Filler

I thought I'd post this filler blog while I gather the photos from the Chicago Comic Con and our shenanigans during out mini-vacation. 


First I'd like to give a sneak peek and the almost finalized cover for the upcoming book The Call of Lovecraft from Papercut Books. 

Here is the list of the astounding authors taking part in this anthology: 
 Ramsey Campbell
John F.D. Taff
William Meikle
John B. Rosenman
Carol MacAllister
J. Travis Grundon
Jacqueline Seewald
Lee Clark Zumpe
Brian Barnett
Gregory L. Norris
H. David Blalock
Scott Lefebvre
H.P. Lovecraft


Next up in the Shameless Self Promotion Agenda is Jonathan Maberry's new book is out. Wanted Undead or Alive: Vampire Hunters and other Kick Ass Enemies of Evil is the latest non-fiction book by the NT Times best-seller and multi-Bram Sotker Award winning author. It was co-authored by Janice Gable Bashman features interviews and art by some of the best in the business like Menton J. Matthews III, Sam Flegal, Chad Michael Ward, Mike Mignola, Peter Straub, Jack Ketchum, Don Maitz and more. Oh, I'm in there too! 

In the Who Knew? section I have this tid bit: I was contacted by a person asking if I was related to someone who was big into sci-fi by the name of Roy Tackett. All Tacketts are pretty much from the same stock which makes us all cousins to an extent but no, I am not closely related to this gentleman. But to find this out I did a Google search on him. lo and behold he had a Wikipedia article on him. He didn't just found a convention or two. He didn't just write short stories and reviews. He is credited with introducing science fiction to Japan! And for his work with Japanese fandom he was one of only two Americans awarded the "Nippon SF Fandom" award, Forrest J. Ackerman being the other. So a Tackett is in some way responsible for Godzilla...and anime...Who knew? 

Chicago Comic Con

I'm in the process of packing for Chicago Comic Con. There will be tons of  phenomenal artists in attendance like Arthur Suydam, Mark Kidwell, Jason Craig, Bill Sienkiewicz, Mark Texiera, Menton J. Matthews III or Chris Kuchta. This will be our very first show in Chicago so I'm really anxious the get on the road. We'll have some new prints in stock as well as our new-ish shirt designs. Stop by booth # 3431 and say "Hey, ain't you the zombie guy?".

In other zombie related news I have a small spot in NY Times best selling author and multi-Bram Stoker award winner Jonathan Maberry's new non-fiction book Wanted Undead or Alive: Vampire Hunters and other Kick Ass Enemies of Evil. Below is the page in which I appear. I blurred out the text so you'll have to find a real life copy in order to read it! I'm such a dick...

What's right with anime?

Before I get into it I want to say that Gencon 2010 was pretty damned awesome! Thanks to everyone that stopped by and supported us. It was great seeing everyone again. I got some cool commissions so the next few months should be interesting as far as art goes. I was also approached for a project that I'm pretty jazzed about although I can't say anything about it. Yet. And as always one of the highlights was dinner with Abyss Walker author Shane Moore and Tracy...and the other Shane ;-)


Now, on to the topic:
I think maybe the best way to get to what is right with anime and manga is to show what is wrong with...uh..er..OK, so what is anime exactly? Anime is "is animation originating in Japan...(characterized by) large eyes...a "vein" or "stress mark" effect, where lines representing bulging veins will appear on their forehead (to denote anger)...a massive sweat-drop (which has become one of the most widely recognized motifs of conventional anime) or produce a visibly red blush or set of parallel (sometimes squiggly) lines beneath the eyes (to show stress or embarrassment)" and so on. From Wikipedia. So anime describes an art style...Hmm. So lets look at manga.


"The genre includes a broad range of subjects: action-adventure, romance, sports and games, historical drama, comedy, science fiction and fantasy, mystery, horror, sexuality, and business/commerce, among others". Also from Wikipedia. The article seems to describe manga as a type of creative medium. Maybe that's how I'll approach the subject...


To get to what is right with anime and manga is to show what is wrong with us, the western world. We have to label everything! It has to fit into some sort of genre in order for our brains to process it. For instance there are the genres of fantasy, sci-fi and horror (and never the twain shall meet according to some!). And these genres are further divided into sub-genres. For instance under the horror umbrella we have gothic, splatter punk, torture porn, slasher etc which can be further divided into or grouped under vampires, zombies and so on and on and on. The same holds true for sci-fi and fantasy. And when you have a movie like Alien come along it causes many (usually laughable) debates. 


My art is usually categorized as zombie art, horror art, and the new and frustrating mash-up. I hate the term mash-up, BTW. The others I don't really mind even though it irks me a little when someone walks up to me and says "Hey, you're the zombie guy". Yes, yes I am but I am also much more than that. I consider myself a fantasy artist. Why? I don't do many dragons or elves or unicorns. But what I do is make shit up. I create scenes and creatures that didn't exist until I came along. It's all fantastical therefore it's fantasy. 


I know there are some out there that are hardcore fantasy fans and that the whole zombie/horror things is "beneath them" or "too gross" or whatever. Fantasy is full of undead creatures and horror is full of magic! Fantasy and horror should go hand in hand! And that, kiddos, is what is wrong with us.


The Japanese and the creators of anime and manga have none of the hangups we do. Whatever it takes to make an interesting story will be thrown in there. There is no steampunk or horror or sword and sorcery or post-apocalyptic anime. It's just anime that may have a little bit of each thrown in there. There are no explanations (apologies) either. The story just happens. And the reader/viewer just goes with it. But we here in the west feel the need to explain (apologize) by calling it alternative history. Or a parallel dimension. or a mash-up. So why do we not have genres that are just based upon art styles alone instead of subject? Good question. One that I don't have an answer to.


Granted labeling stuff by subjects makes it easier for us to find what we like but are we missing something? I think we are. I know as a creator (yes, I think I am going to lean towards the term "creator" more than artist) trying to create something within a specific genre can be stifling so I'm not going to do it anymore. Not that I really worried too much about it in the past but I am now going to worry about it even less. I may even take to the streets with my message...which will be..."Down with labels"?...or "Genre specificity is for those that can't think outside the box"...Too wordy? Perhaps. Maybe I'll work on that but you get the picture. 


And for what it's worth I am not a fan of anime or manga generally speaking. There's a few good additions to the genres here and there but I am not a fan. But I think we can learn a lot.


And speaking of mash-ups...Egad! I hate that term! So speaking of non-genre specificity here is the cover to the epic final installment to Shane Moore's Abyss Walker series. Fantasy and horror. This proves the point I made earlier.

GenCon and more...

First of all I would like to say that we know there is a major retail chain selling Zombie Sam t-shirts that look a whole lot like mine. We're looking into it now and I'll give more info when I can. Secondly: A big rotten thanks to everyone who gave us the heads up. When we get an average of one message a day for over a month it means only one thing: You love us! You really, really love us!! But seriously it does mean that not only do we have fans but we have fans who care enough about us to watch our backs which makes them friends as well! Thanks everyone!

We're gettin' geared up for Gencon which starts Thursday. Love this show. This will be our third or fourth year for this show and it keeps getting better and better for us. We'll have a bunch of new prints and shirts available that we didn't have last year so stop by and say hi. We'll be in the art show somewhere.

Abyss Walker author Shane Moore will be in the author's alley so make sure you stop by his booth and give him shit. And my friends are screening the film My Bloody Wedding there so if you like horror and comedy mixed up together check the schedule for the show time.

Looking forward to seeing you there!

Zombiestock.....

Friday I took part in Zombiestock and it was great! Usually Friday afternoons are slow for conventions but this one was pretty well attended. Met some cool people and got to hang out with some old friends. Thanks goes out to Jason and everyone involved. Look forward to next year's event.

Afterwards I got to hang out at the Fright Night Film Fest's after parties. Not sure if there are words to describe the shenanigans that went on but suffice it to say I returned to my room at around 3:30 am! Too many folks to list but it was cool hanging out with everyone. Can't wait to do it again.

But I will share my highlight of the night: Being called a "wanker" buy Jason Carter...

Next stop: GENCON!!!

New news!

First up: Zombiestock. This Friday. 12 noon - 7. Check out my last post for all the gruesome details http://billytackett.blogspot.com/2010/07/zombiestock-dead-white-blue-and-you.html or go to http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=106427192729697&ref=ts. And just to clarify: Zombiestock is taking place inconjunction with Fright Night Film Fest but is separate. I will be at Zombiestock on Friday but I will not be set up at Fright Night.

Next: I just scheduled a new show here in Cincinnati. The Cincinnati Comic Expo on September 18. It's a one day event with a ton of guests. For a $7 admission you can't go wrong!

Thirdly: New art! Again! This one may end up being an oil painting...maybe...

Zombiestock, Dead White & Blue and YOU!

Salutations! A little plug for my upcoming show in Louisville KY, ZOMBIESTOCK! Zombiestock runs in conjunction with Fright Night Film Fest from noon to 7 pm this Friday. The event is free, did'ja catch that? FREE!! And if that wasn't enough if you come dressed as a zombie you will get to be in Feathered Italian Films' next movie which is called Zombie Movie for some weird reason... And if THAT wasn't enough to make you want to get yer zombie on get a load of the guest list:


Friday the 13ths FIRST Jason Voorhees ARI LEHMAN
WWF/WWE/ECW legend AL SNOW
Award winning zombie artist BILLY TACKETT
Deadlands director GARY UGAREK
5 time MMA champ and Hall of Famer DALE MILLER
Wrestling Diva/ actress & director RONI JONAH
The Crow's ROCHELLE DAVIS
PLAYBOY models/actors APRIL HUNTER and MEGAN MOONEY
Dead Moon Rising stars TUCKY WILLIAMS, JASON CROWE and many more including special guests like TJ Moreschi, David Fultz, Cory Stringer, David Pollard, The Wingman cast & crew, Madhouse productions and more! 
Don't forget music and performances by Ari Lehman's FIRSTJASON, SACRED SORROW, TRISTA RAY and DJ LEPREKON


Zombiestock runs from 12 noon to 7pm Friday July 30th at the INN PLACE HOTEL in Louisville KY. After "ZOMBIESTOCK" attend the FRIGHT NIGHT FILM FESTIVAL and meet all your favorite STARS! FNFF does charge a fee for entry to their festival. Zombiestock is FREE. But if you donate you can get some cool crap. Check the info here: http://www.indiegogo.com/zombiestock


Oh, And I mentioned new art didn't I? I didn't? Oh well. Here's my newest piece title Zombies of the Universe anyway!

Billy Tackett Studios' ToZ (Terms of Zombification) *first draft*

This may come as a surprise to some of you but a lot of people know me for my depictions of zombies. I know, I know. This day and age it seems as though everybody and their retarded brother is jumping on the zombie meatwagon. "Zombie this, zombie that, I can do zombies! Zombie stories, zombie movies, zombie clothes, zombie art, blah blah blah". Yes, zombies are everywhere. Unfortunately there's more bad than good and that goes for zombie art.

The trend seems to be that the good gets better while the bad gets worse. Now don't get me wrong, just because I think some art is bad doesn't mean the rest of the world should think it's bad as well. Art is truly in the eye of the beholder. Zombies on the other hand...

The influx of people trying to cash in on the popularity of zombies has muddied up the waters terribly. Those of us who are and have been in love with the genre for years or, as in my case decades, are being pushed to the side by fly-by-nighters.

In order to show my sincerity to you, the general zombie-lovin, gore-whorin', freaky-speakin' general public I have decided to create my own TOS (terms of service). I will call them my Terms of Zombification (ToZ) and they will consist of my own little code of ethics that pertain to zombies in general and zombie art in particular. The ToZ here is just the beginning. I will be adding to these as the need arises.

1. The Zombie Genre is not a fad and I will not treat it as such.

2. I will not take the Zombie Genre too seriously but I will treat it with the respect it deserves. And I, as a Zombification Specialist, ask to be treated with respect as well.

3. I will not use Photoshop to add textures or otherwise manipulate photos to make zombies. All my zombies will be lovingly handcrafted.

4. I will strive to make each zombie a unique and interesting creature.

5. Zombification involves more than just removing lips, adding blood to the face or clothing, making someone look like they were on the business end of either a shotgun or great white shark.

6. I will strive to make my zombies appear to obey the laws of physics yet I realize that at times artistic license must be taken for the greater good.

7. I do not compete with other zombie artists. There is enough room for all of us.

8. In my eyes the Zombification process is not a form of derision but a sign of  respect. I hold all subjects of the process in the highest regard. After all, there ain't nothing cooler than a zombie.

9. Gore will not be used gratuitously. All gore will have a purpose.

10. Slow zombies vs. fast zombies is a dumb argument and I will not take part in it.

Billy Tackett

my monsters are more FAMOUS than your MONSTERS CON!

Famous Monsters of Filmland. Those words are legendary. Taking part in Famous Monsters Con in Indy was a great honor and I feel as though the magazine is back with a vengeance! It was pretty freakin' awesome to be around such legends as Basil Gogos and William Stout. I missed my chance to meet them properly but sharing the same room with them was a humbling experience. And the sheer number of horror movie icons roaming the building was staggering. I won't go down the list but here's a rundown of some of the folks that made FMC a great weekend:

We had great booth neighbors with Cinema Wasteland and Pirate Pictures with the folks from Kitbuilders Magazine across the way. On Friday we had dinner at Chili's with a group that included Jim O'Rear, Bryan Wilson, Cerina Vincent (I didn't know at the time but Cerina was a Power Ranger!), Danielle Harris, and William Forsythe.

Saturday was an awesome day which concluded with dinner with Sam Flegal, Matt Essary, Johnny Bopp and Dick Starr at a restaurant called Indy's, which I would not recommend if you like draft beer...long story. After that we headed to the hotel to check out the after hour shenanigans...of which included witnessing the star of a classic zombie movie make a girl in a tutu get outta his chair, sharing a beer with the write of Night of the Living Dead, hanging out with the great conversationalist Eric Butts, the discovery that one of William Stout's entourage has a wet ear, finding out the Billy Gram is a hoot and a half and Dragonfly is a damned good IPA!

Some other folks that we got to hang out with over the weekend was Jason Crowe, Roni Jonah, Bob East, Bradd Parton, Lydia Burris, Chris Kuchta, Mike Christopher, Terrance Z'dunich, Dave from Con-tamination, Marc Ballard, Sal Lizard and the tons of friends that stopped by the booth. Thanks to Gypsy and the volunteers for the hospitality and we look forward to next year.

Dinner @ Chili's

Dinner@ Chili's

Cerina, Danielle, Angela & Heather outside Chili's
Photos courtesy Wickedbeard

Don't forget: this weekend we're going to be hanging out at Loveland Castle for the Masked Cabaret and then the next week Zombiestock! Get you VIP pass for $100 and up and get some cool stuff! Tell 'em I sent you.

New shows

I'm gonna try to stay caught up on updates but things are pretty crazy. So many zombies, so little time. Anyway, here's a rundown of some upcoming events we'll be attending including two recently confirmed one night shows that should kick ass.

This weekend we're headed to Indy for Famous Monsters Con. There's a couple of guests there that I am pretty stoked about: artists Basil Gogos and William Stout. The show boasts Return of the Living Dead, Night of the Living Dead, Day of the Dead, Dawn of the Dead and Lost Boys reunions. Other guests include friends Jim O'Rear, Mike Christopher, Dick Starr, Johnny Bopp, Sam Flegal and  Kane Hodder as well as Bela Lugosi Jr, Charles Band, Karlos Borloff, Sal Lizard, Tony Todd and more. Looking forward to this one.

On  July 17 you will find us at the Loveland Castle for the Masked Cabaret that will feature our friends Pickled Brothers Sideshow as well as vaudeville acts and belly dancers.

On July 30 we'll be taking part in Zombiestock. The event is being sponsored by our buds at Feathered Italian Films and Fright Night Film Festival in Louisville KY. Zombiestock will not just be another zombie walk. It will be a movie set where you can take part in Feathered Italian Films' newest flick, Zombie Movie. Ari Lehman's First Jason will be performing and My Bloody Wedding's David Fultz will be there.The event is free but if you purchase a VIP pass of $100 or more tell 'em I sent you for some cool swag and special deals.

And then we have GenCon on Aug. 5-8 and Chicago Comic Con Aug. 19-22 as well as some local shows in September but more on those later!

Congrats on the Red White & Dead Zombie Walk in Seattle for bringing the Guinness World Record for the largest Zombie Walk back to the U.S.! My Zombie Sam was the official mascot for the event and we'll be attending ZomBcon out there for Halloween.

And the beaten goes on... Part 1

Been a little while since I last posted. May has been pretty busy. First we had the wedding of a family friend. Great wedding. Congrats to Claire and Brian.

The next weekend we traveled to Illinois for the wedding of Abyss Walker creator Shane Moore and Tracy in which I was a groomsman and shared best man duties. The wedding was interesting for a number of  reasons. First it was held in a historic courthouse in which Lincoln practiced law. Then, a well known Star Wars actor was in attendance and an animator for numerous Disney movies was also a part of the wedding party. Another interesting thing was that all the groomsmen and the groom wore armor. We wore Greek or Roman style armor. Which means no pants. I always wear pants. Because I have the internal temperature of a 90 year old woman. Also sandals. Nice. We looked good. But did I mention the temperature was just above freezing? Well, it felt like it to me anyway. But it was cold as shit! And rainy. And windy. Did I mention I didn't have pants on? But we looked good and we had a great time. And we made memories! Did I mention we looked good? Judge for yourself:

Next weekend we packed up and headed to Birmingham AL for Imagicon. It's always great seeing our old friends. Thanks to Tom, Tom, Joe, Kelly, Abby and the whole Imagicon crew for their hospitality. Also thanks to Larry Elmore, Sam Flegal, Jim O'Rear, Daniel &; Amy Taylor, Nigel Sade Christina Lynn Meyers, Ash Evans, and Kevin &; Farra from Macabre Mansion for helping make it a fun weekend. Check out the Macabre Mansion interview with me here. Oh, special thanks to Kelly for the bottle of vino. Next time we drink together!

The photos above courtesy Macabre Mansion

Next up, Marcon in Columbus where I was artist Guest of Honor. Our first time at this show but considering this was year number 45 you better believe they know what they're doing! It was great hanging out with Shane and Tracy, something we don't get to do often enough it seems.Thank to Linda Winks for her assistance and to the staff for having us. And thanks to the attendees of both events for their support. We didn't get any photos at the event but highlights included watching the drunken festivities with Abyss Walker author Shane Moore & Tracy, Barfleet party, dinner with Sam Flegal and dinner with Beef & Tamara of TB Gallery.

Weekend after that: Our youngest's graduation! (Photos coming soon!)

After that we headed to Knoxville for the Knoxville Comic & Anime Con. Attendance was low on Sunday which was bad for sales but good for getting the opportunity to hang out with friends like Ben & Tracy from World of Strange, Richard Ewell, Roni Jonah, Jason Crowe, Sam Flegal (again), Rob Brown, fez wearin' Jan,. I also met a cool artist by the name of Brandt Hardin. He does some cool lowbrow stuff that you need to check out. Seriously. 

And that brings us to this past weekend. Northside Rock n Roll Carnival just across the river in Cincinnati. This has to be one of Cincinnati's best kept secrets. The crowd is awesome but yet there are few vendors other than food and beverage peddlers. Despite the long hours and the heat we look forward to this show every year. We always meet some great folks and get the opportunity to hang out with friends. Like the folks from Horrorhound Magazine who was set up right beside us and Pickled Bros. Sideshow.

This year our youngest tried her hand at vending and shared our booth with some of her drawings and really cool duct tape wallets. And she had pretty good success. This was also the official debut of the t-shirt emblazoned with the image of a Godzilla-like monster destroying the Cincinnati skyline. We sold out! Apparently word got out and folks would run up to the booth, ask for the Cincinnati shirt and go away without bothering to look at anything else. Pretty amazing! 

Now that you're up to speed stay tuned for some pretty cool announcements!

Cincinnati celebrates 4th of July ZOMBIE STYLE!!

www.northsiderocks.com


We're bringin' Dead White & Blue to the Northside 4th of July Festival in Cincinnati Friday and Saturday. Along with our usual zombie fair we will also have unusual zombie fare! T-shirts, prints, buttons, greetin' cards. And if zombies ain't your thing check out our newest t-shirt:

And we'll be carryin' Big Dead Machine shirts and prints as well.

Also scheduled to take part in the festivities are our good friends Pickled Bros. Sideshow, The Long Gones, The Sundresses - You, You're Awesome, The Kiss Me Everlasting, The Tempers, Queen City String Band, State Song, Brian Olive, Daniel Martin Moore, The Tigerlillies, Baoku Moses & The Image Afrobeat, Cletus Romp, Ricky Nye Inc and more!

Friday 6 -1am

Sat 1-1am

Knoxville Comic & Anime Con

Come see what happens when they let the inmates out!

Be amazed at guests like Sean Taylor, Bobby Nash, Roni Jonah, John Dugan, Jason Crowe, Sam Flegal,  Richard Green, Cypography, Richard Ewell and some good lookin' chap by the name of Billy Tackett.

See the astounding feats of dealers like World of Strange & DVD Bob...I would name more but I don't know any...

Go here to see for yourself!

I'll have a bunch of new merchandise including a brand new set of buttons, greeting cards, t-shirts and prints of the brand spankin' new paintin' featurin' the indomitable Rockstar Roni Jonah as ZRU: 7083

Gettin' our zombie on in Columbus

We're going to be Artist Guest of Honor at Marcon in Columbus OH this weekend so you really need to get your asses out for this event. Abyss Walker author Shane Moore will be there as well as Sam Flegal and T.B. Gallery. I'll be doing an autograph session on Saturday morning (but I will sign stuff all weekend long if you want) and a Quick Draw session that afternoon and wrapping up the day with portfolio reviews early that evening. Sunday I'll be taking part in a panel called Monster vs. Monster...  The annual zombie walk will be taking place at Goodale Park at 5pm too. There's gonna be more zombies in Columbus than you can shake a stick at!

Imagicon, suckas!

We're headed down to Birmingham AL for Imagicon. Guests include Larry Elmore, Sam Flegal, Bobby Nash, Jim O'Rear, Daniel Emery Taylor, Chris O'Donnell impersonator Cherokee Hall, James Hill, Sean Taylor, Lou Anders, Buck Rogers and that hot brunette with the blue eyes.

I'm taking part in several panels including WebSite Development, Art Business Basics, Protect Your Art on the Web and an undisclosed horror track with Daniel Emery Taylor and Jim O'Rear that doesn't seem to be on any of the schedules...hmmm....

It's gonna be the most fun you can have with your hands outside of your pockets!

Death of a legend

As most of you know Frank Frazetta passed away last week and now it is Ronnie James Dio. Luckily these two had long, full lives and I hope they got to say what they came to say. Yet it is still hard to let go of your heroes.

Like 99.99% of artists in the horror, fantasy or sci-fi genres, especially in the over 30 generation, I was inspired by Frazetta. Growing up in the 70s I was witness to the maturation of comics. Publishers had figured out the way around the Comics Code was to put out magazines. The art on and between these covers was like none that had been seen before. Gogos, Frazetta, Larkin, etc. They created comic art that was more than comic art. It was fine art for people that didn't like fine art. Masterpieces we could enjoy. And in the days before the internet it was impossible to get the inside scoop on the creators. Everything was in its own context. And the artists were these mysterious shadowy figures that lived in caves or castles and wore hooded robes...Or so I thought.

Frazetta inspired me artistically. But he was not the one I wanted to emulate. Even though his work had a subliminal influence on me there were others that I wanted to emulate. It was until the early part of this century that Frazetta's paint stained hand truly guided me to the path I needed to be on.

I came across an article on a website that told of how at some point the Frazettas, Frank and Ellie, got tired of publishers selling prints of his work and keeping the bulk of the profits. Ellie took things into her own hands and started up a publishing company just to handle Frank's reproductions. It also told how Ellie had taken control of Frank's career acting as agent and business manager and hoe successful their venture was. That's where the big loud "click" came in.

For years I had struggled as an artist, trying to break in through the tried and true venues. Reading this story made me realize that as an artist I didn't need anyone to make my career for me. I didn't need that lucky break. I'd make that lucky break myself! If I wanted it done right I had to do it myself. And then my wife stepped up to act as business manager and things have been great ever since.

The Frazettas showed me that as an artist I needed to take a more active part in my career. That no one gave a rat's ass about my career than me and my family and that's who should be in charge.

My career owes a lot to Frank and Ellie. Not because he showed me how art should be done but because they showed me how my career should be done. I think others should take a moment and look past the art at the people behind it. That is the legacy that could possibly be lost for future generations. Decades from now the art will overshadow these creators and entrepreneurs behind the dragons and swords and scantily clad ladies. We should hold on to it while it is still here.

Frank and Ellie will be missed are being missed.

What's been goin' on

Haven't updated in a little while so i thought I'd give a run down. The St. Louis show, Con-Tamination, was pretty freakin' awesome! Tons of friends were there. Got to meet fans new and old. Plus that is Abyss Walker author Shane Moore's stompin' ground so there were a lot of folks there that were familiar with my work through him. We went to City Museum with Dick Starr, his wife Heidi and Johnny Bopp on Saturday night. All I can say is that if you're in the area you must go to this place!

Some storms came through the area Friday and Saturday nights but nothing major. But some of the folks at the show live in Nashville and we began hearing the first reports of flooding. We didn't know how bad it was until Monday. It was on Tuesday that I started to hear that my hometown of Olive Hill KY was hit hard as well. But then the reports kept getting worse and worse until the realization that this was the worst flooding there for decades. Every building downtown was apparently flooded and many many people lost everything. All the homes, history and hard work that the waters washed away in both towns is heart wrenching!

Thanks for the birthday wishes. If you didn't know about the birthday don't sweat it. It's not something I announce. Had a good birthday with the family. Except for the fact that my (once) favorite restaurant, The Pub, is now on my shit list! The last three times I have tried to eat there they have been closed. Apparently they aren't open for lunch until 3, they close at 9 and on May 5 they are closed because they rent out the place for a charity. Odd hours and closed to the public in the middle of the week? I'll take my business elsewhere.

My gallery show in Covington at Swayne on Main was pretty good. Threat of bad weather kept people away I think. I hope. I'm also getting a sneaking suspicion that people that are fans of my stuff and stuff like my stuff don't visit galleries. If this is true you guys have to come out and support our gallery shows. The more successful these shows are the more it shows the powers that be that art is more that flowers and landscapes and abstractions!

Nice wedding of some friends on Saturday. Congrats Claire and Brian. It was great when the father of the bride gave a D&D reference in his speech!

Cool news: Confirmed our first show outside the USA! We'll be Artist Guest of Honor and SFContario in Ontario in November. We are really excited about this. Along with out Guest of Honor spot in Seattle at ZomBcon this fall is going to be rockin!!

This weekend we'll be headed to Illinois for the wedding of our friends Shane Moore and Tracy. This may be the wedding of the year so we'll have pictures to share!

After that our next shows are Imagicon in Birmingham AL and MarCon in Columbus OH. Hope to see you at one...or both of the shows!

Zombifying Mainstrasse

A quick note: I will be displaying art for Covington KY's First Friday Gallery Hop. I'll be at Swayne on Main on Mainstrasse! I think we'll be putting the banner up so keep yer eyes peeled for the ginormous Zombie Sam! Festivites start around 6:30.

Downgoing & upcoming

Back from a great show at the Full Moon Tattoo & Horror Fest. Thanks to Ben, Stacey and Marc for giving us the opportunity to darken Nashville's doors once again. This is always a great show with lots of friends in attendance. You'll have to take my word for it because we didn't take photos...except this one:

Me & Roni Jonah with the sketch of my next painting featuring Roni

This weekend we're headed to St. Louis for the first time for the city's first horror, sci-fi and pop culture convention, Con-Tamination. Guests? The 60s Batmobile, Seka, William Forsythe, Mike Christopher, cast and crew from Night of the Living Dead & Day of the Dead, Dee Wallace, Brinke Stevens, Ari Lehman and his band First Jason, Alex Del Monacco, April Hunter, J. Travis Grundon, and fellow artists Cypography, Joel Robinson, Dick Starr and Johnny Bopp. Methinks St. Louis will never be the same...

Some big news: Just found out where we'll be spending Halloween...Seattle WA! We're hammering out the details for my Artist GoH spot for ZomBcon Oct. 29 - 31. This will be our first trip to Seattle...I hope they have good coffee there...

New art, Rock 'n Roll Frankenstein:

Nashville's Full Moon Tattoo & Horror Fest

I'm gonna be there this weekend. So will Dee Snider, Doug Bradley, Scout Taylor Compton, Bill Moseley, Caroline Williams, Ken Foree, Bill Johnson, Ari Lehman, Stacey Dixon, Al Snow, Jim O'Rear, Alex Del Monacco, Daniel Emery Taylor, Samantha Newark, Edward Holsclaw III, George Bonilla, Jason Crowe, Roni Jonah, World of Strange and fellow artists Jeff Preston,  Jeff Gaither, Cypography, Sam Flegal & Joel Robinson. Will you?
http://www.fullmooninc.net/fr_home.cfm