patokon blog

I know tons of people who outright hate horror movies and tons of those who dismiss them or never bother watching them. Well "Housebound" (2014) now on Netflix is one of those movies that shouldn't be dismissed.  My advice is to stop reading this now - especially if you're the kind of person that easily discovers spoilers in non-spoiler reviews - and just go watch this work of art. But if you still need convincing, read on.  Besides having some real creepy scares and a bit of "in your face" blood & gore (just a bit) this flick has a great story, a perfect plot, wonderful characters - including the main character - a hard case juvie that's given up on the world, a security guy who's a part-time paranormal investigator, and especially - well, I don't want to give away anything. Let's just say that every character has some great moments that make you smile, laugh out loud, or even cry - yes, cry! Okay. Now quickly go rent or buy your copy of...

Here you are. You're welcome. 

True Detective is one of the creepiest, most atmospheric, most highly nuanced series I've ever seen. My second inktober drawing of the month is an homage to this fascinating and unsettling show.  The show mentions a King in Yellow which is from a book of the same name by Robert W. Chambers (1895).  I've just started reading this book bout a play that if read drives the reader insane and now I can't stop dreaming of Lost Carcosa under the black stars. The King calls to me now...

I was suddenly possessed by the desire to draw lighthouses. Inspired by the work of  Don Kenn , Edward Gorey, and H.P. Lovecraft. First in a possible series.

The movie "Rolling Thunder" is one of those gems that you just don't hear about. At least I hadn't heard of it until my good buddy J.R. brought it over for us to watch.  William Devane was perfect as the man who survived being a POW in Vietnam and is trying his god-damnedest to make it back in "the world". His wife has moved on and he doesn't really know how to relate to her anymore anyway. Tommy Lee Jones' character came back from captivity with him and he also has no idea how to lead a normal life. His wife and family are trying really hard to be loving and happy and are also trying to pretend that nothing is wrong. They are both completely numb, but go through the motions without complaint.  It takes murder, torture, and mutilation to push these men into action, but once the action is needed, they both slide so easily into combat mode that you can actually see the relief on their faces that they are going into life-threatening battle rather than h...

This year marks the 10th anniversary of my first exhibition which took place at the Setagaya Museum in 2004. In 2007, I held my first solo show, and though I sold most of my pieces, I wasn't quite happy with my level. I continued to learn, grow, and evolve as an artist, but it always felt like something was missing. Since I've moved to Kumamoto, so many things have changed! I've found the right tools and materials, I'm more confident in line and layout, I feel like I've finally found my direction. How did I go from having very little confidence to being consistently happy with my work? Here’s a list of things that helped me get where I am today and which will help me become the artist I want to be in the future: Studying the masters - by copying and not just looking, you will learn lots of new things. I do this with a friend and we discuss what we’ve learned. No longer drawing what I think others will like - you will be more honest to yourself about what r...

I've just started using toned paper. I'm enjoying the hell out of it. I drew 5 or 6 things today just trying out different things. In this post I'll show my retro Godzilla drawings. If you haven't seen the original Japanese version, you are missing out. The English version is usually called Godzilla, King of Monsters while the Japanese version is simply titled Gojira (at least on Hulu Plus).  The materials I'm using to work on this paper are:  Nouvel PIGMA Comicline 08 for even-weight lines Kuretake Fudegokochi brush pen for changeable width lines COPIC for shades and colors.  And finally, I use Uni-ball Signo White gel pen (Thick) for the white highlights.  I'm thinking of switching to white color pencils so I can gradate the highlights.