Uploads from bob canada, tagged art, with geodata

Sammy Terry

nobody@flickr.com (bob canada) — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 18:10:03 -0800

bob canada posted a photo:

Sometimes I feel sorry for kids today. Sure they've got phones the size of matchbooks, hyper-realistic video games and blankets with sleeves, but they're missing out on the fun of watching a good local TV horror host.

When I was a kid, a horror host named Sammy Terry was the star of Nightmare Theater on Channel 4 in Indianapolis. We lived 70 miles away from Indy and if I turned the TV antennae just so and all the atmospheric conditions were right, I could pick up a snowy image of Nightmare Theater and see Sammy every Friday night.

Each week, Sammy Terry would raise the lid of his coffin, hoist himself out, utter his trademark evil laugh and introduce that week's movie. He had a rubber spider on a string named George who served as his sidekick and spoke in high-pitched gibberish that only Sammy could understand.

Sammy would interrupt the movie periodically for some truly awful puns and one of his patented scary soliloquies. He'd drone on and on in his drawn out "spooky" voice for what seemed like half an hour, talking about all manner of macabre topics. Due to the late hour I'd sometimes doze off during one of his interludes, and I'd wake up 20 minutes later and he'd still be talking!

Despite his penchant for rambling, I loved Sammy and his show and never missed it for years. Back in the pre-home video days, if you wanted to see a particular movie, you just had to wait until it showed up on TV. There were no video stores or movies on demand and only 3 major networks. Shows like Sammy's were the only place you could see old horror and sci-fi movies. He introduced me to Frankenstein and Godzilla movies and many others, and for that I am truly grateful to him. I wouldn't be a horror fan today if not for Nightmare Theater.

Even though I loved the films he aired, I rarely managed to see the entire movie. Most of the time I'd fall asleep halfway through the show and wake up on the couch at 3 a.m. with the TV blasting away a blank screen full of snow. It just came on too late for me to make it through all the way.

Sadly, most of Sammy's shows are lost forever. A few years ago I worked with a guy who interned at Channel 4 in the 1970s, and he said back then it was common practice to videotape a show, air it, and then tape the next week's show over the previous one. Apparently videotapes were prohibitively expensive back then and storage space was limited, plus in those pre-home video days, no one dreamed there'd ever be a market for old TV shows. It makes my head hurt just thinking about all the hours of Sammy's show (and dozens of other samples of TV history) that are gone forever.

By the way, I watched his show for many, many years before one day I finally got his name. Sometimes I can be a little slow. Sammy's retired now, but still occasionally appears at horror conventions around the Hoosier state.

I wish there were still horror hosts on TV, but in an age where you can own or download any movie you might ever want to see, there's probably not much point in it. Plus, most local horror shows operated on shoestring budgets. Each week Sammy would rise up out of his plywood coffin and stand in front of a cardboard set. He was literally creating something out of nothing. I'm not sure today's more sophisticated kids would stand for such nonexistent production values. Sadly, horror hosts have gone the way of buggy whips and powdered wigs.

Anyway, here's my version of Sammy Terry and his pal George the spider. I didn't notice it back when I was watching him on a snowy TV set, but in reality Sammy's yellow gloves appeared to be everyday dishwashing gloves, with what looked like "veins" drawn on with a marker (!). No idea why he'd have veins on his gloves, but whatever.

Drawn in Photoshop on the graphic tablet.

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Frankenstein 001

nobody@flickr.com (bob canada) — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 13:26:49 -0700

bob canada posted a photo:

Ever since I was a kid, my all-time favorite monster has been Frankenstein. Why? Who knows? Maybe it's because deep down he's not really a monster, he's just misunderstood and wants to be loved and accepted like everyone else. Or maybe it's because he's got green skin and a flat head and throws little girls into the lake.

By the way, I know the monster's name isn't Frankenstein, but it's easier than saying "The Frankenstein Monster" every time I mention him.

I can remember trying to stay up on Friday nights to watch horror movies on TV, back in prehistoric times before home video. The movies usually didn't start until midnight, and most of the time I would conk out well before they were over. But when a Frankenstein movie was playing, I was always able to stay awake.

But I digest. Here's my version of the Frankenstein monster.

I've noticed that when I'm sitting around doodling, I end up drawing Frankenstein quite a lot. So for no other reason than because I can, I've decided to start the 100 Frankensteins Project. I'm challenging myself to draw one hundred different versions of Frankenstein (no time limit, just whenever). I doubt if I'll make it, but I'm willing to give it a go.

Drawn in Photoshop on the graphic tablet.

Want to see more? Check out my new blog! All the cool kids are doing it!

Medusa Mrs. Partridge

nobody@flickr.com (bob canada) — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 18:56:17 -0700

bob canada posted a photo:

At the end of the fourth season of the Partridge Family TV series, stars Shirley Jones and teen heart-throb David Cassidy both announced their plans to leave the show. The ABC network, reluctant to cancel one of their most popular programs, scrambled to find a solution that would allow them to keep it going without the two stars.

The series' writers came up with a radical new direction for the show, taking a page from such supernatural sitcoms as Bewitched and I Dream Of Jeannie.

In the fifth season opener, a prologue revealed that the Partridge family had embarked on a tour of Greece. While visiting a Greek temple, Danny Partridge loudly proclaimed that the Greek gods were nothing more than myth. This invoked the wrath of Zeus, who turned out to be very much alive and well and still living on Mt. Olympus.

Zeus, in his anger, hurled a lightning bolt at young Danny, meaning to smite him. At the last second, Shirley Partridge threw herself in front of her son in order to save his life and was killed instantly (setting the stage for Jones' departure from the show). Then, remorseful at taking the life of the mother of the Partridge children, Zeus transformed Mrs. Partridge's smoking corpse into that of the Gorgon Medusa.

Reuben Kinkaid, the band's perpetually nervous manager, was characteristically flustered and distraught by this turn of events, and warned the remaining children never to look directly into eyes of their newly transformed mother, lest they be turned to stone. Keith Partridge, lead singer of the band, inadvertently glanced at Medusa during a performance of "I Think I Love You" and was permanently transformed into an immobile statue. This allowed the producers to replace David Cassidy with a stone replica for the rest of the series, which they wheeled onstage during musical performances.

For the entire fifth season, the band traveled the world with a lead singer that was a statue and a mother who was a Gorgon (played by a new actress, of course). Most of the plots centered around Kinkaid and the Partridge children trying to cope with life on the road while attempting to keep their friends and guest stars from being turned to stone by their monstrous mother.

The new direction was not well received.

The show's teen fans only watched the show to see Cassidy, and after his departure they tuned out in droves. Remaining viewers were confused by the abrupt change in direction and the addition of supernatural elements. The series was canceled after only a handful of episodes had aired, and the fifth season was removed from the syndication package.

This is a vector drawing, snakey hair and all. Drawing the snakes actually wasn't the nightmare you'd think. It turns out it was kind of relaxing trying to arrange them all just so, sort of a mindless Zen exercise. Yeah, the snakes all have the same head. Hey, I'm not lazy, I'm working smart! Drawn all in InDesign. I cheated a little and added a distressed texture to the background in Photoshop.

Extra credit Partridge Family questions:

1. In what city did the Partridge Family live? Hint: It's not L.A.

2. What was the name of the Partridge Family's dog?

3. What was Mrs. Partridge's job prior to joining the family band?

UPDATE: No one's been able to answer the extra credit questions so far, so here are the answers:

1. The Partridge Family lived in San Pueblo, California. As near as I can tell that's a fictitious city. There's a San Pablo, California, but to my knowledge there's no San Pueblo.

2. The family dog was named Simone. Much like the Brady Bunch's dog Tiger, Simone appeared regularly in the first season but mysteriously disappeared after that.

3. Before the band formed, Mrs. Partridge worked as a bank teller. She was, of course, a widower, as women on TV in that era were not allowed to be divorcees.

Want to see more? Check out my new blog! All the cool kids are doing it!
I'm also on Twitter for some reason.

Madge & Morty Canasta

nobody@flickr.com (bob canada) — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 19:22:56 -0700

bob canada posted a photo:

I drew Mrs. Madge Canasta way back in February of 2009, and I promised that someday I'd draw her husband. Well, today's the day. Meet Mr. Morty Canasta.

My style's changed somewhat since I first drew Madge, so it was a challenge trying to draw Morty so that he matched her.

Morty's pink shirt was a last minute addition. Originally it was light blue to compliment his shorts. Then I thought about how awful most golf outfits are and thought, "What's the worst possible color I could use here?" The answer of course, was pink, which is pretty common among golf shirts.

I was going to post Morty by himself, but in the end it made more sense to present the two of them together. I touched up Madge a little too, to make her match Morty a bit more.

Drawn in Photoshop on the graphic tablet.

Want to see more? Check out my new blog! All the cool kids are doing it!
I'm also on Twitter for some reason.

Martini Martian

nobody@flickr.com (bob canada) — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 12:40:35 -0800

bob canada posted a photo:

Mars may not be the kind of place to raise your kids (in fact it's cold as hell), but man, does it SWING!

Things I learned drawing this illustration: A dinner jacket doesn't have "notches" in the lapels; they're smooth. Because I'm a... oh, what's the word? Um... SLOB! Because I'm a slob, I never knew that until now.

Drawn in Photshop on the graphic tablet.

Want to see more? Check out my new blog! All the cool kids are doing it!
I'm also on Twitter for some reason.

Monocles® By Klink Logo

nobody@flickr.com (bob canada) — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 18:00:52 -0700

bob canada posted a photo:

So I'm watching Hogan's Heroes and I think to myself, "Man, that Col. Klink is one dapper Nazi! What's the secret to his dashing and debonair style?" And then it hit me- the monocle!

Call me crazy, but I think the monocle is long overdue for a comeback. Any day now they're going to come back in style in a big way. And when they do, I've got a logo all ready to sell to the highest bidder.

Designed in InDesign.

Want to see more? Check out my new blog! All the cool kids are doing it!