Part 4 The Byrds

Part. 3 Secret of the Emperor's Spy Birds

The plot thickens as it looks like the chain of command goes beyond the dark room and even further than the swamplands...just who is the man in the High Castle....?

Shrooms!

Show Me The Munny

Here is a Munny I did with Ilovedust which was made specially for a talk but ilovedust head honcho at New York's Society of Illustrators it was also given as a gift to the friendly folks at Nooka Watches! Heres a link to a review of the Talk at S.O.I





Click the images to get into the detail and the story which starts from the right leg right around the front, to the back of head and then back to the front! Its my bastardized version of Odin's Quest for knowledge and power! Normal everyday shit.

Silver, a Mergs' Best Friend

aaa...I loves the smoke theme, here it has manifested as mergs silver...

One of my favourite beasties: the hitotsume, below in silver along with original sculpey rendition.

Below Top: the bird of my dreams...with a bit of intestine in her mouth...classy! The mergs silver Tengu avec gut in beak! And right at the bottom is a hybrid of the Kappa at the front (left) and a squid with pointy tentacles at rear (right)!

Masters show Summer 2008

Credits (starting from top): Ken K Chung, Conrad Stein, Handwash, Mark J Oliver. Click to get more detail out of the photos

Old ish...

I know its on the blog already but I just cant leave it alone, more characters to come, def!

Mergs x

Badges!

Some badges I made for the show last week! Went down a treat, now I have none left!

MA Illustration Exhibition

"The Demons"

The stairs

"The Harpys and
Woods Of The Suicides"(XIII Dante's Inferno)
Click images to inlarge

Somewhere in Hell...

Theres a PARTY goin' on!

Tengu with Nando's

Ever see a pigeon in the street digging in a box of chicken wings? Its a sad shameful sight when you see an animal eating its own kind...
The Tengu is a revered and also fearsome creature of nature in Japanese mythology. He is part bird part man, sometimes having the head and face of a bird some of them resemble men with great big noses, which can grow to great lengths with age. See my earlier posts for more Tengu related things! Theres a childrens book here somewhere! http://mergsworld.blogspot.com/2006/10/tanuki-and-tengus-magic-fan.html

Christopher D Ashley (Sunday Best Records UK)

Pls click on the picutre above to ENLARGE this tiny image!


A Beta version of a CD Cover spread for Christopher D Ashley single.

Sunday Best Records.
Release date T.B.A

Will this get used? Who knows...

Tengu gone fishing!

CLICK TO ENLARGE!

More artwork like this in the Oct & Nov Archives just on the right of this page!

My current sculpeys!

A really freaky monk, is he smiling or really grumpy?

Tengu dancing with fan, like a 'No' actor

Same figure different angle


These sculptures are inspired by Japanese 'Netsuke'. Go Google it!

The Hand Of Glory!

The 'Hand of glory' is a device which superstitiousburglars considered an essential part of their kit until the early 19th Century. The hand was that of a gibbeted criminal: after the blood was squeezed out, the hand was embalmed for two weeks in a solution of saltpetre, salt and pepper, before being dried in the sun. Acandle wa made from a number of curious ingredients sucha as hanged man's fat, wax, and a substance called Lapland sesame. The resulting confection was thrust between the dead fingers, and lit when the burglar broke into the house. The hand was supposed to open locks, render the thief invisible, and send the household into a deep sleep.
It was believed that the candle's spell could be broken only by putting out the flames with blood or skimmed milk: then the houshold would wake!
Apparently there is a 'Hand' on display in Whitby Museum, N. Yorkshire, England

"Gasha-Dokuro" skeleton spectre

*Click image to enlarge*

A few different styles in this one pic! my whole body is aching after drawing this! Hope it was all worth it n u folks like it! More on the "Gasha-Dokuro" when I got more research done! Check the October archive (left somewhere) for an older version of the skull man!

Jinkininki

From Lafcadio Hearn's classic Kwaidan, 1904.
Once, when Muso Kokushi, a priest of the Zen sect, was journeying alone through the province of Mino, he lost his way in a mountain-district where there was nobody to direct him. For a long time he wandered about helplessly; and he was beginning to despair of finding shelter for the night, when he perceived, on the top of a hill lighted by the last rays of the sun, one of those little hermitages, called anjitsu, which are built for solitary priests. It seemed to be in ruinous condition; but he hastened to it eagerly, and found that it was inhabited by an aged priest, from whom he begged the favor of a night's lodging. This the old man harshly refused; but he directed Muso to a certain hamlet, in the valley adjoining where lodging and food could be obtained....


*Click image to enlarge*




To read on copy n paste link:

http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i312/mergz/jinkininki-txt.gif

The Hannya and the trophy

*Click image to enlarge*

Hannya are a female type of demon or 'oni' and are never a pretty sight. The Hannya is normally created when a woman dies of some kind of in-justice or was treated badly in life and with a great vengeance burning inside of her becomes this horned creature of dramatic behaviour.
In the Edo Period of Japan there was once a demoness who haunted the gates of Rashomon, the entry point to Kyoto (Japan's capital city of the time). All who passed were tormented by the fierce spirit until one day a samurai named Watanabe No Tsuna vowed to slay the demon. He had spent several hours waiting for the Hannya however she did not appear. Time was passing on and fewer and fewer people came through until a young woman approached the gates, and spoke to Watanabe asking him to escort her through the city. The samurai courteously accepted and led the way. As they walked in the late hours of the day, Watanabe noticed in the corner of his eye that the girl behind him was changing. Watanabe quickly drew his sword and slashed at the nearest thing! The Hannya let out a piercing scream and fled leaving a severed arm on the floor, Watanabe was left shocked after the experience however when he came to his senses took the arm as a trophy of the incident and hid it in a chest in his home. Several years passed and by now Watanabe was an old man, and was famous for ridding Rashomon of the Hannya. Many people asked to see the trophy, but Watanabe always refused until one day when an elderly woman came to Watanabe to see it. Watanabe could not resist as the old woman explained that her son had been a victim of the Hannya and needed closure to her own experience. Watanabe swiftly went to retrieve the trophy from the chest, and no sooner had he lifted it out the old woman transforms into the hideous Hannya and grabs the arm, racing off into the streets with it!

The 'Kappa' knocking some beats out on the MPC!

*Click image to enlarge*

Above is the elusive 'Kappa' of Japanese folk lore. They are generally about the same size as small children, however they are much stronger and usually depicted as humanoid tortoises. The Kappa has a varied reputation, generally considered mischievious, they are known to fart loudly or behave like peeping toms! However, the Kappa is also known for some extremely terrible crimes such as rape, kidnapping and more notoriously eating children! The natural habitat of the Kappa are normally ponds, lakes and springs in the forests of Japan, perhaps they were created to explain accidental drownings and to warn children of playing irresponsibly by ponds, as Kappa are described to grab children by the ankles and drag them into the water. Kappa are notoriously tricky characters, their main source of weakness is contained within the bald patch of his head-sometimes simply a bald patch, a small dish or even a leaf in the parting of his hair where it holds water! The idea is to out smart the damn demon and make it knock the water out of the recipticle. All Kappa are suckers for formailty and etiquette and cannot resist bowing if they are bowed to first, done Japanese style this would mean that the head is bowed far over out of humble courtesy, thus spilling the water from the spot! All this said, not all Kappa are supposed to be bad, and if you happen to save one from danger or befriend one, they will become your best buddy and carry out all manners of services in reward!

Vampire cat of Nabeshima

*Click image to enlarge*

Also known as Bakeneko or Nekomata- "Nekomata" means forked cat in japanese. These big cats are shape-shifting demons much like the fox and Tanuki (japanese racoon), who also like to take on the form of humans which allow them to get close to their victims. What the Nekomata then does is suck the blood out of the humans and then as in the story of the above title, they take on the form of the victim and then attack another house member. Many japanese folk lores include animals endowed with a variety of abillities, shape-shifting being the most common attribute. The pairing of nocturnal creatures and fantastical powers would as much serve to tell colourful tales of morality and horror as to remind the listeners of nature's mystery.