Yo, Dawg: The Truth Behind Mayweather vs. Merchant

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So, it's been exactly one week since the Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Victor Ortiz fight and with as popular as the image of a shocked post-fight/pre-"I wish I was 50 years younger and I'd kick your ass." Larry Merchant is, I'm shocked no one gave it the Xzibit/"Pimp My Ride" internet meme treatment. That said, I'm calling "Firsties" with my Leonard Ellerbe-less creation! Enjoy and share with your meme-loving friends!

Catwoman: Got Milk? (Inked Version)

Right around the time I knocked out my Iron Man drawing, I figured I'd try my hand at the female (albeit very exaggerated) comic book form. Back then (and I guess, maybe even now. I haven't actually bought comic books in a while), it was all about big boobs, big hips, and long legs and one of the kings of comic cheesecake was Jim Balent, who penciled a six-year run on Catwoman, from 1993 to 1999. Now Balent was a guy who gave the fanboy juuuuuust what he wanted, offering a sort of pseudo-porn, complete with bodysuits that would seemingly wrap around each breast...and the fanboy LOVED it. Here's my take on Selina Kyle complete with three feline friends, completely inked with Staedtler pigment liners. Stay tuned for the colored version!

Iron Man Makes a New Friend (Full Color Version)

 

So as you remember from a couple of days ago, I shared my inked version of my fun little Iron Man piece. Here's the finished product, hand-colored in Prismacolor watercolor pencil. Just a fun little piece to practice gradients, contrast and color variations! I hope you Iron Man (and bald eagle) fans dig it! OK, back to painting!

Iron Man Makes a New Friend (Inked Version)

So around the time I conceived my Madman piece, I was doing all sorts of other superhero scenes (some you might see here in the near future!) and thought I'd have a little fun with a hero who's gained a lot of steam in recent years (thanks to a couple of really outstanding movies), Iron Man. I've always been a big fan of his classic red and gold armor, as opposed to keeping up with one of his many changes over the years (guy has more wardrobe issues than the Wasp, I tell ya...that's for the Marvel nerds). Originally, I did this piece with a mountain range and clouds in the background but as I looked back, the mountains just weren't doing it for me, detail-wise (I think I lazied my way through them). There was really no valid depth or authenticity to them, at least in my eyes. However, I wanted to share this piece but I figured I'd simplify it a little and make it more about Iron Man meeting his new friend, a slightly surprised bald eagle. I fully inked the eagle and Iron Man (with my trusty Staedtler pigment liners), then scanned the drawing into my laptop so I could open it in Photoshop. From there, I'd clone out the background and feature our two main characters. I think it still works because the two provide context of location (the sky) for each other.

From here, I'll now color the fully inked and simplified image by hand, which I'll post as soon as I'm finished! Stay tuned and enjoy!

Stevie Ray Vaughan: A Blast from My Past (and Present)!

It was a LOOOOOOONG time ago but sometime between 1993 and 1996, I drew a graphite portrait of legendary blues guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan for a co-worker. Back then I didn't have a computer, much less a scanner, so before I framed the piece and gave it to my friend, I photocopied the original. I was bored out of my skull one day, I guess, so I inked the photocopy. Recently, I dug out the inked image and I have to say, I kind of laughed at myself and my pseudo-effort. See, then, I was going through a phase where I was trying everything possible to up my inking game. Quill pens, Pelikan brand/India ink, brushes. You name it, I tried it but didn't practice enough, therefore I sucked hard at it. So, a few days ago, I laid down more solid blacks to the image, popped it into Photoshop, then minimized the detail just to see if less was truly more. You know what? It actually was. These days, I've upped my game with a bolder inking style through the use of archival ink pens like Microns and Staedtlers so really, this piece isn't indicative of what I can do today. It's merely a preservation or restoration of something totally I forgot about years ago. Plus, it's just fun to share a new(ish) image. :)

 

(Above: the original photocopy, after fresh ink was hammered in, pre-Photoshop)

(Road Warrior) Coyote's Book Review #1: The Road Warriors: Danger, Death, and the Rush of Wrestling

(Coyote's note: Not unlike drawing, painting, cooking or making music, writing is truly an art. Read on for my inaugural book review ART-icle featuring The Road Warriors: Danger, Death, and the Rush of Wrestling. I couldn't think of a better tome to kick off this new feature as these guys changed this wanna-be Road Warrior's life, making it truly OK to be bigger than life. I even have a Road Warrior-style first name!)

Boxing had Muhammad Ali. Basketball had Michael Jordan. Pop music had Michael Jackson and Hollywood has Robert De Niro. Professional wrestling had the Road Warriors. If you were a child of the ‘80s, you were fully aware of the impact the latter form of entertainment had on the decade- fan or not. It was during the ‘80s when the WWE’s (then known as the WWF, the World Wrestling Federation) “Hulkamania,” “Rock ‘n’ Wrestling” and “Wrestlemania” brought in scores of new fans, many of the much younger set. Hawk and Animal, the Road Warriors (also known as the “Legion of Doom”), not only worked against the kid-friendly formulas the WWE had to offer; they preceded them. For fans of the fearsome twosome, billed from Chicago, Illinois, the history provided by Animal himself, Joe Laurinaitis, is laid out in heartfelt grandeur in his autobiography, The Road Warriors: Danger, Death, and the Rush of Wrestling (Medallion Press, 2011, 368 pages, $24.95 USA, $27.95 Canada, hardcover, $9.95, e-book available in Kindle, PDF, ePub and NookBook) and is a look back you simply can’t miss. Especially if you’re a lapsed fan like me, who stopped watching wrestling altogether around 1993 or so (with scattered pay-per-view look-sees here and there when I had a hot box between ’98 and 2000).

The book, co-authored by Andrew William Wright, isn’t just an autobiography; it’s a labor of love spanning 20 years, beginning with an origin story borne of pure necessity (Joe becoming a father for the first time) and ending with the death of friend/tag-team partner/brother-in-paint Mike Hegstrand (AKA Hawk) and an update on Animal’s greatest achievements- his three children. Mainly, it’s a view of an unpredictable life through the eyes of a truly gentle giant- gentler than you would’ve ever believed if you were a Warriors fan.

Madman: A Blast from My Past (and Present)!

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As you might have noticed from my last art post, I'm kind of a comic nerd (and I know you're cool with that, Howlers!). However, a lot of folks who know about the Green Lanterns and Thors of the world might not know about Frank Einstein AKA Madman (incidentally introduced to me by my longtime pal and legendary horror host The Bone Jangler, while hanging out in one of his many secret, global strongholds), an independent comics sensation. Created by the incredible Mike Allred, Madman is an amnesiac superhero, brought back to life after dying in a horrible accident and pieced together (making his adopted name clearer as a "Frankenstein" take-off) by Doctors Flem and Boiffard. Once an assassin named Zane Townsend in his previous life, Frank's new lease on life (of afterlife, if you will) gave birth to a lighthearted, conscientious fellow who went on to work alongside his girlfriend, Josephine "Joe" Lombard, Dr. Flem and alien pal Mott (from the planet Hoople. Go figure). My personal favorite Madman run was Dark Horse Comics' Madman Comics, which ran from 1994-2000. Coming in a close second was Frank's crossover with Superman, The Superman/Madman Hullabaloo!, from 1997. All drawn by Allred and beautifully colored by his wife, the mega-talented Laura Allred. I can't put my finger on what exactly made me a Madman freak because there's too much to wade through. The kooky hipster speak, the crazy robots and monsters Frank had to face and the nutty weapons he used- like yo-yos and disc guns- were all part of what made "The World's Snappiest Comic" all that more snappy.

Green Lantern: A Blast from My Past!

 

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In celebration (OK, maybe not so much "celebration." I mean, no one's exactly dancing in the streets) of the new "Green Lantern" flick, featuring Ryan Reynolds (now playing in theaters!), I figured I'd share a neat little sketch I did over 12 years ago of then-Green Lantern Kyle Rayner (as opposed to the Silver Age Lantern, Hal Jordan, whom Reynolds portrays). This was an entry for a contest that one of my favorite magazines at the time, the now-defunct Wizard: The Guide to Comics, held to commemorate its upcoming 100th issue and whichever amateur artist drew the coolest single character drawing would get the cover spot for that issue! Needless to say, I didn't win but some fella who did a bang-up job of the Mighty Thor (who also got his own film this year!) did (and I tried to track down his name to give him his props. Seriously, it was THAT good). Still, it was neat to try and it's fun to show all my Happy Howlers that comic-y side to my art.

Oh, and if you're wondering, that weird looking Chevrolet-style symbol under my signature (I've had that paw print signature that long now!) is an indigenous symbol for "coyote." As for that motto, "The Paw is Law"?...Yeah, kinda lame and a whole lot o' haughty. Sorry 'bout that! :D

Knockout of the Year...

President Barack Obama KO3 (third year of his term) Osama Bin Laden: I was working on some various Photoshop projects for a friend and I couldn't resist. Sue me. :) This knockout's for all those who lost their lives during this douchebag's campaign of terror. It's for the families they left behind, the first responders we lost and the bravest of the brave who sacrificed- and continue to sacrifice- so much to get the job done, whether it's our military, police or firefighters. Some Americans might not agree with this crappy little Photoshop scenario but you have the right and freedom to disagree. The result remains the same. Terrorism might not be done for by a long shot but the world is a little nicer of a place now.


Oh, and though this image is based (Who am I kidding? This is totally rejiggered) on the "Phantom Punch" which Muhammad Ali "landed" on Sonny Liston in their World Heavyweight Championship rematch on May 25, 1965, THIS punch actually landed...


Contact Coyote at artofthepaw@yahoo.com

Coyote's Big Music Howling: Saliva's "Under Your Skin"

Few bands make me have to grab their latest slab the day it’s released. Memphis-based hard rock unit Saliva is one of them. Their latest slab, “Under Your Skin” (Island Records, producer Howard Benson), released last month, was worth the wait. And while, the band is officially one less member (minus Jonathan Montoya, who departed last August), you sure as hell wouldn’t know it as Josey Scott (vocals), Wayne Swinny (guitar), Dave Novotny (bass) and Paul Crosby (drums) have no less momentum moving forward in this new ten-song effort. Sans Montoya, Swinny holds down all the crunch and leads with flawless aplomb as Novotny and Crosby continue to prove themselves as one of the most underrated, underappreciated rhythm sections in this genre. As for Scott, the darkness is still dominant, letting in the light only when he’s damn good and ready. The formula still works and is very much in play here.

Every Saliva album has something pulse-pounding to offer; some less than others but that’s just the way things are with any band. You might disagree and that’s perfectly fine. To this writer, the most effective Saliva albums were their major label debut, “Every Six Seconds,” 2002’s “Back into Your System,” 2007’s “Blood Stained Love Story” and this new release, which doesn’t disappoint with ass-kicking rockers, heart-wrenching ballads and contemplative life lessons. In this review, I offer my views on the album’s strongest cuts.