The Illustration Work of Alé Mercado

Who is watching Fallout? I never played the game so I don't know how much they are sticking to the story or not. In any case I have a few observations around how normalised explicit violence has become. When Reservoir Dogs came out 32 years ago, I remember feeling something similar after the outrage it caused. But mainstream films now (from PG movies like all the Marvel ones), video games are way more explicit than anything directed to a wide audience done before. Even though they are rated for 12+ , they all seem to be directed to those eternal 18 years old who haven't grown out of it and cannot keep their attention in what they are watching unless blood and guts are thrown at them. Explicit violence has been a central element of sub-genres of every cultural expression (I am really into extreme metal for instance). I've always managed to fly over the violent bits and see them just as an aesthetic device (that, I have to admit, I tolerate less and less). But in the case of FallOut its explicit violence seems to be completely gratuitous in a really well produced and well written TV Show that would be much better without it. What do you think? ______________________ #illustration #videogames #publishing #digitalillustration #dark #ipadprocreate #drawing #graphite #graphitedrawing #ireland #irishartist #pattern #illustrator #creepy #eerie #characterdesign #lineart #instaart #instaartist #woodblock #traditional #horror #literature

#illustration #bookillustration #publishing #digitalillustration #dark #ipadprocreate #drawing #graphite #graphitedrawing #ireland #irishartist #pattern #illustrator #film #filmnoir #characterdesign #lineart #instaart #instaartist #woodblock #traditional #internationalwomensday #8thmarch

It is one of the few traditions I follow, to watch a movie when everyone is gone to bed in New Year’s Eve. The first film of the year. It is a bit of a ritual: sit down for the first hours of the year and immerse myself in a good story, great cinematography or great acting. Only a few movies make it to earn this accolade. They only have to fulfil a couple of requirements: it has to be a visual feast and it has to set me up to a great start of the year. Not too much to ask. This year’s honour falls on one of those movies that became a classic the moment it came out back in 1985. It is up there with The Searchers, The Wild Bunch, Bend of the River or My Darling Clementine. Pale Rider is the canonical version of the no-name hero that performs the miracle all oppressed people pray for. I love how Eastwood always manages to layer his films with meaning. I don’t know how much of it was intended but the film stays current by portraying strong female characters or denouncing the damage of industrial exploitation does to nature, to name two of its subplots. Some other of his films show a more controversial view on other social or political issues and it shows (in a very bad way) when you watch them again. Pale Rider stays non-preachy by sticking to the main plot and its subsequent actions. There are so many memorable moments, you easily find yourself reciting the lines as if you were in some sort of liturgy. So here it is: Pale Raider. Welcome 2024!

The image was created more than a year ago. With that distance I can appreciate its merits although I can see its failings better. I am working on new, I hope, better illustrations now. But I will always be grateful to this image and the doors it opened.

Please just come to your senses and leave Virginia Woolf in peace.

Find out more here and here.

With time, those exercises have evolved so I send up with one more or less final image. It’s not the purpose to finish watching the film with a polished poster but that is often the case. So much so that lately I wonder if I am watching the film at all.

It's the #halloween season! Time to revisit some favorite classics. This one is aging so well! #alternativemovieposter #sleepyhollow #timburton #fanart #Illustration #ipadpro #procreate #timburton #washingtonirving #gothic #gothichorror

My primary school is celebrating its 50th birthday today. It still is a very special place where education was understood in a very broad way. Here you can see the entrance to the school where the allotments were. Those train carriages are the library. The school has an amphitheatre and ample football and rubgy pitches. And the teachers were just amazing. We were so lucky. All this week has been mad with reconnecting with some of the oldest friends I have. Some of them I hadn't talked to for more than 35 years. It's incredible how different we all are now yet how little we have changed too.

So it is back to continue digging. Thanks for reading this and see you soon.

There is a new Stray Lines anthology being planned and you can be part of it. Send your submission before May 1st.

#illustration #gouache #lightstudy #movie

This week’s movie recommendation is the brand new No Sudden Move. An amazing thriller (I’m not going to call it Noir because it’s not in colour and it wasn’t made in the 50’s) that could have been written by Richard Stark or Raymond Chandler. Wonderfully casted, this is a relentless film that, filmed in a strange super wide angle, keeps you on your toes all the time. My favourite film of the year so far.

El Torres, one of the most prolific Spanish comic authors today has been sharing some of the pages from his upcoming work, The Puritan, with comic artists Jaime Infante and Manoli Martínez. It looks amazing in its own right but I am particularly loving the notes of classic Warren Comics and that hint of Alex Toth they are managing to get in. You can check it out in their facebook feeds (link in their names).

Things to look forward to this winter

Weekend film recommendation: Waterloo (Sergei Bondarchuk, 1970) In my opinion, one of the best war movies ever made. A momentous time in European history.