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Long Lost Friend Studio is my self-publishing imprint, the studio space where we work, and a YouTube channel featuring videos about art and creativity. This blog covers everything happening with me and Long Lost Friend Studio.
The Red Death: Party Like It’s 1399!
Remember that time a deadly plague swept through the land, and many cynics felt they were untouchable? And remember how death, arbitrary and brutal, took even those that mocked it in its cold embrace? That’s the kind of poetic justice Edgar Allan Poe reveled (and excelled) in. You knew I was talking about Poe, right?
Muppets Diorama: Tribute To An Underrated Gem
I don’t know what we were all doing In 2015 that was so darned important, but a good portion of us decided to not watch The Muppets, and thus we’re to blame for its cancellation after only one year. This week’s Muppet diorama is our attempt to make up for our part in that.
The Mothman Cometh, As Prophesied
A few weeks ago I ham-fistedly constructed my first needle felted sculpture, a cryptid that haunted my childhood, a chimera known as The Jersey Devil. This week, Michelle answered my Monster Sculpt-Off Challenge with her own cryptid, West Virginia’s famed and feared Mothman.
Rocket Had Come Equipped With A Gun
If you’ve seen the latest Guardians of the Galaxy flick, you understand that raccoons don’t like being in cages. And while anyone would assume that to be true, I’d faced that very situation not too long ago and the experience still stresses me out. So I thought I’d work through my issues by doing a quick ink and watercolor sketch of my favorite Guardian, Rocket Raccoon.
The Jersey Devil Made Me Do It
Toss another skill onto the pile. I just tried needle felting for the first time and, contrary to my worst fears, it didn’t turn out too bad. And as long as we’re discussing fears, I employed a childhood terror as inspiration. The Jersey Devil, a beast I heard countless tales about during my youth in New Jersey, served as the spark for this sculpt.
The Immortal Elephant in the Room
As a member of the Long Lost Friend Studio Patreon, after a year at the BFF tier, a supporter can request either an illustration from me, or a felted sculpture from Michelle. This time, my ticket got punched and I was tasked to draw Manmoth, an elephantine immortal in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Universe.
The Monster Walks: Another Gallery1988 Exhibit
Frankenstein’s monster has risen from the slab once again, and Michelle and I have only ourselves to blame. Well, maybe Gallery1988 should shoulder some of the blame, because this mixed-media Son of Frankenstein diorama is part of their current show, The Golden Age of Hollywood.
Excited About The Afterlife?
If the afterlife is anything like it’s portrayed in Disney/Pixar’s Coco, I can’t wait! Scratch that. I can wait. I can wait a long time. But if it’s truly as colorful and full of adventure as the Land of the Dead in the movie, I’m gonna have a blast when I get there.
The Things They Call ‘Art’ These Days
When I was a kid, toys were toys, cartoons were cartoons, and monsters were monsters. Simple childhood concepts. But, as it turns out, you can now make a posable action figure of a Scooby Doo monster, call it an art doll, and hardly anybody looks at you sideways.
Monster Terrorizes Disney!
In 1995, Disney released the theatrical short, Runaway Brain. It was a 7 minute Mickey Mouse cartoon intended to run before a few of their upcoming features. The plot is a classic brain switch horror-comedy where a mad scientist puts Mickey’s brain into a giant monster, and the monster’s less-than-refined brain goes into Mickey. As expected, chaos ensues.
Our First Gallery1988 Group Show: 25 Years Later
A few months ago, I told Michelle that I’d like the opportunity to show work at Gallery 1988, one of the most talked about pop culture galleries in California. Michelle looked at me like I was nuts. Full disclosure, she always looks at me that way. Maybe she’s right. Doesn’t matter. We managed to get a spot in Gallery 1988’s current show, so who’s crazy now?
Commissioned to Build a TMNT / Universal Monsters Diorama
Sometimes a job’s just a job. Other times, it’s so much fun you feel guilty cashing the paycheck. Such was the case when, recently, a client commissioned Michelle and me to build a diorama that’s a cross between the Mutant Turtles’ sewer lair and Dr. Frankenstein’s lab.
Looks Like A Cold, Cold Winter
Bit nippy out there, isn’t it? Hope everyone’s keeping warm in 2023. Michelle and I spent the last couple days of the year shivering in our sub-zero studio and painting Rankin/Bass snow monsters for fun.
Journey with Ichabod Crane through this Sleepy Hollow Poster
Ichabod Crane, the itinerant schoolmaster who ran afoul of the Headless Horseman, is journeying once again through the Hudson Valley. And now that I’ve finally finished my latest passion project, you can join him as he ventures into and through Sleepy Hollow in my new story poster.
Monsters Lead Such Interesting Lives
The Long Lost Friend Studio YouTube channel started as a fun way to bone up on traditional brush-and-pen inking (and an excuse to discuss famous monsters in pop culture). We’ve since expanded the channel into an opportunity to learn all kinds of art techniques (watercolor, sculpting, diorama building, etc), but this week we went back to basics and inked a couple of classic Looney Tunes monsters.
That Witch Does Not Kill Us
That which does not kill us, only makes us stronger. That’s the theory, anyway. That’s why I stumble through watercolor illustrations every so often, like a bull in a china shop, trying to smash out something decent. This week, it’s a storybook witch and her two familiars. Maybe it’ll be easier to find my path through this familiar territory.
Good Graveyard Fences Make Good Neighbors
Two years ago I put together my first miniature haunted house. It’s a little wonky, and in need of repair, but most haunted houses are. This October, in an effort to improve curb appeal, Michelle and I built a miniature cemetery on the plot next door, and we experimented with making the headstones out of foam, wood, clay, and cardboard.
Handmade Halloween
I’ve got a top five for the Halloween season and it’s remained unchanged for most of my life. Trick or treating, scary stories, pumpkin farms, haunted houses, and Halloween cards. I think the practice of sending Halloween cards might’ve fallen off in recent years, but I’m an old-school holdout. And while store-bought is just fine, I get a kick out of making my own.
Ding Dong, It’s The Dearly Departed
One of the more recent illustrations I’ve posted to the gallery since redesigning the site is this Trick or Treat image of a boy spending Halloween with his ghostly friend.
Making A Monkey Out Of Me
This week on our YouTube channel, we made Ben Cooper-style Planet of the Apes masks (and accompanying window boxes). We don’t have a vacuum forming machine, so we sculpted them out of papier mache and foam clay.