Monthly Archives: October 2011

TubeRoBot

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In my made-up world, machines have taken on human characteristics. This includes “weaknesses”, such as love and compassion. In some worlds, computers attempt to take over the world, think Terminator series, or even The Matrix. In my world, they do not only think for themselves, they have their own personality. A RoBot may be a coworker or a friend. You can sneak up behind one and scare the bolts out of him.

I am really loving my new technique. I am concentrating on the highlights in this sketch. There’s something else about it that was completely unexpected. The background resembles a matte painting more than an open environment. I thnk I will develop this idea more in upcoming posts.

D2E

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“If a patron buys from an artist who needs money (needs money to buy tools,
time, food), the patron then makes himself equal to the artist; he is
building art into the world; he creates.”

                                                                                  – Ezra Pound

This is Doug, a really good friend of mine and also a patron. He has been my friend for years and a patron for the last couple of months. I’ve had two successful shows so far. The majority of my art has been purchased by family and friends. Doug has brought it upon himself to purchase about a half dozen of my pieces or so, hence the patron status. I thought it was time I did a portrait of him. Thank you, Doug. I appreciate you.

I sketched his face in about two minutes. The contour lines took quite a bit longer. Overall, it took about an hour to complete. I used the new technique sparingly for a couple of reasons, first, I wanted to keep the interesting contour lines prominent, and the second reason was to shade the background slightly to keep him separated from the circle.

Eye II

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Do not wait; the time will never be ”just right.” Start where you stand, and work with whatever tools you may have at your command, and better tools will be found as you go along.

– Napoleon Hill

I have new Copic markers, courtesy of my dear friend, Nicole. My collection is growing to a manageable size to create color sketches fairly quickly. I will use them as often as I can. Also, I blurred the background in photoshop. I thought it would separate the RoBot and push it forward. This is the first time I’ve used Photoshop in any of my posts, other than applying Autolevel.

Slobberbucket Sabre

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What is the coolest thing you’ve ever owned? How about what’s the coolest thing you’ve ever touched?

I had a college professor who worked on the restoration of the terracotta army from China in the late seventies. He told this story about repairing an arm on a warrior. He had a piece in his hands and on the back was a perfect thumb print from the artisan who had first constructed the piece over two thousand years prior. He said his thumb fit the print perfectly.

This time, I darkened the outlines a bit more. I think I may adopt this technique as well. I am enjoying my experiments a lot and feel like I am growing as an artist and it feels wonderful.

Quest to Meander

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It’s our God given right to live our lives the way we see fit. So, how come most of us scramble to find decent paying jobs with benefits and two weeks payed vacation? Is making a decent wage more important than living each day as if it were a gift? We plan and save for getting sick, we even have days set aside for it. We plan and save for the week we get to go to the beach or the mountains so we can “relax”.

When I was a Creative Director, part of my job was figuring out how many hours it would take to accomplish a certain task and if it was divided between more than one employee, how fast could we get it done. This is basic project management stuff. The duration was calculated on a typical worked day which was 6.5 hours. The other 1.5 hours is a wash. This is the time the employee stares out the window, hangs out at someone’s cube, or is the recipient of a visit from a coworker, and bio breaks. Now, the average work day is 9 hours. This includes an hour a day for lunch. So, between the average worked-day and work-day, the discrepancy is 2.5 hours a day, that equates to 12.5 hours a week. So, these are hours we are at work, but aren’t using to better the company. My thought is , we add back the hour for lunch to the 6.5 hour worked day, making a new typical work day of 7.5 hours. The hours remaining from the 12.5 “idle” hours is 7.5, or a new typical work day. So, I think we might as well make the average work week 4 days long, since we already know that extra day is a waste anyway. Fuzzy math at its best.

I used the new technique again. I am really digging it. I took the textures a bit farther today.

Felstar

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When the boys and I go to Myrtle Beach to meet up with my parents, we will hunt sharks teeth on the beach. They’re pretty easy to spot, once you get the hang of it. My sons and I had a jar full of them at one point. The excitement is in the find and that’s what keeps us looking for more and not so much the sharks teeth themselves. When I was a youngster, I would hide my brand new Hotwheels car under my pillow and try to forget what it looked like, just so I could pretend to see it for the first time again.

Speaking of first time, I am trying a new technique I learned by total accident (Thank God for imperfection!). After the initial rough sketch, I rub the entire surface of the drawing with a tissue, giving it a neutral grey hue. This allows me to work my darks as well as my lights more easily, since the entire drawing is now mid-tone grey, I can just pull highlights and push objects back into the shadows by darkening the lines.

Circles of Destiny

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So, I was taking a shower this morning and had an idea. My shower curtain has a circle pattern in it and I thought how much I love circles. Then came the idea. I am going to draw three circles and draw the first thing that comes to my mind, hence, the title. The circles are drawn quickly with the bottom of a soda bottle.

The drawings are really simple. They were meant to be almost gestural. The color was an afterthought.

Cappo Jared

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What’s cooler than a wiseguy? How about a retro-wiseguy. Actually, this sketch was inspired by a fellow artist and fellow Goodwill shopper, Jared.

I have decided that now since I am a full time artist, I will take liberties with my wardrobe. For example, I am now wearing purple. I have always loved purple and now I feel compelled to let the world around me know. Also, I wear a blue kimono as a housecoat, sometimes well into the afternoon. I am tempted to take it out in public, just because I can. Socks and undergarments are optional and t-shirts are for making a statement – again. This is my dress code for my work and it is subject to change if the mood strikes me. I’ve decided to grow a fu manchu with a soul patch and see if it fits my face. If not, I’ll grow it out and shave it some other way. It’s okay, because being different is okay and, oh by the way, I don’t need to give a reason why I choose to wear Seabee steel toe combat boots with khaki shorts, I just do. If you really do want an explanation I will tell you, it’s good for morale.

A good example of less is more. By keeping the sketch pretty basic, I can create depth with only a few objects and a little shading. Another really fun sketch to draw.

The Key II

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This is another experiment with textures. Also, it’s more of a collection of random thoughts than one cohesive idea. It started out as just a door, but ended up with the heart in the middle and the wheel handle. The water below was a total afterthought, but I think as long as I keep a consistent theme, it will work in the end.