NINJA

Talk to anyone who knows me and they'll tell you "Mark Covell digs Ninjas!"
Not only am I a fan of the ridiculous 80's Ninja movies starring folks like Sho Kosugi, but I'm an even bigger fanatic of the true historical aspects regarding those reclusive warriors. Here are a few interpretations that I sketched. What the hell is the bottom Ninja pointing at you ask? I dunno. What do you want?....it's a quick sketch!

BUGS

Switched from Bots to Bugs!

New Bot

Here's a quickie I managed to sneak in this weekend between painting, looking at condo's, and prepping for fatherhood. The madness never ends! I found some old halftone paper and remembered how much I like this method using marker, ink and white colored pencil.

WOAH....BABY!!!!

Well I'm always talking about sketching interesting new characters and creature designs so here's my latest and best creation PERIOD!! Yep it's a baby if you haven't guessed already! Joy and myself will be new parents in early August. We'll know whether it's a boy or girl in another month but for now we're having fun looking at the baby name book and imagining what it will be like six months from now!

RECENT SKETCHES 08

Some people have complained that I've had no posts for months. Folks I know it's annoying but you apparently have not figured out my blog pattern. Post something ...wait several months....post something else. I'll try to be more attentive. Here are some more Post-it sketches. When I have time for a break these robotic creations come naturally and are a nice change of pace from drawing cartoon characters!

DAMNED AT THE CLAM

The latest Family Guy art auction strikes again! The theme this time... movie posters. I didn't have a lot of time to do a painting so I did the next best thing. India ink.

I AM LEGEND UPDATE

I was surprised to see that they're using my cover to promote a cool anamatic version of "Sacrificing the few for the many." It's one of the better stories in book one of the IAL comic trilogy. Check it out here.

http://www.apple.com/trailers/

and here

http://iamlegend.warnerbros.com/comicBook/comicBook.html

I AM LEGEND

http://www.joblo.com/con-i-am-legend
Here's a cover I recently finished for Vertigo comics. It's part of a trilogy based on I AM LEGEND. If your a Richard Matheson fan and are eagerly awaiting the movie coming in December, keep your eyes peeled for these free issues at Comicon this weekend! I felt honored to be part of this project which features art by Bill Sienkiewicz, Jason Chan, and David Levy to name a few.

A BOY AND HIS WHALE

KUNOICHI

More Oil Sketches

I had a chance durring my hiatus to actualy go OUTSIDE and paint wih my wife and Frank Serrano.
Frank is a superb plien air painter and I always enjoy picking his brain on how to simplify when out in the field. Time is the enemy when you paint outdoors. The sun is always shifting so you have to learn to capture what you see FAST! I'm amazed at how fast Joy. works. A long time ago I knew that whoever I married would have to be an artist. Besides being a fantastic partner she is extremely helpful to have around when I'm in a jam while painting. She is my extra pair of eyes and can help me solve problems that might take me hours to figure out. Color, values, etc.

CORROSION OPENING

As usual It's been months since my last post and as usual I have a good excuse! Back in August the world famous Joe Vaux.
invited me to be part of his next exhibit at the Copro Nason Gallery.
With much glee I cranked out four new paintings while working at Family Guy. Having a month hiatus was a big help as well! The opening was saturday March 3d and was a great success. I sold three out of five so I was in great spirits that night. I also met Dan Quintanna who was exhibiting his latest paintings. I've always liked his work and I believe we have similar inspirations. Joe's exhibit was a lot of fun to look at. You can stare at his work for hours and still catch things you didn't see before. Thanks so much everyone for being with us Saturday. I can't wait to get back to painting!

There are some great pics of the event on the JUXTAPOZ site!

SPECTRUM 13

This piece called "incantation" is in the new issue of Spectrum The best Of Contemporary Fantastic Art. The book continues to grow in size every year and I'm always blown away with the incredible work featured!


www.spectrumfantasticart.com

He Rises

I have to give Gary Pressman from the Copro Nason gallery a big thanks for adding this painting in thier first book. It's a fifteen year anniversary retrospective of all the artists they have represented. Some of my fav's including Joe Vaux, and Chet Zar are featured.

http://www.copronason.com/

AMBUSH

A while back I bought a giant book of Eyvind Earle's paintings. I never get tired of looking at his work! I'm amazed at how beautiful his images are and how direct and minimal he executed his art. After I sketched this out I had a rough time trying to figure out how to handle the color scheme. After many tries I turned to Eyvind for inspiration . It was a fun experiment adding his style to one of my favorite subjects.....Ninja vs Samurai.

THE EVENT

Last nights Family Guy art show and DVD release party was a pretty sweet event indeed!! Highlights include the Theme Park sized Brian and Stewie walking around. As the artists arrived we were greeted at the door with an orange " NOT RED" carpet and a ton of press folk interviewing and taking lots of pics! There's me acting like Mr Bigshot and trying to think of somthing humorous to say. I drank it up because I figure this will be the first and LAST time I'm walking a premier carpet! There's a great shot of Alex Borstien " the voice of Lois" in a sexy pose! Although I think she may of had a rock in her shoe. The artwork was amazing and it was great to meet the artists. I've shown my painting enough on this blog so I posted a few of my fav's in the show. The one with Brian holding the champagne is by Spencer Laudiero and the Stewie with the fez is by Kathy Olivas. That's my wife Joy with Stewie and also next to the mammoth martini glass. Spencer Laudiero and his Fiance Rachael MacFarlane stand proudly in front of his painting. The smiley trio are myself, Annie Mcmillan, and the world famous Joe Vaux.

FAMILY GUY ART EXHIBIT

What the deuce are you staring at!?!

JUXTAPOZ

Again with the STEWIE KILLS LOIS painting! Yes once again the Family Guy group show will be featured at the Museum of Television & Radio. The openening is wednesday night and should be well covered since the head honcho and creator Seth MacFarlane will be there. I also was amazed to hear that this exhibit will be traveling world wide to different animation galleries. Click on the above links to read about it!

AGE 5?

In my search for old highschool artwork my dad dug up a 3 ring binder full of drawings I created when I was a young lad. I really dig the scarry looking snow shovel that Conan is wielding. The spear-like shovel that Smokey the bear holds is quite a threat as well! But I think the crowning achievment is matching Spiderman against The Riddler!! Truley visionary. Thanks dad for saving these.

Highschool Drawings

After the wedding Joy and I stayed on the east coast for two weeks visiting friends,family, and our favorite haunts. It also gave me some time to crawl into my dads attic and fish out some ancient drawings that i haven't seen in years! I know many artists don't like to view their highschool work, but for me it brings me back to my days of reading comics, watching thundercats, and desperately trying achieve the quality and feel of artists Like Frank Frazetta. Here are a few drawings from when I had nothing but TIME to render 100 ninja's battling one samurai. I miss those days!

THE WEDDING

Yep...I haven't posted anything for two months and now you know why!! I'm still basking in the glow of marital merriness!! Joy and I tied the knot"literally" september ninth on the tiny island of Monhegan off the coast of Maine. Here are some pics of the main event, the hotel, and some of the great old homes planted around the island. Joy looked amazingly beautiful and the weather was PERFECT! We were blessed with friends and family who journeyed far to be with us for a few days. Thanks everyone for making that weekend so special.