Mostly I Do Art...

Happy New Year, my friends! This 11X14 PITT Graphite Drawing on 10lb cold press paper is of an old Allis-Chalmers B series tractor, circa 1947, I believe. This particular tractor belonged to my grandfather and sits in a barn behind his house. He had quite a few sitting around, but this one was one of his favorites.  This model doesn't come with headlights. He added those himself so he could keep on plowing when it started to get dark. The jug next to the driver seat? It was full of water, because the beast had a habit of overheating. I recall many a season following behind this machine, whether chunking rocks or picking up potatoes. Back then, I hated every minute of it. Isn't it funny how, when you get old, you wish you could do again the things you hated as a kid? I really like the way this one turned out. It was drawn from a photo I took myself. I took only a few liberties with it, just to make the background less cluttered. A lot of the details I filled in from m

Happy Holidays, my friends! This entry in the December sketchbook is another piece of our Christmas village - my own rendition of Bob Cratchit's house from A Christmas Carol . I've been choosing these complex buildings and complicated textures because I'm trying to get in some practice with pen and ink techniques. Here I've selectively used hatching to accentuate some of the features of the house, like the partially exposed brick, rickety roof shingles, unfinished add-on, and "bullseye" glass window panes. After all, Bob Cratchit was a poor man who could only barely afford to keep his family of 8, so it would stand to reason that his house might look a bit run down, but he does the best he can on his 15 bob a week. I had originally thought to do this one in color, but after it was finished, I liked the way it looked in black and white better. I was worried that colored pencils would hide the delicate details and watercolor would smear the ink, and thi

Hello, holiday revelers! Today's sketchbook feature is the old Scrooge & Marley Counting House. I've seen lots of different versions of this particular building, but I tend more toward the one I saw by Department 56 , from the Dicken's Village set. It more closely resembles the building described by Dickens himself, and is the one that matches the building shown in the Robert Zemeckis adaptation of A Christmas Carol  (2009). I've taken a few liberties with the architecture, just for simplicity's sake, but it does not change the overall impression that the building gives. I have to say that even though Ebenezer Scrooge was voiced by comedian Jim Carrey in the 2009 CGI version, it was a fine dramatic performance that showed the true range of his ability as an actor. Also, many people don't realize that the voice actor who portrays old Fezziwig and the second-hand merchant Joe is none other than Bob Hoskins - Eddie Valiant of Who Framed Roger Rabbit , anot

I know that, personally, one of the best things about visiting the family home is that feeling you get when you finally see the front gate. If you lived on a farm, this is especially true. This is the time of year when that shabby wooden gate becomes the grand entrance to a magical world full of laughter and cheer. There's an old saying that everyone is a kid at Christmas. I definitely believe that to be true. I mean, doesn't looking at holiday displays in the department store make you feel all giddy inside? It's just like back when you were that one kid who could barely see over the window ledge, standing on your dad's feet to catch a glimpse of Santa's Train roaring through a snowy model landscape in the window of J.C. Penny. Or what about the sight of Santa at the mall? Do you still have to resist the urge to run up to him with arms flung wide, a fanatical smile on your face as you spout about how good you've been all year? If not, then maybe you've

Deep in the moonlit wood, a black bear comes upon a lone, snow-dusted hemlock aglow with the light of dozens of fireflies. Birds gather in the branches like flashy ornaments, their song proclaiming joyously, "It's Christmas in the Smokies..." To those who lost everything during the Gatlinburg and Wear's Valley fires, we're still with you. This is our home, the beautiful place we love so much, and we will never leave it. Outsiders could never understand the connection we feel to this place - it will forever reside in our hearts and in our memories. Please feel free to download, save, and reshare. This one's on me. #christmasart #christmasdrawing #christmas2016 #digitalpainting #Gatlinburg #christmascard #christmaswallpaper

The holidays are supposed to be a time of thanks for all we've received and a time of hope for what the future will bring, In spite of his unfortunate circumstances, this resident of our Christmas Village has still gone out of his way to publicly demonstrate his holiday cheer. It saddens me when I hear people expressing the idea of the holiday in dollar signs. You don't have to be rich to be happy, and you don't have to live in a mansion of gold to be thankful. Happiness and contentment come from within. I think Dr. Seuss hit the mark pretty well in his book,  How the Grinch Stole Christmas . In the tale, a mean, unhappy creature called the Grinch despises the contented little people of Whoville and their bright, noisy Christmas, so he makes up his mind to "steal Christmas" so that he doesn't have to listen to it any more. He goes through a lot of trouble to steal every last thing he can find that's even remotely associated with the holiday, and the

A Festive Facility This month's theme sounds more like a topic on Family Feud, and that is, things you might see in a Christmas Village.   Now, I'm going to say up front that I won't be doing any Nativity sort of things. I'm not anti-Christian, before you get any ideas. I'm just trying not to put anything too denominational on my blog. I don't want to offend my Muslim, Hindu, Atheist, Wiccan, or Jewish friends. No, when I say Christmas village, I mean a traditional, Norman Rockwell style village with the skating pond and all of that. Nothing overtly religious, the minimal amount of decorated trees, and no blatant images of Santa. Fair enough? (Hey, if you were doing this as a paid contract, you'd get the same sort of requirements, so don't gripe.) Those of you who follow me, you're welcome to sketch along with me. You can post your sketches and drawings if you like. I'm always happy to meet other artists. And just so you know, we're a

Hello, friends - and if you're in America, Happy Thanksgiving. I don't really buy into all this "it's a celebration reminding us of how we bullied and stole from the Native Americans" thing. That's just you  looking for an excuse to be mad. Thanksgiving was the day that the first European settlers in the New World chose to THANK all of the people (including the natives) who helped them, and to praise the Divine for allowing them to live another year. It's not about Native American rights, or Christian morality, or even Black Friday sales. It's about being thankful for what you have, and not taking for granted the people who have your back. If you've ever been to Appalachia, you might recognize one of our more popular tourist destinations, Gatlinburg. I've been there myself thousands of times. I'll grant you, it's a bit like a tiny Las Vegas, but you can't beat the scenery, and the people are always friendly. The best time to co

I've been plagued by a terrible, nagging headache, and this is how my mind chose to represent that feeling. This fellow may be pint-sized, but he feels like he weighs a metric ton, and he won't stop poking his pointy toe claws into the soft spots of my poor skull. This is one of my first serious uses of PITT Artist Pens, and my opinion is that they're just okay. The color blends well in smaller areas, but a heavier toothed paper will start to break down if you put the color on too thickly, and the color doesn't look as nice when blended over large areas. Perhaps I'm doing it wrong? I wonder if these markers offer a blender pen...

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Things are not always what they seem, and the same holds true for dragons. At first glance, this fellow seems to be swooping in for a quick meal. But look a little more closely - those fluffy little crows are asleep. And the dragon - he's not landing. He sits, delicately balanced on the thin wire. His outstretched wings provide an awning to shelter the balls of fluff at his feet from the pouring rain. These birds aren't his dinner. They're his friends. Green dragons, traditionally, are considered more benign. They prefer quiet, green spaces like deep woods or mountain tops to the habitations of man, but this is due more to man's distrust than the dragon's nature.They are historically the more non-violent of the dragon races. This fellow is a kind of dragon called a wyvern , that is, it has wings instead of a front pair of limbs. The dragons of Skyrim  are of this genus, only much, much larger. It is commonly debated whether or not wyverns are even dragons. This

Here we go with #Day3 of the #NovemberSketchbook. Today's offering is a pair of tiny jewel dragons eating from the dog's dinner bowl. I placed my hand in the image to give it some scale, since these tiny fliers are about the size of the common pet store lizard. Dragons, like problems, come in different sizes. One might naturally assume that these tiny "problems" wouldn't be much of a problem. But it would be extremely unwise to think that just because a problem is small, it is any less of a threat. One or two of these little ones might not seem like much until you consider that little problems, when ignored, can grow into larger ones that are much more difficult to hide. Or worse still, little problems left unchecked can accumulate, like an overburden of snow ready to come crashing down on you. The moral? It's best to deal with problems when they're still small.

Okay, so obviously, November's sketchbook topic is ( trumpet fanfare ) DRAGONS! And by dragons, I mean all kinds - like this nasty-tempered fellow from Skyrim. To get a sense of the scale of this aerial terror, click on the image to enlarge it and take a look at the two figures on top of the right-hand tower. Those battlements belong to Solitude, and those are Stormcloak archers. I think it's safe to say their arrows are mostly useless against this monster. Quickly! Summon the Dragonborn! I'm not going to put too many restrictions on this month's #sketchbook. Any medium will be acceptable, so long as the image is in the official book. I've found that I prefer the rich versatility of graphite. The level of detail that can be achieved is just tremendous. My preferred sketch pencil is a Faber-Castell draftsman with a very hard lead, coupled with Pro Art's PRO Series pencils for shading. I also use SAKURA Pigma Sensei Manga Pens and Berol Prismacolor colore

Here it is, the last official drawing of #Inktober . It's #Halloween night, and there's nothing more eerie than that feeling of being the only human inhabitant for miles around and just stumbling upon a scene like this. There are so many questions left unanswered here, like who abandoned the car, and why, and where did they go? Whose luggage is lying by the tracks? Why didn't the train leave? And where is everyone? Unfortunately, here in the South, you don't have to wait for the #zombie apocalypse to see something like this. Just drive down some two lane highway to a place where it meets the tracks. It's in places like this that you'll find these little empty towns - just a hand full of buildings surrounding a wide spot in the road where someone's built a grain elevator or something. Lots of times, these towns wither and die because the new freeway routed people away from here. Remember the Bates Motel? I seem to be stuck on the kick of urban decay. I

This is probably the best idea for a costume I've had in a long time. It all started when I saw this mask hanging in the store back in early October. I remember staring at it and thinking to myself, "I...MUST...HAVE...DIS..." So I bought it and brought it home. At the time, I had intended to wear it myself, but then - well, it just wasn't scary on me. Enter my tiny assistant and one hand-crafted, custom-made fur suit. (I finally fixed the sewing machine!) The result - a rather disturbing Scare Bear, complete with tummy tattoo and cutie mark. You better believe that the adults handing out candy will remember this little horror amid a sea of bad Joker costumes and surplus Batmans. The originality alone is worth an extra fun size snickers or two. The fact that I put this costume on a child? Pure evil genius...

Okay, so I know that whole #Bioshock thing is getting old, but come on - there's nothing creepier than crazed drug heads in formalwear and animal masks trying to kill you over a can of Spam. It's all so... #Rapture. Bunny Splicer - Bioshock 2 The creepiest part of it all is when you find out why they're dressed like that. When you first encounter these demented bunny men, they've already been here for years. Later, you discover that these crazed party goers are remnants of a masquerade ball, circa 1959. Masquerade Ball Advertisement, in-game Sander Cohen, the artist, also handed out masks like the one below as invitations to his exclusive club. Only the richest and most influential citizens of Rapture received one, and only those who possessed one of these strange masks could get in. If you play the DLC Burial at Sea , you have to steal one of these masks in order to gain access to Cohen's. Bunny Mask - Burial at Sea Over time, these masks

Okay, so technically, this is not #Inktober because it isn't ink, but it does fit in with #Drawtober, so I guess I can get over it. Don't hold it against me too hard. I'm tired. Industrial buildings, to me, are kind of creepy anyway. There's all this strange machinery, mazes of stark corridors and unmarked doors, dirty windows that barely let in the light, and all these dark, dingy rooms filled with hulking shadows. Now imagine you're alone and stranded. The building stands empty and silent as the cold, damp wind howls through the broken windows. You squeezed through the gap in the broken door because you wanted to get out of the storm, but in looking for a dry place you got turned around, and now you can't find a way out. It's so dark you're almost afraid to move for fear of falling off some catwalk and landing in the machinery below. The building groans and rattles in the wind, creaking and moaning in a frightening voice. You want to call for

This gorgeous Victorian is Chateau Nottebohm in Brecht, Belgium, near Antwerp. Ferdinand Otto Nottebohm originally bought the property in 1834, and expanded it in 1854. In 1909, he completed construction on the central eclectic manor, pictured here, along with a guest house, storage buildings, and farm. Architect Ernest Williams designed the house as a combination of the Neo-Flemish Renaissance and neoclassical cottage styles It has been a private residence, a restaurant, a hotel, and a Nazi Headquarters. It was abandoned in the 1980's, and attempts to sell the estate have been unsuccessful. The view above is the back of the house. Compare it to these photos from the 1900's, when the house was still occupied by the Nottebohm family. I was so intrigued by a photo of the estate I found on Pinterest that I went out of my way to find out what this place was. I had never seen such an elegant architectural flight of fancy such as this. You might feel like you recognize it if

Here we go, with another contribution to #Inktober or #Drawloween or whatever it is they call it. This is actually #5, and I've gotten behind here because of another project I've been working on, the Halloween Scream Scene . You should click on the link you just passed. If you're looking for haunted house ideas that won't terrify the neighborhood kiddies while still avoiding that groan inducing squee syndrome, then our nefarious works may interest you. They're both creepy and spooky, but without the gore, blood, horror, and terrifying jump scares. Boy, these #hauntedhouse sketches could fill a neighborhood, couldn't they? This monstrous house stands abandoned deep in the woods. No one recalls who used to live there, only that the house has been there for almost as long as the forest itself.  Nature is slowly swallowing the formal garden and the animals have taken over the halls, but this brick enigma seems defiant, holding on to the last of its dignity in s

Greetings, all you gals and ghouls! It's our favorite time of the year here at Studio 71 - HALLOWEEN! With that being said, I have a fiendish assortment of props and scenes to share today. Our Halloween Scream Scene is a spooky, haunted mansion set back in a creepy, swampy forest. (Bear in mind, I have smaller children who aren't so into the "scary", so these are gore and horror free.) Have a look! We begin our tour of the Haunted Mansion in the overgrown gardens outside. This large rat seems to have stolen a bone from somewhere nearby. (Lol. The rat is electronic and can be triggered remotely.) The sign warns to continue with caution. We stumble on the mansion's private cemetery, overgrown and forgotten. A weathered skeleton has been uncovered and stares out from the dead grass. Perhaps this is where the rat found his bone. Near the front door of the house we find a strange little garden gnome. He seems to be watching for something. Could i

Greetings, and Happy Halloween. So, I'm running a little behind schedule, but as my mother would say, better late than never. It's #Inktober, and here's #4 in our #hauntedhouse theme - 1108 Briarwood Trail. This house is a little bit different from the other entries. Its creep factor comes not from a feeling of abandonment and decay. The house itself is immaculate, shiny and well-kept, like a coloring book page. The tree outside seems only bare, not dead, and clouds seem to be reflected in the upper windows of the tower. But look a little closer. Doesn't it look like the front porch has teeth? And those upstairs windows - they almost look like angry eyebrows. This building has lots of sharp, pointy spindles and harsh angles. The panels of the front doors mimic the design of the teeth-shaped decorations around the porch. The house seems to be urging you to get into its mouth...Uh, no thanks...

Sketch #3 210 Magnolia Lane The 3rd in our #hauntedhouse series for #INKtober is 210 Magnolia Lane. This magnificent Victorian gingerbread style home may have once been the envy of the block, but is now badly in need of repair. The siding is haphazard, the windows are broken, and the roof obviously leaks. The foundation has crumbled, causing the house to settle unevenly. Even though the porch appears sound, the broken post suggests caution. From this angle, it's impossible to tell whether or not the door is open, but even if it was, I'm not sure I would enter. Did the living room curtain just move? In every town, there's always that one house that people don't like to walk past. No one really knows why. It always feels like there's someone watching you, even though you're pretty sure no one could possibly live there. It's the sort of house that you stand across the street from and just stare at. Was that a shadow moving past the kitchen window

Sketch #2 568 Bayou Gulch Drive The 2nd in our #hauntedhouse series for #INKtober, 568 Bayou Gulch Drive. This house has begun to deteriorate, as evidenced by the collapsed side porch and curiously leaning tower. The front door stands open, and it almost seems as though someone (or something) is watching from a corner window. The tattered curtain is pulled back, though it's too dark to see what's inside. The view of the house from street level is intimidating, like something from a horror movie. This house holds a special place for me. It is a reproduction of The Haunted Mansion in Disneyland, Paris. Of all the Haunted Mansion incarnations, this particular one almost exactly matches what I think of when someone says "haunted house". It has similar architectural features to the home of the Munsters, as well as the home of the Addams Family, and that of Norman Bates. This #penandink is red BIC gel pen shaded with purple colored pencil. The combination of re

Sketch #1 14 Crescent Place Happy Halloween and welcome to INKtober! I'm trying a new way of using the Sketchbook space here by adapting a monthly theme. At the beginning of the month, I choose a new theme and a new sketchbook, then I stick to that theme for the entire month. This month, obviously, is HALLOWEEN - one of our favorite times of year around here at Studio 71. We've got lots of projects going for the holiday, but let's begin with the first...INKtober! This series of sketches will be required to meet certain criteria: 1.) The sketch must be in INK, but the type of ink is irrelevant. Other medium, such as colored pencil or crayon, can be added, but the sketch itself must be in ink. 2.) The sketch must be in the official book (pictured above). 3.) The sketch must fit the theme. In this case, the theme is Haunted House. A haunted house, for the sake of this theme, is any structure, public or private, that appears abandoned, disused, dilapidated, or oth

Been gone for a while, but I'm back, and what's more, it's almost HALLOWEEN!! You know me - I'm already trying to spookify the house (much to the confusion of my neighbors). This #oilpainting is on a 16X20 stretched linen canvas (the pre-made kind from Hobby Lobby, cause I'm lazy.) I've used several different brands of paint here, including #grumbacher #bobross #windsorandnewton #artiststouch and #dalerandrowney. I like grumbacher because of its smooth consistency, but sometimes the colors seem too translucent and it tends dry very quickly for oil, so you have to keep the palette covered with plastic wrap when you're not using it. I don't use any medium other than #grumtine because I don't really care for the shiny effect that stand oil or linseed oil leave behind. A limited color palette helps maintain the focus in this painting. I used ultramarine blue, burnt sienna, payne gray, and white with just the tiniest touch of yellow ochre and v