I PASSED WHOLE DAYS...

I can't believe it is time to post another page of the week. Days are passing by quickly like those days of Victor after his return home from the valley of Chamounix. With a blackened conscience and the pressure of commitment, I can relate to the troubled Victor.

Speaking of which, here is the page of the week, illustrating the following text from the book Mary Shelley's Frankenstein:

At these moments I took refuge in the most perfect solitude. I passed whole days on the lake alone in a little boat, watching the clouds, and listening to the rippling of the waves, silent and listless. But the fresh air and bright sun seldom failed to restore me to some degree of composure; and, on my return, I met the salutations of my friends with a readier smile and a more cheerful heart.

It was after my return from one of these rambles that my father, calling me aside, thus addressed me:-

"I am happy to remark, my dear son, that you have resumed your former pleasures, and seem to be returning to yourself. And yet you are still unhappy, and still avoid our society. For some time I was lost in conjecture as to the cause of this; but yesterday an idea struck me, and if it is well founded, I conjure you to avow it. Reserve on such a point would be not only useless, but draw down treble misery on us all."

I trembled violently at this exordium, and my father continued -

"I confess, my son, that I have always looked forward to your marriage with your cousin as the tie of our domestic comfort, and the stay of my declining years. You were attached to each other from your earliest infancy; you studied together, and appeared, in dispositions and tastes, entirely suited to one another. But so blind is the experience of man, that what I conceived to be the best assistants to my plan may have entirely destroyed it. You, perhaps, regard her as your sister, without any wish that she might become your wife. Nay, you may have met with another whom you may love; and, considering yourself as bound in honour to your cousin, this struggle may occasion the poignant misery which you appear to feel."

THE WICKEDNESS OF MY PROMISE...

I almost forgot to post the page of the week for you. I've been so busy and time has been sped up by some alien technology that I was shocked to find it was already Friday and naught a page posted.

So I give you two! I've been sharing my works in progress on Facebook and Twitter and these bride images got a great response. So I thought I would present to you the full spread in all it's finished monstrosity.

Enjoy!

BACK IN THE SADDLE AGAIN...

Finally, riding through the vast eerie mountains of Frankenstein once again. This should be the last grueling waiting period. With the final chapter mapped out and laid down on a template, I've embarked once more on my journey into wretchedness.

Here is the first page of Volume III and the first page in almost three months. With all the details figured out, I will be back on my schedule of producing a page almost daily. And I will be back to my regular updates on this blog with news, progress, workshops, insights and the "page of the week".

In this page, the contrast between Victor and his best friend Clerval are evident. Clerval is alive, joyful and happy while Victor is...well...his usual emo self. But don't take it from me. In Clerval's own words, "But you, my dear Frankenstein, wherefore are you desponding and sorrowful?"

Why do you think, Clerval? He's just come back from a trip to the mountains where he was kidnapped, against his will, by his rejected child who just happens to be a hulking reanimated corpse. He was blackmailed and left with a dire proposition. He is to create another diabolical anomaly of the female gender or death will come to everyone he loves. On top of this, his father arranges his marriage with cousin Elizabeth. This is great and all because they are in love (in an insestual kind of way). But it's bad timing to plan a wedding.

So Clerval decides to take him on a trip to London.

What a good start into Volume III! Enjoy your page of the week and look for more to come.

FINAL PAGE OF VOLUME 2

I have some exciting news (at least I think it's exciting). I have just finished the last page of volume 2 in the mega Gris Grimly Opus Frankenstein. Weighing in at around 200 pages (and volume 2 finishes on page 131) I'm feeling pretty accomplished. My publisher will be receiving a surprise this holiday...the 50 painted pages that makes up volume 2. Here is the final page for you to partake in this joyous moment.

Now...onto volume 3.

HOUSE OF MOURNING

Here is your Illustration of the week. The text to be printed on the page says it all:

Our house was the house of mourning. My father's health was deeply shaken by the horror of the recent events. Elizabeth was sad and desponding.

"When I reflect, my dear cousin, on the miserable death of Justine Moritz, I no longer see the world and its works as they before appeared to me. But now misery has come home, and men appear to me as monsters thirsting for each other's blood. Alas! Victor, when falsehood can look so like the truth, who can assure themselves of certain happiness? William and Justine were assassinated, and the murderer escapes; he walks about the world free, and perhaps respected. But even if I were condemned to suffer on the scaffold for the same crimes, I would not change places with such a wretch."

I listened to this discourse with the extremest agony. I, not in deed, but in effect, was the true murderer.

STARTING FROM SCRATCH

Sometimes, more often than I'm comfortable with, I will redo a page in it's entirety because I am unhappy with it. If I'm lucky, I will notice my discontent with the piece in time and start over before I've done too much work. But then there are times, where I try to fix the problems or am complacent with the piece, and it's not until the piece is finished that I realize that it needs to be redone. This was the case with the piece above.

When the monster starts to tell his story, it is done with simple black and white cartoons to reflect the infantry in the monsters development. This black and white treatment is done on illustration board which is ideal for ink work. The second chapter of the monsters story reflects a step in development by using black and white washes as my medium. I thought sticking with the illustration board would be the proper choice. But after completion and some time for reflection, I now see that black and white washes using watercolor on watercolor paper would produce a much cleaner result.

So, without getting discouraged, I took to reproducing the piece from scratch. I hope that you notice the difference. I sure do. Unfortunately, this won't be the last page that needs a redo. When all is said and done, it is for the good of the end result. My goal, as it should be with any artist, is to deliver a masterpiece.

DESIGNING THE CREATURE...

Gris Grimly's Frankenstein is a daunting project. I've been working on it for almost three years now. There is approximately 200 illustrated pages, changes in style, historical letters, authentic diagrams and antiquated type fonts. The broad spectrum would make me vomit if I look at it as a whole. But I take it one night at a time.

At this point, all the artwork for volume one has been completed as well as a good portion of volume two. Editor Jordan Brown has teamed me up with designer Dana Fritts to begin putting all these raw materials together. I'm not sure if she is as mad as I am, but she seems to have a pretty good grasp on things. She has a knack for antique book design and typography. I really like what she is doing thus far.

October being October, it is my life force out of the year. So it is really hard for me to keep up with everything with the addition of events, Halloween affiliated projects and commissions. Some things have to be put on the back cauldron to place attention on immediate and encroaching deadlines. One of those things is the volume of Frankenstein work I can do in a week as well as the attention spent on blogs.

But I assure you, once November rolls it's ugly head around, I will be back at it. Posting like a madman and slapping new Frankenstein art around like I'm on campaign.

Be Grim!
Gris Grimly