Here we have the 2nd drawing in my short series for the show, Four Courses With JB Smoove.

Since the show takes place in New York this piece is meant as a play on the Statue of Liberty. JB himself is playing as stand-in for the grand ole' lady - the menu in place of the tablet she holds and the glass of wine as a substitute torch. This is why that classic pale green was chosen for the ink wash - to match the patination that's occurred to the copper hanging over the statues' frame.

I also wanted the New York skyline resting in the background, but it needed to be recognizable as the Big Apple so we included the Empire State Building and Chrysler building.

Quick Side Story: A number of years ago I worked in NY as a temp. I worked here and there and moved from place to place, as temps do. Then one day I realized I'd been working in the Chrysler building for about a week. I guess I'd become acclimated to the city since I never took the time to look up when walking on the street.  I had no idea. New York. Funny place.

Hope you enjoy. I'll have the drawing numero tres posted next week.

​D

This is the first in a short series of drawings done for the TV show, Four Courses With JB Smoove. JB, if you're not aware, is a high energy uber funny comedian. I first came across him in the Louis CK film, Pootie Tang back in my MICA days (thank you James Favata). He acted in and narrated the movie. Check it out if you haven't. You'll love it or hate it. He's also hosted Last Comic Standing and guest-stared on Louie CK's show, Louie.

My art director, Masha of Plastic Palm Tree, approached me with the project and I was more than excited to do it. The premise of the show is pretty straight-forward: JB sits down with celebrity friends and chews the fat. These sketches were used as concept pieces. Kind of 'visual ideas' to communicate a particular direction for the marketing campaign. The show and JB are light-hearted so that was a clear goal - to get across JB's personality and the show's tone. So in this piece we have him just finishing a meal, then wiping his mouth while wearing a comical smirk.

If you'd like to find out more about the show you can visit MSG Network here.

Hope you enjoy. I'll have the next drawing posted on Thursday.

​D

It snowed again here in Philly this morning, just briefly, but enough to inspire me to post the process of making the Cooking w/ Kyler winter scene.

Here's a step-by-step slideshow showing each stage from sketch to final.

Hope you enjoy.

D

It snowed last night here in Philly so I thought I'd share a little winter fun via Cooking with Kyler. Check out their always educational and always fun videos right HERE.

Fun Fact: This piece was actually drawn on two separate pieces of paper. On the first was a linear pencil drawing outlining the illustration, and on the second was an ink wash to build the forms and shadows. I then merged them together using Photoshop, where I also colored and lettered it.

Cheers,
Doug

Hey there,

Hope everyone's having a wonderful holiday season. I'm about venture south this evening to visit the family for Christmas. Before doing so though I thought I'd share a festive little piece done for Cooking With Kyler, the YouTube cooking channel (check it out right HERE). This was created with a combination of pencil, dry brush and ink wash technique, and lastly Photoshop.

Hope you enjoy and I'll talk with you soon.

​Doug

Lastly in the series we have Dick Hallorann, played by Scatman Crothers. One can't help but feel the sensitivity of this guy. The variety of emotions that shine through his expressions is always really enjoyable to watch. In this particular scene I think he uses them all. Even within a single sentence he'll use 3 or 4 expressions. Just watch how much his brow moves. Up and down, in and out.

In this scene it's said that Crothers actually broke down into tears because of the number of takes Kubrick demanded of them. It was an exhausting project for Scatman and I think the honesty of that exhaustion came through in his scenes. Then again I'm not an actor, so I can only speculate. But I do enjoy his character and it's interesting to ruminate on where the real world of being a working actor blurs with the fictitious world of your character.

Hope you enjoy the drawings. I'll be back with more new work, as well as some pieces I've been meaning to post.

D

Bill Watson has one of the smallest roles but he's so peculiar and quirky that I can't look over him. One of the things that always gets me thinking about his character is the way he delivers his very last line, "fine".

Him and Stuart Ullman are walking down the hallway of the Overlook and if you listen carefully you can hear them discussing plane flights and departure times. Everyone's leaving the hotel for the winter. They approach Jack, who has a massive pile of luggage next to him. Mr Ullman asks Jack about lunch and then turns to Bill and asks him to help them with their luggage.

The way Bill replies with "fine" always peeks my interest. There's some contempt behind it. It's probably due to the plane flight and his eagerness to leave. But considering the strangeness of the rest of the film one can't help thinking maybe it's something more.

He says the same word "fine" earlier as well during their meeting with Jack. And it has a similar tone but slightly less disgruntled. One day I'll figure out what's up with this guy. One day.

Next up: Lloyd.

D

Hey there,

I didn't get a chance to post the rest of my supporting character portraits from The Shining so I thought I'd get this show on the road again.

There's a lot of distinguishing characteristics of Barry Nelson's character, Stuart Ullman. He comes across as a very honest character. His subtle mannerisms, how he holds himself, his friendly smile, and I love how he fiddles with his fingers as he tells Jack the story of Mr. Grady. And of course that hair, gotta love the guy's poofy hair.

Like the previous drawings this is done on primed Rives BFK and is drawn with a graphite drafting pencil and woodless pencil. The papers' texture is actually rather rough so the graphite just sits on the surface almost like charcoal. You could almost blow it away with a strong exhale. But it gave the paint something to absorb so I liked that effect. Hope you enjoy.

Next up is probably the smallest and least recognizable character, but a fave of mine. Bill.

D