Mahalia Jackson - Silent Night

Healthy gospel singing, I'm not Jesusy in any way, but her voice is great.
Also found this one too, from Jessie Mae Renfro, Can't No Grave Hold My Body Down



Anyways enjoy the turkey, don't eat too much now!

New font at akaelph

Made a new font a while back, so as it's holiday time and people are giving presents, go download it before boxing day!
Click here to go get that freebie, It'll be gone after boxing day and Scroogey times will be here again, Bah Humbung!

Ho Ho Ho

A bit early, but heh. Enjoy the festive season.

Walk Cycle Test.

Made this a while back, nearly 4 years I think for my old, old website. Really want to do some more animation. Takes for ages to do though.

THE GRV Beta Testing

It sort of launched last week, but check the GRV site here it still has a bit of content to be added to it, but it's slowly coming together. The 3d model is based roughly on the building, and moves round when you click a section of the site. If your in Edinburgh get on down there and get beered up and look at what they have on.

Beer Girl - pencil/ink combo

Like the drawings before been trying out some quick drawings between melting my brain on 3d models and flash.

FOUND.Static.68

Kindo old, but thought it'd be good to show, those guys are hard working Musicians and helped loads to build the structure for drawing on. It was over a year ago, time is slpping away fast...

Learning to loosen up

Been doing some roughs for a job, and playng with ink and pencil, it's been coloured digitally in photoshop, I liked this versionbetter than the original as the women never really worked out.

Also work a check oot for Bloggage:
HURT YOU BAD & GRAFFWARS BLOG

Headspin 10th Birthday

This is the drawing for the new Headspin flyer, used the new typeface on the back, but it still needs a proper run before it's finished, tried to change the colouring a bit from the ones before. Click the pic for a slightly bigger version {popoop}

Elphand Font Set

Been working on a few handdrawn alphabet typefaces lately, hopefully they'll be available to download in the new year, along with some other things. Just trying to sort out the spacing and kerning so the fonts are better than previous one's I've made, also these should have most of the characters too. At the moment there are about 5 weights and also some different styles too.

Blackbooking

Some recent drawing, click to view full {popup}.

Ivan Bilibin - Russias Finest

I saw a bunch of Ivan Bilibins folk drawings a few years back and was well into them, forgot aboot them and then found em again whilst on a geekery mission. The detail in the clothing is ridiculous and the linework is the bingo wings of disco insanitos.
The pic below captures drunkenness at it's best, kindo reminds me of family get togethers where people get so drunk they sit down and talk to the cats, meooow (everyone's did it). Click to see the full een.

More bonusness.


Whilst I'm on the Russian appreciation, check English Russia, my new favourite blog, it has tonnes of good images and photos like this bear taking a taxi ride home below.

Take To The Woods

Taking part in Analogues winter show which they are also creating a zine and here's a detail from the page I did, with characters based on the Bulgarian folk tradition Kukeri.

Nigel Peake drew the flyer, check out all those folks involved...

I'm also trying to curate a show the same week, but will post some details when I find out exactly what's going on.

Benny Hinn - Let the Bodies Hit the Floor

Hell Yeah. Will post some drawings soon. Old Benny would be good in a pub fight, he'd part the crowds like beardy moses. It's pretty scary that this guy is making money of these Jesus loons.

Little Nemo Animation

Great to see those old comics move, this is from 1911

Monday Morning Music

This should wake you up, Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings "100 Days, 100 Nights"

Sharon Jones - Dropped In To See What Condition My Condition.
When people really knew how to get down.

And here's a voice I'm sure you'll be hearing more of next year.

The wee man, 3 weeks.

Recoat Gallery

It's been open a while so this will be old news for some folk, but Amy and Ali have opened a gallery in the West End of Glasgow, All the details are on the Recoat Website.
I'm hopefully going to have an exhibition there at some point early in 2008. They just did an affordable art show, where every piece was under £40, which was great that so many folk took part.

The Future is Unwritten

Just watched the Joe Strummer Documentary, quite a lot to take in, needs a second watch. Well worth a check if your in any way into the Clash. I never got in punk music til about 97 I think, I always thought it to be a bit junky glue sniffer, maybe because all the older punks in my area became junky gluesniffers.
Should get some more posts done soon, in between nappy changes I am still managing a bit of drawing.

Street Sketchbook - Tristan Manco

The new book from Tristan Manco is out now featuring over sixty-five artists worldwide are represented, including Banksy (UK), Alexander Purdy (USA), Erone (France), Joska (Germany), Blu (Italy), Laguna (Spain), Bfree (Holland), Ekta (Sweden), The Strangler (Belgium), ZBIOK (Poland) and Clayparty (Russia). I got a couple of pages in too. There's a bit more info at the website, gan hae a look, the cover from the picture looks pretty realistic!

Motherfunk Myspace

Just updated the Motherfunk Myspace, there was more good tunes on it a while back. Hopefully Fryer will put some from his growing library of rare grooves. Click the image or over here to check it oot and support the funk!

Finn - the new little 'elph'

On monday night, we had a new arrival, 11 days overdue and with a lengthy labour, this little man entered the world. With very little effort from myself, just some words of encouragement and a bit of head patting and all the really hard work done by Hels. After watching so many birthing programs and reading about it before the birth it was bizrre to actually witness it in real life.
A totally amazing and scary ride it was, but it was worth it to see this wee bruiser, he looks a little like a boxer in this pic, as the forceps gave him a black eye.
Of the original and current MSC line-up he's the 6th baby in our crew although I also hear that 'JAM' had a kid lately too I think.
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So sorry to anyone who's been in touch and I've been a bit slow to reply, things are running as normal again and Finn's helping me catch up with the drawings.

Carlucci- ELF MPC - R.I.P

The original ELF from New York, died a few weeks ago. Turned out he was still an active artist and was only 38 years old. It's a shame that a lot of the time you don't find out about people until they die. I heard about ELF MPC in about 1997 I think, after seeing some wholecars he painted, you can see more of his pieces over here, strangely last year I got in touch with Desism, his old painting partner who had recently met up with him after several years.
As well as being a subway writer, he was a magician, musician and performance artist. You can read more in his obituary.

Watch him perform some of his crazy magic in the clip below.



Update:
I found a short piece of writing by Carlucci's Mother after looking for some more bit's about 'ELF', it sums up pretty much all the things I've read about the man, he seemed a very open, honest and importantly free thinking creative human being, who achieved a great deal and touched a lot of people in his short time here.

Nicias said: Whatever does not kill us will make us stronger.
ODE TO CARLUCCI

He was a difficult child. Difficult in the sense that he defied conventionality. He loathed the prospect of being ordinary since it was alien to the complexity of his physiology.
It was a constant struggle to be unique in a world of homogeneous people who only see things on one level. Carlucci pushed, kicked and raged against the prospect of being ordinary beyond the normal perimeters and then some. The simple truth is that he was an extraordinary human being. He shaped, prodded, manipulated an idea until it was his own—always original and ideally “Carlucci”.
One of the gifts that God bestowed on Carlucci was the uncanny ability to breathe life into inanimate objects. Whatever medium he chose, from inception to execution, the end result was nothing short of spectacular. I believe that it was also a curse because of the relentless need to create screaming to break through until it was sated.
Carlucci believed that we were all here to teach and help one another. Through his art he would make a difference, and he must use this gift. He rose to the challenge and achieved and excelled beyond even his own high expectations.
I always worried about my “starving artist” son, but Carlucci did not consider material wealth a priority. “You can’t take it with you”, he reminded me numerous times. A passage in the bible, Ecclesiastes, chapter 5, verse 15: Naked a man comes from his mother’s womb and as he comes so he departs. He takes nothing from his labor that he can carry in his hand.
It doesn’t surprise me that people whom I did not know personally have stated how Carlucci enriched their lives by his kindness and unconditional friendship.
A phrase I have heard over and over is that he was loved and respected. How many people in their entire lifetime can achieve those qualities?
What legacy has Carlucci left behind? He was special in every aspect; totally, irrevocably and unabashedly unique, blessed and treasured in every way possible.
He is my child, he is your child, he is everyone’s child, forever and ever in our hearts. His art is bigger than life itself vibrating like the sound of thunder in the sky, Carlucci and art as one.

All my love, Mom

Dode D Drawing

Got a new sketchbook from TK Maxx, where I also get all my Ralph Lauren and Timberland gear. It's Italian Leatherbound, with thick paper so I'm going to try to make it all in colour.
This drawing is on the 3rd page and started out as a zombie creature, but became Dode D the fabled gluesniffer of my youth, he was often seen naked high on glue running round my area chasing us with his superhuman 'glue strength' that made him run faster. He had an alsation dog too, and they were inseperable, a very harmless and often amusing duo.
When I got to my early teens, Dode D won a small amount of money on the horses, maybe £400 or so and went to the pub to celebrate, he was obviously flashing his winnings as his body was found the next day so badly beaten that the police thought he'd been in a car accident. After his funeral the dog had to be put down as it was crying so much for it's owner. May mate Romon used to say that he'd give the dog glue too.
The tunnels near my house that we later took over to make a hall of fame used to have massive emulsion letters saying DODE D, but the 'O' was a peace sign. Click the image to see Dode the full picture.
I don't think anyone was ever arrested for his murder.

Tekkon Kinkreet

Just watched Tekkon Kinkreet, don't think I've seen anything that good in a long time, as inspiring as seeing Akira over 10 years ago, the landscape and characters are close to perfect. Cheers to Acorn for the headsup on this one.

Check the trailer here or the website here.

Brushes and vectors

Been trying to make some vector brushes to make backgrounds but ended up experimenting and making a small brush set for Illustrator, hopefully I can make up some zip files for download along with some clipart.

More dusty old junk

Found this also in a pile of paper underneath a pile of more paper. Stencils are bizarre, they take seconds to paint, but hours to cut out, click the pic to see how it turned oot.
I'd really like to do more of these, dunno if my arthritis fingers can take that much scalpel action though.

Beneath a pile of paper

When cleaning up a pile of drawings I foun this cutout shape over an old drawing/collage that was part of the beautiful scrap paper project that was put together by Sharilyn Wright at Lovely Design, check the work she makes too, it's super bingoooooooo.

Popular Mechanics Gone Wrong

Did this drawing of a mechanised elph for a jam in Dundee, firt time really getting into markers again but was good fun, click the image to view the full size pic.

Eary Griffin site

The new Early Griffin site is just finished, with Russell from Analogue in the co-pilot seat, Nigel rocking the logo and myself just tinkering the code together plus a bit of drawing some lettering too, with Julie and Natalie doing all the proper work. That's some colab-action-combo.

Anyhow's go check the site here, the prints are super good and cheap too.

Banjo Whackin Funk

Turned 30 the other day and one present that stood out miles was this Fender Banjo below, I'd waffled on about getting a banjo for the last few years, and can't play a note, I tuned it today and am going to learn to play bit by bit. I was informed by Rue Five last night that a banjo is actually a descendant of an African instrument brought to America through the slave trade, and was later modified later on, which is good because I feel less like the kid from Deliverence already for knowing that.

Girl on Bike

Unused drawing for summer flyer, trying a new technique for colouring, still needs a bit of work.

Hat Girl

Ice Cream Sundaes

Ian Laurie Draws Stuff

He used to be called One Neck, but seems Ian Laurie, has pure got a new blog and is fairly busting out the madness as always, he's been drawing a comic about some unemployed Scottish superheroes which is a funny look at life as an jobless spandex wearing crusader. Expect a lot of vomit and a wee bit of drunk men peeing themselves at Get Some Black Cape, it'll make you laugh, and maybe cry too.

The Kiddie Kobbler Kid?

Got this badge in a car boot sale in Summerland, Canada. I found out that Kiddie Kobbler is a shoe shop, so that makes it slightly less scary.

Quick doodle stretch

Armsrock Book

Just got this the other day from Analogue, it's a healthy book, with lot's of photos and an intro by Swoon, there's a bit to read but not too much, which is always good. It's published by Wooster Collective.
Well here's the cover anyway, and a page below, make up yer own mind about his work.
Another book I got was Sheds by Nigel Peake, which was the first 'proper' book by Analogue, that's well worth a deek too, even if your not into sheds.

Autumnal already

What two posts in one week? Well yeah!
Going to try and update more regular. I'm not skiving, just been busy off the computer, you can see some new painted work over here. The new blog makes it a lot easier to update, before was so fiddly I couldn't be bothered, over complicated as usual.
Anyways, this drawing is for Headspin, for their autmn flyer. It's autumn already and it rained the whole summer.
Anyhows, click to see the coloured in, cropped version.

New Sketch and updated blog

I recently updated the blog a little and am in the process of streamlining it down.
Hopefully in the next while I am going to update the akaelph.com site to go with this.
In the meantime I plan to add a few sketches on the blog. Will post some new links soon also

Live demo/Intoxicated Demons

Off to Berlin at the end of the month to do an exhibition at Intoxicated Demons gallery. Looking forward to the beer, and the insane amount of great artwork there, I haven't been since 97, so I imagine a lot has changed.

Before the exhibition, we are all painting live at this place.

Motherfunk new

Here's the new flyer for Motherfunk I did. Washes upon washes.
Click the image to view the full colour version.
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Dot The Eyes - Part2

It's that time again to go paint A Bar Called Common, site here. Cannae wait should be good to meet the other dudes again and drink beer and draw. On May 5th, 6th & 7th.

Here's the list of artists:
Dist - elph - Guy McKinley - Lennard Schuurmans - Matt Sewell - Miss Lotion - Nellie - RichT - Showchicken - Ruse.

Over the course of 3 days, there will be artists to watch and art to buy. Including limited edition posters.

The Dot the Eyes site over here will be updated soon.

Headspin Flyer 2007

Been trying out some new colouring techniques, still needs work, but am getting more into the digi fills.
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Become the Work Machine - Photos

After losing my camera on the opening night due to beer overload, I finally got some photos, a bit of a mishmash, but hopefully it gives a good idea of the overall show.
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Also last night I went to see Terra Surfa, a Horror surf guitar combo, that was completely entertaining. Anyhows, click the image below to see the full show pics
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Lord of The Rings drawings circa 1985

Whilst looking through some old boxes, I found my primary school drawing jotter, my teacher was a Lord of the Rings nut, she read us the whole 3 books and the Hobbit too, and then she got us to draw the charcters. I think this is partly why I chose to write elph.
Check out that scary looking Orc, aaaaaaaaaRGH! Click the image to see the full size version
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Ergo Proxy - Anime Addiction

Been watching Ergo Proxy and am now upto episode 20, the charcter above is Pino a little girl android who now has a soul, because she was touched by a Proxy, yep, makes loads of sense I know. Well worth a look. Episode 19 is great it's like Disneyland went wrong. The ending of the series was a let down and went off into 4 episodes of vagueness, setting it up for the ending that would allow for another 10 series or so.
Also on the geekery visual intake, I consumed the first series of Heroes, I dunno if that's taking it too far, my favourite charcter was Hiro, not so much for his powers, but his funny outbursts.
Other anime consumed, Samurai Champloo and I got a few others too.
I won't even go into the Mangas, although Agharta is super good. Just looking at it makes me feel lazy.

Wanderlust Show - Philly

Have a few drawings in the Wander Lust Show in the home of the Fresh Prince, Philly. I wish so much I was going, but alas I am not getting to go. Weasel feets! Click the image to view all the lovely flyers
Here's the infos anyhow:

Tell Tale presents "Wanderlust"
at SubOcto Gallery , 2202 Alter St., Filthadelphia.
Opening Saturday the 24th February.

Artist list:
Artists include Concetta Barbera, Rue Five, Spie One, Elph, Carrie Maginn, Dave Galletly, Dist......

It says there's free beer. But get there before Rue Five.

Become The Work Machine - The Red Door.

Show opening 15th February, free beer and some paintings, been getting into enamel, smashed cars machinery and other bits and pieces lately, aswell as all the usual big nosed pilots, wino's and flowery women.

From 15th February to the 1st March
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Gallery details:
The Red Door Gallery
42 Victoria Street
Edinburgh
EH1 2JW

Oh and happy new year!

Bernie Reid as Baphomus Rex at Analogue!

I went to see some new work by Bernie Reid tonight at Analogue Books in Edinburgh.
Whilst at the show I saw who I thought was Bernie, but what I was to find out was that a transformation had taken place, this was the story I was told...

"Whilst frantically attempting to meet a deadline, illustrator Bernie Reid made the bold yet naive move of employing the esoteric seven scalpel technique known to practioners of dark surgery as ‘wings of claret’. At the vital moment Reid’s concentration split and along with severing three major arteries, he lost one lip, and both upper eye lids. As he puddled under his desk the ghosts of a thousand cigarettes flew from his lungs.
Through flashing chance and a warped chemistry scraps of Reid began to coagulate and transmit at an atomic level. A mist formed and from the center of his old green cutting mat rose two smoking retinas. Behind them a mind primed.

Our new host is Baphomus Rex and he will sketch the vanguard."
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When I was a bit younger than I am now, I saw Bernies work and I couldn't get my head round it, I still can't, that's why I like it so much, he was and is still a big inspiration in my drawing, it was good to see the new prints out there. I wish I could say go check his website, but he doesn't have one yet as he is now a different being, but check some of his old work over here, click illustration and then his name.

Also his Running Amok zine (pictured below) will be out soon too.
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