Friday, July 29, 2011

Dave Dorman Artwork

I am just about done with the artwork.  

A short time ago, I featured a pencil artwork by Dave Dorman.  It is an original.  Unfortunately "The Emperor" painting was given away.  I think it to be the most awesome of all the Palisades Micronaut Paintings.  Ok, I say unfortunately because I want it.  I am sure who ever has it isnt viewing it the same way.  lol. 

My next favorite Dave Dorman  Palisades Artwork isn't the BK of FC paintings...its The Galactic Defender.  This and Enigma Force by Robert Droid are the default pictures for Homeworld.  Years ago, these paintings were offered up for sale.  I instantly fell in love with the Galactic Defender painting.  But my resources wouldnt allow me to purchase it for my collection.  SO when it became available some years later, I jumped all over it.


I wish I could properly explain this...Here's hoping I can.  After having buying a painting and having some commission work done, I cant begin to describe my dislike for the "ART APP" for the Ipod touch screens.  WHile computers have their benefits, I dont see them as being the proper tool to display artwork.  Goodness...I am starting to sound like a snob...lol.  Anyway, with digital pictures, yes you can make and create awesome 2D pictures.  But thats all they are.  You dont get to see the texture of the painting which adds a great deal to it.  Its the texture that gives it feeling...life if you will.  Its the texture that helps create the painting.  Maybe I am nuts...most likely...but there is nothing that a computer can do, that will ever replace the Artist who paints or the artwork they create.

Before I get to the Rocket Tube Diaries, I will be doing a short display on CUSTOM Micronauts.  But nothing or almost nothing I have made.  Customs I have commissioned or just outright bought from others.

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

STOP WASTING RESIN!!!

Stop wasting your resin!  I was wasting resin?  How?

I should have noticed this earlier.  When I started casting I had a bunch of ideas and questions.  Could I do this or could I do that.  One of the reasons for casting was because I dont like to paint because I am not a very good painter.  In the past, if I painted something, it showed.  So I started casting with pigmentation.

When I made Chiron, I inlaid red resin hilights onto the cast parts.  In effect combining 2 different colors.  When I made Roboid I did the same.  I made the blue half of the torso.  When it was cured, I poured the red in over top it and let the red cure to the blue.  So why didnt I think of this sooner?

I am currently reconditioning a SpiderMobile.  A Mego Solarion remake in red.  It needs some black ski's.  So I am making a few sets.  When making a cast from a new mold, volume is an issue.  How much do I use?

Its always a fear to not quite make enough.  But when making the ski's, I had a bit of waste left over and didnt want to waste it.  It looked like I might be able to fill my King ATlas head mold.  So I started filling up the mold.  Rats...not enough resin.  What a waste.  WAIT A MINUTE...

 So I pressurize the King Atlas head mold even tho its isnt filled to full.  Then when it had cured, I made another set of ski's.  Same color.  Again I poured the left over resin into the King Atlas head mold and pressurized it again.  I did this 3 times.  Each time I poured the left over resin into the King Atlas head mold and pressurized it each time.  I DID NOT open the mold at any time during this process.
 After the 3rd time, the King Atlas head mold was filled.  When it was fully cured, I removed it from the mold.
There isnt a single line in the cast.  It looks like it was made from one complete pour.  There is absolutely no way to know that it took me 3 attempts to fill this mold.  I would gladly use this head for my own purposes.





I need to make a GEEG head mold anyway...Now I can make extra heads with my left over resin as long as the color matches. 

And it took me this long to realize this...Oh yeah...I'm the sharpest knife in the drawer.

Monday, July 25, 2011

Transformer Curtains

I bought the set.  Curtains/valence/comforter/blankets and pillowcases.  I have a ledge around the room and I didnt want to cut the curtains.  So I asked my mother to fold them in half and sew them.  This way I could always pop a few stitches and use them for larger windows if need be at a later date.

My mother was more than happy to oblige.  Sh bought a backing because the curtains were too light and sewed them for me.  I am really happy with the curtains and grateful that my mother was able to sew them for me...but did she have to pick ELMO backing?  The inside of the room looks really cool.  Its taking a while but its finally coming together.





And from the outside...

I think my mother has a cruel sense of humor. 

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Conceptual Art

The cover of Homeworld features a conceptual Art print.  I really need to start recording information more diligently.  This has been around but I'll be damned if I can remember who did it.  From what I can remember, its conceptual art of a futuristic Terraphant.  Anyone with more pertinent and accurate information please post it.

I actually had a bit of luck with this print.  After buying it, the seller informed me that he wasnt aware that there were 2 ADDITIONAL prints in the folder with it.  Rather than flood them onto ebay, he offered them to me and I donated them to a couple of collectors.

I actually wasn't aware that I had this much non figure collectables.  Now that I have been going through my stuff systematically, I am a bit taken back by how long it is taking me to showcase it. 

I am almost done showcasing art and related pictures and am saving the best for last.  Never seen before except by 1 other collector who has only seen half of it...I will be showcasing the Rocket Tubes Diaries with Presentation by Ray Miller sometime in the coming few weeks.

Monday, July 18, 2011

Micronaut Sleeping Bag


Its been a while since I talked about it.  Most of the collectors I know all know I have a Micronaut Sleeping Bag.  But I dont think I have ever mentioned it here in my blog.

There have been many interesting 'Micro What?' items.  From the infamous Micronaut Salesman Jewelry Rings and pendants, Halloween costumes and masks.  Lazer Guns, helmets, Bubbletrons.  There were even Micronaut Mattresses.  One surfaced a few years back and I worked out a deal for the box spring, but I couldnt get the seller to commit. 

A former collector has (or had we arent sure anymore) Micronaut Pillows.  They are standard throw cushions that were custom made from the mattress material.  I used to have pictures, I dont know where they went.

Another item was the Micronauts Sleeping Bag.  This doesnt appear to be custom made.  It is all professionally stitched and a place where it appears tags may have been.  Unfortunately, the seller wasnt able to provide me any information on it.  This surfaced in Airdrie Alberta almost 10 years ago.  The Sleeping Bag has the trademarks on it.




Every once in a while I take it out and use it like a comforter for the bed.   I am working on having the pattern duplicated.  It was discussed between myself and a few other collectors in having this duplicated to make additional bed sheets, curtains and possibly even pajamas.  This Sleeping Bag has the complete Micronauts pattern on it.

Saturday, July 9, 2011

Baron Karza Iron On

Sorry if the title of this post is a little misleading.  On the cover page of Homeworld is an official Micronauts Baron Karza iron on.  But not a vintage iron on.  This iron on is spawned from the 2002 release by Palisades featuring BK kicking the crap out of Ryan Archer.  It was made by MCS Industries.  It isnt a custom home job.  I know some of the printers now a days can do almost anything.



The 2002 Palisades release spawned a new line of Micro-What?  Not only did this Iron On surface, Devils Due Publishing also released decals/sheets of uncut trading cards/ and 2 different covered 3 ring binders.  1 with  Ken Kelly artwork on it and the other with a Devils Due picture of Baron Karza.  T-shirts were also available.  I did have about 25 extra binders, but I donated them to a school in the inner city for lower income families.  There were also 2-11 x 14 posters.  1 was limited to 1000 and I am not sure (someone help me with this) if the other came from a magazine or one of the DDP Micronauts comics.  It has a crease line in the middle.  Its been so long I cant remember where I got it.

I'll make a new post this weekend and add pictures of all the things I just mentioned.  Its 3 am...bedtime.

Sunday, July 3, 2011

ARTIST- Robert "Droid"

A few years back,  I started collecting the odd bit of artwork here and there.  Ken Kelly prints, Dave Waugh prints.  I have been fortunate enough to include some Dave Dorman original Micronaut artwork. I had wanted to commission someone to do some artwork for me.  But who?  The most obvious choice was Dave Waugh.  He knew Micronauts inside and out and he has a style I just love.  But Dave is currently unavailable.

Then one day I see a painting on ebay.  It was titled "Cyborg 7".  Something about this painting called to me.  Literally.  So I bought it. Loving the style of the painting,  I kept in touch with the artist,  Robert "Droid",  the name he uses online for commissioned work, and learned he was actually a big time Henshin Fan.  A short while later I commissioned him to do a painting for me of a Time Traveller.


ENIGMA FORCE 3
Robert Droid  did 3 beautiful paintings and I chose one of them. Enigma Force 3 was one of the 3 paintings offered to me.

Beautiful as it is I opted for one of the other 2 paintings.  Since then,  I had always hoped to some day have a short interview with Robert Droid.  But I am not a reporter and wouldnt want to make the mistake of asking misplaced questions.  So I asked if he could supply some information about himself and the paintings he did for me.

I normally dont show artwork that isnt mine or if I dont have or havent asked for permission.  And since it is related to this post, Mr Robert Droid has agreed to let me display one of the commissions he did for Dave Waugh and has also included a brief description of this as well.





Here now On Homeworld is the long awaited Interview/Bio of Mr Robert Droid.


It’s hard to know where to begin an Artist’s Biography; I suppose mine might begin when I was still at school. In the nearest city to where I grew up there was a comics/alternative clothing shop called The House on the Borderland where comic illustrators and writers would come to do signings of their work, and I remember meeting Alan Moore who wrote ‘Watchmen’ and Brian Talbot who was drawing the Nemesis strip for the British comic ‘2000 A D’ at the time.
Through various connections at the shop I found myself doing occasional illustrations for small press magazines, being a ‘guest artist’ at a science fiction convention, and producing illustrations for a comic strip written by the proprietor of the shop. 

After some time it became clear to me that I wasn’t really interested in becoming a comic illustrator, my work wasn’t driven by narrative; I was more interested in what could be done with the singular image. 
        
After school I entered formal art education and eventually studied for my Master’s degree at Chelsea College of Art in London.  I was completing my Master’s in painting during a time when London seemed to be very much the center of the universe for art and I was taught by well-known practicing artists including Gavin Turk.

I’ve always stuck to a pretty traditional approach to art making but what I took from the tutors and visiting artists at Chelsea was the idea that an artist doesn’t have to work under a particular style and that it makes more sense (if you can do it) to use whatever visual or sculptural style best suits the subject matter of the project you are working on at the time.Even with complete freedom to pick and choose styles and subject matter I don’t recall anyone in my time in British art education picking up science fiction subject matter to work on, it seemed to be off the agenda during this time and it’s taken me a long time since graduating to come around to seeing the science fiction toys I grew up with as subject matter for painting.



CYBORG 7


I think I began the Micronaut related works as a way back into figure painting after a long period of working with a very precise and restrained methodology. The new paintings based partially on toys allowed me to jettison a lot of the self imposed rules I’d been working under and just loosen up.
Cyborg 7 was one of the first Micronaut-inspired canvases I made. The work wasn’t an attempt to make a painting of an existing Micronaut character or toy; as you can see from the choppy turbulent brushwork it was more about working through memories and intuition.

I began the work by just shoving the paint around the surface with a big brush until it coalesced into a figure which caught memories and brought together the influences of a number of Micronauts toy designs from Red Falcon to Acroyear.  There’s even something redolent of Microtron in the almost wheel-like shoulder muscles and the way they are attached to the torso, as if they could be ejected at will and replaced with wings or missile launchers.
 
VISIBLE BRUSHSTROKES

I generally paint ‘wet in wet’ which means things have to be drawn with the brush pretty rapidly to keep that sense of liquidity and spontaneity; the style is often referred to as ‘gestural figuration’ and it has a long history.

‘Wet in wet’ painting is a very effective way of capturing the luminosity and sheen of plastic; the right stroke of the brush can capture light and substance in one move. The visible brushstroke has been largely absent from science fiction art but its part of my project to see what happens when the human touch is brought into play with subject matter that is primarily about technology.

 MICRONAUT V8.2




The most direct and democratic way of exposing the paintings to an audience was to show them online, so I put a few works up for auction on E-bay and in so doing I picked up a number of sales and commissions. 

One of my first commissioned pieces was made for Dave Waugh. I was already familiar with Dave’s site ‘INNERSPACE ONLINE’ which is a great resource for fans and collectors. Most readers of ‘Home world’ will I think know of Dave’s involvement in the design process of the palisades re-issues. I really liked the sharp angularity of his design for the ‘V8’ time traveller chest plate and I knew exactly how I wanted to interpret the design in paint,

The crucial thing from my point of view was to attain the precision necessary for such a hard edged crystalline structure without losing the gestural energy that is present in the rest of the figure. Hopefully I got the balance right, Dave was very pleased with finished painting and commissioned another. 

ENIGMA FORCE




 ‘Enigma Force’ was commissioned by Austin who supplied some source material from the Micronauts comic.

The Time Traveller is my favorite Micronauts figure. I have always loved the transparency and uncompromising modernity of this toy. It’s not really like anything else except in its roots in the Henshin Cyborg toy-line of course. The figure was a challenge to paint.  With this commission the task was translating a flat graphic illustration into something atmospheric and painterly.

The source material from the comic shows the figure rising off the ground, transforming through some kind of energy rush. That’s really what I wanted to describe in the work, not just through the subject/motif but through the visible energy and flux of the brushwork. There is a lot of paint in ‘Enigma Force’; the surface is very thick, particularly around the chest plate.

Something that’s increasingly a key to these paintings is the question of whether I’m painting a character that exists in the imagination (like in sci-fi and fantasy art) or a toy that exists in reality (like an object in a still life or pop art painting).  I think the paintings are at their best when it’s uncertain and the boundary between these genres of painting is blurred.
 

Robert Droid 10.6.11    

I would like to thank Mr. Robert Droid for his time and for allowing me to post a little about him and his paintings.  If you would like to see more of Mr Robert Droid's paintings, he has a flickr account ...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/robertdroid/

Saturday, July 2, 2011

Super 7 Time Traveller Ring and Artwork

A few years back, Super 7 magazine offered a Sterling Silver Time Traveller Ring with Iglicee by Bwana Spoons.  Only 10 were made plus the prototype.  I was fortunate enough to get #2 of 10.


Iglicee # 2 of 10  in a 8 x 11 frame By Bwana Spoons


Ring # 2 of 10.  Sterling Silver Designed by Dave Waugh