A 2011 end of year full circle recap

Well, 2011 is drawing to a close it’s been a busy year but it’s also been a good year… Creatively speaking it’s been marvellous! I have been fortunate to have my work featured and displayed and published as I worked on many projects covering a very broad range of themes. Despite the workload I have (somehow) managed to keep this blog updated…. However, I did manage to miss one or two items so I thought I would use this last entry to recap those missed moments

February sadness and joy… Joy at winning Stuart Ashen’s art competition on line with ‘Ashen’s Poundland Peril’. But sadness with the passing of Nicholas Courtney (1929-2011) Nick famously played Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart in Doctor Who and was a regular face at Doctor Who conventions, I met Nick countless times over the years and thought he was a lovely man. I shall always treasure an evening in Stockton on Tees discussing giant maggots over Cheese and biscuits.

RIP Nicholas Courtney(1929-2011)

March Invited to Farthings in Selsey to attend a party that both celebrated the Sky at Night’s 700th episode and Sir Patrick Moore’s 88th birthday! It was lovely to be able to return to Selsey and see Sir Patrick again. The star-studded party was held in a marquee that heaved with people discussing astronomy and science over drinks a good time was had by all!

Cameras were not allowed at the party but the Sky at Night magazine snapped this photo outside the marquee… Beth and I can be seen in the window!
© Sky at Night magazine 2011

April a month that not only saw ‘The Cooling Pond’ go on display in Los Angeles it was also the month of Dimension Jump XV The official Red Dwarf convention was held at the Holiday Inn, Birmingham and the 2011 logo was designed and illustrated by yours truly! Inspired by the episode ‘Demons and Angels' the fifth story of series V where the crew try to ‘Triplicate’ food, the logo features a strawberry. The logo was used on various items at the convention including the event banner that was later signed by all the guests and auctioned by the show’s co-creator, writer, director and producer Doug Naylor.

Photo courtesy of Rich Lawden and GNP

The weekend after, Beth and I visited the village of Aldbourne in Wiltshire the setting for the classic 1971 Doctor Who story ‘The Dæmons’ staring Jon Pertwee as the third Doctor. Aldbourne (or Devil's End as it was called in the story) is a popular pilgrimage site for Doctor Who fans so when Beth and I discovered that there was to be an event celebrating the story’s 40th anniversary at the village in April we plot a course for the picturesque village (stopping only to visit Stonehenge!) We had a delicious meal at the Blue Boar pub (or the Cloven Hoof as it was called in the story) then attended several Q& A’s by the surviving cast members including Richard Franklin, John Levene and Katy Manning. Highlights of the day had to sitting next to Damaris Hayman (Miss Hawthorne) watching the Headington Quarry Morris Dancers dancing on the green and going for a drive around the village and back roads in a replica of the Doctor’s car, Bessie! We had an absolutely delightful weekend we left Aldbourne very happy Doctor Who fans.

Original cast and crew on The Green

The Headington Quarry Morris Dancers

Three days after our Who related weekend, the world of Doctor Who, received another tragic blow… Elisabeth Sladen known to millions as Sarah Jane Smith died on the 19th
I met Lis Sladen in Blackpool in 2006 and found her to be exactly what everyone said she was a lovely, warm obliging person by far the best Doctor Who companion and a tragic loss to the show.

RIP Elisabeth Sladen ( 1948-2011)

October seemed to be a month of theatres not only did we attend the ‘Save The Coliseum Halloween party on the 31st. But on the 12th I was able to tick one item off my rather hefty ‘things to do’ list when I had the pleasure of seeing Paul Daniels perform magic live at the Pavilion Theatre in Rhyl! Growing up in the 1980’s I adored Paul Daniels, I look back at his weekly magic show, Wizbit and his teach yourself magic books with great fondness so to be able to see the master perform his magic live was amazing! He didn’t fail to impress both his magic and repor with the audience was as I had imagined, flawless. The “Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow” also featured (the lovely) Debbie McGee and son Martin Daniels who was assisted by the wonderful Andi Mac! A traditionalist at heart I favour what you might call ‘traditional’ magic and this show had it all (and rabbits too!). I was doubly pleased at being able to meet both Paul Daniels and Debbie McGee in the foyer after the show they both signed autographs and took the time to meet the public, performing tricks and sharing stories and jokes it was fantastic. I urge you all to check out his site and see what he is up to in the New Year!

Then on the 15th of October attended a screening of Monty Python and the Holy Grail at the Theatr Colwyn in Colwyn Bay. The event, marking the reopening of theatre’s £750,000 facelift was presented by the theatre’s patron Terry Jones, who was later interviewed by Phill Jupitus who also took questions from the audience. Naturally I had seen the film many times before but never on the big screen so it was wonderful to be able to sit amongst an audience and laugh along with others, we had a wonderful afternoon.


November Friday the 18th to many this was Children In Need Day but it was also Beth’s birthday and a return trip to Selsey was on the cards (see March). For Beth it was a routine trip to visit Patrick for super, but for me this was a trip that had been several weeks in the making as I intended to ask her to marry me! Before we embarked on our trip a surprise Birthday dedication courtesy of BBC Radio 2’s Ken Bruce who kindly granted me the opportunity to declare my love and well wishes via his show!



A few hours later we safely arrived at Sir Patrick’s home for a lovely home cooked meal and a glass of champagne to toast Beth’s special day and then out to the garden to use Patrick’s famous 15" Reflector to view Jupiter! The garden was busy that evening as the Adur Astronomical Society were holding their monthly meeting with John Fletcher of Mount Tuffley Observatory. As everyone observed deep sky objects I walked Beth over to the 12" Newtonian telescope (used by Patrick for his historical lunar mapping work). Ironically a street light proved to be most useful for this amateur astronomer as it allowed me to be see and be seen as I knelt down on one knee! Beth who had no idea what I was up to looked on in bewilderment as I produced my specially made ring box complete with hand crank when wound played Elvis Presley’s ‘Love Me Tender’… Knowing that Beth would instantly recognise the tune I let the music box ask on my behalf and to my delight (not to mention relief!) she said yes! A kiss and a reassurance that I was serious later, we went back to the house to let Patrick know the outcome of our plan! Another bottle of champagne later we shared our news with all in attendance receiving many kind well wishes from the Adur AS and John Fletcher who logged the event in the telescope logbook! And that was the night this artist proposed to his muse, my sincere thanks to everyone that shared our special evening.

There we have it 2011! A year of ups and downs crammed full of wombles, frozen/ shrunken dinosaurs, zombies, Papier-mâché heads, sea monsters, mutant jelly/pumpkins and fish, chainsaws, glow in the dark paintings, classic sci-fi, iconic superheroes, ducks and not to mention one or two childhood heroes thrown in for good measure! I was determined to make what sounded like a dull year one to remember and I thank all concerned for helping me achieve this Happy New Year!
Right then, 2012…

© Arfon Jones 2011. All images are copyrighted throughout the world.

New Book! Taming the Pound

Released just in time for Christmas, Taming the Pound: Making Money Your Servant, Not Your Master tells you everything you ever wanted to know about handling your money. Written by psychologist and financial advisor Kim Stephenson an accredited coach with over 25 years' consultancy who has appeared in The Guardian and FT, Financial Solutions, Therapy Today and on BBC radio stations not to mention numerous conferences. His book is designed to help you gain control of your money, instead of it controlling you and the inside illustrations are by me!

A lovely project to work on I illustrated several cartoons that can bee seen throughout the book in an attempt to help you gain control of your finances!
Check out Kim’s web site for more information or order your copy through Amazon its also available on Kindle

© Arfon Jones 2011. All images are copyrighted throughout the world.

Tom Baker Drawn and Quartered

Painted in acrylic and pen on A3 card back in 2006 this is a painting within a painting and is based on a ‘what if?’ idea I had based on Tom’s character in 1973 Amicus film ‘Vault of Horror’. In the story ‘Drawn and Quartered’ Tom plays an artist that has voodoo powers! Whatever he paints can be harmed by inflicting damage on the painting, this allows him to exact his revenge on the three men that wronged him.. However his self-portrait proves to be his downfall as he too can be harmed if anything happens to that painting! The subject of this painting is namely, what if the outcome of that story had been different and he was still a working artist alive in 2006…

© 2011. All images are copyrighted throughout the world.

The mutant jelly experiment: Phase 1,2,3 & 4

For the last two years I have been experimenting with a new medium, Jelly (jello to everyone in America!) I decided to create a mutant jelly composed of several flavours complete with brain.

The mutant jelly experiment: Phase 1
The mutant jelly composed of lime jelly with a raspberry brain. Both flavours can be separated for people whom favour one over the other…in other words, the brain can be easily removed! Progress has been made However, the thickness of the jelly prevents you from seeing the brain properly...


The mutant jelly experiment: Phase 2
This mutant jelly is composed of lemon jelly with a raspberry brain. Because the thickness of the jelly prevented us from seeing the brain of the last mutant I decided to give this one an external brain.


The mutant jelly experiment: Phase 3
Mutant Lemon jelly with larger Strawberry brain. I felt the external brain needed to be larger…


The mutant jelly experiment: Phase 4
Strawberry jelly with a single eye.


Progress is being made on Phase 5…

© Arfon Jones 2011. All images are copyrighted throughout the world.

Glow in the Dark Marie Curie Portrait

This would have been Marie Curie’s 144th Birthday. A pioneer in field of radioactivity she discovered the elements, Polonium and Radium. She received two Nobel Prizes and conducted the world's first studies into the treatment of neoplasms using radioactive isotopes later founding the Curie Institute a research centre specialising in the treatment of cancer.
So I thought I would use this day to share one of my latest pieces with you. Inspired by the story that a beaker glowing brightly in the dark lead to her to the discovery of Polonium and Radium I painted this portrait that both harks back to my ‘Science Spotlight’ series and glows in the dark!
Once the light is switched off the portrait lights up, the piece can be enjoyed during night and day and be useful if placed near a light switch as it remains bright for several hours making it easy to locate the light switch again. The first of my up and coming series of ‘Gamma Portraits’”

© Arfon Jones 2011. All images are copyrighted throughout the world.

Hallowe'en

Its that time again…. Halloween! Happy Halloween to you all! I love Halloween, and with just barely a few hours to go of it I thought I would share some of the things I have been getting up to over this Halloween weekend…

On Friday Beth and I attended a Halloween party organised by The Friends of the Coliseum. The Coliseum Cinema in Porthmadog was built in 1931 and remains a fine example of an Art Deco style that harks back to the golden age of cinema. Admittedly I wasn’t a patron of this fine establishment until 2005 but I was instantly blown away by its look and design and so I was saddened to hear of its closure and uncertain future. Thankfully some of Porthmadog’s residents decided they would do something about it and so they formed a group that raises funds and awareness. The event was called ‘Spirit of the Coliseum’ and was held at Portmeirion’s Hercules Hall a one night only fancy dress disco with all proceeds going directly towards saving and re-opening the Coliseum.

For a costume I decided to go as Ash Williams from the ‘Evil Dead 2’ movie complete with chainsaw hand made from various things I found around the studio. Using the dvd for reference I applied the necessary tears to my shirt and cuts to my face. Then from boomsticks to broomsticks Beth decided she wanted to go as a witch but not the ‘conventional’ witch one would normally associate with Halloween instead going as Samantha Stephens from the television show ‘Bewitched’ wearing a beautiful 60’s evening dress and supporting a broomstick worthy of Elizabeth Montgomery!
Hercules Hall was a magnificent venue with its dark wood panelling, portraits and carved ceiling that complimented the music provided by DJ Y Bwgan. There was an excellent turnout, great many imaginative costumes to be seen and everyone was having a great time. I was also able to meet up with some of my fellow zombies from the ‘Zombies from Ireland’ shoot back in July. A little later into the evening partygoers were invited to view the premiere of the mini documentary about the Coliseum, which was shot recently by local filmmaker Stuart Murray, the film highlighted what the Coliseum meant to the local residents.
Then it was back to the dance floor to dance the night away, we had a “groovy” evening and I ‘doff my hat’ to the organisers who managed to raise £1055 for the cause!
If you would like to find out more, sign the petition or better yet make a donation please follow the link.

The big day! It was time to carve pumpkins! I love carving pumpkins (second only to decorating Christmas trees!) and this year I thought I would add some life to our jack-o-lantern by creating a mutant pumpkin complete with glowing mutant green eyes, mouth and twisting roots ready to catch a Trick-or-Treater that dared to get too close! He kept guard on the table as we tucked in to a bowl of home made mutant pumpkin soup.
Unfortunately the weather cut short my daughter’s plan to go out Trick-or-Treating so it was back to the house for a warm drink and bowl of popcorn!

Later on I then joined a National Séance that is quickly becoming an annual tradition for me! To celebrate the nineteenth anniversary of Ghostwatch's first UK television broadcast the Ghostwatch: Behind the Curtains site repeated the success of last year’s event!
Just like many other Ghostwatch fans I like to watch Ghostwatch on Halloween night, so this event allowed us to do so along with countless other fans by taking part in a 'live' simultaneous repeat viewing! All that was required was a Ghostwatch dvd and a Twitter account set your Ghostwatch dvd to start at 21:25 (the time it originally aired in 1992) and then tweet comments and share thoughts on the proceedings as it plays. Great fun, lovely to see so many fans joining in! I anticipate next year’s 20th anniversary!

I now plan to return to the sofa and watch a few more dvd’s before the first of November arrives, Happy Hallowe'en to you all!

© Arfon Jones 2011. All images are copyrighted throughout the world.

The New Logo: Cake and Mug

I’m really pleased that my newly launched logo continues to prove its versatility!
What better way to take a break from creating than to have a cuppa from my own personalised mug accompanied by a customised cake? The edible icing cake toppers feature the logo and measure 1.5" in size. Not only do they look good, but I can also verify that they taste great!
I unveiled these beauties on facebook a few days ago and they have already sparked some interest with friends requesting their own! Have I set a new trend? Oh crumbs!

© Arfon Jones 2011. All images are copyrighted throughout the world.

Ladies of Steampunk: Now On Sale!

Back in July I mentioned that my shrunken T-Rex was to make an appearance in a forthcoming steampunk themed calendar produced by Sean McCaffrey and Sean W Makiney of Monkey House Media. Well I’m happy to report that the Ladies of Steampunk calendar is now available to buy!

To celebrate the release of the calendar a party was recently held at the Mondo Bizarro Café in Sacramento. Featuring live music by Unwoman. Guests were able to buy their own calendar and posters including some of the props that were used in the photo shoots. Unfortunately I was unable to attend (it’s quite a way for me!) But I understand a good time was had by all and the calendar was very well received, so much so that plans are already under way for the 2013 edition!
As I eagerly await the arrival of my calendar I urge you all to follow the link and buy one! My heartiest congratulations to Sean & Sean for making their idea a reality!

Image courtesy of Monkey House Media/ Ladies of Steampunk calendar
© Arfon Jones 2011. All images are copyrighted throughout the world

Shadow of Chernobyl

Earlier this year the Chernobyl Children's Project (UK) a charity that supports children and families in Belarus, the country most affected by the Chernobyl disaster, organised a children’s creative writing competition to coincide with the 25th anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster. The task was to write a story imagining that they were one of the children whose lives have been affected by the disaster. ‘Shadow of Chernobyl’ by Zin Htut from Brooklands Primary School in Sale, was selected. and was later illustrated by me. The story opens with “Under every nuclear plant, there rests a dragon” and so I painted a dragon stirring from its slumber. My thanks to Linda Walker at Chernobyl Children's Project (UK) for inviting me to be a part of this wonderful project.

Chernobyl Children's Project (UK) deliver humanitarian aid, set up projects to improve the lives of children with disabilities and bring children to Britain for recuperative holidays. To find out more about their work or to show your support and make a donation please follow the link.

© Arfon Jones 2011. All images are copyrighted throughout the world.

In the Asylum with Wilf’ Lunn

It was that time again, time to return to Lincoln for the third annual Victorian Steampunk Society get together. Having attended in 2009 and 2010 and attended the Waltz on the Wye back in May, Beth and I were about due for another dose of steampunk intake. But first we had to stop off in Huddersfield to pick up the event’s special guest, childhood hero, inspiration and friend Mr. Wilfred Makepeace Lunn and his wife Elizabeth.
Wilf’ is held in high regard by many within the world of steampunk and quite rightly so, his style of attire and contraptions has raised the question within the steampunk community if he was in fact first steampunk. Although Wilf’ would be the first to flatly deny this, the simple fact remained, his fans wanted to meet him so it was off to Lincoln!

We set up the table in the main hall (once the exercise wing of the psychiatric ward) On display were some of Wilf’s creations The Worm Catcher Bike, The Overkill Bird Cannon and Lure (more on that later) and The Lazarus Helmet For Reanimating The Dead. Alongside where copies of Wilf’s book WILF LUNN - "MY BEST CELLAR" (autobiography up to the age of eleven & other stuff) and his limited edition Surreal Cycle Prints and some of my Science Spotlight postcards (namely 3/12 that feature Wilf)
The stall was along side the great far-fetched fiction novelist Robert Rankin. Author of such books as ‘The Hollow Chocolate Bunnies of the Apocalypse’ and ‘The Witches of Chiswick’. He was accompanied by his charming wife Lady Raygun as they promoted Mr. Rankin’s latest novel ‘The Mechanical Messiah And Other Marvels of the Modern Age’ On the next stall was freelance writer Jonathan Green. Described as 'a Geek's Geek' he is well known for his contributions to the Fighting Fantasy range of adventure game books he has also written for such titles as Sonic the Hedgehog, Doctor Who, Star Wars and Games Workshop's worlds of Warhammer. Jonathan was promoting his current series of novels set within the alternative steampunk universe of Pax Britannia along with other titles such as 'Match Wits with the Kids' and 'What is Myrrh Anyway? Everything You Always Wanted to Know about Christmas'.I quickly added the ‘Womblus Wimbledon Vulgaris’ to the Great Exhibition and returned behind the table just as the doors opened to let the public in to the main hall for the opening ceremony. Each attendee dressed in their finest, each one with a fascinating back-story to tell. Once the opening ceremony was over, many came over to meet Wilf’ shake his hand and thank him for his contribution to their childhood memories and inspiring them to be creative… Wilf’ on the other hand just wanted to compliment them on their costumes and props and find out how they created them! A lovely moment occurred when a young girl came up to Wilf’ and asked ‘who have you come as?' Wilf’ pointed to his book cover photo and said “I’ve come as him” to which the girl responded ‘You look like him!’ As the day progressed I was fortunately able to catch up with many familiar friendly faces from past events and discuss ideas, costumes and methods (not to mention hand out a few of my new badges and stickers!)

Womblus Wimbledon Vulgaris ‘meets’ the good people of Lincoln

In the afternoon it was time for Wilf’ to give a presentation in the little theatre located upstairs. He presented several slides featuring his time in television and various contraptions and creations over the years. There wasn’t a single slide that didn’t have an interesting story behind it. Moving on to his contraptions he demonstrated the Overkill Bird Cannon and Lure. Once firmly placed on Wilf’s head he clapped his hands activating the mechanical bird inside the cage that sang ‘Ode to Joy’ it lured a passing bird in Wilf’s sight he tugged the cord and fired a cannon ball! This marvellous hat was followed by countless other items that he produced from his cases including the skinless balloon (a green one) a cow pat Frisbee also known as WMD. (Weapon of Mass Disgust) and The Sneaky Baby Feeder (As seen in Wilf’s book Cheap Cheerful and sometimes grotty gifts to make) A device that rings a bell at the back of the baby’s head causing the child to look up and automatically open its mouth allowing the parent ample opportunity to squirt the food. (Wilf’ demonstrated this and despite his best efforts he missed me!) I loved the Second Class Battenberg medal, coloured and shaped like a slice of Battenberg cake Wilf’ presented this honour to Prince Charles for eating all his dinner when he was a child. Undeterred by the lack of response he then presented his Royal Highness with the Wilf' Lunn First class Battenberg medal with custard clusters for not spilling to which he received a thank you letter from Buckingham Palace!
Wilf’ even set out to aid the farming community reacting to concerns of crop circle like bald patches appearing on sheep (the result of moths unable to find woollen clothing to eat). He demonstrated the Moth Destroyer a fake sheep with nitro soaked wool that exploded when moths landed to feast! Followed by his finale, the infamous fox deterring Hen Grenade.
After answering questions from the audience Wilf’ took a bow to a delighted audience who responded in raucous cheer and applause.

After a well-earned cuppa Wilf’ was invited to be a guest judge for costume competition no easy task as the standard seems to increase with each passing year! The winner was selected and announced a spectacular set of mechanical wings, powered by a housefly encased in the backpack.
Then it was outside for an attempt at making it into the Guinness World Record for the largest gathering of Steampunks in one location. Rules were strict, each person had to have something on their head and also some form of gadget on their person. Although a pocket watch was acceptable I took the pocket sized killer bee locator with me as well as one of Wilf’s spare boaters. managed to have a natter with a few other people as the photos were taken and one final group shot later the busy, hectic day ended.Along the way we had managed to over look one minor detail and that was that nobody had actually eaten anything! So it was off for well-deserved gluten-free meal at the Wig & Mitre where we discussed the days happenings, exchanged ideas and shared stories oh and we had pudding too!
In fact we had a lovely weekend, our heart felt thanks to everyone that made us feel welcome.

Many thanks to Andy Dingley for the additional photos
© Arfon Jones 2011. All images are copyrighted throughout the world.

Wonderments and Atrocities: Womblus Wimbledon Vulgaris

My latest creation, ‘Womblus Wimbledon Vulgaris’ better known as the Common Wimbledon Womble. I have always been a fan of the Wombles and wanted to create something that reflected my devotion…. So I decided to have one stuffed and mounted.
Nobody did taxidermy like the Victorians so I thought it best that this be a Victorian Womble wearing a waistcoat (with watch) and top hat. The Womble stands in a glass case in an imitation Wimbledon Common habitat scene surrounded by plants and butterflies along with some litter that he has gathered. On the back of the case, there is a description label that reads, The Womble(Womblus Wimbledon Vulgaris )Dweller of both underground and overground, the Womble is particularly common around the Wimbledon area. Known for its resourcefulness in making good use of the things that everyday folk leave behind. Professor Michael Batt observed, “The Womble is organised and works as a team. It keeps its surrounding habitat tidy and clean.”An incredibly utterly devious species it makes the most of everything (even bottles and tins!) Donated to the Wimbledon Common conservation collection in 1871by Mrs. Elisabeth Beresford MBE.

The litter that the womble has gathered comprises of a button,
a piece of string and an empty bottle of Cribbins Cough Syrup

Many thanks to Iris Hung for providing his smart attire.
© Arfon Jones 2011. All images are copyrighted throughout the world.

Paul'll Fix It

Its very busy here at the moment I have several projects on the go with a ‘to do’ list that is double the size! Thanks to my good friend Paul McCaul at FixMyPhoto I was able to cross one item off my list last night and that was to re-vamp of the blog! Paul provided me with the new banner you see atop of the new look page that incorporates my new logo! I was so impressed with his work I decided to devote a thread to him and his work urging you to check out his site!

We all have a photograph that has slight imperfections well FixMyPhoto.co.uk can do just that! Fix your photo! Whatever the condition of your photograph, negative or slide, he will improve it for you removing rips, creases, stains and scratches. Special effects can also be applied for that “arty style print” Breathing new life to your profile picture for the web or print, (not to mention remove those harsh spots or ageing lines!) He can print your photo to Canvas with free conversion to B&W colour tinting and resizing. He can even have your photos made into rolls of wallpaper for your interior design ideas! With most of us are on computers these days so its not often I am able to describe someone as a “Computer Whiz” but I can with Paul who does some amazing things with photographs in an friendly and efficient way!

So with Christmas just around the corner why not check out his site or even his Facebook page and see what services he offers? Or better still look out for him at the Altrincham Market every Saturday and let Paul Fix your photos! Tell him Arfon sent you!

The New Logo

I thought it was about time I unveiled my new logo to you! It’s a revamp of a logo I supported in college when I studied graphic design back in the late 1990’s that incorporates the “brain storming” process involved in what I do! Hope you like it, as you will be seeing a lot more of it in the future!

© Arfon Jones 2011. All images are copyrighted throughout the world.

Comic/Graphic Novel Sale!

Exciting days ahead my friends! Lots of projects in the works, many wheels both big and small are turning! However, As is often the case this requires funding and so this is where you come in! Follow the link and you will find some items from my collection of comics and graphic novels that I collected over the 1990’s bought by me as a “future investment” being 20 years later, the future is here! I thought I would post them on my Facebook page before making them available on ebay. If you are interested in any of them send me a DM I will try and arrange a reasonable price for bulk orders. Postage will be calculated based on the amount you purchase and of course location.Once the deal is done I will remove the item’s picture from the gallery. Oh, and as a thank you I'll add a few extra comics in for all bulk orders!I have treasured these books over the years some of them have read once and then kept in bags and stored safely so rest assured you are getting well cared for books here! This is an open gallery so even if you yourself are not interesting in comics and graphic novels feel free to share this gallery with your Facebook friends that are. I will leave this offer open until the 15th of September any questions just ask.

© Arfon Jones 2011. All images are copyrighted throughout the world.

TIME GENTLEMEN 1963 –

I think its about time I write about anther ongoing project of mine one that I have been working on since 2003 which reflects my passion for the television series Doctor Who…
April 2003: I attended a Doctor Who event, where I met the 6th Doctor Colin Baker. I obtained his autograph and decided I would attend other ‘Who’ related events in future. It then occurred to me that if I were to obtain the signatures of all the Doctors and companions I would require a great deal of space to display them. With Doctor Who’s 40th anniversary in November I set about creating a piece that would both commemorate this occasion and address the show’s history, depicting the Doctor’s incarnations. This would be what they signed in future, vowing to obtain the signatures of all the companions and Doctors by the Doctor’s 50th Anniversary in 2013!

September 2003: The week I finished the painting the BBC announced that Doctor Who was returning! I was pleased, however I found myself with a portrait that was already dated as the Doctor has 13 lives and I had only painted 8 there were several regenerations to go… So, I updated the painting, adding an extra section to accommodate for the future incarnations... With room to spare!

November 2003: The portrait was completed in time for the celebration with Tom Baker and Paul McGann 4th and 8th Doctor’s being the first to sign the portrait.

October 2005: The series had returned and was a smash hit. My alterations proved a wise move as I had 2 more incarnations to add, as the Doctor had regenerated into his tenth guise. David Tennant signed the piece 2-months before his Debut story ‘The Christmas Invasion’. Bringing the number Doctors that had signed to 5

March 2007: Peter Davison the 5th Doctor had proven to be a difficult signature to acquire, however I was able to add it to the piece tallying the number to 6 Doctors. A fellow fan pointed out that I didn’t have the signatures of the first 3 Doctors, stating “I would need to be able to raise the dead” to do so. Fearing that this oversight would detract from the other names, I decided to acquire their signatures through collectors.

September 2007: Obtained the signatures of the late Patrick Troughton and Jon Pertwee and altered the painting to accommodate them. Number of Doctors 8. My style had improved since first painting the portrait back in 2003 so I reworked the piece slightly.

August 2011: The 11th Doctor was announced in 2009 with his debut story in 2010 it would be another year before I was able to add his likeness to the portrait! Sadly in February of that year Nicholas Courtney who played the Brigadier a long running character in the programme died, Nick had signed the painting back in 2004 but I removed his signature to allow for Jon Pertwee’s in the hope of acquiring his signature again at a later date… I had a spare signature I had acquired prior to the alteration of the painting and so I added that that same week Bonnie Longford signed the painting tallying the number of companion signatures to 24.

© Arfon Jones 2011. All images are copyrighted throughout the world.

Zombies from Ireland

On Sunday the 17th I awoke at 2am an odd thing to do, as this would normally be the time I finished painting and went to bed…. So why was I getting up at this hour? Simple, Ryan Kift needed zombies!
Musician/ Director Ryan Kift, and Co-Writer/Star Sian Davies are producing a local based independent movie entitled Zombies from Ireland shot mostly on the Isle of Anglesey, the story tells of the government’s misguided attempts to test swine-flu vaccinations on convicted criminals with dire consequences! The call was issued on the film’s facebook page for zombies to lurch over the Menai Bridge for the film’s dramatic climax all that was required was that you show up at 3am in your own zombie regalia! I could not refuse such a tempting offer and so I started to think of ideas for ‘my’ zombie!. I like a zombie to have a back-story, a little clue as to what this person was doing on the unluckiest day of his/ her life and so I decided ‘Hazmat Zombie’. I imagined that an attempt would have been made to contain this problem and someone would have been sent to the bridge to report on the situation and prevent possible contamination amidst the confusion he meets one of the contaminated and voilà one Hazmat Zombie!
The getup was made from a DIY coverall drizzled in red paint combining a modified joke shop mask and a pair of green wellies (for a more agricultural department look) with the getup in the car I made my way to Menai Bridge to meet my fellow zombies.

Arrived at 3am it was wonderful to see so many had showed up despite the weather everybody was in high spirits and uniquely made up chatting about inspirations and methods complimenting one and other as photographers wandered around taking photos. The actors arrived to be made up by makeup artist Anwen Peters as zombies continued to arrive on foot, by car and bikes! Ryan Kift greeted everyone and informed them that fake blood was available should they require more gore. The weather improved as dawn started to break the sound of Gulls and Oystercatchers could be heard as we made our way to the bridge. Our instructions were to make our way over the bridge in one take, action was called and we did just that. It was amazing! Lurching along with 100 zombies their scraping feet and moaning echoing across it really set the mood. It all went well apart from one incident involving a rather eager, uninvited freelance photographer who almost ruined the whole take! Thankfully precautions had been taken for such measures. One more retake from midway and it was a wrap and everyone broke character and cheered! Wonderful, a great time was had by all. Like-minded creative people had the opportunity to meet up and fulfil a wish to walk across Menai Bridge as a zombie (so glad that I wasn’t the one that wanted to do that!)

Check out the film’s facebook page for more information about the film

UPDATE: The North Wales Chronicle ran a story on the zombie shoot

© Arfon Jones 2011. All images are copyrighted throughout the world.

Ladies of Steampunk

The demand for shrunken dinosaurs has been high! Not long after making an appearance at this year’s Waltz of the Wye’s contraption exhibition the shrunken T-Rex is now appearing in the forthcoming Ladies of Steampunk calendar.
Produced by Sean McCaffrey and Sean W Makiney of Monkey House Media in Sacramento the Ladies of Steampunk calendar’s promises beautiful Steampunk women who are fans of the genre with a Suicide Girls atheistic. This is Monkey House Media first venture into boudoir style photography and as you can clearly see from December’s ‘Time Traveller’ standards are high. But it doesn’t end there they also plan to have a coffee table book as well as posters all products can be bought at their web site. Tell them Arfon sent you!

© Arfon Jones 2011. All images are copyrighted throughout the world.

Kim Newman’s Video Dungeon

Readers of Empire Magazine will find my artwork in this months edition in Kim Newman’s regular column ‘Kim Newman’s Video Dungeon’. The brief was to design a B-movie poster/ Video cover featuring Kim. The magazine provided a set of photographs depicting him in different poses brandishing various weapons. I wanted this piece to be reminiscent of the posters and video rental covers I remember fondly from the 1980’s and early 1990’s. I placed this supposed movie in 1980 one genre of movie that was popular at this time that I am also rather fond of were the ones dealing with man interfering with nature then waging war with the by-product. Taking all these factors into consideration there was but one obvious contender ‘Humanoids from the Deep’ and so I created this spoof as a nod to one of my favourite movies containing some of my favourite elements.




© Arfon Jones 2011. All images are copyrighted throughout the world.

Frank's Army

On Saturday I attended the Altrincham Festival ‘the biggest free show in Trafford’ being a fan of Frank Sidebottom I had often heard of this event. Chris Sievey/ Frank Sidebottom was a regular supporter of the festival and before his untimely death last year it had been his intention to organise a ‘Frank’s Army’ that was to consist of fans wearing their own versions of his famous paper mache head marching through the streets of Altrincham. To pay respects to the great man and raise awareness of the campaign to have a statue of Frank erected in Timperley friend and fan Paul McCaul organised the first Frank’s Army March. All that was required was that fans attended on the day with a Frank head or mask. So on Saturday 2nd of July we all convened St Margaret's road in Altrincham ready for the Altrincham Festival Grand Parade Frank’s Army March!

After an early start and a 115-mile drive I arrived in Altrincham complete with Frank head and trademark showbiz pink tie where I met other fans many of which I had only previously ‘met’ online each one supporting an impressive Frank masks and heads! After a quick get to know you the parade started and we embarked on the streets of ‘Alty’! Leading the front was organiser Paul wearing his military regalia brandishing his Little Frank baton followed by a beautiful camper van with Frank’s puppet pals peering out the windows. Attached to the top of the van were speakers that played the familiar tune of “guess who’s been on match of the day” which was to be our marching theme. Just behind was Chris Sievey’s son Harry with a megaphone who provided the vocals to interact with the crowd.


As you can well imagine, vision isn’t terribly good when wearing a Frank Sidebottom head, you can only see through a small hole in the centre of the pupil in fact I could only see clearly through the left eye but what I saw was marvellous! Streams of people smiling and cheering as we walked by! Frank’s soldiers with collection buckets accompanied us on each side as the crowds clapped and cheered us! This experience was all new to me but I was compelled to be ‘in character’ when I saw the response of the crowd (I say ‘in character’ I waved and gave the thumbs up!) I couldn’t help but smile inside my mask as the response of the people of Altrincham was so endearing and then we marched into Timperley, the home of Frank Sidebottom where the atmosphere was astounding! Its residents cheered with delight as they acknowledged their lost son as we walked by all the familiar landmarks of Timperley. Last time I had been to Timperley was on Frank’s tour where he had advised us of when it was safe to cross the road and now we were marching through the middle of it! I was having a wonderful time and I was rather disappointed when our 3-mile march ended at the festival grounds!



The festival itself was huge! Hundreds of people weaving through rides, amusements and stalls! But there was one stall in particular I wanted to find and that was the Frank Sidebottom Statue Fund stall!Frank was without a doubt an ambassador for Timperley, So a dedicated team of fans, family and friends formed a committee to fund raise monies to get a statue of Frank Sidebottom erected in his beloved village. The stall had several bits of official merchandising ranging from t-shirts to fridge magnets with all proceeds going to the statue cause. I bought The Big Shorts ‘Let's Get A Statue For Frank’ CD and a fantastic Frank Sidebottom art kit. Having explored Altrincham’s amazing festival and chatted with my fellow contributors it was time to say goodbye to Altrincham and make my way back home. I had an amazing time and I doff my paper mache head to the organisers. If you weren’t able to make it, be sure to visit the statue fund site! Every donation gets Timperley ever closer to achieving its statue.


*UPDATE* Franks Army won the best new entry award!
© Arfon Jones 2011. All images are copyrighted throughout the world.

Timeless Wonder

I’ been very lucky this year, I have had countless fun commissions come in! Each one a joy to work on but just occasionally a commission comes along that just makes you giddy with excitement, more so if you’re a geek like me. The last commission contained these words “Tardis” “Lynda Carter” and “Wonder Woman”!

Mr. Dale Who commissioned this piece (his 3rd this year so I must be doing something right!) and so I set about creating ‘Timeless Wonder’ a “what if?” tv listings cover, What if Doctor Who had crossed over to the Wonder Woman series. I have included some photos that show you my process in 4 steps in the vain hope that it will be of interest! To see the final piece and see what Dale’s response to the piece was please visit his web site.




© Arfon Jones 2011. All images are copyrighted throughout the world.