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Clear some shelf space and save up some money: Top Shelf is releasing the second and final part of the Complete Bacchus series, and then they're taking part one and The Complete Alec, also by Eddie Campbell, and putting them in a deluxe slipcased edition that will stand tall and proud on your shelf.

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I guess there's an alternate universe in my garage.  It's full of giant strawberries and grapes, and in this place, there is no time.  I step out here to do a little painting and the next thing I know, it's midnight!  For a little while, I was joined by husband, Smitty, and the youngest kidlet (who are now asleep).

That's Smitty on bass and Lindy (the pirate) on tennis racket.

I'm glad the weekend is here because the 4th panel will require some time - lots of grape leaves and clusters of grapes and figures for which I have not mixed any paint colors yet.  I knew the people would slow me down - as an illustrator, I've always been able to take liberties with the way I depict subjects like people.  But, I don't want to go too cartoony for the mural - the composition is already rooted in fantasy, and I'd like it to have a foot in reality.

Study - some adjustments to be made still, but you get the idea

Soooooo, I've been working on some small studies beforeI tackle the certain characters or scenarios.  This evening, I spent time on the Dionysus character - the Greek god of wine and winemaking (or Bacchus, if you happen to be Roman).  He's the guy up in the trellis among the grapes (in case you were wondering).  I haven't done a lot of figurative painting in a looooong time and I need to brush-up on my color mixing when it comes to flesh tones, highlights, and shadows.

Thanks to the person who invented this - I have now made peace with acrylic paints.

I also wanted to try my Masterson Sta-Wet palette that I got for when I'm working on detail work and don't need to mix containerfuls of paint.  One of the things that has always driven me nuts about acrylic paint is how quickly it dries and how I constantly seem to be remixing paint (I used oils in college - they stay wet forever).  Well, so far the verdict is AWESOME.  I never once had to remix a color because it had dried to uselessness in the (apparently) many hours I worked on this.