Dogs

One way I take breaks from illustration and panicking about how to get more illustration jobs is painting dogs.  All of these are painted from original photographs weren't very good until I painted them.

The blue one is my old pup, Corky.
The green one is a weiner dog I saw on the street.
The yellow one is Pipsi, my cousin's pug.
The purple one is Maggie, a dog that often comes to the Friday night wine tastings I attend.

The Newest in Paint

My new piece for Whurk: the Virginia Cultural Review went live a few weeks ago.  You can see and read the poem that inspired it here.

I find I've been doing a lot more painting now that I'm not stuck in my office all day, and now that I'm not limited to only what I can fit on the coffee shop tables. I'll paint for a warm-up, I'll do sketches in paint.

Sometimes I sell them, in the form of putting them for sale on my shop, and not actually selling any of them. My shop is here, and even liking the art helps boost its visibility, if you don't want to buy anything. It might help get it in front of someone who does.

Now that it's the second half of the month, deadlines are rolling in fast, and I haven't had as much time to do actual art as I would like, so consumed am I with sketching, most of which is incredibly ugly and not worth the effort of posting. 

I never drink... wine...

They say red wine is good for your heart.

The checkerboard table took forever to paint. I'm sure I'll forget how boring that was by tomorrow.

Player Piano

It's not a piano, but there's no word for a typewriter that types itself.

Anatomically Incorrect

I am trying out a new schedule of trying to create one new personal piece every week, at least.  This is a half success. It started out as a drawing of how it feels as an artist to try to reach your true inner self, and never being quite sure if you've found it.  But I got sloppy near the end because I was using red pencil that doesn't erase, and the bottom figure is about as anatomically correct as a melting Ken doll.

Still, I think I might frame it, and I think the idea is good enough that I might do another version, in a different color, and use more reference next time.

Mohawk

When things go frustratingly in the illustration business, when I am, say, almost deliberately snubbed from an opportunity to table at a big upcoming convention with a lot of industry professionals attending in favor of local non-attendees who were late with their applications, this is the sort of art I make.

I'm getting more into painting, since computer colored work only sells moderately well, and I hate sitting in front of the computer anyway.

Inktober Day 15

Someone wanted a Gonzo. 
I wanted to practice watercolor. 
Everyone wins!

Noveltea

How rare is this kind of moment these days?  The kind where you feel okay just ignoring your phone.  Let me tell you, it's AWESOME.

First watercolor I've done in months.

Pop Quiz

Let's do a little market research.

Of my art, which style do you prefer?

Click the link above to answer.

Writer's block...

Four hours, with no eraser. Not based off of anyone in particular.

But these are the people who compete with me for comfortable seats in the coffee house.

And then he went for a bike ride...

After getting home from the cafe, I ate lunch, unfolded the newspaper, and became bored. It was a really, REALLY nice day outside, and it seemed a shame to spend it alone, inside. So I took a bike ride. I rode to the Market Street Market, bought a scone (which I didn't finish, but brought home; it was chocolate mint) and read the paper, in the little area they set up for people who buy deli sandwiches. I, a rebel through and through, ate a scone there. And then, since I had my equipment with me (I really thought I didn't) I started to draw.

Now, here's the difference between drawing in a market and drawing at a cafe. People in the market move very fast. Even the eating people were in and out in half an hour. The one person I could draw, and to be frank, wanted to draw, was the girl at the check-out (name unknown). I go to the market every Sunday to pick up groceries, and we have a nice little 30-second exchange about weather or whatever. It's a nice change of pace from the cafe, where everyone avoids eye contact. Of course, drawing her is a different experience. There are people moving through the store, wanting to buy stuff, so painting this was a little like a time-lapse photo. The customers just blow by; you can't even register them, and she stays in the same spot. I could rely on her being there in a few minutes even though at the moment she was blocked from view by an elderly lady pushing a basket.

At those moments, I ate scone.

Also, I finally got in some scenery, which is nonexistent in the cafe.

When I was nearly finished, she came over to see, seemed pleased by the results, and then I had to go.

The End.