You may not know Grammie B, but she generously sends cash money inside a very thoughtful birthday card each year. This year, I used the gift to buy a set of gouache paints ( think fancy poster paint ), and banged out the attached as a Thank You card.
Thank You Card: a Bottle of Red
We bumped into some friends recently at a winery here in sunny Napa (or was it Sonoma?), and they were kind enough to buy us a bottle of vino. I’m trying to improve my Thank-You-Card game, and sent this puppy their way…
Art Club: Is that you, Grammie?
Art Club Rules: You have to draw whatever is assigned. Each person takes turns picking. Medium is up to you.
Some question on this, but 98% sure this is my great grandma. Unfortunately, I don’t know her name at the moment. Family history FAIL.
~ 12” x 17” charcoal
Art Club: Peeky
Art Club Rules: You have to draw whatever is assigned. Each person takes turns picking. Medium is up to you.
Another Art Club assignment. This photo is my dad, looking through a little thin-gauge cardboard cylinder (okay - a toilet paper roll center).
~ 7” x 12” Crowquill pen
Art Club: ¡ Enrique!
Art Club Rules: You have to draw whatever is assigned. Each person takes turns picking. Medium is up to you.
This is my niece’s dog, Enrique. I don’t think he likes me right now. We need to repair.
~ 12” x 7” Charcoal…
Puff Mommy
Testing a post from my mobile device…
Ink and watercolor of a NYC pedestrian.
Turtle Mode
From the notebook, an illo of a guy who I find really annoying; at least his politics, tactical weasel-yness, and well, his face. If Mitch was less of a doosh, his face wouldn’t be an issue, I think.
All kinds of sketch lines here, plus an old school cut-and-paste on the tortoise shell. Bonus points for the ink smear on the top. This is how the sausage is made, folks.
Beach Day
Got my dad bod out to the beach in Santa Monica the other day. The range of activities, from sandcastle building to human-pyramid building was almost too much to take in, especially after all the pandemic quarantine-ing. Did my best to capture subjects that never stood still. A little free pub for Loews Santa Monica - they sported for the paper.
Bull**
Found this puppy while looking for a photo of a tree. Go figure. This was a birthday card for my Pops back a few years ago. Got in and out with the handling of the watercolor / ink (don’t remember). It’s always terrifying when the brush hits the paper.
This is Only a Test
Of the Emergency Update System.
This is the first page of my Drawing a Day journal. Should be easy enough, right?
Wooly Bully
Experimenting with a new pen - one a colleague gave me at work from a small stationary store here in Chinatown. it’s one of those brush-pen things. I love it! Turns out that it’s waterproof - bonus points for that. Colored with PH Martins Hydrus colors, and the black is Higgins India ink.
Moo.
El Franco
Another portrait, drawn with one of my new friends, brush and ink - perfect for someone (like me) who gets impatient.
I was trying for James Franco, and would give the likeness a 7.3 out of 10. My kids think it looks more like a lost Jonas Brother. I can see their point.
Spice Boy
Found this while unpacking from a recent move. Sean Spicer - remember him? Maybe he’ll make an appearance on a remake of the Love Boat.
Gator Monday
Watercolor + brush and ink coming along. Or, maybe the gator did all the work. Happy with this one. Gonna take it and run…
Pressed for Time
The brush and watercolor pieces are coming along a little better these days - I'm locking in on a style that has the airiness and gesture I'm looking for. These pieces are done quickly. When I'm lucky, they are solid gold; or, with a misplaced brushstroke, go the other way, and make it to the recycling bin. That's the thing about watercolors / dyes. Hard to cover up mistakes.
In the past I would say the Struggle continues, but with a little more consistency these days, I'll now start calling it the Journey. Peace out.
Found Time
While waiting for an appointment at the DropBox offices, I had some time to sketch a few of the folks coming and going. A very bustling lobby it was, with one of the best lobby-candy selections in the city.
I'm always surprised (stoked, or bummed) at what comes out when I'm drawing quickly and don't bother to put on my glasses. It can get a little dicey with the faces.
Zombie High Five
Don't leave him hangin'...
Moving at the Speed of Graphite
I needed some hipster reference for a project, so I parked myself for a few minutes between appointments at a coffee shop at the base of Tribune Tower in Oakland (CA). I drew these folks about as fast as I could, which explains the crazy proportions on some of these. It was more important to get the whole body/outfit in there than to create a properly proportioned drawing. The colored-in dude was colored back in the studio - another chance to mess with materials. I used PH Martins Bombay and Hydrus inks over graphite.
These are pretty wonky, but for pure research, fit the bill just fine.
The Power of Tequila
I did this acrylic painting of an elephant one night, while enjoying some mid-grade tequila and Ry Cooder. Timing was everything - I got in and got out without too much fuss. I like this one...
Meow.
Clowning around.
A sketch for a Jared Kushner illo I'd like to do someday. He reminds me of one of those clown things we'd punch as a kid that would never fall down.
