Mostly I Do Art...

An experiment in composition called  Have a Drink , drawn with plain old #2 pencil on bright white copy paper. This was not meant to be a finished drawing, only a sketch to illustrate certain principles of composition. In this case, I have used the principle of thirds. There's no real important reason for doing this - just trying to get in some practice.

Table for Two,  a sketch done with graphite and vine charcoal on 80 lb. cold press paper. There's a certain aesthetic in the functional simplicity of ordinary things - the symmetry of bar stools, the regular perfection of kitchen tiles, even the intentional alignment of sodas on a counter. Our lives as humans seem to be so filled with chaos that we exert extra effort into imposing order on ordinary things, even where order serves no real purpose other than to please the eye. Perhaps it's a calming device, a way of making ourselves feel better about being adrift on a sea of uncertainty.

My latest composition, entitled "Have a Smoke" . Drawn with graphite and PITT charcoal on 80 lb. cold press paper. I don't smoke except for the occasional cigar, so all I can say about this composition is that I've been working at a gas station. I guess staring at tobacco products all day was my inspiration. Maybe I should do a whole series of compositions using only things I find at work. It wold definitely be different. Not that I'm drawing while I'm supposed to be working, you understand. In this case, I took a few pictures on my phone of different items and then went home and recreated the scene in my studio. It's probably not the most awesome art you've seen today, but it's definitely unique.

"The Un-Jolly Elf" Ballpoint Pen on Arches Cold-Pressed Paper So, I haven't posted in a while, but to be honest, there wasn't really anything I felt like posting about. I mean, yeah, it's the holiday season and all, but I'm afraid I'm one of those strange people who doesn't get a lot of joy out of it. Now before you go being all judgmental, I'm not materialistic or selfish. In fact, you can ask anyone who knows me, and they'll all tell you that I'm about the most un-selfish person they know. And no, I don't have unrealistic expectations or unreasonable goals, and I'm not one of those so-called bleeding hearts. So why, then, does the season of giving always give me the blues? In a word, people . I may not be unreasonable, unrealistic, shallow, greedy, or demanding, but I can't stop other people from behaving that way. It's funny how an event that's supposed to foster kindness and good will tends to bring out t...

"Calico Koi"   Prismacolor pencil and PITT graphite on Strathmore 400 series 80 lb. grayscale paper. I often have people ask me, "How do you do that? Where do you get your ideas?" In response, I decided to show some of the initial process that goes into creating a finished work like the one above. There's a local Chinese buffet that features a beautiful indoor koi pond in the lobby. The koi here are somewhat shy but if you're patient you can watch them slowly, gracefully circle the pond beneath an arched bridge. The lighting here is too poor for good quality photos, but I wanted an image of these majestic animals for my bathroom wall. The trouble was, I had never drawn a koi fish before. To the internet! My intial designs were made on newsprint with PITT charcoal pencil. The first image here was nice, but a bit too stylized for what I wanted. To me, it looked more like a Chinese kite than a real fish. The pose seemed stiff, like the fish wa...

After spending a brief amount of time on G+, the Sketchbook weekly feature has returned to its proper home, our blog. When I first moved the feature over to G+, it was an attempt to separate my personal art from that of the studio. I never realized how much traffic the sketchbook feature brought to the blog, and in return, to Studio 71. So, without any further nonsense, the Sketchbook... Inking Cultural Expression: Tattoo Design Experiments "Thug Life" "Skull and Roses" #sketching #drawing #sketchbook #penandink #tattooart #skull #roses #rosary #thuglife

The flood waters of Hurricane Harvey have not yet receded from Texas, and the storm is poised to make landfall again in Louisiana. Of course, this is normal behavior for a hurricane, but the damage it caused in Texas was far worse than anyone expected. I can't help but ask the obvious question - Why? According to many sources, Harvey may not have been caused  by #climatechange, but it was certainly fed by it. Higher sea levels due to melting arctic pack ice caused storm surges to swell far above normal, and higher than normal temperatures on land created the potential for higher humidity and extra rainfall. Those higher temperatures also had an effect on the Gulf of Mexico, where most hurricanes begin. A hurricane that forms over warmer water will be more intense than one that forms over colder water. Climbing temperatures also affect weather patterns, causing storm fronts to move much more slowly than normal. A stalled front and weaker jet stream meant that Hurricane Harvey l...

It's almost September, and it's back to the good old sketchbook. I'm trying to get in some practice on my portrait expressions, so I've been playing around with anime, trying to convey difficult expressions like anticipation, inquisitiveness, and paranoia. Here we have a young girl who seems to be hanging on your every word. One might imagine she had just asked some life-altering question and is anxiously awaiting your reply.  She almost seems to be pleading, wanting something from you. #sketching #pencildrawing #portraitdrawing

I was talking about illustrating what the real effects of #climatechange would look like. In my last blog entry (see it here ), I created a digital painting that showed widespread flooding caused by melting arctic ice. This image shows the opposite - a drought. While future flooding may be difficult to imagine, the effects of drought and unchecked water use can be seen right now in California, where once deep reservoirs like Lake Folsom and Lake Oroville stand empty. Scientists predict that a similar fate awaits Lake Mead, the reservoir behind the famous Hoover Dam. Water levels at the dam are at the lowest they've ever been, and while recent rains bring some relief, it isn't enough. At the current rate, Lake Mead will be empty by 2021. Hoover Dam, Upstream Face, 2050 You probably recognize the familiar Hoover Dam and its castle-like intake towers, but something seems odd here, doesn't it? The intake towers aren't even in the water, and they seem to be sitti...

In spite of everything #Trump has done to discredit #climatescience denial of the consequences of our rampant consumption does not make them go away. Flooding, droughts, and monster storms are just some of the signs that the planet is poised to reject us. Climate scientists have done their best to convince us that unless we do something soon, our way of life is in peril. But when we talk about #climatechange, it's easy to get bogged down in charts and numbers without really understanding what those statistics actually mean. A lack of understanding breeds a lack of interest, and as a result, a lack of #action. The problem then becomes, how can we put #climate information into a form that the average consumer can understand? What expression of this data can we use to motivate the common citizen to be concerned about climate statistics? To me, the answer to this question was obvious. Nothing motivates the masses to #actonclimate than being faced with a physical representation of ...

After witnessing the outrageous acts of scalping going on where these eclipse glasses are concerned, I thought I would demonstrate just how easy and inexpensive it is to make your own "pinhole projector" to watch the eclipse safely. In fact, it's so simple and easy that your kids can make one. Here's how. What you will need: A box, like a cereal, pancake mix, or flour box. Scissors Tape Foil A piece of white paper A pen or pencil Using the pen or pencil, trace the bottom of the box onto the piece of white paper and cut it out. Place tape on the back of the paper rectangle and tape onto the inside of the box bottom as shown above. Using the scissors, cut off the two short flaps from the top of the box, then trim the center flaps to leave the tab that holds it closed, as shown. Using the tape (masking tape works great, but scorch tape or duct tape will do), tape the tab closed so that the top of the box looks like the picture. If your projec...

Lucerna, the Princess of Cups At last, we see the solidification of potential. Lucerna has appeared from the gloom bearing the sacred waters of life. The water glistens with candlelights, representations of our fragile existence. Their soft, calming glow illuminates her face, but she stands unaware. She is blindfolded to signify her universal acceptance of all who are drawn to her. Lucerna is a light unto the darkness, a symbol of hope and compassion to those lost in the shadows. But those who seek her should be advised - Lucerna's path to redemption is not without peril. While her blindfold grants her the ability to be impartial in her compassion and empathy, it blinds her to the harshness of reality. Lucerna's head is wreathed in night-blooming flowers, their delicate spirals hinting at secret mysteries revealed, their shaped mimicked by fern fronds and pine cones. Curved ebony horns emerge from Lucerna's head, aligning her with the Sacred Hind. Like the Deer Woma...

Initial Concept drawing for  Lucerna , done in graphite on 8.5X11 cold press paper. The final work   will be a dark fantasy piece depicting a female anthropomorphic figure similar to this. The figure is the spirit Lucerna, whose name in Latin means literally "lamp". She is similar to the angel Lucerne, who appeared to 8th century Benedictine Monks with fire streaming from his fingertips and showed them where to build their first chapel. My adaptation of Lucerna appears as if carried on the moonlight. She holds before her a bowl of candles floating on water from the sacred spring of life. She brings a light unto the darkness , but the light is not for her. She has no need of it anyway. Her eyes are closed so as not to judge by appearance those who are lost and drawn to her light. She is like the Princess of Cups ; a manifestation of potential, a new emotional start, a sense of being comfortable with the self. She is empathic, understanding, and accepting of a...

Happy 2017, friends. Got another tractor for you here, a second Allis-Chalmers. This one is an "A" series, I think, from some time in the late 1940's. She's a bit worse for wear, and looks to have been left where she gave out. Her front wheels are flat and sit half-buried, and her back end seems to lean to the left. What brought her down is a mystery, but it's apparent she's hoed her last row, as the saying goes. This is another one of the tractors that belonged to my grandfather, although his was in a bit better shape than this. I always wondered as a kid about that spindly front wheel. It seemed to me to always be on the verge of bending or breaking off. And how did it turn? I used to spend so much time thinking about it I'd get hollered at for not paying attention. You can't be wandering around daydreaming around a machine like this, grandma would say. It was easy to get hurt, cause grandpa couldn't always see you. I remember the time my ...

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...