Cute one from tonight

I wanted to do a different basketball pose.

Some from tonight

A demanding mother...

Okay, this mom and her son came over, and she's speaking in this thick, fast New England accent, "You any good? Will you make me look bad? You any good? The girl last night was awesome. You any good?" ... And I just say, "Most people like my drawings, and you probably will too." And I shrugged my shoulders. Pressure! ...So, anyway, I make her look good (Yes, Mike Duron, I stole your shoulder) and she loves it so, so much, in the end.... It was a happy experience. Funny. Nice, people. ...When leaving, she said, "Wow, you made it actually look like us. I've never seen that before." Nice.

My style is changing...

I liked this couple's drawing. My more simplified/stylized style is coming out here, I think, or something.

A Cute Little Boy...

This little boy was so cute with his stuffed doll, Bruce (from Finding Nemo, I think). He wanted me to include Bruce in the picture, so I drew him RIDING Bruce. He loved it. I didn't like the likeness, but the experience was so heartwarming, I simply HAD to post it.

Naturalism Still Life

Here's a slightly closer look at my apple (whose hues and values were distorted by my camera's flash; see previous post). I was consciously trying to imitate the Naturalism style of the 19th Century, which characteristically has lost edges mixed with clear edges, and a "painterly" appearance. When done well, it's quite lovely. One thing I noticed was the varying amounts of "sheen" in the dried paint. I think that's why one must use varnish at the end, after it's completely dry.

My Very First Oil Painting

I wasn't going to post this photo because the flash distorted the hues and values too much, but I figure there's no harm in showing it. Specifically, in the shadow area, the reflected blue light is actually MUCH darker, maybe a value 4 rather than the value 6 or so which it appears to be in the photograph. In fact, the entire composition is rather low key, and a good lamp must be used to bring out the light. ... And this IS my very first oil painting EVER. It's alla prima, starting with a direct sketch with raw umber and then low values with alizarin crimson, and then higher value hues. I watched a grainy video demonstration on YouTube and tried to copy it. It is somewhat successful. And, yes, that's the bathroom vent above the toilet. A good place for it, I think.... By the way, it's an apple. LOL.

Typical Football Caricature

Reminds me of an Esly drawing

I remember seeing Esly drawing a rollerblading girl being pulled by her dog, so I tried this one like that. The family spoke no English, but very much liked the picture. The girl was quite sullen the whole time, until she saw the picture, and I thought she was going to cry, and then I thought she was going to hug me, but anyway, she smiled and smiled and wanted me to take her picture. THAT is why I do this job.

Basketball

Typical basketball drawing.

Ball Hockey

Anyone ever heard of Ball Hockey? The guy explained it, and I attempted to draw it. I like my drawing of his head, anyway. Very nice family.

Hockey Player

I like creating new poses on-the-spot, and this one was a little different. ...and left handed.

A Little Princess

I drew a Keelan, et al

Boy, gosh, I've been struggling with my quality this year. I think I've been distracted by a number of things, but working with Brian (and now Mike D.) has been helped me. (Which is another example of why working with other, superior artists is so critical to improvement, despite the embarrassing costumes at AK.) Anyway, I took a few photos tonight, because it's a good way to document one's state. I'm still shy of photographying the actual models, lately, but I can say that some are nice likenesses, and some are lousy. The triple is particularly lousy, likeness-wise, but I still like some of the line quality and "style" of the drawings. The last boy was a Keelan!

My Secret

A couple of you know about my "secret," but now I'll share it with everyone. My SECRET is my Starwind 22, and it's also my desire to learn and practice sailboat restoration. Eventually, I'll be living on a sailboat, probably near Tampa, but that's some time off. That's the plan. I've also been selling all the "toys" I've collected over the last three years since moving to Florida. At this point, I have two items remaining: a complete windsurfing rig, with board, mast, boom, the whole thing; and my 15' US-1 sailing dinghy. I'll be posting these items on Craigslist this week for $250 and $375, respectively, for quick sales. The photos are of the Starwind 22.

An Island Unto Oneself. A New Week of Sailing.

This is the island to which I tied my sailing canoe this week. It's about 50 feet across, and located in the middle of the Banana River Lagoon. I almost stepped on another stingray, and saw more dolphins. None of them seem to want to play with me, so that's sad. (LOL.) It was very windy, but my little canoe sailed great. I paddled a lot, too, and am now quite sore. But that's a good thing. I'm making more adjustments to my rig, and really must make a nice, comfortable sleeping/relaxing area, which I'll do this weekend. I bought nav lights and an anchor light, and will anchor-out for my nights this coming week.... It's funny. My best friend (a girl, of all things) recently left the country (for good), and I am extremely depressed, so I think my canoe is filling her space. Maybe I'll name the canoe after her. I didn't expect to feel this devastated. One last time, I guess. I've said that before. But friendship and love are such cruel temptations. I'll probably give my heart to others, I don't know, maybe. I don't plan these things. I'm just gonna sail, watch the stars, play with the dolphins and manatees, paint pictures, and allow the humans to do as they please.

Drawings tonight

Here are some drawings I did tonight. Even though I'm working a lot on likenesses, all three of the teenage girls here look MUCH too similar in my drawings. The flash didn't work for the girl/guy couple, but I can say with confidence that my drawing of the guy was a very nice likeness. And a little funny. And I'm giving attention to VALUE much more. For instance, the guy here had a much lighter skin tone than his girlfriend. (Note: the flash does weird things to drawings.)

Stingray!

I saw my first stingray today. All I could think of was Steve Irwin, who was killed by one of these guys (in a wild stroke of bad luck). Stingrays are generally timid, and only "sting" when sensing a desperate need for defense. ... I followed this fella around a while in the clear-as-air water. In the photo he (she?) is mostly covered by sand, which is their way of hiding. Cool.

The Sea was glassy and clear

More testing of my sailing canoe today. There was no wind until afternoon, so I got to paddle a lot. I need it! Also today I learned to "paddle-sail,", in which I lash the mainsheet and the tiller (so the boat sails itself) and then I grab a paddle and stroke along with the wind, which, I found, dramatically increases speed during light airs.

Designing an Ocean-going Sailing Canoe

I was wondering if I could build a cheap, tough sailboat which can go out on the ocean, carry plenty of supplies, be unsinkable, and, finally, be small and light enough to carry around atop my Jeep. I came up with idea of a polyethelyne canoe (around $350) with home-made outriggers, sail, and lots of floatation. And so I made it. It's modular, so the outriggers/sleeping platform/maststep/daggerboard section disconnects from the canoe. I filled the canoe, to a large degree, with lightweight floatation foam (and soda bottles). The vessel has a capacity of about 800 pounds, so it can carry me and all the food and water I need for extended periods, like, several weeks, which island hopping and ocean passages require. I know it's crazy, but not really. I've read many books on sailing and passage-making and boat design, and so I have a good understanding of what's necessary, what's dangerous, what's possible. ... Anyway, it's still just a prototype, and not even painted yet, but I've been testing it over on the Banana River Lagoon, and it works! I still must adjust some elements, and fine-tune and paint it, but my theories have been serviced well.