Reflections

Too busy to do a new piece for this week's theme, so I submit a book cover I did a while back.
I've done several pieces that use reflections as a metaphor for other things, but that seems too easy. Here, I chose a piece whose lack of reflections tells the story...the main character has died and is reflecting upon his wasted life, but as you can see, there are no reflections in the water, just a bottomless abyss that represents the void that his death has left in the lives of his friends and family.
Acrylics on illustration board.

Wisdom

"Knowledge speaks, wisdom listens"- Jimi Hendrix

I never thought of Jimi Hendrix as being exceedingly wise, but as I was looking around for inspiration for this "wisdom" theme, I stumbled upon this quote from him, and it struck me as being one of the most sublime definitions of wisdom I'd ever heard. Who knew?...maybe all those psychedelic drugs did help him find enlightenment, after all.

Empty

This image came to me immediately when I learned the theme was "empty". I did a few quick sketches in my usual realistic style and it just didn't work. So, I tried this simplified vector style, and it seems to have the right feel for this image.

Aging

I drew this self portrait two years ago after I was diagnosed with skin cancer. It manifested itself as a bb sized freckle under my right eye. I didn't give it much thought until one day, as I was washing my face, it started bleeding. I got a biopsy and was (mildly) relieved when the doctor said it was basel cell...the "good" kind of skin cancer.
I underwent Mohs' surgery, which is supposed to be the most non-invasive form of skin cancer surgery. I was a bit surprised that such a little lesion would require so much cutting and stitching...I felt a little like Frankenstein as I changed the bandages a few days after the surgery. It's the price I am paying for a childhood spent outside in the sun every summer with no sunscreen at all...back then we didn't know what UV was, much less what it could do to you. We just tried to get the deepest, darkest tan possible, sunburn be damned!
The scar has heeled now, and I'm the only one who notices it, of course.
I posted this "before and after" sketch in hopes that it will help all of us to be more conscious of the time we spend in the sun, and to pay attention to even minute changes in our skin...it can mean the difference between life and death. Luckily for me, it was just minor surgery, and a subtle daily reminder every time I look in the mirror.

Tranquility

OOPS! To go to "Aging", click the "Drawrings" masthead at the top of this page.

I didn't have time to do a new piece this week, so I hope this will suffice. It's from a book cover I did a while back, and the image has always felt dreamlike and tranquil to me. If you'd like to see the original book cover version, it's right here.

Designer Babies

A look at what might happen if that "Designer Baby" doesn't turn out exactly as planned.

Metropolitan

Some of you (older folks) will get it, some of you won't.

Sport

Congratulations to Lance Armstrong on his unprecedented 7th consecutive Tour de France victory. Vive la Lance!

Heroes

The Tuskegee Airmen of WWII were real-life heroes. They faced down the advancing German Army and prevailed in the skies over North Africa and Europe with one of the best combat records in history. But the Germans weren't the only enemy they faced and defeated; they fought during a time of intense racial prejudice, but they proved themselves more than worthy to fight alongside anyone. Because of their bravery and skill as fighter pilots and soldiers, the Tuskegee Airmen won the respect of a nation and the world.

This illustration was done as an in-class illustration demonstration. I used a little of everything: Watercolor, acrylics, oils and colored pencils. And, a touch of Photoshop at the end.

For a step-by-step on this piece, go here and scroll down.

Lemur step-by-step

This is a brief step-by-step of how I made the lemur piece for Illustration Friday's "Black & White" theme.

This is the reference photo I used; it was published online, and I hope it is a public domain image; there was no copyright notice on the image, so I hope it's ok to use ; ).


I added some area to the bottom of the canvas to accomodate the long tail, and sketched in the basic shapes using a Wacom tablet; I use a small, 3 or 4 pixel soft brush to draw with in Photoshop. If you want it to look like graphite, you can add texture and a little noise in the brushes palette.


Next, I added a layer at the bottom of the stack and filled the top area with black and the bottom with white. Then, I made a new layer above that one for the basic shapes; I used the lasso tool and roughly drew shapes for the black and white areas and filled the selections with the appropriate color. I wanted a stark black and white abstract pattern at this point, so I made the selections as simple as possible while still maintaining the essence of the lemur.


Now comes the fun part. I used a small brush and the Wacom tablet and painted with white to create fur along the edges of the shapes I had defined earlier. For smaller, more random fur, I used the brush that is normally used for creating blades of grass, and after tweaking the settings in the brushes palette, I came up with a reasonable simulation of fur. I also used the smudge tool a bit to soften some of the fur.
For the face and hands, I used various shades of gray to bring out the details, painting with small, soft brushes; I lower the opacity and flow settings to get as much control as possible. Still, I was not too concerned with precise details, as you can see below...


The details of the face are quite impressionistic and loose; I just wanted to get enough detail to capture the expression on the lemur's face.
The eyes were done on a seperate layer; I used the lasso tool to create selections for the eyes and filled them with an orange that was a touch more saturated than the photo. I added pupils and a catchlight using a small brush and the Wacom tablet.
You can see in this close-up where the smudge tool comes in handy for softening the fur, especially under his chin.


And, again, here is the finished piece. The details in the hands got lost in all the darkness, but that's okay...it adds to the mystery that I was shooting for.

Black and White

The first idea that popped into my head was Michael Jackson, you know, before and after. But, that's a tired story, and just too pathetic to address. So, I thought of natural things that are black and white, and of course the usual suspects were considered, such as zebras and skunks and magpies, but for some reason I suddenly thought of a lemur; a very elegant and formal looking creature with just enough color to make it visually startling.

Summer

I don't have time this week to create a new work, so I offer this piece that was originally done for the cover of a book called "BOP".

Envy

I chose to look at the subject of envy as a paradox. In this piece it's difficult to know who is envious of whom; it depends upon your point of view. It was done with acrylics, oils and colored pencils, with a little tweaking in Photoshop.