getting back online ... slowly

I'm offline now ... there is no home wifi available. It's my own fault, mostly. I could dwell on it and weave a sad story about it all but no one has time for that. Bottom line is shit happens.

Admit it and move on.

To all the awesome patient people that have been waiting on artwork ... thank you for your continued patience. I got overwhelmed with the amount I had to send out, combined with a bunch of other mental  issues ... it became to much. I flopped. It got dark and nearly fatal.
But I'm better at the moment and I should have everything in the mail and off my plate before the month ends. This is a huge step for me. Monumental even.
If you haven't gotten an email from me yet let me know. I have had so much happen that I may have lost track of a few items.
On the bright side of it if all ... I levelled up

the future behind the past ... but it's really the present

Anyways ... I'm offline. It's been over two weeks now and I have gotten so much drawing and artwork created. Sketches, a couple of paintings, a lot of cats, skulls, more sketches ... and my 3rd last commission is nearly complete. It's my last zombie couple portrait for a very long time probably and it looks gruesomely great ... at least I think so ;)

You might think that with all the artwork being created, there should also be some artistic growth. You'd be right! Especially since access to the internet has been stripped away.

I don't know how to describe everything that I want to accomplish, and all the ideas that are scrambling around in my head. I'm hoping it will show through in the upcoming weeks. Eventually everything should start to make more sense and some organization will become obvious. Right now I'm just having fun being offline and creating whatever my mind desires.
Speaking of being offline ... I am off of social media mostly now, except for occassional posts, so if you messaged me on facebook, g+ or any of the other platforms, I probably won't get back to you. If you need to reach me, send an email or post in the comments in one of my blogs. I will try to check email at least every other day or so.

In other news, I was recently gifted some great art supplies from one of my patreon patrons. Thank you Jacqueline Bartels for that. When I create something with those supplies, I'll mail it out to you. Should be soon :D

If anyone wants to trade artwork for artsupplies, let me know. I'm down for that.

I'm done for now. There is so much more to say though ... so stay tuned. I hope to post here at least once a week, with all the artwork that I have created up to that point. I hope to fill this blog with artwork and stories.
If you want to get behind the scenes even more and find out about the secret stuff I'm working on, consider becoming a patron for as little as a buck a month. There will be books, sketches and a tonne of other things going on.
If you want to see more zombie cats, check out www.thezombiecats.ca
Those undead kitties are running the show now, so it's a bit chaotic and messy, but they're trying. I will be posting all the zombie cat artwork over there from now on, except for the secret stuff, that goes on patreon.
 If you're in the mood for more  artwork of mine, with a two sentence horror story attached, visit www.twosentencehorrors.com ... and if you want to own a little piece of me, my artwork is available in my store. Everything there is already packaged and ready to ship. Part of my new business model :D
Stay tuned for much more coolness :)
Byron

Square skulls are square man ...

Currently my youngest boys are running around playing a war game of sorts ... the kind that no one loses in but sometimes tears are shed. I have my headphones on, well actually they're Calebs headphones, and Bauhaus is playing. The music drowns out the giggling kids and clanking dishes that Monica is getting ready to wash. 

It's just me and this computer right now .... and I have no idea what I want to say.

I could type about what it's like to have no home wifi but it's only day two. No one has freaked out yet ... early days. ;)

Insanity could be just around the corner though ... the FOMO could strike at any time but I feel confident that I can overcome it. Ever since I beat the selfloathing troll back in to it's cage I am feeling very confident about a many things. 

Still more work to do though

Speaking of work ... this skull, which is for sale in my shop ( http://thehorde.storenvy.com ) is part of a larger work which will be revealed over the next few days or so. It's actually the brain child of my wife who has shown a great deal more interest in helping me get my career going faster, which is very exciting.

In fact, she is taking charge to make sure I get my shit together. Everything from getting mail out in time to creating prints and other merchandise in time for the Winkler Comic Con in Feb.


Why a skull though ... what's up with the skull trend lately Byron?? I just really like drawing and painting skulls right now. It's a phase I'm sure, and one that I am having a lot of fun with and might even be attributed to a huge influence from another artist named Jed Leiknes who i discovered on instagram a few months back. I really liked the energy and feeling his skulls had and it made me want to get better at them.

Sadly ... Jed took his own life a few days before Christmas. Sorry to bum you out. It kind of affected me somewhat. He was younger than me and had a lot of great going for him, but there was something else that ate at him ... I didn't know the guy at all and was just a fan but damn. It shook me to my core and in a really twisted sort of way helped me get back on my own path. 

Ugh ... mental detour there for a moment. Should I keep it or delete it ... I'll leave it because it's true and there should be no shame in sharing a feeling like that.

So .. um... skulls ... I like them and I'm getting better at them and there will only be so many made in my life and after that there will be no more, so you should go buy this one before someone else does ;)
Help an artist out ... 


I don't know how I ended up here after starting up there but I'm stopping when we get to the next period. Have a great night, because it's night time here, and I'll have a new image tomorrow.




CYA .... oppps

The Future Behind the Past ... But it's really the Present

artwork created Jan8 2018
posted on blogger Jan10 2018, the day the internet died

Well this is a damn crazy thing ... I don't quite know what to say ... It's just another blog post in a series of blog posts spanning multiple years ... but this one might be a long one ... maybe. I keep re-reading what I type and then deleting big chunks. I'll try to keep the chatter down.

First off ... I am without home internet right now. I'm uploading this from Tim Hortons, the library or somewhere. I'm actually typing this at home on the laptop, then somehow transfer it to the phone, then go to the free wifi spot to upload. I'm hopeful that I can transfer the text easily. If you're reading this then huzzah! Success.

Secondly ... there are still a few people that I have not sent artwork out too. If you haven't heard from me in a while I'm really sorry about that and please email me again ... if you have emailed me and didn't get a response I will send it shortly. Thanks for all the patience, everything is almost sorted and these delays should not happen again.

Third ... um ... the artwork. I'm going to try to post a new macabre art piece on a daily basis. I really want to get this blog back to a daily routine ... I really need the routine. It's been an extremely rough patch mentally, almost fatal, but through much digging some things have been figured out. One of them is the routine. So ... consider this the first post of my new routine. Let's hope the next one is tomorrow ;)

Regarding this paticular drawing, the title of this blog post is the title of this drawing.

There is reasoning behind the drawing, more than even I realized when I was drawing it. The one that no one but myself knows is that the skull behind the skull is supposed to be the same skull, only drawn the day after the first skull was drawn. Hence the title, at least the first part. 
The Future Behind the Past ...

The second part ... but it's really the Present is a big nod to the fact that I was drawing the future behind the past in the present. obviously right?

But then it gets deep, especially today as the wifi is shut down and I realize I still haven't finished certain things that I wanted to finish several days ago. There's more to say but I need way more time to figure out the right way to say it. The central message that I'm reading from all this is that you need to start doing TODAY what you wish you had started a long time ago so that you don't have to regret not starting again.

Does that even make sense?

Moving along to number FOUR

It's also about the artwork ... I am starting to post my daily artworks for sale in my store. I'm only offering them up when they are ready to ship ... that way I don't get bogged down again with delays in shipping. 
So if you dig this piece and want to own the original, check out my store at http://thehorde.storenvy.com and buy my artworks ... I'm actually selling originals at a really affordable price right now as I rebuild myself, so take advantage while you can ;)
There will be prints available through redbubble or such stores in the near future ... I would like to eventually offer signed prints but I'm not there yet.

the FIFTH item ... man ... this is getting long

Commissions ... I am no longer taking commissions.
If you really really REALLY want me to paint a picture for you, then feel free to contact me. Just be warned, my terms of agreement include me being allowed to take 6 months to create and mail out your picture. It's not for any other reason than my own mental well being. If you're cool with that, let me know.

um ... sorry ... if you're still here then you're better than I am. I stopped re reading a long time ago.
SIX ... 
Nancy Scuri and I have been creating new Two Sentence Horror stories for 300 stories as of Jan 11 2018 ... so check that out. www.twosentencehorrors.com 
300 of anything is quite a bit ... maybe I should try to finish that 1000 zombies project.

There are also some Big changes coming to my Patreon as well as Two Sentence Horrors ... I'm going to have to save that for a different post though. I could go on and on I'm sure ... I'll end with a huge thank you to everyone who has stood by me and supported me over the last few years. I feel like I've let some of you down recently and I really hope to get in to this routine and make it up to you in the very near future.

That's it for now ... go draw something and post it to me. Cheer me up a little.

oh ... and don't be mad if I don't respond right away ... I'm offline
Byron

SCREAMING

I've been drawing and sketching and practicing skulls a lot lately. I've been making good progress, this being one of my best skull drawings to date, and the only one with a lower jaw so far. I really like how this one is coming out of the darkness and heading towards what could be the light ... but it might just be a little less darkness.

I have made the original available in my store: http://byronrempel.bigcartel.com/

murderous mind

This is a self portrait from the time leading up to the whole Christmas holiday season. Much feeding to the inner Troll was done, which caused what seemed like unending stress and anxiety and depression.

It took hard work but I had my wife fighting beside me, and together we stopped that troll long enough for me to see what I have in front of me.

Even posting this is a bit of a mind fuck for me but I'm trusting myself that it's okay. Weird right? Fucking brain is trying to kill me. Am i feeding the troll ... ?
crazy



Anyways ... all that depression caused some big mistakes to happen, so if you don't see me online for a while, don't panic.

It just means I'm trying to make enough cash to pay the phone bill.

December was all about robbing Peter to pay Paul ... freaking christmas ....

well it's the new year and Peter wants his money.

Part of my new ethos is about owning my mistakes, and taking care of them. Fixing them and hoping to never repeat them again.

This first one will be a test because I have to admit to my kids that I screwed up, sorry no wifi ... not cool but it's a first world problem that I hope becomes a growth lesson for everyone.

Anyways ... not to beg for help but rather to point out something ... I am trying to adopt out 50 zombie cats and I'm doing it for just $20. The reasons make a lot more sense than just 'Byron needs some cash' ... it's more about me entering a new phase of my life as an artist, a father, a husband and even as a person. I'm valuing things differently, I'm doing things differently and above all I'm trying to live differently ... and by differently I mean better.


So I'm selling off these little bits of my past to people that really love my work and could not afford it so that it can be spread to 50 different people in 50 different parts of the world. It's a huge challenge for me to get mail out on time but I'm making this 'sale' and the whole adventure of adopting these cats out a learning and growth experience.

I'll start to post the rest of the journey on the daily zombie now since I hope to mail them all out on Friday. The envelopes are made, just a bit more tape then they're all ready for stuffing with whatever zombie merch I have lying around. Then the lucky ticket needs to be made and all of them getting sealed, mixed up, addressed to 50 different people and mailed off.

It's a bit weird to think that I might never paint zombie cats like these 50 again ... but that's growth and I would rather know that part of my growth is out in the world, rather than in a storage bin under the stairs.

who wants a piece of my growth? :P

I'm part way there, hoping to do the actual mailing on Friday.
If you want to take part in this, the link is : https://payhip.com/b/TUg8

Whoever gets that lucky ticket also wins this

anyways ... this turned out to be a longer blog post than i expected

time to go get some more work done

thanks for reading, have a great night.