Pen and Sword, Art and Board

Oregonian Land

2011-12-02T11:51:00.000-08:00

Watercolor 5"x7"

It's almost time to breathe and have a holiday!!!

2011-12-01T11:45:00.000-08:00

So after a classic night of no sleep for working on portfolios and (not really) preparing for the first final beginning at 8:30 this morning... I'm bushed and ready to fall asleep on my feet. I was in a daze, practically sleep-testing, as my brain was definitely not there as I moved rather robotically through the questions. (BTW: I'm pretty sure I have close to 100% despite my lack of attentiveness... Nice. Test anxiety was definitely far from my mind this morning!)

I will be posting all the work I've been holding out on showing this semester. So check every day (except Sundays) for something new!

To start the parade of art, we have a nice pair of stems to a pretty flower... Different from what I've been known for, but I really enjoyed making this and plan to do a series.

And for those who have asked/wondered, yes, I was my own model on this one.

The Danger of Being a Pawn...

2011-11-22T13:18:00.000-08:00

This concept piece is about the danger of becoming prey to another's alluring but devastating wiles. This was rendered in pastel pencil.

Zombie Time

2011-11-10T13:37:00.000-08:00

So my latest illustration was based on a book review of a 16 year old who got turned into a zombie. apparently there were mixed reviews as to whether it was tame or absolutely "disgusting." Here's my take.

watercolor on illustration board, finished in aprox. 2.5 hours.

"Pieces of Me" Self Portrait

2011-11-09T20:04:00.000-08:00

One of my design courses this semester focuses on making photography-only based art using filters, re-sizing, layering, colorizing (as opposed to painting) etc as the basis for making a piece, rather than typical illustration/design practices (ie: drawing). So here's a self portrait using those guidelines. Different from my usual, but kinda fun to try. This was all done in Photoshop.

The Borrowers are back!

2011-10-28T13:50:00.000-07:00

Medical neglect

2011-10-27T13:21:00.001-07:00

Color correction on a color photo

2011-10-13T20:54:00.000-07:00

So tonight's tinkering was playing with adjustment tools to make a wedding photo pop. When Brant and I got married about to be four years ago, it had been a bright blue, beautiful, pleasant-weathered December in San Diego. However, the morning we were wed, it was very overcast. That meant that all the lighting was even, making for great photography, however, much of the rich color we enjoyed was lost. So.... Here is a before and after of the color correction process I employed this evening.

Before

After

This morning's "Skull Study"

2011-10-13T11:33:00.000-07:00

Today I was experimenting with dry brush technique in watercolor. To do this, I practiced on (what I think is) a deer skull. Started at 9:40 am, done at 10:50 am. :) Not too shabby.

8.5"x11" watercolor

Colorizing black & white photos

2011-10-06T21:15:00.000-07:00

I took this image was taken from my mother's high school yearbook! Amazing how contemporary these kids still look. I used brown, blue, purple, and reds for this.

Stolen

2011-10-04T13:23:00.000-07:00

A departure from the normal topics and concepts of my choice... This illustration was based on an awful magazine article about a multi-generationally involved exorcism of a little 3 yr old. It was gory, beyond questionable in practice, and by all accounts unwarranted. The article focuses most on the accidental death of the grandfather involved who was the main conductor of the unauthorized act. So, instead of focusing on the physical and psychological health of the little girl, the article villainized the police who rightfully intervened on her behalf. The girl has since been moved to live with a safer side of the family, but personally, the article should have redirected its focus instead of artificially stirring the political pot. But, that's show business these days. So this was my response to the piece. All children deserve to be loved and protected from harm. When that trust is broken, it takes a great deal to overcome the pain and other consequences. Moral: love your children and don't abuse them in any form.

This piece will be featured in a student show coming up. I'll post more as info emerges.

15"x20" ink, graphite, watercolor

Playing with texture!

2011-09-29T21:19:00.000-07:00

Photoshop fun -- I think this is a style I'd like to play with further...

“The Scarf” by Carla Veldman

2011-09-21T16:48:00.000-07:00

The Scarf from Carla Veldman on Vimeo.

Genome Wars!

2011-09-08T12:12:00.000-07:00

This acrylic and ink piece was based on an article discussing funding issues that arose between the men behind the Human Genome Project. So.... Of course one should see little chromosome men duking it out!

Still Life, Veggie Life

2011-09-01T12:40:00.000-07:00

Today's watercolor practice: cabbage, watermelon, green pepper, onion, and carrots. This is the mock up I'll be using for my next painting.

One seriously impressive puppet!

2011-08-10T11:17:00.000-07:00

This is a show I HAVE to see:

PREVIEW: “How to Train Your Dragon” Stage Show by amid
August 9, 2011 3:46 am

Check out this impressive preview of one of the “cast members” from the upcoming $20 million-plus How to Train Your Dragon arena show that opens next March in Melbourne and Sydney. After striking out with the Shrek musical (which is performing better in London than New York), DreamWorks appears to be on the right track with its second stage effort. They’ve outsourced the show’s creative direction to the Sydney, Australia firm Creature Technology Company, the animatronics arm of Global Creatures, which previously created a successful arena show based on the BBC series “Walking with Dinosaurs.”

From the Brisbane Times:

[The show will include] at least 24 dragons for a show that will include acrobats and aerial artists, projections and flying creatures. The five-tier set will be backed by a 60-metre screen and the action will unfold on 1000 square metres of stage studded with projectors to provide an immersive experience. . . . ”DreamWorks didn’t want us to be the same as the film. They wanted us to create something new and magical,” [said the show's director Nigel Jamieson.] ”We were looking for people with physical skills and humour, and clowning, but also with youthful skills. So we’ve very much taken up the hip-hop and parkour kind of thing. It’s a very different sort of cast and DreamWorks have been very supportive of that.”

Originally posted on Cartoon Brew

Winnie the Pooh

2011-07-19T22:04:00.000-07:00

So early this afternoon, Brant and I enjoyed historic Grass Valley, Cornish pasties (pron. past-ease), and a matinee at the charming Del Oro theater. The feature was proceeded by a short on Nessie, which had great character in the animation, and a truism about what "just right" means. Winnie the Pooh was utterly charming with beautiful, scenic backgrounds and fun animation sequences. Not as charming as the originals, personally, and some of the voice work didn't quite fit with characters, but overall it came very close. It will certainly join our collection when released to DVD. In short, it made great, innocent, light-hearted fare that two adults on a little date could enjoy happily.

Andrew Stanton's "John Carter"

2011-07-15T15:16:00.000-07:00

Andrew Stanton is significant as he was the director of WALL·E, Finding Nemo, A Bug's Life, and writer for Toy Story 3, BURN-E, WALL·E, Finding Nemo, Monsters, Inc., A Bug's Life, and Toy Story

Studio Ghibli's "From Up On Poppy Hill"

2011-07-13T14:19:00.000-07:00

The story was originally written in 1980 by Tetsurō Sayama and drawn by Chizuru Takahashi. This film adaptation is the collaborative genius between Gorō and Hayao Miyazaki.

“Isolated Dogs” Gobelins

2011-07-12T01:36:00.000-07:00

2011 student project by De Rémi Bastie, Nicolas Deghani, Jonathan Djob-Nkondo, Paul LaColley, Nicolas Pegon, Jérémy Pires, Kevin Manach

Note: This does have some profanity. But excellent animation.

I don't draw monsters.

2011-06-20T01:36:00.000-07:00

I have learned a very valuable lesson!
Drawing monsters is hard!
     I don't draw monsters. Really! In even considering how to design a monster, I draw a blank. I draw dragons as oversized reptiles/dinos/birds/fish, but that's it. And firebirds, which must always be beautiful... But as much exposure to video games and bad junior/high school boy art as I've had over the lifetime, it has occurred to me I have no idea how to design an original, appealing yet utterly appalling, scary creature. For monsters, if you will, I immensely enjoy the work of John Howe and those who created the imagery we know and love in The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, Pan's Labyrinth, and the awesome oracle creature at the end of Hellboy: Golden Army (which I had hoped to see more than 30 sec. of). Of course, I give great credit to the stop motion genius of Ray Harryhausen and the puppetry of Jim Henson creations. I loved their works since childhood. Although I technically haven't seen any of the Alien movies all in one go and not edited for tv, I must admit that there is a primal, believable reaction to the design choices for the villain(s). I also must confess a wicked pleasure in absolutely horrid, worse than B rated horror films, such as Tremors, and things that MST3K rightly makes fun of (go watch "The Final Sacrifice" or "Space Mutiny" on youtube to die laughing, even though these aren't their monster fliks).
     That said, I just tried my hand at not only character design (which I've yet to take a class in) and digital painting (once again, no training yet), but designing monsters.
     Why?
     If I created a doable/appealing 10 story (within game) colossus for RIFT, there is the potential of receiving $1500 and other similar prizes as the Starbucks competition. Deadline was midnight tonight, and winner will be announced on Brant's birthday, July 7th. A lot more accomplished digital painters turned out for this one. Designs varied from "great" to "whatthe?!?" to "really ugly, but you could see it being used."
     To see the competition this round, look here.
     Each monster made had to serve a specific realm for play. I ended up completing:

One digital piece for the Life Plane, (which upon comparison with other entries appeared cute...)

And one graphite piece for the Water Plane (which though scarier, does not show the size comparison to man as asked).

We shall see if there's any success from this. What do you think? Are these monsters believable? Would you want to see them in a game?

Starbucks design competition

2011-06-16T15:12:00.000-07:00

Starbucks just had an art competition asking for a design that was about what made a person happy. So yesterday I worked until minutes before the midnight deadline to make it in. We will find out the results on June 29, 2011. I don't think I'll win, sad to say. The piece was not quite how I wanted it to turn in (ie: more color and easier to read) but it was still fun to make on the design end.

First:

$1,250 USD
$50 Starbucks Card
32GB WiFi iPad2
Wacom Intuos4 Medium Tablet
10,000 deviantART Points
One Year Premium Membership to deviantART

Second:

$750 USD
$25 Starbucks Card
16GB WiFi iPad2
5,000 deviantART Points
6 Month Premium Membership to deviantART

Third:

$500 USD
$10 Starbucks Card
16GB WiFi iPad2
2,500 deviantART Points
3 Month Premium Membership to deviantART

Followed by 47 semi-finalists who'll get a $10 Starbucks card and 800 points.

To see the competition, you can see here.

"My Little Pony" Rides Again?

2011-06-09T14:35:00.000-07:00

The biggest surprise of my entertainment life came this afternoon thanks to a post on Cartoon Brew. Many remember the toys/early 90's show of My Little Pony. Overly sweet, not terribly compelling as far as stories and design work go. Definitely, it belonged to a strict demographic and time.

NOT ANYMORE.

Wow. Seriously? It is fantastic. Brant and I watched in utter grinning amazement. The execution was great on so many levels, that the only questions had against enjoyment was the title and original source material. But we loved this remake. Below is the pilot and an article to explain that strange, happy feeling you'll get as you watch the show. May it blow you away with fun!

My Little Pony Corrals Unlikely Fanboys Known as ‘Bronies’

By Angela Watercutter
Each day, out-of-work computer programmer Luke Allen self-medicates by watching animated ponies have magical adventures.
The 32-year-old, who lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico, loves his daily fix of My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic, and he’s not alone. He’s part of a growing group of “bronies” (“bro ponies”) — men who are fans of a TV show largely intended for a much younger audience.
“First we can’t believe this show is so good, then we can’t believe we’ve become fans for life, then we can’t believe we’re walking down the pink aisle at Toys R Us or asking for the girl’s toy in our Happy Meal,” Allen said in an e-mail to Wired.com. “Then we can’t believe our friends haven’t seen it yet, then we can’t believe they’re becoming bronies too.”
Every nerd has a favorite TV show they watch religiously and know inside and out. But My Little Pony seems like an unlikely object of fanboy love. Since the show debuted last fall on cable channel Hub TV, it’s attracted a growing number of male fanatics. Their love of the show is internet neo-sincerity at its best: In addition to watching the show, these teenage, twenty- and thirtysomething guys are creating pony art, posting fan videos on YouTube and feeding threads on 4chan (and their own chan, Ponychan).
They also risk life, limb and being trolled to death on the /co/ board to fawn over a small gaggle of ponies with names like Twilight Sparkle, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash.
The fan videos might be the main reason anyone outside the brony community knows the show as a meme. Nerd blog Topless Robot, for example, is committed to following My Little Pony fan videos. One YouTube user posted an 8-bit chiptune anthology of songs from the show, and the A.V. Club recently called the trend of mashing up My Little Pony clips with movie trailers a “meme champion.”
“I believe the fan base for this new generation of MLP is one of the most amazing/unexpected things to come out of the internet in a long while,” Henri Yount, a 20-year-old from Virginia whose My Little Pony mashups with movie trailers have gotten nearly 350,000 views on YouTube, said in an e-mail to Wired.com (see his pony-riffic spin on Watchmen above).
“When I say ‘amazing,’ I’m referring to the crazy amount of content and the hard-working people who produce material every day, which I haven’t seen in many other fan bases,” Yount added.
To see that dedication, one need only take a quick look at a recent series of “Hitler Reacts To …” videos that show Der Führer as a dedicated brony infuriated over the removal of several My Little Pony videos from YouTube. Or the high school presentation one young man did on the physics of the show. (A note to other news outlets: Physics Brony’s name isn’t Stephen Magnet as has been reported. Stephen is right, but the last name is a reference to “Steven Magnet” — an inside joke amongst bronies.)

Shaun runs the My Little Pony fan site Equestria Daily.

YouTube isn’t the only place online creative communities are gathering in pony love. The online artist collective deviantArt had, at last count, nearly 90,000 pieces of My Little Pony artwork and hundreds more are going up each day (on one random day in May, about 330 pieces were submitted).
My Little Pony creations have taken off in other areas as well. On Equestria Daily, a fan blog that on first blush could be mistaken for a fifth-grade girl’s locker door, site curator Shaun (he asked that his last name be withheld) struggled to find a half-dozen pieces of art to post in a given day back in January. He now claims he can easily fill a post with 30 images.
Shaun isn’t just impressed with the amount of new content bronies are submitting to his site, he’s also amazed by his own fascination with the show.
“Honestly, if someone were to have told me I’d be writing a pony blog seven months ago, I would have called them insane,” the 23-year-old from Arizona said in an e-mail to Wired.com.
Equestria Daily started back in January as a fun place to collect fanfic and news about the show, Shaun said, but “it has, obviously, evolved way past that.” The brony hub gets roughly 175,000 pageviews per day now, up from about 20,000 just a few months ago, he said.

‘Honestly, if someone were to have told me I’d be writing a pony blog seven months ago, I would have called them insane.’

Most people over the age of, say, 20 remember My Little Pony as a saccharine-smelling Hasbro toy and cartoon from the 1980s. In the decades since the release of the first line of ponies in 1982, there have been a number of dolls, TV shows and direct-to-DVD releases related to the My Little Pony name. Yet, save for a pop cultural archivist here and there (or perhaps a raver), very few of those variations have found an audience beyond the age-3-and-up children for whom My Little Pony is intended.
So, why the breathless adoration? Some fans say the show’s appeal lies in good illustration, excellent characters or, as Allen put it, a “perfect storm of ’80s nostalgia and cultural irony.” But nearly every fan Wired.com contacted can be far more specific about the source of the show’s genius: Lauren Faust.
Faust, a 36-year-old who manned the latest reboot of the My Little Pony franchise for Hub TV at the request of Hasbro Studios, has a bit of a history handling shows with crossover appeal. Prior to her tenure on My Little Pony, Faust was a writer and storyboard artist on The Powerpuff Girls, another show that had appeal way beyond its intended demographic.
While Faust acknowledges that her work on The Powerpuff Girls influenced her creative process and that she intentionally looked to create a show that could be enjoyed by adults, she said she’s genuinely surprised about the large number of dedicated bronies, whom she clearly adores.

Lauren Faust
Image courtesy Hub TV

“This might be a little short-sighted on my part, but I just assumed that any adult man who didn’t have a little girl wouldn’t even give it a try,” Faust said in a phone interview. “The fact that they did and that they were open-minded and cool enough and secure in their masculinity enough to embrace it and love it and go online and talk about how much they love it — I’m kind of proud.”
Faust brings up a good point. Aside from a few brony-haters, blessedly very little (negative) hay seems to get made over dudes liking something that’s “supposed to be for girls” (like, for example, the way girls would be side-eyed for liking Transformers in years past).
Despite a tacit understanding that some people might be surprised by their choice of entertainment, most bronies show little to no compunction about their fandom. They shouldn’t have to. And, intentionally or not, they might be bucking the gender socialization of things considered to be “for girls” or “for boys.”
For at least one man who worked on My Little Pony with Faust, enjoyment of the show isn’t a matter of boys versus girls — it’s about appreciating good stories.
“I had a Google Alert for the show and I kept getting alerts to comments that people were making that were like, ‘I’m a guy and I’m 22 and I love this, why do I love this!?’” said Jayson Thiessen, the show’s supervising director. “I did see what they liked about it because I liked it.”
And the Hub is making more overt attempts to embrace the brony audience. In an extended promo video for the show released recently — a take on Katy Perry’s “California Gurls” called “Equestria Girls” — the ponies lead by Pinkie Pie sing the praises of “our bronies.”
Embracing the brony audience could be a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow for Hasbro because, as Shaun notes, some bronies would like better merch, adding “the current toys are good for the originally intended target audience of 7-year-old girls … but Lauren Faust and the team behind the actual cartoon did an amazing job of accidentally targeting us instead.”
Faust, however, left the show after the first season aired its final episode early last month. Discussing her departure on her deviantArt journal, she said of her colleagues: “Together I think we helped prove that ‘for girls’ does not have to automatically equal ‘lame.’” She also thanked “the kids, the parents and all you bronies” for supporting the show, adding: “The array of people this show has touched has completely exceeded my wildest expectations!”

‘I learned more about theory of mind, friendships and social interactions from this season than I had in the previous 31 years of life.’

If that sounds like hyperbole, it’s not.
“This weird alchemy that Lauren Faust tapped into when she set out to make the show accessible to kids and their parents hooks into the male geek’s reptilian hindbrain and removes a lifetime’s behavioral indoctrination against pink,” said New Mexico brony Allen. “As a person with Asperger syndrome, I learned more about theory of mind, friendships and social interactions from this season than I had in the previous 31 years of life.”
So, what’s a brony to do while he waits for the show to return next fall? It’s possible that several months without new episodes to power the pony posse will cause the buzz to die down. It seems far more likely, though, that the show’s absence will only make the bronies’ hearts grow fonder.
“Season 1 is over,” said Shaun from Equestria Daily, “and I honestly expected everything to die down a bit (mainly so I could finally get a break!), but it seems like the fans are more ravenous than ever for more content.”

Writing update

2011-06-05T03:43:00.000-07:00

Evenings Two and Three on working on Feyted has brought me to page 34! Having fun with pathos and historical fact checking this run. :) Now if only I could devote entire days to writing, we could see some faster progress....

Keep checking back for the next progress report!

A still from Pixar's upcoming "Brave"

2011-06-01T08:23:00.000-07:00

Originally posted on Cartoon Brew.

Be very excited for this one.

"Feyted" Anouncement

2011-05-25T14:59:00.000-07:00

Just to keep you in the anticipatory loop, I'm working on a story, "Feyted." This is a fairytale retelling of Grimm's "The Goose Girl," the viewpoint coming from the Lady-in-Waiting. Why would she have been considered as a suitable replacement for the Princess? Please read to find out.
This was born and outlined in my head sometime around the point I was first married. Sadly, it got neglected and dusty due to other projects and events needing to be put first. But my writing bug is back! And the result? "Feyted" looks to be quite promising. The touch of Grimm will definitely be there. The goal? Finish by the end of summer for publication and printing. We'll see how the latter goes, but I will be updating on its progress regularly.

Update for May 24-25th:
First two chapters completed!

Thank you for your interest and keep checking back for more news!

Phenomenal animation!

2011-05-17T16:32:00.000-07:00

My husband and I recently discovered this jewel by Nick DiLiberto. "Medusa" has great pacing and the movement is just riveting. Very raw feeling. Do watch! It's impressive.

If video doesn't appear, click here.

Color and line quality reminds me of our friend Jake Wyatt, who also seems to have a penchant for this feel.

Fun seeing Brant's former instructor in the news!

2011-05-16T17:26:00.014-07:00

Professor's art is 'Google Doodle' for a day

Thought of You from Ryan J Woodward on Vimeo.

If you’ve seen the viral video, by BYU professor Ryan Woodward, there was something familiar about Google's home page Wednesday, May 11.
A 12-second “Google Doodle” celebrating the 117th birthday of influential dancer and choreographer Martha Graham was created by none other than Woodward.
"It's kind of fun because a lot of people are reaching out to me and saying, 'I saw the Google thing and thought, hey, they ripped off Ryan Woodward,’" said Woodward. “Then they see it was actually me and they are excited."
Woodward said email is now flowing into his accounts like a constant digital river. Both of his websites have also crashed today. (They’re back up now.)
Woodward said the way the whole thing went down was quite the coincidence. Google reached out to Woodward in March, a couple weeks before the Martha Graham Dance Company was slated to visit BYU for a performance.
When Woodward agreed to do the animation, Google offered to fly him out to New York to meet with the dance company. Then Woodward realized the company was going to be at BYU.
“The Google guys were like, ‘You’ve got to be kidding me,’” Woodward said.
So, instead, the Google people came to BYU and Woodward was able to work with the Martha Graham Dance Company dancers and choreographers in BYU’s Harris Fine Arts Center to create the animation.
Woodward said the animation includes just less than 300 frames, or 24 frames for each of the 12 seconds of the piece.
Founded in 1926 by dancer and choreographer Graham, The Martha Graham Dance Company is the oldest and most celebrated contemporary dance company in America.

Google - Martha Graham from Ryan J Woodward on Vimeo.

If you like what you have seen, check out Ryan's website. His work is just fantastic.

"Journalism in the Age of Data" by Geoff McGhee

2011-05-11T17:46:00.000-07:00

Journalism in the Age of Data from Geoff McGhee on Vimeo.

Journalists are coping with the rising information flood by borrowing data visualization techniques from computer scientists, researchers and artists. Some newsrooms are already beginning to retool their staffs and systems to prepare for a future in which data becomes a medium. But how do we communicate with data, how can traditional narratives be fused with sophisticated, interactive information displays? Watch the full version with annotations and links at datajournalism.stanford.edu. Produced during a 2009-2010 John S. Knight Journalism Fellowship at Stanford University.

This is a very interesting piece on the importance and value of visualization in better understanding important information. As the film notes, we humans are built based on and for a visual existence. Visual intelligence is the most widespread, and now educators are starting to create courses that better suit children who have this as their primary tool. It's only natural that media sources have begun to realize its usefulness too. People don't seem to fully comprehend how much art there is in the science of statistics and how to best convey information. But hopefully, people will come to a greater realization of "artistic" potential in the years to come, allowing for clearer insight and decision-making.

Competition Results?

2011-02-26T10:22:00.001-08:00

Remember the quick eco-friendy-dino-with-relation-to-birds-and-misconceptions design I did, featured here? So that $250 prize? Didn't go to me, but rather the featured creation on the green paper. I was however a finalist, but after seeing the winner, I didn't feel very good. Oh well. Congrats to whomever it was who was recognized.

International Wine Awards

2011-02-18T16:37:00.001-08:00

I just created a mosaic template today for this year's Rotary sponsored International Wine Awards held in Lodi, CA. This may be used for creating the actual awards for the competing wines. You can learn more about the event here: http://www.consumerwineawards.com/

Dealing with Alzheimers

2010-12-10T12:44:00.000-08:00

I did this illustration based on an article on the life changes and neuroscience behind living with Alzheimers. Based on Rodin's "The Thinker," this was created with pastel pencil and watercolor.

Crossing Fingers!!!!

2010-11-17T17:14:00.002-08:00

Just minutes before the hour hand hit 5 this evening, I sent off a submission to the art contest being held by the Sierra College Natural History Museum, which is looking for something to represent their Dinosaur Day Science Fest to be held on March 27, 2011. Hope to win this in some way, you can look at the contest guidelines here:
http://www.sierracollege.edu/museum/documents/Artwork-Contest.pdf

The thing of note from this pic is the attempt to merge the first and second of their following themes:
1) the green color of dinosaurs that many people envision (although due to their feathers dinosaurs may have been brightly colored);
2) to the fact that modern birds evolved from dinosaurs; and
3) to modern society’s push for a more sustainable way of living due to environmental pressures such as climate change, habitat loss, and overpopulation.

Sadly they only wanted black and white -- makes things hard if you want your chicken to be painting green...

Mom, Brant and I all had fun envisioning a not so family-friendly interpretation, wherein a dinosaur is rearing out of fossil fuel to avenge all its' dead brethren Godzilla style for all the uses we humans have had of their bones since.... New thought for zombie flicks: forget silly humans when you can have raging zombie dinos stampeding all over the place! Ahem....

Stationery

2010-11-04T22:55:00.001-07:00

Due to the favorable reaction I received to the Kayaking piece I did recently, I developed a simple card for the enjoyment of local acquaintances.

Pumpkin Soup, Anyone?

2010-10-31T03:05:00.000-07:00

Adventures in Kayaking!

2010-10-27T19:12:00.001-07:00

This fun piece was done in acrylic paint on illustration board, about 12"x17", concerning an article about a woman's first time on the river. The waterfall was my own addition... **grin** You can tell what was my favorite part....

Financial Planning

2010-09-29T12:24:00.000-07:00

Stayin' Alive

2010-09-23T22:58:00.000-07:00

Earlier this week I was asked to create this explanatory drawing for a how-to dance video on the blog, "A Time to Dance." You can see it featured here without watermark at 1:28:
http://timetodancefestival.blogspot.com/p/hustle.html

Black Feather & the Ravens

2010-09-15T18:56:00.001-07:00

What started as a 2"x3" ballpoint sketch in one of my notebooks became a great start for my current illustration project concerning a Native American legend.

Then enlarged and modified....

And then finished off with watercolor and ink, aprox. 15"x 17" on illustration board. Great fun!

Leave me a comment with your email if you are interested in seeing a larger file.

My first and second digital painting ever.

2010-07-29T09:06:00.000-07:00

I have been very busy of late, which has made me inattentive to updating the blog. In mid June, I borrowed the tablet and just started experimenting, having been a little scared in the past to try. So here are my first attempts:

Trina Schart Hyman: A Personal Inspiration

2010-06-29T23:13:00.000-07:00

My first dreams and artistic longings were shaped in children's books illustrated by the late Trina Schart Hyman. The loveliness and dramatic compositions filled my young head with wonder. This evening/morning I came across this interview of her. It answers a question I have long entertained, and now I believe I can put to rest.

In her Spring 1998 column “Ask Trina!” in Once Upon A Time, she said,

“For me as an artist, I want out of this business, because it’s not doing good things for me mentally and physically. I had dreams about getting away from “The Publishing Industry” some years ago, but I needed to make a living and didn’t know how else to do it. Since then, life’s circumstances have forced me to make some hard choices.”

Certainly, as a single-mother, it was difficult for Trina to raise and support a child, but even before her divorce, Trina had to hire college students to help out with the child care. In Judith Pierce Rosenberg’s excellent book, A Question of Balance: Artists and Writers on Motherhood, Trina talks about the difficulties in being both an artist and a mother.

“I’m a nest-maker. I have had this conversation with every woman artist I know: How do you do your work and your home and your children and your relationships? And we’ve all come to the conclusion that that’s why there aren’t more women artists; it’s why all the really big creative forces were men—because women are split; they’re just schizophrenic about [how] they’ve got to take care of home, children, meals, their husbands or lovers. How to put that all in perspective—how to slot your life—takes up a lot of energy that you could be putting into your work, should be putting into your work. We all feel it and we don’t know what to do about it.”

“If you want to paint, I don’t think you can be a mom, be a waitress to make money, and paint. It’s hard enough to be a mom and paint. I think you need help with your children, even if you only have one child.”

“There are lots of women who have their children and say, “Well, I’ll wait till the children are grown, and then I’ll go back to my career.’ They just suffer agonies. You can’t put being an artist on hold; you have to do it every day.”

“On the other hand, if you’re a woman, how can you not have children? I don’t mean that to be as flip as it sounds; I mean, it’s an opportunity, it’s such an immense experience. It’s one of the ultimate acts of creation, and I wouldn’t have not done that for the world. But it sure makes your life as an artist difficult.’

http://www.ortakales.com/ILLUSTRATORS/Hyman.html

Prey

2010-04-14T10:11:00.000-07:00

The first page of Prey can now be checked out at my sister-blog here:

http://memmoonprey.blogspot.com/

A Blog to Check Out

2010-01-24T18:43:00.000-08:00

Currently I'm doing a study of children's literature, and in checking out the book review section of the School Library Journal online, I came across a link that led me to a fun little blog, "The Graphic Classroom." What is interesting about it personally, is how it advocates the use of graphic novels in classroom settings. Although I don't entirely agree with all the assertions concerning various books I have read, there certainly are some fascinating ideas as to how various stories can be implemented for constructive, educational reading. The reviews are thorough and take in a wide number of considerations, from teaching related topics to appropriate age range based on publisher and classroom information.

A First Foray into Calligraphy...

2009-11-18T15:44:00.005-08:00

Project 1: B-point San Serif
For this I made a little card for welcoming new cute people and motherhood.

Front of Card.

Inside of Card.

Back of Card.

Assignment 2: Celtic
What to do with one's name... And a quote.

Assignment 3: Gothic
Because it is fun.

Assignment 4: Italic
This was the trickiest for me, oddly enough.

At the Discovery Gateway Children's Museum...

2009-10-15T03:28:00.001-07:00

....You get a lot of opportunity to observe people. Being a children's museum, one has plenty of opportunity to do mental and real sketches of frolicking and crying little ones, elated or irritated parents, as well as engaging to lolling employees.

So while covering the Information Desk one afternoon, I had the fun opportunity to watch Mike, our head of Retail, who was enjoying a fun-seeming conversation with another employee. And so, I had to have some fun.

Georgia O'Keefe Emulation

2009-08-28T22:43:00.002-07:00

This piece I did as an example for a class I taught on O'Keefe and watercolor painting during my two months of Artist-in-Residence at the Discovery Gateway Children's Museum. Took a total of 20 broken minutes to knock out this fern tendril.

No Reference Sometimes Shows

2009-07-02T22:11:00.003-07:00

About a month and a half ago at work, while I was tending a traveling art exhibit of competitive high school art pieces, I started sketching out of my brain to keep myself company during an hour of lessened patron traffic. This was the result. Although the torso is technically too long with an uncomfortable hip torque, the image is somehow pleasing to me. Don't know why. Probably because of art and personal doodling having been on hold for so long. Thought it'd share the sketch for any curious. :)

Medium: Graphite
Size: 8.5"x11"

New Logo!!!

2009-06-02T16:41:00.002-07:00

Today I officially reveal my new logo! Pretty explanatory: It's a crescent moon for my married name, with my personal motif, the dragonfly. It makes me happy to have it at last.

"Found Art" Cork Tile

2009-04-20T21:06:00.001-07:00

This was created as a part of a long wall mural in the Discovery Gateway Children's Museum. This is three layers of cut paper, augmented with floral bits, copper, wood and fur.

"The Man of Bombay"

2008-08-25T10:49:00.002-07:00

For fun, I began a four-part silhouette piece on old, forgotten nursery rhymes. I may become fond enough of the process do more, but it is four for now. This one goes as follows:

There was a fat man of Bombay,
Who was smoking one sunshiny day,
When a bird called a Snipe,
Flew away with his pipe,
Which vexed the fat man of Bombay.

Sharpie on Watercolor paper, 9 x 6

While you are waiting....

2008-08-20T02:01:00.001-07:00

Figured I might give my audience something fun to chew on from one of my projects, Sheathe. Basic gist: young Liam is thrown into a 300 year war of retribution between the evil Witch-king, Unai, and his wronged, calculating daughter, Moraine. Not only must Liam survive and protect his kingdom, but he must save Moraine from her own powerful hate. Here's a teasing excerpt from Ch. 2:

Liam’s brow furrowed as they crossed below the small portcullis, guards at attention on either side. He nodded respectfully to all of them, lowering his voice. “Rokas, you are wise, but I know you’re a serpent. What are you not telling me?”
The Nightwatch captain was grim. “I don’t know. Only this: your position as prince is in jeopardy. There are rumors milling about, all I can say is what I have seen.”
Liam looked directly at him.
Captain Rokas dropped his voice so there would be no echo off the surrounding stone of the inner bailey. “Armies are being mustered on the plains and there are two foreign banners gracing the Great Hall. Be very careful as to what you agree to.”
“Agree to?” But Liam could ask no more.

Book Announcement

2008-07-30T08:26:00.005-07:00

I am in process of making two new books for distribution:

Meanderings, Vol. 1

A sketchbook compilation containing my early and latest work, as well as some thoughts on the creative process.

Wanderings, Vol. 1

A gathering of my photography of visual inspirations for my writing and art, as well as photographic centric thoughts on "seeing" the extraordinary in the ordinary.

Hope you enjoy the final result!

......................................................

Titles to look forward to in the nearby future:
Illustrated novels

Sheathe
Glimmerings
Peacekeeper

Comics

Prey
The Trove
Oceanic Snow

Comicon 2008

2008-07-29T14:28:00.013-07:00

ComicCon 2008 was... awesome. Great place for becoming terribly sore and bankrupt, but quite fun.
10 of the BYU illustration/animation crew all went (married ones seen sorta left-right in top pic: Mr & Mrs Will Strong, Anthony Holden, my dear Brant Moon, and Mr & Mrs Jake Wyatt). The three girls were spotted by Brant and me only once, but I understand they had just as crazy a good time as the rest of the pack.
TO our surprise, ComicCon is huge. (Silly notion...) A convention of anything, technically means nothing small, nevertheless, the epic proportions of how many people flooded poor San Diego -- I don't think anyone could have expected that. Feel more sorry for the native citizens trying to move around the ceaseless throngs from 7 am-11 pm. The line on Wednesday alone, with the fewest people, had lines snaking the conference center grounds in loops upon loops. Pretty chaotic. And then once in the doors, you have so much audio and visual stimulus beckoning you, that you are stunned for the first little while and thus become a roadblock to the people behind you, who get irritated until they are locked doing the same. Fortunately for our group of explorers, we hit the majority of the main famous people in the art and story world, so dealing with lines for signatures and passing off business cards went by without too much fuss. Among our personal highlights were:

Bill Presing
Michel Gagne
Octavio Jimenez del Arco
Gabrielle Pennacchoili
Ted Mathot
Pierre Alary
Ben Balistreri
Johane Matte
Chris Sanders
Rodolphe Guenoden
Michael Mattesi
David Coleman
Joe Mateo
Nathan Greno
Chris Ure
John Musker
Mark Walton
Paul Briggs
Sam Levine
Scott Morse
Philip Craven
Kean Soo
Kazu Kibuishi
Terry Dobson
Trevor Goring
Bernard Chang
Craig Elliot
Ruth Thompson
Mike Mignola
Lawrence Williams, etc, etc...

We got into these seminars:
--The Disney Animation Story --ProcessCostume Illustrators, Production Illustrators, and Concept and Storyboard Artists
--Terminator Salvation screening (looks quite promising w/ Christian Bale)
--Disney Pixar: Bolt and UP (saw 20 min & 15 min respectively, and both will be absolutely wonderful!)
So we had a great time. Business cards and ashcan comics exchanged, our purpose was completed. All the major film, toy and video game corporations were there, so there were plenty of directors and actors and other important people such as the top storyboarders and character/costume designers. Pretty impressive. It is said ComicCon is the equivalent of the Cannes Film festival in its proportions and who attends. I concur completely.

Bottom three pics:
--Brant talking to the Disney crew.
--Muy importante costume designers:
Oksana Nedavniaya
Phillip Boutte, Jr.
Felipe Sanchez
Christian Cordella
--Muy importante artists/storyboarders:
Ricardo Delgado
Jeff Erico
Tim Burgad
Mark Moretti
Trevor Goring

Old Fashioned Icon Emulations

2008-05-22T15:12:00.003-07:00

These I patterned after the designs of the 17th-19th century typographic stylings of the day.
Ink

Another new project

2008-04-29T13:30:00.000-07:00

Ever busy in my nonexistent spare time, I've taken on illustrating two small volumes of playful pin-ups, much like the fun and beautiful images made around WWII. Whatever they were thought of then, from childhood on, I thought they were wonderful with classic curves and modestly suggestive attire. The women depicted felt ordinary, but ones who could know their own value. In that light, I will be creating my own. This project, like for so many other artists, is the sadly most attention getting way to find good work. A fine example of this process is Chris Sanders and his extraordinarily designed women and cute things, which ended up be showcased as the character types of Disney's "Lilo &Stitch." Artists who become shapers of widespread visions, are ones who first proved their undeniable grasp of anatomy.

Emulation

2008-04-07T16:57:00.000-07:00

Except for the second to last page (which is a compilation of family and friends), these are all pieces I did copying sketches and hatching styles of Michaelangelo and DaVinci.

Comic Panel #1

2008-02-11T09:37:00.001-08:00

Several mutual acquaintances, my husband, and I are all working on this big anthology of personal comics. So this is my first draft of the first page of my first comic. I don't have the same feel for this, I think, as all the other guys **cough**Anthony & Jake**cough-cough** who have been whipping out pages of multiple stories like nothing else.... The idea is to present this at Comicon this summer, but we shall see. It may turn out that due to the different pacing of the individuals involved in this project, we may all just publish separately. My problem is that I still have a very... illustrative approach to this, which means each page is taking too long. Pretty, fun, but too long. We shall just have to see how this goes. Either together or separate, it is an interesting learning tool.
For those interested: my story is based in Monterey, California, concerning an intriguing phenomenon that our local marine biologist can't explain away, or get rid of. So if you are interested in science, shipwrecks, treachery, and the occasional hot chick, you might enjoy what is to come. Just maybe. :)
Original: 8x5
Graphite, Ink

Dabbling in sculpture!

2007-10-12T17:17:00.000-07:00

This is my first sculpture, a firebird design of mine I've only drawn before. This was a very proud moment for me, as I have never shaped such a thing before with my hands. I'll have to do this again sometime.
Original size: 6x6x6
Sculpting wax

Still have a thing for good skies....

2007-10-11T14:20:00.001-07:00

Digital Camera
Wasatch Range -- dawn

Shape exploration

2007-08-04T20:02:00.001-07:00

Originals: 11x17
Watercolor

Playing with vision

2007-08-02T21:22:00.000-07:00

Barnacles

2007-07-27T13:39:00.000-07:00

Original:11x11
Oil

Seasonal change

2007-06-16T11:19:00.001-07:00

I'm doing this series of images on this one hill over the course of time. Unfortunately, I'm missing the first one that inspired it. Will have to be loaded later. Meanwhile, I would be delighted to know if there is anyone out there in the world who can identify and tell me where I stood to take this picture. I'm sure there are enough places out there that this is reminiscent to, but still, it would be cool if someone could just say to me someday, "I know where you took that! It's at ______." That would make my day.
Digital Camera
Original: 25x36

Roots

2007-05-13T15:54:00.002-07:00

I shot this over Mother's Day Weekend up at Rock Canyon (?) Park while sketching with my then-boyfriend-now-husband. Nature is one of the few things to photograph that will always be new.
Digital Camera

What makes the Wasatch beautiful...

2007-01-12T15:49:00.001-08:00

It's not everyday a person can lean off their apartment balcony and snap a couple shots of perfect atmospherics.
Digital Camera
Wasatch Range

2006-08-20T00:46:00.001-07:00

Abstract heart, anyone?
Original: 20x24
Acryllic
India Ink

College kids don't get over their first fantasies....

2006-08-09T23:45:00.002-07:00

For my Intalgio printing final, I re-made a picture that I did as a Sophomore in high school. Above is my print, below the original. I think I did a dynamic job. In the future, I'll push my acid baths further in timing to create a bigger difference in contrast.
Top original: 11x17
Intalgio

Bottom original: 10x15
Ink

Self portraits

2006-07-28T09:29:00.000-07:00

Recently, I had some fun with my digital camera and turned my apartment into my own studio. Above is my best shot. Below is a tweaked posterizing of the second best one, done too easily in CS2. I appreciate the Adobe series for artists very, very, very much -- however some of the challenge and expertise of the by-hand version is taken away. Is this better? Certainly easier... but I don't think man takes advantage of any of his tools to their greatest extent.
Digital Camera
CS2

Bits from the shore

2006-06-26T23:26:00.002-07:00

Lifesavers

2006-06-25T13:55:00.000-07:00

Color study with slide film. (Much fun in demolishing the candy with a hammer and wax paper...)
35 mm camera
slide film

Playing with Shadows

2006-06-23T14:36:00.001-07:00

35 mm Camera
slide film

Snow White

2006-06-22T14:29:00.000-07:00

This project was to try and shoot a piece that made one think of a fairytale. The pic would have been better had I not been so... blindingly white. I will say only this: I am proud of this because I am right handed and I did not use a tripod or anything other than myself to take this. It was tricky, but the angle of contortion worked!
35 mm camera
Slide film

Atlas Freed

2006-06-07T21:05:00.000-07:00

Last piece of high school...

2006-06-01T20:39:00.003-07:00

Original:11x19ish (My copy has been a bit beat up.)
Acrylic Paint

Point Lobos

2006-05-17T16:02:00.005-07:00

A fortunate thing happened in which all the advanced classes of photography, fine art, and ceramics had opportunity to go to Stanford's Museum of art to study and do some work of their own. I ended up doing more photos than sketches. But it was still a splendid trip, Baxter and Arnold seeming to enjoy the time away from campus. Arnold and I had an incredible discussion on his views as an artist, in which I learned many things about him-- including his unending search for "true beauty" and its meaning. At first glance as a teacher, he is very dark, sardonic, and mysterious -- especially in the dark room (where I suspect he spends much of his time). I found myself oft mesmerized by his wit in insulting unruly rebels in the classroom -- it was great probably because I was the only one in the room who had just understood what he had said. Yet in traveling to Stanford, I learned more from him about the craft of observance than at any other point. So if nothing else, this trip made me build a greater pedestal for him.
Digital Camera
35 mm Camera

*2008 FYI: I still think that Arnold and Baxter were the two best people in my education to ever influence me. I used to think of them as a matched set: my sun and moon, if you will, of art.

*2008 FYI: I'd also give anything to see and talk to both of them again -- just to revel in their brilliant company.

2006-05-12T12:35:00.001-07:00

This sketch I drew in 30 minutes while getting ready for bed, based off a few specs a former acquaintance wanted in an RPG character commission. However, I had enough fun making it that I may use it to promote Arengarthno. Biggest flaw is its right arm -- the way the sleeve hangs makes him look like he has to elbows, so that needs correction. For a first pass, it is ok.
Original: 5x9
Graphite

Becoming Masked

2006-04-16T21:42:00.002-07:00

Charcoal

Positive & Negative Space... and cool fractal patterns.

2006-03-11T17:05:00.002-08:00

I took these at Lodi Lake after finishing a voice lesson of mine. The lighting was perfect to get vivid color and stark outlines. It helped that it had been rainy.
Digital Camera

Prayers of a Politician

2006-03-04T15:13:00.001-08:00

This dynamic fellow is another personal friend of mine who agreed to model for me. Niktaris is a multi-talented dramatist and filmmaker with dreams of being the next Ronald Regan. We shall have to watch for his name in the years to come to see who he becomes.
Original: 6x9
Stamp

Snow shots!

2006-02-26T16:57:00.001-08:00

Pulled over off to the side of the road on my way home from school and took a few shots out my window. The snow was really whipping through that day and it was delightful!
Digital Camera

Sketch of Gran

2006-02-14T23:54:00.003-08:00

A Rare Nap

2006-02-05T14:24:00.004-08:00

My beloved late grandmother passed away August 2004. For my upcoming birthday (and class), I did this from a reference of her holding me when I was an infant.
Original size: 18x24
Watercolor

Sails

2006-01-16T15:05:00.000-08:00

Oddly enough this was based off of an extraordinary doll I saw in a quilting magazine. It was so delicate! I wanted to make a piece from its inspiring lines. Wish I had the doll though... I started the sketch two years ago, forgot about it over the course of that period, and finally finished it.
Original: 9x17
Watercolor

Simplicity

2005-12-13T13:31:00.003-08:00

My first winter living in my mountain inheritance: I love snow. It is magical to me because of how it seems to clear the air, make things quiet again; tranquil. In artistic terms, snow reduces the world into positive and negative shapes.
Digital Camera

*2008 FYI: California snow IS better than Utah snow. Utah may have fine powder, but it turns into hard ice unbelievably fast.

Self portraits for photography

2005-12-02T10:49:00.001-08:00

As a class assignment for Mr. Arnold, we were to do some creative self portraits that aren't your point-click-and-smile routine. What interests me as the photographer on both sides of the lens is that I was not the same creature in any of the frames I developed in the dark room. These three pictures to me seem absolutely unrelated. I'm forced to face the fact that they are me, but I still find it creepy. The first picture is one I rather like -- feminine + simple = beautiful. It was also the hardest one for me to do; to get the right angle, make sure snowflakes didn't get on the lens, and endure having my own bare flesh against the REALLY frigid snow. I believe that an artist should not ask a model to do anything (s)he can't/wouldn't do herself/himself. So, from this particular frame on, I'm personally learning what I will ask of my own models. In truth, I may feel sorry for them: I have too much patience and think too wildly. We shall see about my poor victims later. I'll give them chocolate as compensation.
The other two pictures were by far, much, much easier, as I was already pretty tensed up and rigid from the outdoors. The middle one I found the proportions interested me. The last one though -- that one made me morbidly curious. I figured that could be my madwoman look. It creeps me out, but as a photographer, I think it's cool. Nobody in class recognized me, no one who knows me recognized me, and I sure didn't, so I think it is a success. Why? Transformation from one thing to another is something artists revel in. Real photographers who have been in the business for quite awhile, like to reexamine and reinvent their pet subjects until they have found some new "truth," or paradigm. At this point, I am neither Warhol or Nachtwey, but I am learning to see in those ways, and that is what excites me.
Originals: 8x6
35 mm Camera

2005-11-15T10:58:00.004-08:00

This was an in-class piece, using former fellow classmate Martini as a model.
Original size: 18x24
Graphite

Lesley

2005-11-01T15:05:00.001-08:00

Used my dear friend, Lesley, for this piece. She is one of the most courageous, sweet-natured people I have known.
Original size: 3x4
Stamp

Roses are red....

2005-10-27T17:46:00.001-07:00

For class, we had to do self-portraits. This is mine, chopped down. The original composition was not as strong, as I let the ratio of the paper make me get too busy and loose the point. But here I am, looking a bit more sun-bleached than I am.
Original: 18x24
Watercolor

*2008 FYI: Dragonflies are my personal motif. I like to hide them in my work, if I can. But as an artist, I'm not going to sacrifice a good piece if adding another element will ruin it.

Cary Grant and Grace Kelly: "To Catch a Thief"

2005-10-17T21:08:00.000-07:00

Original: 18x24
Graphite

Young Elizabeth Taylor

2005-10-16T20:16:00.000-07:00

Original: 18x24
Graphite

Greta Garbo

2005-10-15T12:16:00.002-07:00

One of my favorite classic actresses -- just a beautiful, classy lady.
Original size: 18x24
Graphite

2005-10-09T13:10:00.002-07:00

This was the coolest bit of metaphor I have ever run across -- especially in a school setting. After finishing my last class of the day with my fabulous photography instructor, David Arnold, I happened to have my 35 mm camera out. I was walking up the Cardiac Stairs (a specific set of stairs going up the hillside (?) dubbed according to their ability to give cardiac arrest). I then happened to look down while this wave of students passed me on both sides. And there it was: a string. A perfectly curved abandoned string! A string that changed my ability to see. A non-artistic me would have scoffed at the idea, but it is true. In a moment, I perceived in the immediate sterile environment all the harsh line quality of the steps, the iron railing, the crispness of the shadows, the flow of traffic past me -- even the nearest buildings with all their edges -- that here at my feet was the one naturally rebelling factor on campus. This silly bit of string was suddenly beautiful and had meaning. No matter that it would be gone in an hour and be just one more item of trash! In that moment, it was beautiful. Now, mind you, my class had been studying the fantastic art of Andy Goldworthy, who (like me) relishes in a natural, organic curve -- the most sensuous of lines. But it was still a moment that opened my eyes forevermore.
Original size: 22x21
B&W Photography

Wings to Fly

2005-09-28T15:47:00.003-07:00

More India ink and bamboo styluses! This piece was inspired by a Broadway hit song, "Wings To Fly," from The Trail of Dreams. If you look/read carefully, much of the lyric is written between the pinion feathers.

Free from the world that believes
I'm a child, not a man,
That believes I belong on a shelf.
If I give in, and give up on my dream,
I'll start to believe it myself.

It's a song that resonated with me when I first heard its soaring notes, the lyric taking flight. I made the song into this image, incorporating splotches of ink into birds.
Original size: 18x24
India Ink

*April 2008 -- FYI:
I just learned more about the show, and apparently it was by James Arrington, Marvin Payne and Steven Kapp Perry. It's a tragic, but hopeful story based on the 70,000 Mormon pioneers who crossed the plains in order to find their Zion. The show won the 1999 Pearl Award for "Best Soundtrack of the Year," and Steven Kapp Perry was nominated as "Songwriter of the Year" for his work on this project.

Birdcage

2005-09-05T14:38:00.002-07:00

Our class still being on a bone kick, were next to do a piece using India ink and a bamboo stylus. The point was to explore the medium and what one could do with it.
Original size: 18x24
India Ink

First Still Life

2005-08-30T13:19:00.005-07:00

This assignment actually has some history. Baxter -- one of the two artistic men who shaped the beginnings of my artistic career -- had set up in class the craziest mound of varied bones, boxes, tangled wire, 3-D shapes, and odd paraphernalia (including an open umbrella and unlaced work boot) atop draped column. After sketching whatever we saw in the dynamically lit pile, we were to choose an element it contained and do a still of it (or an up close shot of one item). I borrowed one of Baxter's antler and decided to do this piece. The top deer antler actually is one my late grandmother gave me during a wonderful visit to her beautiful home in the mountains. Although this still life is a bit "posterized" due to the line quality (or lack thereof), there's a bit of sentimental value in it for me.
Original size: 18x24
Graphite

Waterfowl

2004-04-30T14:57:00.000-07:00

This was done looking at a National Geographic article. The bird was intriguing -- didn't do it justice.
Original: 9x12
Pressed acryllic

Hope

2004-04-26T14:17:00.000-07:00

This drawing was the first I did that actually had more than a straight on view. I was pretty proud.
Original size: 8x12
Color Pencil

2004-02-13T00:41:00.003-08:00

The Power of a drafting tool is the manifestation of the wielder's creation.
Original: 8x11
Graphite

Clock Hands

2003-12-14T00:39:00.000-08:00

Feminine Hands

2003-11-27T00:38:00.000-08:00