"Wayfarer"

 "Wayfarer" / 14 x 17" / watercolor, acrylic & ink on paper

Perhaps it's the Holidays, but I've been thinking about traveling a lot, lately. Past trips, future journeys... hell, even other people's travels have been especially interesting to me. And I think that's where the inspiration for this piece came from.

As I began sketching out this weary wanderer, though, I started wondering what sort of effect they might have had on the people they met along the way... what spell they may have cast on the very landscape they traversed. And that's where the creepy elements slithered their way into the illustration.

"We mind-boggling, spine-tingling. Got the stroll of Galactus, now I'm planet-swallowing."
- David C.

"Ventilate"

"Ventilate" / 8 x 8" / watercolor, acrylic & collage on canvas

I haven't had much time to dedicate to painting, recently. So diving into this piece was extremely cathartic. Cintiqs are super-cool, yes. But I don't think anything will ever be a better match for me, than my beloved, tactile, wet mediums!

These Alphabet Attack pieces have been coming few and far between. But now that I'm down to 4 letters to go, I'm eager to wrap up the series in the next week or two. And, oh boy... just wait until you see what I have planned, after that!

"I meant everything I said. Everything I said I meant. When this much is on the line, yo there's times you gotta vent!"
- King Gum Crosland

"Undertow"

"Undertow" / 12 x 15" / colored pencil, watercolor, acrylic & ink on paper

This eerie, aquatic piece keeps with the horror theme of this Series. Of course, my powers of creepy expression are super enhanced, now that autumn is in full-swing....

"How to make a homemade mummy: get corpse, get gauze, get comfy."
- David C.

"Tawny Tigers"

"Tawny Tigers" / 12 x 15" / watercolors, acrylics, gouache & ink on paper

This was another fun mish-mash of mixed media, for me. Now that I spend so much time working on a Cintiq, I truly relish opportunities to get my hands dirty. I must have "finished" and gone back into this drawing about three times, mostly because I just wanted to keep adding marks and playing with paint.

Of course, eventually you have to put the last nail in a piece, and get on with the show!

"I'm bewildered, for we're strangers when we meet."
- David C.

"Sublime Spectacle"

"Sublime Spectacle" / 14 x 17" 

watercolors, acrylics, gouache & ink on paper

This piece started as a quick ink sketch. But once I began layering colors & mediums on it, things just went bonkers. Of course, bonkers is my speciality.

"Nothing's impossible, I have found. For when my chin is on the ground, I pick myself up, dust myself off & start over again."
- King Gum

"Rivals"

 

 

"Rivals" / 14x17" / watercolors, gouache, acrylics & ink on paper 

Eight more letters to go....

"And that's why they say I'm different... and that's why they say I'm strange."

- King Gum

"Questionable Quiche'

I'm not totally sure what the inspiration was for this one. But as soon as I got to the letter "Q," the title "Questionable Quiche" just popped in my head. So I ran with it! Perhaps this is all rooted in my deep-seeded fear of being eaten by my own food.


"Will you shoot the blue Earth down, in the space station, polishing the raygun? You say correlation is not causation."
- David C.

"Perilous Position"

This unfortunate scene -- well, unfortunate for the diminutive human in the image -- was created during C2E2, at the Nerd City booth. It was my first painting of the weekend, just meant to warm up the ol' painting arm. But when I got home, I realized it was the perfect scene for what I wanted to do with The Letter P.

"Perilous Position" / 9 x 12" / watercolors, gouache & ink on bristol

Who knows? The little guy might find a way out of this... somehow.


"What's growin' like grass with the mass appeal?"
- King Gum Crosland

C2E2 2012 This Weekend!

If you're planning on hitting the Chicago Comics & Entertainment Expo 2012 (C2E2), this weekend, you can plan on seeing me there! I'll be a special guest of the extraordinary gentlemen from Nerd City (booth #842), all weekend.

I'm going to be rocking live painting & commissioned sketches in the booth, so you'll be able to see me create this crazy magic of mine, live and in person.

I'll also have a selection of convention exclusive prints, featuring seventeen fan-art favorites that I've created over the past two years. These pieces will include selections from Alphabet Attack! Series 1 & 2. You'll only be able to score these from me during C2E2, so don't miss this rare opportunity to own a print!

And there will be plenty happening, beyond the convention floor. Ignite your convention weekend fuse, Friday night, with The Nerd City Monster's Ball at Reggie's Rock Club. It's sure to be a whisky-soaked after party, complete with DJ's, live bands and down & dirty fun! The gang & I will also be bringing the thunder with a Saturday evening panel, "Booze, Idiocy & Dumb Luck: Nerd City's Guide to Becoming a Media Super Star." Come sit in and learn everything you've ever wanted to know about making it in showbiz, life, and geek love!

So between the convention and the plethora of after-hours events going on, this is going to be an action-packed weekend of comics & entertainment culture. Hope to see you there!

The Chicago Comics & Entertainment Expo 2012

April 13 - 15 @ McCormick Place (North)

2301 S. Lake Shore Drive / Chicago, IL

Fri: 1pm-7pm / Sat: 10am-7pm / Sun: 10am-5pm

Nerd City w/ Special Guests Dave Crosland & The Godbeast @ Booth #842

"The Nerd City Monster's Ball" C2E2 After Party / Fri, April 13 / 8pm to close / @ Reggie's Rock Club / 2109 S. State St / *Free Shuttle from McCormick Place to club* / Tickets $10 at Nerd City booth, $15 at the door / for more info & band list, visit www.NerdCityOnline.com

"Booze, Idiocy & Dumb Luck: Nerd City's Guide to Becoming a Media Super Star" / Sat, April 14 / 6:30-7:30 / Room #N46C

"Come closer. Feel what you've been dying for. Don't be afraid, baby. Touch it and explode."

- David V Crosland

Titmouse Book Release & Exhibit at Gallery Nucleus!

 

This Saturday night, Gallery Nucleus presents the Titmouse Mook Volume 2 Release Gallery Show! The event marks the release of the second installment in   the animation studio's titillating, hardcover art & comics anthology series, The Mook. Many artists from Mook past, present & future will be in attendance. And copies of the new Volume will be available at a special, discounted price, for one night only.


I'm proud to say I'll have 3 of my new 2012 works on display in the group exhibit, alongside pieces from mega-talents like Jim Mahfood, Dave Johnson, Robert Valley, Paul Harmon & many more.


If you'll be in the Southern California area, come on through for what's sure to be an amazing night of tripped out cartoons, creators & fine artistry!

Titmouse Mook Volume 2 Release Gallery Show
Gallery Nucleus / 210 East Main St / Alhambra, CA 91801

Release Party: Saturday, April 7, 2012 / 7pm - 11pm

www.gallerynucleus.com / www.titmouse.net

"At my crib, I got three barbecues. One I keep upstairs for daily use."
- King Gum Crosland

Week Off!

Hello All,

As you might have noticed, I didn't post a new piece for The Letter P, yesterday. I've decided to take the rest of the week off from Alphabet Attack!

I'm in the process of packing up and moving my studio across town. Between that, project deadlines & preparing works for an upcoming group exhibit, time is in short supply.

But fear not. I'll be back in the painting saddle next week. Take care 'til then!

"Kick, push, kick, push, kick, push, kick, push, coast!"

- King Gum

"Oblation"

"Oblation" / 11x13" / acrylics on cardboard

And so begins another week of illustrations! And while I have every intention of rocking your eye sockets with aesthetic glory, today through Friday, this is sort of a monster week for me. Beyond the blog, I'm staring down deadlines galore and a studio move. Woot!

With that in mind, don't be surprised if I end up postponing one or more of this week's daily pieces. For now though, sit back, relax and continue to enjoy the current and past art of Alphabet Attack!

"I got a little bird. I'm gonna take her home, put her in a cage and disconnect the phone."

- David C.

"Necromancy"

"Necromancy" / 9x12" / acrylics & gouache on paper

I thought I'd wrap up this week's illustration run on a creepy note. Nothing says, "TGIF," quite like the gaping maw of an ungodly resurrection.


I hope you've all been getting as big a kick out of the new Alphabet Attack! as I have. Stay tuned, as there are about to be some developments with the series, beyond the digital constraints of The Interweb.


And, por supuesto, you can count on having your eyeballs rocked by a whole new run of pieces, next week.


"I'm cranky like nobody understands me. White tee, dagger in the back, nothing fancy."
- King Gum Crosland

"Mephistopheles"

"Mephistopheles" / 12x15" / gouache & ink on paper

I don't think there's a corner of mankind that doesn't recognize some form of The Devil... a creature of pure evil, who's aim is to pull the whole of humanity into the bowels of Perdition.


"So grab your eight-plus-one! Start flippin' and trippin'!
Niggas is jettin'! I'm lickin' off, son!"
- King Gum 

"Lunar Levitation"

"Lunar Levitation" / 12x18" / acrylics & collage on canvas board

Growing up in a PBS-positive household has given me a keen appreciation for shows on history, politics, global affairs and Muppets. But what's really been turning my nerd screw, lately, are programs about space! Hence, today's intergalactic-themed illustration.


"We're all gonna burn in hell! Because we do what we gotta do real well, and we've got the fever to tell!"
- King Gum

"Killer King"

"Killer King" / 9x12" / acrylics on paper

Continuing with the Shakespearean theme of "Iago," the above illustration for The Letter K refers to Macbeth. He's a rather brutal character, who becomes a king by extremely murderous means. Macbeth was one of the very first plays of Shakespeare's that I read, while in high school and remains a favorite story of mine, to this day.

"By the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes."

- David C.

"Juke"

"Juke" / 9x12" / watercolors & ink on paper

Hello and happy Monday, art fiends! It appears my football illustrations are back, just in time for The Letter J. I think this is the kickoff to a fine week of drawing and paint smudging. Pun intended!

"You can holler, you can wail, you can blow what's left of my right mind."

- King Gum

"Iago"

"Iago" / 12x15" / watercolors & ink on paper

The Letter I is for "Iago," the serpent-tongued villain in Shakespeare's Othello. And with that, comes the end of yet another fantastic five days of Alphabet Attack! Have a great weekend, and tune in on Monday for more illustrative mayhem!

"Talons fly as a last disguise. But no return... the time has come."
- David C.

"Harbinger"

From watching The Terminator as a child, to seeing Akira as a teen, all the way up to my current obsession with Sons of Anarchy, I've developed a keen vehicle crush on motorcycles. While I may never actually ride one, they remain one of my favorite monstrous means of transportation to depict in drawings. All that speed and growling fury, all that power... it sinks it claws right into my imagination! How could I not get a kick out of loading these iconic iron horses with terrifying riders & letting them run loose on the page?!

"Harbinger" / 12x15" / watercolors & ink on paper

"You grabbed my hand and we fell into it, like a daydream or a fever."
- King Gum

"Gargantuan"

"Below the streets that steam and hiss, The Devil's in his hole."
- King Gum 

"Feral"

This one's been locked up in my imagination for quite some time. Nearly two years now, in fact. I kept imagining this brutal queen, stroking the pelt of some wild beast she'd conquered. Luckily, The Letter F ended up providing the perfect opportunity to put her vicious puss on paper.

"Feral" / 9x12" / watercolors & acrylics on paper

"We are the revenants, and we will rise up from the dead."

- David C.