Artist for the Month of October

I have known Forrest McKinley for over fifteen years. Ironically he was my boss at a former place of employment in the technical field. I have to admit, for a time, this was my favorite place for employment due to the fact that I have met some of the finest minds and truest souls and it was actually a pleasure to come to work.

Forrest and I both held a sinister passion for art and also shared multiple interests in movies, books, spirituality and even cats. Not only did he rival me in oddness, though I believe I may have outmatched him in the field of eccentricities (though that is debatable).

He and his wife Richelle live quietly with a herd of cats. He was my first choice for doing an Artist of the Month.

His style is distinct and his imagination rampant. The interview follows below:






When did you first began to draw?

I cannot remember when I first started drawing, but I remember drawing a lot through elementary school and high school. More than anything I remember drawing a lot with my brother and one of our friends back in my early teens. Back then we were really trying to find our style. Whereas most of them drew images out of comic books, I was leaning more towards images out of Mad Magazine and Garfield.

What motivated you to continue drawing?

There are quite a few things that kept me drawing in the early years. I had twin brother who was drawing and I had friends that were drawing quite a bit. Later on, once I had started to really find my own style, I really discovered the joy of cartooning. Interestingly enough, I was 30 years old, when I started to really like what I was putting out, but I think that all artist, cartoonist included, are always so critical of their work.


I find that inspirations change over time, who were your earliest inspirations?

Paul Smith

In the earliest days I mimicked Charles Schultz (Peanuts) and Jim Davis (Garfield), but I was a massive comic book fan in my younger years and was inspired by some of the top artists of the time – George Perez (drawing Teen Titans and Crisis on Infinite Earths), Paul Smith (drawing X-Men at the time and would later on draw Doctor Strange), and of course John Byrne who was just simply amazing (drawing, writing, lettering, inking, and coloring Alpha Flight and Fantastic Four month
after month).

John Byrne

Can you describe the process you go through when you are creating a piece? Such as, when and where does the inspiration begin and then what process does it take for you to bring it to life?

Nowadays I get my inspiration from a wide range of sources, which can trigger my process. Many times it can be due to conversation or just a spin-off of another image just get me thinking. I don’t immediately go to laying out the picture, but rather usually keep a few ideas churning in my mind, especially if I am needing to look at reference or inspirational pieces.

Most often, when I am going about routine work around the house or my drive to work, I get a rough image in my head. Without really thinking about it, I layout out a crude rough draft and let the draft settle and work itself out in my head. After that it is a matter of just roughing it out on Bristol board, coming back in to really tighten up the lines, and then once the line work has been worked out, porting the image into ProCreate, and digitally inking and coloring the piece.

Your inking style is minimalistic, you have mastered the use of thick and thin lines to accentuate detail and shape. It works extremely well, is this a style that you cultivated over time and when did you notice how effective it was in portraying what you were trying to convey graphically?

I started this technique when I was 30, when I started using a micron pen set. Besides the various line weights there was also the brush pen in the set. When I started using those pens, it really just gave me a new perspective on my own work.

Sadly, traditional inking has always been tough for me, so about 2 years ago when I started doing work on my iPad in ProCreate with the iPencil, I was able to take the traditional technique and put it into a more forgiving digital media. Finally having a way to ink and color on a level that I felt comfortable helped me to push my work to a new level. So it really goes without saying almost, that no matter where we are in our process, we just need to keep experimenting and learning until our we find the way that resonates with us.

This is an excellent example of how Forrest uses thick and thin lines to accentuate detail. Sometimes less is more.

Who are your current inspirations and what direction do you want your style to develop?

With the Internet at our fingertips, I take inspiration from a host of nameless artist that are posted on Pinterest and scads of other sites. Besides that, I am currently inspired by comic book artists like Skottie Young and Humberto Ramos, who has taken cartooning to a new level, and by this new age of cinema which has really showcased HD filming and state of the art special effects.

Paul Young

Humberto Ramos

What books and authors inspire you creatively?

Neil Gaiman is hands down one of the most inspirational authors that I have come across. Whether it is the fairy tale feel of Stardust or his dark version of Alice in Wonderland when he did Neverwhere, his work just pulls from so many myths, legends, and tales that he always creates such a vivid sense of the world that his stories are set it.


Another artist that stands out is Wayne Barlowe’s Inferno, where he did his translations of what Hell looks like. Years later, after doing Inferno and the Brushfire Illuminations, he was inspired to write the book God’s Demon. I was so struck by an artist so passionate with his work that he crossed over into another medium.

Wayne Barlowe

When you are creating, what music do you listen to or what do you have in the background while you draw?

For years I struggled with trying to create the perfect space when drawing. I used to sit at my drawing table with 3 or 4 albums queued up, but I just stared at the paper with some sort of drawing block. It was a few years back that I found myself just playing a movie in the background, that I was able to relax and just sketch, draw, ink, and color with more flow.

So now I always have some movie that I have seen a dozen times playing in the background. Every once in a while I will look up to catch a particularly visual scene, but for the most part I generally only watch about 5 to 10 minutes of the movie as I get wrapped up in the work that I am doing, which is good as I am fairly slow when I am doing a piece.

What current project or projects are you working on and where do you want to go with your art?

I currently have three projects that are going on. The first is the short term project of doing standalone pieces that will be sold as prints and tees and my second is doing a gallery show in Oct. 2020 in the Paseo.

My third is my long term project of The Sins of Youth, which is a twisted children’s book that is not met for children. I am also, after all these years, going to be establishing my own imprint – Broken Dreams Studio, which will be launched in early 2020, and will be the studio brand that I will be releasing all of my cartoon work through. So far 2019 has been a great year for me to really tighten up a lot of my work and channel it in the right direction, and now I am really wanting to make 2020 the year I start showcasing my work locally and on the internet.

Below are samples of Forrest's work:
Note: All images are copyright protected by the artist and should be treated as such.

Commissioned Piece

Every Christmas Forrest designs a Christmas Card, this is one of them.

On the coming of Fall, Inkotober and the search for a Lost Cat

It's still early September but soon Fall will be creeping in as stealthy as a cat.

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...

On building your own Golden Pond and Harvesting Digital Gardens

It’s late, the night seemed still but has been broken by the sound of fireworks. It seems my hometown is throwing some sort of celebration.  Maybe there is another significance for the celebration, I turned in my resignation at my place of work.  Being 63 and a cancer survivor I decided I didn’t come this far only to die on the altar of stress at a workplace that seemed to cultivate a toxic environment.  Instead I am opting for Social Security and devoting my time in creating and trying to sell those creations online.

This isn’t new for me. I have been trying to sell online for over a decade with minimum results, but since I was employed and had that income to sustain me, the small amount of sales never bothered me. To do the transition of having the sales be a substantial supplement, well that takes effort. I find self-promotion and marketing requires a lot of attention, cultivation and time. Time I personally would rather spend creating.  But it is a necessary evil, one that I need to learn the tactics and trade.

After spending time watching countless videos and articles by others that market their online products I have come to a conclusion, some just want your money to show you how, some don’t know what they are talking about and some don’t really even care about the product, they just want to make money. The later I understand, but I never was into the get rich quick schemes of things and frankly I care about my product, which is my artwork.

I decided for me personally, it is all persistence. I have this blog, Instagram, Facebook and sell on three sites now.  I have products on Amazon Merch, Zazzle and now I am setting up an Etsy Store, which is in progress.  I personally love what Zazzle offers, but they are expensive and the markup to make a profit really adds to the expense, but I do have to say, for the most part, Zazzle does quality work.  But no one really goes to Zazzle compared to sites like Etsy or Amazon for that matter.

Maintaining the stores, putting your artwork on products, marketing those products is a full-time job within itself. For me, a reclusive hermit that would rather draw, I now understand why some artists have agents.

But fortunately,  I now for the present,  have time to devote to the marketing and time to create. The past few days has been a mad rush to get things in order so I can create. After the foundation is complete then it is simply a matter of maintaining.

It's like a garden, a digital one. You have to maintain it, cultivate it and hopefully a harvest will come.

So, we will see how it goes.

The Etsy store is still under construction and you will see more posters and prints available soon.

The Red Knight Complete, Remembering Wrightson, My Personal Fab Four and Countdown to Halloween

Finally finished digitally coloring the Red Knight.  I have to admit that it was a love/hate relationship. It was one of the most difficult pieces I had to color digitally. I should elaborate, I am mostly self taught in the digital medium, so I struggle with it more than others I suppose and I am a bit of a Luddite.

All in all, I am happy with the end result. Currently I have the final image on posters, postcards and black tees and I will also have them available on Amazon early next week. The Red Knight is part of the "Go Ask Alice" series that I am currently working on. You can find the "Go Ask Alice" series here on Zazzle.

As I am writing this, it is now twenty one days to Halloween. My annual binge of horror movies has already begun and now I am revisiting some old classics.  I am also remembering the art of Bernie Wrightson who passed away last March of brain cancer despite putting up a valiant fight. His work on the illustrated Frankenstein greatly inspired me with what one could do with the medium of pen and ink. 

Bernie was inspired by 19th Century illustrator Franklin Booth. The flowing lines, the ability to pull contrasts and use dark shadows while filling the piece with incredible detail and energy, that was Bernie's forte. Currently IDW is reprinting Frankenstein Alive! Alive! 

Bernie worked with Steve Niles to bring the story to fruition. Sadly Bernie passed away before he could complete the final issue of a three issue run. Kelly Jones, who is an admitted admirer as well as being deeply influenced by Bernie's style, stepped in to complete the final issue. The first two issues were an amazing swan song by Bernie. From the page above, which is from issue one I believe, you can see he still was at the height of his craft. 

Bernie was also personally chosen by Stephen King to illustrate "The Stand" and "Cycle of the Werewolf".  In fact their partnership goes back to the original "Creepshow" movie that King himself starred in. "Creepshow" was inspired by the EC Horror comics of the fifties, which in turn were an inspiration for both King and Bernie. Bernie did a lot of the promotional art for the film and later a comic adaptation.

Bernie will definitely continue to be remembered, like Frank Frazetta before him and other members of the Studio that included Bernie along with Michael Wm Kaluta, Jeffery Jones and Barry Windsor-Smith. All remarkable artists and craftsmen. Growing up they were my Fab Four. I still have a copy of "The Studio" that came out in the mid-seventies along with a copy of the "Illustrated Frankenstein", Barry Windsor-Smith's "Opus Two" and a collection of Michael Wm Kaluta's work on the Shadow. 

Bernie, Jones, Kaluta and Windsor-Smith

These guys made my adolescent years tolerable and gave me the escape I was looking for as well as introducing me to a whole world of creative imagination. 

Have a Happy Halloween... 

Creepy Tees, Tools of the Trade, Fall and Artistic Soulmates

Fall is almost here. It is my favorite time of year, the weather cools, leaves turn color and Halloween is right around the corner. I suppose I wouldn’t have to admit that it is my favorite Holiday, from the subject of my work, it is an obvious conclusion.

Still trying to master the art of marketing Tee Shirts, seems that there is an arcane secret that I have yet to unravel, but I am persistent. So far, the quality of the reproductions has been impressive. I was concerned about the detail of some of the pieces being lost in the process, but so far, they seem to be retained.

If anyone is curious about what tools and materials I use, I thought I would share. For the most part I sketch the drawing with mechanical pencils, anything from a .03 lead to a .07. I also use the conventional 2B pencil. For inking I have really grown fond of Uni Pens. My main weapon of choice is the Uni Pen, the come in various sizes and the .005 is my main weapon of choice.

I use Bristol paper, it’s the only paper I use on serious work. It comes in many surfaces, usually I will use a smooth surface for pen and a bit of a rougher surface for pencil and ballpoint. Ballpoints are tricky though, they are not lightfast and will fade over time.  Some worse than others, I have good luck with Zebra fine points. The ink is dark, gradations are smooth, and the ink seems to be more resilient to fading. Bristol pads come in various sizes and even has a comic book format version that is 11" X 17" which is the industry standard.

As far as sketching, I am bias towards Moleskines. In fact, like ballpoint has the Biro following, (the English term for ballpoints) Moleksines have a huge sketchbook following.  I use the graph paper version because I plot out ideas and character designs, which really isn’t artistically correct I suppose, but it does help when I am trying to design letters.

 I also added some excerpts for my own sketchbook.

I am attempting to move my hobby into a business eventually. I have a lot to learn though and more than likely may have to consider doing something more mainstream. I know I have a niche that I would like to cater to and a style that I like to cultivate. More than anything I would like to persist in that, but I also realize what I do isn’t for everyone.

There are a lot of artists out there that don’t get the attention they deserve. I find it an unfortunate situation, but at the same time there are a lot of artist that work extremely hard at what they do and deserve every bit of success that comes down the highway.  Emotions like envy and jealousy have no place in this creative process. Instead they just become justifications for cynicism and worse, it kills the creative process when instead it should inspire. You only learn from those that are better than you are.

Art requires talent and skill, but talent alone won’t save you. Skill is developed through many hours of sacrificing time and being dedicated to what you want to do. Any musician will tell you that, for that matter so would any athlete. Any artist will tell you that they cringe at their early endeavors.

The creative process isn’t an easy road, one artist told me it is like dropping your pants in public and hoping everyone applauds.  An odd, but true analogy because artists take a risk and that takes some guts. You must take a chance that you might face ridicule or even scorn.  Not everyone is cut out for that.

Art is a weird world anyway. Fads change, tastes change, and everyone is looking for the next big thing to tie their sails to or they are trying to be unique in a world that is often dictated by critics and not personal tastes.  When an artist shares his vision and style he hopes he taps into a vein, that others click with what he is trying to convey.  In a way, to me, drawing is the handwriting of the soul and artists are always looking for soulmates.