Lilac Window

(Well, we’ll just ignore the fact that its Wednesday. I took a little break yesterday, for the Holy Day. But now Ive gone and messed up my headings…)

I wanted to share an artist that also participated in the Happy Harbor “Visions of Comics” art show this weekend. Actually its still up if you want to go see it. There was an excellent turn out to the opening, and a wonderful tribute to Gilbert Bouchard. I didn’t know anything about him before, but was moved by the things people said about him, and would have loved to have known him. Hearing those stories was really a highlight for me.

So, that brings us to Nick Johnson. He had one piece in the the show, and is Calgary artist. I met him a few years ago, when I had a little more time to be involved in the Comic drawing scene in Calgary. He is a part of a group called “Vicious Ambitious” who are publishing and creating comics  in Calgary. It was at a comic book store opening that I bought my first comic – “Round One” by these guys hanging out in front of the shop. It was this book that inspired me to start drawing comics, and so I guess Nick was a part of that.

Its been a few years since then, and now Nick is at Art school, working hard. He still has time for side projects such as the Happy Harbor show, and that’s a good sign. He has numerous works in Anthologies, and has completed his own little series called “The Art of Dodging Shadows.” If you have ever set out to draw even a page of comics, you know what a huge feat this is. Especially on your own time, when no one is paying you or there to egg you on.

I have always liked Nick’s clean style, and his compositions. Even in a black and white project he has strong ability to clearly show detail without drawing too much. As his work has progressed he has become more realistic in his figures, and less cartoony, which just makes it look more sophisticated. I love the posters he makes for his Punk Band “Me Three”, which are stylized and sharp, but the images are Bad-Ass, all while still being sort of silly, which seems to fit. You get the sense that art, comics and music for Nick is sort of a tongue-in-cheek frenetic tornado. Ambitious, and vicious are two well chosen words!

My favorite work has to be some web comics he did with writer Andrew Foley. I love the pink color, the graphic quality and the way they looked on the screen. (But I cant seem to find it any more – Nick????)

You can check his blog for his recent work, and the “Archie” piece he did for the Happy Harbor show. Also you can see the Vicious Ambitious website for their publications. And, further, if you are in the mood for some serious screaming, you can see Me Three’s Myspace page.

I am excited to see Nick’s future projects.

Thanks all, enjoy.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 21st, 2009 at 12:24 pm and is filed under "INTRODUCING A CALGARY ARTIST". You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.