No, not the people, but the man, French, a death metal loving illustrator who as it happens to be British. French's work reminds me of everything from biker tattoos to biblical illustration, the art of heraldry, historical studies and satanic themes blend seamlessly amongst are variety of subjects, figures, beasts and objects of both a bygone age and the myth and mysticism that powered its most fearful of imaginations. French can draw, there's no doubt about it, as with his life he likes to keep things simple, relying on the interplay of light and tone to showcase his incredible eye for detail.

You can tell straight away that French has both a knowledge and a love for illustration throughout the ages, using traditional methods and armed with nothing but a pencil, pen, ink and paper he travels through mythologies like a frenzied backpacker, snatching glimpses of death and horror, decorated sublimely with the artifice and sheer exuberance of fallen empires of the past. His style owes a lot to 18th and 19th century woodcut prints, he has a beautiful line, it really does follow the forms and contours of his chosen subjects. This is as close as many of us can get to time travel in the arts, most of the guys who drew this way are dead now, which seems rather apt when so many of his subjects lean towards the morbid side.

In truth his external and internal selves couldn't be more different, in the world we call reality his passion for travelling light, skateboarding and hard and heavy rock keeps him connected with life, people of all walks of life, and their multifarious opinions. French is a living dichotomy, the conversations in this man's mind must be fascinating. I suspect that drawing is almost a zen-like process for him, helping him to collate himself and his recent experiences, and generally 'zone out', leave the hustle and bustle of real-time behind him whilst he delves into a deeper consciousness and rummages through the more terrifying aspects of his psyche in order to reinvigorate and strengthen his emotional resources.
 

French has a few sites, you can read his blog at www.funeralfrench.blogspot.com, see his art at www.tapedcopies.com and buy, at least some of it, at www.french.bigcartel.com.

This post is tagged etchings, French, illustration, illustrator