NEMO ~ by mike blake
It was a dark and stormy night…
The night before all Hallows eve.
The rain poured like no other..
and the thunder shook the wilting trees.
A lone figure crept stealthily...
Not a sound did he make.
Closer he came to his victim…
A life he was about to take.
His fur as dark as midnight...
His whiskers like razor wire.
His eyes shone like the pale moon…
Glinting as if in a low lit fire.
Dashing up a tree…
Jumping off the limb…
Soaring through the air…
The bird was no longer there.
I hope everyone doesn't mind a self-indulging post today. My cat passed away and I want to talk about who he was and what he did for me...
Nemo was such a unique creature... that my mother often argued that he was born from my mind. Perhaps to bring me inspiration and definitely terror to others.
Regardless of whether Nemo was spawned or not, my favorite part about him was his imagination. He was constantly doing strange things, going on grand adventures, and sometimes even fighting epic battles. When I knew he wasn't looking I woud peak at him. On occasion I would be lucky enough to catch a glimpse of what he was imagining…such as when he was…dancing on ice…playing football…running up trees…leaping at invisible enemies…the list goes on.
I wouldn't call myself obsessed with him, it's just that his personality was so vibrant, I couldn't help BUT create more and more things (especially true in my earlier works as you are about to see). In the least, Nemo definitely set the foundation for me including cats in many of my illustrations.
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| 2002. Animation for old website. |
THE NAME:
20,000 Leagues: much like captain Nemo in 20,000 leagues under the sea, my cat had jet black fur, accented with snowy white.
Little Nemo in Slumberland: much like little Nemo in slumberland, he would often go on adventures whether in the neighborhood, in his dreams, or his imagination.
Finding Nemo: The movie stole the name from my cat... Bottom line!
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| 2008. This is based on a true story. Nemo randomly (as he often did) attacked someone. This time it was my sister and she screamed! One of my other sisters thought she had been murdered (hence the pencil for self-defense) |
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| 2007. Self Portrait with supporting details! (the best kind) |
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| 2010. Completed for an online digital illustration class. I got Nemo's sneer down perfectly! |
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| 2002. My assignment was to create a package design. I made up a movie about NEMO! I still think based on the images and description it would be a good movie. |
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| 2008. Formal portrait of Nemo (from imagination). |
Teamclaw- In 2005 my brother began to write a story that included my cat Nemo. He kinda lost interest in the story, so I took control and basically overhauled the plot and finished an entire book that same year. If you click on the screenshot image below of the website (my brother recently reposted it) you can read the story(if you are brave enough...it is basically a rough draft), or at least look at SOME of the pictures I did for it. Someday I will revisit Teamclaw and finalize the story and add more art.)
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| http://jerbl.com/teamclaw/ |
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| 2005. Picture from Team Claw- Episode 1. |
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2004. Pattern for a pillowcase I made as a Christmas gift.
(My mistake is I used Denim for the backing...which
bled into the felt white. X_x sigh...)
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| 2008. Front cover of Oni Dreams. |
Puss in Boots: I owed a good friend of mine (Maho Garner) a favor and I told her I would draw anything in exchange. She told me to draw my favorite fairy tale. Well Puss in Boots was my obvious choice, but I started throwing in some extra changes that really got the plot moving along. I have most of the plot mapped out and it wouldn't take much to finish it...except for lack of time. I plan to finish this sometime in the near future. (maybe sooner than Teamclaw and Oni.)
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| 2010. Cover for Puss in Boots. |
ETC.. .and ETC.
All of this artwork is some of what I had available on my computer. I have written/drawn countless stories, comics, illustrations, sketches, etc about, or inspired about Nemo not pictured or discussed here. Many of which I hope to someday share.
