Debut Posters

Almost that time. And I have a couple more pieces of art I want to share with you guys.

First up, the new Green Lantern piece I'll have available. It's a companion piece to my Sinestro FEAR one, and eventually I plan to do the whole spectrum of Lanterns.

GL:Hal Jordan WILL (colors by Renee Clarke)

Next up we a piece I'll be trying out. This started off as a sketch commission for someone, then took a life of it's own. I'm curious to see how this one will do as it's not an established character, but something I designed. 

Fantasy Werewolf (colors by Matt Seel)

Anyways, I hope you like.

See you tomorrow as Wizard World starts.

Shawn.


"Twilight Zone type symmetry...Night Gallery, painting vividly visual schizo-imagery/
Seeking alternate forms of energy/ A technomancer, master of the art of MECHA-scorcery..."- Geist

Wizard World Update and Raffle

What's up peeps.
So I survived my television appearance. And I have to say I was surprisingly calm..till the time came to talk. lol Anyways, it could've been much worse, and it turned out to be a real chill production. Pretty much all I had to do was sit there and draw the host Marlie Hall as  super hero. I ended up drawing her as a version of Wonder Woman. Unfortunately, I gave her the original, and of course I didn't take any pics of it.(gotta work on that)
Then, it was only about a minute or so for me to to talk about Wizard. All in all, I had a ball. So shoutout to WPHL-17 and the fine folks at Wizard for having me on. If I'm able to get a copy of the segment or the pic I'll let you guys know.
http://www.myphl17.com/shows/eye-opener-tv/
 
So as you may have heard, I'll be at Wizard World Philly in a few days. Shocking..I know. And as you may or may not know/remember, all 5 Strek Captains will be in attendance. For the first time ever..all together. Historic!! So guess what ya boy did for my Trekkies?

BOO-YAHH!!! My first Star Trek art ever(not counting the Capt. Kirk sketch I did a while back). This piece will be available in a limited run at the show, so don't miss out. Thanks to the mighty Blair Smith for the awesome job on colors.

And last but not least, I want to mention a special raffle I'll be doing at the show promoting my new QR Code. All you have to do is scan the QR which links to my Pyroglyphics facebook page, (code will be on the back of the flyer seen below), "Like" the page on the spot, and you will be entered into the drawing. It's that easy. There will be 3 winners, with prizes ranging from posters, to shirts, to a special grand daddy first prize bonanza! These will also be limited.

(graphics formatted by Takeia Dunlop)

As always, thanks for checking me out and I'll see you tomorrow with some more art.

Peace.
Shawn

"When they showed me the graphics, they were puzzled by my spastic neo-synapses/
And reloaded the geographics using Vulcan black magic mathematics..."- Geist

Eye Opener

Guess who's got 2 thumbs and is going to be on t.v this Tuesday?

I'm proud to announce that I will be a featured artist of the Eye Opener show on PHL17, this Tuesday from 6am-8am.
 http://www.myphl17.com/shows/eye-opener-tv/

I'm exactly sure what I might have to draw or what will be covered, but I'm super excited(and nervous) all the same. The station has covered the Philly Wizard show for a few years now, so they're doing this as a special tie-in promotion. I'll keep you guys posted on any further details I might be able to gather.

As far as the con, I'll be showcasing a couple of new prints, and I'm hype to show you guys this preview.

This Green Lantern started off as a commission, and with the help of colorist Thomas Shelton, has took on a life of it's own. Thanks Tom.

Enjoy your Sunday, and God willing I'll see you guys tomorrow.

Peace.
Shawn


"I'm a Predakon, my protons forms the unruliest/My gamma based skeleton revolves around an iron core nucleus.."- Geist

A Crown Of Horns Pt2

Ok, yesterday I announced that I'll be at the Wizard Philly Comic Con from Thurs, May 31st- Sun June 3rd. This is an exciting year for me because a lot of projects I started last year are starting to bear fruit, and one such project is the long awaited Crown Of Horns novel.
This is an illustrated novel with a piece of art at the beginning of each chapter. The book was written by John Cullins, with illustrations(pencils and some inks) by yours truly, additional inks by Will "Afromation" Jamison, graphic design by Renee Clarke and Alberto Rodriguez, and colors on the cover by Blair Smith.

So the book has FINALLY been printed, and it came out beautifully. I'll have a limited amount of copies with me at the show, going for a measly $15!..along with which you'll receive a free mini-poster and bookmark. To help you brush up on all things "Crown..." related, check out my past blogs for the scoop.

 http://shawnah-lean.blogspot.com/2011/11/crown-of-horns.html

http://shawnah-lean.blogspot.com/2011/11/wizards-and-flying-things.html

http://shawnah-lean.blogspot.com/2011/10/111111.html

As a special treat for you, here's a piece I did as a sketch that was taken to another level by colorist extraordinaire Matt Seel.

Some shots of the book.

For more info on the book and Broken 1 Publishing, check out the facebook site:
http://www.facebook.com/Broken1Publishing

See you guys tomorrow.

Peace,
Shawn

"..so you can run in the gym, gatorade, hype music on, loop it/
All them weights you eat ain't going to make your eyeballs stronger, stupid..."- Geist

Philly Wizard 2012

Whadup peeps! It's official, I will be attending the Wizard Convention here in Philly next week. I must give thanks to the man Eric Cooper for helping a brother out, and I hope to see you guys there.

Speaking of Eric, Mr. Knight Seeker himself, I was recently asked to do a commission for him featuring his title character and the late Trayvon Martin. The thing I like about Eric is while a lot of people jumped on the bandwagon of the Treyvon case just for the sake of it it seems, Eric really took this matter personally and seriously. So while the rest of the bandwagoners have fallen off, Eric still follows the case and seeks to keep attention drawn to this important matter.

KnightSeeker and Treyvon Martin. Colors coming soon

Eric debuted the black and white version at ECBACC last weekend, and will be showcasing the colored version at Wizard next week. He and I will be sitting next to each other for the show and table details will be coming shortly.
Oh, and in case you didn't know, this year Wizard Philly will be adding a special preview night to the con. It'll be going from Thurs May 30th-Sun June 3rd. Not only that, I just found out the other day that ALL 5 STAR TREK CAPTAINS WILL BE APPEARING TOGETHER!!! First time in history supposedly. Check out the site for more details: http://www.wizardworld.com/home-pa.html

And since this blog feels a little light, here's a quick little prelim version.

Catch you tomorrow when I unveil some of the new art I'l;l be debuting at the show.

Peace,
Shawn

"Only a bitch would have to use a mecca/ Real men train their minds and body to mentally handle the pressure.."- Geist

5th Annual Youth Art Exhibition

Last week I announced 5th Annual Youth Art Exhibition that was held on Friday, May 18th.  
(Click here for the last blog: http://shawnah-lean.blogspot.com/2012/05/i-believe-children-are-our-future.html )
The show included students showcasing the results of my 10 week "Comic Book Character Development Course" at Orange Korner Arts, in association with the Ayuda Community Center. The Center provides After School workshops which include music, painting, and more. As I stated last time, this is the fourth time I've taught this course around Philly now, first through Congreso, now privately. And with half the amount of time and resources available to other classes I’ve taught, these young people developed some amazing characters and stories. They're an amazing group of kids I had the fortune of teaching. Their personalities rang through in every stroke of the pencil, and I’m proud to share my humble renditions of some the kid's characters as well as some pics from the show.

Oh, we were also able to get the book done, and I have to say special thanks to Mr. Kamau Mshale, who came through at the13th hour and saved my butt. I can't thank him enough. Kamau also has his own comic out, and you can check his work at these sites:

www.ArsonOnline.com
www.ishmiel14.deviantart.com
www.Kmshale.blogspot.com
www.facebook.com/KamauMshale
or contact him here: kamau.mshale@gmail.com

Also, special, special thanks to the Orange Korner Arts Director Michaelanne Harriman, the lady who runs the show, hired me, and allowed me to be a part of this wonderful organization.

"Connor" created by Gabriel Bangert age 11(colored by James Mason)

"Anevay" created by Adi Mendez age 14 (colored by Renee Clarke)

"Sarah Walker" created by Julie-Ann Perez age 16 (colored by Renee Clarke)

The finished book containing all the kid's stories and characters. The name of the group they formed is the Ghost Society", named after a rebellious futuristic military crew.

 "Orange Korner Arts, located at 4401 N. 7th St., enrolls youth from Hunting Park ages 10-18 in art classes of all mediums providing safe, creative space everyday after school. OKA is a program of Ayuda Community Center. Find out more at www.ayudacc.org."
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Ayuda-Community-Center/108805299139261


Thanks for checking me out.


Peace
Shawn.

"I Believe The Children Are Our Future..."

For the last 10 weeks I've been teaching my Comic Book Character Development Course at Orange Korner Arts, in association with the Ayuda Community Center. The Center provides After School workshops which include music, painting, and more. This Friday, May 18th, sees the culmination of this semester's work with the "5th Annual Youth Art Exhibition". The show is from 6:30pm-8:30pm, and will be held at the Esperanza Health and Wellness Center @ 4417 Nth 6th St. Admission is only $10 and FREE to anyone under 18. My students will be there showcasing their work as well as talking about the characters they developed. 

This is the fourth time I've taught this course now, and with half the amount of time and resources available to other classes I’ve taught, these young people developed some amazing characters. They're an amazing group of kids I had the fortune of teaching. Their personalities ring through in every stroke of the pencil, and I’m proud to be able to share their work with you all.

 "Orange Korner Arts, located at 4401 N. 7th St., enrolls youth from Hunting Park ages 10-18 in art classes of all mediums providing safe, creative space everyday after school. OKA is a program of Ayuda Community Center. Find out more at www.ayudacc.org."
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Ayuda-Community-Center/108805299139261

Check out my humble renditions of some of the kid's characters.

"Tiger Woman" Created by Amelia Cortes age 11 (colored by Renee Clarke)

"Seth" created by Josiah Perez age 11 (colored by Sha-Nee Williams)

"Superkid" created by Keithon Robinson age 14 (colored by Sha-Nee Williams)

"Shockwave" Created by Jacob Ramos age 11 (colored by James Mason)

Come out and join the festivities if you can.


Peace,
Shawn

Moving Forward

For a little while I sat and thought about the title for this blog. The first thing that came to my mind was "Closure". Mainly because the whole point of this entry was to bare my heart to the public and try to put something behind me..get some sort of focus back into my life.

The thing I'm talking about is the recent death of my step-dad.

But "Closure" didn't feel right to me. Words can mean different things for different people and I look at closure as the complete end of something. I don't want to cut this man out of my memory. I thought about calling it "Death". Simple...elegant even. But the weight of the word felt wrong..because the sum of a man is more than just his death, it's also how he lived his life. And my step-dad, who we all called "D.W", lived his well.

He never had a negative word to say to me, and always encouraged everything I did. He was usually a quiet man...till he had a couple of drinks in him, then he was the life of the party. He was one of the hardest working people I knew. He would be up till the wee hours of the morning hanging out, talking, drinking, then pass out for a couple of hours...only to wake up sand head to work so fresh you would think he had hibernated for a month. This became his normal routine, and while I wished I had maybe took that extra beer away from him every now and again, he enjoyed his life...only for it to be snatched. And for a sec there it felt as though things were supposed to stop.

And that's why I named this journal "Moving Forward". I don't want to change directions. I don't want to come to complete stop. I don't want to go backwards. I want to enjoy what little time God has blessed me with, and carry the memory of this man with me. To make me stronger..to allow me to resist temptation..to make me want to try harder. Whatever it is I realize life doesn't stop..so neither can I.

Thanks to everyone who has sent a well-wish my families way, to everyone who took the time to go beyond the internet and personally call, to everyone who continues to support my art, and to everyone who's been patient with me as they waited for me to finish their artwork. I will strive to come back to the art table with a vengeance. I hope you all enjoy whatever time you have in your own way.

R.I.P D.W

Shawn