Oh, and this image is mine, I created it, so spread it but don’t steal it.

This is SICK

Six months ago I was inspired by a group of horror movies to sit down and pen my own story.  It’s something I have wanted to do since I was a kid.  I suppose every artist that wants to tell a story begins by playing off the emotion of fear.  It’s the simplest to tackle, since there are millions of ways to elicit fear, not so many to tell a story with a bit more nuance.  Looking back at the lineage of great horror films, they always tend to be at the beginning of the authors career, some are so sucessfull that they never leave the genre, while others use it as a spring board.

With 31st, my goal is not to spring board into other genre’s but to tell one large multifaceted story throughout my career.  The tale contained within focuses on a small neighborhood full of mysteries and ancient secrets, all of which are being discovered on All Hallow’s Eve.  But this is only the beginning of the journey, not for these characters…I mean it’s a horror story, a shitload of them will die.  The inception of my concept, playing off of the years of research I have in the nature of all things.  I want to frame these ideas and findings into a story. One that while intended for a niche’ audience, can slip it’s way into the zeitgeist of our pop culture and leave regular people questioning themselves and the bizarre things we all do.

Last Halloween I was inspired by how enjoyable a story about Halloween could be when watching “Trick R’ Treat”.  Put that bad boy on your Netflix queue and see what I mean.  The ancient history of Halloween is vast and telling of who we were as a society, and really who we still are, unknowingly.  This is all a pipe dream until the vision comes to fruition, so for now – enjoy my concept art as I search for the perfect look and style for 31st.

Like many of you I found myself caught up in the soap opera we called an election last November.  An onslaught of he said, she said bullshit that ultimately polarized both puppet characters to the point where we voted against the past based on a false hope for the future.  Of course it’s easy to say all of this in hind sight, I mean you can’t look at Washington at this point and not see the charade for what it is.  But in November of 2008 we were all dangling by the strings of what the media fed us.

Neither Obama or McCain had any intention of fixing the mess this world is in.  Because in reality, it’s not their job, it’s ours.  But we have been convinced by the 24/7 news media juggernaut that we dutifully rely upon that everything is out of our control.  We need these smiling faces behind a podium to run our collective lives.

How do they do this?  Great script writing.  Drama.  We shouldn’t give a shit one way or the other who becomes the spokesman for the banks and military industrial complex, but we do.  Similar to the way we shouldn’t care whether Heidi and Spencer get married, or whether a failed recording artist worked their way through a scattering of talentless singers.  But thanks to some clever editing television production companies have hacked into our collective consciousness and found the perfect formula to lull us into a stupor.  We are presented characters, not human beings.  Caricatures that only serve to divide and conquer the masses.  One man is the progressive movement in a nutshell; liberal, multicultural, intellectual, and wealthy.  The other; old, white, conservative, bumbling.  The outcome was molded and decided upon long before we ever went to the polls, but that is really besides the point.

Ultimately our country was divided by a media machine more concerned with ratings than the well being of the populace, do so by pitting red vs. blue against eachother.  Yet when all is said and done…the actors collect a paycheck just like you and I, then hit the pub together. Washing away the guilt of lying for gold.

In June of 2008 the Boston Celtics raised Banner 17.  Common knowledge to most, I know.  But for me it was something special, I only had enough money to get to one of the games during the entire record breaking playoff run.  It’s sad when you think about how they had 14 or so home games.  The only game I was able to get tickets to though, Cavs game 7.  Anyone following the run to Banner 17 should recall this game.  As it featured the spectacular duel of Lebron James and Paul Pierce.  They battled back and forth with “anything you can do I can do better” to the tune of 40+ each.  It was like watching poetry in motion, and gave me a whole new awe for the game.

Since that game I have felt the need to immortalize the feeling I had while watching “The Duel”.  Thus, the poster was born.

It may seem a little…odd…? That I would take something so mundane to heart, but I did.  Sorry.  Basketball is the only sport I have ever been so passionate about, and while I really kind of suck at it, I truly feel like it brings out the most amazing physical attributes the human body is capable of.  Great football is like great Steven Spielberg, great basketball is Kubrick 2001.

Quick note: Did you know that Spielberg’s name is auto corrected in spellcheck? Amazing.

Otherwise known as Jastro.

My family is tight, we’re small and only have each other.  So when the day came that the family traveler finally made the decision to do what the rest of us could not, I wanted to give him a parting gift to remember home. The ensuing illustration is really something only he would find meaning in.  At one point a group of ten people stood staring at is collectively for over twenty minutes, dissecting every line, relating every form to my brother.  Each was right, but each was also terribly wrong.  The idea was to be sure they would always ask questions, wonder…why?  Because that is who and what he is, a person mulling that very question over, day after day. Godspeed Jastro.

Back in August of 2009 a little horror movie premiered called H2.  I was expecting a good old fashioned slasher flick, reasonable right?  Instead what I was subjected to was the magnum opus of brutality from a man already known for carnage.  The imagery bandied about in this mess of a film seared into my head and I simply could not get it out.

Ignoring the minor grievances that most have expressed regarding the shitty script, the bile spewing white trash they call actors and director Rob Zombies endless desire to stick his talentless (thought beautiful) wife into every fucking movie he makes.  This movie still deserves it’s place in the pantheon of great horror movies.  For one simple fact, it is the most brutal mainstream film ever produced.  Others have rivaled it, but when all is said and done…this one is sort of untouchable.  I can’t remember the last time I squirmed like that in a movie.  The beat down Michael Myers puts on the strip club employees is legendary.

If you place the legacy of the series on the backburner and watch this for what it is…a visually stunning behemoth of heavy metal and hatred, you will see that Rob Zombie might suck at scripts and dialogue, but his horror visuals are the best in the business right now.

I really hope that with my excellent SEO practices that people will regularly stumble across this quick illustration and be reminded of what Monsanto has done to this countries agriculture industries.  No longer can a farmer grow crops using heirloom seeds, they are required to buy “suicide seeds” from Monsanto at a premium, or face harassment and possible lawsuits.

That said, I love propaganda, I mean I am a graphic designer.  We are master manipulator’s to begin with.  This in turns means we have a responsibility.  All power functions in duality, I have chosen a side and drawn a line in the sand.

Where do you stand?

Since I was a kid movies and television shows have shaped my outlook on life.  Dig deep and you too may find influences that have reared their ugly head in your real world.  Children learn how to live, love, think and act from their parents.  Unfortunately, our televisions have become our un-adopted step parents for the last couple generations.  This of course opens a whole can of worms not to be tackled here.  This is about love.

Read into any of the above selections as you will, after all they are subjective.  Each individual will have their own distinct time line of crushes that helped develop their life choices.

Listed from left to right;  My Fiance, Alex Mack of “The Secret World of Alex Mack”, Rogue from “X-Men the Animated Series”, Wichita from “Zombieland”, Em from “Into the Wild” – Yes that is the Twilight girl, hence the hair – and last but CERTAINLY not least…..Kelly Kapowski of “Saved By The Bell”.

List your childhood crushes below.  I’m curious to who else watch Saved By The Bell that much.

…and yes, that’s Kristen Stewart to the right.  Can’t say I’m too happy with the whole “Twilight” thing, but her turns in “Adventureland” and “Into the Wild” made me a fan for life.