Don’t Believe In Modern Love (Dorian Gray ’80s Party)

Last week’s social butterfly quest ended with a night at Dorian Gray. Usually I’m not that much of a clubber, but the way NYC has become so sterile as of late, perhaps it was good to take what I could get. First on Friday, I attended the Kunst party in Williamsburg, on Saturday it was Hank’s Saloon to celebrate Mike Moosehead’s birthday (Blackout Shoppers, Skum City), a break on Sunday, onward Monday to the 16th Annual Mr. L.E.S. Pageant, now this.

For those who don’t know about Dorian Gray, it’s a monthly club party created by Kayvon Zand, which combines Glam, Goth, and all around creativity. This month’s theme had an ’80s vibe. Many of the current nightlife personalities took to the stage to cover songs by David Bowie, Grace Jones, Pink Floyd, Siouxsie and The Banshees, and more.

One of the hosts of the party was NYC legend Gerry Visco. She’s a photographer, writer, academic, performer, nightlife personality and NYC legend.

Gerry Visco, writer, photographer, actress, academic, performer, nightlife personality, and NYC Legend. One of the hosts for the Dorian Grey party. Photo by Michele Witchipoo Feb. 2015.

Michael T did an amazing cover of Bowie’s hit ‘Modern Love.’ As an adult, listening to the lyrics of this tune made me reflect a bit about my own life.

MC of the 1980s Dorian Grey party, Michael T. Photo by Michele Witchipoo Feb. 2015.

A personal favorite of the night was seeing a club goer dressed up as a member of Strawberry Switchblade.

Someone dressed as a member of Strawberry Switchblade. Dorian Grey party. Photo by Michele Witchipoo, Feb. 2015.

Classic Madonna. Dorian Grey party. Photo taken by Michele Witchipoo, Feb. 2015.

Someone doing a Siouxsie cover of ‘Happy House’ Dorian Grey party. Photo by Michele Witchipoo, Feb, 2015.

Two Devo fans. I’m the one in the yellow. Dorian Grey party. Feb. 2015.

A cover of Bily Idol’s ‘Eyes Without A Face’ at Dorian Grey. Photo by Michele Witchipoo. Feb. 2015.

Cover of Bronski Beat’s “Hit That Perfect Beat’ at Dorian Grey. Photo by Michele Witchipoo Feb. 2015.

Originally I had wanted to come dressed as Boy George. Someone suggested I go as Siouxsie Sioux. Which was a good suggestion within itself but I had spent a good part of my teenage years cloning her. My trusty old DEVO outfit ended up being recycled. To be honest, I wasn’t expecting much of a reaction, knowing how the rest of the club revelers dress to the nines at Dorian Grey. To my surprise, DEVO got a positive response.

Here’s a video of Leo Gugu covering Grace Jones’ ‘Pull Up To The Bumper.’

Now I must get back to my own work, since March is going to be a much busy month for me. You can check out another link  of the night’s activities in the NEXT Magazine article. With that I’ll leave you with the Video of the Bowie cover, by Micheal T.

Scenes From The 16th Annual Mr. L.E.S. Pageant (WARNING – NSFW!)

Over the weekend at The Cobra Club, my friend Dawn suggested checking out the 16th Annual Mr. L.E.S. Pageant. With that she thought our mutual friend Chad would be perfect for the contest.

So yesterday, I texted Dawn about whether or not Chad was still interested in doing the pageant. Particularly since yesterday’s temperatures were going down to a freezing nine degrees. A few more texts between us three, and suddenly plans were in place. Chad threw on my black sequined tank top and black mini-skirt. Dawn went to a local 99 cents store to grab cheap thigh high stockings. Chad’s contribution, besides the insanity, was a thong fashioned out of a belly dancing belt. I had brought along my silver star platform shoes purchased back in the late ’90s, but unfortunately the heels were too small for Chad’s feet. Since we had to get to the church on time, I applied Chad’s makeup while riding the subway to Brooklyn.

‘Sparkles’ riding the subway to the 16th Annual L.E.S. Pageant. Taken Mon. Feb. 23rd, 2015.

Wait…Brooklyn you ask? But doesn’t L.E.S. mean the Lower East Side, as in the borough of Manhattan? Technically yes. What happened was, the event was originally slated for Jan. 31st over at the Cakeshop, but due to certain difficulties, it ended up rescheduled and moved to the Lucky 13 bar in Gowanus, Brooklyn. That’s how sterile Manhattan has become. In fact, that’s seems to be the case all over NYC, thanks to the plague of hyper-gentrification.

Anyway, we finally arrived at on location. Whether or not last year’s winner, Matthew Silver was there, we don’t know since we were late. Luckily we managed to get Chad on stage, and he was the last contestant to strut his stuff.

Lucky 13 was packed full of drunken revelry. The rowdy audience heckled in between chants of “BALLS!”

This year’s winner of the Mr. L.E.S. title was Claude Debris. He was some skinny guy with a tight hounds-tooth suit and a French accent who calls his mother every week, like a good son should. He even made sure computer towers were attached to his testicles.

WARNING…THE BELOW VIDEO IS NSFW.

The rest of the winners were:

Mr. Congeniality – Brer Brian

Mr. GowANUS – Johnny Bizarre

Mr. Tribeca – Fritz Donnelly

On stage at the 16th Annual Mr. L.E.S. Pageant. Hosted by Rev. Jen. Taken Feb. 23rd, 2015 by Michele Witchipoo.

It was a great night. The only fall-out was I got really sick of seeing penis everywhere. It did inspire this sketch featuring my old (self-published) comic book character, Psycho Bunny. So I created this:

Introducing male stripper Psycho Bunny! Drawn by Michele Witchipoo.

Online post-coverage of the night’s events:

http://bedfordandbowery.com/2015/02/consensus-16th-annual-mr-lower-east-side-pageant-was-totally-nuts/

Update: Forgot to mention that the hostess was NYC’s own Rev. Jen.

Mother Destruction

Had this phone conversation the other night. Something he said had really disturbed me.

I’m not going to reveal my age, but let’s just say that if I had wanted a child, time is running out. Got to thinking about how fast life goes by, and with that, it hit me unexpectedly hard. Strangely, I started to ponder…what it would like to be a mother. Then I got depressed about how much was wasted in relationships that went nowhere, etc. You see, life is too short after all.

I began drawing this personal piece. Decided to call it ‘Mother’ for now, although ‘Mother Destruction’ fits better. It also came to mind cause Mother Destruction is also a name of a Neofolk/Electronica band. The dystopian elements were added after listening to Sopor Aeternus during the afternoon. Not music to play where you’re feeling particularly moody, but it proved to be a good influence on this drawing :

Beginning of Mother sketch, Feb. 2015. Drawn by Michele Witchipoo.

Without color, Mother sketch done Feb. 2015.

Pen and digital color. Drawn and illustrated by Michele Witchipoo, Feb., 19th, 2015.

Valentine # 4 – Valentine Cat

Wanted to do a different type of style, so here’s Valentine number four. Which of course, is two days late. So much for posting on Valentine’s Day itself.

Valentine Cat. Drawn and colored by Michele Witchipoo Feb. 2015.

Big Apple Comic Con – Next Month

Next month I will be selling my self-published comics, assorted artwork, and doing commissions at the Big Apple Comic Con. Hopefully I’ll have a new issue of Psycho Bunny available by this time. It’s been a while since I’ve done anything with Psycho Bunny anyway.

Flyer for Big Apple Comic Con slated for March 7th, 2015.

The location will be at the Penn Plaza Pavilion, 401 Seventh Avenue & 33rd Street, across from Madison Square Garden/Penn Station.

You can check out the website here.

Here’s who scheduled to appear at Big Apple Comic Con so far:

Film/TV/Media
Steve Cardenas (Mighty Morphin’ Red Ranger, Blue Ranger Zeo)
John Altamura (“Toxic Avenger” 2 & 3)
Paris Themmin (Johhny TV from “Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory”)
Gina Marie Zimmerman (“Big Brother 15”)
Captain Zorikh (“Big Giant Swords,” “Jedi Junkies,” “Sci-Fi Science”)
Mark Torres (“It Came From the Radio” podcast)

Pro Wrestling
Jake “The Snake” Roberts

Comics, Cartoon, and Illustration Professionals
Joe Sinnott (tentative)
Bob Camp
Ramona Fradon
Basil Gogos
Rodney Ramos
Guy Dorian
Jim Salicrup
J. David Spurlock

Independent artists and publishers:
Scott Carola
Castle Comics
Rare Earth Comics
Graphite Veins
Pronto Comics
Kristen Gudsnuk
Brian Kong
Little Petal
Mindy Indy
Jorell Rivera
Derwin Roberson
Adam Soltys
Timothy Sparvero

This is in addition to the previously announced guests…

“Rowdy” Roddy Piper
Jason David Frank (the original Green Power Ranger)
Moses Mosley and Theshay West (Michone’s walkers from “The Walking Dead”)
Chris Harrelson (frequent featured walker from “The Walking Dead”)
Mike Zapic, Ming Chen, and Robert Bruce (“Comic Book Men”)
Johnny Brennan (Jerky Boys, Family Guy)

Comic book creators and cartoonists confirmed include:
Bill Plympton
Rich Buckler
Herb Trempe
Larry Hama
James O’Barr
Bob Rozakis
Jamal Igle
Rodney Ramos

Independent artists and publishers:
Graphite Veins
Variety Hour
Middleboy Ashita
Hijack Press
Ascalon Press
Cruzin Comics
John Jon’s Customs
Powersmith Studios
Night & Day Anime Studios
Jessica Oliveri
Kristen Gudsnuk
Shanequa Thompson
Kush Wright
Michele Witchipoo
Nadia Burgess
Jonathan Griffiths
Tony Sparvero
Eric Lide
Kelly Gordon
Soo Lee
Omar Mirza
Matthew Montelione & Pedro Lajud
Eric Nierstedt
David Quiles

Valentine No. 3 – Sallos Valentine

It’s too cold in NYC today. As of this blog post, the current temperature is 25 degrees. A good day to stay in and work on a Valentine Day’s sketch.

Yes, I know. I had promised to post new Valentine’s artwork everyday until Feb. 14th. Of course, life took over and this was not possible. So here’s my attempt at playing catch up with today’s sketch. Combining both Friday the 13th and Valentine’s Day, I figured I’d create my own version of a ‘Pandora’s Box.’ Taking a cue from Goetia demons, here’s Sallos.

Next Month – Welcome To My Nightmare X

Next month, Saturday March 28th, 2015 will be the annual Welcome To My Nightmare event. Since 2009, the yearly Welcome To My Nightmare affair has featured underground bands and artists. I’ll be showing and selling my work at this one night event, so be there or be…b-square!

Welcome To My Nightmare X flyer. I will be showing and selling my work, along with other artist and bands.

Birthday Wishes

Someone commissioned me from Etsy to create a custom birthday postcard. While my previous illustrations could have been used, I decided to create a brand new piece for 2015. After all, it’s still a fairly new year.

Happy Birthday. Pen, ink, digital color. Drawn by Michele Witchipoo Feb. 2015.

Here’s how the custom birthday postcard turned out. This one features a print of my illustration, acrylic paint, glitter, and in this case, a few scattered rhinestones.

Front of custom birthday postcard, a commission from my Etsy shop. Made with acrylic paint, glitter and a few rhinestones. https://www.etsy.com/shop/WitchesBrewPress

…and just for the hell of it, since I know quite a few Aquariuses, below is an old ’80s song from the Scottish band Altered Images.

Current banner to the WitchesBrewPress Etsy shop.
https://www.etsy.com/shop/WitchesBrewPress

BTW, click here to go to my Etsy shop.

Valentine # 2 – Psycho Bunny’s Thoughts About Relationships

So I’m already behind on my once a day Valentine posts. Playing catch-up with something that I haven’t worked on in a long time. My comicbook character Psycho Bunny, which I’ve been self-publishing on and off since 2004.

For those who don’t know, Psycho Bunny is a drunk, unemployed, bitter misanthropic rabbit. I’m currently working on new stories to be released sometime this year. You can order copies of past Psycho Bunny issues either through my website: http://www.witchesbrewpress.com/ or through my Etsy shop: https://www.etsy.com/shop/WitchesBrewPress

Below is what Psycho Bunny thinks about relationships. Not that he’s any good at relationships himself.

Stay tuned for some more Valentine’s artwork, to be concluded Feb. 14th.

Psycho Bunny’s thoughts on relationships. Character created by Michele Witchipoo.

Art Exhibit At Julia’s

Last minute notice. My artwork will be shown tomorrow night at Julia’s. Julia’s is a new wine bar in Ridgewood, Queens, and the theme is for this group show “Women by Women”. Me and the other artists will be there, some will also bring smaller merchandise. 100 percent of all art and merchandise sales go directly to the artists. I’ll be selling prints of my latest Valentine illustration, as seen below.

For those with itchy drawing fingers…Julia’s will also have doodling supplies on tables. There’ll be sampling local beers all night and some fantastic drink specials.

Here’s the Facebook invite.

Valentine Day art, completed Feb 1st, 2015. Created by Michele Witchipoo.