Frankie on Halloween

Last Night on Halloween, I was given the responsibility to hand out candy to the throngs of cavity seekers throughout the night.  Consequently, I was alone in the house while the rest of the family was off doing their thing.  I decided to pull out the ol' Sculpey clay..something I haven't done for a while, and make something Halloween-ish.  So, see below for my take on Frankenstein's little creation:

Aren't we all beggars?

Today, I listened again to a talk from a gentleman I admire, Jeffrey R. Holland, who so deeply touched my core with his words that I could not get them out of my head throughout my activities.  Hear his talk here.  When driving home from work, I decided to do a sketch of how I feel that we all are, to some extent or another...defendant upon the kindness and mercy of a loving God.  I thought of the scripture in Luke 8:43-48 wherein we hear of a faithful, yet humble individual with enough hope that by only touching the hem of the Lord's garment was able to be made whole.

 43 ¶And a woman having an issue of blood twelve years, which had spent all her living upon physicians, neither could be healed of any,

 44 Came behind him, and touched the border of his garment: and immediately her issue of blood stanched.

 45 And Jesus said, Who touched me? When all denied, Peter and they that were with him said, Master, the multitude throng thee and press thee, and sayest thou, Who touched me?

 46 And Jesus said, Somebody hath touched me: for I perceive that virtue is gone out of me.

 47 And when the woman saw that she was not hid, she came trembling, and falling down before him, she declared unto him before all the people for what cause she had touched him, and how she was healed immediately.

 48 And he said unto her, Daughter, be of good comfort: thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace.

Who ordered the Fish?

My eldest son and I have been on our own for the past week as family business up in Utah has taken away the rest of the family.  Consequently, we've been eating a lot of easy, no-fuss, meals due to time constraints, and, frankly, the lack of desire that either of us have to cook.
The other night we ran through a quick "drive through" after picking up my son from band camp, and I ordered fish.  Mistake.
I've always loved a well cooked, succulent filet of fish.  This was far from it.
So, today as I found a few minutes to doodle, I thought I would sketch a few fish.  I love the way that the expressions on most fish are as if they were either in utter amazement, or bewilderment.  I'm not finished with it yet, two more fish to go...but I thought I would post it for postings sake....

Fish, anyone?

Dr. Who

When I was a kid, I remember seeing the cheesy, old Dr. Who episodes and thinking, "who in their right mind would watch this excrement?"  However, a few years ago when they rebooted the series, I was up on a Saturday night and started watching the first episode with Christopher Eccleston, and have been hooked since.  I've also convinced my youngest son to be a Dr. Who junkie.
Strange things are afoot, however, with the newest incarnation of the Doctor..... I did this below a little while ago to capture my concerns:

There Are No Mosquitos in Phoenix

Maybe I'm just gullible, and typically bow to the wisdom and good counsel of my elders.  An experience recently has caused me to wonder if I should be more cautious:

Yard Work

Wow...doing yard work in the middle of summer in Arizona is an exercise of self-flagellation of sorts.  It was past 100 degrees when we started and when we ended, I had sweat enough to water all the bushes we trimmed and lawn that was mowed.  Talk about the circle of life.......

We Believe in Obeying the Law

Looks like I am teaching the little ones at church again this coming Sunday and the lesson is on the importance of laws, and our belief that we have a responsibility as a good citizen to obey the law.  The reality is that "We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law." See HERE for more information.

  Nonetheless, I thought I would create a fun little badge for each of the kids to take home with them, similar to the one I did last time, and see if they like it.  Here is how it came out:

Raven

In my last post I mentioned I was working on a little project for my brother.  Tonight I continued the doodle and began on the bird in his poem.  I love the confidence of ravens.  This is starting to come together.

Bees and poetry

Recently, I was called to work with the 6 year old kids in the primary at my church.  This has been a radical change from what I have been used to for the past 20 years, yet, I am enjoying the change...even though I am still stumbling around trying to figure it out.  The fun thing is that I get to make them things to take home as part of the lessons that I have been giving.  Tomorrow's class is on obedience...so, I made these little goodies for them to take home:

It is nice to have a legitimate reason to draw an insect and to give it away...and in the Lord's name, no less!  Here's to hoping we have a lesson soon that has something to do with spiders!

On another note, my brother recently asked me to read a poem he wrote and sketch out what came to mind after reviewing it.  So I started doodling tonight and thought I would give a little preview.  When I'm done, I'll post the finished product, and with permission, I'll post his poem too...

Enjoy:

Contemplating the Robin's Fall

Much has been said in the media for the past couple of days about Robin Williams.  I, for one, did not know the man, only some of the characters that he played (but played well.)  My wife and I spoke tonight about the impact of his life, his loss, the demons he must have been fighting, the good he did while here, and other things.  When I was younger, my favorite movie was The Dead Poet's Society.  I watched it over and over, and felt a desire to LIVE.  It's fitting, then, that in my little sketch of Mr. Williams, it is accompanied by a poem.

Herbarium - Oleander

Recently, I spoke again to a dear friend after somewhat of a lengthy period of time in which circumstance prevented us from communicating much.  It was an insightful conversation, and I was reminded how time really cannot tarnish deep and sincere friendships.  Amongst other things, he spoke of his desire to begin journaling about the various types of vegetation in his surroundings.  We spoke about the different possibilities of layout and format.  Listening to his excitement about such an endeavor, and after doing a little research about the formats and history of herbariums, I decided to do an entry in my sketchbook of some plants that are very common in my part of the country.

Another Bird

Yesterday I went to the Riparian Preserve next to our house and was impressed with just how much wildlife was there.  A multiplicity of rabbits, but even more birds.  They are all so fascinating.  Equally interesting is the fact that birds just sing, and sing.  I love it.
Did this sketch thinking about the birds.

Mad Hatter

Got a new hat today....decided to do a quick selfie and study in gouache in the sketchbook.  Enjoy.

Sadie

We have the best dog in the world, except for when she is the worst.  When back in Georgia we acquired a lovely little Beagle puppy and we fast fell in love.  Until, of course, we realized that she has no self control when it comes to food, and a bladder the size of her brain...(both can be measured in millimeters.)  Last night, after being scolded by the wife for sharing a bit of my snack with her...I decided to do a little sketch of our beloved little beagle, Sadie.

Thanksgiving Point, and other stuff

Recently, my family returned to Utah for a brief vacation and to see family.  While there, we went to Thanksgiving Point Gardens which were rather breathtaking.  I took many photos of the flowers, which were really quite spectacular.  Upon returning, I sketched the following, trying to capture a handful of the images that were left in my mind from the trip:

Also, while there, a visit to my wife's father's house afforded me a few minutes to sketch a beautiful tree that they had in their back yard with a swing on it.  This tree has seen many grandchildren spend many hours swinging underneath the brawny, black limbs next to their swimming pool.

Leaves

Recently we moved here to Arizona, and I am still getting used to the lack of lush foliage and greenery.  I'm not complaining, rather, am simply acknowledging that ti will take time to acclimate to the different environment.  Today I started doodling in the ol' sketchbook of joy, and this is what came out...maybe a little of the longing for the gardens of Georgia...

Enjoy

Warped Selfies

One of the things that me and the kids love to do when we are bored is to take the digital camera and catch pics of each other with the strange lenses that warp reality.  We've come up with a few great moments.  I noticed while flipping through the sketchbook, that I hadn't posted a couple of the sketches that I did of two pics that we took and laughed at repeatedly.  One is a selfie of me...the other of my daughter.  I'll let you decide which is which.

A couple of other quickies that I haven't posted yet....

I noticed that I had a couple of other entries from the past month that I haven't posted yet from my sketchbook.  Enjoy.....

Recently, I listened again to a talk given by Elder Holland to the members of my church a little while ago.  It was particularly timely, since people seem to so quickly freak out when things don't go exactly the way that they would like.  I sketched this one while listening to that talk....

I knocked this out shortly after arriving in Arizona a couple of months ago, and recognizing a noted temperature change from whence I came....

This one was done a few weeks ago after going to the Desert Botanical Garden...fell in love with this little flower growing next to a cactus.

Bird on a Wire

Father's Day is tomorrow, and I spent my day lounging around with the brush and pen in hand.....best Father's Day present ever...just to be able to paint, listening to music, without any other worries for a few hours:

Number 18

I knocked out EDM 18 today in between an oil change and a car wash while knocking out my chores.  The challenge:  draw the scene from your window...

Back to the E.D.M. Challenges

Now that I'm in a new city, waiting for my family to join me, I have all this free time at night and realize I could fill it with doodling once more.  So, to get the juices flowing, I've returned to the E.D.M. Challenge list and will continue where I left off.  Here is Challenge 17 "draw a musical instrument."  Drew it doing laundry and painted it up after supper tonight.

A little more action on the can.

A couple of months ago I painted a face on a can but got bored with it.  Last night after the mandatory games, stuffing of face with finger foods, and the post feeding sugar buzz, I chose to put some clothes on that little lady and turn her into a gypsy.

Here she is fully clothed: