At last, “Bare Necessities” is done. I’m taking March off to do a few projects that “Bare Necessities” forced onto the backburner. These projects include “Asterith,” an illustration with two versions ( [link] and [link] ) of a character from *dashinvaine ‘s illustrated stories, and “The Delivery,” a short, four-page illustrated story in a collaboration with Cindy, ~reacherfan . I’ve already posted both versions of “Asterith” and the first two pages of “The Delivery” ( [link] and [link] ), and the third and fourth pages of the latter will follow in the next two days.

During the next two weeks I will be doing another mural at a local school, which will take up most of my art time, so I’ll post the last few images I have yet to post from “Black Canvas I,” along with updates on the mural. After that, I’ve got two more collaborations including an ink drawing based on some classic poetry, and another multi-page story illustration for someone who’s doing great work on the “Demon’s Due” narratives. When that’s done, I just might try and do a couple of drawings for myself—whatever hits me at the time, but possibly another Norse drawing or a piece of movie fan art (I’ve been thinking about “Christine” for a long time… ). That ought to get me through to mid-April, at which point I’ll start back into…

...“Demon’s Due.” I’ll introduce the next chapter and start it sometime in April, with the intention of finishing it by the end of May. June will see the beginning of the final chapter of the first part of the storyline, and when that’s done, I’m going to figure out a way to get it printed up in hardcopy format. Maybe by the year’s end I’ll be able to send out some rather provocative Christmas presents…

Considering how I’ve been buried in “Bare Necessities” over the past six months, it seems like just a few weeks ago I noticed *Shane-01 ‘s work, but he’s been around for somewhat longer than that. Regardless, I was quite drawn to his powerful use of heavy dark tones to create gripping, moving compositions. It reminds me of all those times in my early teenage years when the art teachers would look at the stylized car drawn in the center of my paper, surrounded by blank white space—invariably they would shake their heads and say, “Why not try to use the full paper, Jeff? This is just a car, but it could be something special…” Shane forces so much value, contrast, and movement in each picture, his work really shouts at me when I view it. Definitely worth a look.

*milbisous has been posting wonderful artwork for as long as I’ve been on DA. My favorites from her gallery of drawings and paintings are the series of humorous animal caricatures that display amazingly human-like behavior. Regardless, her confidence and mastery of colors is impressive, and her skill with watercolors makes me cry. Here are some samples from her gallery, but she is definitely worth a very close and thorough look.

The quickest, easiest way is to buy a print on DA (see below). I’ve been published in a few books, including Sword and Sorcery: How to Draw Fantastic Fantasy Adventure Comics by Bryan Baugh, and A Life of Ravens by Alex Ness. Both books can be purchased on Amazon.com, and are full of awesome artwork and writing by some very talented people. I’ve recently done five commission pieces for the “Wayfarers” role-playing game [link] .

This is a collection of 42 ink drawings which I sell personally via Paypal or money order for $10 plus shipping. If you’re interested in obtaining a copy, just send me a note. The thumbnail above is a glimpse at the pieces that the book contains, most of which can be found here in my dA gallery.

Here's my prints page. [link] I’ve got about 36 things available, but I’m trying to put more up. I think dA does a pretty good and fairly inexpensive job of printing and shipping things. I’ve purchased a bunch of prints here, myself, which I’ll show off in the next section.

Most of these things now decorate my home, and I’m quite happy to have them. The artists are great, and their works hit a chord in myself and my wife. My thanks to all, and to dA for the opportunity!

I get a lot of people asking me if I do commission work, and the answer I generally give is “Not usually.” Commissions are difficult because I must work with the ideas that pop into my head on their own, which only coincides with someone else’s wants on rare occasions. Then, too, the more commissions I accept, the harder it is for me to complete the titanic “Demon’s Due” project. So, I’m wary. However, there is no harm in asking/suggesting a commission piece, and it just might show up. With the things I’m working on, any project I’d consider would have to pay me enough cash to make it tempting—a little money isn’t worth the insanity I experience when my own ideas get back-logged in my head.