THE END OF INKY DREADFULS

Starting in November I will be dropping the Inky Dreadfuls moniker from my name and presenting my work simply by my real name, Michael Mararian.

When my work was all created using only ink it was a fun title to use but since my newer work has evolved into using paint as well as ink I feel a need to drop the title and also it has gotten to the point where I'm known by so many names it's confusing. Am I Inky Dreadfuls? M. Mararian's Inky Dreafuls?, M. Mararian?, or Michael Mararian?.

Every gallery has me listed differently and sometimes they send me checks I can't cash because they'll make them out to Inky Dreadfuls. So I think come this Fall ,when I put together my new website, I will go by my real name, Michael Mararian.

Until then call me Inky all you want for at least this summer.

UPDATE FROM RYAN

Ryan, with whom you may remember from my earlier post back in December 2008 hit me up with the latest images of my Inkwork artwork turned inkwork again. Check 'em out....

GERMAN NEWS ARTICLE

A write up about the gallery -- Can anyone translate? I would have copy pasted the text myself but it's a PDF...and I'm too lazy to re-type it all ;)

DOODLE BREAK

Taking a break from painting - thought i would just doodled for awhile - came up with this, i thought he was cute....

DUSSELDORF SHOW IMAGES

KNIGHTLINES

You never know how interviews will turn out once they come out in print but thankfully this was one of the good ones. John Daley, editor of Knightlines, a quarterly publication from the University of Bridgeport, did an excellent interview with me "Theater dreams led to Mararian's Gorey-esque art" for the Spring 2009 issue. Check it out here. Thanks John!!

DRACULACON 2009

We just got back from our maiden voyage to Draculacon in Windber, PA to partake both in the inaugural festivities and to see my old college friend Blair Murphy after 20 odd years. We have both gotten older and a little more filled out but have maintained all the fun and creative elements I remember so well from 1987.

Blair used my "Children of the Night" image for event T-shirt (they came out great) and the two day event had a interesting line up of well know and versatile acts including "The Cadillac Creeps", Phat Man Dee , Rosemary Ellen Guiley and Bauhaus bassist David J.

The residents of the small town of Windber were more than gracious and we actually met some incredibly cool people at the hotel - particularly Caddilac Creep bassist Joel Mercado and his girlfriend (who did a stunning job of bringing my poster character to life in the photo above) as well as the silent film expert who spoke before the showing of Nosferatu, Bill Eggert.

It was really a great time.

81

A little melancholy today - it would have been my father's 81st birthday today. It's sunny and crisp outside, a beautiful day.

"TWO WEEKS"

So again the death keeps coming...sadly I read today on facebook that an old friend Pricilla Allen whom I had done theater with years ago had passed away last summer, I had no idea. She was most commonly known to all sci-fi horror geeks as the "Two Weeks Lady" from Total Recall. My favorite memory of her was when I had to drive her to Boston that summer from the New Hampshire playhouse we were working at to do more latex face casting....she was describing what happens to her in the scene...that her head explodes etc...who would have know it would be such an iconic scene. Anyway here is her obituary and famous scene right here....
Also here is a great article for further reading about the woman by Michelle collins, writer for BestWeekEver.tv

NEW PRINTS!

So I finally got around to getting some new prints together...

The whole PHOBIA SERIES is available as a complete set of mini-prints! 13 phobia prints in all! This is a really cute set - printed on heavy weight 308 gsm Hahnemuhle fine art rag paper each print is 6" x 6" inches, signed in pencil and numbered. Edition of 30 sets only (seen below). - pencil not included :)


I am also offering 12 of the phobias separately as well, so you can just buy only the ones you want if you like! These prints are the same size as the original pieces - 10" x 10" also printed on the heavy weight 308 gsm Hahnemuhle paper, signed, numbered and dated on the back. (the 13th phobia, in case you were wondering, is still available as an original work so that one will not be available in the full size, sorry)

And lastly I have the print "Youth Explosion" from my last December show, Les Enfants Diaboliques which I've had a lot of requests for. This is comes in at 11"x 14" inch size in editions of 50


So Get them all Here!

ALFRED CHRISTIE PASSES ON

This has been some year so far for me, personally. My Father died January 9th of this year and a week later a long time friend of the Theater Alfred Christie died as well in his home on January 14th. We had a memorial for him Saturday in New York City and today
Courtney Sullivan, a past apprentice with the Hampton Playhouse (where long time parntners Alfred Christie and John Vari gave me my Theater "legs" in acting, directing and writing)wrote an article about the celebration in today's New York Times found here

BEHOLD THE FUTURE

Came across this masterpiece on Facebook via a post by Adam Wallacavage


Can someone please explain this "Technology Knife" to me, because me no get.

GOT GOTTFRIED?

You know that question artists often get "If there was one artist you wish you were, who would it be?" Well, I would definitely NOT say Gottfried Helnwein.

And it's not because he's an awful artist, he's breathtakingly talented, but it's his mind that unnerves me. I wonder if Mr. Helnwein read Dr. Seuss's "Oh, the Places You'll Go!" because even Dr. Seuss would be agog at the outcome. Don't get me wrong, this guy is no Charles Manson, or Ted Bundy by any stretch of the imagination but the sorrow and pain he manages to drill down into are devastatingly real and personal.

Check out the rest of the pieces from his The Disasters of War series from 2007 here. They are astounding. I don't much follow the rest of his Media work but these pieces (in addition to some of his older drawings) always make me smile. Which says a lot about me as well. So then fine, I'll say it...I wish I was Gottfreid Helnwein, okay? I've said it.





















The Disasters of War 21 2007
mixed media (oil and acrylic on canvas)
In Memory of Francisco de Goya

DUSSELDORF BOUND

I received a call from a gallery in Dusseldorf, Germany about doing a show with them.
The Antonia Von Fraunberg Art Gallery. Funny to see all my info in German (find me under the Die Kunstler tab) The Show is scheduled for May 16 and most likely will be just an introduction to some of my older pieces that are still currently available.

I can't wait - my first international spot :)

THE PASSING OF MY FATHER

just a few random photos of him. He died January 9th, 2009
I hope you'll know how much I'll miss you, Dad.

UNTILED LOVE PROJECT BOOK RELEASE

The ISM Untitled Love Project Book is out on the stands (Barnes and Noble Union Square)thanks to the hard work of Creator/Director Kevin Staniec. It's a great collection of artist's works created to illustrate the times of unrequited love in their lives.

On page 33 you can read one of my many pathetic experiences dealing with the beast. But here's more about the book from ISM's site and where to purchase it...

The untitled LOVE project is an emotionally influenced experiment examining the broken heart. Each individual artist will revisit a past relationship through their medium (illustration, painting, photography, etc).

The book features each original artistic expression accompanied with interviews, short stories, or journal entries regarding the story behind the conceptual recollection.

Vulnerability is a necessity.

Click here to purchase a copy of the book.

SIXTH FINCH

Not sure what the name refers too but it's a great site that hosts an on-line quarterly of poetry and art. Eloquently laid out, take a break this new year and check out some of the work - yours truly has an older piece showing within it so for that I am grateful - here's the link for Sixth Finch

"EPIDERMY" DREADFULS

I would guess one of the greatest compliments to bestow an artist is to have an admirer ink their own skin with one of artist's works - or how about two of their works? - okay then, how about a whole friggin sleeve? Well Phoenixville, PA resident Ryan Grondin is just that admirer. Ryan emailed me a short while ago with the following images as part of the full sleeve of my art that is in the process of being worked on.

Needless to say I was overwhelmingly flattered. The tattoo artist working on Ryan is Marc Garofolo of Eternal Image Tattoo also located in Phoenixville area.




















I am impressed by all tattoo artists who can fine shade skin with apparent ease, and Marc is obviously one of them. I have trouble achieving it on a stationary piece of paper, I can't imagine if it moved under my brush as well. I think i told Ryan that I was marveling at how he captured the sheen of the Arsenic bottle and would venture to say he actually improved apon it now that I look at my original drawing found here.

Anyway, cool work Marc if you're out there and thanks Ryan for the commitment to my art!!

OPENING NIGHT

My good friend Andrew Nicholas was kind enough (without me asking mind you) to take some photos of the McCaig Welles "Les Enfants Diaboliques" show last Friday. check out the rest of his cool journalistic photography and New York City memoir's here at This City is Mine

A PIECE FROM MY UPCOMING SHOW

"Little Consumer" From Les Enfants Diaboliques
McCaig Welles Gallery
129 Roebling Street Suite B
Brooklyn, NY
gallery@mccaigwelles.com