 Good day all,
Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday and a Merry Christmas this past weekend. Here where I'm located we actually had our first "White Christmas" in, I'm told, 17 years. Nothing like a light dusting of snow to help heighten the holiday cheer. Makes it a little cozier and for some reason the food tastes even better. Don't know why, but it does. Also makes Bing Crosby's song that much more enjoyable. THEN yesterday that light cozy dusting reproduced itself into almost a foot of chilly snow. It blanketed everything, shut down back roads, and closed half the stores in town. My family and I thought it would be good to take advantage of our first true snow experience of the year. We decided to go for a short winter walk to the store for coffee and groceries before the sun went down. So bundled up in thick coats and boots (I had on dress shoes. I'd regret that later) the six of us headed out down the snow covered road. The thought that we may have slightly underestimated the friendly weather came to mind as we turned the corner of our street and the wind picked up and the snow deepened. Despite this realization it didn't stop me from pursuing my own interest... in a snow ball fight. Meg, who was way ahead and leaving us literally in the "dust" soon felt the wrath of my perfectly aimed snowball. Right in the back of her hooded head. Surprisingly she wasn't terribly thrilled by this and returned an inaccurate version of her own. Riding the wave of confidence I had from my sniper shot just a minute before I decided to catch her attempt and deliver it right back. However, the ground had better things in mind as I slipped around in some kind of circular motion with at least three limbs stretched out as far as they could go and then landed on one them. My hand definitely hurt but I'm not sure if it counted as an official "fall" however I'm sure Meg took that as a win. Apparently Karma works just as well in the snow as anywhere else. The plot thickened a little as we saw a car pull a 180 in the middle of the road, at the store the cashier gasped as a truck mistook the entrance to the store as, well, not the entrance to the store, AND on the way back my mom stumbled on a curb hidden by ice, Meg, Mikayla, and Katie all slipped at some point, and my stepdad demonstrated an impressive collapse in the middle of the street. He was okay though. And no groceries were damaged in the performance. We all returned home surprisingly uninjured. Though with red cheeks and ice imbedded in our eyebrows and hair, while also wearing the remains of snow balls from the mutiny I started not long after the journey began. We didn't go out anymore after that. But I tell ya, our late breakfast was incredible. - D
0 Comments
 Good day all,
Today is an interesting day. Why, doth one say such things? Well, today marks one full year from the first day I started posting here on the website (seriously, go check it out). It's been a good year and if anything, enjoyable and entertaining. Which is something to try and have little of, especially during the busyness that life seems to bring. So to celebrate this monumental human achievement (please hold your applause) I thought I'd post a few things in regards to something I've been asked about a couple times. It's also something I myself, and probably most artists, find curiously sitting on the edge of our minds when viewing another's work. It's something we think about, analyze and wonder. It makes us scratch our heads and smile. The process of creating. Whoa, right? People really bite into this topic though and rightfully so. From the questions of Vermeer's possible use of the camera obscura to the x-rays used for a mere glimpse at the layers beneath Da Vinci's masterpieces. It intrigues us, surprises us, and helps us learn and grow. Personally I've always enjoyed this topic but one memory that comes to mind and encapsulates this interest was a trip the National Gallery in Washington, DC. This was during the high school years and my classmates and I were lucky enough to be personally shown a drawing of Raphael's. Just sitting there. Right in front of us. Not under glass. Not behind a velvet rope. But sitting just a few feet from us. It was memorable not only because it was a Raphael but because it was a small look inside the ideas that came about and eventually lead up to the finale. We were even given enough time to sketch the drawing itself. Think I still have that in my old duct taped sketchbook somewhere. How'd we get the opportunity? Eh, I've no idea. Maybe it was normal procedure. Or Mr. Morris was well connected? A bribe? Someone lost an arm wrestling contest (I wouldn't have arm wrestled Morris)? Who knows. Okay, well that's a lot of talking which I hadn't planned on doing. So anyway, as I mentioned I've been asked a couple times myself about my own process and I thought it may be interesting to do a little x-raying beneath my own, in comparison to the above, meager attempts. In particular, the piece shown above called The Witch of Faith Lane. BUT unfortunately I've eaten away my time with talk and now I've actually gotta get back to the drawing board, literally. So to be fitting with the occasion of this one year monumental human achievement (continue holding applause) I'm going to do something I've not done before. And that is... TO BE CONTINUED... Thanks all and talk with ya soon! - Doug  Good December all,
Now that we're well into the holiday season I thought it would be fun to take a giant left turn and stop by the ole' apocalyptic arena. Nothing aids in rising those holiday spirits like thoughts of long gleeful lines of impatient customers and the occasional zombie or burning vehicle. Tis the season tis it not? Well, to help get those thoughts churning we have here an illustration for issue #111 of the delightfully suspenseful sci-fi horror magazine known as Space and Time. It's based upon the words found in the exciting short story July 10th, written by one Mr. Vaughn Wright. For myself this one was very much a tale of "labor of love". Fishing through the story, tracking down tidbits of visual notes for what to include, what not to include, and how to include it. Then rendering it all in Windsor & Newton black Indian ink on one of my personal favorites, Borden & Riley #234 Paris paper. Definitely good times and hopefully you may enjoy it a little as well. Thanks all and talk with ya soon! - D |
