Growing Older

Each stage of progression in creating a work of art requires struggle. It requires a change of thinking about what you had prior accepted as the only way to accomplish the task you have set out to do.

Teleki's Old Mother is no exception. It is true that she has always been old even in the first character designs I did for her in 2007. Yet, with time she has aged in an interesting way. She has become a character instead of a caricature of someone I know. There is an important difference. Old Mother had at first a flat personality. She was very generic. Even in the first drafts of the story, she was not relatable. Today, she is both a caring mother and somewhat stuck in her old ways. She is wise at the same time she is incredibly narrow-minded. She only wishes to help her poor son Teleki in his difficult time of need, but cannot help but make him feel more miserable.

If you look in my Sketches page you will see the gradual, but intentional changes that Teleki's Old Mother has gone through over the years.

Over a period of years it has become apparent to me that my skills as a watercolor painter enhance my drawing and inking abilities. Check out my new post on Deviant Art of my recent watercolor, With Garlic On Top.

Title Of Story

Telling stories is a great tradition passed down from generation to generation and from age to age. It is a tradition so universal that pretty much every culture throughout history has maintained it in some form or another. The fact is, that it is one of the best ways to get your point across. Even the most analytical and heavy thinkers with the most scientific minds use it to demonstrate what theory they are trying to explain. Dry facts bore us to death. We might as well dismiss our humanity and plug ourselves directly into our favorite technology if facts are all we get. It is nearly impossible to comprehend something without a proper context. And if that context is not relayed with some accuracy or attention to detail, it also loses its potency.

One of the great things about my friend, Mark Thomas's art is that it has an affinity to give you all of the details you need and you can fill in the blanks about the story on your own. It is important to see art in a setting as opposed to viewing it second hand, because the live version of the art translates the heart and soul of its creator so much better.

On Mark's opening night I was privileged to have the opportunity to draw the very setting of the show. Often, these sporadic interpretations of reality are rough, but the point is not precision or even sobering reality. The message plainly rendered is that you get the mood and you recognize the primary details. So for any artist an opportunity like this presents itself as a practice in seeing and a remembrance of the experience.

Man And Wife

As I work on redoing page 1 of The Course I have to take my steps forward delicately. Perhaps for the seasoned comic book artist they do not sweat the small stuff. However, there must be caution when using strictly black inks. If I were to color this my line quality, though it needs to be clean and pristine would not require the full volume of values that I am trying to accomplish. To see the level of value harmony I am referring to look up artists such as Franklin Booth, Bernie Wrightson, Bryan Bolland, Alex Raymond, and Howard Pyle. These men created art that shows the great range of possibility with just black ink. As I try to emulate their level of quality I have to do so with the mind that this will be a finished piece of art, not just a line drawing for a comic book page.


This week I am going to start showing you some of The Course's characters and talking about their motivations and roles in the story.

Feseleg the Hungarian word for wife is what Teleki refers to "Emily" as. She is as sweet as a strawberry on a Spring day and as graceful as a swan. To find out more about her attributes follow this link:  Teleki's Wife.