BUDDHA IN OUR BACKYARD

BUDDHA is in our backyard.  He stays calm and peaceful and reminds me that I should too.  We feed the birds here, especially the bluebirds who have a nest in the bushes high up and come back year after year with new babies.  Sometimes I sit outside with BUDDHA and rest.  All part of training the mind and not letting my ego con me.  The drawing was done with Uniball pen and watercolor in a Moleskine.

OUR LIVING ROOM

This is our living room...well, part of it.  There are very high ceilings and I was able to hang several large paintings which is nice.  Since this drawing we have broken down and bought a "smart" TV.  Much larger(42") than the old RCA.  We refuse to subscribe to cable and are able to receive PBS anyway.  We do subscribe to Netflix streaming so we can catch up on the last 20 years of TV shows.  And they do have art documentaries.  My drawing is in a Canson hardcover sketchbook and I used PITT artist pens.

OUR YELLOW HOUSE

Our yellow house.  My nephew calls it the yellow box.  It is nice and peaceful here in Monmouth, Oregon.  It is a college town (Western Oregon University) population about 9,000 until the students leave for summer then it is about 3,000.  The kids are great and I'm confident the future is bright. If you see me drawing outside say hi and get out your sketchbook.

PARIS!

One of my favorite bookstores is in Paris, France.  The last time we visited George Whitman was still running it.  Now that he has passed his daughter is running it the same way George did.  Young writers are allowed to live there in exchange for working an hour or two in the store which allows them to have  the rest of the day to spend on their writing.A good book about the store is Time Was Soft There by Jeremy Mercer.  It is time we head back for a visit to the City of Lights!

BITING ADRIAN TOMINE

Tomine has a fantastic sketchbook published as well as several New Yorker magazine covers and graphic novels.  Really great work.  Clean and deceptively simple.  This is my version of one of his best works.  Done in watercolor in a Moleskine.

BITING STEVEN REDDY

Another artist's work that I study is that of Steven Reddy.  I bought his book Now Where Was I?.  It combines great art and writing.

BITING TOMMY KANE

One of my favorite artists is Tommy Kane.  His style is straightforward and is the closest to the way I draw.  I've noticed that kids respond to Tommy's work as well as the work of van Gogh.  There is something immediate and authentic there.  I am looking forward to attending his lecture at Sketchbook Skool.