There is a touch of sensuality in the pink tentacles, scarlet flowers, and protruding ship masts
How can we not feature something that boasts airships, Arctic wastes, tentacles and sensuality - all at once? Impossible, I say! So here is the "Airships and Tentacles" Series by Myke Amend, combining Vernian and Lovecraftian atmosphere and concepts into strange-fiction fantasy horror mashups:
"The Rescue" - a commission work for Robert Brown of Abney Park
Exclusive Interview with Myke Amend for Dark Roasted Blend
---- What are your influences, besides the obvious Lovecraft references and airship-induced themes? (books, music, art - the more, the better)
"I would count my artistic influences over my lifetime as: Gustav Dore, Pieter Brueghel (the Elder mostly, but I admire the entire family's work) Zdzislaw Beksinski, Bethalynne Bajema, Michael Whelan, Derek Riggs, Dave McKean, and Gerald Brom - though recently I have found myself very drawn by the works of newer artists such as Brian Despain, Travis Louie, Chet Zar, and Chris Mars. I don't see any of which really showing in my works, regretfully, but they are there - each encouraging me to try something new and experimental in the styling, media, or feel of each work I do.
I am also influenced by the written works of Edgar Allen Poe, Algernon Blackwood, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, H.G. Wells, Robert W. Chambers, Gordon R. Dickson, Tolkien, Jules Verne, Terry Brooks, H.P. Lovecraft, Mary Shelley, Neil Gaiman, and Warren Ellis. (DRB: we will have to add to this list Dan Simmons' recent Arctic horror novel "The Terror")
In my teen years, it was music - gloomy gothy music, deathrock, horror punk ordered by mail or shared through duplicated cassettes - and the largest assortment of obscure and semi-unknown metal and progressive metal bands - many of which I picked out of the music store almost entirely according to their album art, hence Derek Riggs (Illustrator for Iron Maiden) listed in my artistic influences.
Most influential, especially in my youth, outside of Dungeons and Dragons and Dark Sun campaigns, were the entire series of Final Fantasy games, the Dragon Warrior games, as well as Chrono-Cross and Chrono Trigger - leading into my earlier adult years with games such as the Heroes of Might and Magic series, Xenosaga, Dark Cloud, and Dark Cloud II.
Audio-visual eye-candy tends to grab me more than anything else these days. This perhaps because I regrettably find myself with less time for reading or for visiting my favorite museums. Doctor Who, Torchwood, The Golden Compass, Stardust, Mirrormask, Pan's Labyrinth, City of Lost Children, Chronos, Howl's Moving Castle, Casshern, Brazil, the Adventures of Baron Munchausen account for much of what I have been doing over this last year or so."
"The Machine" was done for Josh Pfeiffer/the Steampunk Industrial band "Vernian Process"
---- Do you think that John Campbell's "Who Goes There?" should be remade again (and by which director?)
"As long as it is not the William F. Nolan screen treatment, I would love to see another good version, though Carpenter's make of it still gives me chills when watching. I don't know if anyone could do a better job, but I think it would take good actors, as well as a good director and good screenwriter. The Hollywood of this last decade would probably first look for someone who looks good in tight pants, and then try to write a movie around her, with lots of big explosions - and obviously CG monsters with huge muscles. Which director? ... Peter Jackson and Del Toro would be the obvious choices - though Steve Barker did a good job with Claustrophobic terror in "Outpost", as did Neil Marshall in "Dog Soldiers".. or perhaps I like British Camp horror a bit too much."
---- Which other fellow artists in the same vein can you recommend?
"Eliza Gauger, aside from having been in my favorite band: Abney Park, is a photographer and a doubly brilliant artist, leaning mostly towards 'weird', lowbrow, and newschool art - she is also the person who originally designed the H.M.S. Ophelia, which is the primary subject of the airship painting which kicked off this entire series - one that began with Captain Robert Brown of Abney Park needing decor for his library and study"
Steampunk, horror, and gothic eCards are somewhat hard to find on the net, but Myke's site features free eCards service, and many free desktop images. Some are irresistibly gorgeous, such as the "Conception" and "Sabiku Engraving":
Speaking about our recent article "Postage Stamps from the Future", which featured some Lovecraft-inspired stamps, here is Jules Verne' themed one by Myke Amend (on the right - more tentacles in the air, courtesy Airboy)
For the wonderful examples of airships and tentacles in recent science fiction, make sure to read Alastair Reynolds epic novella "Minla's Flowers" and no less epic work "Finisterra" by David Moles.
Great art. But why the dismissive and shallow description of artists Jasmine Beckett Griffith and Brigid Ashwood as "cute and light-hearted"? Jasmines work is fantastical pop surrealism and while some of it is airy fairy she also has a broad range of work that shows real depth and skill. Brigids steampunk art is beloved by her fans for its original take on the genre and uniquely feminine perspective. Many of us find her work mysterious and compelling rather then "cute and light-hearted". Some food for thought.
"But why the dismissive and shallow description of artists Jasmine Beckett Griffith and Brigid Ashwood as "cute and light-hearted"?"
@Sophie - Mostly for lack of space. I had a lot of trouble keeping the word count down as it was, and the last thing I intended was to sound "dismissive" - as that would nullify the point of making recommendations.
Jasmine is a wonderfully talented artist, with a lot of great work, and she employs the use of color like no other. She has also been kind to me over the years, such as having given me a spot in last year's "Gothic Art Now" book.
Brigid is equally incredible, and I especially love that she is not only multi-talented, but has a myriad of skills to pull from - and an ability to work most any media with ability that is beyond "expert".
She also has a wealth of knowledge when it comes to the best spots to purchase the best materials, and is an invaluable friend for this and many other reasons. She, too, has done some rather wonderful things for me along the way.
Both of which lean more towards figurative art, and those figures are figures that I find to be "cute" and looking at them not only makes me feel inspired. Given that they are often colorful and vivid, the mood of their works, to me, is generally uplifting.
I stand by "Cute and Light-hearted", just not in the way that you might like to interpret it.
About Justo's Cathedral. He lives in a village near Madrid city (Spain) and has no degree or other specific knowledge. He's simply a believer and a dreamer.
Use recyclable materials, accept donations (money or materials) and recently was the starring of Aquarious drink (Coca-cola).
Some summers, volunteers works with him to speed up the work. He has been working alone on it for decades.
The US military powers tanks, helicoptors, and various ships with jet turbines.
http://www.military-today.com/navy/ticonderoga_class_cruiser.htm Propulsion 4 x General Electric LM2500 gas turbines delivering 80 000 shp to two shafts
I was lucky enough to be right on the track, for some drag racing back in the eighties. Using years-old press passes my friend had, a group of us loaded cameras and empty camera cases around our necks and got full pit access. That night's theme, "jet cars under the stars," featured a truck cab with huge turbine engine like one you pictured. I'll never forget the high velocity air blast – or the taste of jet exhaust – as that thing launched. YeeeeeHaw!!!
Amazing articles, amazing power, amazing. Wow but except for blowing snow we will all agree that this is not at all useful. I suppose also that it hurts the environment a lot. Let's keep everything real even when we want to amaze ourselves. Thank you.
Gasturbines are great for various applications! Nevertheless, the fuel consumption is very guzzling. But the construction is very reliable. Anyway, great photos of some heavy machinery!
Greyhound had turbine buses in the early 1970s. They were wonderful to ride in. But they didn't have the fuel economy of diesels and were doomed when the oil crunch hit in 1974.
One of the toughest problems with jet engines is dealing with the very high temperature exhaust. In the picture above, you can see that the Kenworth truck exhaust pipe has melted the top left corner of the trailer it was hauling! Hilarious!
When Jay Leno was talking about his jet-powered motorcycle, he said that if anyone started tailgating you, just wait until you are at a stop light and then roll the motorcycle backwards until their bumper melts. :)
that is a Klimov VK-1 out of a Mig 15 they are used to remove snow from runways. I have never seen them used for oil fires that is usually done with explosives. That thing would just feed a fire like crazy plus the exhaust out of it is hot enough to ignite the oil.
The "Monstrous Machine Found Somewhere in Russia" is a de-icing machine. Definitely looks like a locally designed and manufactured machine... An old jet engine mounted on a truck. Oh wow. how loud would that be?
at the end of the Kuwait war there were a lot of methods tried to extinguish the oilwell fires set by the Iraqis as they fled. One thrown together by the russians was a tank with a couple of jet engines mounted on the turret. When the engines were up to speed and pointed at the burning oilwell, high pressure water was pumped in, in place of the afterburner. This sprayed extremely high pressure water onto the fire and just snuffed them out. It was fantastic to watch. This truck looks like a cutdown version of the above.
Picture of the old jet engine used for 'defrosting' airplanes - http://www.airliners.net/photo/UTAir-Aviation/Tupolev-Tu-134A-3/1019076/L/&sid=5a256d810e4899417eb10f7f6200a871
Yeah, a de-icing machine. The enginge is a MiG-15 or MiG-17 radial compressor engine with just a lengthened jet, it's not an after burner. There's still a tank-truck needed for an hour of work.
Such machines have been used to remove ice especially from rails and railroad switches in the permafrost areas in siberia. But in some cases other eastern europe countries realized the same technical idea very fast. They had several of these machines in East Germany in the very hard winter of 79/80. My father did run such a thing as a flight ingeneer.
The team with the jets on tank chassis was not Russian, but Hungarian, and it worked with high pressure fog:
"Some new methods were used. Early on, teams used liquid nitrogen to smother fires. A team from Hungary put two jet engines on top of a captured Iraqi tank and introduced water into the stream of gas the jets produced, Mr. Heischman said, blowing a high-velocity fog at the fires and 'essentially blowing them out.'" /NY Times Online/
With regards to the jet engine on the truck. It has a number of uses already mentioned. One that wasn't included is chemical/biological decontamination. Chemicals/liquids are injected into the stream to render chem/bio agents inert.
For those saying it can't be used to snuff out a fire, how do you extinguish a candle on a birthday cake? ;^) A fire can't burn unless it has the right concentration of oxygen...
Maybe it's a the leaf-blower-from-hell? My penny is on de-icing (melting)or better just removal of snow (just blowing it away and melt the rest).
If i remember correctly the devices for fighting oil-well fires have more thrust (more/bigger jet-engine) and are armoured against the heat of the fire, this thing will melt before it gets close enough (looking at the downward angle of the engine this makes sense).
The truck with the "backward" jet engine as a snout is a de-icing system. While the West worked on fluids the Soviets use old jet engine, whose exhaust was hot enough to melt the snow and ice and dry the surface of a plane's wings as well.
The "jet thing" is probably for removing snow from the runways. In England similar first generation jet engines were used for removing snow. Works quite well, but they are rather thirsty engines.
the heat gun truck is either an aircraft deicer, an engine-starting heater for older planes, or some sort of crazy experimental snowplow. most likely a deicer.
Some very Darth Vader-like helmet styles were used during the Iraq War in 2003 by the Fedayeen volunteers (the engraved text reads "Allah, Al Watan, the Ghatadz" - Allah, who made the world, be our guide)
This translation is very bad :( What it says is: "Allah, Al-Watan, Al-Kaed" Which means: God,Country and Leader.
The Lego Watch for kids is buildable, waterproof and comes in many different styles. It comes for Star Wars fans, Lego City, Lego for girls and many other styles too.
What a great article, Simon. I just have to find the one with 'Crap Beer'. You know that will draw in more people than it will repel! Oh and Whiskey, as soup of the day. Must be in Scotland!
What a great post, I really enjoyed it! :-) Dirty Dick's as Prince Igor mentioned is really quite a lovely pub! My local near work is called The Walrus & Carpenter which I like a lot, and we also have The Hung, Drawn & Quartered nearby - pretty much next to the Tower.
Other common ones in the UK are The Star, The Green Man and The White Lion. I grew up in a small village, with approx 30 houses, one church, and 4 pubs either in the village or nearby. Not a bad average! It is easy to see why the village pub was often the centre of village life - and indeed, most pubs were built in the immediate vicinity of the church. There was The County Members (in the village), The Royal Oak (Newinngreen), The Welcome Stranger (Court-At-Street), and the Shipbuilder's Arms (West Hythe). The latter was named when it was a port, although it is now come 2 miles from the sea. Sadly, a lot of English pubs have been either closed, or taken over by huge 'gastropub' chains, and the names changed from the historical ones to such stupidities as 'The Frog & Nightgown' and 'The Pitcher & Piano'
I've been intrigued, if mildly, by this for years. Started when in a novel the detective-hero pontificated on the subject, tracing many to religious themes: e.g. "The Goat and Compasses" did not refer to a sea-faring nanny but to the "God Encompasseth" sermon subject.
As the inn sign artist responsible for the Fox & Hounds (on the far left of the 'Sporting' three), its nice to see such interest in an otherwise waning tradition. I hadn't actually seen a photo of it in its place until now, so thanks for that! I also have painted a Prince Albert from the same portrait as the one above, but using the whole image. I hand-paint everything and all my signs are unique, but some on this page are stock library images, digitally printed onto vinyl stickers and appearing on different signs for pubs with the same name. I wouldn't be so bold as to advertise on this board but if you want to visit my website, Google my name! Cheers, Nick Hallard
Heavy, firm bars with wooden bar stools are not the only thing that defines a pub. But I don't think anywhere else in the world would have pub with such outrageous signs.
Wow, this is one of the most thorough explanations I've read on the history of the pub sign. Makes me admire even more the craftsmanship that I for one always thought was cool. Wish we had more chances to design and make signs like these..
Hard to imagine the extra weight this adds to aircraft, not to mention extra drag as opposed to a polished aluminum skin. Extra weight + drag = higher fuel consumption = more $$$.
That Astraeus plane was indeed painted for Iron Maiden, last year. It was co-piloted by singer Bruce Dickinson, who is a commercial pilot for Astraeus when not with Iron Maiden.
On the subject of famous people on aircraft it's worth mentioning that the man on the tail of Alaska Airlines' regular planes is William Seward, who as Secretary of State arranged the purchase of Alaska from Russia.
One note on semantics: The paint scheme of any airliner (special or not) is known as "livery" -- more specifically, airlines have "liveries", and gthe airliners are painted in it. What you are showing are "Special" or "Commemorative" liveries.
Militaries have been doing this sort of thing for decades. The Canadian Forces, for example, have a long history of commemorative paint schemes, including several quite famous schemes for the CF-104 Starfighter (at least half a dozen different tiger-striped ones over the course of two decades, for example) and a quite spectacular blue, white and gold CF-18 scheme celebrating 100 years of flight in Canada.
Qoute GaryM: Hard to imagine the extra weight this adds to aircraft, not to mention extra drag as opposed to a polished aluminum skin. Extra weight + drag = higher fuel consumption = more $$$.
Not really, even the aircraft with a "polished aluminium skin" have several coats of paint (albeit clear paint) on them. It protects the metal against the weather and against UV-radiation.
Aircraft "paint" (it's more a kind of polyurethane coating)is very specialized, it's adapted to the kind of flights the aircraft is going to do. A short-haul aircraft will have a different paint than a long-haul intercontinental jet. Also a lot of airlines have their own mix of paint suited for their operation.
But in a way you are correct, an unpainted plane would be lighter and therefore cheaper to operate. But the aircraft will unprotected and will have a much, much shorter lifetime. And planes are quite expensive to replace ;)
Actually you are incorrect Nils, American Airlines does not use a clear coat paint. The surface is polished aluminum. The planes get polished at the Main Base Visit heavy checks with what looks like a large shoe polisher on the end of a weed eater. It saves an incredible amount of weight and wear is not much of a problem due to the oxidation of the aluminum. As far as drag is concerned, a well done paint job can actually reduce the drag slightly over polished aluminum because rivet heads and seams can get filled smooth (but I re-iterate that it must be a very good paint job). One of the dilemma's AA has is what to do with the composite 787.
Does anyone know if these liveries are painted or are they done in a similar way to vehicle wraps? Since nobody is going to be that close, I can imagine the detail isn't important, but the cost of hand painting an area that large, versus printing on a decal and applying it, would be astronomical.
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That weird coin is 1 Lats from Latvia (http://www.bank.lv/eng/main/all/lvnaud/coin/1lats/puce/).
"An owl fibula is featured in the centre of the coin, with the numeral 1 and the inscription LATS placed on the left and right side of it respectively".
Another wierd story is about the swedish artist who forged 9 pieces of swedish 10 kr coins and spred them into use. They are made out of 10.7 grams of 18 carat gold.
(sorry, it's swedish but you could try google translate - http://translate.google.com/translate?prev=hp&hl=sv&js=y&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.dn.se%2Fekonomi%2Fvissa-mynt-ar-guld-som-glimmar-1.608380&sl=sv&tl=en&history_state0= )
one of the most beautiful walled cities I've ever seen is Aigues-Mortes, partially because it never really outgrew it's walls, so it still has the "in-here vs out-there feeling"
there are also plenty of post-medieval dutch fortifications, known as the "waterlinie", such as Woerden, which was also a roman and medieval city with castles and all, only 20KM from Utrecht
and many more forts in that style, such as Bourtange (also one of the most beautiful places I've ever been)
How could you overlook Mont St Michel? It's a walled city, still functional today (though its main business today is tourism, plus some income from the surrounding floodplain pasturage), between Normandy and Brittany. The first fortifications were built by William the Conqueror, and it was added onto bit by bit. It was a penal colony for a while, and a monastery for much longer. Today, it is an actual city -- there are people who live there full-time, though they must feel a bit odd with all the tourists tramping around all the time. Carcasonne is another noteworthy walled city, in the south of France, and people still live in it as well.
While the ancient fortifications of London are not easily visible (apart from the Tower, and some influence on the way roads sprang up), the fortifications of Paris are easier to find. Some sections of medieval wall still stand, and the major routes into the city proper are in the same positions as the ancient portals -- and indeed, are referred to as "portes" even when the ancient archway is no longer present (though in many cases the arch is still there, along with a good bit of wall).
Another German city that still retains a good portion of its fortress wall is Rothenburg on der Tauber, also famous for the legendary Meistertrunk, a flagon of beer that, when drunk in one draught by one of the city fathers, saved the town during the Hundred Years War. The event is portrayed on a clock tower, reenacted every year, and numerous tourist trinkets celebrate it. Oh yeah; the town also hosts the original Kriskindlmarkt, or Christmas store, of Kathe Wolfahrt. The store is open year-round, except on Christmas.
Actually the Maginot Line was 100% successful. The Germans never breached it. Unfortunately it did not extend past the Belgian border. That's not an indictment of fortifications. That's an indictment of stupid politics.
I'm days late on this, but it's a shame that you didn't mention Nanjing, China. I don't know if this is true but their Ming dynasty city wall claims to be the longest ever built at over 33km. Whether or not that was true, the many hundreds of years of building & strengthening the wall and its implications during the Rape of Nanking make it rather significant. China also continues to spend a lot of money to keep it in good repair
About the pictures of Naarden and Heusden (with the star fortifications), I'm pretty sure they were designed by Vauban. So if you wanna see more of them, look him up. Vauban and some pictures here And to Alex Epstein, Rommel smashed right though the Maginot line, look it up.
Thessaloniki, Greece has some of the best surviving walls dating from Roman to Byzantine Empires. Imagine a inverted C shaped wall going from ocean to ocean in Santa Barbara, California. Ringing the city in the mountains, in multiple layers as the city grew. The view from the fortifications down onto the Thermaic Gulf is pretty incredible.
Pingyao (china) is also worth mentioning. Beautiful city which looks as old as her mighty city walls. Like nobody ever crossed the walls since they were constructed.
Can you imagine how the builders felt when they got done building the wall and the king said, "Ya' know, I think we should build ANOTHER wall in front of the one you just built, so start that first thing in the morning." ahahhahhhhhaaaa
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5 Comments:
Fabulous interview!
I love everything Myke does... thanks for the insights and for publishing such a great range of his work and interests!
Great art. But why the dismissive and shallow description of artists Jasmine Beckett Griffith and Brigid Ashwood as "cute and light-hearted"? Jasmines work is fantastical pop surrealism and while some of it is airy fairy she also has a broad range of work that shows real depth and skill. Brigids steampunk art is beloved by her fans for its original take on the genre and uniquely feminine perspective. Many of us find her work mysterious and compelling rather then "cute and light-hearted". Some food for thought.
"But why the dismissive and shallow description of artists Jasmine Beckett Griffith and Brigid Ashwood as "cute and light-hearted"?"
@Sophie - Mostly for lack of space. I had a lot of trouble keeping the word count down as it was, and the last thing I intended was to sound "dismissive" - as that would nullify the point of making recommendations.
Jasmine is a wonderfully talented artist, with a lot of great work, and she employs the use of color like no other. She has also been kind to me over the years, such as having given me a spot in last year's "Gothic Art Now" book.
Brigid is equally incredible, and I especially love that she is not only multi-talented, but has a myriad of skills to pull from - and an ability to work most any media with ability that is beyond "expert".
She also has a wealth of knowledge when it comes to the best spots to purchase the best materials, and is an invaluable friend for this and many other reasons. She, too, has done some rather wonderful things for me along the way.
Both of which lean more towards figurative art, and those figures are figures that I find to be "cute" and looking at them not only makes me feel inspired. Given that they are often colorful and vivid, the mood of their works, to me, is generally uplifting.
I stand by "Cute and Light-hearted", just not in the way that you might like to interpret it.
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what a joy to fall in a world, only you and the novel. Such inspiring. That is the power of the mind. Good work
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