exhaustion to a whole new level for me.

For now I leave you this.

- J.

Facebook Announcement

I've joined Facebook to easier access for you!

Find me here!

- J.

Westword Comics Winner

This is from the comic I submitted to the Westword second annual Comics issue:

 

So they chose it as a winning piece and you can read it online here: 

http://blogs.westword.com/showandtell/2014/06/in_honor_of_our_second_annual_comics_issue_here_are_winning_entries.php?page=5

If you take the time to read mine, check out some of the other great entries.  There is a lot of talent in this town and it's been a good time learning about them all.

- J.

Platte River Settlers 1855

There's a brief story behind these paintings.

A month and a half back, or so, I was invited to take part in a "Ghost Hunt" with a crew of investigators such as you would see on tv.  It was from midnight to six am in a building which has been legendarily considered haunted for some time.  This was not a public event, and while they did have recording and EMF equipment, it was not filmed.

It ended up being really freaky by the end, and immediately after leaving there I started telling my painting friends from last summer all about how I was going to try and capture it in a painting.

Surreptitiously, that same week I was approached about making some new art for a Steampunk Art Exhibit in a nearby art gallery, based off (I assume) this piece on my portfolio.

Now, the ghost experience made me want to do dark, spooky pieces, however the history of the ghosts is reputedly tied up in the 1850s history of flooding and death from the gold and settler rushes of the Upper Platte River Valley.  I ride my bike down the Platte River a lot, it's not big but it is pretty.

These factors all came together in a mash up of my ideas for this piece... it was the concept of Steampunk Settlers on the Platte River, with a dirigible boat wagon for both scouting, and also emergency survival, and the horse which charges the batteries for the wagon.  The woman is viewing the landscape (and those lovely blue mountains) through her viewscope, and yes, she's armed with a lightbulb gun.

This was a lot of fun.  They are each 22" x 38" on stretched canvas with acrylics.

- J.