Remembering Rik Mayall....Cheers for being my stand-up inspiration as a 15 yr old kid (the audiences were kind) and for being unknowingly responsible for getting me a free swanky meal in London back in '91 due to a bizarre case of mistaken identity and misplaced accents.* *I mean c'mon, even Grok is still convinced.  

 Happy 75th birthday to  the Pleasant, Open Faced 5th Doctor himself, Peter Davison.  His era of the show was when I transformed from being a wee boy who was a fan of the show to a fully paid up 'enthusiast'.   Oh yes and attending Longleat!     Even Embeth's a fan which shows remarkably good Doctor Who taste!    

 First broadcast OTD 2013 - THE most stylish - and Autastic -  teevee show ever,  Hannibal. Will Graham is (still) my Autistic spirit animal.   And yes, you could say I'm a fan. 

Celebrating the birthday of the person who gave me the big push to start drawing seriously again (then years later slagged me off for listening to him when drunk!), the guy who gave my wife and I our 'comic bonding' experience and the co-creator of the character our wee boy-child is named after.   Happy Heavenly birthday to the guv'nor himself, Steve Dillon.  

Regular readers will no doubt be aware that I talk about cinema a lot and any readers of my other (very NSFW) blog will know that it's mainly in regards to horror cinema. You could say it's my 'special interest' as absolutely no-one outside Autism 'professionals' call it. Anyway, after what will go down as THE shittest week imaginable here - including a fucking awful (and rare) meltdown which almost scuppered my plans Frightfest is finally upon us! The annual film art is complete and online , the guest portraits are done and dusted and I'm about to spend the next 48 hours in my happy place watching a random assortment of movies of which I know nothing about save the synopsis. Not only that tho' because when I take my seat I'll be looking at this...   Autistic horror cinema fan goals achieved.  See you on the other side. 

  Seeing as it's the annual Alasdair Gray 'Gray Day' I thought I'd repost my contribution.   His portrait Frances Gordon, Glasgow Teenager inspired my collaboration with Glasgow Open Museum and guests of Glasgow City Mission in creating 'portraits' focusing on their interests rather than in a traditional style.    You can find out more here plus you can read about the project from an autistic perspective here . Enjoy. Portrait of Frances Gordon. (c) Alasdair Gray, courtesy of Glasgow Museums collections.

A wee bit quiet on the normal (usually angry) Autistic front at the mo' as I'm busy beavering away on the artwork for Frightfest in Glasgow next month....All the film posters are completed (and being unveiled on t'interweb) so currently hard at work on the guest portraits. Anyway I thought I'd share an interview I did regarding the illustrations I create for this fine festival from way back in 2018. And there's even a copy added below for those of you who don't like links and/or pictures. Enjoy.

   

Might be a wee bit less of the complaining around here for the next few weeks (I can hear the collective sighs of relief) as it's Frightfest time so I'll be busy drawing poster art and portraits for the next month or so. In the meantime enjoy this years festival banner!  And you can check out my previous Frightfest work (if you're so inclined) here .  

  It's not all doom and gloom around here, occasionally I'll post random stuff that I enjoy (I am a full human after all) and today I'm celebrating John Carpenter's birthday with 3 volumes of classic Carpenter inspired cuts, Jack Burton beats and taxicab tune s that you can download here .   "It's all in the reflexes..."    

    Can't believe that's been a year since the rather wonderful Tony Slattery died. As mentioned before I met him way back in 2019 after he'd seen an illustration I did of him as Doctor Who (he auditioned for the TV movie in '95).     He saw it online and liked it and politely asked for a copy and I was glad to oblige!     Always said if there ever was a national treasures national treasure it would have been this man.  Not only was he a story-weaving wizard but an all round top bloke to boot.      

 Bowie Forever.  

  Not only is it David Bowie's birthday today but it's William Hartnell's...so why not?   David Bowie IS Doctor Who - The Man Who Fell To Earth.     As you can probably tell - I absolutely adore David Bowie not just for the f*cking incredible music but for making growing up for those of us who'd ever felt a wee bit different or alone so much more bearable so a s we celebrate the great man's birthday I have to just say THANK YOU. #BowieForever.  Oh and he also wrote THE best song about raising an Autistic brood ever. Fact.  

 Here's hoping 2026 is a wee bit less shite all round.  

  Alasdair James Gray - Scottish writer, artist and (probable) Autistic icon.