Speaking of cats, there is a Podcast that few know of but has become of one of my favorites. It's called the Lost Cat. To describe the Podcast would be rather difficult because of the mash of genre in entails. It's a bizarre mix of SciFi, horror, macabre happenings and a tongue in cheek, dry wit. It is written and narrated by A.P. Clark, whose hypnotic narrative is also interlaced with a song of his own composition. The melodies are haunting, soulful and actually add to the atmosphere of the continuing tale of a man in search of his Lost Cat. I have mentioned this Podcast in my blog before, but since Halloween is creeping upon us, it seemed fitting to re-post it again. Click on the image below to access the archive. There is no subscription fee.
Of course my favorite thing about Fall is Halloween and my favorite month of the year is October. It's a time when arcane secrets hide behind the closed doors of dark rooms, monsters dwell in closets and no clown is friendly. Autumn leaves fall like pages from ancient tombs with esoteric messages written obscurely on their dried and withered husks. Shapeless shadows flit from shrubbery to disappear behind abandoned houses and children's laughter takes on a somewhat maniacal tone.
It also bring Inktober. That time of year when artists pull out their sketch pad, Bristol board, notebook paper or even a scrap of typewriter paper and commit to it either their brush and ink, ballpoint, felt tip, crow quill or technical pen and inscribe daily their artistic vision in black and white...to me there is still something spiritual about that. Whether it is the tactile feel of pen laying down a solid line on a blank, white sheet of paper or the exorcism of pent up artistic expression. I can't really say.
But it is that time when pen and ink artists really reveal themselves. They come out of their obscurity wielding their pens and showing us, what I call, their Mad Craft. Pen and ink still remains my favorite medium. I can't really explain why, maybe because the craft has made me mad and seeking an explanation from the mad...good luck.
Below I included some links. I have posted about this ancient tomb before, it is the Necronomicon for any aspiring Pen and Ink artist, it entitled "Rendering In Pen and Ink". I remember when I first got the volume and the techniques and the illustrations from pen and ink artists revealed to me the beauty of the medium. The only other volume to do so was Bernie Wrightson's Illustration Frankenstein whose elaborate illustrations he fully admitted were inspired by Franklin Booth. A 19th Century illustrator that was a magician when it came to rendering in pen and ink. I linked below to Rendering in Pen and Ink, Bernie Wrightson's Illustrated Frankenstein and a collection of Franklin Booth's Work.
One final closing note: If you have a black cat, don't let it become a Lost Cat. Keep them inside this fall...
