I do, there for I am.

watercolor, ink and more watercolor, and more ink

2011-10-19T18:02:00.000-06:00

I am sitting here thinking...what words can mesh together with these watercolor sketches.

Can you find my initials?

My first thought was " Great! we all need more vulture/angry birds on a perch shooting laser beams at nothing. As for the second page, Bob Ross told me that there are no mistakes only happy accidents so, bam."

My second thought was, I am thinking I have some fascination with trees. I guess that is because they seem pretty easy to draw. They are always growing and changing shape dropping leaves and growing more, I dont know how many forms of trees and countless styles to drawing them. Fascinating. For me one little scribble turns into a few more and then you have grown your own tree. Lets call it a tall one. Instant gratification, and eco-friendly. ha.

Most of the drawing I have been doing as of lately has been even more random and scattered. I know I have made mention to this before, this is how I think, I guess. More so with watercolor finished with ink pen or highlighters. When I squeeze out some color, I like to push it around and blend it together. This is also why most of the watercolor ends up with a brown muddy situation. Joe was clearly not paying attention in color basics. I also like to cover the whole surface with some mixture of color. This can be a real bummer with 80lbs. sketchbook paper, which is why watercolor paper is ideal, but I have 6 more pages left and this book is full so I am trying to make the best of whats left.

I also want to mention that these two exercises were the by-product of a recent shopping trip to the the art store, in which I bought a new brush and paint. There is also a lino print in the works so stay tuned for that. It seems pretty interesting so far.

Seems trivial and petty to mention but I am told this is what a blog is for, I have discovered I have a thing for pens, pencils markers and brushes alike. Some people have a cup or a drawer with pencils and pens, I have five as my arsenal of drawing or writing utensils. This is true of the multiple desks or areas I work at. Some things are rarely used and others are never used, but they add to just the perfect amount of clutter to my desk.

Until we blog again...

Colors and circles and every inch of white space in-between.

2011-09-26T21:31:00.000-06:00

When a drawing like this gets started there is no real focus. The point of any exercise is to strengthen. I dont start out with a concept and a route to achieve it. I pick it up, and put it down. Repeat. Or as Will Smith circa 1998 might refer to as "Getting Jiggy with It." Yep....I have a blog and I can talk about Fresh Prince if I want to.

I always liked to fill in "white space" with color. I call it color space. I try to imagine the space of a drawing and where the object would appear if I were to walk through it in a dream. Much like the boy who wondered through the phantom toll-booth. Curious and cautious at first, but quick to adapt.

Sometimes it works well and the contrast creates depth. Other times it muddies any idea of what concept might have passed. What is now lost is moving quickly and undermining the project as a whole, gotta hurry before it takes a turn for the sloppy. That does happen, and those drawings may never see the light of the scanner. Also because my style is to pick up and leave off multiple times with a drawings, my motivations and attention span are usually in different places.

When an artist sits down with a thought and or idea, and they are able to bang it out, it takes a certain amount of focus. Concentration, or whatever, the practice has a number of adjectives. Sure it takes seven,fifty or two hundred and twelve tries but, it is all a learning process. This is also why your teachers with tell you to always be sketching. With enough focus an artist develops a style. You can have moments of change in your style but if it is to truly become your style you have to own it. Practice.

Each of us are different and we all focus in our own way. Auditory is dominant sense with an appeal to a great many of people of all styles. I like to be visual, which is why my office inevitably takes the form of an installation more than a work space. That is how I think. Random. Scattered. Large.

In closing I wanted to say after re-reading what I wrote I realize I have never had a nasal sensory painting party.....who is in???

Oil Pastels

2011-08-13T17:20:00.000-06:00

Oil Pastel Exercise in sketchbook

The following is an example of my use of Oil Pastels in a sketchbook exercise. I have had them in my "art-room" for some time now and just last night decided to break them out. My first impression is it was very similar to chalk. There was a fair amount of smudging that took place to produce these results. In the anticipation of the smudging, I decided to keep the design simple.

I however could very easily see this type of design going to paint on multiple canvas. As I was coloring this design my brain would only let me think about that execution. Together it would look intense, separate it would lean towards lame, and empty.

The design took a very short amount of time to sketch out and I happen to think it is a very nice addition to the last 15 pages left in my sketchbook, more specifically this adds an element of depth to my arsenal of skills as a doodle-ist.

Finally I got to the point where I started to line it with a sharpie. This made me think of the type of vanity used to change clothes behind, and this would pretty vibrant design.
Whatever this little blip encompasses is not important, what is important is that this design was fun and I had fun creating it. And so another time, another space, and wherever we all are in another place...Be well bloggers!

Sketched-book dealings

2011-07-30T12:46:00.000-06:00

This is how I think...I guess.
The closer I get to filling up this sketchbook the harder it is to close firmly and walk away from. The pages have absorbed so much ink, more than usual frustration and water lots and lots of water, let us not forget the tragic coffee spill of the fall of 2010!

The cover is almost entirely covered with stickers and events of pasts, with no consideration to how many miles this book has traveled by land sea and air (multiple missed flights). At this point there is only a handful of pages left without doodles, all the more reason to push harder and get it finished and find the next book to pour into.

My countless hours of thoughts and ideas being taken down on paper, rubbed smudged or ground into the pages of emptiness with no real audience. ? Really I have no idea.

8.5 x 11 watercolor, micron .5 and a trusty blue bic pen

That is one of the many thoughts that race through my head when I think about what other people see or think when they look at what I have created. There can be a lot going on at first glance, but after closer inspection, the subject matter can be lacking in lines or shapes with any lasting depth or interest. The simple fact is that lots of organic shapes and simple smaller doodles add to what appears to be a complex web of thoughts. Another un-fortunate is that when this sketch was scanned it lost much of its red and yellow contrast. You could say that it also lost some of its "pop" when the digital conversion happened, but over-all I think you get that majority of thought and idea. Joe has lost his grasp of real. HA!

I have also noticed that there are a few shapes/characters that I draw over and over. This is how I think...I guess. When this type of sketch is started and created I have no drawn reference to mimic or copy. Which goes as far to say that it is not supposed to look like anything. As close as I can relate is is those few moments when I close my eyes and right before I drift off to sleep. Which also explains lots of overlapping. Crazy right?

This sketch and many others like it are never really completed and they did not make it to this stage in one sitting, there are the combination of multiple days weeks or months. I focus when I can and when I make the time to blank out for a few hours. I also tend to use a collection of tools such as ink pens and watercolor brushes. This most certainly adds to the complexity of a sketch but defiantly not adding any points in the 'fine' art category. Some day...probably not!

Hope you enjoyed this and more like it to come.

6-13-11 watercolor excercise

2011-06-24T23:23:00.000-06:00

Watercolor, Pen & Ink Exercise
6/13/11

Earlier this evening I was at a Sushi 101 class at Stir a cooking School the owner/teacher of the class instructed us to not be discouraged at our first efforts, it takes practice and repetition, only then after a great deal of practice are you able to "master" your trade. Other than taking a mild interest in eating sushi I have never considered myself next in-line to throw down on su-chief of the sushi line. Art is the same for me. I am not trying to be the next Jackson Pollock or Andy Warhol or Banksy, I am just practicing my craft, trying to be crafty.
I have drawn as an exercise, as a stress relief, as an experiment to see what will come-of-it, and what have I learned? What style have I taken to represent me? I can say that any good artist uses reference to keep their work fresh, and I am no different. I have recently started reading about a international graffiti project called the exchange. What is really great about this on-going project is the idea behind how it started. One artist who had a passion for lettering said to another, what if I gave you a sketch and you threw it up on a wall. (aerosol art being the medium) Break out of your shell of comfort and try something new. What an awesome idea! An entire culture of writers coming together to grow not only their skill set but the skills and depth of the art form of graffiti.
We all know that art as a form of expression, but how many of us know how to take that international? Communicate to a group of artist with a respect and understanding to take the medium to the next level. I can only hope to one day be able to classify my art into a category and in turn find a community of like minded artist looking to grow the depth of our ability as artists. It also takes time and concentration, a huge factor in why most people don't quit their jobs and make art full-time.
Until next post, and by that I mean until the pen and brush hit the paper, good-bye and good luck to all!

another sketch with a random quote on it

2011-05-03T01:56:00.000-06:00

BOLD TITLE HERE

8" x 9" 0.7 Black Ink Pen & Watercolor

What did people do before readily-available ability to do a google image search for Alice in Wonderland Watercolors Paintings? 144,000 images in an almost un-measurably short amount of time!!! Doesn't everyone do that?
Recently I have been "practicing" my watercolors and ball point pen ink and I have a new found appreciation/love for the people who work with them. I have never aspired to be a fine artist trying to sell work, or compose a gallery styled collection of work, I only paint for my own personal amusement, but the people who have the skill set to produce are really inspiring. The best part is that everyone has their own unique style. These two examples are "my-style" circa 2011.

Another great thing I have learned to appreciate more is the ability to layout a design with depth in a 2-dimension medium. Art school teaches you techniques in various forms to accomplish this, but even without formal training some people just have it naturally. The ability to visualize and then translate is a powerful tool. I am trying to learn through practice, and it can be hard when my brain is in so many other places. Fine art takes time, practice, love, skills, and more stuff I have not even considered.

8.5" x 11" 0.7 Black Ink Pen & Watercolor

So I have been brain-storming some possible names for a title of a sketch book franchise. Here is what I have comes up with so far.
Oohh-dulls of Doodles
Shmorguss-book of Inks
Swirls of Illusion
Life & Doodles
a Drunks Guide to Drawing
My Creation of Imagination
Sketchy and Company
Silly Swirls

One last thing I would like to comment on is my subject matter, to some it may seem as though I am loosing my sane grasp on reality, from others I could consider my skills are going in the opposite direction. What ever it is, moving the pen around is where it all starts. Morning noon and night, or most often right before drifting off to sleep, moving the pen is me flexing my "muscle".

Well I think that wraps up this editions blog update. Thank you to all loyal blog-enthusiasts. Until next time.

splash that paint

2011-03-16T16:53:00.000-06:00

"It has taken me some time (ok FINE lots of time) to get back into the whole "art" thing."

I had recently gone on a family vacation where my family, specially my aunt Lisa had told me to show-case my work more often, so tadahhh!

To no surprise the more time I spend with it, or it with me...not really sure? I find that I enjoy it a little bit more each time. The picture shown above is an exercise with oil paint. Again this was not the surface I had intended to paint on when I started, that canvas has a completely different theme to it, this is a little table that holds my paint. Or rather a wine box that grew legs and is now a table, thanks to Matt B. a flat-mate of yore.

Once I started painting on this surface I got to thinking that each of the rest of the sides could use a similar im-prov painting. Another technique I used was to paint rapidly, and like always use every last dab of paint on my tray. Over-all I am happy with the results, even if it is pretty simple.

More to come...stay tuned!

5-headed creature sketch

2010-11-05T02:38:00.000-06:00

Ink and Highlighter on paper
approx. 5" x 7"

Just the other day my mother was asking me what have I done to be creative as of lately and I didn't really have a good answer so I got to thinking/sketching and this is where I landed. I want to say I feel like this doodle is upside down visually. I drew it in this orientation but what about flipping it vertically? I guess that would imply I know what it is or at least supposed to resemble, sadly I do not.
What I do know is that it is good to be sketching again. I never really quit, I just took an extended vacation from recording progress....haha!
This multi-media sketch was a collaboration of evenings drawings on the same page. I also think I went a little over-board with the circular vines, but again there are no rules, what is right and what is wrong?
Thanks mom.

"just another funky radical bombtrack. Started as a sketch in my notebook..."

When enough is not enough, but more is to much?

2010-06-30T18:21:00.001-06:00

I feel like the process of painting in stages had brought out depth in perspective, at more than one point I feel I should have left more of the rock like formations, instead I covered it up trees.
Thanks to Bob Ross, I learned that there are no mistakes only Happy Accidents. Thanks Buddy!

Closest to being finsihed
One think that I feel worked really well is the color of the background provides the rest of the space within the painting to appear vivid. That was a process early in the stages of painting, where i smeared lots of paint around, waited a day for the painting to dry and then scratched it with a #2 pencil. I like small amount of texture it brings to the whole painting.

I liked what evolved into clouds in this painting. That makes me laugh because of how many times I changed my idea for the concept of the painting.

One area in need of improving is the blending of color. Some of the strongest points are where the least amount of time was spent trying to "figure" it out, as opposed to just "winging" it. Some colors muted together well, more often when I had a "dirty" brush, so much for the "fine" art cateragory.
Well that is enough "air" quotes for one post.

One last note, I gave this as a gift to a friend but I did not frame it. I envisioned a boxed frame with all flat black sides.Something to really stand out, so like a 2.5-3.5 inch look maybe?

This is an oil painting in various stages. Painted between April15th-May15th 2010
Size 16x20
Stretched Un-Primed Canvas
Medium: Oil
untitled

The photos were all taken with my iPhone, which is not such a bad camera.

"Alright ramblers, lets get rambling"

2010-06-06T01:41:00.000-06:00

Man-Made "Canvas"

dimensions are variable, roughly 32x40

How many times have you heard "art" be described as a movement, or the expression of movement?

What does movement really mean?

How would you describe this painting to someone who has never seem it before?

Are some movements more meaningful than others?

I feel like I have made lots of meaningless movements in my daily motion to get ready to go to work for the day, but is that "living-art"? Would you pay money to view of "body" of work with crusted toothpaste foam on the side of the sink?

What if it resembled an all-mighty religious figure?

One way to look at all of this is that is was about the "movement" to make something unique, and unlike anything else. The cast of characters, were my two good friends mark F. and justin H. We had really no intention of this being a "final" product, all we set out to make was a "canvas" that was a wacky shape, and what ever was painted on it match the same amount of wacky.

On a side note, if anyone who reads this wants to donate paint from old projects you might have lying around the house, I would be glad to recycle, because that is %100 of the materials used in this project, minus the staples. That took an extra trip to the store.

marterials used:
est. 10 feet of 1x2
scrap material from old shower curtain
200+ staples to secure fabric to frame
all paint (mostly all latex-acrylic) was found at my house from old projects along with all the brushes left lying around in various places, and in various conditions
wine bottle box spaces
random drywall screws
scrap wire for mounting
estimated time spent on project:
6 hours 34 minutes 14 seconds

I am happy with what came from that movement in time. In my opinion, I feel like it could have another session of detail, perhaps smaller paintbrush work done to it, all the same color scheme. Although there are parts now that are very captivating,and give a good vast illusion of depth, I think the detail can only extend in what is already existing.

Lets be silly here, what would consider paying for something of this caliber?
or does this repulse you?

starting to break the easle in.

2010-04-19T22:31:00.002-06:00

There is a specific reason artist who make money use reference to make anything look "real-istic". Unless you are going for the "completely made-up" look or the classic "I am never going to get a job as an architect" then learn a lesson from this "study" as I am, slowly!

Always take your time to sketch-out your drawing before you go to paint, for no other reason than to be sure that the layout works for you. Think about it like this, if it does not work in sketch form, however crude it maybe, it will certainly not work in paint, of any medium, unless your intention is otherwise.

today i painted.

2010-03-11T13:48:00.003-07:00

Today I painted

life can be busy, and moving across the country can do that to you. having and or making the free time to put ideas any and all ideas to paint are wonderful things, when they can happen. today was about setting up shop in a new part of the country and getting to work. I had the privilege of having been gifted an easel as a going away present from a good set of friends. Thank you justin, courtney and dario.
I am not sure what to do with this blank canvas now. I was thinking that I want to make a really interesting perspective of a fish swimming in honor of "super fish" "One fish to rule them all"
I started with acrylic paint left over from another painting project, and I also discovered a Kona Brown color, which I am sure I will incorporate somehow, not really sure, but I am sure it will come to me when the time is appropriate.

UPDATE!!!

i painted some more...
looks like i am staying with the super fish idea!
which means that i have been spending lots of time thinking about my fish tank.

"darling it is better, down where it is wetter, take it from me." -sebastian the crab-

i guess my mind wonders to many places while i paint. to read it has to seem very dis-connected, that is due in part because it is.

what is nice about progress when it happens, you can take notice of change. some change happens very quickly while other happens just the opposite. This painting with oil, it that of very slow change, but in pictures very rapid. huh....

why do we draw the thing we do?

2009-11-25T00:52:00.003-07:00

it can be fun to draw something...color it, line it with ink, and then put it away and not look at it until months later.
It can be a drawing of frustration, creation, hesitation and many other -a-tation.

when that is done it can almost seem as if you had never spent time with that drawing. Only after you take a second glance at the drawing do you recall that time you scribbled for a while and then closed the sketchbook and left it alone, and never thought about that place and time you where in. You were done and over the blip in time. That emotion is on paper and right where it needs to be
This can also happen when you have multiple sketchbooks.

Either way you look at it, i feel as if "getting it out" is not only important but vital to the creation process. only after you have gone so far can you see further

First Edition Puzzel, hand made

2009-11-14T18:29:00.007-07:00

**warning** if your name is marie, please don,t read this blog post because it will ruin the surprise of having this project show up at your door.

WHAT IS IT?

Part 1
It started as a envelope being sent to me, it had at the time being started with blue paint, seen in the envelope, it was a great start, it had the highs lows and mids in color differentiation. The direction I took it is was way different, what i really liked was the rounded-ness of the four circular areas. I developed it to include what appears as green/yellow rustic mountains.

Part 2
this is a sheet of watercolor paper that I started drawing on almost a year ago, then when the paper supplies ran a little low, I started using the back of it as a "drop" palette. This kind of expressionistic, splattering, and movement of paint helped form the back page. The green and blue was a fun experiment in painting because it has been more than a few moments since I have taken the leisure of painting. Why I left the scene I am not really sure, but I feel like this example helped me propel into working with watercolor and ink more...as if this was the straw that breaks the camels back.

Part 3 ( the semi-grand finale)
once i was done painting it, although that process could have gone on for-e-v-e-r... I decided to stop and finish by cutting paper into individual puzzle pieces, and by doing so created my first ever hand painted puzzle set. Final step was putting it all back together, and putting it in the envelope and sending away...

:::side note::: the post office frowns upon this activity, I guess that it is a bit to risk-y for some people.

Yeah go me...and the friends who helped "move the brush around"

what do you think?

A collective whiteboard drawing...

2009-11-09T21:30:00.008-07:00

"i do think i can draw anything more than a stick figure" troy greggory's response when asked to contribute to the collective drawing

How many people still think this? I say if you can hold a pen/pencil and you have a set of eyes then you can draw. We all drew as children am I wrong? Wasn't is requirement to graduate from kindergarten?

I have taken the liberty....and applied it towards the pursuit of happiness in this case to help other people that may not be as comfortable with drawing and provided a common outlet to "doodle" it out.

It seems like every time that I look at the board something has changed. This tells me that my collective of people are creative people. We create. Not everyone has the courage and interest to run with it. Why not? Is there a fear of being wrong? Missing out on the opportunity to think about something fun? I say boo to all of the above, embrace that creative side, and condition it like it is your strongest muscle, because the more you use it the better it becomes, and who knows what you find out might actually surprise you.

Get out there are create people.

Thank you to all who have added to this whiteboard sketch...you know who you are!

"Rock"ober is almost over...Be Ware! The best is yet to come

2009-10-27T20:37:00.003-06:00

Is It a Sketch
or
Is It a Drawing?
When is a Sketch a drawing, and when is a drawing finished? Certainly there are parts to this sketch/drawing that are not as "developed" as the rest, and there for it creates an element of un-complete-ness. But that being said there are some parts to this sketch/drawing that are unique and better left alone before the original idea is lost. So where does that leave us?

As you very well can tell it is photo of my desk organizer/sketch pad/ for work and therefor it cannot be completely covered up, so to those nah-sayers who say it is un-finished, guess what it is going to stay that way, although we only have a few days left in this month...

Next I would like to add that I need/must do some research to the art of drawing faces. This witch is out of proportion and ugly....even more so un finished.
Lastly I would like to add more color to this...so be looking for an update.

"How are dreams and ideas every going to manifest if they never are developed?"

Thank you again for clickin' of me and please tell me what you think, good bad or anything in between.

it is september? am i still thinking visually?

2009-09-14T10:32:00.006-06:00

It has been a long time in coming but I have finally posted something new on this blog...what can I say, for those who know me it probably has something to do with me having no social life to speak of, and those who dont know me...just call me lazy. The truth of the matter is that i have recent switched to a new sketch book, as I had to retire the old one...and it has taken me some time to get used to this new digs....
enjoy.
sketch.
be happy.

I just smahed my all time blogging record for the month of April

2009-04-28T14:52:00.015-06:00

Oh well at least I got something in the "books" that I like
Next step is figuring out what to do with it???

Time to get "it" in gear....

2009-04-27T20:44:00.004-06:00

I find myself spending more and more of my time goofin around. The weather has changed into full boar summer season.
(a very special thanks goes out to all the women who are changing their fashionable fashions to a more "breezy" look and feel :)
This is great time to be alive, really!!! I have been having a ton of fun...but even if you were to collect all that fun in to the biggest jar you could find, we would still come back to square one.

No drawings.

Even less ideas for drawings.

Sharped pencils.

Blank sketch paper.

You and I back to the drawing board of life, with a big jar full of fun waiting to be opened, but only if we have a few moments of productivity.
So here we are together another week nearly gone by and I have nothing new to post to this blog.
so what next?
...brainstorming
sleeping...
...i think i am gonna just talk to everyone i know and ask them what to create...
think that is a good idea???

Some times the "House" goes bankrupt...am I right Bank of America?

2009-04-22T10:28:00.006-06:00

Positive energy can sometimes be hard to come by....
Sometimes it comes in many different forms...
Most often it lurks in the shadows...
If you are the type of person that has a finite capacity for relevance in your daily life, keep reading...
There are the kinds of people that do well with negativity and those that do not...
Humor Can Counter-act Pessimist people...but who wants to be a clown?...And how many knock-knock moo cow jokes can one person tolerate???

The long and short of it is sometimes it seems like the world does nothing but shit all over you...so help me Buddha there is not enough 409, WD-40, or Scotch-Guard in the state of Texas to keep you and I clean.

The long and short of it is when the going gets tough the Tough Get Going. I have accepted the fact that I am unable to come "clean". I accept the fact that life can never truly be planned for. But what I do NOT accept is that it is going to be like this forever. Life cannot be a constant struggle, I am young enough, smart enough, and semi-decent looking(boils not to be included in this rant) enough to no have complications with my health despite all of life's stresses...but seriously, throw me a frickin bone here!!!

Can anyone tell me where the silver lining is???

another weekend...another splatter sketch

2009-04-13T08:24:00.003-06:00

There is nothing particualrly amazing about this sketch...
I know that is not the best way to get someone to want to look at your blog...but I would rather put something up instead of nothing...nothing is far more destructive. Dont get me wrong, I love destruction, maybe more than I like burning and explosions.

I always wanted to be in a comic book

2009-04-09T05:45:00.003-06:00

I have been spending more and more of my time looking at graphic design websites, and various places to find tutorials, templates, ect... just looking at everything. It has been exhausting. Part of this new found motivation is derived from my academic studies, and the other part is sheer curiosity, you know what they say about that....it killed the cat.

oh yeah, and i sumbled upon this great blog about photoshopdisasters...good way to kill some time, it makes me feel better...

a glance at what trouble is brewing @ awsome inc.!!!!

2009-04-01T02:02:00.008-06:00

That is right you read it right here here here!!! someone at awesome incorporated, a small creative productions company located in champaign illinois, with branches worldwide, is held under arrest while authorities figure out the extent of this scandalous crime. My un-named informant on the inside of the task force says that the breach included a hostile take over of large amounts of information, and we were able to obtain this one photo. A pretty decent one, considering the circumstances of what was at stake. This is as far as we know the first public peek of drawings for what might become the next brewery label for Darker Than Death Black Ale.

Which I am told is an on-going project for church street brewery, also located in champaign...hoping like hell to have a chance to brew worldwide...
okay.....
okay.......

enough of that faux news reporter crap. we all know my magic is made from behind the scenes action here is a drawing that i have been working with for the last few days...

was hoping to finish it and then print

who knows i might move on
to
something
entirely
different.

It was a three eyed flying purple people eater coming from Denver Co.

2009-03-30T16:47:00.006-06:00

My Brother sent this picture through his iPhone, and I have got to say that it is capable of taking a pretty decent picture. The second image is some nude-boof goofing around in illustrator...i like the original, but i also like mine also...I think i am going to try and use this as an animated background for my hooded sweatshirt wearing silhouette to walk in front of...any animators out there want to teach me their ways?

Writin my name on the wall

2009-03-13T15:21:00.008-06:00

Denver is a crazy place.

Thank you jerry....man! We need you .

unoffical....whoooo

2009-03-07T00:34:00.003-07:00

What can I say at this point...
beer is good
and
life is short ( tip your waitress )

I do like the image/icon for the bottle cap although the text inside is a little weak, it is a great concept for a side gig brewing brew.

Side note: I need to get better at sketching out ideas, faster, and more more more......anybody have some really good, bad, silly, goofy, strange, zany, save for a rainy day ideas, anything to work with?
let me know....
leave me a comment

In like a Lamb.....

2009-03-04T11:30:00.003-07:00

One Little Silly Ink Spatter.........
After what seems like hours of staring into "space" it has finally hit me that sometimes "stress" can a dangerous tool. To some people just the slightest little bit of "stress" can make them walk in a more focused path. All the while others are in need of medical care, and super-duper-subscription pharmaceuticals to hold their blood pressure at a reasonable rate just below exploding.

- sub story - i was out walking my dog the other day and a lady who had just gotten of a mtd bus smiled at me and made the comment that my dog looked like one happy little poochy. Beagles are known for their extraordinary ability to hold a poker face...if it weren't for that damn tai thump thump thumpl....and my response to this nice friendly lady was, he is outside on an adventure...whats not to love about that way of life? -end sub story-

Stress can come from all diffrent things, money family, you ocupation, the mail coming at 4pm in the evening, if that kid who walks down my street and throws his garbage in my yard, computer problems, money, convertinf money to euros, you get the picture. So what do we do? Some might say shit your pants and dive in....Eye's Say DRAW. Run like you are being chased, dance like nobody is watching, start a tv show called "when bad ideas get worse" (Property of B.D.P. Productions) Do Something!!!

Life after valentines day...We Forge Ahead!!!

2009-02-16T07:20:00.010-07:00

I spent another evening in a Bar...oh blah dee blah dah!!!
I am really starting to think that I need some kind of psychiatric help...
I am not in any danger of harming anyone, however what I do think is that with the style in which I continue to draw people are going to staring, pointing fingers, then worse of all they begin to wonder, what the hell is wrong with this poor little disturbed boy's mind.

Maybe it is not me who is screwed up....I mean lets be honest, it is a 94.7% chance that it is me who is a little odd but it is much easier for me to cope with if I think it is you....nothing against you personally.

I like to work with color....especially highlighters, and ink. I am not saying that I am unable to learn new trick with other mediums, I just feel as if I need to practice more and master one medium before I move on and attempt another. It makes me laugh when I consider what an idea feels like in my head and when it comes out onto paper, it is almost as if two people are trying to take control of my limited brain power. Might I stress limited. Here is an example, the other day I was working on a design project for way two many hours at once, all the while I was drinking coffee, two of my most favorite things when the phone rang... I picked up my coffee cup and proceeded to say "hello....HELLO!!!" I wish I could say this did not happen but it did, and now I am blogging about.

Here We Blog Again.....

2009-02-02T12:07:00.003-07:00

That is right!!! Time yet again for another blabbering....

This was an assignment for drawing one class, it was fun to create but as far as an image goes there is a whole lot of confusion, depending on your perception that might be good or bad. My personal favorite is the ink splattering, large and small. It adds a certain crude feel to any work.

I did have one person ask me "what is it" I had to laugh, at the time it was a funny question, my first reaction was Your Brain On Drugs, I would have thought that was oblivious...however given that it was during a " critical in-class critique " I proceeded to explain how it was subjective, while some people might think at first it was a really sloppy eyeball that sat in the sun to long without sunscreen and melted, others might think it was ink-splatted drop cloth. Yet another explanation is that is a black whole with rips and tears, causing the whole world to come to an abrupt and painful end. The real answer is that there is no real answer. For me it was an experiment in moving my paint brush around, and very rapidly, coupled with the simple application of more and more ink and paint until I felt I could add no more. I don't know on what scale I decided enough was enough, I just felt it was time, or it was 4am and I had to be in class by 8am, and the painting needed to dry before I transported it...

I have had this drawing put away for quite a while, and every now and again I like to take it out to reflect on the development of my "style" with ink. You might look at this image and the first style my compare it to would be someone like Ralph Steadman. Sadly I will never be as famous or brilliant as Ralph, Although I have spent some amount of time researching past works, with high hopes of learning something from his long history in creating. With any good artist, there is a period of growth, and if you look at works in a sequence, sometimes you are able to tell strenghts from weaknesses. Also on a side note, I have not been influenced in the drug culture scene in the roaring 60's and 70's, take that in to account, and I am just another dude with ink and paper, and time to kill.

Some Where Between the Floor and the Celling

2009-01-25T23:50:00.002-07:00

Consider this the next time you think about fish........

Close your eyes and think about where you are positioned in the room. Focus mind on your body, and its position, now imagine if you were able to float around as if there were no gravity. Would you not attempt to explore every angle you were able to position your body in, everywhere in your room? Become so fascinated with it you might not ever want to leave your room. I would! Or should I say that I did until I reconsidered what I am, where I was, and what I should have been doing besides daydreaming about my fish in my fish tank. Plus I was hungry and proceeded to find something to eat.

The back story of this sketch comes from my friends at the New Life Tattoo shop on Green Street in campustown, they do their share of sketching to say the least, and their tool of choice for a period of time was a Prismacolor erasable pencil. I personally have a long history with ink, which is why I went back over this sketch with a black ink roller ball pen, but I think in the end you are left with the best of both worlds. Also the light pencil markings allow you to rough out a picture unlike ink.
Last thing I want to make mention of...my favorite part in this image is the fish to the top right of the drawing, not orginally placed there in the orginal drawing, but after I scaned in the image, I had to include it somewhere right?
That is all for now, I hope you liked my story, and reconsider what life would be like if you were afish....

Graffiti Style Meet Liquid Highlighters

2009-01-22T18:57:00.009-07:00

What to say??

I think my new favorite medium is liquid highlighters, also not that it matters but, the colors of this are actually a ton more vivid, if real life as opposed to cyber-reality...I am gonna try and work on scanning it again to do it justice....
That is how it can go sometime, you sacrifice your quality of content for quantity. This is also how local news goes everyday...but that is a different story for a different time.
I would like to see more of this style of work around town, I am not advocating vandalism, more like trying to be an activist in the city beautification act. Although there are a great many lessons to be learn from graffiti writers...composition, color scheme, and content is only the tip of the iceberg...This form of art should be studied, but also practiced, because with out practice how can you grow better at anything???
As a student of the "Arts" I say that the college I attend takes a more active interest in the local art scene, because there is more than ample display space....do not tell me there isn't....now if the subject matter is vulgar or offensive then that brings about a different argument...another time and another place.

"Update"
As it turns out I need a new scanner, mine sucks for two reasons,

(a.) it does not have the capability to scan an image at more than 72 d.p.i wtf? this is 2009 right
(b.) the color is gaudy-awful-hideous-insert swear word here-straight up ugly.
(c.) i have to either be at school or at work to scan something, which i guess is not really that bad because i spend a lot of time at both....that is it for the update y'hall
Have a Nice Day

Ode to and Old Sketch Book

2009-01-16T13:28:00.016-07:00

Community Contribution Sketches

I learned at an early age in my doodling career that it takes other people to keep your ideas fresh and flowing. This sketch is one in a series of quite a few where someone would draw until they felt they couldn't draw anymore and then they passes the sketchy pad to the left-hand side.

Some of the time we as a group set guidelines to follow, themes if you will. Other times it was because we made no mention of what the end product would look like. A couple of times the only rule was that what you drew had to touch what the last person drew. My personal favorite was setting a two minuet window with the sketch pad, and the person that hands you the sketch book, well they have to think of a word or idea, and then 120 seconds later you had to pass.

Some times alcohol would play a role in what I like to call, "greasing the wheels of creativity." This is more the case with people who don't actively draw, and sometimes their approach and presentation can be the prefect addition to people who do constantly draw but feel as though they are stuck in a rut. This concept is also similar to the types of drawings that small children create, such an innocent observation a child has, so simple! yet so important.

Organic Tree Drawing

2009-01-14T07:39:00.013-07:00

Monday January 12 @ The Blind Pig on $1 Pabst Blue Ribbon Night

It was a long day after the first day of classes at Parkland college starting up again for the spring semester. I was in a cheery state of mind, but believe me when I say that it was a long day. I had just recently gotten out of the t.v. station after directing the ten o'clock newscast and had met up with my friend Justin and John. We were just sitting around and BS-ing when I pulled from my backpack my silly sketch book. I say silly because although it is a good source for new ideas, this book in particular has seen it's fair share of road rash...I digress...getting back to how this crazy tree grew it's roots. It started with the organic eyes. My friend John noticed what was missing or what would later become the noise, should be a shape resembling a pear would compliment the fruit-esk looking eyes. Three trips back to the bar for refills and $7 dollars later, this organic image was born. My personal favorite is the rough and crude drawing of the bark on the tree. Another thing to make mention is the more than oblivious guitar embedded into the bark. YES!!! John we all see it, and what is plainly visible cannot be a CIA, FBI or Homeland Security top level dirty secret.
As the evening progressed and the hours until I had to be sober and back on the time clock grew closer, the time effort dedicated to this sketch were blown away in the Illinois winter wind. Brrrrrr! Maybe when I get board and I have some time on my hands I will revisit this page and add little trees as friends, start my own make believe magical forest. So I guess that is the story of the conception of this crude sketch. I hoped you liked it, and if not...I understand.