Monday, March 10, 2008-

I got to play with the jazz combo for which I am the guitarist last Thursday evening (during the rain and snow!) and solo, acoustic guitar for TAKE 2 , a GREAT band that plays covers of CREAM, ZZ TOP, The CARS, The Moody Blues, EAGLES,  Tom Petty and so many more... it was a fun experience!  Hopefully some book illustration announcements will be made soon (but, you know, "soon" on my journal page can span months!)  Thanks- take care- have a great week!- JOhn

Sunday, March 2, 2008-

It's TEXAS INDEPENDENCE DAY! In 1836 Texas declared its independence from Mexico!  It's an important date to Texans, but it sadly gets lost in the shuffle.  Anyway- Viva Texas! - John

January 11th, 2008

The first post of 2008! Here are some pictures of my workspace, my studio.  It was a carport but I closed it in with material taken from the old carport and with found, discarded, and salvage yard material... I even used some tree branches! 

View from within

 If you have lost anything it may be in this room!

My oldest son working in the studio on Christmas Eve... making gifts!

December 30th,

It's the eve of 2008!  This has been a great , strange and wonderful year.  It seems like the year went quickly but there was a lot of premium living in that space of time.  Most memorable things were ... 2 major surgeries for one of my sons with end result being his healing and good health. A lot happened , a lot of new friends, much good time with my family. I added plenty of new (mostly used) books to my pile- mostly through Amazon, EBAY, some great local book sales and Half Price Books in Dallas.  I've got many new sketchbooks that need to be filed up- that will be a treat.  Some of my art made it into Ray Bradbury's hands and I received a gracious letter from him... I admire and respect him immensely!

There is so much to be grateful for.  Thank you for taking time to read these posts... I am extremely grateful for you.

May God Bless You... I hope 2008 will be the best year for all of us!

John

November 21st  Happy Thanksgiving!

I went to a small studio yesterday and recorded my first legitimate album!  It's a Christmas album and here is "Noel",

I hope you enjoy it!  John

October 30th!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYBODY!  Here is my card to Ray Bradbury!

October 4th...Already!

I just had a birthday on the 1st and now I pine away for the next one when I will get a new cake.... but is a little left (Devil's Food with Chocolate Icing )....

Now it's time to decorate for Halloween and figure out what my costume will be - here's a picture from a Halloween long ago...  PLease send me a pic of your favorite costume and I'll post it (if it passes inspection). Warn me ahead of time if you are sending an attachment or send a lnk on your note... here it is- jrandallyorkart@yahoo.com

September 27, 2007

The Hollow Halloween Tree

August 21, 2007

Tomorrow is Ray Bradbury's birthday

August 12, 2007

I am still on a Ray Bradbury "Ravine", "Halloween Tree" binge.  Here is a new "Green Town Ravine" sketch. John

August 1, 2007

That's not too bad... I write a new entry every 6 months!  I hope you are well- I have been seeing a lot of Halloween prints go out recently... I think the consensus is that it's just around the corner!  Yee- Ha! Devil's Food cake, Candy Corn, Halloween Oreos!  I have been making some new Halloween original art- I always turn back to Ray Bradbury and his HALLOWEEN TREE for inspiration.  Here is a small color sketch inspired by his mention of "The Ravine".  I hope you like it!  I'll add more soon- John

February 28th, 2007

I think I've finished this- HALLOWEEN TREE painting- here's a look at it-  let me know if you like it!

February 15th, 2007

We are enjoying a cold Winter here in East Texas but I will enjoy the Spring- we've been sort of spoiled by very short Winters for the past few years. 

This Spring I plan to get out and show artwork at some "live" venues- it's something I haven't tried very much but I know that when the weather gets warm people leave their computers and go out side.

I've joined a Halloween Artists group on eBay, it's called EHAG (Eclectic Halloween Artists Group).  If you are curious just type in the letters "EHAG" in the eBay search space and you'll see artwork by many creative people.

I am mailing some prints to Mr. Ray Bradbury today and the plan is that he will sign some to me and keep the ones I have signed to him... I am extremely excited about this.   I'll let you know how it  turns out.

I hope you have a great day-  John

December 31st, 2006

Happy New Year!  I hope this will have been a memorable year for all of us- I am really looking forward to writing "2007" tomorrow, "2006" didn't have the visual flair that "2007" will (that sounds stuck-up!). Thank you for visiting the site during 2006 and thank you for adding more of my artwork to your collection... I really want to produce things this year that will be fun to collect and view for you.  I have many stories from sketchbooks and notepads that have been haunting me for years so I want to produce and illustrate some of those for other people to see besides my family and close friends. 

I opened a MERCHANDISE page where you can shop for clothing and gifts with my images on them-  I hope you'll enjoy it.  I will add much more to that page very soon.  Let me know what you think.- John

December 24th, 2006

Merry Christmas- Happy Holidays friends!  Thank you for visiting- you are the best folks, I'll say that as many times as it takes because it's true! Take care, be careful- I know you'll be kind and fun because that is you.  Thanks for all of the encouragement you are to me.- John

October 31st, 2006

Is it Halloween?  Yes!  It's Halloween!  HAPPY HALLOWEEN! I hope you eat too much candy today and enjoy something unique, special, mysterious!  I always remember being about seven years old, dressed like a skeleton and howling at the moon!  I'm sure I was terrifying.  I remember convincing myself that I had actually seen a Halloween Witch fly across the yellow  face of the great October moon!  As you can see, with such a firm grasp on reality I had no choice but to pusue art.  I am so glad to be here today and I'm glad you are here!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN! - John

September 27th, 2006

October is coming!!!  Happy Halloween!

The first day of Fall and the days since have been beautiful here.  That soft atmosphere arrived and now the sunsets have that toasty, golden glow... makes me want to do more pictures!  I have been spending time finishing some commissioned things lately, one of them is grand and I'll show  it off on my site very soon! 

I've opened a little myspace page related to my guitar music and songwriting ... I'd be honored if you'd check it out... here's the link   http://www.myspace.com/randomyorkmusic

I'm "Halloween Dreaming" so I should be posting more writing here soon

Take care, John

July 4th, 2006

Happy 4th of July!  Do you ever watch fireworks from a distance and pretend they are fairies?   I hope you have a good 4th of July, I think it will rain here, but that's okay, I do worry about bottle rockets landing in my backyard on a dry, hot July night sometimes. 

I had a fun and challenging 24 hours on June the 26th and 27th.  I, my son Alex and his friend Michael took on a "24 Hour Comics" challenge.  We began at 9am Monday the 26th and stopped at 9am Tuesday the 27th each with the intention of conceiving, penciling and coloring a 24 page comic book... Each of us made his own unique work... it was a workout but we did it!  Alex came up with a beautiful fairytale, Michael a dark futuristic story and I made some ridiculous thing that spoofs science fiction comics.  Now we are plotting the next 24 hour event, it was a great thing to do with 24 hours! (Man, I was tired!).  If I get the nerve I'll post mine on my site and you can read it (if you are really, really desparate for something to do).  Take care!  John

May 19th, 2006

Howdy!  Thanks for visiting and reading. I hope you are enjoying the wonderful Spring/Summer weather... it has been perfect here lately.  Lately I have stood outside and looked up and that rich blue sky with those creamy white clouds and I have felt like I was in an animated movie!  I confess...I believe in the Creationist theory...THANK YOU!

I have lauched a blog (under the name of RANDOM YORK of all things) and I am enjoying it because I use it to publish a picture once a week in a friendly contest called ILLUSTRATION FRIDAY, you ought to join inwhether you think you can draw or not, or go there and cheer for me...I wouldn't mind.  There is a lot of good and fun art there.

I've got some new stuff on ebay, please go check it out (there is a link on the home page of my site). 

April 17th, 2006

I was looking throught the stats of my website and saw that people actually visit and read my journal!  I feel a little more motivated to keep it, at least , up to the month.  I've been sketching from sites around me a lot lately because I know it helps when I want to illustrate the places and creatures I imagine (I think).  But it's a lot of fun.  I don't have a digital camera, I just have a very old 35mm that I really treasure, so the turn-a-round time for things I may witness are much faster in a sketchbook.  My family was in Dallas throughout the Easter weekend and I did several little  snapshots/sketches, so I guess I should own up and post some on the sketchbook area ot his site... okay, I'll do it!

Go here to see new SKETCHBOOK pages 6 and 7!

I've been working on a dream project recently... it is a fairy large (for me) commissioned haunted house painting for my patient friend, Phil who is a fellow admirer of Ray Bradbury's book From The Dust Returned , I've been moving too slowly, but it is one of those projects that I am hesitant to finish because then it will be over.  John  

March 2006

Well, March came and went... but I did get my copy of HOWL'S MOVING CASTLE and it is marvelous!  My family and I have been trying to see all of Mr. Miyazaki's movies available and we bought WHISPER OF THE HEART which is a very sweet story.  I hope you get the opportunity to check into just about any of Miyazaki's films.  My favorites so far are Spirited Away, Whisper Of The Heart, My Neighbor Totoro, and, of course, Howl's Moving Castle. John

February 23rd, 2006

I was looking for interesting flash animation sites and found this marvelous place on the web, FUBON, it is worth a trip there if you haven't seen it already.  I am looking forward to the release of HOWL'S MOVING CASTLE in early March.  I saw the film at a theatre in Dallas when it was out and was "Spirited away " as I seem to be by all of Mr. Miyazaki's movies.  John

September 24th, 2005

My dreams and prayers came true.  The storm is past and everything is peaceful here.

John

September 23rd, 2005

Proof that I should not keep a weblog...

I saw Tim Burton's CORPSE BRIDE this evening!  (You can tell I liked it by the exclamation point) The colors and textures were so beautiful... so much refreshing inspiration for my eyes.  We, in my town, are waiting to see what will occur here as a result of the hurricane "Rita" that is attacking the Texas and Lousiana coast.  the next time I write a journal entry here I'll surely know what happened "back in late September of 2005".  Our city is hosting many evacuated people from the coast and we are worried about the possibility of sustained high winds, too much rain and possible tornadoes.  I can hardly wait until a little time is past and the episode is behind us.  Now... back to CORPSE BRIDE,  I hope to watch it again soon.   I hope you will enjoy it .  John 

The Bride

Victor and Emily

Victoria's folks and uninvited guests

Victor in the underworld

Cool piano duet

July 28th 2005

Halloween is coming! I've got some great, big Halloween ideas that I hope will be fun for you and me!  I've been keeping in practice on several small drawings and paintings and I spend some time in my studio every day but I still retreat to the house with a load of paper and art supplies to escape the heat.  I want to do larger versions of many of my small pieces on canvas and on masonite using oil and or acrylic paint. 

I was afraid that my site had vanished from the internet for several days last week but evidently the problem was with my internet service.  They were great...very patient and kind.  Thank you SBC/Yahoo!

It's a wonderful time to be an artist...so many available materials; so many resources; the internet and sites like EBAY opened the way between artists and musicians and the people who want what they make...it's a great time to be around.

Recently someone asked if my images could be printed on stretched canvases.  Some were produced on 16 by 20 inch canvases and I was very happy about the way they looked.  I will put some pictures of them on the site so you can get some idea.  Also one of  my images was enlarged to a size that could be used as a small mural...about 4 x 6 feet ...it looked wonderful!  I'll show you a view of that soon too.

In March I mailed three prints to Mr. Ray Bradbury as a "thank you" for all of the inspiration he is to me and I received a very gracious reply!  I was blown away!  I told my mom about it and she said "Was he that red-headed kid who was such a bully when you were little?"  Anyway...I was impressed. 

Take care!...John

P.S.  Here is an MP3 of another guitar tune I made up recently if you'd care to hear it .  It's called "How it Affected Us All"   I hope you like it!  John

It's a wonder

APRIL 6th 2005

I hope you are well!  I have been working fairly diligently on finishing my studio for the past weeks.  I explained to some friends that this place was once a carport that I have closed in and will soon transport my creative stuff into.  I looked at several artist's studios on the web and in books and mine appears to be a bit more humble than lots of those.   My studio is almost entirely made from found, recycled, donated and discarded materials.  I'm very happy with the results so far...last night was the first thunderstorm and hard rain since I shingled the roof (my very first!) (and it looks like it!) but the shingles are still there and inside is completely dry!  What a relief!

I haven't produced many pictures lately because of my preoccupation with the studio but hopefully very soon new work will begin flying from my studio to my site and EBAY and hopefully to your hands. I'll post some pictures of it when it's done.  Remember...it's no HGTV Dreamstudio, but it's home! JRY

February 19th, 2005

I've been talking so much about early Spring...here is a guitar tune I made up last week call "In Early Spring".  You should be able to click on the link just below to hear an MP3 of it (if you want to).  Let me know if you like it!  Take care... John      "In Early Spring"   (By me!)

February 15th, 2005

I'm getting better!  It's only been 3 months since the last entry...you see, I'm cutting my procrastination rate in half!  I am inspired by recent e-mails from some of you and by friendly notes on the guestbook page and by new EBAY acquaintances.  Does your life work like this...when I get discouraged (and you know we "artist" types are often very "up" or very, very down) just being remembered or complimented by someone in a note or e-mail turns me right around.  I'll never be rich because I can almost live on kindness alone...however, that sounds pretty wealthy to me!  I'll never have a cool blog site, I'm too corny.

Hey, enough about me..thank you again and again for the attention you give to my work.  It's a high compliment and blessing to just be noticed by you!  Thank you.

Have you seen "Phantom Of The Opera"? Predictably, I loved it!  The book is wonderful, but so is the movie.  A lot of the film critics don't like it but "What do they know?", seriously, it's very worthwhile, leastwise, the way I see it. 

Early Spring is trying to arrive here in East Texas, it is just enough to entice us to hold on for the full season.  The Hawthorne in my front yard is in full bloom and tulips are popping up magically.  Patches of new grass are evident everywhere and the leafless trees I am so fond of drawing have pronounced buds at the tips of their branches.  We have seen lot's of Robins and I'd like to do some really good drawings of them, but they keep hopping around.  Also we are wakened nightly by the glorious music of cats fighting, so Spring doth come by and by to East Texas.

We have a thing called "Tha Azalea Trail" here in Tyler...the Azalea bushes blossom in March and the city (and I guess the Chamber of Commerce)   tries to take advantage of this beautiful time of year in Tyler, Texas.  So the yards in "The Azalea District" and the "Brick Street District" are are all decked out in colour and decoration and young ladies dress as Southern Belles, and the craft show is launched at Bergfeld Park.  Then... the temperature drops about 50 degrees and  violent thunderstorms knock all of the buds off of the Azalea bushes.  It seems to happen every year (almost).  It's part of the fun of being alive.  But it is beautiful while it lasts.  Frankly, I can't imagine a more beautiful place than my neighborhood in the Spring.

Hey!  Thank you for stopping by!

Sincerely, John

November 16th, 2004

It has only been about 7 months since I last wrote in this journal!  I do the same with diarys, I've started so many with a big elaborate beginning and a pledge to write everyday but I usually go years between those entries! Well since Tuesday, May 4th, 2004 many nice things have happened.  My friend Michelle introduced me to the writings of Rosalie K. Fry and introduced me to the charming movie  "The Secret Of Roan Inish".  My friend Cathy introduced me to the wonderful vintage fairy art of Garth Williams and told me my work reminded her of his (which I took as a profound compliment!).  Steve, a new friend, shared a photo of his beautiful cat/companion "Morticia" and related the sad story of her loss. Steve restored the cool vintage Hearse that is pictured in the "Some Friends" page. Elaine, a new friend in Scotland started collecting some Halloween prints from me and encouraged me through my post-Halloween blues by reminding me that Christmas is coming (It works every time!).  Marjolein watched and won one of my auctions from Austria and hopefully it is now hanging within earshot of her Celtic Harp music!  Cheyenne, a Texas friend, became a believer in my fairies and I thank her for that!  Thank you Alison, Thank you Vickie (Hi Vickie!), Thank you Renee, Thank you Gwenn!  Thank you again John!  Thank you Dana! Cynthia, Thank you! Thank you Candida!  Cindy, Thank you. Kimberly, I was so honored that your whole family looked through my site together, thank you again!  Jill,  thank you always for your belief in my art!   Mark, thanks for trying my "Primitive Horseman"! Thank you Sylvia! Thanks Pat, JJ, Thank you!  Thank you Deborah! Jo, thank you!  Tricia,  I look forward to finishing our project, thanks again! Jane, you were the first to buy my art on Ebay, Thank you! SpookyTGirl, thank you for collecting my Halloween art! Debbie, thank you!  Thank you Glenn! Ramsey, thank you, I hope your neices like the pictures! Jade, thank you again! Erin, thanks so much! Michelle, hey, thank you! Thank you Keith!  Cheree, thank you!  Stephen, thank you for your purchase and the poetry!  Thank you Ronald!  Traci, thank you again! James, thanks! Thank you Carl! Diane, thanks again!  lorin, thank you! Marijane, thank you so much!  Janis, thank you, I have more of "the Gang" on auction now!  Thanks peter!  Carolina, thank you so much! 

November the 25th, THANKSGIVING!  Continuing thanks... To my good friend Dorie Waters, thank you for your encouraging e-mails! Dories fantastic paintings are often found here..DORIE WATERS.  Thank you my friend and Halloween brother Allan!  HAPPY  THANKSGIVNG ALL!

Tuesday, May 4, 2004

I just finished watching PETER PAN with my family for the second time today and it reminds me all over again of why I am so attracted to the fairy story.  There is something about the impossible that makes it so attractive to me.  I've pined away for a Neverland nearly all of my life.  Maybe inspiration comes from the little bit of colour or music that might leak through whatever barrier is in place to keep two worlds separate.  The effort that was made to describe Neverland in P.J. Hogan's movie is greatly appreciated by this dreamer. JRY

                    Peter and Wendy watch fairies dancing

                    Peter Pan and Captain Hook cross swords

                      Peter, Wendy John and Michael

                    Captain James Hook (Jason Isaacs)

                    The Official Movie Website