Little Things

This was done from a photo that I found funny and touching at the same time. It reminded me of my mother-in-law whose beloved little dog passed away this fall. Her love for that dog was one of the little things that make life special.
This was another demo that I just finished a few days ago for a pastel techniques illustration class.
Rembrandt and NuPastels on sanded paper


This is her little Buster that died recently. I'm so glad I did this drawing for her for Christmas two years ago.

Excess

This was done as a demo of a mixed-media technique for one of my illustration classes. It is an image that represents everything excessive that one human can do to itself. The problem I had with it was, no matter how much I tried, I could not make the illustration look as bizarre or as excessive as the real thing.

The Zoo

This is a compilation of two pages from my sketchbook, drawn from life at Zoo Atlanta which is famous for its gorillas. Willie B was the patriarch of the zoo for years. Here is a quote from the Zoo Atlanta website:
"When Willie B., our magnificent western lowland gorilla patriarch passed away peacefully at the age of 41 in early February of 2000, the Zoo Atlanta family mourned his loss deeply and painfully. He had been more than an important animal in our collection of endangered and fascinating animals. Willie was a hero of sorts, a larger-than-life character who had come to embody the remarkable reinvention and rise to success of our zoo. His graceful transition from solitary caged animal to affectionate patriarch of an expanded family living in the lush Ford African Rain Forest came to represent the institution's rise from the brink of failure to its current status among the nation's finest zoological parks."
These sketches were made in 2006, years after Willie B passed away. But some of these animals are his offspring, and they are a testament to his resilience and adaptability.

Scale

Owl: acrylics on gessoed masonite
Hummingbird: airbrushed acrylics on illustration board

Hats

A book cover for the murder mystery "The Man Who Understood Cats". That's me in the fedora (hat) and trenchcoat with Mittens, the cat from Satan's own litterbox tucked inside my coat. Mittens had issues, to say the least; my daughter looks like she came out on the losing end of a prison knife fight because of this cat's razor claws and demonic attitude. He has since taken up his rightful place to the right hand of Lucifer, may he rest in peace.
Acrylics on Strathmore illustration board

Trick-or-Treat

I did this earlier this week as a pen-and-ink with watercolor demo for an illustration techniques class (with apologies to Jack Unruh whose technique was the thrust of this assignment). Great fun, and a lucky match for this week's theme.
Happy Halloween!

Witch Too

This was an airbrush demo I did at the SCAD-Atlanta 24-Hour Art Challenge last Friday. It was a good week for witches, I guess.
Some folks have said it looks like a 3D model, like in Maya or Strata. Nope, it's old-school; airbrush, india ink and acrylics.

Captain

This portrait of Captain Goatman of the Intergalactic Defense Force was done as a demo for one of my Illustration classes at SCAD-Atlanta. It involves the layering of pencil, acrylics, watercolor, and oil washes (in that order), with a bit of colored pencil (and a pinch of Photoshop for the name tag).

Moon

reprise of "Night"
For a book cover called The Enchanted Cat
The moon is a doctored NASA photo, the rest is from scratch in Photoshop.

Twist(er)

I know the theme is TWIST, and this is a lame substitution. This started out as a book cover, and now it is threatening innocent beach-goers once again.
Acrylics and Photoshop (I got a little filter happy, I'm afraid)

Rejection

The old passive-aggressive heave-ho.

Suit

Mr. Monopoly; the quintessential "suit". This is from the 2002 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade Poster, and it's my favorite of the four I've done. It's all digital, created in Photoshop and Illustrator.

To see the whole 2002 Macy's poster, click here.

Cars

From a time when cars represented much more than transportation from point A to point B. They represented transportation from childhood to adulthood, or so we thought. Cars were the way out, of the confinement of parents and home, as well as a way in, to the freedom of the road and independence. It's still that way today, I guess. Though the cars have changed and the culture of the road has changed, the romance of riding down the two-lane with the wind in your hair is still a siren song for everyone who wonders what is just beyond the next hill.

Acrylics on Strathmore illustration board with a touch of Photoshop for effect.

Citrus

Last minute entry; an old but tasty one. I'd prefer a Corona with citrus, but nobody has asked me to paint that yet. Maybe someday, then I could do LOTS of research on the product and call it a business expense (don't tell my dear friends at the IRS that I said that...they don't have much of a sense of humor).
Acrylics on Strathmore board

Polar

From a book cover titled "Elements of a Kill" by Christopher Lane.
I've never figured out why I was chosen to illustrate this series of mysteries that are all set in the "Frozen North". I grew up in Alabama and Georgia, where it might snow every third year or so...not exactly Inupiat territory. In fact the closest thing I've ever seen to a Polar Bear in the wild was an albino squirrel who lived in the woods behind our house a few years ago.

By the way, the odd looking thing in the water in the foreground is an authentic Inupiat ceremonial mask (it's supposed to represent the spiritual aspects of death and rebirth, I think).
acrylics on Strathmore illustration board

This is the actual cover with type and all.

Fortune

Apologies for this reprise, with alterations, of a previous post.
Pencil, acrylics, watercolor, oil wash, colored pencils, Photoshop

Green

The Masters Tournament in Augusta exemplifies the color green. It ended today, and although Tiger Woods finished tied for second, he always looks darn good in green. Congratulations to Zach Johnson, who is wearing the fabled green jacket for the first time.

Wired

A reprise of a previous IF post, but with a few tweaks. The theme is perfect for this week where I teach...it's the last week of the quarter and all the students are running on Red Bull, coffee and any other chemicals that will help them stay awake and finish all their projects on time.

Crash

Another old book cover. I know, too literal, too old school, but hey, it's a crash. And it's all I got. Sosumi. I thought about drawing Anna Nicole Smith, but that was also too literal. And just too sad on so many levels.
Click here for a larger view.

Red

This is a detail from a Nero Wolfe book jacket I did called "Some Buried Caesar". I don't have time for a new IF piece this time, and it's the only thing I could find that had enough red in it for this week's theme.
Acrylics on Strathmore 240 illustration board.

80's

A quick doodle of three 80's Pop icons as if in their 80's. Sadly, MJ didn't need much work to make him look decrepit.
Click here to see a larger view.

Buzz