More Dead Fish Sketches

Thoroughly enjoying my time off, and fully enjoying the feeling of the pen in the hand, I have continued to sketch with joy.
Rounding the corner this morning, I discovered another dead fish in the aquarium (casualty number 2), and was inspired to do a couple of sketches. The first is another dead fish, and then I did a little sketch of a "dead fish keeper" in the afterlife. It kind of has the "mexican day of the dead" feel. It was fun to draw, but didn't really come out too impressive.

More vacation sketches....12/30/2006

A little while ago I wrote about my son's BINKY ADDICTION , this year we will be attempting the inevitable weaning of the pacifier. Thinking about how brutal it is going to be, I decided to draw a little sketch of how my son may look while trying to break his habit.

Also, a few days ago my wife, in a burst of hope, bought some more fish for our tank. We are notorious for killing fish. Where some aquariums may be the fountain of life, ours is certainly the cesspool of death. We can hear the fish scream once they come in our front door. They plead with us not to take them under our wing.... Nonethless, as I rounded the corner this morning to eat breakfast, I noticed our first casualty from the latest batch. I did a little sketch of the now deceased bugger...

Day After Christmas

The day after Christmas is about ready to end, and I can't believe how stinkin' tired my wife and I were and are today. The kids awoke early today (as they did yesterday) to play with all fo their presents. All day long they did played games, ate, played games, ate, used the bathroom, played games, etc...while the wife and I cleaned, and cleaned and cleaned, cooked, cleaned, attacked the children, cleaned...you understand. So, once the kids finally started to wear down, I began working on this sketch to display just how exhausted I feel.
I don't know how Santa does it......

Christmas Self-Portrait

Last night as we were waiting impatiently for the kids to finally go to sleep, I realized that I was being the GRUMP of all GRUMPS for the past few days. So I pulled out my recently found sketchbook and decided to pass the time doing a holiday self-portrait. Enjoy.

Turning Scribbles into Sketchwork

The other day I posted a few words on my writing blog about finding that my two year old had taken a Sharpie pen to our walls. Above is a picture of one of the doodles that he left us. As I got down closer to clean it, I realized that it was visually pretty interesting. I took a picture, played around with it in photoshop, and this is what it yielded:

another Sketch from Scrooge

I finished "A Christmas Carol" last night and was impressed with the imagery of the lonely crutch of Tiny Tim, as well as Scrooge's pleading with the final ghost. I hope you enjoy the sketch (this one was done in church as well.)

Sketches from Scrooge

I have been reading Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" for a literary club of which I am a member. While reading recently, and seeing Jacob Marley as described by Dickens, I could not stay my hand, and did a bit of sketching to capture the image that was in my mind.

This is after I added a bit of color in my sketchbook.
And this is after a bit of "bling" from Photoshop. Enjoy.

Wife's Request

After I drew the picture of my chunky pilgrim, my wife said that I should do one of an Indian, or Native American to capture all the participants of that first Thanksgiving. So, to appease the better half, here is the fruit ...

Inappropriate Thanksgiving Pondering

I was driving home from the Atlanta airport today after dropping off my mother while pondering the sheer volume of turkey that must have been consumed the day previous. My morbid thoughts kicked in and I began wondering how many turkeys must have been killed, and finally...where the heck do all those heads go?
When I got home, I put my thoughts to sketchpad.....and came p with this yuckiness (as says my wife.)

Comment Beggar

The other night after I posted the picture of my chunky pilgrim, I noticed that I kept checking my email to see if anybody would comment. My wife kept asking why I was always on the computer, and I realized that I am a "comment beggar." So, today on my day off (took if off for my birthday) I did a sketch of what I have realized about myself. Enjoy.

Pilgrim's Regress....

This one came right from my subconcious. I was pondering the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday, and thinking about the revelations that my doctor recently gave me and out came this chunky little pilgrim from my pen. He doesn't look too happy, and, based on my new "eating regime," I'm not looking forward to Thanksgiving...

Another Sketch (November 12, 2006)

Here is the fruit of my sketchbook today. For some reason, I really enjoyed this one. The moustache is the part that I like the most. This fellow seems sad, but resilient. Mysterious, but aware. I like the partial hiding behind the moustache and eyepatch. This would be someone I could sit down with and know that what he had to tell me would be important and meaningful.

back pain illustration (October 29, 2006)

Here's a quick little illustration that I did to bring some laughter to the most recent post that I made on my writing blog. I hope you enjoy.

Rome Georgia, Broad Street October 21, 2006

I went downtown and decided to do some sketches of Broadstreet in Rome, Ga. It was pretty organic in nature, but I enjoyed working with the colors. The sketch seemed rushed and "half-baked", but the colors were what made the experience worthwhile.

Fall and Halloween pics (October 15, 2006)

I haven't posted for a while, and frankly, I haven't painted and sketched for a while. I did these a little while ago in the spirit of fall and halloween. I don't like any of them. The color scheme particularly on the acorn painting was, I think, not how it should have been. But, I sketched, and painted, and I am happy. Enjoy

sketches from California Trip, Fish, and Conference

Here are some sketches that I have done in the past couple of days. The first two are notes that I took from a church conference. I don't think they are amazing, especially not the photographs of the sketches. I was too lazy to touch up the contrast and sharpness if photoshop, but wanted to post them to show what happens to the note-taking of a habitual doodler. I also included a couple of leaves that I drew from a plant outside of my hotel in California. I just got back from a business trip, and was bored while waiting for the shuttle to take us to the Angels baseball game. Most people drank, most smoked, I drew banana leaves.
Finally, on the lengthy plane trip home, while watching the stupidest movie made (Poseidon), I sketched another picture of a little fish. I like drawing fish, although I don't care for the way these ones came out either.

Grid exercise, September 24, 2006

I've been following a thread that contains a conversation between a couple of artists that are trying to journal in "grid" fashion. I have enjoyed some of the things they have put out, and thought I would try it today. I took some memories from an outing that my family recently made to the historic home of Martha Berry in Rome Georgia. I like the way it came out.

Sunday, the Mexican Fish day....(September 17, 2006)

I did this fish today after church. I didn't much care for it because of the colors I put across it's back. My wife, however, liked it and called it the "Mexican Fish." So, I guess it's worth a post.

dejected September 12, 2006

leaf

It's Saturday morning and I couldn't sleep last night. My mind has been on work incessantly and my synapses have been firing about this and that. I haven't been able to really step away from work mentally since my responsibilities have been increased.
When I woke up I decided to paint and sketch, hoping it would take my mind off of things. It did. I grabbed a leaf from one of our trees in the front yard. They are already turning because it has been so hot with little water. I enjoyed the time spent painting.

sketch ideas for picture book

Yes, it is inevitable. Anybody who fancies him/herself an artist at least once in their life kicks around the idea of doing a children's book. The truth is that the market is cut-throat and brutal. But I have been doing some sketches for an idea that I have had for a while. Will they ever come to fruition....heaven knows. But I like the sketches (fundamental in their development though they be.)

after dinner sketch August 29, 2006

I have been feeling somewhat guilty for not putting a pen or brush in my hand for the last little while, not to mention making posts. I just got promoted at work, and am finding that my time is controlling me, instead of the other way around. I need to do some shifting to make sure I get the theraputic minutes that I need from sketching. I did this one after dinner, just to satisfy the urge to doodle.

Every Day Matters Challenge - Ears

I have been a member of the Every Day Matters group for a few months, but haven't done any of the challenges UNTIL NOW. The current challenge is to do somethign with ears in your art. As previously posted, I have a fetish with Q-Tips, so I thought this would be a fun little project. I hope you enjoy!!

August 13th, no comment....I don't know where these ones came from.

Today was Sunday, and after church I found myself with an extraordinary amount of time to kill, so naturally, I went straight for the sketchbook.
I don't know why these sketches eeked out of my pen, but I enjoyed being silly again.

August 12 cemetary picture

Today was a rainy day, a Saturday. I haven't had much time to draw lately, unfortunately. But, I went to the cemetary today, took some pictures while it was raining, and found one I liked. Here is how the sketch and painting turned out. I like the photograph much better.....but at least I got my fingers moving again.

Computerized Watercolor (August 2, 2006)

I took the day off to get my head around things. Our car died, and will need much money to repair, and so now we are looking at how to manage. But, at the end of the day, I sketched a man, and then put color to him in one of my newest favorite programs, Corel Painter. It is an amazing program for those who like to play around with color, and with the various types of media available.

July 27, 2006

No big comment here....it turned out looking like Jean-Luc Picard mixed with Einstien mixed with Cardinal Richeleu. I did it in McDonalds on a napkin while waiting for a meeting with a client in good ol' Gallatin Tennessee. 9 hours of straight driving today...blah.

Old Painting from School

I didn't have time to do a sketch or painting today, so I took a snapshot of one of the few paintings that I kept from my previous painting days. This one hangs over our mantle. I still like it. It's not a good photo, but good enough to catch main aspects.

You say tomato........

Saturday evening sketch. My 2 year old got a hold of my pen while the watercolor was drying and added a few scribbles to the tomato...which necessitated me going in and adding more shading in an effort to hide his additions. It looks a litttle dark, but I still liked the way it came out.

Stop that, it's silly.....

I was itching to try a self portrait that would be kind of silly, so when I got home from work today, in an effort to release all the stress, I sketched this out and did it in watercolor. I had a blast doing it! (for extra fun, try counting the chins...more than a chinese phone book.)

Come Mr. Tally Man, Tally Me Banana....(7/19/2006)

I went on a ride with the kids tonight, got done with my preparation for a class that I teach once a week, and found myself with an hour to kill while the rest of the family watched an ol' Disney flick. I was hungry for bananas, and really enjoyed the way this one came out. I'm finding that using less lines, an economy of lines, together with various layers of color, really helps the painting stand out.

another quickie 7/18/2006

Another busy day, but not busy enough to prevent a quick sketch...this time of something in my office.

quick sketch (July 17, 2006)

Things are crazy busy for me at work since we are sans G.M. and I am filling the role. But, during lunch I made a quickie, just so I can say I'm consistant.

illustrated journal entry 7/16/2006

Last night I was intrigued with Danny Gregory's website and enjoyed the way that he journaled with words and illustrations. I took my stab at it from my experience at church today. It was fun trying to take what was being taught and to translate that into images. I'm not sure I like the layout of this particular entry, but will definately try it again.

Rainy Saturday Morning July/15/2006

Today was somewhat rainy this morning, and instead of being able to sit on the porch to sketch, I decided to lay on my bed, listen to the thunder, and draw an angry man in the rain. I liked the way this one came out. It was fun to sketch. I'm not quite sure on the colors, but it was a nice exercise.