Splab

Thought it was time to whip out the trusty old brush pen and delve back into the sketchbook for the first time in a while. It was fun. This was yesterday's mindset.

Hot Hot Hot

It's hot in the city so I thought I'd commemorate the good weather with a couple of drawings of the amazing melting man, Emil from the classic Robocop, as potent toxic waste strips his flesh to the bone. 'Don't tzatch me maaannn!'. Enjoy the weekend!

Tarty Tango

I was thinking about the late, great character actor Brion James the other day, of Blade Runner ('Let me tell you about my mother') and Southern Comfort fame, so chose to draw him in one of his lesser, wobbly accented roles. He plays a comically aggressive 'limey' called Requin in the bromantic action-fest Tango & Cash with one of the lamest cocker-ney drawls put to film. Here he addresses a cross-dressing Sly Stallone as 'Tarty Tango' before being sent back to 'f*cking Maggie and f*cking England'... or something.

Monkeying For Film

The folks at the fledgling La Guarimba International Film Festival asked me to contribute a poster design for their first outing in the small town of Amantea, Italy later in the year. The brief handed out to artists was to create a monkey-centric poster, the creature of choice for the festival. So I put the brush pen to paper and conjured up an ape before settling on the final chimp drawing along with some hand-rendered type. I then hung around and treated myself to a banana and some nuts. Enjoyable all round.

Merry Chrimbo

Have a good one folks and see you in '13!

Harkonnen

A film portrait of blistered, obese tyrant Baron Harkonnen (Kenneth McMillan) from David Lynch's Dune sending off a character in typically crude fashion with a bit of spittle. Lovely man.

Layne

Here's a drawing of Crispin Glover being offered a less than cold Michelob in the excellent River's Edge. He plays Layne in a typically brilliant batshit crazy performance from the great man. Some highlights can be found here.

Post View

After the success of last year's Post Nude show the folks at Horsebridge Arts Centre in Whitstable are at it again with a second exhibition of postcard artwork Post View. There was much painstaking consideration over which view to depict before I lifted my head up from the monitor to the studio window and grabbed the felt tips. Total voila!

Scorpio

I chanced across the stone-cold classic Dirty Harry on the tellybox again recently and was reminded of the insane brilliance of Andy Robinson's performance as the Frisco nutjob Scorpio, particularly his schoolbus nursery rhyme routine. It also reminded me that a friend had requested his portrait so here it is in it's original monochrome and with a seventies subdued palette. Hope you like...well, do you punk!?

Paths Of Infamy

Busy couple of weeks in Pottsville, will get the posts flowing asap. For now, here's a Monday morn drawing of little known actor, Timothy Carey, who I've recently discovered from a couple of early classic Stanley Kubrick films. He plays a louche sharpshooter in the influential heist movie The Killing and an unfortunate French soldier facing execution in the WW1 anti-war film Paths Of Glory pictured here. He smash'n'grabs every scene he's in with his oddball charisma and built a reputation for pissing-off his fellow actors according to this interesting article on his barmy career and underground legend status. Will be all over this guy's crazed oeuvre.

Call It

I went all analogue on Friday and took a screen printing workshop at Printclub London which I enjoyed the heck out of. I took along my latest film head drawing to put the ink squeegee to. It's the preternaturally bad-assed Anton Chigurh, from the Coen brother's masterpiece No Country For Old Men, played brilliantly by a medievally mop-topped Javier Bardem. More screen printing to come methinks, can't wait to get my hands dirty again.

Sonatine

You can't 'Beat' Takeshi Kitano I reckon so here's a scene from my favourite film of his, Sonatine, a gorgeous, blackly comic slice of existential yakuza action with oodles of seaside gunplay. Knockout.

Folly For A Flyover

I went to a pop-up cinema, dubbed the Folly For A Flyover, nestling under the A12 flyover in Hackney Wick at the weekend to catch a screening of fifties rebel classic The Wild One. The folly was built from reclaimed and donated materials next to the Lea Navigation Canal and was a great space to soak up a bit of campy Brando on a warm summer evening.

Carrie On

Some Friday sketchbook action before I call it a day. For some reason the crazed death stare of Sissy Spacek from the pig's blood drenched finale of Brian De Palma's classic Carrie popped into my brain this afternoon so had to put pen to paper. Right, get me out of herrreee.

Beeks!

As it's my birthday today I thought I'd treat myself to a lil' portrait. It's the amazing Paul Gleason, deadpan stalwart of classics such as Die Hard and The Breakfast Club (again), seen here in his crowning comedy role as the insanely abrupt Clarence Beeks in the brilliant Trading Places. Nobody delivers a line like this guy.

Birthday Club

It's my wife Liz's birthday today and I've drawn one of her celluloid heroes to mark the occasion. It's the mascara-caked 'goth chick' Ally Sheedy from John Hughes' classic The Breakfast Club trying (and failing) to resist an unwanted and horrendous make-over offer. Happy birthday hon!

Y Face

Today's rumblings in the sketchbook laboratory.

Schieß Dem Fenster

Direct from Nakatomi Plaza, the incomparable Alan Rickman as uber 'Eurotrash' villain Hans Gruber from the classic Bruce Willis vest odyssey Die Hard. This one goes out to Plug and Alex in Japan.

Monday Face

Super Clark

Gee! Clark Kent sure knew how to put a redneck in his place. Christopher Reeve ruled.