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History of My Batcat Art

I’ve been attending science fiction conventions for nearly 40 years. Sci Fi conventions offer a variety of activities for anyone interested in the genre. There are panels on various related topics, dealer rooms, author and artist meetups and signings, costume contest, and an art show. One of my favorite things to do there, is attend the art show. I have sometimes exhibited, and sold, some of my own work there. You’ll see a variety of subjects, skill levels and styles of art, by amateurs and professionals. Dragons, elves, spaceships, mermaids, and all manner of science fiction, fantasy and horror from books, comics, movies and tv shows, as well as from folklore from around the world are found there.

One of the things I noticed often at various convention art shows were the cute, cuddly kittens and cats with feathered wings. They were done in a variety of color and sizes, and often pictured with cute dragons. They were popular and great if you like that sort of thing, but not something that appealed to me. I wanted to create something in response to that, something that resonated with me more. Black cats have always been my favorite cat, so I already knew that this new work they would be involved. They’re a little more menacing and indifferent. And of course, bat wings. So, in 2016, I decided to tackle that idea.

I tend to hang onto paper, cardboard, canvas or any scrap surface, for use in future projects. I found some excess black mat board from graphic design classes years ago and decided to draw on this in color pencil. The boards are small, around 5×7 inches. I’m a fan of the blacklight posters from the 60s and 70s, as well as black velvet paintings popular then. I did a couple of pieces with these materials several years ago, and remembered how much I enjoyed working with it. Like those, I knew these works would use that black as the majority of the image, drawing the highlights.

I researched cat and bat images, then sketched up some ideas. Once I had made a few, I went ahead and finalized one piece. I think I just started drawing the first piece without prepping the black surface with a sketch. I don’t usually work that way, but went with it for this piece. It has the unimaginative title of “Batcat 1”. Happy with this result, I created a few more, on other small sizes of black mat board, and titled subsequent pieces accordingly.

The World Science Fiction Convention, AKA WorldCon, is held in a different part of the world every year, and in 2018, it was held in San Jose, California. I bought a space in the art show and brought along some of the batcat original pieces, along with other art and prints. At that point, I’d sold a couple already, so didn’t have those. All the batcats originals sold at that show, and I sold a few other originals, as well.

A few years ago, I started turning some of the batcat images into designs for t-shirts. This required me to create images in a more graphic style that would translate better for use in merchandise, as shown in the two images below. Eventually, I incorporated those into other merchandise, such as stickers, cards, etc. These images encouraged me to do more art in that style, which is something I had not really focused on until then.

Stereolab At The Bash On Ash

Like many venues in which I’ve seen concerts, the Bash On Ash does not exist any more. It was on the NE corner of Ash Ave and 5th Street in downtown Tempe, Arizona. I think it’s some kind of school now. This was one of the many times I saw Stereolab in concert. The first time I got to hear them perform was at the second stage and Lollapalooza in 1994, I think, right before Shonen Knife. I’ve seen them in Tucson and Phoenix, most recently in 2019 at the Crescent Ballroom in Downtown Phoenix. I’ve gone to California to see them, if they didn’t make an Arizona appearance.

I first discovered Stereolab when I was taking art classes at Arizona State University to complete my Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in the mid 1990s. The professors let us play music during our studio time in class. One of my classmates, Matt Kruse, played some of their music in one of our classes and I fell in love with their sound.

T-Shirt from one of their shows
Never saw a laundry bag as merch at a concert

In addition to drawing and painting, Matt was also a musician. He played guitar for a local Phoenix shoegaze band called Half String. He invited me to hear them play at a local venue, but don’t remember which. It might have been Hollywood Alley in Mesa. I’m a fan of shoegaze, and I thought this band was really great. We have several of their cds and play them often.

At that time, Matt was dating one of the members of the band, drummer Kimber Lanning. She later went on to open a record store in Tempe, called Stinkweeds, then a second location in Phoenix. Sometime after that, she opened an art space in Roosevelt Row in Downtown Phoenix called Modified. Modified also eventually featured live bands, and the first time I saw Low live was there. In 2003, Kimber went on to start a local-focused non-profit organization called Local First Arizona, which is still helping local Arizona businesses.

Mano Derecha Roja or the Red Right Hand, Comes to Town

I’ve been a fan of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds since I heard Red Right Hand in the mid 90s, and this is still one of my favorite songs by them. It always evoked a sinister, dark feeling, because of Cave’s voice, but also the narrative itself. Who is the “tall, handsome man, in a dusty black coat, with the Red Right Hand”?

More people are now aware of the song, since part of it is used in the BBC drama, Peaky Blinders. So now, many people that I know associate it with that show. Here’s my art inspired by the Red Right Hand, that I call Mano Derecha Roja. Below, I describe the process that brought this image about.

Mano Derecha Roja. Red Right Hand. man in cowboy hat and coat.
Mano Derecha Roja.

I don’t remember what reminded me of the song when I drew this. I just started drawing, and came up with this pretty quickly on this 8×8 inch sketchbook. I modeled this somewhat after myself, in that I gave the figure a mustache like mine, and a hat and coat similar to some I own.

Pencil sketch with railroad and trestle.
Photoshop flat shape.

Here, I did a rough layout in Photoshop just to get a feel for the pose I wanted. I put the money in the figure’s right hand, since the hand looked like it was holding up something.

I eliminated the railroad image and put a viaduct in the background, as well as indication of mills with smoke from the stacks. All of those, are elements from the lyrics. I thought the mist curling in front would some atmosphere to the piece.

This stage reminded me a bit of Daniel Brereton’s work. He creates mostly horror-themed art, but also does some comics work. I like the stark, dramatic, but still very colorful, ligthing he tends to use in his artwork. I think I was channeling a little bit of that at this stage in this picture.

I noticed the right had was a bit off, that it was turned at a wrong angle, as if the had is perpendicular to the arm. I moved it so that it seemed like it actually was attached to the arm and holding the money naturally.

When I first created this layout, I drew the long coat as I thought it might look, not from anything I’d seen at that point, just my idea of one. It was good enough as a placeholder, but wanted it to look like something that could exist. I found some references of coats that looked more like I pictured it, sort of based on a trenchcoat I own. The collar is different than in the earlier images, the lapel more obvious. I also changed the mist from a pale blue to pale green.

The right hand at a more natural angle.
New style of black coat.

In the next image, I gave the red hand more definition and pushed the contrast a bit more. The shirt has some color, indicating it is dark purple, like one I have. Also, I added a belt buckle design from one that I have. The coat is also more defined.

Final version, so far. I deliberately left the background kind of vague, and expressive. I darkened the storm clouds and subdued the purple, so it’s more of a suggestion than a major color. The red right hand is clearer, and I pushed the contrast on the entire image. At this point, it’s pretty much finished, though I have worked on it a little since this stage, and there are some places I might still tinker with.

Mostly done. Just a few more touches.
Mano Derecha Roja. Red Right Hand. man in cowboy hat and coat.
Mano Derecha Roja. Final version.