Sid & Nancy Dr. Sketchy's

Here are some sketches from October's session of Dr. Sketchy's at the Sake Bomb.  There were two models this time-posing as Sid & Nancy.  (Sid Vicious from the Sex Pistols and Nancy his late girlfriend who he may or may not have stabbed to death.) 
I really enjoyed this one because the models used a guitar as a prop often, and I love drawing musicians!

Dr. Sketchy's Sci-fi

Tokyo Bell in Star Trek garb

Tokyo Bell in Dr. Who garb

More Dr. Who

We were supposed to draw the model in a "sci-fi" scene.  I surrounded her with some Labyrinth characters.  This was definitely a stretch.  And I didn't get to finish the chilly guy because it was timed.

Dr. Who pencil sketch

Not sure if there was a sci-fi reference with this costume, but it made for good sketching.

Dr. Who in color.

The Bureau of Drawers Quarterly Volume B and the Cafe Racer Tragedy

Before I left Seattle to attend SCAD for graduate school, I hung around some of the funniest, geekiest, and most talented people I've ever met. At that time, we were called the Friends of the Nib, but since then the group has been modified a bit and they now go by The Bureau of Drawers.

The idea is the same, they still get together weekly and joke and drink and draw. Recently they published a second volume of their comics, which is available for digital download here:
http://thebureauofdrawers.blogspot.com/2012/06/bureau-of-drawers-quarterly-volume-b.html
I haven't looked through the whole book yet, but I am excited and I know I will find amazing work inside.

Also recently, our meeting spot, Cafe Racer, was struck by tragedy when a shooter entered last Wednesday morning and shot five people, all of whom were good friends to the Racer family.

Many of my friends are still very upset by this unexpected event, and I am still stunned. Of all of the places I've lived and visited, I never expected violence of this kind would occur in the town that I miss and love so dearly.  But what I could have predicted was the overwhelming flood of support and love towards the Racer and the victims' families that occurred immediately after the incident.

There are ongoing benefits, memorials, and events happening, and here is a link to some of them:
http://blog.kexp.org/2012/06/01/live-around-town-cafe-racer-benefit-shows/

The last time I visited Seattle was almost two years ago, and I was happy to catch up with the FOTN at the Racer during my visit. I plan to visit again this summer or fall, and I hope that the Racer has reopened (they are temporarily closed) so I can pay my respects and have a drink with old friends while we sketch.

Another Beach Sketch

Pass-A-Grille Beach

Recent Illustrations published in The New Yorker that inspire me

Josh Cochran

Annette Marnat

Victo Ngai

Frank Viva

I have had a subscription to The NYer for about three years now, and I religiously read the fiction piece in each issue and pay close attention to all of the illustrations and names of the illustrators being published.  This is a small selection of illustrations in recent issues that I thought were especially interesting.  The style and techniques are varied, I think the first one by Josh Cochran is the most similar to the sketchbook look that I employ, (it looks like he could've actually drawn these people in different situations and redrawn them into a party scene-which I have done before.)  But his coloring is more daring than any I've ever tried. 

I think the color palette in each illustration is what initially drew me to them. Frank Viva effectively used only 5 colors, which works well for this graphic illustration.  And Annette Marnat makes very hot colors look soft with her blending in the limited palette.  Victo Ngai's is reminiscient of a Marcos Chin to me, and the colored line work really adds to the drawing.

Recent sketches in FLA

View from O'Maddy's Pub, Gulfport, FL

View from Bubba Gump Shrimp Co.-formerly Harpoon Louies, Jupiter, FL

Jupiter Inlet, Jupiter, FL

Concert on Record Store Day, Local 662, St. Petersburg, FL

St. Pete Pier, St. Petersburg, FL

Tampa Bay Blues Fest, St. Petersburg, FL

Some new work-new direction?

 

I've been creating several different sets of paintings and drawings for work.  I'm constantly in product development mode, which I enjoy much more than the business side of my job, which includes art consulting and spreadsheets for days.  

These two pieces are some that I created in my (limited) spare time.  I really liked them, because even though I have recently been creating commercial art, these pieces are similar to my own style.  They reflect my style in a looser fashion with all brush work instead of pen nib, and I think this is a positive direction for my work.  I'm obviously getting away from editorial illustration, but I hope that I can do more graphic and fashion work in the future.

Finally I have a second to sketch

My new job has been crazy to say the least.  I have been working very long days and nights.  And this includes drawing or painting at home.  It was nice to find a second the other night to draw something for myself-to capture Jose sleeping on the shelves which hold my vinyl and my favorite graphic novels and art books.