Tuesday, June 6, 2017

x.42


acrylic on Fabriano 300 watercolor paper 8" x 10"

Here’s x.42, a new painting for my alien menagerie extracts series of artwork. It’s been a while since I’ve finished one of these; 289 days passed between the completion of x.41 and x.42. Even accounting for how relatively rapidly time seems to pass, that’s a long interval! Between those two paintings I made 108 illustrations for broadcast on the 49th season of 60 MINUTES. That is work which I find challenging, rewarding and sometimes frustrating because of the schedule. While creating alien menagerie pieces aren’t without challenge, I experience a deep sense of serenity, and satisfaction. It’s every day, every moment, I’ve sat aside time to work on art for the love of it, connected as one.



preliminary pencil doodle, and ink rendering of alien x.42.


Tuesday, May 30, 2017

Fanzines 1977•1978


Armageddon cover artwork by Andy Kuhn

from the introduction to “9 aliens”:


When I first dreamed of a career for myself as a professional artist of some type, I thought it would be in comics. I found a co-conspirator in my good friend Pat Talbot, who I met in September 1973 as students in our first year of Middle School. We were both fans of Star Trek and Planet of the Apes. Together, we started a small science fiction club, and I began reading Isaac Asimov, Robert Heinlein and E.E. “Doc” Smith books. Eventually Pat won me over to superhero comics, and Iron Man #71 was my first purchase in August of 1974. Not long after, we were fervently creating our own comic books with markers on typing paper. When Pat learned that professional comic artists used india ink on large sheets of bristol board, we upgraded our methods. We competed with, and encouraged each other to be better artists and storytellers. In 1977 Pat published his fanzine “Armageddon" which I contributed to, along with other artists and writers from the comics scene in Indianapolis. I had some nebulous plans to print my own zine as well, and I interviewed the artist Al Milgrom for it from a pay phone, dropping in quarters as he patiently answered my questions. By the publication of Pat’s next fanzine, “Eons” in 1978, I had started teaching myself to paint and shortly after began to entertain ambitions of someday becoming an illustrator creating book covers for science fiction novels. My artistic goals had shifted, and I never got around to printing my own zine, but forty years later, I’m correcting that in a modest fashion. “9 aliens” collects together a group of pen and ink drawings I made in the fall of 2016. I’d been wanting to try my hand at this media again for some time and found the catalyst in the social media challenge “Inktober”.


Bruce Jensen New York, NY May 2017


Wednesday, May 10, 2017

9 aliens

I’m excited to announce that I’ve printed a small quantity of a zine I’m calling “9 Aliens”, which collects together the pen and ink drawings that I made for ‘Inktober’ 2016. The printing is in black and white with a color cover and introduction by myself. “9 Aliens” is 5.5 x 7 inches printed on a heavy stock. The cost is a flat $6 for purchases in the USA and Canada, and $7 for all other International orders. Shipping is included, and will be mailed to you first class in a manila envelope.


Monday, February 13, 2017

Tuesday, February 7, 2017

Monday, February 6, 2017

inked alien #1


As a teenager in the mid-seventies my artistic ambitions were initially directed towards comics and fanzines. In October 2016 I decided to try my hand at drawing in ink again. It was challenging but fun to dip into this media again. This was the first off my drawing board.



sumi ink on bristol

Friday, February 3, 2017

Year of the Rooster


acrylic on Fabriano 300 watercolor paper 8" x 10"

My new alien menagerie piece to celebrate the Year of the Rooster which began January 28th 2017.

Below ~ sketching the evolution of a space chicken.