Giddiyap!

This linocut of a rope-skipping centauroid was done during my stay in Slovenia, early October.

Linocuts

Working on several linocuts in Ljubljana, Slovenia, of a rope-skipping centauroid, and other creatures.

Manticore

A two-legged manticore. I want to do a series of small lino cuts of similar creatures.

LUBOK #11 is out

Proud to submit a few pages to this beauty: LUBOK #11. The whole book has been printed in Leipzig (Germany) as a set of linoleum cuts, which must be close to unique in the world. Featured artists include Christoph Ruckhäberle, Ewoud van Rijn and Koen Taselaar.



(This print was inspired by Laibach's Let It Be record sleeve)

More info here.

INFERNO en francais II

The doctored result from the test prints, to be used for the front cover of Inferno @ The Hoochie Coochie.
The typography still needs some adjusting. Plus the illo for the back cover.

INFERNO en francais

Working on a new cover for the french edition of my graphic novel Inferno, scheduled for May this year. It will be printed as a lino cut. This is a really crappy test print, but for some reason I'm without oil-based inks, so it will have to do. Pleased with the design however. No mistakes. I do have to add the title, still. Now that's a challenge.


The linoleum proved to be good to handle. Not crumbly or slippery.

(The initial sketch, lifted from one of the pages in the book.)

Circle Jerk

Cannibal Conjurer

Testing a new lino cut... I flopped the art to see how the endresult should be here. The high part I marked with a uh, marker because I am without ink and a press at the moment. A scan will do for now. The composition was inspired by Bosch's Conjurer and the meaning of the term autopsy: "to see oneself". This is the finished piece, ready for print:

Snake hunting

Just testing a new lino cut, for the very fine French anthology Turkey Comix (as in: the funny-looking bird, not the country). The snake is the two-headed Amphisbeana from the medieval bestiariums. Maybe that is not that obvious. In the Middle Ages you could at least be certain that it had to be the Devil's work. Ah, let them wonder what it is. Anyway, this still needs fixing in places. And I ran out of all blockprint inks, except bright red. Don't like red.

Quid?

Working on another lino cut. This one is somewhat inspired by one of Hans Baldung Grien's depictions of Death and the Maiden.

The tree is coming out nicely and so is the feral woman's fur. The black border needs some embellishments. And still deciding what to do with the upper part of the tree. The banner should say "Quid?" when it's finished. (Death is puzzled by the natural resistance of nuns who have reverted to a feral state)

Drawing Straws

Working on some lino cuts for a special anthology, to be realised later this year (although it's not quite sure yet whether the money for it will be there - I am mentioning this so there will be less chance of jinxing it). Anyway, this is just one design of five. Here are some quick tests which I have done while cutting away details.

Hmm, not so happy with the structure on the ground but at least no letters are in mirror view. That would have been plain embarrassing. There is still a little bit of fixing after this, but not much. Everybody who has done this, knows that it's particularly hard to know when exactly to stop.

The theme of cannibalism still occupies my mind. It has been said that the theme of drawing straws among shipwrecked sailors is a strictly theoretical one, because one dies of thirst long before hunger becomes a lethal problem. I wouldn't know...

Monkey see, monkey spank

I just returned from a very, very inspiring week at the French salt mines. Well, a historical museum devoted to the salt mines of past times, in Arc-et-Senans to be precise, where the Pierre-Feuille-Ciseaux festival was held for a second time. Here is some info on the participating artists: http://www.pierrefeuilleciseaux.com/?page_id=6

While there was much emphasis on the typically French OuBaPo phenomenon (conceptional comics following playful limitations in the spirit of writers like Raymond Queneau and Georges Perec), I concentrated on doing linoleum cuts with the guys from the Hoochie Coochie crew, from Paris, who brought their press and tools. Here is a lino cut version that I did from the pic posted on August 31st.