Jay Geldhof's Art Blog: Dimmy Draws!

Digital...

2009-06-11T19:33:00.003-04:00

Lately I've been working more and more in the digital realm.
I picked up Sketchbook Pro 2010, Manga Studio Ex 4 and a brand spankin' new Wacom Intuos 4 tablet to go with 'em.
I really love the feel of drawing in Sketchbook Pro and can't recommend it highly enough for those looking to take their sketchbook digital. It's a fast, simple, intuitive program and pretty much a pure joy to use. Nothing I've tried yet can touch the feel of the pencil in this program. With the nice new surface of the Intuos 4, it's as close to drawing on paper as you can get.
Manga Studio EX is definitely a bit more opaque, but once you put in the time, it yields some pretty nice results. Especially in the area of inking.
The top pic of doodles is from Sketchbook Pro, the bottom is an old sketch I imported into Manga Studio and inked. I'm still finding my way around the program, but I don't think it looks too bad for a first attempt.

Last Ebay Auctions.

2009-05-06T09:35:00.002-04:00

This page featuring the character, Pellon Cross from Matt Wagner's GRENDEL: God & The Devil #32 was pencilled and inked by series artist Jay Geldhof. The image size is approximately 10 X 15 inches, ink on 2py bristol. Original art from this series is scarce these days, so don't miss out on a chance to own a piece of GRENDEL history. (Extra note of trivia: The guy about to yak in panel 3 is comic writer, Will Pfeifer of DC Comic's Catwoman fame.)

If you're interested in bidding please click HERE!

This piece was done as an ad for "THE LOST" by series artist, Jay Geldhof. It is essentially an ink version of the cover to issue #1 published by Caliber Comics. The image size is approximately 10 X 15 inches, ink on 2py bristol (Duoshade). The border and text are paste-ups, but the "LOST" logo is hand done on the art itself.

If you're interested in bidding, please click HERE!

That's gonna wrap up our Ebay auctions for the foreseeable future.
BIG THANKS to everyone who bid and especially to the auction winners!

Ebay: THE LOST

2009-04-27T11:09:00.002-04:00

This painting was used for the cover to THE LOST #2 published by Caliber Comics and features the character "Tink." The painting was done in Gouache on illustration board and the image area is approximately 10 X 15 inches. There's a really low reserve on this one, so it's someone's chance to score a painting from THE LOST on the cheaper side.

If you're interested in bidding, you can click HERE!

EVEN MORE Ebay: GRENDEL

2009-04-27T11:00:00.003-04:00

MORE Ebay: GRENDEL

2009-04-20T11:38:00.002-04:00

Here we have the original color art for the cover of Matt Wagner's GRENDEL: God & The Devil #32 originally published by COMICO comics. Artwork consists of a "black line" overlay with hand painted (Gouache) color on illustration board. The surface of the illustration board was separated for drum scanning then reseated on the backing board. This process had no affect on the painting and the piece will "frame up" quite nicely. The image size is approximately 14 X 11 inches. Original art from this series is scarce these days, so don't miss out on a chance to own a piece of GRENDEL history.

If yer interested you can put in a bid by clicking HERE!

Ebay: GRENDEL!

2009-04-13T07:34:00.004-04:00

Well, I've caved in and started throwing up some stuff on ebay.
First up is some rare, unpublished preproduction art from GRENDEL: God & The Devil! Exciting, huh?!
Before starting art chores on Mat Wagner's GRENDEL: GOD & THE DEVIL, John K. Snyder III and myself worked up a few sample pages to see how our styles would mesh. These 2 pages are penciled by me with inks by John and feature the title character, Eppy Thatcher as Grendel. Artwork consists of 2 sheets of 2ply bristol with a image size of approximately 10 X 15 inches each. Original art from this series is scarce these days, so don't miss out on a chance to own a piece of GRENDEL history.

If yer interested you can put in a bid by clicking HERE!

*BIG THANKS and congrats to Daniel Maull for his high bid!*

Power Girl.

2009-02-07T14:07:00.004-05:00

Well, it's been so long I'm sure no one even remembers we were doing these things, but here's "Joint Character Assassination" Number Three: Power Girl. It's just about impossible to find time to draw these days, but when I DO find the time, I gotta say it feels good. I gotta start rearranging some of my priorities.
I pretty much like this one. It's no mind-bender in the excitement category, but it's fairly solid. It kinda reminds me of something I would've done about 10 years ago. I think I'm regressing...

As always, be sure to visit my partner in crime, ROB ULLMAN'S BLOG, to check out what I'm sure will be his more lively interpretation. Without his sporadic kicking me in the ass, I doubt I'd get even THIS much done.

DIMMY'S DESPERATE (sort-of) ART SALE #3!

2009-01-07T08:17:00.002-05:00

To offset some recent unexpected budget hits, including our recent computer blow-up, I'm offering some pieces of art for sale. I'm not going to go the eBay route and just offer the stuff up here, then later on a page at jaygeldhof.com. I know what they're worth to me, and if I can't get at least that, I'd rather just keep the art. The prices are as marked and will include S&H. If you're interested, email me at dimmy@neo.rr.com and I'll give you the info for a paypal payment. No checks please. All sales will be on a first come first served basis, so act now. No, really. Act NOW!

This piece is the cover painting for THE LOST #3
Probably my favorite cover painting from the series.
Painting measures 10" X 15" and is done in Gouache on Illustration Board.
The price is $1,000 for shipping to the USA. Foreign orders will have to be calculated.

Happy Holidays!

2008-12-17T13:54:00.003-05:00

The inevitable collection of old Christmas Card art.
(All Gouache on board except for the sketch, 'natch.)
Enjoy.
Hope you all have a safe, warm and happy holiday season.

Day Job Collision...

2008-11-24T13:15:00.002-05:00

Whipped up some computer art for my Day-Job's playroom walls this week. Thought you might like to see my lame attempt at trying to channel Bob Staake. The cat was the first one I did, and I was pretty happy with how simple I kept it. Then they just started getting out of control to the point where I think it would have been faster to just really draw the damn things.
Ah, well.
I DO sort of dig working this way.
It REALLY forces you to have a image in your head before you start throwing shapes around. Maybe I should just cut to the chase, because if I had a buck for every time someone looked at one of my paintings and asked me if it was done on a computer...

DIMMY'S DESPERATE (sort-of) ART SALE #2!

2008-09-16T18:35:00.003-04:00

To offset some recent unexpected budget hits, including our recent computer blow-up, I'm offering some pieces of art for sale. I'm not going to go the eBay route and just offer the stuff up here, then later on a page at jaygeldhof.com. I know what they're worth to me, and if I can't get at least that, I'd rather just keep the art. The prices are as marked and will include S&H. If you're interested, email me at dimmy@neo.rr.com and I'll give you the info for a paypal payment. No checks please. All sales will be on a first come first served basis, so act now. No, really. Act NOW!

This piece is the cover painting for THE LOST #1 (Caliber Edition)
Painting measures 10" X 15" and is done in Gouache on Illustration Board.
The price is $850.00 for shipping to the USA. Foreign orders will have to be calculated.

SOLD!

DIMMY'S DESPERATE (sort-of) ART SALE!

2008-09-16T16:31:00.003-04:00

To offset some recent unexpected budget hits, including our recent computer blow-up, I'm offering some pieces of art for sale. I'm not going to go the eBay route and just offer the stuff up here, then later on a page at jaygeldhof.com. I know what they're worth to me, and if I can't get at least that, I'd rather just keep the art. The prices are as marked and will include S&H. If you're interested, email me at dimmy@neo.rr.com and I'll give you the info for a paypal payment. No checks please. All sales will be on a first come first served basis, so act now. No, really. Act NOW!

First up is the box art for the cult film "TOWNIES."
Own your own piece of CULT FILM HISTORY!
The painting measures 10 1/2" X 18" and is done in gouache on illustration board and features star Toby Radloff as "Dickie."
The price is $850.00 for shipping to the USA. Foreign orders will have to be calculated.

Heads.

2008-09-14T17:16:00.004-04:00

Started a new Moleskine the other day.
I plan on trying to keep this one sort of "low pressure" and just fill it up with HEADS. They're quick to do and easy to fit into the odd spaces of time that present themselves for drawing.

I've also been rediscovering the joy of CRAYONS with the "Day-Job" during meals and what not. I'll post some Crayola hi-jinx soon.

Mac Down.

2008-09-14T07:56:00.002-04:00

Just a quick note to inform you all that our Mac has been in the shop, up on blocks for 3 weeks.
We just got it back, so with any luck, some updates may follow.

I have no excuse for the weeks/months prior...um, so...HEY! What's that over there?!

Green.

2008-04-15T11:26:00.003-04:00

Dimmy Draws is hopping on the "GREEN" bandwagon by, you guessed it, recycling more old crap.
Sorry Kids, the Day-Job REALLY wants to be outside now that the weather's warming up.

Random.

2008-04-01T13:32:00.003-04:00

Sink or Swim?

2008-03-28T14:13:00.006-04:00

Here's an ODD-BALL piece I did back in 1992.
I think I had just finished inking the Mr. E mini series, for DC Comics, so when I was asked to do a piece for the Amazing Heroes Swimsuit Special, naturally I did the Temptress and the Mister himself.
I was sure throwin' a lot of lines around back then! I'm not completely ashamed of this stuff, but I am sort've stunned by what I considered, at that time, to be a good cheesecake drawing. I've ALWAYS liked to draw girls and my sketchbooks are crammed with 'em but I get a little freaked out when I take these strolls down memory lane! And as much as I'd like to hide behind a lack of drawing ability, I really don't think I can. At times, hell, most of the time, I just had a VERY odd idea of what a hot chick looked like. Crazy, furry eyebrows! Brutally angular faces! It's all a little nuts! I'd like to think the girls I draw these days are pretty cute, but in 10 years who knows?

(Sitting here typing this has given me an idea. I've had a character named "Zetta" who apart from a brief stint in that long ago anthology book, THREAT! has pretty much only lived in my sketchbooks. I've been drawing her off and on since my days in art school, so this stuff will go BACK a ways. I may, given the time, scan in drawings of her from over the years, turn them into a collage and see what the progression looks like. It'll either be mildly interesting or a colossal waste of time. I'll let you, my three or four readers, be the judge.)

Anyway, I'll also include this doodle from my sketchbook done around the same time.

Lashina!

2008-03-21T13:53:00.005-04:00

Well, it took awhile (mostly my fault) but here's Joint Character Assassination number two.
LASHINA!
I've always had a soft spot for Jack Kirby's Fourth World stuff. I'm old enough that I read most of it when it first came out, but as those were the days of spotty newsstand distribution, I inevitably missed the odd issue. I can't recommend the new EDITIONS that DC is putting out right now highly enough. I've got the first 3 and I think the 4th and final volume drops near the end of this month.
Mister Miracle was probably my favorite comic as a kid and Big Barda and her Female Furies were a big reason why. So, when Chappy picked Lashina for the next piece, I was more than happy to go along with it.
Be sure to check out his Lashina, HERE!
I gotta admit, while I love this character, Kirby had a way of coming up with costumes that while awesome to look at, are kinda hard for anyone else to draw. I don't really know why but this one kinda kicked my ass. I hope my solution isn't too far off the mark.

Wee Willy

2008-03-19T13:54:00.010-04:00

I've known Will Pfeifer for over 20 years now.
It seems like just yesterday when I was inking away in a tiny Condo and Will would drop by and bust my chops. Hell, if he didn't come by, I'd probably go weeks without seeing another living soul. We'd yak about music or movies or comics and then he would ask me for a Reeses's Peanut-butter Cup. I always had a 20 pack in the fridge, and I would tell him, "But if I give you one, I'll only have 19."
I NEVER did give him one, it was a running gag after a while.
At that time, while Will was attending Kent State University, he used to plug away at a mini comic called: Violent Man. The art was pretty crude but amusing none the less. But what you REALLY noticed about it was the writing. Even way back then Will had a "voice" to his writing. I can remember back, sitting on the can, reading one of his little homemade mini's and thinking to myself, this Kid could be the next Alan Moore. I may have been drunk, but the point's still valid.
So, I'd be inking away and Will would be filling orders for his mini's. He would receive these envelopes from people and inside would be a Quarter for the comic and a stamp to mail it back. The first time I saw one of these index cards with the Quarter and stamp taped to it, I HAD to have it. That thing hung on the wall of my studio for quite some time, and it gave me a chuckle every time I saw it.
Anyway, during one of the many lulls in paying gigs, Will offered to jump-start my career (It's ALWAYS funny!) by offering me a cover gig. I did it as a "flip-up" cover because I was just too damn fancy to be confined to the dimensions of a mini-comic. I also did a centerfold (above) for another issue, or was it the same one, I can't remember. (I threw some color at the cover for the hell of it. The original was of course reproduced in glorious Kinko's Black & White.)
These days of course things have changed! Will is now the big time comics pro, and I'm the one content to self publish the odd mini from time to time. If you went back twenty years and told me this is how things would be in the future, I might not have believed you about myself, but I would have believed it about Will.

NEXT: Something NEW from Chappy & Me!

Who?

2008-03-14T08:17:00.004-04:00

Back in 1990, I had just started working for DC Comics inking a couple books so I wasn't exactly first in line when it came to assignments for the new WHO'S WHO editions. In fact, I don't think I was IN line at all. However, I knew editor Michael Eury a bit from the old Comico days so he ended up throwing me a bone when he could. NO pun intended. I had never heard of either one of these characters when I was asked to do them, but I really tried to do something half way decent. Anyway, I'm sure these qualify as "Career Oddities," so here you go. In case you're wondering, I converted them to gray-scale because the colors were giving me gas-pains.

Son of Old Paint.

2008-03-10T16:10:00.005-04:00

Maybe it should be Father of Old Paint.
This was my first stab at a cover painting. It was for Classics Illustrated: THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER. I supplied the art with long time friend and comic's royalty, P. Craig Russell working out the adaptation and breakdowns. Funny that my first time out, I would end up with a piece that came out pretty much like I envisioned it would. This early success not only tricked my editors into thinking that I knew what I was doing, but also made me believe it as well. A notion that would soon fade over my next few attempts at cover paintings. The painting was done on two boards, the figure on one and the house on another that was PRE-ripped. I'm crazy, but not THAT crazy. Included here is the reference shot I used for Maddeline. The model was another long time friend and comics superstar, Jill Thompson. Hope she doesn't mind.

Old Paint.

2008-03-07T13:57:00.006-05:00

Was digging through some piles of old crap and unearthed this pencil drawing for the cover of BADGER BEDLAM. This was one of my first cover paintings and it's suffered over time. I can remember being relatively happy with it upon completion, but looking at it now kind of makes my dick hurt. I thought the pencils might be nice to put up as an object of curiosity at least. I must have done these pencils for editorial approval. The changes in the Doc's face/hair probably occurred after I was given some reference and the changes to his right arm were probably to accommodate the gigantic title logo. Long time ago. Me no can remember clearly.

Aayla. Aagain.

2008-03-04T07:54:00.004-05:00

Here it is, inked & colored. Made some changes then made some more. Eh. The Day-Job has been a bit under the weather lately so, drawing time has been scarce. Chappy and I have settled on our next subject, now I just need some time to get at it. Stay tuned.

Aayla.

2008-02-25T10:21:00.012-05:00

Well, it had to happen sooner or later.
Yes, you guessed it. This is new stuff.
Such as it is.
My down time with the Day-Job has pretty much erased all my drawing "mussel memory." I can't believe how hard it's been to try to grunt out a few sketches. The sporadic moments I get to sit at the drawing table don't seem to be helping either. Anyway, I'm pretty happy I'm doing it, if not with WHAT I'm coming up with, so in a sense, situation normal.
This is the first in what I hope will be a series of joint character assassinations with fellow Lurid crew member, Rob "Chappy" Ullman. Chappy is also slaving away in the trenches of domestic uh... bliss? Is that the right word? (Yeah, I just checked with my wife and she said, "You bet yer sweet ass that's the word!") You can find, what I'm sure will be his far superior efforts on his Blog, Atom-Bomb Bikini.
First up, that blue chick from Star Wars, Aayla Secura.
Why her? She's cool, blue and she's got built in pony-tails / tubers! What's not to like?
I was supposed to have a couple pieces done, but Saturday's (RARE) night out put me a bit behind. I just wouldn't be me if I met even a self imposed deadline, it seems. I'll finish the second drawing asap. Probably should have done that one first, as it's a tad more interesting. Ah well. I also include some of my preliminary pencil grinding. Makes yer hand hurt just lookin' at it, doesn't it?

The lost "LOST."

2008-02-18T13:09:00.001-05:00

The following was written as a form letter in response to the many emails I would receive asking for information on "The Lost."

“The Lost” was a projected 4 issue mini-series based on “Peter Pan” by J.M. Barrie. Our “twist” turned Peter and the Lost Boys into Vampires and plunked them down in New York city. Hijinx ensue. ”The Lost” was created by Marc Andreyko, Jay Geldhof, Mark Ricketts and Galen Showman.

Issues 1 and 2 were published by Caliber Comics in 1996. In a effort to reach more people and also get paid, we moved the title over to Chaos! Comics. Chaos! Reprinted issues 1 and 2 with new covers and released issue #3 in 1997. “The Lost” was nominated for “Best New Series”. Around here is where things get screwy.....

After issue #2 we “lost” penciler Galen Showman. For reasons both personal and professional, Galen decided it was time for him to move on. This left Mark Rickets and I to hammer out #3 on our own. While I have nothing but respect and fondness for Mark’s work, I wasn’t terribly happy with the results of our collaboration. Time dragged on and the book became quite late. In an effort to get the damn thing out, we called in artists, P. Craig Russell and Galen Showmn to ink a few pages. Hell, I think Craig even did some finishing on some pencils as well. I greatly appreciated their help, but, all of this just added to the “patchwork” feel of the book (in MY mind at least). It was after #3 came out that I decided to do the art on #4 solo. I enlisted Craig’s help again on breakdowns and set about my work.

All I can say is during my work on #4 I suffered from what can only be called a crisis of faith. I was growing more and more dissatisfied with my own work, the quality of the story we were telling, and EXTREAMLY dissatisfied with the state of the comics industry. I was finding no joy in sitting at the drawing table and while this stuff has never been particularly easy for me, I had always at least had fun doing it. Without going into even more sordid details, after finishing about 6 pages with 4 or 5 more in various states of completion, I stopped working on the book altogether.

So, dear reader, if you want to place blame on someone, I guess the buck stops here. I deeply apologize for leaving our fans/readers hanging. We received MANY letters and e-mails from you folks (still do!) and we were always happy that the work was being well received.

Now that you have a little background, here's a peek at those 6 completed pages and the unused cover painting for issue #4. (Above) I jumped around while working on the book, so if they seem disjointed, it's because the pages are not consecutive.
Enjoy.