COMIC BOOK DRAWINGS 2001-PRESENT

COMIC BOOK DRAWINGS BY MIKE PARSONS

COMIC BOOK DRAWINGS! “HEY APATHY!” is an ongoing artistic investigation of the city, people, monsters, life and existence in general. In the earliest drawings the metropolis announces itself as an ominous gear propelled by an endless sea of faceless denizens. Tombstone towers hover over crowds of conformity while apocalyptic premonitions envelope the horizon. Warning against our unsustainable life style, yet optimistic through the act of expression, these nihilistic artworks pose the questions; “Who are all these people?”, “What is the City?” and “Where do I fit in?” In order to gain a better understanding of the phenomenon in question I proceeded to develop a particular artist’s process including on-site drawings, live street performances, outdoor installations, fine art gallery and festival exhibitions. The inclusion of these public investigations permitted me to meet, observe and interact with thousands of people from all over the world and of all walks of life. As a result both the artworks and myself have changed immensely. In more recent drawings the city remains as a giant gear only now it is all the unique and unusual individuals, not anonymous cogs, who fuel the machine.

2014 Scary Art - Nightmare drawings from the dark regions of lost dreams...

2013 Doodle Drawings- "MASKS" Ever woder what would happen if we peeled the face off of a city?

2013 Line Art Drawings – “The Butterflies Reflection” a detailed cityscape comicbook drawing

2012 Gothic Artwork- Surreal Portraiture regarding the collective unconscious

2012 Cartoon Drawings– Mural sized comic strips about vice & repetition

2012 Black and White Drawing – Comic book drawings about Construction & Destruction

2011 Black and White Drawings – Series of anthropomorphic cityscapes

2011 Tree Drawings- Tales of trees, technology and third eyes opening…

2011 Manga Monsters- Giant Robot battle sequences and cat worshipping cults

2010 Gothic Drawings- Strange electronics meet strange organics = Cyber-Goth images

2010 Neuroberg- Enter a weird world of evil avatars and humanoids

2008 Black White Art- A diptych of hieroglyphics and detailed comics about the city

2007 Doodle Art- Secret images hide within this detailed experimental line drawing

2008 Pen Artwork- A City turns into a fish! Strange tales from the monstrous metropolis

2007 Graffiti Artwork – The City of Gears! Live street art mural painting performances

2006 Graffiti Sketches- Street Paintings and monster comics

2005 Surrealism Art – Details pen and ink drawings from the City of Gears

2005 Urban Myths- Street paintings of man’s metamorphosis into animal and machine!

2005 Cartoon Faces- Live street art performance drawings made on Queen Street West

2004 New York Drawings- Large scale drawing installation about New York City

2004 Robot Monster – Sci Fi inspired drawings of cyborgs more machine than man

2004 Dark Drawings – Despairingly Gothic tales of Pigs and Poverty

2003 Surrealism Artwork- War Drawings about dreams, confusion, and responsibility

2002 Surreal Artwork – Street Art and Comics about a world of conformist humanoids

2002 Monster Drawings – Left handed Rorschach investigation of monsters in my mind

2001 Existential Art- Cityscape artworks regarding apathy and the impending apocalypse

The “HEY APATHY!” comic book drawings collection includes thousands of black and white artworks ranging from postcard sized to wall murals and from single stroke Zen characters to obsessively detailed month long studies. Using a variety of tools including hand carved bamboo pens, calligraphy quills and large brushes, the series perpetually explores new drawing techniques with an emphasis on annual reinvention, ambidextrous approaches and environmental experimentation. From the studio to the streets to the video screen, each new body of work represents a physical and ideological evolution reflective of my personal experiences, unusual imagination and of life in the metropolis itself. The primary goal of the project is to develop stories and illustrations which are simultaneously intellectually provocative as well as accessible to children (of all ages!) Welcome to the City of Gears!

Mike Parsons is a professional artist, animator and illustrator living in Toronto. Mike uses black and white comic book drawings, cartoons, murals, live performances, and graphic novels to express an optimistic warning towards future days. Since 2001 the “HEY APATHY!” artworks have been featured in over 10 solo gallery exhibitions, approximately 150 juried public festivals, and during numerous gala and storefront events. Mike work can be found in private collections in every major city in the world and has won several awards and honors from institutions such as the Canadian Council for the Arts, Arts Council of Ontario, the Toronto Arts Council, the Art Gallery of Ontario, the Hudson’s Bay Company, and the Ontario College of Arts and Design.

CHECK OUT THE COMIC BOOK DRAWINGS GALLERY EXHIBITIONS HERE!