There's a new piece in my Etsy store!
View the listing here :)
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Chalkboard Art
Thankfully I'm able to practice a bit of art at work. Great roasts, by the way; happening now at Peet's Coffee & Tea.
Monday, March 5, 2012
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Snowy Day Vacay
Yesterday I drove up to Julian. It was my day off and there was a restless spirit in me that didn't want to just sit around and be shaded by the roof of my dreary house, so I got into the car and simply went. Once I reached the townsite which sits 4,235 feet above sea level, I had about an hour to scrounge the area for something delicious before all the main shops closed for the day.
There were a lot of deer
Lake Cuyamaca at an elevation of 4600 feet
Rooibos tea break
Yep
Snoe shooz . . . ur doin it wrong
Oh, probably the best stop made that day
This was on all the honey jars
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Head Drawing
I'm really trying to come up with at least one decent portfolio drawing before this term is out. This, of course, is hardly it. However, I'm quite proud of how the construction process went having begun with Andrew Loomis's techniques for building a human head.
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Sloth Sketch
I wanted to try making a sloth design, and this is what I came up with. The inspiration came from wondering what kind of animal Flat Eric was; certain that he was not a primate, I agreed with myself that he was a yellow, sausage-eating sloth who can head-bang quite well.
My Sketch :)
My new-found fascination and adoration for this mammal has absolutely nothing to do Kristen Bell's recent sloth incident featured on Ellen show. Still though, I've included the video because, since we're on the subject of sloths, we might as well watch.
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Sunday, February 12, 2012
Courage
This is a sketch I started while in church -- and though it may have appeared with my nose so close to the sketchbook that it was impossible for me to hear anything of the message, in the midst of a doodle is how I listen best.
During a phase of life where I find myself having many days of sickness and riveted by all kinds of fear, I just feel it's necessary to be courageous and shine on in such a leery world. People will be amazed by it, whether they be your closest friends or those who try to come against you.
Saturday, February 11, 2012
Amflybians
The other day I was thinking, with a particular amount of sorrow, how there haven't been any tree frog sightings about my house for a very long time. Fondly remembering back to childhood, tree frogs have always been around, likely because my siblings and I were always catching them and making houses for them; theses days I don't believe I've been looking for them diligently enough, thus it's easy to say they're simply not near.
However, after years of not seeing a single tree frog in the wild, I saw this after coming home from a trying day at work:
However, after years of not seeing a single tree frog in the wild, I saw this after coming home from a trying day at work:
For a tiny fraction of a second I started, but quickly recovered and became entirely enchanted by such an endearing sight.
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Head Sketch
This is a head drawing I worked on at Watts Atelier. I've never been particularly proficient in drawing people, let alone the human head, which is a multi-planed sphere with a jaw and eyeballs that aren't flat either. Remembering back, I was in high school when first began drawing the human figure, but like many things, I let the challenge go after the first couple of tries; I just didn't know how to draw humans, and it was easier to settle with drawing only what I knew how, and I knew how to draw a lot of silly cartoon animals.
There's nothing wrong with sticking to what you know and doing it well, but if the desire to expand your skill exists, then I believe it's necessary to push yourself. Drawing your character with his hands behind his back because you don't know how to draw hands is baloney! (I'm actually speaking to myself here; this has been one of my bigger problems.)
Now I'm taking a serious approach after about 6 years, and I'm still extremely dissatisfied with the results, especially with this head drawing. The difference is now, though, I will continue trying and I will get better and quicker at it. I already see improvements.
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Saturday, December 10, 2011
Horse of Course
There was supposed to be a complete lunar eclipse this morning, but I missed it, what a night-mare :(
Guess I'll have to saddle for seeing the next one in 2014. I'd had quite a long face until I made some tater trots, which cheered me right up. What would have been even better was a stack of buck-wheat flapjacks and some real maple stirrup, but I'll save the pancake mix for a day when it reins.
;-)
Monday, December 5, 2011
Serendipity
I'm just finishing up a portrait of a white horse. The soundtrack to this painting includes songs by Seabird, Bitter:Sweet, Guster, White Town, and Faded Paper Figures.
Totally unrelated to art, there's something I've been thinking about.
Sometimes I feel like I must rehearse, practice, or somehow make time go faster, in order for this meeting to be a sure success. I figure there's the chance of fail on my part of course, and if I sabotage the encounter with my notorious tendency to muddle my speech with too much vocal static, I might never know what might have happened. The chance to become joined with this special person would be lost forever. I'd kick myself endlessly for not being more poised, astute, and assertive, I suppose. There are times when I feel pressure to act or appear a certain way in order to avoid failure (I'm definitely not saying that dressing well and being on your best behavior isn't of any importance).
Same goes with where I'll live, what my career has in store for me five years from now, or who my friends will be once I move to Laguna Beach next fall. I often feel like there's only one shot for such things, and if I miss, game over.
Thing is though, I don't believe it works that way, and I'm SO thankful that it doesn't. Seems I need to remind myself of this every day.
I picture God with a blueprint out on a table. He has a plan for me -- it really isn't my business to know the plan all at once, as ripped off as that may sound, and even if I did know it, there's no way it would ever be understood. What really needs to be done on my end is to listen, be quiet, relax, and simply do my best. Time is better spent practicing servanthood, building character, and experiencing the adventure of desiring the ultimate will for my life.
So when that serendipitous event arrives -- and it can definitely come at ANY time, wherever you are -- the point isn't to worry about making those few minutes everything you've anticipated them to be without error. Worrying was never on our duty roster.
Matthew 6:25-27 ~ Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?
Thursday, December 1, 2011
Frozen in the Sunshine
With the arrival of today's lemon kissed dawn, melancholy memories (that have, over the years, continued clinging to me like jungle creepers) held me tight, and I returned the embrace for a few icy minutes. I could feel a thin frosty layer of despair stiffen the waters of my soul which stood still beneath the distant December sun. While I knew how easy it would be to allow myself to become encased in this multifaceted crystal of anger, pain and fear, I also knew that if I were to let that happen, I may be locked in until the summer comes, or longer.
(This introverted wool gatherer could be quite comfortable concealed within the slow-moving glacier that is her sorrow.)
There are much better things. The frost will cease if I move; it takes one step followed by the other, and with each one, the riveting cold will shatter, leave my shoulders and ultimately fall to the ground.
Get out of bed.
It's time to taste the sweet tang of life, and I will probably pucker.
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Cinnamon Waves
The autumn season brings the most breathtaking sunsets to San Diego, though I don't recall having ever just sat down and looked at one of them for the simple purpose of doing so, let alone sharing one with a lover. Always, it turns out I'm on the way to work (or at work looking out the window) or just seeing a photo of one posted on Facebook fifteen minutes ago.
Today I was driving to work during the late afternoon and saw the display, one of the most beautiful I'd ever seen. Colors at every spot on the spectrum filled the entire dome of Earth's atmosphere -- my own dome was spinning in complete astonishment. Just as enjoyable as it is to pull away from a movie screen for just a few seconds to steal a glance at those surrounding me and make note of their pure facial expressions before they see me looking, it's quite fun to notice the faces of other drivers as we were all stopped at the traffic light. All eyes gazed up at the golden ripples -- everyone in awe. I blushed.
Today I was driving to work during the late afternoon and saw the display, one of the most beautiful I'd ever seen. Colors at every spot on the spectrum filled the entire dome of Earth's atmosphere -- my own dome was spinning in complete astonishment. Just as enjoyable as it is to pull away from a movie screen for just a few seconds to steal a glance at those surrounding me and make note of their pure facial expressions before they see me looking, it's quite fun to notice the faces of other drivers as we were all stopped at the traffic light. All eyes gazed up at the golden ripples -- everyone in awe. I blushed.
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Take a Breath and Dive
Earlier today during the young afternoon I was led to visit the lookout park that is perched above one of nine water reservoirs in San Diego. The reservoir is also known as Lake Miramar, and it was in this particular small park that I once shared a room temperature Blue Moon with my brother, Alan. Although I've often loved to bicycle the trail that circumambulates the lake, today I wanted to look out from above, breathe, and think for a few minutes before plugging my nose and diving back into the spinning vortex of my responsibilities. With me I had some tea, and I drank that and the golden afternoon in.
About a week ago I felt the great weight of regret pulling me towards the damp ground, and I readily let it consume all of me for about a day. I wish I hadn't fallen for the man that would end up taking me to a parallel universe that seemed so paralyzingly real. I wish I hadn't discovered that any given emotion, taste, sound, feeling, or appearance of something could always be thoroughly described in select words -- and that I could depend on this fact -- and that there really was no longer a need to try to explain any particular thing just for the fun of it. I said farewell to poetry, songwriting, and storytelling because of that. I wish I hadn't believed that there was no place in the art world for me except for in the company of tattooers and piercers. I wish I didn't have to experience the terrible car crash and it's aftermath of the summer of 2010.
With the man I bizarrely understood that I was unacceptable at every level of being, from hair color to the very tone of my voice.
The face of my creativity became pale, blue around the lips and cold to the touch. Stories of magic orchards, centaurs, and snow capped mountains in the middle of Iowa sank to the floor of my sea where they became still.
I found intense intrigue in the potential of smooth blank skin. The appearance of steel through its creamy surface made my mind soar. Laces of sharp but temporary pain posed a taunting challenge, and on the third deep exhale, I took it all in without a single grimace.
In the wake of the auto accident, a severe case of chronic functional dyspepsia (completely nameless and frightening at the start) riveted my body for months. I nestled in fear, anger, and defeat.
As I stood there with my bare arms resting on the rail that bound the park, I remembered these things without a bitter face. I may have actually been smiling because just then, a breath of November brought toward me little fluffy specs of flower from the giant miscanthus nearby. They were like snowflakes and I felt them on my face. But, recalling these four highlighted events (and many others in between), which began taking place four years ago -- these milestones I once considered regrets -- didn't make me happy. They didn't make me sad either, not anymore. I suppose if I forgot for a minute that I'm alive and well beneath my Father's wing, and that nothing/no one can possibly come against me as I'm standing in such a spot, then I would find myself in that cold familiar stupor that I was in a week ago.
Why regret? It will make a prisoner out of you.
Proverbs 3:6 says, In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.
I believe this scripture can be applied to any spot on the timeline of your life. Now, for example. What has passed has passed. There may have been safer, wiser roads to take -- or hey, maybe the road that was taken was the right one after all. I can either feel like these years were wasted and mope, or I can take what I've learned from them (as well as the dear friends I've made) and seize the future with an excited, fiery gait. In pursuit of His will for my life, no matter how mysterious it is to me now, I will go forward. I feel like running there.
About a week ago I felt the great weight of regret pulling me towards the damp ground, and I readily let it consume all of me for about a day. I wish I hadn't fallen for the man that would end up taking me to a parallel universe that seemed so paralyzingly real. I wish I hadn't discovered that any given emotion, taste, sound, feeling, or appearance of something could always be thoroughly described in select words -- and that I could depend on this fact -- and that there really was no longer a need to try to explain any particular thing just for the fun of it. I said farewell to poetry, songwriting, and storytelling because of that. I wish I hadn't believed that there was no place in the art world for me except for in the company of tattooers and piercers. I wish I didn't have to experience the terrible car crash and it's aftermath of the summer of 2010.
With the man I bizarrely understood that I was unacceptable at every level of being, from hair color to the very tone of my voice.
The face of my creativity became pale, blue around the lips and cold to the touch. Stories of magic orchards, centaurs, and snow capped mountains in the middle of Iowa sank to the floor of my sea where they became still.
I found intense intrigue in the potential of smooth blank skin. The appearance of steel through its creamy surface made my mind soar. Laces of sharp but temporary pain posed a taunting challenge, and on the third deep exhale, I took it all in without a single grimace.
In the wake of the auto accident, a severe case of chronic functional dyspepsia (completely nameless and frightening at the start) riveted my body for months. I nestled in fear, anger, and defeat.
As I stood there with my bare arms resting on the rail that bound the park, I remembered these things without a bitter face. I may have actually been smiling because just then, a breath of November brought toward me little fluffy specs of flower from the giant miscanthus nearby. They were like snowflakes and I felt them on my face. But, recalling these four highlighted events (and many others in between), which began taking place four years ago -- these milestones I once considered regrets -- didn't make me happy. They didn't make me sad either, not anymore. I suppose if I forgot for a minute that I'm alive and well beneath my Father's wing, and that nothing/no one can possibly come against me as I'm standing in such a spot, then I would find myself in that cold familiar stupor that I was in a week ago.
Why regret? It will make a prisoner out of you.
Proverbs 3:6 says, In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.
I believe this scripture can be applied to any spot on the timeline of your life. Now, for example. What has passed has passed. There may have been safer, wiser roads to take -- or hey, maybe the road that was taken was the right one after all. I can either feel like these years were wasted and mope, or I can take what I've learned from them (as well as the dear friends I've made) and seize the future with an excited, fiery gait. In pursuit of His will for my life, no matter how mysterious it is to me now, I will go forward. I feel like running there.
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Oil Quick Sketch
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Barn Owl
Rendering has always come first for me whenever I've created pieces of art -- which can (and has often been) a disaster when there is no foundation of shape or value. So for this wise guy I bit the bullet and tried my best to ignore the urge to paint individual feathers. Hoot.
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Arts Alive Banner Project
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| The finished product :) |
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| After prepping the vinyl with a black gesso and having it dry completely, I transferred the image to the banner with white chalk. |
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First I made a template, only putting lines where the heaviest shadows were. |
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Friday, May 29, 2009
Sidewalk Chalk
When summer comes back around, I'm gonna be doing this whenever I just want to get some sun. Kids' chalk and some charcoal from the fireplace and I'm ready to go. :)
Friday, March 27, 2009
Meloncholy Man
This is an old sketch that I've always been fond of -- the anatomy is not right in certain areas, but it's kind of cool to know there's a good amount of room for improvement.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Tiger Drawing
For this drawing I referred to a photo in an issue of ZOONOOZ. There's fantastic photography found in these magazines if you're ever interested in some good animal study.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
The Lion Who Lost His Mane
I think it's interesting how I often wind up drawing animals more than I do people or other objects, and even more, I end up drawing lions. This is the main character of my upcoming children's book, The Lion Who Lost His Mane. The problem with this depiction, though, is I don't think he is tough-looking enough. He looks too nice.
Well, oh well.
Well, oh well.
This was actually drawn in the car on my way up to see some family in Santa Cruz. It's in plain graphite. I'd say I've caught a few sand crabs, finally. :)
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Snail Fellow
This is the product of a random snail-fascination-phase. I don't know what about snails intrigued me as much as it did, but it took one rainy day and the experience of trying not to step on any of the cute mullosks that had congregated on the porch, and I was iterested. I guess minding my step brought me to thinking that a snail's life was at stake, and then I wondered about its family, if it had one. The life of a snail became the subject of my scope of thought for a day.
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Humphrey Bogart
Here I'm showing you the process in which I paintedHumphrey DeForest Bogart, both a great American actor and cultural icon. Bogie appeared in 75 feature motion pictures, including Casablanca, which finally brought him to the peak of his profession. His trademark film persona can be described as a hard-boiled cynic who ultimately shows his noble side.This is done in gouache on mat board.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Skippy Peanut Butter
This rather brightly colored kid holding a jar of Skippy peanut butter was a quick little study after this really great guy named Norman Rockwell. Heard of him? He's one of my all-time favorite artists in the world because he captures the emotions and all the different expressions of the human being like no one else can.
The medium is gouache, a paint that could be described as a mix of acrylic and watercolor. You can apply the paint thinly on the paper so that it is a transparent color. Also, applied thickly, the paint can be opaque. It is such a user-friendly paint that I recommend anyone try it for themselves, just for fun.
This was done on a mat board, about 10" by 10".
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Wombat
Another animal drawing, done in just plain graphite. It was composed on a regular piece of 8 by 11 printer paper and a Bic mechanical pencil. Why I chose to draw an Australian Wombat, I don't quite know, but it could be just because they are just simply the cutest little creatures down under.They're marsupials; short legged, muscular quadrupeds, approximately 40 inches in length with a very short tail. Aw, cute. They're found in forested, mountainous, and heathland areas of south-eastern Australia and Tasmania. The name wombat comes from the Eora Aboriginal community who were the original inhabitants of the Sydney area. Want one, now?
I actually sold this guy for 50 dollars to a pastor and his wife who had happened to be serious wombat fans (I never knew such fans existed).
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