I have some great models. Of course I always appreciate all my models! I know it's a hard job. I tried it a bit in college. OOF! And I was a lot more spry back then. It was for regular figure drawing. I wasn't a pretty person but I was pretty lean so if you wanted to learn anatomy my body would do. No extra arms or legs. Exactly the right amount of toes and fingers. My first time modeling I was WAY too ambitious. I was doing back bends, stretches and twists to rival any yogi... in my head. Every pose hurt. I was pretty sore the next day. Even if I had never modeled for a figure drawing class again, that one experience gave me a great respect for anyone willing to model for me.

So this is Freya. She modeled for an impromptu photo shoot that I can use for reference. It's more pin-uppy. There was a car involved. Some time I'll get back to it. And yeah, she has an amazing tattoo. Drew this at the bar.

I did comics once upon a time. I was a penciller for DC Vertigo. "Animal Man" was my title with a few guest pages in "Doom Patrol". At Marvel I was an inker and finisher for Marvel Comics Presents, Dr. Strange, Savage Sword of Conan, and other pin-ups here and there. I didn't grow up with that goal in mind, but being in New York City, this is what I had the opportunity to do so I did. I learned so much! I worked with many different artists. Some good and some bad but I think I came across some new knowledge from all.

Since then I have become friends with even more comic book artists who inspire me. Of course my good friend Steve Ellis, and Dean Haspiel, and Gregory Benton.
They do more personal comic book work that doesn't always deal with a fight scene. Their themes are more adult oriented and they and the slew of others I don't have the time to write down and link to inspire my desire to tell some stories. 

This is my character "Klunk". He's loosely based on me. Very loosely. Because you are here looking at this and because I have a keyboard connected to my computer in front of me I will share his story with you... or at least an explanation of the character. Klunk appears to wear a gas mask. It is a metaphorical device I use so the reader is able to get past what he looks like and go immediately to what he "feels" like. The viewer never sees Klunk's face. This is my personal challenge. How do I get across the full range of emotions and expressions a faced character can do? I like the idea that although the viewer can't see his whole face but a character in the strip might say something like Klunk you have a piece of tentacle stuck between your teeth" implying that they can see his whole face.

So here is a Klunk story he is barely in. And you can interpret it in several ways, which I like.

This is what my paintings look like as I develop them. Sometimes I will have a phrase that comes to mind as I'm drawing and I will think that is the title. Then as I refine the image the title might not work for me and then it becomes something new. I'm not sure if I'll even paint any of these!

See? This one started as one thing in my head but once I scanned it, it now seems like I need to make an irregular shape for it. Like it needs to be taller than it is already.

I was drawing some of these in a bar and some in a coffee shop with my friend Travis. He did some really cool sketches in my spare sketch pad. I'll post them after I make sure he's OK with it.

I am usually aware that tubes and holes etc can be symbols of eroticism but this group has been a little more obvious. As a professional artist, I treat my models as valued private contractors. I don't make comments other than "you look over heated, can I get you some water or something to drink?". It's summer time and the humidity is a beast sometimes. And then there are the ambitious types that think nothing of running up 6 or more floors to my place instead of taking the elevator. My building has extra high ceilings on most of the floors! I try to make my models comfortable, and I respect them and what they do, so when I want to be more conscious of the erotic possibilities of the pose, I error to the side  of professionalism. After they leave I draw from my drawings or photos they've let me take. This keeps me a little more detached from the erotic nature of the poses and my models.