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.  

OSCAR AND CAPTAIN AMERICA

Here is Oscar with the Captain America I drew for him.  It's a copy of Kirby 11" x 17" Canson comicbook artboard.  Regular 2B pencil, Speedball superblack ink with crowquill pen, coloring done with PITT artist brush pens.

LEARNING WITH BURNE HOGARTH

One of my favorite teachers is the late Burne Hogarth.  All of his books are fantastic and quite instructive http://burnehogarth.com/blog/.  The writing in the books is easy to comprehend and the illustrations are fun to copy.  This one was done with pencil in a Strathmore 400 series sketch book 9" x 12".
The paper is ok but I learned that I do not like spiral sketchbooks because they can't take the abuse of travel the way hard cover sketchbooks can.

FROM SOCIAL GRACES - SKETCHBOOK PROJECT 2014

This appears in my sketchbook submitted to the Sketchbook Project of 2014 http://www.sketchbookproject.com/  I used PITT artist brush pens which are great!  They hold water proof india ink and most importantly they are odorless.

BITING JACK KIRBY

This is a panel by Jack Kirby that I "bit" using ink on bristol board in the old school style size of 15" x 20". I like to practice by studying and copying the masters.  Although I never went to art school I found out that copying is one of the teaching methods that have been used for centuries. It is a great way to learn how to closely see and observe.  Learning how to draw is really all about learning how to see.  Of course I wouldn't try to pass off another's work as my own or sell a forged work, so I remain on solid moral and ethical ground. Copying or "biting" other artists is viewed as paying a compliment to their work. Jack Kirby was nicknamed "The King" because practically is comic book history. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Kirby
For some strange reason people regard comic art as lesser than so called fine art.  In my opinion Jack Kirby's art has the power of any top fine artist.    

APRIL FOOLS!

This is one of the JOKER I drew for my grandson Oscar in the Netherlands.  He is very much into Batman and all comics (me too).  This is ink on bristol board.  I used a Winsor Newton Series 7 sable brush and also a croquill pen.  I also like just plain synthetic brushes.  This is Speedball super black ink which is nice and dark.  The standard size for comic board is 11" x 17" but I also like to use the old time size from the 1940-50's era of 15" x 22" which I size myself.  For fun I also draw splash pages 24" x 36" poster size.

SUNFLOWER and IRISES FOR TARA

I painted this using acrylic on canvas for our Tara back in 1994 when she was in college.  She is married now with her husband three children living in the Netherlands.  I am holding onto this painting for her. One day I had it hanging in our garage and a man and woman pulled up in their car and asked how much I wanted for it.  I jokingly said $10,000 and they agreed to the price.  Then I had to tell them it wasn't mine to sell.  Perhaps I should have sold it, split the $ with Tara and painted another one.  These great ideas never occur to me at the time they are needed.

MORE SUNFLOWERS

More sunflowers that I painted using acrylic on paper (24" x 36") which is a standard poster size that I like. Two books that I enjoyed about them were Sunflowers by Debra Mancoff and Sunflowers a collection of inspiring photos and words published by Courage books.

SUNFLOWERS and IRISES

I love to paint sunflowers and irises.  I painted this one using acrylic on board and it is big! ( 87"x 48").  I'm reading several books about van Gogh these days.  If you are into his art check out The Sunflowers are mine by Marin Bailey, van Gogh at Work by Marije Vellekoop and the outstanding biography van Gogh the Life by Steven Naifeh and Gregory Smith.

FOOT COMFORT

I'm not giving up my Birkenstocks.  I have been mocked for wearing them many times.  No matter.  They may be ugly but they are so comfortable.  Freedom for the toes!  And the soft footbed can't be beat.  Just remember to break them in a little at a time.

CRUSH WINE BAR AND TASTING ROOM

This is a great place in Monmouth, Oregon to have a bite to eat, a glass of wine or a pint of beer.  This year it won the Food and Restaurant Service Award at the Monmouth-Independence Community Awards Banquet. Stop in and say hi to the friendly owner Josh. He even lets me draw in there!