GLASGOW. A Sketch Book By John Nisbet.

“I remembered how you love Glasgow and I always see you doing your drawings, Al…” she’d said as she handed me the small brown A5 book. She’d found it whilst cleaning out her loft.

Anne had given me a book called “Glasgow. A Sketch Book By John Nisbet”.

I gave it a quick glance and thanked her very much. After all, It’s not every day that someone gives you a book of sketches from the 1970’s is it? Except this book wasn’t from the 1970’s at all! I’d just assumed it was! It just looked like a book from the 70’s. Very good condition but…old and…beige, y’know? Anyway, when I got home I properly looked at the book and discovered that it was from 1913! A sketch book of Glasgow from 100 years ago!

A few days later, I did the right thing and sold it on Ebay for a FORTUNE!
The End.

Just kidding. I actually tried to persuade Anne to take the book back. “It might be worth something! It’s a hundred years old!” I told her. But nope, the book was mine so thanks and thanks again Anne!

I remember once hearing that copyright expires after a period of 90 years or so. I do hope that’s true because I have decided to scan and upload each and every page of this wonderful book so that you can all enjoy it!

A lot has changed in Glasgow over the past 100 years and yet, looking at these drawings, Glasgow is still very recognisable…

You May Also Be Interested In…
* The Trongate, Glasgow
* The Tolbooth Steeple, Glasgow
* Glasgow: The Matthew Clydesdale Story

Drew Struzan’s Universal Monsters.

Frankenstein, Dracula, The Mummy, The Wolf Man, The Creature From The Black Lagoon…
What a monstrous legacy Universal Studio’s have on their hands.

To celebrate that legacy and influence, MONDO, Alamo Drafthouse’s collectible art division, have dedicated a new exhibition in Austin, Texas which collects more than 60 original and screen-printed works of art from the likes of Struzan, legendary makeup artist Rick Baker, illustrators and artists Laurent Durieux, Francesco Francavilla and Ken Taylor and many others

About MONDO:
“Mondo is the Alamo Drafthouse’s collectible art boutique, featuring designs from world famous artists based on licenses for popular TV and Movie properties including Star Wars, Star Trek & Universal Monsters. Championed for their limited edition screen printed posters, Mondo focuses on bringing art back to movie posters by working with artists such as Olly Moss, Tyler Stout, Martin Ansin and others. Besides creating stunning works for beloved classics and contemporary films, Mondo produces posters for featured Alamo Drafthouse events and has recently inaugurated a “Director’s Series” that will focus on a celebrated filmmaker’s body of work, beginning with Guillermo del Toro.”

One of the greatest movie poster artists in history, Drew Struzan was approached to submit work for the exhibition.
Look what he turned in!

I don’t live anywhere near Austin, Texas but if you do, here are the details of this sure to be amazing exhibition…

You May Also Be Interested In…
* “Back To The Future” Concept Art
* Modern Vintage Movie Posters PART I
* Modern Vintage Movie Posters PART II

Sketches For Nobody #6.

I’ve called these ‘Sketches For Nobody’ but that’s not really true. These are all working ideas for something or other.
For years and years I’ve been throwing my working sketches away because they don’t mean anything to me after a certain point but as I get older, I’m starting to keep everything.

This is a working character sketch for a comic strip I’ve been working on called “COWAN: Homicide” which is about a cop working in 1980’s Shettleston, Glasgow.
Hopefully, I’ll have that up and running within the next few weeks.

This is a random sketch done at work to pass the time on a slow day.

Above is a working sketch for the character of a friend’s short story.

And then we have, a speedy and very jaggy sketch of L. Frank Baum’s Scarecrow from “The Wizard Of Oz”.

Lastly, this was a quick character drawing for the album cover artwork that I did for the band V For Vagina.

You May Also Be Interested In…
* Dot And Tot Of Merryland: A Working Sketch
* Album Artwork: “A Circus Of Vaginas”
* Sketches For Nobody #1

Graphic Designer Graham Humphreys.

Cast your mind back to the 1980’s.

Did you ever rent a VHS tape from the top shelf of the video shop solely because of the artwork on the front cover and in the process, discover a classic? Maybe you’re familiar with the work of graphic designer Grahman Humphreys?
He’s responsible for these amazing movie posters:

Humpreys is probably best known for his artwork on “The Evil Dead” VHS covers and the posters but he has done a lot more since then. I look at his work and I feel the want to sit him down and get him to tell me EVERYTHING behind his involvement in such classic flicks. The how, when and why.

Luckily for you and me, there is a fascinating interview with Graham Humphreys on the poster archive site ‘Film On Paper‘ and you can find it by clicking right HERE. It really is a great interview by someone who really cares and I enjoyed reading it.

Links:

Visit Graham Humphreys website HERE.
Visit ‘Film On Paper’ HERE.

You May Also Be Interested In:

* The Artwork Of “A Nightmare On Elm Street”.
* Ruining Original Movie Artwork I.
* Ruining Original Movie Artwork II.
* Al Cook’s “Necropolis”.

Sketches For Nobody #3.