February 2009

14 February 2009 | GATEKEEPER | Comment

If not for the name of this neat depiction, then certainly because of its artist must we feature it here, for Mr John Malcolm contributed several artworks to The Gatehouse before and this “Gatekeeper” of his we of course cannot deny the visitor.

Mr Malcolm maintains a Website which you must visit for there is dirigibles and much more steampunk on display! Also, we learn there that his “Gatekeeper” won an award in an illustration contest! Congratulations, sir!

14 February 2009 | ELEGANCE, QUITE | Comment

Deco is not dead! Lovely posters as these still appear online from time to time and keep the traditional going. If only more artists would find and embrace the styles of times past, how much more elegant indeed our lives would be.

For now though we are most delighted with this depiction which is brought to us by one Mr Adam from New Zealand. The artist maintains a few more Art Deco graphics and posters available for viewing in a Profile. Hopefully, he will produce many more soon!

10 February 2009 | JOIN THE SMOKING LOUNGE

If you are not a member of our message board community already, we like to kindly persuade you hereby to considering joining the SMOKING LOUNGE, a forum “for all things Steam, Diesel, Retro and Pulp.” And to persuade you further, we present you this wonderful promo featuring Miss Hilde Heyvaert, photograph by Bert Van den Wyngaert.

Besides herself and a big “Join the SMOKING LOUNGE” sign, we spot our board’s official mascot, Shinto, atop an old Remington typewriter!

9 February 2009 | JULES VERNE DAY | Comment

Much to our shame and regret, we failed to make mention yesterday of the anniversary of Mr Jules Verne’s birthday! 8 February it was 180 years ago that this great author and visionary was born.

Fortunately, SMOKING LOUNGE patron Miss Hilde Heyvaert of House of Secrets Incorporated reminded us just now of this momentous day, and we can already disclose that next issue, the Gatehouse Gazette will pay special tribute to the Grandfather of Steampunk!

9 February 2009 | CLASSY GAMES | Comment

What if video games had emerged back in the 1960s? A Mr Olly Moss very successfully illustrates just how their covers should have looked with a fabulous Set of artworks.

His work inspired the creative minds of Something Awful to do the same and from their collection comes this reimagined cover of the 1994 game Transport Tycoon. Many more high-quality pictures can be viewed here, and a second batch will be made available in a couple of days. Thanks to Mr Chicar for bringing this to our attention!

8 February 2009 | THIERRY LABROSSE | Comment

Mr Thierry Labrosse is an illustrator from France so his Website may not be perfectly comprehendable to all. His work is well worth checking out however, if only for the lovely retro-futurist depiction on display here. In spite of showing “The Year 2000” no such personal rocketcraft are available yet, nor is such off-wordly fashion quite in vogue nowadays...

Thanks to one “Gerbicid” for bringing this to our attention over at the Behold the Power of Steam! community.

7 February 2009 | KARKADANN | Comment

The “Karkadann” is a creature from Persian legend that supposedly dwelled upon the grassy plains of India, Persia and North Africa. It was said to look similar to a rhinoceros and carry upon its horn an engraving with the head of a man.

Now a Mr Mohammad Coochaki from Iran steampunk’d this ancient mythical creature from his native land. Be sure to vsit his Profile for more of his work! Thanks to “Lord K” for posting this over at his Journal.

6 February 2009 | CORALINE | Comment

Perhaps not perfectly steampunk but of interest nonetheless is the upcoming film adaption of Neil Gaiman’s 2002 horror novella, Coraline.

The film, an animated stop-motion horror fantasy scheduled for release today, February 6, tells the story of a young girl, Coraline, who unlocks a mysterious door in her new home to a parallel reality: a fantastical and thrilling imitation of her own dull life. Be sure to visit the film’s Official Website which is a little artwork in itself!

5 February 2009 | TERRADIN: THE CROSSING | Comment

Hovering amid the clouds arises this extraordinary metropolis of Mr Philip Straub’s. From afar come bird-like mechanical flying machines out of the light, crossing over into this strange world of spires and domes, some of which seem based upon Moscow’s Saint Basil’s Cathedral while another is more reminiscent of the Palace of Westminster’s Big Ben clock tower.

This is just one of the many fine artworks by Mr Straub who maintains a portfolio of his work available at his Website.

4 February 2009 | STEAMPUNK HADES | Comment

Behold another Greek myth steampunk’d: Hades, the lord of the underworld, that misty and gloomy abode of the dead, where all mortals go, clinking and flaming in brass and fury—quite an impressive steampunk deity indeed!

This depiction was created by a Mr Kevin T. Chin from the United States. He maintains both a Profile as well as a Website of his own with extended galleries available. Some of his other works may actually be of interest to the steampunk enthusiast!

3 February 2009 | YAKOV CHERNIKHOV | Comment

Yakov Georgievich Chernikhov (1889-1951) was a Russian constructivist architect and designer. His books on architectural design published in Leningrad between 1927 and 1933 continue to be considered among the most innovatory texts of their time.

Yesterday, a Mr “gerbicid” posted a lovely collection of Chernikov’s illustrations at the Retro Futurism community, including the image on display here. Be sure to check out the rest!

2 February 2009 | STARCLIMBER | Comment

Kenneth Oppel’s third novel, Starclimber, was already released last August, yet now there is a grand Official Website online, which, as the websites for the previous two installments in Mr Oppel’s “Matt Cruse” series, Airborn and Skybreaker, is a true treasure trove for steampunk enthusiasts! The artwork is provided by a Mr Chris MacDonald at whose Blog you can behold all the original graphics.

Thanks to Retrostacja for the link!

1 February 2009 | COLONIAL CHAMBER | Comment

The new Colonial Chamber of our STEAMPUNK section is almost completed and already open for public thus the visitor can rejoice once again in the might and majesty of what was once the British Empire!

One of the new artworks on display is this fine digital painting by a Miss Priscilla from Canada. She maintains a Profile with more work available for viewing. For more colonies, faraway realms, imperialists and adventurers, we implore you to step into the Colonial Chamber!