Portrait of the dead set to draw ghoulish crowd

By Y. Murad Erzinclioglu

The dead will be walking at Windsor Crossing on Oct. 26 and 27.

Fans of the hit comic book and TV show The Walking Dead will have the chance to meet one of the series’ pre-eminent zombie actors Michael Koske. Koske has played the role of 42 different zombies throughout seasons one and two of the AMC series and will take part in a meet and greet on Oct. 26 and 27 at Suchiu Gallery. But the kick off of the show’s fourth season and Halloween are not the only reasons for the visit.

Koske’s trip to Windsor coincides with the unveiling of a portrait of the actor, in full zombie makeup, by world-renowned artist Ron Suchiu. Suchiu, who lives and works in the city, has gained a reputation over the past 30 years as a painter to the stars. He has made commissioned portraits for and of celebrities such as Dan Aykroyd, Jane Goodall, George Lucas and David Suzuki as well as having his art in the collections of Bill Clinton, Queen Elizabeth II and The Vatican. Now he unveils his latest work, which may seem a bit outside his usual repertoire but takes full advantage of his work in portraiture and realism.

“As an artist you get a bit picky and choosey at times,” Suchiu said. “When I started to think about a zombie, my favourite art is surreal art and that was the concept that caught me, a zombie, it’s really surreal. It ended up being in a realist theme with the zombie but I just like the challenge. If I was a woodworker who built houses and somebody asked me to build a cabinet, I would try and build a cabinet.”

Koske is looking forward to the event and will be signing limited edition prints of the Suchiu portrait as well as judging a zombie costume contest that is slated to have over 100 entrants. But local zombies will have their work cut out for them to impress Kioske, who said it is difficult to pull off a good zombie.

“It’s actually a little harder than you’d think because they want you to act a certain way and move a certain way,” said Koske. “They do have what they call a zombie school. They bring you in and they go over how in the Robert Kirkman Walking Dead world how they want the zombies to look and act. We’d act like zombies and they’d give us pointers on where to make changes.”

While some may be surprised at a world-class painter taking on a zombie portrait, Shawn Cousineau, owner at Rogues Gallery Comics, is not. Cousineau said The Walking Dead is one of his highest-selling series, second to Batman, and that the latest issue of the book was the highest-selling issue of any comic book in the world this year.

“It’s not just comic book though,” Cousineau said. “ It’s novels, Monopoly, Risk, actions figures and wallets and socks. You name it, they sell it.”

So, why not a one-of-a kind painting? Suchiu and Koske hope that’s the case this weekend.

For more information on the meet and greet and the Suchiu Gallery visit www.suchiuart.com.