It just occurred to me that our Komikero group celebrated it's one year anniversary this month. The Komikero group, which I didn't name by the way, as I just considered it a Laguna Artists' Group composed of people who visit the Komikero Message Board, has been meeting once a month, usually the last Sunday of the month. I guess that as an artist, I was just getting lonely here in San Pablo and I wanted to call up my artist friends so we can get together so we can talk about art, comics, movies, share artwork, check out each other's drawings, etc.
We had our first meeting August of last year and it turned out to be a really good idea because everyone who was there responded really well to it. Friends called up friends and pretty soon I, and everyone was meeting new artists not only from Laguna, but also from Manila, from Cebu and from Mindanao as well. I decided not to make the group formal with officers, a constitution or other stuff like that. I felt that it would rupture the easygoing and spontaneous spirit that I liked about our meetings. But I liked for us to be productive as well so I proposed a number of activities including making a "challenge" comic book that we will finish on the same day of our meeting. One member would write and draw one page of a comic, using characters and a story that he will come up with on the spot. It's up the the next member to continue the comic depending on what the first member has done. Each member would have an hour to finish his or her installment. We managed to pull it off effectively for two meetings.
Today I proposed that we bring our art materials and just draw for an entire day on the banks of Sampalok lake and just draw whatever we see. Here's what I did. :)
Just pen and ink on paper. Someone wanted to bring a loptop, but I discouraged it. I wanted people to experience art at it's most basic, at its barest. People are getting so used to doing things digitally, it would be nice to get down and dirty once in a while. I wanted everyone to draw from their surroundings, not only to practice their drawing, but to also practice their skills of observation. It all turned out well, and I think we'll do it again next month.
Of course I'm always thankful that I've got this job doing comics. But I'm specially thankful during times like this because I can afford to buy something like THIS. I just got my Lord of the Rings: TWO TOWERS 2 Disc DVD (Widescreen) and I've done nothing nearly all day (apart from cooking some mean tongue burning chili) but watch the movie again, and watch all the documentary stuff. It's still playing as I write this entry. I mean, how cool is this trilogy? Once all three are done and are in the can, I have no doubt that they, as a whole, will be considered as one of the greatest, if not the greatest movie ever made.
I had done some work for Fleshrot: Book of the Dead for Frightworld Studios not too long ago. It shows the half rotting face of a man in the rain. To be honest, that piece of work I did is ten years old. It was supposed to be a cover for Mass Media's Terror Comics. But it got rejected, not because it sucks (I happen to really like that drawing), but because someone else had turned in a very similar looking cover ahead of me, so they won't be able to use mine. So the drawing sat there for nearly 10 years and I didn't know what to do with it. When John Pearson contacted me about doing something for Fleshrot, I thought about giving this artwork to him for publication in the book.
