Gerhard's Blog, page 13

Back to the old drawing-board…

I decided to ease back into drawing with a rendition of our cat that I did as a birthday present for Shel:

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(Oh… and speaking of cats, some of you may be wondering what ever happened to the ‘Smile of the Absent Cat’ story I had been working on for all that time. Well, it’s in a litigious limbo that I have no say in and will in all likelihood never see print. Yet another reason that it’s hard to stay motivated in the “Comics Biz”).

 

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Having limbered up a bit, I decided to do the simplest commission on my list; something I could have a bit of fun with:

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Which is, of course, based on the classic cover:

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Okay… what’s next…

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Update…

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.

It started back in April. The first phase of Lockdown had just been implemented urging people to stay at home, work from home if possible, and stay isolated.

I had already been working from home, out in the country, in isolation for years. So no big deal. Except that I thought, “Hey… everybody else’s lives have been affected, what about me?” So, because April was my Birthday Month, I decided to take the time off. Kick back. Do nothing.

I loved it.

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“I may never work again!” I declared.

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Of course that wasn’t realistic so over the next few months I cranked out a few commissions.

Long hours at the drawing board led to aching muscles, a sore back and an upset ulcer. But that was nothing new. I’d suffered these side-effects for decades. But my mind hearkened back to the Awesome April of Idleness and how much better I had felt mentally and physically.

It was also tough to stay motivated when it seemed that all of western civilization was circling the drain.

Then came October, Shelley’s Birthday Month, and I reprised the halcyon days of spring: doing NOTHING.

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It. Was. AWESOME! I really may never work again.

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Then I thought, “No, seriously… I should really get back to work.”

Then I thought, “Well… first let’s see how the U.S. election turns out. No point in doing a bunch of work only to have all of North America fall into anarchy.”

Still waiting.

‘Edge of Anarchy’ seems to be the New Normal.

I guess I’ll get back to work now.

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Jeffy…

A quick pencil drawing of their cat for Theresa and Pete:

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Okay… I should REALLY get back to work.

 

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Ninjet tree-house…

I was contacted by Drake (who’s doing this Ninjet comic, check it out HERE) asking if I’d be interested in doing some design sketches. The characters live in a giant tree atop a mountain. Within this tree is the small shrine. Hidden high in the tree is their home. It’s basically a Japanese style tree-house. He wanted only pencil drawings, and here they are:

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That was fun.

It will be interesting to see what Drake does with them.

 

 

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Stillewasser…

I got an email from Chris Opperman about doing a CD cover which read, in part:

“…the reason why I am writing you today is because I’m in the preliminary phase of planning my 7th full-length album, Stillewasser (working title), which is going to be a solo piano album and a direct sequel to 2001’s Klavierstücke.

You can check out all my music here: https://open.spotify.com/artist/4IZRnl6o15sma5z16lDfOD?si=bc48ZNGaR3Gm0GTYWiK5EQ although we’re currently finishing my 6th album Chamber Music from Hell which is neither still nor quiet.

The setting of the album is essentially nature, a frozen pond, a frozen lake by a cozy looking nostalgic house, or the like, but I truly am open to any ideas that you would have (your ideas would likely be better than mine anyway). The music is going to all be very quiet and serene…”

Here’s what I came up with:

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I look forward to hearing it!

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Smokes the Fox

A while ago Justin asked me to do some concept sketches for the Smokes the Fox character he had come up with.

Here’s one of those:

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…then a little while ago Justin asked me do a cover.

I did a pencil sketch, computer mock-up, tight pencil, ink, and computer colour.

Here’s a GIF of the process:

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I’ll post more info about the book as it becomes available.

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Corto Maltese commission

I was commissioned to draw the Corto Maltese character in a Venice setting.

Here’s the rough layout:

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After a requested change in the character’s pose, here’s the final pencil:

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That was fun… movin’ on…

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Hunchback auction today!

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Here’s what Charles Costas had to say:

Those that may have taken a look at Gerhard’s latest blog got a sneak preview of this, but I wanted to draw your attention to Prop Store’s Los Angeles Entertainment Memorabilia Live Auction that will be taking place on August 26-27. 

In the auction, we’ll be featuring two amazing Hunchback of Notre Dame original poster artwork pieces by Gerhard.  Both of these were done for Dark Hall Mansion in 2018 for a limited-edition poster to commemorate the original Lon Chaney film.

If you love Gerhard’s lighting and backgrounds, especially when he draws gothic architecture, these pieces are for you.  And if you love the detail in his work…well, these pieces are huge, so there’s plenty for you to look at!  24” x 36” – truly poster sized themselves.  I’d hate to guess how many little tiny lines Gerhard had to draw to fill up the space.

You can register now for the auction by going to www.propstore.com/liveauction.  The lots (#346 and #347) will be sold on the first day of the auction (August 26th) and bidding will take place online or over the phone.  You can also bid in advance (right now).  Estimates for each piece are $2,000-$3,000.  And, Prop Store offers up to a three-month interest-free payment plan with this auction. 

Check out the pieces here:

Lot #346: https://usm.propstoreauction.com/m/lot-details/index/catalog/267/lot/62457

Lot #347: https://usm.propstoreauction.com/m/lot-details/index/catalog/267/lot/62458

Currently, there’s only one bid on one of them – so they could go for very reasonable prices. 

Please let me know if you need any help, but you can register for the auction at www.propstore.com/liveauction.  There are three ways to bid – Online, Phone and Absentee.  As the auction is based out of Los Angeles, all bidding will be in USD and the art will ship from the US.  If anyone needs a shipping quote, let me know and I can facilitate that.

Also, one of the benefits of doing the auction through Prop Store is that it allows interest-free payments up to 3 months and there is no additional charge for credit cards. 

To see the size of them (relative to Shel), check out Gerhard’s blog http://gerhardart.com/hunchbacks-for-sale/. 

Good luck!  I hope someone here wins these amazing pieces.  They are truly amazing Gerhard originals!

-Chuck Costas

 

(Thanks, Chuck!)

Becoming Frankenstein Take Two…

After some delays and a change of personnel, Becoming Frankenstein is back on track. Written by  Mel Smith and Paul Birch, drawn by Frank Cirocco and Alex Sheikman, coloured by me.

Here’s how the first five pages turned out so far:

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I’ll post more info as it becomes available.

 

 

And…

 

 

My Hunchback Art PropStore Auction is coming up next week…

https://usm.propstoreauction.com/m/view-auctions/catalog/id/267/?page=1&view=grid&key=Gerhard&sale=undefined&catm=any&order=order_num&xclosed=no&featured=no

… and I’ve got an opening bid on one of them!

Woo Hoo!!!