The Wündermarchen

The Wundermarchen is due to move to a better place!

But for now, please do keep checking this blog, until further

information about the new website, and the new blog, using ‘blogspot,’

instead of tumblr.

If you wish to contact me, with any inquries of any kind, about my creative work,

or, to see more artworks, or, to follow my progress, go to:

myspace.com/leogryphsandmanticores

or…find me on facebook…the name’s chamberlain…john chamberlain..

watch this space for news about the soon the come website…

This is my interpretation of the theme, ‘Intricate,’ for the ‘Illustration Friday’ website. It is a vague representation of mesen, in some sorta merboy mode…with psychedelic tatoos and suchlike:-) Intricate!

I mean, off the point a bit, you may be thinking that I wish to have fins, but really, I reckon, if I were to have any mythological assets, wings would be much more fun. It would be much quicker to get from A to B. Also if I were a merboy, I would have a constant fear of sharks, and due to the stress, I would turn grey very quickly.

On a side note, as happy as I am with this illustration, I wished to enhance it with a few ornate celtic knots, would have looked ‘proper bo,’ but I canna draw patterns of the celtic variety for toffee! Most of my work, is done in swathes of ink and acrylic, influenced by the amount of Modesty Blaise comics and Slaine comics I read. Also, Dave Mckean’s Arkum Asylum, has really influenced me, in portraying what an illustration, and creative in general, can do. However, I reckon that the ability to draw the most perfect celtic knots, would do something else to my work, and draw in much needed echoes of Arthur Rackham, and Aubrey Beardsley.

and there: lesson over!

I’m currently in the process of building up a collection of book adaptations of films.

The titles you see here, were found in a second hand bookshop in norfolk- I was amazed by the appealing imagery of the front covers, and once I started reading ‘Modesty Blaise,’ I was hooked, and since then, I’ve wanted to collect more that are similar.

My rule is, they have to be fairly old movies. Book adaptations of recent movies, don’t have the charm that these do. My particular favorite is the ‘Jaws 2’ cover-which to me feels slightly rediculous! I also find it somewhat funny, how the ‘Modesty Blaise’ adaptation, was, two degrees of separation away, a comic book-which gives it even less calibre as a work of literature! However, it is actually a great piece of suspense writing, some fantastic descriptions and characterisation, so it does the job.

All these do not seem to operate on a very deep level, but at the same time, they are well written, and you’re hooked from page to page. I’ll continue with my collection, and hopefully I’ll find something more out, about this particular realm of literature..

This image sums up pretty much what I feel

about music. The character in the centre is named

‘Terry is a Punk Rocker,’ and surrounding him, are some

slightly disgruntled characters, who dislike the inane middle

of the road music he is playing. However, Terry is ever the optomist,

and believes his songs are appreciated. Will his bubble burst?

This is a character from my ongoing series of comics,

collectively named ‘The Aspartamo.’ The woman in the image

is named ‘The Duchess of Bitty Common,’ and shall appear in a

future issue.

If you wish to check out more character portraits, go to:

myspace.com/leogryphsandmanticores

This, my dear friends, is quite possibly my first commission,

from a talkative barber of dewsbury,

who wished to promote his hair cuttery business, through

my artwork. I chose a traditional colour scheme, a typical

cartoon style motif, and a respecatable striped design,

that hopefully should communicate that ‘Joe the Barber’ does

provide an accomplised and entertaining barbershop experience.

Also, ‘J.B.’, is due to make what i call, a ‘cameo role,’

in one of my comics. I wish the world to have experienced the wit and

world weary wisdom, of my next door neighbour: Joe.

yours,

John C.

This is a portrait of Amethyst, she enjoyed a comic I created so much that she wants to be in the next issue, so I crafted this portrait for her, and it kind of works as a character design in some ways too, I suppose