Cover for my fanfic i writing for "Batman: Zero Year" comic.
After Zero: https://archiveofourown.org/works/63498001
"I bloom, a flower fair and bright, A needed thing, for two, a light. In hearts' soft garden, breezes play, I grow in strength with each new day."
The Riddler nodded patiently, his eyes half-lidded in boredom. Amber devoted almost all her energy to keep reciting this stupid rhyme that she had composed and practiced until she turned pale from exhaustion. The remaining part of her energy was spent on NOT clutching her jacket.
"But then, a worm, with wicked bite. Gnawed at my grain and dimmed my light. A spreading blight, a change so foul. Cursed my existence, took its toll. My two companions, caught in strife. Began to gnaw and hurt their life. Absorbing poison, bit by bit. They both grew sick, they couldn't quit."
"…"
“Who am I?"
The Riddler lazily raised his eyes to the sky and just as slowly raised his hands.
"Love!"
His voice was full of theatrical reverence. He didn’t even pretended that the riddle made him ponder over it.
"To be more precise — twisted love. Am I right?"
Finally done! I worked on this for most of the evening and well into the night yesterday. I was so excited to finish it. I did stencil in the letters, but it took so long to paint them in. I bought the board a couple days ago at Hobby Lobby and finished the sign around about 10 minutes ago. Let me know what you think in the comments. (I am aware that the girls foot isn’t hanging down. I’m kinda leaning towards leaving it the way it is.)
I’m getting ready to do a really big drawing of a full horse for a friend so I’m just practicing the muscles and legs in little sketches. If you see anything I should change, I would love feedback.
An article/rant/annotation to an illustration. A #Hackney bar and its flies.
This picture is not as sad and blue as it might at first seem, I promise.
It is early in the week and the pub becomes the territory of the most outspoken drinkers. Raised somewhere between Churchill and Harold MacMillan, a night such as this is time for them to spin out a yarn of nostalgic fantasy. Encouraged by the lack of a crowd and with space to fill, statements start to fly.
In the opening rounds the barman athletically hits back with factual blocks and reality-check haymakers; statistics and personal experiences are given. Two histories cross examined, one where 1982 means Thatcher and the Falklands, the other renders Reagan and the AIDS crisis. Stoicism and national pride vs mental health and realism.
In the latter rounds the barman is fatigued, swaying on the backbar, glasses begin to stack up as form begins to drop. The older men seem stronger than ever.
The barflies come in close now, they scrutinise his generations work ethic and make wild political comments on poverty, immigrants and the minimum wage.
The barman is close to sheer bloody despair, he maintains his defence and focuses on breathing while maintaining his professional stance.
But at the end of the night the barman knows HE will ring that bell, they will politely leave and they will return again in a week and maybe, just maybe there will be a change, common ground or maybe at least polite silence.
But what these interactions have given despite the salt in the eye is community and an exchange between generations, culture and class of those participating. No home is ever straight forward, no relative without their good and bad traits and in a world where we often slide into echo chambers online or in our physical environments, the pub is still a place where society is family, face to face, pint to pint. Or maybe it's just a room with alcohol on tap?
I was bored out of my mind so I just quickly painted this. I am in fact starting my big project. Its on a wood board that I plan to hang if it all turns out!
For me, it's the process of creating - not really the end result. Once something is done, it's done and you move on to the next process. Life is the ultimate process after all. We don't hang around and admire the dead body once it has finished what it needed to do...On the other hand, the end result of someone's process can be felt through what they have left behind. I hope this is what will eventually happen with the art I create.
In case this is the first drawing of mine that you see, I like to use dark and heavy outlines. It really limits the sense of a real life animal. I’m trying to change my style, but it’s hard. Hopefully I can start to progress
The Truth, Life, and Way
Medium: Acrylic paint on canvas
Size: 10 “x 20”
Year: 2021-2022
This illustration is final illustration, of nine, of a mural about the life of Christ.
In this painting I attempt to communicate to the viewer who Jesus is to the Christian.
He is the truth; Jesus is the word of God that put-on Flesh. Jesuses’ life fulfills all prophecies that were made about God’s Deliver.
Though, Jesus was human, He was also totally Devine.
God put on flesh with out the nature of sin, by being born through virgin conception.
Since the fall of humankind at the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, which took place in the garden of Eden. The sin nature is past down through the generations of humankind through the male.
Jesus on our behave, taught humanity the requirements needed to reunite with God, and how to live life in a new and better way.
The savior then traded places with a criminal to hang on a cross.
The guiltless, paying the penalty of the guilty. For a sinner cannot offer an acceptable payment to a holy God to set them free from facing the wrath of God’s upon their sin. They can only be for given for their sins by coming to God through the savior He has provider for them
The resurrection
After God had poured out his wrath upon the savior’s body, Jesus was dead and buried in a tomb for three days. God raised him back to life, showing that the sacrifice was excepted. Jesus is the first fruit, so that whoever places their faith in Christ for the forgiveness of their sins, they to shall raise from the dead unto enteral life.
Jesus is the life
As believer walk in their new relationship with God, they will face many challenging times.
For the Devil and his coworkers are unhappy with your newfound relationship with God.
They will wage war with you, but be of good cheerer, Jesus has overcome them for us.
Jesus promise that He will never leave us or forsake us. He will be with us to the end of the age.
I painted Jesus and the believers with their back to the empty tomb. This is to emphasize the price that was paid to set us free from the chains of the power of sin.
Jesus standing alongside the believer with the direction finger, as He guides Him along the way he should go.
What I was trying to capture.
In read the account of the first people going to the tomb where Jesus was buried, it describes the woman getting there before the sun came up. I was trying to capture that time of day in my illustration.
Every dawning of a new day is a change follow Christ, better than we did yesterday.
Written by Stephen J. Vattimo 11/20/2022
...music lover right here guys! It’s a few days before Christmas...have yourself a Merry Little Christmas... let your hearts be light...from now on your troubles will be out of sight...through the years we all will be together...if the faiths allow... hang a star above the highest bough...and have yourself a merry little Christmas now!
This oil painting was , for me, an explosion of a new freedom I found after finally getting a home nearly 40 years ago, a room with a sink and a bed and a window. I hadn't painted for years, and never without extreme self-consciousness. But years of homelessness changed me and my appreciation of "art". That freedom eludes me these days, that 'ignorant' notion that I can do whatever comes to me. I'd love to get it back. Surely it's in us all. It may be better to paint to be satisfied than to paint to satisfy...
And this is my only contribution to mermay.
It doesn't look very good, I know. But I'm glad to draw a mermaid for the first time on mermay, I dreamed about it when I could only draw squiggles. I drew it for half a month, and during this time, I even managed to come up with a deep (don't shoot) lore.
According to my idea, Eddie needed some sunken cargo (and not only him). Amber offered her help in exchange for some relic of her people, which is stored in the Gotham Museum (even being a mermaid, she is an opportunist). Eddie told her to go to hell and tried to get the cargo with the help of his robots, which Amber successfully sabotaged underwater to pressure him into the deal.
In this drawing, Eddie's ran out of luck and got himself roughened up and almost drowned (definitely not Batman this time). Amber saved his skin. No gratitude is expected yet, but this is the least of their problems. Jean advises Amber (they are not at odds in this AU) to leave the polluted waters near Gotham before something happens to her and her health, but she is stupidly stubborn when it comes to the Riddler (and her goals).
I completed reinvented Chump. Ok, so story time. When I was 16 I created Chump. The name came from a nickname I received, I won't go that deep. But, I created her in black and white. The original design was inspiration from Tim Burton. But over the years she had changed due to my own imagination and maturity. But I suppressed her for a long time. A few years ago I brought her back to life. But I wasn't happy with how she was turning out. So the last few years my life spiraled and I have grown and changed. So now I felt it only right to change Chump as well. She has been an extension of me. I wanted so much for Chump, but she got lost in static and time. But here she is new and improved. She represents the part of me that keeps fighting and will not stop despite the odds and opinions.
#20 Cartoon Doodles - I have been in the mood to draw simple cartoons characters lately. Of course I don’t like to copy the original artist’s style. I prefer to change it up a little. Half of this was drawn on magma(dot)com, the other half was drawn in ibis paint (iPad pro). No Ai garbage used!
A hand-drawn illustration featuring a classic to-go coffee cup overflowing with ibuprofen pills instead of liquid. Perfectly capturing the essence of a rough morning, a long shift, or just the reality of "adulting.", text that reads: Venti Ibuprofen Kind of Day