More Juvenile Pursuits

Pointless juvenile imagery discussed at length in the previous post. I lifted the chopper from "Three Kings", the classic movie about the "First Gulf War to end all Gulf Wars" (snicker).

A Reactionary Piece

I was browsing one of my favorite blogs, Illustration Art over my lunch break. It's a great blog which leans towards the high brow for the most part. This particular day featured coverage of comic artists appearing at this year's San Diego Comic Con. I was following a chain of comments regarding the post on Ashley Wood and several of the contributors were in a huff about the "juvenile" content of Wood's work; scantily clad women, big guns, robots, etc., all the things I've come to love about Ashley Wood.
I grabbed a china marker from work, went out to my van and sketched this over the rest of my lunch hour. An ode to the Sacred and the Juvenile. I honestly don't know why I bother sometimes.

State of Modern Puppetry

This one's related to my superhero of the '90's, "The Puppet", of limited ability. I'm still living off of the residuals of that sensation. Note: the horizontal stripes on the stockings are for design/compositional considerations only and should not be considered endorsements for actual striped stockings, etc.

More Drivel

Well, "drivel" is a harsh word. An example of just moving the pencil around the page, really. It's like starting your car up regularly even if you don't have to drive anywhere, just to keep the parts oiled up and functioning properly.
I stole the raven from Mike Mignola's "Art of Hellboy" tome.

Bud Plant Catalog

Absently sketching from the Bud Plant Catalog. I'm back on the mailing list. Yes, I know Bud Plant is online, and there's probably an app which will deliver it straight up my bottom, but I like getting catalogs in the mail. It's full of great art/illustration/comic books as usual, but it's always teeming with "photography" books (ahem) too. Books with titles such as "Urban Butts!" and "A Concise History of Breasts". Informative stuff.
I've been scolded regularly for leaving it on the kitchen table.

Pen, Ink, Brown Paper

I keep forgetting that I occasionally use this sketchbook. This was done shortly after I discovered the sub-par quality of paper in my other sketchbook. After finishing, I realized I'd channeled a classic pose by Gil Kane. Pen n' ink on brown paper does make an appealing image though.

Hey, Ghostrider!

Yep, you guessed it, it's the flaming head of Don Imus. No. 2 pencil again.

From Russia, etc.

I didn't want to post this one, but I felt I would be dishonest if I didn't offer full disclosure. Inspired by a 3 second scene from "Enemy at the Gates" I absently drew a Soviet sailor while watching the rest of movie ( a family favorite along with Where Eagles Dare, Guns of Navarone, etc., etc.). My son suffers a lot of post traumatic stress with this movie, as it brings up painful memories of the Battle for Stalingrad he experienced while playing a version of Call to Duty on his X-Box.
Yep, I'm a bad parent.

At the Bread Company

While in Jefferson City, the capitol of Missouri, during the last week of July, my son and I duck into a Panera Bread joint to cool off with a slushee. The gentlemen above caught my eye. The elderly Bolshevik on the right wearing dark socks with sandals was an obvious choice. The other gentleman was so important that he needed to be in constant contact with the outside world at all times! "It's 3:00 pm in Jeff City, MO, better not risk even having the phone at arms length". Oy. Note: I forgot to bring my glasses with me so all of this was a big blur while I drew it.

Jefferson City, Our Capitol!

My wife recently took the Bar Exam over a couple of days in Jefferson City. This was the view from our hotel window. My son and I had a pretty good time. My wife, not so much.

A Future in Graphics!!

TV sketching again. This time I was inspired by a commercial featuring a young lass who turned her life around by pursuing a fulfilling career in graphics! It did not explain why the graduates of whatever tech school was being advertised, had to dress like it was 1984 .....

Conan Sketch

I was musing (again) about Frazetta's groundbreaking painting of Conan for the Lancer edition of Conan the Adventurer from the mid-60's. I was thinking about the bizarre expression Frazetta put on Conan's face in that painting and tried to drudge it up from memory. I didn't get close, but came up with a passable barbarian none the less.

On the Floor

My son, genuflecting before the television, same as us. Not shown: around 11,000 Legos in various heaps on the carpet.

Peter O'Donnell

Well, I've been ripping through Modesty Blaise books lately (the Titan reprints of the British adventure strip) and having a great time with them. This is a rather dry rendering of Peter O'Donnell, Modesty's creator, from a photo of him during WWII in then Persia. Probably talking about Kipling, the 'Soldier's Poet' and saying things like 'tommyrot' and 'bother', 'chaps' and 'lads', etc. It struck a chord with me as it reminded me of my old rock-climbing days; putzing about in dry climates, wearing battered shorts, rag-wool socks and pile jackets. Being outside in remote areas, drinking instant coffee and liking it, being young, -sniff-.
It's not an accurate likeness, although the stocking cap with ball on top is pretty close.

Pokemon Player at Rest

My wife is the only one of us smart enough to learn how to play Pokemon, so she occasionally indulges my son in a game or two. It is around this time that I began to tire of the stale, dry rendering I was adopting with an HB #2 pencil.

Stuff n' Nonsense!

The same day as below, drawn while waiting for my son to battle and defeat other noble pokemon players at a library tournament.

Playing the Pokemon

One of the local libraries held a Pokemon tournament one Saturday in early July or so and I played the dutiful father and sketched while my son played on. The child-star-handsome young man in the upper left is my son.
My parents were lucky since I suffered from so many phobias that I could barely leave the house when I was young.

Focus, You Dicks!

Sunday nights were "Movie Nights" in Baldwin Hall Theater at Northeast Mo. St. Univ. where I attended in the wee '80s and "Focus you Dicks!" was shouted at the beginning of every film regardless of the actual picture quality. It was a tradition. I think of that phrase when I look at the content of my sketchbooks. The range is baffling; grimacing superheroes, figure studies, tepid landscapes, and of course juvenile fantasies involving scantily clad babes with weapons.
I mean, really, how does one remember to bring their sword, shield, knife and boots and forget ones' bra?
I shudder to think what would happen if I narrowed my sights a little. On the other hand, the next sparkly thing that captures my attention could just be the ticket to success, my final leap home, as it were!

The Mall-Walker, the Pokemon Player and Security

Ahh life- she is beautiful! Random mall sketches waiting on Pokemon players around late June, early July maybe? You'll be happy to know that I've since switched back to black Prismacolor which means my sketches will be a lot richer. Unfortunately, there's a month's backlog of sketches until then .... please bear with me.

The Doomed Die Hard

My son looked over my shoulder and said, "Eeww, he's naked!" I toyed with this idea for a while, thinking up a back story and potential adventures, until I realized Hellboy has had a Right Hand of Doom since the early '90's or so. I dropped it shortly afterwards. This was also the last time I attempted to ink on my crummy new sketchbook.

Wonder Woman

My son and I have been ripping through comics this summer. I've instilled in him an appreciation for them, although it's slanted towards the 'Silver Age" of the '60's. He recognizes the masters; Jack Kirby, Gil Kane, John Romita Sr, John Buscema, Gene Colan, Joe Kubert, etc. at a glance .... my job as a father is complete.
Being surrounded by superhero comics causes me to spasmodically belch out various comic characters from time to time. Here, a rather butch Wonder Woman. I try to control the urge.