Well, I got the “Grudge” done on time! With deadline looming and the model only painted with the base colour I went to work on Tuesday without breakfast or bath and got to work! First I dry brushed on the lighter colours to bring out the texture and shape, glued on insignia and dials, painted on serial numbers and graffiti (the famous “Kilroy was here”). The base was already painted black, I slopped on the polyfilla, pressed aquarium pebbles into the wet polyfilla to make a road, painted the road and flocked the sides… I glued the letters and a parcel into the mailbox I made of card and glued to the side of the “grudge”… it would’ve gone a lot quicker except for the drying times, not so much of the acrylic paint but that of glue and polyfilla. To be honest, I wasn’t sure the glue would work on the pebbles when I attached the Grunge model to the base so I used too much glue really… most of this is new too me! I’m disappointed with the sten gun strapped to the side, I now realise it’s far too big and I wish I had time to redo it but the opening was coming up fast!

The Grudge Show opening was last Friday and as I suspected mine was the least “artistic” interpretation, although one Grudge titled “Meat” had very nice rust affects painted on! Heck, I ain’t no art wank, I’m a wargamer and a miniaturist! There were some nice pieces, one arrived rigged to explode with a mound of firecrackers inside but was “disarmed” before anyone could blow off a finger! A tall man in an Ikea coat rambling in mock Swedish (I swore at him in Swedish and he didn’t react at all. “Jigger“ if you must know, Swedish for “bullshit“) gave out boxes to the artists including a cheque (imagine being paid to do art!), a NY subway token , and a coupon for a t-shirt! Very generous!

While waiting for the various bits of Grudge to dry I finished the art on a new mini-comic, “Bookworm”. I’ve got a mini ready for inking, “The Littlest Gunne”, a charming children’s story about field artillery. “Self-Indulgent #15” and “Shitman” are printed, “Longest Undefended Border” ready to print, “Bookworm” ready to paste up. Along with my annual 9-11 comic it looks like 6 new mini-comics at The Word Under the Street in late September and I just registered for the Broken Pencils Canzine West ‘06 in October!

Right now I’m working on “The Nine O’Clock Gun”, the history of a Vancouver institution for the Fall issue of the Vancouver Review Magazine. Since 1898 a 12 PDR smoothbore gun made in 1816 has been firing a blank powder charge from Brockton point in Stanley park. Orginially it was to allow ships to set their timepieces, important for safety when predicting the tides. Now it’s just cool. I can hear it from my home in Mount Pleasant while I‘m working, it reminds me to listen to Ideas on CBC radio.

On Sunday I went to Arron, the proprieator of the alternative comics community centre also known as R/X Comics, birthday party at Robin Thompson’s (of Champions of Hell Fame) house, which was a lot of fun. I was pleased to unexpectedly run into a couple of my Seattle comics peeps (that’s what the kids say, right?) David Lasky and Scott there! Dave inadvertently started an impassioned debate when he asked about the “Greatest Canadian” contest, Don King was a Tommy Douglas man while I was rooting for Lester B Pearson! We all could agree Don Cherry was a bad joke.

Uhhh… The freezer section of my fridge keeps leaking water, not all the time, but when it does it gets all over the place. Anyone have any suggestions?