Groundhog

Here's a groundhog. He is annoyed that I'm not posting more.

I'll try to do better.

Jazz

I entered this in a contest to illustrate the poster campaign for the Syracuse Jazzfest. It's an attempt to show a connection between the early forms and modern forms of jazz. There's a classic double bass player representing the Ellington/Basie era playing with a "modern" looking fusion type playing a 5 string electric bass guitar. I also tried to capture the sense of joy musicians can have when playing well together. I depicted bass players because they're the coolest musicians, of course.


I didn't win. The woman who did win did a great job. I would have picked hers, too.

A Questionable Fishing Technique

Here is another illustration from "My Brushes with Death and Other Outdoor Blunders" by Steven Paul Barlow. It's a depiction of Steve's ancestor and his ineptness at fishing.

I won't be posting anymore illustrations from the book. If you want to see the rest, you'll have to buy a copy. It is available here. It's a very funny book.

More art by committee

I haven't posted in a week. I've been out of town. But I did get another picture onto James Gurney's blog.

The manuscript excerpt to illustrate is "...sandals where they were mired. His sword he kept, although the scabbard went the way of the rest of his armor. Left naked except for his linen tunic, he was thankful that it was late June and the waters had lost the bite in their chill.
Turning his head, he saw that someone was looming up out...."

So, of course, Conan gets pantsed.

Dwight!!

A double caricature from my son's favorite show. I had less trouble with the faces than I did with getting the background where I liked it.

Penguin

A couple of kids meeting a new friend. I think the boy has a more realistic view of the implications of meeting a large waterfowl in your neighborhood.
Acrylic on paper.

The Great Race

This was done for an illustration contest sponsored by the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. Entries had to illustrate the phrase; "Contestants in the great race are barreling towards the finish line...and the most unlikely contestant wins!"

I conceived of a story wherein a young girl, let's call her "Alex", has to compete in a race in gym class. She doesn't like competition and is intimidated by the over-competitive boys. However, Alex is a dancer and decides to don her ballet slippers before the race. Confident in her slippers she outruns the boys and wins, crossing the line with a grand jeté.

My picture didn't win, but it was a good exercise.

Art by committee

I have a picture on James Gurney's blog! James Gurney is an incredibly gifted artist and the creator of Dinotopia.

Periodically, he posts a random sentence from a manuscript and challenges his readers to illustrate it in a sketch. He and some artist friends do this when they get together. I took the challenge and sketched a scene after the phrase, "A wind—not moving air but currents of force—rose up and tore at her," . It can be seen here. Of course, I had to do a fart joke.

When I e-mailed Mr. Gurney my sketch, I introduced myself and thanked him for his blog. He sent me a very gracious reply. He is a class act.

gurneyjourney.blogspot.com is a great resource for artists. James teaches art history, color theory and art technique on the blog. He shows how he creates fantastic scenes from his imagination using models, both human and constructed, and the knowledge he's gained from what appears to be nonstop figure and landscape painting. He seems to do this for no renumeration. Just because he wants to share something he loves doing. His blog has been a godsend for a cartoonist like me who is still trying to figure out this painting thing.