Storn Art

I am sitting pool-side at the Hilton Caribe in Ponce, Puerto Rico.  It is slightly cloudy, about 84 degrees and a very nice breeze coming in from the Atlantic.  Just played an hour of tennis, then jumped in the pool.  The beach has a lot of jelly fish, so pool it was.  A happy wife sunbathing.  A cold negra modello.  A burbling fountain one can walk through.  This does NOT suck.

Millie’s folks are amusing themselves playing 5 cent slot machines in the casino.  They absolutely love the casino.

Last night was amazing.  We went to this restaurant called La Plantanar… which came up out of a plantain farm.  The farm is still there, and the restaurant is cut into the side of a steep hill.  A nice big open space.  But the food!  Oh madre de dios!  We got a pork chop that was 2 feet long, with some of the skin still on and all crispy!  But that wasn’t the end of it… giant piles of carne fritte and mofungo (garlic and plantains mashed together).  Some great fried coconut shrimp…. i could just hear my Doctor Watoo shaking his head in dismay some thousand miles away.

Which is why, getting some exercise was an imperative today.  I hope to maybe even get another 1/2 hour of tennis in later.

Anyway, will report more as it occurs to me and internet avails itself!

I am writing this from a very sunny, 80 degree plus, porch in Santa Isabel, Puerto Rico.  No art this post, this is really just a chance for me to communicate with my whole family in grey (but oddly warm) upstate NY.

So. Flying yesterday. Whatta adventure. Got up at 3 in the morning. Drove to Rochester, then we barely make the gate due to the fact that they were boarding early! We are not on the plane 10 minutes before the announcement comes on that they are having trouble closing the door. So can we disembark. We do. Then the announcement comes on that the mechanic is looking at the problem, but we might have to start making alternative arrangements for flights with connections in Dulles airport. But they are going to try. I should say that United’s personal in Rochester were outstanding in their communication and cheer. That isn’t sarcasm. They really kept us informed as much as possible.

Anyhow, the mechanic is successful in about 45 minutes and we all get back on the plane. Arriving in Dulles, we have 10 minutes to make the flight to San Juan, PR. Unfortunately, the gate is in another terminal and Dulles has grown since I was there last (in the 90s). I sprint, carrying 40-60 lbs of laptop, art supplies and tennis gear. Of course, it is all uphill, including one killer escalator, my calves burned on that one. Except for one stretch of moving sidewalk, which felt like I was sprinting like a gazelle. I get to the gate exactly at 8:29, the time for departure. All panting and sweaty and wheezing. And the plane has pulled away from the gate. Grrr…

Poor Millie comes stumbling up 5 minutes later, her bum knee throbbing and I deliver the “cheerful” news that we missed our plane. So. We traipse over to the United help desk, where we spend the next 15 minutes dripping, while the poor lady tries to figure out some way of getting us to Puerto Rico this fine day. Finally, after many computer hiccups, she figures she can send us back north on Delta to JFK airport to catch a flight to get to San Juan about 6 pm. Originally, we are supposed to get to San Juan at 1 pm.

Of course there is a wrinkle, after treking to yet another terminal to Delta… they are close to their weight limit and we have to wait until almost boarding before we know if we are on the flight. Luckily, that time comes around and they have enough thrust and fuel to carry our flacca butts into the sky. Delta’s flight to San Juan is fairly pleasant despite I’m stuck in the middle. Managed to nap a bit. Saw the underwhelming movie, New Year’s Eve, which made Millie and I both a bit nostalgic for our life in NYC two decades ago.

Then we get to San Juan, Millie’s parents and nephew are patiently waiting for us… but our luggage is missing. Yup. Our luggage never made the transfer from United to Delta or some such. It is supposed to come today to Millie’s folks casa.

But our fortunes of travel have finally shifted for the better. It was so much fun hearing Millie speak spanish with her family, all of them talking a mile a minute, interrupting each other excitingly. I catch and understand maybe every 20^th word, getting more from inflection and body language when I get anything at all. But it gives me such a warm feeling being back.

We arrive in their home town of Santa Isabel about 8:15. We drive to the center of town, going to a bakery that Millie’s nephew, Christian, works at for some pastellejos and pan. Yum. But a surprise awaits us.

There are three or four streets that have hundreds and hundreds of Xmas lights and these beautiful arches of lights that make a tunnel down each street. Millie took photos on her iPhone, I hope to get some of them up on the blog soon. It is really gorgeous. And humorous. There are little scenes of small statues enacting tableaus of music playing or the nativity. Including one bearing the sign, (and I hope I get the spelling right) “La Venganza de La Chon”. The scene is; two pigs are spit-roasting a poor human. Another human, with a bottle of poisoned whisky, passed out, awaiting his turn to become a delicacy. I laughed out loud.

Then we get to Millie’s parents home and the eating begins. We eat pastellas, rice and beans, pastellejos….so yum!!! I even get some intestinal sausage. Which might have been the spiciest dish I’ve ever eaten in Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico cusine isn’t spicy like a lot of mexican food. They rarely use chillis. But the sausage was nicely spicy. Millie’s niece, Christina arrives, always nice to see her. Millie’s sister, Metchie comes a bit later. It is a full house, noisy and happy. We finally collapse in bed around 12:30.

A long day of travel. And totally worth it!

Death Tribble wanted an Evil Whale.  My first go around tried to animorphasize the beastie, but DT really wanted a pretty straight up baleen whale.  I gave it a bit of a “chin” growth and red eyes to hopefully push it a bit into ‘eeeeevvvviilll!!” territory.  But I’m not sure.

This is another in Paul T’s Exalted femme fatale series.  This time, it is Red Lotus Blossom, described to me as a redhead (but using an actresses very orange hair color), wearing red, and being a “sword princess” but with a naginata (if I preferred.. yes, I preferred! <g>  I get to draw swords all the time, naginatas are much more rare!)

p.s.  Really, really diggin’ my Cintiq!!!

Well, Millie encouraged me to make Xmas cards.  So I did the obligatory cat Xmas card starring our cats, Chrissie and Baby.  Chrissie is the one wearing the santa hat.  So this is the cute.  Down with watered down acrylic ink.

Then we have a dear friend who is a major horror fan.  Last year, I did a zombie Xmas.  This year, well, how about Vampire Xmas.  So, Bloody.  Maybe next Xmas will be hairy (ie Loup Garou).   Another acrylic, done on these cool watercolor cards that I acquired along the way somewhere.  By the way, although the font was hand done, it was based on a pencil transfer from Blambot’s excellent YouMurderer font.

Lastly, the divine, the last in my triad of angels.

I will put all three of these up on my FineArt America.  They can make nice cards and such.

http://fineartamerica.com/profiles/storn-cook.html

I’m off to Puerto Rico for Christmas.  I hope to do some art while down there.  I’ll post it when I get back.

Okay, maybe not a poignard, but I needed a 4th “p” for my alliteration.  The dude does have a rapier!

So, a couple of folks asked about prints of a couple of recent pics… you can find several pieces of art available for prints in all kinds of sizes and formats here:

http://fineartamerica.com/profiles/storn-cook.html

Let me know if there are pics I’ve posted up that you would like to see as prints and I will put them up too!

Next, I have a new clipart portfolio up through LPJ Designs, featuring recent fantasy pics.  Check that out here:

http://www.rpgnow.com/product/108714/Image-Portfolio-Platinum-Edition-23%3A-Storn-Cook?filters=0_0_0_0

And now!  More Art (yah!)

First up, the next in the Xmas Angel series… here is my Cerulean Angel.

Next, is another in the Exalted series for Paul L.  Although it is Exalted, working from Paul’s descriptions, I am interpreting a more restrained visual look than the usual Exalted gonzo/anime/over the top stylings I’ve seen from other sources.

And lastly, a fencing Spaniard for Death Tribble…

Keep the comments coming, love to hear what folks think!

Til next time…

Another in a series of Exalted females for Paul L.  This one is a bit more horrific in its description as being during or just after bloody battle.  And oh yeah, this is the first piece of digital art done with my combo birthday/Xmas present… a brand new, 22 inch, Cintiq!!!!!  Oh, by all the angels of art, what a difference from a wacom tablet!!!  I am one happy, jumping with joy, boy.

Note:  It isn’t completely digital, I did scan in fairly tight pencils done on vellum.  All the color was done digitally.

Next is the first of three Angels that I’m doing for Xmas presents for Millie’s family.  I did a couple of angeds last time I was in Puerto Rico, on the spot, with cheap travel watercolors.   We are heading for Puero Rico for my first PR Xmas, something I’m quite looking forward to!

Now, I’m taking my time and doing these in acrylic… a medium I haven’t used in quite some time, but wanting to give it a go again.  Inspired to go that route  from a couple of coffee table talks with local friends n artists like Jeff Szuc and Steve Ellis!

It is interesting to be tackling Christian iconology… I am not a christian (very wayward jew, btw)… yet being an american, immersed in a Wasp environment, married into a Catholic one, it feels different to be painting angels as opposed to, oh, I don’t know, valkyries or medusas from other religions.  Like it is weird to be “right next door” to a subject matter, but apart from it too.  It ain’t like hundreds of famous artists haven’t done angels or anything… sheesh.  Yet, I feel somewhat blasphemous for tackling a subject I don’t believe in…..  I don’t believe in medusas or valkyries… for the record.

Anyway, time to shut up and put up the artwork….

My sister recently cleaned out my parents barn (just so you think I’m not heartless, I helped too).  The barn had become a holding place for all kinds of treasures…and my sister held a huge garage sale to help with her books for college.  One of these “treasures” is a bit of art I did, sometime between 10-12.  I’m not sure how old I was.  I remember doing this piece of art.  It was during classes.  I’m thinking 8th grade, but it might have been some other time too.  So.  Without further ado, here is a piece of art from the beginning of my career.  The really EARLY part of my career.  Hope y’all get a chuckle.  I certainly did seeing it again.

And to see perhaps, some of my path… I recently got a chance to do three female characters from the same Exalted game.

Josh Mannon, the guy behind Within the Devil’s Reach, is starting up another kickstarter.  This time it is another 3 linked adventures connecting into Within the Devil’s Reach storyline.  Called Skies over Danbury.  Although, from what I understand, you could do these adventures separately too.  Both adventure books are for the game system Dungeon World.

If the kickstart succeeds, I will be doing the art for Skies over Danbury.  So.  I really hope that it does.  I enjoyed doing the art for Within the Devil’s Reach quite a bit.  To give a little visual indication to both Josh and y’all of where I wanted to go cover wise, I worked up a preliminary sketch, very preliminary, and gave it a bit of a underpainting treatment.

I present it here to whet your appetites and to show a rare behind-the-scenes stage of what goes into a painting.  Hope you like and I hope you will check out Josh’s kickstarter link:  http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jbmannon/the-skies-over-danbury-dungeon-world-adventures

Here is the underpainting for Skies over Danbury:

p.s. I haven’t played Dungeon World yet, but after flipping through my swag copy of Within  the Devil’s Reach, I SURE DO want to.  And it seems very cool how Within the Devil’s Reach has questions of the players to set up parameters for the adventures to be forthcoming.

Even more from Death Tribble!  A new take on the ol’ D&D monster, Shambling Mound, with instructions to not make it massive.

And a MothMan, super villain… meybe… super hero.  Wasn’t clear from the description.   But a bit more on the super spandex set than I’ve done for awhile.  It was fun to return to doing that.  Hope y’all enjoy!!!

More from the fertile imaginings of patron extraordinaire, Death Tribble.   Nuff said.