Butterfly Effect

Last night. A work week wrap-up as it were. The latest issue of the Missouri Conservationist had arrived and on the cover was a close-up photo of a butterfly. This soon came tumbling out. Dark and mysterious are the ways of genius!

Out and about

Drawn last month from the "Get Out" section of the paper. A local songster appearing live at a local venue. Like I'd ever leave the house! You can tell it was a good time- he's giving the "thumbs up" sign.

War in the Suburbs

Last night. A pretty realistic depiction of houses if they were battle-ready, maneuverable and sometimes had trunks like elephants I think.

Mid-June, Tilles Park, St. Louis Missouri. I was attending an annual picnic, and while the sketch isn't a booming success, it did keep me from socializing, so, not a total loss!

ComiCon

An impression from the San Diego ComiCon. Admittidly, it doesn't take much for me, but spending time at these things causes a severe drop my faith in humanity. I'm all better now.

A hose by any other name ...

The other day I was thinking about the role of hoses in the visual history of science fiction. Compositionally, (I don't think that's a word) they can be slapped on anywhere for no reason other than to serve the needs of the picture plain. (Was that a sentence?) Just ask Wallace Wood, well, you can't, but if you could and he was in a good mood, he'd point to any of his beautiful EC Comics work from the 50's. Corrugated hoses plunging here and there from panels, helmets, consoles, etc. Terry Gilliam's "Brazil" certainly would lack visual punch without them. I think about important things.

He who must be obeyed

He who allows us to share a home, sometime in June. Like the universe, Topper is

expanding at a rapid and constant rate.

Logo

From last year- I wanted to use this as a letter-head, or at least print up business cards with this image. My wife pointed out that it doesn't exactly exude confidence.

Flying Coach

This is how I felt flying in the late 90's .... imagine how I feel about flying now! Of course, now that I'm a big-time blogger, I fly First Class clenching a single-malt scotch.

Bookplates

A marvelous set of bookplates, handsomely crafted for the discriminating book lover. I recall I was trying to break out of a rut around this time. I was coughing up any and all weird imagery I could paste together. We were expecting our son that year, and around this time, my wife reminded me it would be a good idea if I kept my sketch books on a high shelf. Maybe even under lock and key.

The Real Storey

Something to do with John Brown, I think. I was influenced by a used copy of Barron Storey's "Marat/Sade Journals" I'd found, hence the fussiness in the rendering of the coat. Storrey was a teacher as well as an artist; among his students, Kent Williams and Bill Sienkiewicz. I later tripped over another publication of his, which consisted of xeroxed class notes. Lots of tips on breaking creative blocks, expanding the pallet, etc., information I could have used 30 years ago! I'm sure they're all findable on the "Internets".

Headstone

A heads' up to the rest of the family, this is my planned headstone. Just in case you want to reconsider my position in the plot. This'll show those local teenagers just who they're drinking above! Maybe get them to move to the other side of the cemetery for once.

Trouble with Landscape

Soprano territory, Northeastern New Jersey. I find landscapes compelling probably because I can't do them. I enjoy trying, but the result is always much more dull than I had intended. Erik Tiemens web site is swollen with gorgeous guache landscapes. Craig Mullens, another hero. Sure, Constable, Sargent, Wyeth, (all of 'em) Rembrandt no slouches either. An interesting disconnect exists between my eyes and the page I'm working on.

Rockaway, NJ

View across Rt. 46 from the Rockaway Diner. I'm sure I was waiting for a tuna melt, my usual order then at diners. I think I'd just re-watched "Crumb" and was influenced by R. Crumb's drawing of "stuff we don't notice"- power lines, utility poles, things that crowd our vision every day. I was so obsessed with recording clutter that I didn't bother to indicate the tree line. Either that, or my tuna melt had arrived.

Turn, turn, turn

My niece, Crystal from memory. A friend and I were pitching an idea for an animation project to a local would-be entrepreneur who needed a new way to lose money. I was using my niece and nephew as character models- I think this is left over from that.
My memory of the pitch boils down to one image: our audience was a middle-aged Asian man who scratched his feet through his dark nylon socks during the entire presentation. Scritch-scritch-scritch. He liked the story, but the kids were too "homey", I should cute them up a little. Yeah, I'll get right on that.
Now Crystal's 20 and studying Microbiology and has the riches of the earth at her feet. I still draw pictures that aren't quite cute enough.

Home of the Brave, 5

Barnes and Noble in Wayne, New Jersey. I was most impressed with the fellow below. He had it all figured out, everything was secondary to comfort and convenience. The fanny-pack and necklace of car keys make the ensemble delicious! C'est Magnifique!

Newark International

From 8 or 9 years ago, stalking New Jerseyans in their natural habitat. Since this is from Newark International Airport, and from the main terminal, it has to be post-Sept. 11, otherwise I'd be sitting comfortably at the gate.

mo fish

Early mechanical fish. I spent a lot of time drawing with a tool that was meant for rough layout work. It was probably a way to excuse bad drawing. Doesn't smear though, and that's a plus!

Longbeach, CA

More palm trees, this time from 10 years ago. I believe this is around the time of the "Rodney Dangerfield Encounter".

Yuma, AZ

Random images from a flophouse in Yuma, AZ. I was keeping mum about the cockroach I noticed on the carpet by the table. This was on the way to San Diego. On our return, we would stay in the same room, this time, I'd have a massive fever and no way to tell if the cockroach was still there. On the back of this page, my son had the creator of the cartoon "Flapjack" draw a sketch for him, hence the pink marker bleed.

San Diego

A quick one out of the window overlooking the pool. We were at the end of day 2 of ComiCon and I was lucky to lift even a pencil. Attending that convention has a way of wiping out any creativity or, for that matter, faith in humanity. The first ComiCon I went to was in 1995, with an attendance of 13,000. Last year's was over 131,000. I don't think I'm going back.