self portrait

Sketched this from a photo from last winter [that's when I break out that hat]. One of the hardest parts in portraits is getting the placing right, especially for the eyes---my eyes here, for instance, are spaced a bit too far apart; makes me resemble a catfish.

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puppy huddle

quick sketch from a photo. 

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Oranges and Jellybeans

This is just a quick little sketch of some oranges and jellybeans that were lying around on the kitchen countertop. I had an urge to sketch something and this was the first thing I spotted.

painting outside

back of the head

I might have to get back into charcoal drawing - haven't messed with charcoal in many years - this was a fun drawing to complete. Not complicated or anything (and nothing amazing in the resulting drawing either, for that matter), but it was an enjoyable experience.

Two Quick Sketches

Ah, the elusive sketchbook. I always admired the idea of a sketchbook - always at the ready for a quick sketch in-between the goings and doings of real-world things. But practically speaking, I never quite got the sketchbook. Sure, I could fill up a sketchbook if it was for an assignment in art class - especially as a deadline drew nigh - but carry it around with me? Sketching those precious little vignettes of life at a moments notice . . . just for the joy and experience of it? Nah, I just didn't get it.

Well, I still don't carry one with me everywhere - nor do I find myself wanting to sketch much more than once or twice a week, truth be told - but I do find myself enjoying the finished product of my sketches of late. Who knows, I may even assemble them into a little book one of these days. Here are a couple of quick sketches of boats I drew the morning of the Madisonville art market, as I waited for the market to begin. Now that I think about it - these weren't in my sketchbook at all; they were sketched in my moleskinne. [Maybe I should at least get one without lines?]

Back From Vacation

Took my new sketchbook and drawing pens with me to Lake Arthur [Louisiana] for the week. Did not sketch as much as I would have liked, but I did enjoy the time I did have. Here are a few from the sketchbook (click to get a larger view).

Small Office

Yet another old sketch.

Rosemary

Just another old sketch of mine. I had the thought of doing a framed series of these type pen and ink drawings of various plants or herbs. I still might - who knows?! The problem with pen and ink from the narrow perspective of a canvas painter is that you run into the problem of framing the artwork . . . dealing with glass, keeping it flat, keeping it dry, picking out and purchasing frames ahead of time - oh, and don't get me started on matting . . . man!

Screen Time

This is a contour drawing from many years ago. I just ran across it in an old sketchbook and thought I'd throw it up here - I still get the feeling I posted this one already, but whatever. For your viewing pleasure...

Under the Canopy

I was just going to do a quick sketch of the seated figure [the one in the detail] while waiting for some paint to dry. It was going to fit nicely in a blank space in my notebook/journal/planner thingy. That sketch quickly grew to encompass the entire spread. Good thing I was through with all the info on these pages, eh?

boy and hen

cotton swabs

Tammy Taking Note

I have long been a slacker in terms of keeping up any sort of sketchbook. I make no secret of it. And just because the spirit of the new year is still hanging all dewy in the air, does not mean I expect this recent bout of sketches to continue, ad infinitum. But I'll do what I can for now - it's good for me and might also be entertaining to some of you.

Here's a sketch I accomplished in one sitting from an actual live model; my wife. I call it, "Tammy Taking Note," though in reality she was playing an electronic Sudoku game (I replaced the stylus she was holding with a pencil in the sketch).

sidenote: did you know that Sodoku (with an "o" as the first vowel) is the name of a zoonotic disease - a form of rat-bite fever? I didn't until I looked up the wrong spelling of Sudoku on wikipedia.

Vacancy

Sketched this from a photo of my brother, Micah, and his wife, Jill. The drawing only slightly resembles them, due to my disregard for the perfection of the thing, and the title refers only to the "vacancy" sign in the top-left corner of the sketch and not to the vacant, tired look in my brother's eyes (though to tell you the truth, that could just as easily have been the inspiration for that same title, for the look was indeed captured perfectly well in the drawing).

Name This Robot

I sketched this out in the Gimp (open source Photoshop-like application). I thought it turned out surprisingly well. But now I'm left without a name for this little fella. Help me out by leaving a name or two with a comment.

two quick sketches

typing

Sketchbook - shoes

Sketchbook - view from my house

The is a quick sketch of the view looking to my left, out the window, when I'm "working" at my computer. [I get my mail soon after the postman delivers it.]