Spider-Man in ink

Spider-Man. Micron pen (03), Faber-Castell PITT "B"-series brush pen, Pentel Pocket Brush Pen and red ultra-fine Sharpie in a Daler & Rowney sketchbook (8.5" X 11"). Art by Coyote Duran. (Please click to enlarge.)

So almost immediately after I posted my recent ink portrait of Art the Clown, I got a bug up my backside (pun fully intended) and thought it'd be pretty cool to render a brand-new Spider-Man piece. I wondered how I'd go about the design and I instantly remembered a Spidey piece done by the late Tim Sale. In the piece, Tim featured Spidey swinging in front of the Eiffel Tower but what spoke to me was the color palette used.

 

Simple red and black. It was striking. No musculature detail. No shading. No gradients. Pure and simple.

Art the Clown (of 'Terrifier') in ink

Art the Clown. Micron pen (03 and 05), Faber-Castell PITT "B"-series brush pen, Pentel Pocket Brush Pen and red ultra-fine Sharpie in a Daler & Rowney sketchbook (8.5" X 11"). Art by Coyote Duran. (Please click to enlarge.)

 

A few years ago, when I started working my third-shift security job, I met a customer named Raul Cantillo. As Mr. Cantillo and I got to know each other better (via our shared love of horror films, as indicated by his many awesome horror t-shirts), he asked me one day about my thoughts on Art the Clown. I said I wasn't familiar with him.

"Dude, how can you be a horror fan and not know who Art the Clown is?" Raul asked.

That was a damn good question, actually.

Jimi Hendrix in ink

Jimi Hendrix. Micron pen (03 and 05), Faber-Castell PITT "B"-series brush pen and Pentel Pocket Brush Pen on Strathmore Bristol Board (9" X 12"). Art by Coyote Duran. (Please click to enlarge.)

As any artist knows, inspiration comes right out of nowhere sometimes. One day, I woke up and thought, "A Jimi Hendrix" portrait would be neat!" So I cobbled some reference and got going with my layout on 9" X 12" Strathmore Art Bristol Board with my trusty "Blue Special" leadholder.

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After figuring out position and the route I wanted to go, (something many artists call, "figuring things out"), I really started moving. Mind you, at this point, I hadn't drawn anything in about three months (I know; I know. Shame on me. Nothing shakes an artist's skills more than inactivity), so it felt really good to shake off the cobwebs and flex the artistic muscles, so to speak.

My most important "commission," thanks to Makayla Duran

A composite of a character Makayla Duran is calling "Gabby." Continue reading to fully view each piece and the story behind them! Art by Makayla and Coyote Duran.

Just recently, Makayla was hip deep in creating a character and scenario, both based on the "Grimace Shake" online trend, most popularly featured (I guess?) on TikTok.

Last June into July, McDonald's celebrated the big purple taste bud (yes, this is how he's described) Grimace's 52nd birthday (yes, he and I are both 52, although I don't believe Grimace's debut was until November of 1971) with a purple, berry-flavored shake. For whatever reason - and who knows why anyone posts overly weird stuff on TikTok - folks everywhere began uploading videos of the "results" of drinking these shakes.

Some people shared how the shakes "killed" people, transported them to other locations or just changed them somehow. As the kids say, it was a weird "flex"; to me, it was random as hell. However Guillaume Huin, the social media director for McDonald's (per Wikipedia), seemed to get down with it.

So one day, our daughter Makayla put her own spin on this trend by not creating a video but her signature, manga-inspired digital art.

Makayla's character, tentatively named "Gabby," who's undergoing a possession of sorts after drinking a "Grimace Shake." Note Makayla's version of Grimace looming to your left. Art by Makayla Duran.

As you can see, it appears that Makayla's character is fighting off (or enjoying. The story is still developing...) a possession of some sort. (I love that kid. She won't watch horror films with me but shares a twisted bent.) On your left, "Gabby" seems to be a normal, six-year-old, little girl enjoying a shake and on your right, a delighted Grimace is enjoying her subsequent possession, as she transforms into a strange entity, drooling out a mouthful of this weird, frozen beverage.

After Makayla finished the drawing, she asked me if I wouldn't mind rendering this crazy character in my style. I had a few art things to button up but promised her I would absolutely tackle such a neat challenge. I broke out the Strathmore Art Bristol Board (8.5" X 11"), my trusty "Blue Special" lead holder, erasers and pens and went to work on this new, fun "commission."

A tribute to Terry Funk and Bray Wyatt in ink

Terry Funk and Bray Wyatt. Micron pen (.02 and .03), Faber-Castell PITT "B"-series brush pen and Pentel Pocket Brush Pen on Strathmore Bristol Board (8.5" X 11"). Art by Coyote Duran. (Please click image to enlarge.)

Growing up, I fell in love with professional wrestling, thanks to my dad, who watched Verne Gagne's American Wrestling Association and Bob Luce's "All-Star Wrestling" on Sunday afternoons. Dad wasn't hep to the WWF (now known as WWE) but sure loved following the exploits of Dick the Bruiser, the Crusher, Larry Zbyszko, Nick Bockwinkel and "Yukon" Moose Cholak, among so many others. I was practically hypnotized by such comic book-esque battles between good and evil, with shiny championship belts up for grabs amid it all.

My dad (who loved the heels. Still does, I reckon) was a big Funk fan, although he must've gotten attached during Funk's really short stay in the AWA. We didn't get much of the other territories in the late-1970s or early-eighties in syndication in Aurora, Illinois. But Dad sure knew who Terry Funk was, along with Terry's older brother Dory Jr.

Terry competed everywhere. including WWE on several occasions (although I didn't think much of the Funks' storyline "brother" Jimmy Jack Funk, portrayed by Jesse Barr. I just thought the added Funk was unnecessary, as well as Dory's change of his first name to "Hoss."). This brand of dedication to the art form is a top reason for Funk's legendary acclaim.

Funk, a Class of 2009 WWE Hall-of-Famer and former NWA world heavyweight champion (an honor he shared with Dory Jr.) passed away on August 23, at age 79.

Just one day later, Windham Rotunda - better known as former WWE champion and WWE Universal champion Bray Wyatt - passed away, at age 36, from cardiac arrest. Rotunda, who was sidelined after a bout with COVID-19 earlier this year, was supposed to make a comeback to the squared circle after having been absent from the ring since last February. The wrestling press was noted in articles stating Rotunda had dealt with a life and career-threatening illness. Many of us were feeling pretty positive that we'd see one of pro wrestling's most creative minds return and wondered what he'd have in store for us, this time around.

Upon further press releases, we all learned that Rotunda's bout with COVID exacerbated a pre-existing heart condition. As much as Funk's death saddened the business and fans alike, Bray Wyatt's passing evoked different emotions, mainly because he was so young. In addition, he was also a father of four young children, two of whom he shared with WWE ring announcer JoJo Offerman.

The tributes rolled in heavily. As a big fan of both gentlemen, I offer up one that pales in comparison to the global plaudits the business and non-wrestling supporters have given. Mine is an ink representation of both Terry Funk and Bray Wyatt (Micron pen (.02 and .03), Faber-Castell PITT "B"-series brush pen and Pentel Pocket Brush Pen on 8.5" X 11"Strathmore Bristol Board), complete with telling expressions.