Remy's Mental Machinations

As many of you know (if you don't, you sure know now...) I LOVE WINE!  I am training for my Level 1 Sommelier exam in August and I have decided to create a new Instagram account  - RemyDrinkStuff.  Follow me.   I love geeking out/reviewing wines, and thus far, they have all been affordable and approachable. I also have an Instagram account for my art - RemyDrawStuff.  Oh, and occassionally I post pictures of my cats. And here's a random and yet LARGE drawing of Abe Sapien from Mignola's B.P.R.D.  If you have never sat down and read through Hellboy and the Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense comics, I highly suggest/recommend it.  Especially if your a fan of folklore and historical fiction.  I love that stuff, and when ever I can indulge in some creative conspiracy theories and history that "could have been", I don't hesitate. Mike Mignola, Guillermo Del Toro, and Christopher Golden never let me down. Thanks for looking.

I am officially a cover artist! I have been working on this project for a little while and now I can announce it: I did the book cover for The Lost Gods by Horace Brickley . He wanted a cover with zombies, and I decided to play around with the idea of a wrap around cover.  He loved it and it took off from there.  He asked me to put all the 'dead' in their burial clothes, and as the project was coming close to it's due date, I had forgotten about the request and drew an Sikh in a turban.  The 'sweater vest' is usually not what they are buried in, so I had to take him out.  In the book cover, he's not in there, but in the original drawing he's there next to the Maori lady.  I tried to vary all the Zombies, a Grecian woman, a Gascon Marque, a modern man in a suit, a Catholic priest, a Mexican señorita, an old 1920's lady with her fox fur wrap, a Pharaoh, a WWII African American nurse (cause I love how they fought the bigots in order to serve their coun...

Did a sketch of my favorite Elder gods for the HP Lovecraft Mythos.  The green was added in PSCS 5, the original is done on tonal paper.  Cheers

So.  I donated my hair.... and got a mohawk.  And then lived in my hawk for a while, and will be changing it soon.  I guess soon as it grows out... I donated it to kids with cancer: 23 inches. I also disappeared from the internet for 2 years, it was almost like being on another planet.  I had to come back to earth. And get the internet. Haircut. Career change. Internet.  Art yet to come...

I decided to open up a bit of history: Warre's 1977 Vintage Port. It was impulsive (my wine guy called and said I should open it before it starts to spoil) and i should have invited friends over... for I clearly did not realize how good it was going to be. The cork, unfortunately, fell in the bottle and now I can't close it up, and my decanter does not have a stopper. I need more wine friends now that I am learning how to be a Sommelier. I have so many ideas, bottles to share, and vineyards to see. This taste like bliss. I wish more people than myself, and my roommate who refuses to have some ("Leave me alone, I'm on my period!"). I feel like it's a waste. Sadness.

I love how Joel combines a certain amount of strange objects in his pieces to tell a story. He's a great inspriration! Canson paper with Prismacolor pencils (black and white). 12in x 7in.

The two halves of Catalina's tattoo. Key will be placed on inner thigh. Skull with lock is on her forearm. Ink and Bristol. Thanks Cat for the opportunity for my art to be permanently yours.

As I posted earlier about being in a new relationship, I guess I am posting about it's end. When you meet someone and are aware of their life style, getting into the relationship is like an agreement to accept them for who they are and to accept a certain lifestyle. I decided to date a musician: a fiddle player. A very intelligent fiddle player. I knew that there would be tours and periods of him being away and I accepted them and dealt with the alone periods with grace. When it comes down to it, I am very loyal and patient, however my patience only last so long. When he is here and barely has time for me, especially during the holidays (that's when I need the most emotional support), and he has to lightly pencil me in, that's when I know that it's 'time'. I realized that it would be best to support him and his goals as a friend (and maybe take another shot at the relationship later), instead of his neglected and angry girlfriend. It would be more effecti...

I have international pen-pals. Old fashioned, written letters, postal stamped pen-pals. I had an interesting opportunity to be a hostess to Scotland. We have been communicating for some time and he asked if he could stay for a few days at my place and see California. I agreed and he also asked me what I wanted for Christmas, which took some time in deciding, cause I can't seem to make up my mind of what I want (literally and figuratively). For my birthday he sent me a Manchester United mug, the giant sized one that you could drown in, and an ManU ceramic money bank in the shape of a football. I was dancing for a week! Not only is that stuff kind of pricy but it was shipped internationally. In gratitude, I asked him what he wanted for his birthday. He replied with a couple of tattoo designs and a tattoo shop to do them in since he would be spending his birthday over in the States. This is one he got first: It's a Scottish flag within the batman symbol. Joel MacDonald ...

I guess it has been a while since I have posted anything art related on my blog. I had some interesting things happen to me this year, including a non existing relationship break up, a back injury, a new relationship, and more hours at work...and my car got stolen. So, yeah, a lot of things. I thought I'd post some of the sketches and well rendered works out of this new sketchbook which I received as a gift (thank you Dave Morris). This recent sketchbook is a blend of what I think is recycled paper. I get to use pens, white gel pens, white Prismacolor pencils, Copic/Tombow markers and a full range of Prismacolor pencils. Graphite doesn't really show up on this kind of paper dude to the stronger color of the paper, and in the end demands for high contrast colors. I have a mix of all mediums below and as you might see my subject matter is starting to darken a bit. Copic marker and white Prisma pencil. Graphite. Prismacolor pencils. Graphite. Prismacolor pencils....

Oh my God, Donnie Yen is hot!! Prismacolor pencil and Copic markers

The Witchblade. Copic markers, Prismacolor pencils, a white gel pen and some Photoshop magic. I was studying some snakes and decided to add one into a piece. The Witchblade is always a go to character for me when I can't find anything else to draw... I decided to use a new technique though. It worked!! I needed to do my own artwork for a change after wrapping up all these commissions. I like the money, but I like my artistic freedom too. Someday, I will have both. Please do yourself a favor and waych Ip Man 1 and 2. Best modern Kung Fu movies ever! Plus, Donnie Yen is hot.

Tombow markers. Cobras: hatch-lings and adults.

Sketches from last night and this morning. Has anyone heard the new Daft Punk Tron Legacy - Reconfigured Soundtrack? Holy crap! It's amazing!! I like the Ki:Theory mixes. If you go to their website, you can download a remix of songs they did for the OST for free: kitheory.com I was not too excited about the original Ton Legacy OST from Daft Punk, due to the fact that I am used to their music being a bit faster in tempo. This new Reconfigured OST is just what I was hoping that Daft Punk would produce. I'm excited and it's producing a lot of creative neurons firing to and from the lobes. Tré awesome! Enjoy the art and the future music...

Not for sale. Tattoo Commission. I am pleased, but most important... my client is pleased as well. 11 x 14. Graphite on Strathmore Drawing paper.

Tattoo and painting practice. 5 1/4 x 7. Gouche on Canson watercolor paper.

She's up for sale! 18x10 on Watercolor paper, done in Gouache , and only $120 plus shipping. Let me know. A client refused to pay for it, so now it's your opportunity if you love her.

Oi, it's been forever since I've posted. And it's also been quite a while since I have done any real art besides sketches. I've been watching a lot of Manchester United games, posting the occasional Facebook status, and accumulating a lot of international pen pals (and some local ones too, but they've been friends I've had then decided to write to them). I've got Australia, England, Scotland, and Germany. It's really fun to pick up the pen and just write things out. It's a dying art, and you know how much I love art, I'm keeping my art alive as much as I can. I have been doing a lot of envelope art for my pen pals. Little things drawn on the envelopes along with the stamps, the address and the 'Par Avion' stickers. Here's the occasional sketches I have been working on...

I had a dream of my co-worker. We were being chased by Nazi's. It was random and weird. It also got my art mind thinking... I would love to do a nice portrait of him. Great for portfolio work and plus... he has a great face! So, I asked him and he said yes! Hooray! I think I'll do a photoshop portrait, cause it's been a while. I want to get illustrator... it's been forever since I've done a portrait with that digital tool. This is a sketch of Khach Miduryan from my memory. I will soon find out how close I am when I do the real portrait. P.S. I love eBay. And hot chocolate. WITH MARSHMALLOWS!

More Tyrone Wells. Wonderful.