The Astral Gypsy Art Blog

2011-08-31T06:20:00.000-07:00

Please support my campaign to fund the printing of my new graphic novel.

R.I.P. Elisabeth Sladen

2011-04-21T05:57:00.000-07:00

I'm re-posting this piece, slightly amended, originally a response to Tony Lee's moving article about Elisabeth Sladen. This time with some of the images from the annual. You can read Tony's article here. http://www.tonylee.co.uk/

Sarah Jane was ‘the’ companion when I was growing up. When I had the chance to write and illustrate a story for the Doctor Who annual, the first thing I did was start looking for photo-reference of Sarah Jane, even before I had a story in mind. I went to an old scrap book I had and found my clippings of Elisabeth Sladen from old issues of the Radio Times collected way back in my childhood. Photo’s I’d drawn countless times as a kid, I’d get pocket money off other kids at school in return for my portraits of their and my idol Sarah Jane. I had a serious shiver run down my spine as I drew her again for the Annual, knowing I’d be spreading her image again, but this time a bit further than the school yard. That was to be my last work on the Doctor Who series, but, I hope a fitting tribute, and a dream come true. R.I.P Liz, Sarah Jane lives on.

TURF ISSUE 1

2010-05-13T10:10:00.000-07:00

About bloody time! Jonathan Ross has finally made good his promise to write a comic. Turf. I can't recall how long ago it was exactly when Jonathan mentioned his interest in writing a comic to me, but it was at the signing for the 'Comic relief comic book', that I contributed a story to, and Jane was expecting their first child. So quite a while back. Was it worth the wait? Damn straight! Old time gangsters, Vampires and Aliens.. but schlocky it's not. Intelligently scripted, with stunning art by the ever amazing Tommy Lee Edwards, this is a class act. Mainstream? yes, smart? yes, visually stunning? yes! Record breaking advance orders? yes!

And value for money, you cant skim this in five minutes, no this is a good solid read. I'm not going to mention the plot, but it's a great set up, with plenty of comic and film references that you'd expect from Mr Ross, (watch out for a wonderfully appropriate cameo from a famed horror movie maestro) and marvel at the beautifully well researched and detailed art. It also comes with a limited edition variant cover by none other than Jim Steranko. Only one slight criticism, the old 'as you know' scene, where two characters tell each other stuff that they both already know, as a quick way of fleshing out the plot, but as I say only a minor quibble, well that, and having to wait a full month to read the next issue.

Doctor Who #7

2010-02-04T08:46:00.000-08:00

Here are some pages from my latest issue of Doctor Who, beautifully colored by Lovern Kindzierski, except the cover, that's all me.

Seasons Greetings

2009-12-22T13:38:00.000-08:00

Hokusai book

2009-10-01T12:49:00.000-07:00

I'm launching my new book: Hokusai: Demons, at BICS, Birmingham International Comics Show this weekend, It's a limited edition of 100, signed and numbered with an original sketch in each book, we arew taking orders now.

Another House of Mystery sneak peak

2009-07-29T08:59:00.000-07:00

House of Mystery #17

2009-07-10T11:09:00.000-07:00

I'm drawing a ten page story for issue 17 of the House of Mystery here is a sneak look at a panel... more later

New Dr Who Covers

2009-05-27T07:45:00.000-07:00

Here's a preview of my varient covers for the first two part story I'm illustrating for the new ongoing Doctor who comic from IDW. The series is written by Tony Lee, with main covers by the brilliant Paul Grist, Tommy Lee Edwards does a fantastic cover for the retailer incentive cover for issue #1.

2009-05-18T06:23:00.000-07:00

Here are some character sketches done for the new Doctor Who comic coming in July from IDW, written by Tony Lee and drawn by myself, with colours by Lovern Kindzierski. The covers are by Paul Grist, I'm painting the varient covers for my issues. I coloured the character sketches.

Seasons Greetings

2008-12-24T09:53:00.000-08:00

24 HOUR COMIC CHALLENGE

2008-10-23T03:26:00.000-07:00

The Astral Gypsy hosted this years 24 Hour Comic challenge on Saturday 18th October. Five of us participated in the event, with lot's of supporters on hand. You can read my story here.

Zombie Con

2008-09-11T02:51:00.000-07:00

I had a great time at Zombie Con! Thanks to Stef, James, Elvis & co for doing such a great job. I think it's safe to say all us guests were very well looked after. It was great to meet Robert Rankin and his lovely wife, David Devereux, Stuart Conran, (make-up artist on Shaun of the Dead) and catch up with Charlie Adlard (if you haven't read The Walking Dead, shame on you! pick it up at our on-line shop) we rarely get a chance to chat at conventions. I was very busy selling our horror graphic novels, drawing Zombie Portraits! producing an exclusive Zombie Elvis art print and having loads of fun. A great event

Thanks to CAPTION 2008

2008-08-20T10:47:00.000-07:00

A very memorable Caption for me this year. I have been trying to raise money for a new sports training wheelchair & Rollator for over three years now. Caption were kind enough to allow me to submit donated art (special thanks to Dave Gibbons & Bryan Talbot for donated art) for the wheelchair fund to a mini version of the now legendary Caption auction raising £100.00! I raised a further £80.00 selling books from my collection.

Then as I was about to start my workshop I was presented with a further £100.00 by the committee, as they had done better than expected with the main auction! They expected me to run a workshop after that! I could barely speak. The total allowed me to purchase a rollator and took me over the halfway mark for the wheelchair, so thanks to everyone involved it means more than I can say.

I did manage to complete the workshop and everyone seemed to have fun producing some excellent if twisted work! But given the theme was a timewarp in the Big Brother household what do you expect!

Finally special thanks to Jay & Selina for being my chauffers for the weekend.

Alisa's Tale

2008-06-27T07:35:00.000-07:00

Genki Gear T-Shirt design

2008-05-01T05:06:00.000-07:00

Our 'Big Guy Samurai' T-Shirt design for the cool folks at Genki Gear is now on sale. By it now or the big guy will be after you. That's The Astral Gypsy, not the Samurai!

A portrait of Jenny

2008-02-06T09:56:00.000-08:00

Here is a portrait of my Step Daughter Jenny performing a form or 'Ked' from the martial art of Tetsudo. This was painted with acrylics and watercolour on bristol board

The legendary writer Marv Wolfman wins prestigious book award

2008-01-10T03:14:00.000-08:00

Legendary comics writer Marv Wolfman, creator of Blade and co-creator of The Teen Titans has won The National Jewish Council Book award for his Homeland: an illustrated history of the state of Israel

You can purchase the book from The Astral Gypsy book shop 120 four colour pgs £12.99

See his press release below.

I am very proud to announce that my book, HOMELAND, THE ILLUSTRATED
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF ISRAEL, has just won the National Jewish
Council Book Award in the category of Children and Young Adult
Literature. Homeland details 3,500 years of Jewish history, from the
time of Abraham to the year 2007. It follows the history of the
Jewish people and their long struggle for their promised land. The
book took nearly three years to write. It is fully illustrated by
artist Mario Ruiz, Executive Edited by William J. Rubin, and
published by Nachshon Press.

Homeland has also received the Moonbeam Award in the Young Adult non-
fiction category, the USAbooknews award for History/Politics in the
adult category, and was also recognized as a 2008 Notable Book for
Teen readers by the Sydney Taylor Book Award Committee for the
Association of Jewish Libraries. Homeland reaches all audiences from
children to adult and it does so in a vibrant format.

These are just a few of the reviews Homeland has received:

"Homeland is graphic nonfiction of the very highest quality."
Association of Jewish Libraries Magazine

"A welcome and enthusiastically recommended addition to personal,
school, and community library collections." Midwest Book Review

"A provocative, evocative look at Israel's history . . . a fest of
full-color photos and painted art illustrations." Dallas Morning News

"For those with little or no knowledge of Mideast history, Homeland
is a wonderful introduction." South Mississippi Sun Herald

"Can best be described as one of the greatest history text books ever
created . . . the educational value is limitless." Broken Frontier.com

"Wolfman's pen skills take adult and child alike into history with
ease. The art from the amazing hands of Mario Ruiz is a treasure."
AudioWorld

"Explains and illustrates the reasons for the existence of [Israel]
in terms that Jews and non-Jews can easily understand." Cleveland
Jewish News

"I've never been able to understand the conflict in Israel/Palestine.
This book turned out to be something different." Sabrina's Reviews

Sincerely,
Marv Wolfman

Scar tissue intro (A potted family history

2008-01-09T04:03:00.000-08:00

To all our customers

2007-12-24T07:03:00.000-08:00

Collectormania Milton Keynes

2007-11-02T07:58:00.000-07:00

Another busy show, and a busy few months! I've drawn 195 Manga Portraits at shows since the beginning of September!!

The latest portrait shown here is Amy from Tokyo Toys, The photo's here of the fashion conscious Zombie, and those of Maggie and I are courtesy of Amy's brother Ping. Check out their site here: http//www.tokyotoys.com/

London EXPO

2007-10-23T07:41:00.000-07:00

We had a great time at the London Expo, with many happy sitters for the Manga & Fantasy portraits. Other artists in attendance included amongst others: Illya, Dave Hine, The irrepressible Emma Vieceli and the SweatDrop crew, Bill Tucci, and the creator of Affro Samurai Takashi Okazaki. I also had the pleasure of meeting Tom 'Gonzo' Greenway & Warin Pismoke of 3DTotal, check out their cool web-site: www.3dtotal.com Thanks as usual to the gang at Manga Entertainment for their support, and the organizers of course.

some monotypes

2007-10-05T03:55:00.000-07:00

This Week I was teaching some mono-type techniques to my students, here are some of my spontaneous (30 second) mono-types done for demonstration purposes, and a couple of finished prints produced for my illustrated version of The Raven.

Amber Benson @ The Mcm Midlands Expo

2007-09-20T05:05:00.000-07:00

Amber was here promoting her new independent film: Lovers, Liars & Lunatics The film reminds me of those old eccentric Ealing Comedies such as The Lady Killers This film has the same odd-ball characters and surreal situations combined with well observed characters and relationships. Amber Writes, Directs, Produces, Edits & Stars. The film had a good number of laugh out loud moments with, understandably, Ambers character getting some of the best lines.If their is a modern day answer to the great Alistair Sim, it's Amber Benson, though she is miles ahead when it comes to looks. Below is an article about the production, and you can find out more and buy the DVD at the official site:www.loversliarsandlunatics.com

Amber Benson @ The Mcm expo

2007-09-20T04:59:00.000-07:00

Amber Benson & The Astral Gypsy

2007-09-20T04:50:00.000-07:00

I had the pleasure of meeting Amber Benson (Tara from Buffy) this weekend, she is a gracious and down to earth person, who always has time for her fans. Amber is also a big comics fan, with Strangers in Paradise and Y The Last Man amongst her favourites. We exchanged DVD's of our respective films, and I also presented her with a copy of The Spiral Cage

Midlands MCM Expo

2007-09-19T11:16:00.000-07:00

This show was a bit quieter than other recent shows, but still great fun, and a great atmosphere. Here are some photo's.

Driving home

2007-09-08T03:12:00.000-07:00

Here are some photo's I took whilst we were driving home from the London Film & Comic Con. The self portrait was a reflection in the wing mirror.

London Film & Comic Con

2007-09-08T03:04:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures from the London Film & Comic Con. The Manga Portraits are really taking off

Phil Gasgoine: R.I.P.

2007-08-21T13:25:00.000-07:00

We have lost another talented Comic Artist in Phil Gasgoine, I first met Phil many years ago at the SSI (Society of Strip Illustrators) and he was always encouraging to this fledgling comic artist. Phil was also one of the most reliable, hard working and down to earth people in the business, and will be greatly missed.

SweatDrop art winners

2007-08-16T05:46:00.000-07:00

Check out the winners of the SweatDrop art competition from the recent JapanEx here:http://badly-shaded.deviantart.com/
We received some cool 'thank you's' from those winners who won prizes sponsored by us.

Astral Gypsy @ Caption

2007-08-15T07:32:00.000-07:00

Thanks to all the organizers of Caption for another excellent event, great fun as usual. The Dream Workshops went down very well, with the Saturday one full to capacity!
Here are some photo's from the weekend. There should be some up-dates at the Caption site soon.
http://caption.org/2007/

Mike Wieringo R.I.P.

2007-08-14T05:29:00.000-07:00

Sad news, I've just heard that the very talented comic artist Mike Wieringo passed away on Sunday night, of an apparent Heart attack. No further details available at the moment.Check Newsarama for more on Mike.

More from JapanEx

2007-08-03T05:11:00.000-07:00

Here are some more pics from JapanEx, thanks to Jenny Lawrence for the Manga Portrait photo's and SweatDrops Mary Beaird for the shots of the Martial Hearts demo

JapanEx

2007-07-29T13:02:00.000-07:00

The Astral Gypsy were at Japan Ex last weekend and had a great time, The Manga Portraits went down a storm, and the martial arts demo's we did received great feed-back, Thanks to the Taiko Meantime drummers, who cut short their performance so we could still do our demo when things were running behind. Thanks also to the organizers who put on a great show. SweatDrop Studios did a great job with the art competition as usual, The Astral Gypsy was pleased to donate some prizes, we will post the winners names here when we get the results. Here are some photo's from the event.

Medea

2007-06-09T10:37:00.000-07:00

I've been working on another 'Greek Myth' based Idea for a graphic novel after The Minotaurs Tale, I had a dream that featured the Greek sorceress Medea, Here's a drawing of her I did today.

Todays dream sketch (it must be the heat...)

2007-06-07T11:35:00.001-07:00

Dream drawing for today

2007-06-06T13:22:00.000-07:00

Todays Dream sketch

2007-06-05T07:50:00.000-07:00

Did you know...

2007-06-04T07:03:00.000-07:00

Did you know... that the inside of your forearm is the same length as your foot. Post art here if you want feed-back or art tips.

dream art

2007-06-04T07:01:00.000-07:00

Here's another dream sketch!

Dream sketches

2007-06-02T03:44:00.000-07:00

Here's the first of my (hopefully daily) dream sketches, feed-back welcome, or post your own in response (genuine dream art only please)

MCM Expo

2007-05-31T09:55:00.000-07:00

Here are some photo's from our successful weekend at the London expo, whilst Maggie was run off her feat selling Manga, I was busy drawing Manga portraits for the seemingly endless queue. 72 portraits on Saturday alone! I could have matched that again on Sunday if not for the fact that I had to perform a Martial Arts Demo across town. Arriving back in time to do another 16 portraits, the show closed with people still waiting... Sorry everyone who missed out, you can send photo's to me and I will do your Manga Portraits straight away. £5.00 (A4) £10.00 (A3) + P&P.

Thanks to Jenny, Matt & Jane for helping out on Sunday, and to Justin for assisting me with the demo.photo's courtesy of Jenny Lawrence.