My last post of 09

2009 is almost over and so often i hear others make promises to the future. This year... I'm going to quit, stop, and i'll try harder, but i don't see myself falling into that trap. Of course i know i need to improve. I don't make 01/01/10 as the magic start date that everyone has. My change begins right here and now.

Nude on a Chair

Actually i'm very proud of this sketch for a couple of reasons. One being that i was small enough to scan for a change plus it actually looks like my friend. Sometimes it's hard to get this red scrapbook paper to show up and register well. Especially when you apply layers of color pencils in the way i did.
I opted not to pose the original out of respect for her because it might easily be able to see who she is. I still have a couple of areas i could pull more detail out of, but hey it's a sketch what else do you want?

Katsuni: I was jealous of her clothes (pic & sketch)

I can't even recall where i found this picture, but i liked the posed. The bra/camisole strap isn't completely on her shoulder and the manner in with she is posed is teasing. Plus it's a known fact that i'm a sucker for exotic women.

Norfolk Drawing Group #63

I hate getting to the drawing group late because i feel like i miss so much sometimes. Most of the time it isn't even my fault either, it's because of work ( i never get out of that place on time). Honestly i knew i was missing out, so instead of falling victim to a headache i pushed my way out. For the past weeks i have felt a little behind artistically because my friends have been branching out. Some trying mediums they normally don't use as well as drawing on different colored paper. Therefor this time i decided to draw on black paper which is sometime i hadn't done in a while. I actually like the contract value of the white on the paper as well as the manner in which it allows me to slowly build up. I'm not trying to fight the make the image paper but it comes along on it's own.

more Mrs. Christinsen

I know i spoke about Helen Christinsen and how i've been somewhat mesmerized by her. Not because of the music video she was in but because she's a very good model. So last Saturday after work while i was at Panera i began drawing this sketch. I'm not to sure if you can notice it or not but i can tell this still needs some work done to it. Which goes to show an artist's work is never done.

Christmas Spirit...

I had lost the Christmas spirit all together yesterday. I was strongly considering simply not going to to celebrate it with my family. I had made up my mind i would just mope and collect my thoughts before heading back to work on Saturday. It was 1 am by the time i had gotten off work and hopped into my car. Weds i had went to work a little early to help out because i knew it was going to be busy. By the evening I had to count all the money by hand because the money counter was broken [ all 12 drawers]. The store has been a complete mess for almost a month now something which i'm not use to seeing. I had the "i don't think i can do another Christmas again" conversation with another manager as well. A laundry list of things ran through my head as i drove home.
It's very odd how humbling life can be sometimes. You always seem to get the right advice or message at the perfect time. I parked and was getting out my car when i noticed some motoring noise. At first i thought i was the building on the other side of the fence and they had their heater on then i realized something else. It was actually coming from the car beside me. I would have sworn that this was a one time only occurrence until i realized i saw this same car last week with someone in it. The reality of the situation set in, someone has been sleeping in their car. I just checked the temperature and it's 27* outside. Here i'm crying about folding clothes, counting money and cranky customers. How right is that? Honestly do i really have a right to complain when i get off work and i can come inside my own four walls? At that moment i saw how thankful i should be. I just hope that everyone else around me should feel the same way because in all seriousness we don't have as it as bad as we think we do.

Tara/Victoria (pic & sketch)

It's no great mystery to anyone that i'm a huge fan of wrestling. I have and probably always will be regardless of what's going on in my life. So when i stumbled upon this picture as i do with most drawings i hopped at the opportunity to draw Victoria. I almost completely this 3 color sketch as Panera (my favorite hide away to kill time at) and later on this week finished it.

Norfolk Drawing Group 62

I made it out later than i normally do most evening because i had a mess to clean up at work. My sketches progressed during the night as you can tell from what my friend Noah said about my green sketch. He called it the "mutant mitten" hands that i drew. Time wasn't on my side the time around but overall i had a good time. It was even more fun later on when we went out for food and drinks. That's one of many other stories i can tell.

Norfolk Drawing Group 61 : "The Couch of Doom"

I fell victim to the comfy couch of doom. It was painting night and as much as i wanted to paint. I brought all the charcoal materials trying to convince myself that i would not paint. Mainly because it take just as long to get out all the materials as it does to put it all away plus wet paint and my car don't go well together. So at the break i did what others did and took a break and sat down. Before i knew it conversations allowed me to sink deep into the couch and it was 10 o'clock and we were leaving. This is my attempt at drawing the model that evening. The bad part is that she wasn't frowning but most of the sketches and painting i saw had her doing just that.

Wicked Games & Letter works

Anyone who knows me, know i enjoy drawing on my letter covers. It's like a nice way of giving a small personal extension of myself. My letter work isn't always the greatest thing i possible could've created but then again sometimes i hit the good mine with my attempts.It's like a sketch session to work out my ideas of what the real drawing will or can look like.

The reason why i stumbled upon Helen Christinsen because AOL posted an article about a 40 year old modeling nude for a magazine. Normally that wouldn't be anything amazing or noteworthy but i decided to read it and take a look at some of the photos. For Helen to be her age she is still in tip top shape. So why the outrage? This lead me to actually go and research some of her photos and these are only a few i came across. So these photos are only a small window at the real attempted drawings i will complete soon. Just in case you thought she looked familiar she's actually the girl from the hottest steamiest video that i remember watched when i was younger "Wicked Games."

Aino Kishi (pic & sketch)

I very rarely use Crayola color pencils because they don't have a great range of colors nor do they really have the impression of being true vivid colors. But this is an attempt at a sketch that i did last week sometime in the early hours of the night. Honestly this is my 2nd attempt at this sketch i had to do it over again because the tilt to her head was throwing off my sketch. So even for cheap color pencils it didn't turn out to horrible.

Acts of Random Thoughts Vol. 2

1

.NEVER take those close to you for granted one day they may not be there (the office season 3)

2. How you can hang out with someone every week for months then the next moment they avoid you like the plague??

3. You should never get some comfortable out in public (restaurants, coffee shops, etc) to take off your shoes [unless your under the age of 5].

4. If you have any talent you should be practicing it all the time because when you aren't someone else is practicing harder than you are

5. I wish i could go to other people's job and act the way they do when they're in my store.

6. Don't get mad at me because you didn't read the sign. I wasn't your elementary school teacher.

7. My favorite line that i use at work coming from the movie Airplane. " I guess i picked the wrong week to stop drinking!"

8. I need to get over my laziness and paint on some canvas

9. I need to start my Christmas shopping

10. I need to start working out so i can look like Brad Pitt in Fight Club

A quick story about a Wham! song and me

i'm not sure if they were playing this song at work or not. But i've been thinking about this song very often. Maybe because it really happened one Christmas a long time ago or some wounds never heal. Even now it's still this is my favorite Christmas song.

"Lean in Closer" (pic & sketch)

Sometimes i hate taking photos of my artwork because no matter how much i attempt to touch up the drawing it never turns out just right. I played around with functions on the paged but nothing really came about well. In the words of Charlie Brown "Ugh!

Jordan (pic & sketch)

For the record i didn't plan this out for me to post this drawing on Jordan's birthday. However things have a way of working out that way but the real kicker is she's never read this blog. So why not speak freely. Jordan is an interesting one of co-worker at Old Navy. As i've noted before my job both as an artist and as a retail manager trains me to study people's behaviors. This is my short insight on Jordan. I see her as being the all American girl next door that most guys would find interesting. A girl who claims to fear the word "relationship" but secretly wants one. Yet another like most girls claims to never want to fall in love with but would in a heart beat if the right person approached her. So on the inside behind the clouds of cigarette smoke ( she's trying to quit) and hard exterior she's a softy. That was truly makes me laugh sometimes as much as she pretends that no one can see exactly who she is i as well as others can..