Art Exclusive
 I always liked the line “Filled with scorpions is my mind…” And so I wanted to illustrate that. I finished this piece and immediately had another Idea for a Macbeth poster, so you will probably see more Shakespeare from me soon. |
Completed Projects
| The Word in Motion I have been working on Illustrating the Word in Motion Bible Curriculum for Apologia Educational Ministries for the last two years, and the project is finally drawing to a close. We dedicated the Old Testament book at this year’s company picnic and will do the same to the New Testament next year. Here is one of my favorite illustrations I did for the books.  Family Vacation T-Shirt Every two year’s my wife’s side of the family have a family vacation and they always get a t-shirt with everyone on it. Here is this year’s shirt. We all have a strong sweet tooth so we went with a candy land theme.  |
Current Projects
| TOT I am starting to Ink Issue 4 today! I am also coloring issue 2 in the in-between hours. Remember that rant I had about deep vs. shallow work? Coloring is super shallow, so I can easily jump in and out of it. But Inking is Deeper and I need long stretches of time to commit to inking. It is really nice to have both steps balancing out my workflow. One of my favorite things about the upcoming book will be the covers. Fred, my editor, and writer suggested the idea of having all four covers connect to incentivize collecting them. Here is the thumbnail that I am going to develop. I love how this turned out and cant wait to ink and color it! Also, I am going to let the cat out of the bag with this post… TOT stands for The Oblivion Trials, the title of the book! We are set to have a Kickstarter in September with Source Point Press. More details to come.  |
Upcoming Projects
| Carman Art Camp! Art camp is still happening, but the date has been moved to the last week of July. If you are in the Norcross, GA area and looking for some morning art education for your kids, shoot me an email. Cons! I discovered that I have a few Cons that are still set for this year!? Here is my schedule. Stay safe and I hope to see you and give you a fist bump. August 6-8, 2021 Atlanta Comic Con. Atlanta, GA August 14, 2021 FCBD Infinite Realities Comic Shop. Tucker, GA August 28-29, 2021 Fairfax Comiccon. Fairfax, VA September 18-19, 2021 Incredible Con. Charleston, SC Julycanthropy I am an absolute madman. I have decided to do another Month-long art challenge amidst possibly my busiest Summer ever! Lycanthropy is the supernatural transformation of a person into a wolf, as recounted in folk tales. I have added a few non-traditional creatures to my list, but I hope you will follow along and enjoy. I plan to focus on storytelling in my illustrations.  Civil War Comic I am starting work on a Civil War Academic comic in August. I announced this about a year ago, but it has been in pre-production limbo. We finally earned a grant and can start on the art. My writer is a history professor at MTSU and he has been a pleasure to work with thus far. More details in August. |
Art Lesson
| Types of Art I created this chart for my Art Appreciation class I will be teaching this fall via Apologia Online Academy. This chart is a paired-down list of possible art mediums, for example, Painting contains within it the following different disciplines: Acrylic, Oil, Watercolor, Gouache, etc. I think this chart exhibits why I think Food might be the highest art form, it engages four of the five main senses. It occasionally engages audio, in the form of a crunch or sizzle, but It feels like a reach compared to direct interaction with the other senses.  |
Philosophical Rant
| Finish Something! Oi Ve. I am freaking out! I have so much on my plate right now and I am only adding to the pile! I am on the verge of having too many projects, but the life of a freelancer is so uncertain that I am constantly trying to ensure that I have a “next” project that sometimes I overpopulate my schedule. This is why it is so important to finish something. One of my all-time favorite artists, Jake Parker, has said it very eloquently, “Finished, not Perfect.” This last weekend, my wife and I set out to paint our kitchen, something we have endeavored to do since we moved in 9 months ago. The walls are a fantastically garish wallpaper listing 6 baking spices on a beige background. It is actually pretty well applied so we figured, let’s just paint over it.  Sadly, it was not to be. The paper started to bubble off the wall and we realized we had a full weekend ahead of us. 8 hours later and we had stripped the walls and I had applied some patches and light sanding work to get a “smooth” surface.  Sunday we primed and applied two coats before finishing the room. But you know what, it is NOT perfect. There is some paint on the trim, and in a few places the tape tore up the paint upon removal. But it is done.  The reason that I have self-published a 150-page graphic novel, Fear Hunters, is not because it is perfect. It is because I finished it ( I do still have more of that story I want to tell in future volumes) I set a deadline for myself and I have a final product in my hands. I learned a lot about what not to do, and how to better avoid such pitfalls next time around. If a 150 book is out of your reach right now, then start with something simple, make your bed, clean your dishes, paint your kitchen… Just make sure you finish it. Stay safe out there, love each other, and create beautiful things. Cheers, A |
