Ugly Old Doodles

I attend a monthly Illustration critique group with some fantastic Austin artists. Last meeting, our fearless leader, Marsha Riti, suggested we bring work which has influenced us and talk about why it's inspired us. It was a great idea. For my part I brought in Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein, and a book of illustrations by the amazing William Steig. I told everybody that I enjoy loose drawings with a sort of ugliness. I'm unsure why I like "ugly" drawings. Perhaps because they seem more real? Make you slightly uncomfortable? Or challenge the viewer to search for beauty behind the obvious? Damn, if I had only gone to art school I could come up with an even more pretentious and confusing analysis!!

Anyway, this is a recent doodle from my sketchbook. As strange and perhaps ugly as this old woman is, I love her.

Here are some drawings from William Steig. His loose portraits are downright crude -- and absolutely masterful. Rendering realistic hands are obviously not high on his agenda, but does it matter? With his unchained line these characters feel alive, their personality popping off the page.

I'm slowly learning to tune in to my body as I draw. When working on a drawing I perceive as difficult, my entire body tenses, afraid of making a mistake. Of course nothing good is born of fear.

Just Have Fun!

With so much information rattlin' around my noggin' since the conference, I've been stressed lately. There are so many things that must be done in order to become successful! I must begin social networking! Finish a story! Learn how to create Apps for the Apple and Android market! Improve my style! This morning I took a walk by town lake and meditated. While doing so, I realized that all this worry about calculating my moves and becoming successful is making my life miserable. If I'm not making art for the LOVE of it, why even bother? Who cares about success if you're miserable? You only get one life, wouldn't you rather spend it being happy?

At the conference I found myself comparing my work to others, judging my art for it's lack of anatomical correctness or general "sloppiness". Consequently when I returned home to draw I began tightening up my lines, trying to make the forms look "right". Nothing kills my creativity more than trying to make things look "right". Heck, trying at all is detrimental to my work!! It's when I let go of all preconceived notions and allow myself to have fun watching the lines spill onto the page - that's when I produce art that I'm happy with.

Although I do admire artwork that is tight and clean, I have to remember that that's simply not me. The strength of my style lies in it's looseness and immediacy. And who's gonna tell Quentin Blake or Shel Silverstein they can't draw? Only a fool, that's who! Today I drew this cityscape. And yeah, the perspective is inconsistent and the colors could be better, but you know what? I had a fun doing it. So all you voices in my head can GO TO HELL!

SCBWI... Conference... Yadda, yadda... whatever.

So the big Austin SCBWI conference was this weekend, and man did it suck. Not the conference itself - it was fine - but my experience of the conference, for which I had very high expectations. Let's go back a moment and revisit last year. 2010. My first professional conference. I walk in scared, timid, and green as the grass which waves in spring. My "portfolio" was scant, I had no expectations. About mid-day one of the guest speakers, Mr. Mark McVeigh (an agent in New York with extensive publishing experience), approches me and compliments my work. We briefly chat and he hands me his card. "Holy horse turds," I thought, "I've been discovered my very first try!"

The encounter was ultimately fruitless (for reasons I won't go into), but nonetheless had been tremendously encouraging, and perhaps set me up to expect a certain level or recognition at these events. This weekend that recognition did not come; I was not appreciated by industry professionals, nor did I win 1st, 2nd, or 3rd place in the portfolio contest. Overall I was disappointed since I feel my work has improved enormously over the past year.

But this is just my injured ego talking, and that's okay - I'm not going to pretend it doesn't exist. I'm gonna whine and sulk and throw my spaghetti at the wall. After that, I'm going to blog about all the GOOD which came from this conference, from which I did learn a lot. So stay tuned.

"Blue Period"
Unappreciated portfolio piece, consequently how I feel. 

Christmas Leftovers

I started planning my Christmas cards nearly 3 weeks in advance, but a combination of procrastination and illness kept me from sending more than I did. If you didn't get one, I'm sorry. Perhaps one day you'll be surprised by a custom designed Labor Day card (which will feel good, because everyone's lonely on Labor Day). Here are some cards I did send.

This one was for my Aunt, who spoiled me rotten last time I visited her. I wanted to thank her for all the great stuff she got me, so I drew a picture of me using all her gifts at the same time! Yes, that's a juicer, new eye-glasses, an electric toothbrush, a warm fuzzy hat, and brazil nuts. She didn't buy me the anarchy t-shirt.

This next card was for my dad and doubled as a coupon. I wanted to make him feel like he'd won a Wonka-esque prize when really I promised him a website long ago. He's a musician, and this was my attempt to visualize how "plugged in" we are.

Lastly, this one was for my mom, whose Great Dane passed away this year. I always wanted to ride Jasper, and I thought baby Jesus probably would too. I hope baby Jesus has a sense of humor.

During this process I discovered how much I enjoy making art for people. Aimlessly doodling in my sketchbook is beneficial, but taking an idea from conception to completion, and then giving it as a gift... that's a real joy.

Edit 1/16/11 - Props to my girlfriend, Allison, for the baby Jesus riding Jasper thing. I love stealing her ideas and pretending they were mine.

Summer Art Round-Up

I'm back in Austin and unfortunately don't hate it as much as expected. After crawling out of my forest home, I thought perhaps I'd find city life despicable, making my choice of returning to Oregon easy. No such luck. While in six short months Austin has grown and gained noticeably more boutique shops, traffic, and jerks from Los Angeles gentrifying the east side, I still really love this town.

Had a chance to flip though my summer sketchbook recently and wanted to purge some of my older favorites before the new work starts pouring in. Comparing these drawings to the previous year's (summer '09), I see a pretty huge difference. More confidence, greater personality, refinement of style. I'm excited to see where this is going.

(click for higher quality images)

Learning to Live Again

It's been over 2 years since I've convened with my notebook in a meaningful way. I had forgot what a powerful tool it is; a place for self-examination, personal therapy, random thoughts, random-er doodles, incubating ideas, creative freedom, and non-judgement. It feels good to resume this relationship, notebook and I. Who knows what will come of it?

The Green Dragon Destroys the Kingdom

Strong Women

During my stay at the Frog Farm I've gained a tremendous amount of respect for its owner, Deb Lukas. She's a tough gal. As a single mother she lived in a single room in a cabin high in the mountains. Raising her child, she didn't even have a car. Imagine having to bicycle over 10 miles to the nearest grocery store - with your baby! Since then, she's bought her own land, acquired an education in Herbalism, opened her own medical practice and herbal pharmacy, and with the help of her partner, Steve, is transforming a rather arid & rocky piece of property into a thriving permaculture farm. As if that weren't enough, she's also founded a non-profit whose goal is education, community building, and creating sustainability within the Illinois Valley. While many find her strong personality not-to-their-taste, she doesn't seem to care. She's on a mission and won't be stopped.

Deb's not the only one. I've begun noticing that Takilma is full of strong women. Women who have started their own businesses - growing gourmet garlic, raising Alpacas, baking! Women who sit on the boards of the Spiral Living Center and the Dome School. Women who ensure the children get a quality education and who put their energy into bringing healthy and affordable food into the community via the local food Co-Op. Meanwhile the men do their men stuff - tilling the soil, cutting wood, growing medical marijuana - all while benefiting tremendously from the efforts of the amazing women in this community. What lucky guys we are!

The other day I played The Girl Stands Up To Me Now for farmer Steve. After, I asked him what the benefits are to having a strong woman. In his humble imparting-great-wisdom-to-you-in-so-few-words way, he said, "It's nice having someone to help row the boat." Indeed.

As long as you're going the same direction!

The Girl Stands Up To Me Now

I decided to illustrate a few lyrics from Jonathan Richman's brilliant song The Girl Stands Up To Me Now (I can't find the song on YouTube, but I suggest you check it out). It was a fun project. I enjoyed coming up with images that tried to push the humor of the song further. Anyway, take a look and let me know what you think.

(click image to view)

The Artist Who Wouldn't Give His Heart Away

Click image to view online booklet.

On the Road Again

Tomorrow morning, bright and early, my dog Brutus and I hit the road. We bid Texas farewell for the summer and head toward the cooler climes of Oregon, where we'll be earning our room and board on an organic farm. As I packed today and prepared my room to sublet, I snapped two photos I wanted to share. First, my collection of books.

And these are just the keepers -- the other half of my collection were sold to Half-Price Books for a mere $60. As I comb through my collection trying to anticipate which books I might want to have this summer (I can only take a few, after all), it makes me reconsider my aversion to ebooks. I like the feel of a real book in my hands, but wouldn't it be nice to have an entire library at my fingertips? And digital books sure are more environmentally friendly -- not only from conserving trees, but fuel from moving these heavy things around!

The next picture is the stack of sketchbooks I've gone through in the last 3 years (actually this isn't all of them... I found 5 or 6 more after I took this shot). My sparse style may lead some to believe that I just fell off the truck, but as this photo shows, my drawing technique has been hard won.

98% of the drawings on these pages are an embarrassment, but I think that's a good thing. It means progress, often rapid. While today I may be pleased with the images in my sketchbook, a year from now I might grimace at their amateurish quality. I sincerely hope so.

Well goodnight all! I'll try to do some blogging from the road. If not, certainly from the farm!

New Blog Header

I've changed the 'ol Kid At Art header, as you can see. Click the image below to see it in more detail.

It represents me at my day job (valet parking for a restaurant), drawing and day-dreaming while customers hemorrhage their brains. The concept came as I was free-form doodling and I like it a lot.

The execution I'm not so happy with. The drawing came out pretty good, and the watercolor is nice, but perhaps I should have put a street scene in the background for context. Also, a lot of tinkering in Photoshop was done, which makes it look very stiff compared with the draft versions.

Preview: The Artist Who Wouldn't Give His Heart Away

3 Weeks Mulling
2 Days Drawing
2 Hours Coloring (yes, color!)
6 Hours Scanning & Cleaning Up
1 Day Left!

Yes tomorrow, if the print shop comes through, I'll have copies of my latest booklet, The Artist Who Wouldn't Give His Heart Away. At 15 pages it's not quite as long as its title, but there's a lot packed into this slim volume, and I believe it's my best entry into the silent-mini-book market to date! Yes, it won't be long now until the publishing world lies begging at my feet!! MWHAHA!

Ahem.

I'll be unveiling it tomorrow night at a Children's Illustration critique group I attend. I'm just hoping they'll overlook that the booklet is not intended for children (unless your children are into radical eco-socialist ideology, full frontal nudity, and obscure Woody Allen humor). After it's unveiling, I'll be presenting it to friends and family, and intend to post the whole thing online within a few weeks.

Doodle of the Day

This one's actually a few weeks old, but I like it.

Hey, it's cheaper than a strip club.

Been attending some life drawing sessions after a long hiatus. I really enjoy the session on Monday nights because the poses are short and in quick succession. Quick poses don't allow me time to try and get the proportions and curves perfect. Quick poses don't allow me time to think. It forces me to use my intuition and rely on my impulses. While this method may not produce the most realistic drawings, they often contain much more life, and that's what I'm after.

This last image is my favorite. The pose was only one minute long and I didn't have time to complete the feet, but I like the unfinished look. It reminds you that it's only a series of lines, and it looks like she's rising out of the paper or something.

Sneak Peek at "Project X"

A few weeks ago, a little kernel of an idea came to me. As I explored the idea further it seemed like it could be developed into a fairly interesting story, one that has personal significance, yet hopefully others can find meaning in. So for the last couple weeks I've been doing character design and putting my creations in a variety of situations in hopes of getting to know them better. I've also been letting the amorphous story roll around in my head and sort itself out. Tonight I laid out the story page-by-page in rough thumbnail form. The process is unfolding and I'm happy with what I have so far. Hooray!

Here's a peak at some early conceptual art:

Doodle of the Day

Doodle of the Day

Children's book writers are allowed to have political opinions, right?

A few days ago, my friend Sarah questioned a drawing in my portfolio: the president marionette. "I thought you liked Obama," she said. And she's right, as far as presidents go, I do like Obama. However, if you believe Obama or any president holds any substantial power in this world (or even this country), I think you're mistaken.

But my friend is right. Perhaps the drawing misrepresents my politics. After all, there are more deserving people who could be drawn attached to puppet strings.

Updated Portfolio

I've added seven new images to my online portfolio, and not one of them took longer than five minutes to draw. Of course, if you asked me in person how long each of these took to draw, I'd give you the more cliche and pretentious answer: "five minutes and my whole life."

Unfortunately, it's also the most accurate answer. Behind each of these simple drawings are literally hundreds of amateurish drawings riddled with mistakes. And the mistakes don't start or end on the paper. It's taken a long time to discover my talent, and there have been many false starts and painful dead-ends along the way.

These drawings also reflect my beliefs and are a snapshot of my current perception of existence, which like everything else, constantly changes and evolves.

After viewing these new drawings you might ask, "What does a strange looking guy with three bodies, or a politically charged cityscape have to do with children's illustration?" Nothing, really. But these are the drawings which resonate with me, and the ones I've chosen to represent myself. The truth is, I draw what I draw, and I can hardly help it. If I end up doing anything for children, it will come out of the discovery process I'm in now. A natural progression. Refinement.

http://www.dallion.com