jonesapalooza

Deja Vu all over again

2012-01-03T07:00:00.000-06:00

(click to enlarge)

Here is an entertaining story that happened to me recently. It was the highlight of my road trip.

Last Thursday I drove from Nashville to my hometown in Missouri to gather with my family. That is about a seven hour trip. We left around 10AM and two and a half hours later we were in Paducah KY at lunch time. We ate at a Backyard Burger. I really like their Blackened Chicken sandwich. While we were eating, I noticed a couple eating in a booth. The older lady was wearing a tan turban on her head and had a plaid coat on. The older gentleman she was with had on a red vest type jacket and was sporting jet black hair. I do believe it was chemically enhanced. I commented to my wife about the lady's turban.

So... we had a great time in Missouri and headed home on Sunday morning. We got off to an early start and four hours later we were in Paducah again. At lunchtime. At the same Backyard Burger. As we were eating our lunch, I saw the same couple come in, order and sit down in the same booth again. She was wearing the turban and coat, and he was wearing the red vest and that unnaturally black hair.

Just what are the odds that I would travel hundreds of miles to be in the restaurant at the exact time to see these people twice? I wonder if this is a good omen for the new year. Has my luck changed this year?

Let's hope so.

New Blog!

2012-01-02T10:49:00.001-06:00

I am starting off the new year with a NEW BLOG! I am excited! Take a look at it and follow along on my painting adventure in 2012. Just CLICK HERE! ...thankyouverymuch.

Jonah

2011-12-28T09:40:00.000-06:00

It has been a while since I have posted anything here, so I grabbed this little sketch, added some tone to it and PRESTO! ...something to post!

Christmas card

2011-12-14T09:10:00.000-06:00

Ho, Ho, Ho... it's that time of the year again. Time for me to send out my home made but professionally printed Christmas cards. I have a few extra cards laying around this year and I could be separated from one of them and send it your way.

If you want one, just email me your mailing address and the eager snails at the US post office will be off... through rain, sleet, and snow to deliver one to your house... or hovel. What a deal! Offer good while supplies last and is good only in the United States. Sorry Nigeria, but rules are rules, and I'm still waiting to collect those millions of dollars you promised me...

Black Friday sale

2011-11-25T07:10:00.001-06:00

Round things for sale!

So... I keep hearing the words Black Friday over and over these days. I was thinking about when all this Black Friday stuff started. Then I remembered that Robinson Crusoe had a man Friday... and I got this idea. The first Black Friday sale! My plan is to try to avoid all stores on Friday, and maybe go see the new Muppet movie instead.

What's in your pocket?

2011-11-21T12:41:00.001-06:00

This is an image I recently completed that is part of a job which will ultimately be used by Bic. As I told them, I have carried a black Bic ballpoint pen in my pocket for most of my adult life. I never go anywhere without it. It is right there next to my car keys... in the same pocket... along with my mini-Swiss Army knife. This accounts for how it looks when I pull it out to use. My keys tend to chew up the pen. I feel like apologizing sometimes when I pull it out. It looks like a dog has been using it for a chew toy for a month or so. Anyway, it was kinda fun to do something for a product that has been a part of me for so long.

How to get rich quick

2011-11-01T07:26:00.000-05:00

If you have gold in your teeth... sleep lightly. A scary thought, eh? This is a spot illustration I completed recently for a youth publication.

Scary Frankenstein

2011-10-28T15:50:00.000-05:00

When I was a kid, I made a lot of plastic models. Model cars, customized hot rods, and some scary Famous Monsters of filmland. I assembled and painted a Frankenstein, Mummy, Dracula and Creature from the Black Lagoon. I can't believe it is almost Halloween and I have not posted anything scary yet. So here you go, my version of Frankenstein... with a not too scary smile.

Tintin - the movie!

2011-10-25T14:13:00.000-05:00

Tintin's little brother Ninenine.

I think I discovered Tintin books decades ago while poking around in some bookstore (a favorite activity that is getting harder and harder to do these days). I immediately liked the clean drawing style, detailed backgrounds and the adventures Tintin got involved in. I never dreamed that someday it would be a movie.

Now Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson are bringing Tintin to the big screen. The movie trailer looks pretty good. I am just hoping that the motion capture stays cartoony and does not get into the uncanny valley like the Polar Express did. It was just creepy.

I have been re-reading some Tintin adventures lately to reacquaint myself with the characters. I also found some interesting things on Youtube about the creator Herge. There is a very enlightening documentary about Herge that was on P.O.V. a few years ago. If you are a fan, I would recommend watching it. You can find it by clicking here.

I thought it would be fun to make a younger version of Tintin. Then I decided to try a filter to give it a comic book look. So here you go... Tintin's younger brother Ninenine.

Poodles take Dive

2011-10-11T08:45:00.000-05:00

(clicken to enlargen)

Keeping the Fantasy in Fantasy Football.

Week 5 in the AWFFL fantasy football league. The fabulously wealthy but winless 0-4 Aziz Ansari have their first win of the season against the Penultimate Poodles... who suddenly are rolling in tons of cash.

Connect the dots. It's pretty easy.

When asked about integrity, the Poodles replied, "Integrity is something we can buy with lots of cash... but first we are going to build a new pink clubhouse with a hot yoga studio and a Mr. Smoothie bar."

In spite of this loss, the Poodles are in a 3 way tie for first place in the Bipolar Division.

Next game puts the Poodles up against the Tight-Jean Juggernauts of the Dementia Division.

Steve Jobs tribute

2011-10-06T16:43:00.000-05:00

Poodles squash Mashers

2011-10-04T08:44:00.000-05:00

(clicketh upon yon image to supersizeth it)

Keeping the Fantasy in Fantasy Football.

Week 4 in the AWFFL fantasy football league. The Penultimate Poodles traveled to Mashachusetts, home of the 3-0 league leading Mashers for this week's game. The huge blue Masher Stadium was filled with Masher fanatics. The Masherettes led the crowd from the sidelines as they chanted "Mash-em Up, Mash-em Up, Mash!, Mash!, Mash!" The Poodles were so intimidated they had to spend an extra 20 minutes in the Downward Dog yoga pose to calm their nerves.

The game was hard fought. Many manicured toenails were scuffed and some even broken! The Poodle's hairspray gave out in the 3rd quarter and morale was at a low. But then, rallying at the sound of the 2 minute warning, the Poodles pulled together for one last campaign. As the ball was snapped, Percy Poodle screamed, "Shoe's untied!" The entire Masher defense said, "Huh?" and started looking down at their feet.

The Poods then crammed the ball into their Indiana Jones satchel and sprinted for the goal line. Upon seeing they had been fooled, the Mashers released their Boulder of Death. As the gigantic Masher ball bore down on them, the Poods zigged and zagged and fought their way through the cobwebs as the goal line grew near. All would have been lost... but the Pood's trainer had made sure his team was wearing the proper footwear for Masher Stadium. Jimmy Choo pink cleats. With this extra edge, the Poods crossed the goal line to victory!

Whew!

The Poodles had done what no other team had done up to this point... beat the Mashers. There was much rejoicing in the Poodle clubhouse as cans of hairspray were dispensed, Perrier flowed like... uh, water, and complimentary manicures were done for all.

hibernate

2011-10-03T13:31:00.000-05:00

(click upon yon image to enlargen)

I took the Illustration Friday prompt word "hibernate" and tried something a little different this time. I got rid of the black lines that I usually have in my work, and tried to use shape and color to define things. Hope you like it!

Bandits rob Poodles

2011-09-27T07:47:00.000-05:00

(click upon to enlargenify image)

Keeping the Fantasy in Fantasy Football.

Week 3 in the AWFFL fantasy football league. The Penultimate Poodles traveled south to the home of the ferocious Chinese Bandits. As the Poodles traveled to the game in their lavish pink party bus, they psyched themselves up by painting their nails and using countless cans of hairspray to keep their poodle-doos in place. Entering the packed, bright yellow Kung Pao Stadium, the Poodles were overwhelmed. But then, the Poodles are always overwhelmed.

The game was a close one. The lead swapped back and forth the over and over. Late in the fourth quarter with the Poodles ahead, the Bandits pulled a trick play. At the snap of the ball, the Bandits pulled out trombones and began playing a John Philip Sousa march. The Poodles were so excited they forgot all about football and started doing their award winning marching routine. The Bandits strolled across the goal line. The extra point was kicked through the uprights (resembling giant chop sticks)... and the game was history. Final score Bandits 109 - Poodles 99.

Next week the Poodles travel to the home of the Mashers. Stay tuned.

Bob Staake

2011-09-26T13:35:00.000-05:00

(click to enlarge)

Last year I attended a regional SCBWI conference here in Nashville. One of the conference leaders was Diane Muldrow, an editor and author at Golden Books/Random House. She spoke about her first "jacketed hardcover" picture book that she had written which was illustrated by Bob Staake. I bought a copy and got Diane to sign it for me.

Later in the year, Bob Staake put out a plea on Facebook for everyone to send him all the old pencils they had. He was going to use them in a project of some kind. I took this opportunity to send him a ziplock bag full of pencil stubs, my copy of We Planted a Tree, and an SASE.

I now have my copy of We Planted a Tree signed by both the author and the illustrator! In addition to signing the book and doing a little sketch, Bob also did a fun drawing on the return SASE I had sent. Cool!

Today is Bob's birthday. I think he is like 85 or something... but he is still going strong! He has inspired many artists with his speed, endless creativity, and productivity. I am a big Fan of Bob. FOB

Happy birthday, Bob!

Ferocious... NOT

2011-09-26T09:57:00.000-05:00

Ferocious?... I think NOT!

You might want to sing this little song as you look at the kitty:

Soft kitty,
warm kitty,
little ball of fur.

Happy kitty,
Sleepy kitty,
Purr, purr, purr.

Poodles hock Phlegm

2011-09-20T13:51:00.001-05:00

click to biggercize

Putting the Fantasy in Fantasy Football.

Week 2 in the AWFFL fantasy football league. It was a clear day with sunny skies at Flambeau Field, home of the Penultimate Poodles. The Poodles entered the pink stadium to the roar of thousands, er, hundreds... OK, tens of fans. Their rivals, the slippery, loogie hocking Phlegm, kicked off to begin the epic battle.

The Phlegm took an early lead, sliming the field and watching while puzzled Poodles slid in every direction. It wasn't till late in the 4th quarter during a time out for tea and crumpets, that the Poodles discovered that donning their hot pink Crocs enabled them to skate by the Phlegm and score touchdowns.

The rest is AWFFL history. Poodles skated by the Phlegm with a score of 127 to 81. Next week... the Poodles face the one-eyed Chinese Bandits. Poodles are now getting in some serious practice eating their Poodle Chow with chop sticks. OY!

Don't even THINK about it

2011-09-14T08:42:00.000-05:00

click to enlargen

This was inspired by the Illustration Friday word "Boundaries." While coming up with this idea, I remembered a trip to Chicago many years ago. We were looking for a parking place at a crowded restaurant. As I drove by the front, there was a sign at one spot that said, "Don't even think of parking here!" It made me laugh. The first time I had ever seen a sign like that.

Don't let this image be a boundary to you. If you are visiting from Illustration Friday you can click on the blog header and see what is happening with the Penultimate Poodles. Curious?

the AWFFL fantasy football league

2011-09-13T07:00:00.000-05:00

(click to bigger-cize) POODLES SLURP THE NOODLES

It's football time again and that means the fantasy football leagues are back in business. I am a member of the AWFFL league. That's Another Worthless Fantasy Football League. It is composed of brothers, nephews, and assorted relatives. Some of said relatives are Professional Football Fanatics and others are... well... not. Do you see me holding up my hand here? Way in the back... in the corner... next to the exit?

We have two divisions. The Dementia and the Bipolar. Luckily, I am in the Bipolar division which is the ABSOLUTE BEST DIVISION EVER!!! uh... no, I take that back it's totally the PITS!! No... it's Awesome! No, it's Horrible! I am so depressed to be in it... never mind. Deep breath... moving on...

Anyway, after the first week my team the Penultimate Poodles, triumphed over the slippery but tasty Instant Noodles. It was a very flavorful, yet highly salty game. The Poodles relaxed after their first win in the team hot tub playing with their chewy toys, eating Purina Poodle Chow and sipping Perrier water.

Week two brings us a Home game vs the Sedro Woolley Phlegm. What a bunch of slime bags!

Mysterious

2011-09-06T10:21:00.005-05:00

This image was inspired by the Illustration Friday word Mysterious. Magicians are mysterious aren't they? I tried to use some different colors than I usually do on this image. I am also trying to get the hang of texture. I have a lot to learn here, but I am making progress!

I have magicians on my mind because I recently read a really entertaining book, Carter Beats the Devil. It has collected 4 1/2 out of 5 stars on Amazon. It is a book that has a little bit of everything in it. You have good guys and bad guys, danger, suspense, history, romance, mystery, a lion and elephant, and pirates with a plot that keeps you turning pages. If you want a fun read, I would recommend it!

(trade secret... you can click on the image to magically make it bigger!)

Oh... if you enjoy this blog, please click on the "Join this Site" button. If 6 more highly intelligent, discerning people would join, I would have 100 followers! That would be awesome! You KNOW you want to... :o)

Hallmark card contest entry

2011-09-02T09:17:00.000-05:00

So... a few days ago I ran across a contest from Hallmark cards. The contest was to design a Mother's Day card which involved a pet in some way. The deadline to enter was just a day away. This was perfect because I only work under pressure. I have always thought making cards would be fun and here was my chance to enter something. I picked up a pen and on a piece of scrap paper, I doodled out the FIRST thing that came to mind. Here is what it looked like:

I knew if I tried to come up with something better I would get bogged down and probably get distracted and then not get an entry in. I quickly penciled a cat on a sheet of copy paper and then "inked" it in with a felt tip. Again, I could have wasted a lot of time trying to come up with the right style of cat drawing, but I was now operating "unencumbered by the thought process" as the Car Talk guys like to say. I scanned the drawing in and added some color with Photoshop. Here is what it looked like:

The inside of the card reads: "You're PUR-fect!"

So... entry created and submitted in about an hour. It was fun! Now I wait...

Shark! Man!

2011-08-23T15:02:00.000-05:00

I was INFLUENCED to draw Sharkman by the Chicken Nugget Lemon Tooty kids. What a fun blog! To celebrate 5 years of art posted by the kids, we are invited to create some FAN art of one of the pieces online. When I saw Sharkman, he was calling my name! So here is my version. Maybe I can INFLUENCE some of you to do the same.

Oh, and by the way... isn't "Chicken Nugget Lemon Tooty" just the best blog name ever?

Postcard giveaway!

2011-08-21T17:41:00.009-05:00

I recently printed up a little promotional postcard. After mailing them out to everyone I could think of... and their pets... and next of kin... I still have a few left over. I also just discovered that I can make PAGES here on my blog! The limit is 10 pages. Ten is such a good round number, so I have spent all afternoon making pages. Now my blog also functions as a portfolio site. Woo Hoo! I also did a little sprucing up of the old blog and changed the air freshener. It's like a whole new place now!

So, here's the deal. While supplies last, if you send me your mailing address I will send you a postcard. Cool, eh? All you have to do is click around on those brand new buttons and see what you find. When you come across my email address just drop me a note with your mailing address and a crisp new postcard will be crawling your way by snail mail.

Shark Week!

2011-08-02T21:22:00.004-05:00

For some reason, each time Shark Week rolls around on Discovery, I get inspired to do some shark related things. Here is a little Shark car that gets about 30 miles per gallon of chum.

Shark week

2011-08-02T08:11:00.003-05:00

It's Shark Week on Discovery channel. This is a Joker shark I drew after watching a Batman movie a while ago.

obsession

2011-07-30T07:24:00.005-05:00

Lately I have had an obsession with giving my website a makeover. A few times in the middle of the night I have had a really great or funny idea. The best idea ever! Then in the morning, I realize it was actually a really lame idea. Same thing happens here. I have what I think is a funny idea, then after working on it for days I start second guessing myself and wonder if it is a dumb idea. I guess that's the way it goes. Anyway, you can take a look at my crazy idea by clicking here and let me know what you think. Funny or Dumb? You be the judge.

friendly gesture

2011-07-18T21:51:00.003-05:00

a friendly gesture on a hot day.

Winter is coming!

2011-07-06T15:27:00.004-05:00

"Winter is coming!" was the cry heard throughout the land. Sir Denigejonz of North Weaselvale knew the remedy for the harsh, approaching winter... his Snuggie! "Yes," he thought, "winter bad... Snuggie good! Now make coffee..."

(click to enlarge)

Pig Martin

2011-07-05T10:52:00.004-05:00

I saw Steve Martin in concert a few weeks ago. It was a great evening of music and comedy! Last night he was playing his banjo for the PBS program Capitol Fourth. Here is a quick, little sketch of Pig Martin (Steve's cousin) playing his banjo.

Asleep

2011-05-31T10:49:00.003-05:00

Here in my neck of the woods we are experiencing the 13 year cicada invasion. These cicadas lay eggs on small tree branches. The eggs hatch into tiny nymphs which drop to the ground. They burrow into the soil and live on tree roots for 13 years. After that 13 year long nap, they come out, make a lot of noise, mate, lay eggs and die... all in 5 or 6 weeks. A short, noisy life!

I like their little red orange bug eyes.

lesson

2011-05-03T15:49:00.004-05:00

Some people have to learn their lessons the hard way.

bicycle

2011-04-25T11:29:00.004-05:00

Even a fancy-schmancy recumbent bike can have a very painful seat. Painful seats seem to be standard issue on most bicycles.

Roundness

2011-04-13T15:11:00.003-05:00

If you are ever in Nashville and find yourself wandering around Centennial Park, you may stumble across this monument. It was put up to mark the spot of the Woman's Building at the 1897 Exposition. The plaque has a quote that reads "That that is round can be no rounder." I like that. Whatever it means...

monkey see-monkey do

2011-04-07T08:50:00.004-05:00

This monkey was all BOTTLED up.

I love the painted objects that Eric Barclay makes. The other day I was rounding up the plastic bottles to take to the recycling center when I saw a little lemon bottle. It was calling to me. So I thought I would take a shot at painting it. Monkey see... monkey do. It was fun, but my acrylic paint was so old it was gummy and didn't flow on well. If I do this again, I'm gonna buy some fresh paint.

walkin' the birdy

2011-03-31T20:52:00.004-05:00

Cedric Hohnstadt declared March to be sketchbook month and invited all who wanted to join him in doing a sketch each day in March. He even created a sketch blog where he posted the sketches each day. Sounded like fun to me so I joined in. I figured if I actually SAID I was going to do this, I would be jinxing my efforts so I just plugged away each day to see how many days I would actually come up with a sketch. I didn't to too bad.

Today I whipped out a quick little gator in the morning. Never got anything else done so it looks like this will be my final sketch for this project. I threw on a little Photoshop color on top of the purple pencil lines and brush pen ink... and there you go!

It's been fun. I'm hoping to post more sketches. OOPS! I said it out loud and probably jinxed it...

NYC cobra

2011-03-30T21:01:00.002-05:00

A cobra from the Bronx zoo has escaped. Probably out buying up souvenirs all over town.

girl with friend

2011-03-29T20:25:00.004-05:00

So, I drew a sketch of a girl. I was basically done when I realized she was standing there, holding her hand out and staring off into space. It looked strange. I decided she needed to have something in her hand to be looking at, but what? Something long like a flag or something. Nah... a flag is no fun... how about a critter of some sort. I started drawing a weasel like animal but it morphed into a possum somewhere along the way. So here you have it... a girl and her pet possum. Possum Girl. Coming soon to a comic book near you.

Toy

2011-03-28T19:58:00.005-05:00

Once upon a time I was a little kid. Hard to believe, eh? That was a looong time ago, but I still have a toy I played with back then. A sock monkey. That sock monkey was the inspiration for a character I designed that I named SocMo, which is a shortened form of sock monkey. I'm still trying to decide what to do with this character. He could be the next Mickey Mouse. It could happen. Right? I'm waiting for some direction on what SocMo needs to do. Where is my muse when I need him? Probably sipping coffee at Starbucks. I better get over there and buy him another round...

dinos

2011-03-23T17:36:00.004-05:00

I'm still plugging away at sketchbook month (March). Today I drew a few dinos... which seems to be my default when I don't know what to draw. They always look surly for some reason... probably hungry.

Cultivate

2011-03-22T21:43:00.003-05:00

I only have time for a really quick sketch for the Illustration Friday word this week... and what could be better than CULTIVATING donuts in your garden?

ax boy

2011-03-21T20:01:00.001-05:00

A bit of colored pencil... and a bit of messing around in Photoshop... just for grins.

Godzeera

2011-03-17T11:09:00.002-05:00

Something green for St. Patrick's Day. I think I have been drawing Godzillas recently because of the events in Japan. Hope everything there gets under control...

Stir-man

2011-03-15T19:54:00.005-05:00

So, the Illustration Friday word for the week is "STIR." I thought I would take a couple of minutes and see what I could do with it. The first thing that came to mind was someone who stirred things. A chef type. But also a Superhero type. After I had the guy mostly sketched out I realized that a super hero needs a cape... so I added a cape. Then I remembered that they all seem to wear their underwear on the outside of their pants. So I did that too... and stuffed his jacket into them. Nothing says Superhero like whitey-tighties. So now I kind of have a Captain Underpants with a spoon. I'm not even going to hazard a guess what he has been stirring...

unicorn dolphins and double rainbows

2011-03-14T15:42:00.002-05:00

I'm hoping that a picture of a unicorn, dolphins and a double rainbow will lure some eyeballs here from all over the internets. I need some magic. Maybe a large eyed little kid and some fluffy, big-eyed kitty cats next...

the Good

2011-03-11T20:08:00.002-06:00

messin' around with Clint...

Facebworking

2011-03-10T13:39:00.003-06:00

...and you KNOW who you are! ...

car

2011-03-08T09:49:00.002-06:00

A quick sketch of a little car. There are some great little cars HERE.

Warning

2011-03-07T17:30:00.004-06:00

This was inspired by the Illustration Friday word for this week - WARNING. I think this guy should turn around and open his mouth.

flyin' thing

2011-03-07T15:18:00.004-06:00

I ran across a picture I had saved because I liked the flying machine. I did a quick sketch of it in my sketchbook. There are a few problems with the drawing... but hey, it's just a sketch...

possum with ukulele

2011-03-03T08:36:00.004-06:00

I have participated on the Dueling Banjo Pigs blog. If you want to see lots of pigs playing banjos... that's your place. But today I thought I would draw a possum playing a ukulele. Why not? If you are looking for something to draw and need an idea, try a ukulele playing possum.

Dr. Seuss

2011-03-02T08:11:00.005-06:00

Today is the birthday of Dr. Seuss. I found a picture of him in Google Images, grabbed my Micron and sketchbook... and a few minutes later this is what I had.

Swarm

2011-03-01T20:33:00.003-06:00

This is what came to mind for the Illustration Friday word SWARM. And no... this is not autobiographical.

Gnu

2011-03-01T19:29:00.004-06:00

Here is a gnu from my sketchbook. I scanned it and then played around with it just a bit in Photoshop.

Layers

2011-02-21T19:31:00.004-06:00

The Illustration Friday word of the week is LAYERS. I decided to have some fun with the word and this is what I came up with. Isn't it comforting to know that we all have a chewy nougat center?

Groundhog Day

2011-02-02T07:08:00.004-06:00

I like the movie Groundhog Day.

Many times I have thought that my life as a freelance illustrator resembles the movie. I get up everyday, do my little routine, draw, go to bed and repeat it all the next day. Each day is pretty much like the one before.

The difference is Bill Murray eventually learns his lesson and moves on.

I must not have learned my lesson. I am still stuck in that endless loop.

Maybe today I will get it right.

There is always hope. : )

dino sketch

2011-02-01T06:57:00.003-06:00

I'm drawing lots of dinosaurs this week. Here is a sketch of one of the little dinos that I like...

Dusty

2011-01-22T16:10:00.003-06:00

When things get dusty, SOMEone needs to get to work.

Chicken!

2011-01-20T18:19:00.007-06:00

The word for Illustration Friday this week is CHICKEN. I kept thinking that I would do something special for this, but here it is... Thursday night and I've got nothing but excuses. Good excuses, mind you. But excuses.

So... I am dusting off and sprucing up an image from a calendar I did a while back. And here is a short story for an added bonus.

A few years ago when I saw that Facebook was open to us regular folks and not just college students, I decided to sign up and see what it was all about. As I jumped through all the hoops to get myself signed up, I came to the point where I could upload an image. I had nothing immediately available. I took a quick look on my desktop and found some artwork I had done for a calendar. It happened to have a National Chicken Day on it so it had a great big chicken with baby chicks, feathers and such for the days of the month. I liked the chicken so I cropped off the head and uploaded it as my avatar.

I never got around to changing the image... I'm lazy. Then later I signed up for Twitter and used the chicken again. Did I mention that I'm lazy? So then I was getting used to seeing the chicken around and decided to use it as my blog avatar. So gradually, without planning I have become a chicken. At least on line I'm a chicken. In real life I am an aardvark. But that is another story.

you've got MAIL!

2010-12-17T11:53:00.004-06:00

You've got mail! A Christmas greeting from me to you. I gave the postman the day off and sent this out over the internets. I wish all a very merry Christmas and a new year full of possibilities. As Pedro says, "may your wildest dreams come true."

feed the dog

2010-12-16T04:58:00.002-06:00

I have been too busy lately to feed the dog. Wait, I don't have a dog. But if I did, he would be wearing his bowl on his head and kicking my door like Snoopy.

First our gas range died. We have been cooking with an electric skillet. Our refrigerator is half dead. The freezer doesn't freeze anymore. Then our central heat and air unit died. I think it is a conspiracy. The HVAC was confusing. Too many choices and opinions about brands and sizes paralyzed us for a while. We finally decided on one. I am so thankful to have heat right now.

After the HVAC was taken care of, we then focused on replacing the stove and fridge. The day before they were to be delivered, the water heater in the garage sprung a leak and died. I tell you, it's a conspiracy. So we got the plumber who installed the new water heater to connect the gas stove while he was here. Now we have a stove to cook on, a fridge with a freezer, hot water, and heat in the house. Yay! I have learned to appreciate things I have been taking for granted for so long... like hot water.

Then yesterday, the phone quit working.

Murphey's Law is alive and well.

afterward

2010-11-17T09:18:00.003-06:00

The word for Illustration Friday last week was "afterward." I was thinking of the Dueling Banjo Pigs site and thought I would show what happens AFTER a pig plays a banjo. Unfortunately, I only got this quick sketch done and then was distracted by other things and never got around to making a better image, or posting it on IF. Life happens. Anyhoo, I missed the IF deadline but decided to post this guy anyway.

Halloween countdown 7

2010-10-29T13:18:00.003-05:00

Halloween. It's GRRRRRRRRRRRRReat!

Halloween countdown 6

2010-10-29T08:37:00.004-05:00

Holy Halloween... it's Batkid! Quick, throw some Bat-treats into the Bat-bag, and fire up the Bat-scooter, Alfred!

Halloween countdown 5

2010-10-28T12:46:00.006-05:00

My Spidey Sense is tingling... there must be treats in the area!

racing

2010-10-28T07:55:00.005-05:00

A racing wiener dog. This is a painting I did a while back. I like to simplify animals into geometric shapes.

To see my Halloween countdown CLICK HERE

Halloween countdown 4

2010-10-28T07:45:00.005-05:00

Halloween can be a MOO-ving experience... or an udder failure.

Halloween countdown 3

2010-10-27T06:10:00.002-05:00

Need a quick costume? Just grab a couple of Honey Buns, stick 'em on your ears and you are Princess Leia!

Halloween countdown 2

2010-10-26T09:09:00.002-05:00

Count your fingers after you give this little guy a treat...

Halloween countdown 1

2010-10-25T09:54:00.005-05:00

I'm counting down to Halloween with a costume or two each day. First up is the classic Chicken costume. This may get the wearer some stale PEEPS leftover from Easter.

Southern Festival of Books

2010-10-11T19:09:00.016-05:00

Last weekend was the Southern Festival of Books in Nashville. Saturday morning I listened to Jon Scieszka (rhymes with Fresca) tell about his journey to become a writer. I didn't know anything about him. He was hilarious.

He grew up with 5 brothers and no sisters. At one point he was studying to become a doctor, but realized that although he liked the science part of medicine, he found that sick people "weirded" him out.

He got a masters degree in fiction writing which, he said, qualified him to paint apartments in New York. After a few years of painting apartments he decided that there had to be something better.

He found a teaching job in an elementary school in NYC and taught second grade along with some other grades for eight years. He decided to write for children and The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs was the first book he got published. After many publishers told him it was "too dark, too sophisticated, and don't come back" he finally found a publisher that liked it. It has now sold over 13 million copies.

Jon was so entertaining and fun to listen to. He is the kind of guy you want to have as a buddy and hang out with. I really enjoyed him.

Right after Jon was a talk by Mo Willems. Mo read/performed his new Knuffle Bunny book. He is another crazy person. He and Jon were neighbors in Brooklyn for a few years.

I think that is the problem with my career. I have never lived in Brooklyn. It seems everyone I like has lived there.

I also got to watch a screening of the new documentary "Library of the Early Mind" Click on the link above to see the trailer.

beneath

2010-10-07T04:43:00.013-05:00

(pencil and Photoshop - click to enlarge)

If you are an opossum, it's not beneath you to eat garbage.

I only had time to quickly pencil out something and throw on a little Photoshop color. But I did have fun playing with the brushes and layers in Photoshop. Wish I had more time for a little better finish to this picture. Oh, well... Maybe next week I can get something done before Thursday.

Yeah, right.

I did catch a possum in a live trap recently in my yard. I had some leftovers in it as bait. I thought I was going to catch yet another skunk, which are digging up my yard. My count to date is 7 skunks caught and one possum. I let the critter go and he scampered off to find some nice gar-BAHzh at someone else's house.

ABC book cover

2010-09-30T05:24:00.002-05:00

Old-Fashioned ABC book. Click to enlarge.

Last weekend I attended the Mid South SCBWI conference. There was a contest that attending illustrators could enter. It got down to the week of the conference before I finally got a little time to put together this book cover. One of the options for the contest was to create a 10x10 cover with the letters ABC as part of the art.

I thought it would be fun to try something a bit different, so I cut all of the shapes for the illustration out of black paper.

I scanned the black shapes, and then assembled and colored them in Photoshop. I liked the results. A square cover is a very boring shape. I ran a little strip down the left side that made the white space a bit less square. I also repeated the vertical strip with the vertical animals and letters. Lots of fun to do.

I seem to gravitate toward making things simple and fun. But alas, simple and fun does not win against incredibly well rendered illustrations. The winning pieces were really nice. Congrats to all.

Now, where did I leave that box of Kleenex?

Old Fashioned

2010-09-29T04:48:00.005-05:00

Gather around children, and let me tell you of the days before everyone walked around with a phone in his pocket. When I was little I read a comic strip in the newspaper (do you remember newspapers?) called Dick Tracy. Dick Tracy would talk on his 2-Way Wrist Radio. You knew it was a 2-Way Wrist Radio because there was a little arrow pointing to it telling you. This was the stuff of science fiction. To think you could communicate with someone with a watch like radio. No way.

Later there was Maxwell Smart. The spy from Control who talked into his shoe phone. A bit awkward for sure, but nevertheless a portable phone. He did have to dial it... but still... this was technology only a spy could have.

Today everyone takes phones for granted. Leave home without your phone and you feel nekkid!

Except for me. I still use tin cans with string.

Just call me old fashioned.

acrobat

2010-09-23T12:33:00.003-05:00

Wow, I have almost missed Illustration Friday again! Tomorrow is Friday and a NEW word will be announced. But just under the wire, here are a couple of acrobats. These were part of a collection of images I created for the Facebook game PackRat. I will have to try to be more timely in posting things in the future. Or... I could just go back in time and post this earlier, if my time machine was not in the shop. Those pesky flux capacitors keep going out on me...

dude

2010-09-23T08:37:00.002-05:00

Today's warm up doodle. Micron on copy paper.

Fantasy Football

2010-09-16T04:28:00.010-05:00

As the proverb says: A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

This week marked the first step in the Fantasy Football league I have joined. Before you stop reading... let me tell you about our league. It is AWFFL, which stands for Another Worthless Fantasy Football League. And it IS awful... awful fun! It is a family affair. All the other league members are related to me. There are brothers, nephews, kids... and the wife of a nephew. We run the gamut from those who have followed the NFL for decades... to those who have never watched a game.

Our league has two Divisions. The Bipolar Division and the Dementia Division. I am glad I was assigned to one of the Divisions, because I could have never chosen between the two.

The teams include such fearsome names as the High Plains Drifters, the Wild Weasels, the Phlegm, the Chinese Bandits... and my team... the Poodle Walkin' Sissies. If perchance the planets all align one week, and my hapless team actually wins a game, I want the looser to have to tell their friends that they lost to the Poodle Walkin' Sissies.

AHhhh...THAT will be so GOOOD! Highly unlikely... but it would be so GOOOD!

The first game is now in the record books. The POODLES limped to their locker room with their tails between their legs after a bitter loss. After a round of Purina Poodle Chow, some Perrier water and some hot tubbin', the Poodles are ready for week two.

Next week we meet the PHLEGM. Hope we don't get slimed.

Stay tuned.

dessert

2010-09-03T08:31:00.002-05:00

I create images for a game on Facebook called PackRat. It is a game of collecting little images. You find them, buy them, steal them from friends. These are a few I did recently for the Ice Cream Shoppe collection. These were really fun to do. Ice cream desserts are my favorite... wait, I like pie too... and cake... and pastries... and...

immovable

2010-09-02T05:40:00.001-05:00

A Skunk on a pew is immovable. Would YOU want to tell him to leave?

I think not.

I rest my case.

atmosphere

2010-08-25T05:00:00.004-05:00

On a cold winter day you need to feel the sun shining in the window and create a cozy, warm atmosphere.

It's is hard for me to imagine being cold right now. The temperature here has not been out of the nineties since June. The weather man is talking about it getting down to the eighties this week. Woo, I'd better go find my jacket.

This was an assignment I did recently. Maybe it helps you to feel cool if you are drawing cold folks trying to keep warm. That is the crazy part of being an illustrator. You always seem to be six months off. I can't wait till Christmas when I will be drawing people on the beach soaking up the sun.

puzzle time

2010-08-09T06:00:00.004-05:00

Here are a couple of things I did recently that look a bit different from the other things I post here. These were done for the preschool set. And for the next group above the preschool set. Them little folks, small fries, crumb crunchers...

This is the old "Spot 10 things that are different in the two pictures" puzzle. Every time I do one of these I sing praises to the computer, Photoshop, and digital art. Otherwise, I would have to completely draw and color two pictures with slight differences. But now... now I can just duplicate one, change a few things, and I'm good to go. One of the few times digital art is actually quicker.

Oh... I didn't post the altered pictures here. I knew it would just be too hard for you to find the differences. I didn't want to get you all frustrated and wreck your day.

You're welcome.

Shark Week3

2010-08-04T07:56:00.003-05:00

Day three of shark week. I didn't have time to make a great shark image for today, but I have this pencil sketch from doodling around thinking of ideas. The thought here was a shark with oil dripping off him. I just don't know WHAT could have inspired that idea.

What I DID do yesterday was repair my gas oven. A first for me. Thanks to the internets, we were able to diagnose why the oven was not working and then order a replacement part. The part (an ignitor) came yesterday and I put it on. This morning we had muffins to test it out. It really feels great when I can fix something myself.

Temperature today is to hit 100 degrees.... again... sheesh!
Give me a break....

Shark Week2

2010-08-03T06:52:00.003-05:00

Here is a shark that I did recently for an assignment. Not sure I would want a shark to be a lifeguared... but I draw what I am told. Usually.

Shark Week

2010-08-02T06:56:00.005-05:00

It's SHARK WEEK on Discovery Channel. For the last three years I have drawn a few sharks during this week. So this year, instead of a pig with a banjo I have a Shark with a banjo. The pig ran away. You know pigs are tasty, but banjos are fun. So fun won out over the awesomeness of bacon this time.

I found some Photoshop brushes online and tried out a chalk brush on this. It did a great job of making that chalky texture, but I need more practice to get a handle on the thing.

Happy Shark Week!

caveman

2010-06-29T08:45:00.002-05:00

Wow, it has been a while since I posted anything. Most of what I have been working on lately has not been that post worthy.
This is an illustration for a magazine that I have just completed. I thought it might be interesting to show the pencil sketch along with the final art.

Harry Porker

2010-06-08T18:11:00.007-05:00

So, here is the story so far. Guy Francis bought a banjo and then drew a picture of a pig playing a banjo. He challenged Stacy Curtis to draw a banjo pig too. Now lots of us are drawing banjo pigs. It's a lot more fun than working...

Where did my idea come from? Read on.

I remember reading that when Sparky Schulz was stumped for an idea for Peanuts, he would go back to basics. As he said, cartooning is just making funny pictures. So he would doodle funny pictures of his characters.

With that in mind, I thought a pig riding a banjo would look funny. After a quick sketch, my pig looked like he was on a flying banjo. Hmmm... if witches fly on brooms, a pig could fly on a banjo, right? Makes sense to me. Hey! Harry Potter flew on a broom, too! That would be fun to work into the drawing. But wait! By changing two letters, Harry Potter could become Harry PORKER! So faster than you can say Huggle-Muggle, I had a Harry Porker on a flying banjo... (a Scruggs 2000)

Banjovi

2010-06-04T06:50:00.003-05:00

Banjovi, the rockin' superstar pig, is off to play a concert... unaware that his banjo is on "mute"

banjo pig

2010-06-03T08:49:00.002-05:00

I had to get in on the pig playing banjo thing. I mean, I live in Nashville, TN for crying out loud... and at one point I could actually plan"Foggy Mountain Breakdown" on my crummy banjo. So here is my piggy.

the Letter

2010-05-19T04:31:00.001-05:00

Here is an illustration I did recently. I think it turned out Okay. i tried using a pencil on the drawing instead of my usual pen and ink. I like the softer look, but it was a booger trying to color it.

Nashville flood poster

2010-05-11T10:43:00.002-05:00

My son, Kyle, has designed a great poster that will support flood relief in Nashville. You can click HERE and buy one. Don't be shy... Nashville needs your help.

Angel vs donkey

2010-04-27T17:16:00.006-05:00

the sketch

the final art
I recently made this illustration for a magazine article. The segment I illustrated was a brief story about a donkey in a Christmas pageant that saw the spotlit angel in the balcony. The donkey HEE-HAWED and sat down to the delight of the audience.

As I was creating the pink fog in the balcony on a Photoshop layer, I was ever so thankful for digital art. I'm not sure how I would have handled painting the fog with watercolors like I used to do. It took a bit of experimentation to get the effect using the brush tool and low opacity, but the beauty is I could try over and over till I got something I liked. Yay for digital art!

Postcard art

2010-04-16T04:04:00.004-05:00

I just finished up some art for a postcard ad and thought I would share it with you.
The assignment was a frazzled teacher with three kids running amuck. Don't you love the word "amuck?" Try to slip it in your conversation today when you are talking with someone. This was the first sketch I submitted. It didn't fly... the teacher looked too old. Oh, well...

Sketch 2wo went over better. So, maybe I should have done this one first. Mental note to self: Send second sketch first next time...

Here is the final image with lots of bright colors as requested, a twist of lime and a dash of Tabasco.

Pet Shop

2010-04-13T04:48:00.003-05:00

Here are some of the pets I designed that you can collect by playing PackRat on Facebook. It is a challenge for me to make icons that are so small. I try to make the images as simple as I can, and then cross my fingers and hope they look good when they are reduced down to 64x64 pixels. Click to enlarge.

Pet Shop collection

2010-04-06T10:59:00.002-05:00

I just completed a set of Pet Shop images for the PackRat game on Facebook. This is the hamster. Sign up and see if you can collect them all.

hamster

2010-04-02T15:02:00.003-05:00

Here is a sketch of a furry little friend that will be part of a current project. The sketch looks different blown up to this size. Supersize my hamster and give me an order of fries...

printed books

2010-04-02T14:29:00.003-05:00

Now that I have told you all about illustrating the little educational books, I will show you the most recent copies I have received. *Drumroll*... aaaand here they are!
ta-daaaaaaa...

And here is a peek inside.

And now my next hurdle is to fight the Federal Taxes battle. Time to fire up TurboTax and chew on a few pencils... sigh...

book project - color

2010-03-23T08:09:00.006-05:00

Well, I'm back from Argentina now and ready to 'splain the rest of this project to you. Argentina is very nice this time of the year and actually resembles my studio. In fact, it is EXACTLY like my studio.

When I took on the assignment of illustrating 3 books at the same time, I vastly underestimated the amount of work that was going to be. OY! So for the last month I have been working 12 hour days (8am-8pm) including weekends. OY, OY!

But the good news is, it is now finished! WOOT! While I am catching my breath, I will complete the process for you.

This is the scan of my inked page. It is scanned in at 300 dpi and 100% actual size.

Here is a detail shot of the mom and baby guppy. You can see my wobbly line work and see that all lines are touching... no gaps anywhere. This is important for me in quickly applying the color. Shapes that are not enclosed can be closed up and colored later, but it takes more time... and time is a very valuable thing on this project.

So, here we are. The finished illustration. The client always wants lots of bright colors for younger kids. So I stick to clean, bright colors and dump them in with the paintbucket in Photoshop. Bam, Bam, Bam! It is so quick. If I had to "paint" in all of the colors it would probably double the amount of time it would take to color these... and I don't have that time.

Once I have applied the flat colors I go back and do some actual painting. Like on the eggs. I think if I do a little bit of this here and there It helps add some variety and keeps everything from being so flat looking. I selected the blue of the water and ran a paint brush through it to give some variety there too. "A little dab will do ya" is my thinking. I don't like illustrations where everything has that airbrushed look, but a bit of softness here and there helps. I also change the black line to color on some things which makes the black lines on the main characters pop out more.

If you are interested in the nitty gritty of how I color in Photoshop, just go over to my sidebar and under LABELS click on Photoshop tutorial. This is a step by step of how I do it. I have a newer version of Photoshop now but the process is basically the same.

Well, that's it! I am glad to finally get this project and my blogging about it all wrapped up.

Oh... and I changed the title on this blog. Did you notice? What do you think of the new improved header?

book project - inking

2010-02-25T05:17:00.003-06:00

I know what you are thinking. You think I forgot all about promising to come back and tell you about the next step of my book project. After all, that was a month ago. You think I am off hiking the Appalachian Trail in Argentina or something... WRONG! The fact is I have three of these books to illustrate and I have been working furiously to get the other two penciled in. I finally did, and now I am able to get to the inking phase of this book.

Here is my editor approved, 100% full size sketch with revisions and extra cheese. I put a sheet of Clearprint Design Vellum over it to do my inking on. In olden days of yesteryear, I used to trace the sketch onto watercolor paper with a lightbox so I could ink it and color it with watercolor. Now I can skip one whole time consuming step by going right to the inking stage on the vellum. At this point I can still make slight adjustments in the placement of things by just moving the vellum a bit to put the object in a slightly different position. The tweaking never ends...

Here are my archaic tools. I found this old ink bottle holder many years ago. It keeps my ink bottle from sliding off my drawing board. I don't like the narrow openings on most ink bottles so I found this little bottle with a wide mouth that I fit into the holder. A few rounds of duct tape helped it to fit in the hole better. Duct tape just makes everything better doesn't it? I have tried different pen points, but seem to just like the basic #102 crowquill available at any art store. And there is the little piece of paper where I test the ink to make sure it is flowing before I put the point on the REAL thing.

Here I am pretending to be inking, but I'm really just holding my pen while I fumble around with my camera in my left hand and try to take a picture. I have spent a large part of my life influenced by and imitating comic strips and editorial cartoons. I love the line work of many artists from Ronald Searle to Walt Kelly to Jeff MacNelly to Bill Watterson to Charles Schulz... the list goes on and on. I seem to be addicted to the black line. And I like the feel of drawing on real paper and inking with a real dip pen. I may end up doing all this digitally someday... SOMEday... but not today. Today I will get actual ink on my actual fingers. And it ain't easy to get that stuff off, believe me!

OK, now I have to get the linework into my computer and my Epson scanner does this for me. 80% of all the illustration I do fits on the basic 8.5 x 11 inch vellum and I can scan it. About 20% of the time I have a larger illustration and have to scan it in sections and stitch it together in Photoshop. Once I have scanned in the inked drawing, I can clean it up in Photoshop with the eraser. I usually end up dragging my finger through the wet ink somewhere and Photoshop has saved me thousands of dollars that I would have spent buying white out paint.

Oh, if you happened to miss out on the first installments of this project, just click on "book project" over on the side bar and you will be up to speed in no time. chop chop

Well, now we are all ready to color this piece. I will post something about that soon. But first... I need to go to Argentina and do some hiking.

propagate

2010-02-23T09:19:00.004-06:00

SocMo likes to propagate dandelions in the spring.

I woke up early today and as I was lying in bed this idea came to me for the Illustration Friday word. I didn't have much time to spend on the illustration, so once again I dashed out a quick image and slapped it up here. Gotta get busy now with the rest of my day...

adrift

2010-02-18T05:09:00.002-06:00

After an unfortunate accident while lighting a gas grill,
SocMo found himself ADRIFT in space.

olympics

2010-02-09T10:03:00.002-06:00

SocMo is getting psyched up for the Winter Olympics!