#FTG Illustration

[albumarchives]

Oxalate/Perpetuated/Blood Spore/Vivisect | Dreading The Mycelial Mask Split (2020)

[jodytsengart]

Bridget from GGST 🥰

[drondskaath]

Dumal | The Confessor | 2020

American Black Metal

Artwork by FTG Illustrations

https://dumal.bandcamp.com/

[yao7960631]

為品牌『寶島太陽堂』繪製的小老婆餅插畫，分成紫薯及原味兩種。

[darkartandcraft]

Philadelphia, Fungus, and Feminism: A Conversation with Fred Grabowsky

It's been years since we last had the chance to talk to Fred Grabosky, the Philadelphia based artist and illustrator. As part of our latest collaboration, we caught up with him in his Pennsylvania studio to discuss album covers, art supplies, and how to stay grounded in the Instagram age. 

Are you a native of Philly?

I moved to Philly when I was around 18 and started going to school at University of the Arts, but then I moved back to Jersey. I wanted to change my studies so I jumped out of school for a while, but then I came back for illustration. The first time around I did video, but it didn't speak to me the way it seemed to speak to the other people that were there for it. The first time around, I just didn't know what I was doing yet, you know? 

Philadelphia is one of America's oldest cities and it has a somewhat gothic and macabre history. Has that influenced your work at all?

I would say yeah. It has definitely influenced the work around me and that in turn has influenced my artwork. There is a lot of enthusiasm for dark art out here. I'm just a walk down the street from The Convent gallery and I've always loved Jeremy Hush's work, so it's cool to be a part of his gallery shows. As far as the music scene goes, there's been a really good metal scene out here for years now. I'm very influenced by the metal that I listen to when I make the art that I do.

Did music lead you to art, or was it vice versa?

Yeah, music is a big part of me being interested in the kind of art that I make. It took me a while to bridge the gap between the punk music that I listened to and the album covers on that stuff. I just started to study who all these different artists were and where they came from. Like Pushead and even going as far back as Virgil Finlay, who was a scratchboard artist doing a lot of pulp stuff. Music was a huge push in the right direction.   

Which album covers do you really love? 

When I really started to do illustration work for bands, one album cover that was a huge influence on me - and this sounds like a very kid thing to say now - but when I saw the cover for Baroness' Red Album, it just made me really excited. It made me think about what I could do with ink if I started to take it seriously. I was also listening to Kylesa around then and diving into weird Southern sludge metal. Seeing (Shaun) Beaudry's work on those covers made a connection because I realized he was probably pulling from Pushead, and Art Nouveau, and Alphonse Mucha. That was a good jumping off point for me.

Can you tell us about Decay is a Womb and the inspiration behind it? Yeah, I started making that piece because of my fascination with the parasitic fungus that takes over an ant's brain (Ophiocordyceps). It's a whole cycle; it takes over the brain, tells it where to go, eats away at it, spores new life, and that new life takes over and destroys more ants. I related it to things that happened to me, not necessarily other people trying to control you, but how depression can become a controlling force in your life. There is a lot of fear and insecurity that can start to eat away at you. So that is the idea for the body of work that I'm creating now, which will have a solo show in July. It also ties into what I'm doing with my band God Root, we're writing an album right now. We're doing a split with some other bands and one of the title tracks is called Decay is a Womb, so I'm really fixated on this theme right now and it ties into my art as a whole.  What are some of your favorite art supplies that you use and recommend? Definitely Ampersand, they're the scratchboard paper that I use and I'm also going to be using their boards. Always the Pigma Microns from Sakura, I'm always using those. A friend out in South Carolina that goes under Dark Heart Tattoo, she works at Indigo Rose, her name is Chelsea Owen; she showed me Canson Mixed Media paper and I've been swearing by it for 3 or 4 years now. This paper has always been good too because you can ink on it, you can make finished pieces on it. Speedball ink too, their screen printing ink, I love their metallic gold and their metallic silver. 

Is your process very regimented or do you just work when the inspiration strikes?

So lately, I just sit the fuck down and say I'm going to make something and it is going to be great. Back when I was doing ink, it was whenever I had the time and I had to force myself to do it, even when I wasn't feeling it, because you have to try to stick to your deadlines. It really becomes a destructive thing because you start to devalue what you are doing and beat yourself up for not working harder. But the process has changed since I started doing scratchboard. Now, I just take the time that I need and don't worry about much else. It feels good because when it's done, it's done, but with ink, you never know when to stop. Like, if I want a black background but it's white paper, you have to plan out all the weird techniques you could use to make that background black. You could scan it in and make the outline, but that can look cartoonish and cheesy. You could go all around the perimeter making dissipating black dots but that takes an incredible amount of time and it's a huge process for something that might not turn out right. With scratchboard, I'm starting with a black background and I'm making white lines and that is it. That's a much more exciting and freeing thing.

Is scratchboard your preferred medium?

Right now, it really is. Scratchboard has made a huge difference in my turnaround time. When it was ink, it could take months to complete a piece because you have to know for sure where you want to make every line and every dot. It was frustrating and I was just like, fuck it! I can't sit here and look at the same piece for months. Scratchboard is really freeing because you just sketch it out. It's more my style, more of a punk rock style, you just go for it and see how it comes out. You can go with how you're feeling in that moment because it only takes an hour or two to complete.

With a more time-consuming medium like ink, did you ever run out of inspiration before you could finish the piece?

Yes, sometimes I would really just hit a wall. There are a lot of ink artists out there in the dark art scene and I don't want to do the same thing everyone else does. It was a good starting point because a lot of ink artists inspired me, but I'm doing something different because I can embrace scratchboard and translate it in weird ways, like in stained glass.

The last time we talked, you were working in a stained glass studio. Do you still work there?

I probably just started that job when I did the first interview with you guys. I've been there for almost three years now and I really love it! It's very interesting, I get to work with beautiful pieces from the 1800's and 1900's. There are not many places that have on-site painters. I feel very fortunate to be a part of that.

Do you work with a lot of iconography or religious stained glass? 

 Yeah, I work with a lot of iconography pieces. I don't have any religious ties myself, but I appreciate it for what it is. Some of it has had a bit of influence on my work, but I try not to copy it because I feel like it's been done a million times. 

You mean that ironic mix of Judeo-Christian images and Pagan themes?

Yeah, there are a lot of people who just do renditions of religious art and make it grim or evil or Satanic.

There is a lot of non-western spiritual imagery in your work. Do you consider yourself to be a spiritual person?

A lot of that imagery came from research I was doing for the thesis I did in 2013, the Sacred Geometry and Symbolism series. I was just fascinated by the idea that the universe shares a connective tissue with mathematics. At the time I thought, if I'm not going to believe in a god, sacred geometry is the closest thing I can hold to a higher power. It's just really powerful imagery and it makes sense that it's in everything; logos that you see every day to religions that all share these same symbols.

We've talked a bit about the artists that you look up to. How would you define artistic success?

There are a lot of artists that I would look at as a textbook example of success, but if you asked them, they would probably say that they've had successes in the past, but don't consider themselves to be successful. They are their own worst enemy and they beat themselves up. I definitely do that too. You have to make sure that you aren't comparing yourself to other artists because everyone has their own story. Little triumphs are something that should be appreciated more. You have to show some self-love and be happy with what you've accomplished.

Do you think social media has made it easier to share and celebrate those little triumphs? Or are people crippled by constantly comparing themselves to other artists? 

It's hard to feel like you can be successful without integrating social media into your process. There's just so much content flooding the internet and you have to fight for space with other artists who are trying to make a name for themselves. It's daunting and we have to really try to not let it become that. But even as I sit here feeling good about what I just said, in the back of my head I hear those fears and insecurities, "You know you don't really think that because everyone wants that big online following." But that's just me comparing myself to other artists. It's very overwhelming if you don't know how to put the phone down and tell yourself to just keep making your artwork and keep going. People are always crushing it out there and you just have to see what they've got and use it as inspiration to push yourself forward, but know that your story might be different. 

Speaking of online perils, you've spoken very passionately about the struggle women face and how that inspired Strength and Divinity. Would you consider this to be a feminist piece? 

I actually wanted to put the word "FEMINIST" on the bottom of it, but I put it out there to my friends and I had a lot of women say that could be misunderstood. That I could be speaking for women and that takes their voice away. So, I decided not to put any text on it. But I'm pretty fucking pissed off about all the things that women have to go through. It took me a while to understand why I didn't see it before. I think as a society, we adhere to these social norms. There are so many male power-hungry norms that have been out there a long time, so you just don't think about it right away. You just think, ok, that's how life works. The man does this and the woman does that. You don't even realize that you're assigning them these roles. You don't think you are doing it because you aren't consciously thinking anything negative about women, but it's still damaging. I started to realize that I have a lot of things that I want to work on. I'll fess up that this piece was originally created just as a commission for The Midnight Collective. I didn't plan it out and think, "I'm going to do a piece about the power of women." I just felt it, and made it, and came to the realization afterward that subconsciously that is where my thoughts were. I think it's important to address just how many things are fucked up about the way that women are treated and people need to recognize those little unfair things that women deal with every day. Like catcalling, or saying those weird aggressive pickup lines, or touching women when they don't want to be touched, or paying them less than men... There's just so many different things that people don't realize, or at least I didn't. I feel like I can speak for a lot of men when I say that we didn't realize it until it was shoved to the forefront and it sucks. It sucks that it took that much for people to realize just how many crazy things happen to women, and they don't even mention it. Why would they mention it when someone is just going to tell you that you're wrong, or misinterpreting it, or that you're just making it all up? It's fucked up. It was a starting point for me to become more involved in feminism, but I can't say that piece was intentionally made for feminism. Sorry, I went on a tangent there. What do you think about that? 

I think that's pretty accurate. It's easy to address overt sexism because it's more objective, most people can agree that it's wrong even if it does have to be shoved in their face first. It's the subtle things that aren't so easy to address because, you're right, women are told that they're misinterpreting what happened or exaggerating or just making it up.

That sucks.

The process you're describing is how a lot of artists work. I think most artists work at a subconscious level and it's only in hindsight that you're able to reflect on how it was representative of where you were at that time.

It's hard, I feel like I'm a more scatterbrained individual because I don't think it is all there waiting for me to pull from it. It started because I wanted to create something with the face of a woman because I haven't done many pieces featuring women in them. That was the start but then I wanted to tie in something strong like the skull of a warthog. I always try to represent power and nature in my pieces because I hold nature in high regard. It's what I choose to be spiritual about. I mean, I'm not out in the woods praying to trees, but I can appreciate nature while I'm still struggling to understand what human nature is. ...I'm already thinking of all the ways I could have said all this stuff better.

You'll drive yourself nuts doing that. I drive myself nuts every day.

You can find limited edition prints of Fred Grabowsky's work in the Dark Art & Craft store.  For more of Fred's work, visit his website and follow him on Instagram.  Events and Exhibits: 07/13 - Grindcore House in Philadelphia, PA. This solo show will run for 2 months.  07/14 - Gristle Art Gallery in Brooklyn, NY. A Phobos & Deimos group exhibition. 09/21 - Shadow Woods Metal Fest in Whitehall, MD. God Root will be performing. 10/04 - Portside Parlor in Philadelphia, PA. Month-long Halloween themed exhibit.    

[benstigator]

Look Ma, I made magnets. I had no idea how simple it would be. I’m selling magnets and buttons for $1.50 each ($2 shipping)! I’m still raising money for ‘For The Gworls’ https://www.artsbusinesscollaborative.org/asp-products/for-the-gworls-ftg/ as well. A portion of magnet and button sales will go to charity through the end of June! Send me a direct message to coordinate sales or better yet directly donate, this is a great cause. We need to lift up BIPOC trans women and men now more than ever. Thanks y’all. #magnets #buttons #popart #prideflags #prettyprincess #pridemonster #pridefish #angler #illustration #lgbtqia #trans #nonbinary #genderqueer #sapiosexual #asexual #bisexual #supporttranswomen #blacktranslivesmatter #forthegworls #transpride #blm #lovettranswomen https://www.instagram.com/p/CBwutOPJaun/?igshid=axzpy63tg7uf

[damedarcy]

#interview with #mermaideffluvia from #meatcakebible #comix by @damedarcy .com @fantagraphics #friendthegirl FTG: So when did you decide to embark on this particular career? Bitch I was born this way! I’m naturally a strong swimmer and in general the field tends to attract those who are born part-fish. Not to say you can’t become a Siren if you weren’t born with talent but it just helps a little to get your flipper in the door since no man can resist a the obvious mammalian traits of long flowing hair, beautiful boobs and a big booty with scales who, once caught, is more impressive than the biggest of deep water fish. Plus, I’ve always had a haunted but alluring singing voice and blood lust so It’s great to have a job that combines both my favorite hobbies. 🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊👸🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊#mermaidinterview #femalecartionists #womenincomics #alternativecomics #comix #manga #drawing #illustration #blackandwhite #penandink #oldschool #nautical #siren #seawitch https://www.instagram.com/p/B4saSZJF4Mt/?igshid=10burg2feyxrd

[m3t4ln3rd]

Satanarchist to self-release sophomore effort Fire Against The Wall, stream new track "Paradox"

Photo by: Kathleen Kennedy Official press release: Boiling forth from the inner depths of the Portland punk/metal scene, manic duo formed by two former members of Spectral Tombs, Satanarchist, arises with the band’s second album, First Against The Wall, set for independent release as the band sets out on a cross-Canada tour. Writing music that embodies the band’s philosophies of atheism, Satanism…

[geralldhopp]

"We need the growers and the growers need us"

It is often said that flowers are particularly susceptible to crises. The moment the consumer has less to spend, plants get crossed off the shopping list. "But what we've seen recently is actually what a wonderful product we have", says Wim van der Plas, CEO of Floral Trade Group (FTG). "As illustrated… "We need the growers and the growers need us" published first on https://yeuhoavn.tumblr.com/

[perfectworldproductions]

Kaptain Carbon at Metal Bandcamp put together an in-depth preview for SHADOW WOODS METAL FEST including highlights for each band and some great words around the festival! Grab the digs on what to expect at Metal Bandcamp, now!

Metal Bandcamp:

http://metalbandcamp.com/2017/08/shadow-woods-metal-fest-2017-preview.html

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SHADOW WOODS METAL FEST

SHADOW WOODS METAL FEST, the Mid-Atlantic’s only open-air camping heavy metal gathering, is pleased to announce the complete lineup for the 2017 festival, which runs from Thursday, September 14th through Sunday, September 17th at White Hall, Maryland’s Camp Hidden Valley. For the third year, the festival will host 39 of the undergrounds leading bands, representing all genres and subgenres of heavy metal.

Over three days, the four stages of SHADOW WOODS METAL FEST will come to life inside the woodsy landscape of Camp Hidden Valley.  “Every year has been special, but I am just particularly stoked about what we have curated”, says Mary Spiro, organizer of Shadow Woods Productions LLC.  “I am extremely honored to present the lineup this year because I think it reflects the best of the underground metal scene as well as some of the personal favorites of the festival organizers. Several of these bands, I have been trying to host at the fest since the first year and I am happy to finally have them play.”

Beginning on Thursday night, the Pavilion stage will light up and set the tone to the weekend with all-acoustic and intimate performances with Portland’s dark-folk soloist AERIAL RUIN and West Virginia’s Appalachian folk duo, NECHOCHWEN.  As the moon illuminates the sky on Friday,  San Francisco occultists CASTLE will conjure heavy doomed thrash at the Woodland Stage and Boston’s HUMAN BODIES will deliver raw, blackened punk on the Field Stage.  On Saturday, as darkness falls over the Woodland Stage, atmospheric blackened folk giants PANTOPICON will play an exclusive, 70-minute set under the backdrop of the stars. Georgia’s tortured blackened death quintet WITHERED, Brooklyn black metal titans WOE, Rhode Island sludgy-doom foursome CHURCHBURN, mysterious blackened grind band DEAD IN THE MANGER, and San Francisco extreme death quintet VASTUM (one of two east coast shows), will all deliver exclusive performances to SHADOW WOODS METAL FEST.

SHADOW WOODS METAL FEST 2017 merchandise features stunning new artwork by Dylan Garret Smith and Brian Sheehan/Legerdemain.  The beautifully hand-drawn design entitled “Laud In The Garden” by Dylan Garrett Smith, is featured as this year’s Shadow Woods Metal Fest official limited edition poster (only 50 will be printed). The alluring design will also be available on t-shirt and hooded sweatshirt. The official line-up t-shirt by Brian Sheehan/Legerdemain features a brand-new ravishing design commemorating the festival. Official merchandise is available for pre-order now (pre-order is available until September 3). PRE-ORDER: http://www.shadowwoodsmetalfest.com

Marketplace vendors will include record labels Season of Mist, Grimoire Records, and festival sponsor Tridroid Records. Artists and craft vendors FTG Illustrations, Evan Void, festival merchandise artist Dylan Garrett Smith, KPG Paintings, Jessi Hardesty, Horrid CRVX and Necronomicharm will all be on site selling prints, paintings, jewelry, woodcuts, and so much more.

Throughout the festival, delectable food and beverages will be provided by the ever popular coffee wizards Zeke’s Coffee, pit beef and other scrumptious dishes from Pond View Farms, and vegan/vegetarian steaks, sandwiches, salads and more from Self Love.

SHADOW WOODS METAL FEST is proud to be sponsored this year by Moxie Bookkeeping and Tridroid Records and to receive promotional support from Grime Studios, Leftover Pizza Productions, and Perfect World Productions.

SHADOW WOODS METAL FEST 2017

Complete Lineup (in alpha order):

Aerial Ruin – Portland, OR (Ritual folk)

All Hell – Asheville, NC (Crusty black metal)

Bearstorm – Richmond, VA (Blackened southern death-prog)

Black Table – NY/NJ (Progressive black metal)

Castle – San Francisco, CA  (Heavy doom metal)

Churchburn – Pawtucket, RI  (Blackened sludge) **

Cut the Architect’s Hand  – Richmond, VA (Death metal)

Dark Water Transit – Baltimore, MD (Instrumental heavy rock)

Dead in the Manger – coast to coast – (Blackened grind) **

Dee Calhoun – Frederick, MD (Acoustic; vocalist of Iron Man)

Earthling – Richmond, VA (Thrash metal)

Elagabalus – Baltimore, MD (Experimental metal 2-piece)

Erlkonig – Baltimore, MD  (Blackened death metal)

Fiakra – Freehold, NJ (LARPower metal)

Foehammer – Annandale, VA (Sludge)

Green Elder/Paul Ravenwood – Johnson City, TN – (Nature folk)

Heavy Temple  – Philadelphia, PA (Psychedelic-doomed rock)

Hexis  – Copenhagen, Denmark (Hardcore/black metal)

Human Bodies – Boston, MA  (Crusty blackened hardcore)

Immaculate Deception – Baltimore, MD (Death metal)

Infera Bruo – Boston, MA (Black metal)

Kyoty – Dover, NH – (Instrumental post metal)

Mome  – Portland, ME (Power psych rock)

Nechochwen “unplugged” – Wheeling, WV (Appalachian acoustic folk metal) **

Night Raids – Philadelphia, PA (Thrash/grind) Obsidian Tongue – Medford, MA (Black Metal) Panopticon –  KY/MN (Black folk metal) **

Percussor – PA/DE (Old school death metal)

Seasick Gladiator – Washington, DC (Experimental doom prog)

Sloth Herder – PA/VA/MD (Sludge grind)

Take to the Woods/Jo Cosgrove – Baltimore, MD (Dark folk)

The Owls Are Not What They Seem – York, PA (Ritual noise)

Toke – Cape Fear, NC (Stoner doom)

Vastum – San Francisco, CA  (Death metal) ** Voarm – Richmond, VA (Doomed Black metal)

Withered -Atlanta, GA (Black/death metal) **

Woe – Brooklyn, NY (Black metal) **

Worthless- NY/NJ (Black metal) **

ZUD – Portland, ME (Black and blues metal)

** EXCLUSIVE PERFORMANCES

SHADOW WOODS METAL FEST DETAILS

Location:

Camp Hidden Valley, White Hall, Maryland

Ticket Link: http://shadowwoodsmetalfest2017.bpt.me

Price:

Weekend Package:

$175 Full weekend package (Thursday evening-Sunday morning) including all musical events and camping

Single Day Tickets (advanced ticket pricing):

$50 Thursday Only

$80 Friday Only

$80 Saturday Only

Cabins: $20 bed (shared cabin)

Food & beverage vendors: Various food vendors will be on site with both vegan, vegetarian, and omnivore selections.

Merchandise Vendors: Multiple record labels, distros, and artisans will be located in the Hall. For more information on becoming a vendor, contact shadow.woods.llc@gmail.com

Shadow Woods Metal Fest Preview at Metal Bandcamp! Kaptain Carbon at Metal Bandcamp put together an in-depth preview for SHADOW WOODS METAL FEST including highlights for each band and some great words around the festival!

[yao7960631]

為品牌『寶島太陽堂』製作的過年禮盒插畫。以過年禮盒造型為基底，裡面塞著男女老少互相拜年的情境。

[yao7960631]

為果凍品牌『摩咔金』繪製的插畫，以青少年喜愛的戀愛元素為主題，讓購買者隨意搭配各種組合，增加趣味性。

[yao7960631]

[yao7960631]

Because I always need blank notes to draw down some ideas, I made them myself. I put all the element I like, such as cabinet of curiosities, freak show, animals, automaton, Chinese zombie and Egyptian things. The Egyptian murmaid in the anubis jar is one of my favorite. On the back of this blank note, I can write when I start this note and when I finished using it. This is also my first time trying risograph printing as a result of I really want some gold effects, and it is pretty good then.

[yao7960631]

去美國旅遊的時候，深受美式的配色及設計所驚艷，回來便創作這隻兔兔的圖，因為想要看她動起來，便做成了動畫，做得相當開心。

tumblr gif under 3mb 500x500/ render rate 12.5 / compress

[yao7960631]

為LBS玩法的手遊怪獸社區製作的動畫，因為這是一個鼓勵大家到各地走走打怪的遊戲，所以做了代表性的小怪獸在地球上行走的情境。