The Akwarius (ca. 01-04)

This is some of my older work, originally done in my 2004 sketchbook. I decided to post it here because I like it and I still find it pertinent and meaningful.

The Akwarius

Sketchbook layout

Quick Caricatures (10-03-11)

I love doing sketches from television, because of the static nature of the poses. There's plenty of time to focus on facial expressions...

Wedding Dress Fashions (09-11-11)

I have a nice collection of wedding dresses, but the most outrageous one is a 1980s Jessica McClintock dress that fits no definite style category: a close-to-the-body tight-fitting knee-length sheath with a high neck, mixed lavish embroidery, and at the back, a cascade of fabric flares reminiscent of a Belle Époque bustle!

There is in fact no bow at the back...

The other dress in my sketchbook is the one that my daughter Valérie has chosen as her wedding dress: a classy, elegant, 1950s (I think) pleated polyester knit dress with an embroidered lace bust and collar.

A Fine Rat (09-02-11)

This drawing of a rat is from memory... (Thankfully, not from direct observation!)

Caricatures (09-02-11)

Some made-for-TV faces, as seen...on TV.

Favorite TV Show of the Moment (06-29-11)

Thanks to Netflix, I discovered a fun TV show called Pawn Stars. Based on a simple premise, - people sell things to get quick money -, the show give a fascinating insight into the workings of a pawn shop in Las Vegas. Expect the unexpected, and enjoy watching the store employees bicker constantly.

I did these character studies while watching reruns; they look like caricatures because the TV medium is static, allowing me to go over lines and keep the drawing "cleaner" than a sketch.

Well, that fantastical creature just appeared on the page...

The unfinished drawings show how this is done...

The World is a Strange Place (06-20-11)

Call me naïve, but I just found out that "Buffy Malone," the name I came up with years ago, the most outlandish made-up name I could think of as an example of an unlikely mix of Pop Culture and Italian ethnic, - a name I have extensively used in various humorous stories I've written, - is actually the name of a real woman on Facebook (...and she kinda looks the way I'd imagined my own Buffy Malone...)!

Hairstyles (06-17-11)

...Quick sketches to alleviate my haircut anxieties.

Hairstyles (05-03-11)

As much as I like to draw fashion outfits, I also really like to draw hairstyles. The idea is to get a specific look or mood in just a few strokes...

Felix, Caught Unaware (04-29-11)

Felix is my daughter Valérie's hyperactive cat, so here he is...in a rare moment of inactivity.

Static Portraits (04-03-11)

The following sketches, done while watching my church's conference on television, are borderline caricatures. The reason they look like caricatures is that television is a static setting that allows little or no motion on the part of the person filmed; so when people talk, they tend to exaggerate their facial expressions...

I didn't have time to finish this one...

Dance Poses (04-02-11)

 

Here I basically just focused on the motions of people as they were dancing at Rotture, not an easy task when people move pretty fast when they dance to a beat and it's dark all around. 

Felix the Kitten (03-22-11)

Here is a quick sketch of Felix, my daughter's kitten, caught in a very rare calm moment.

Hairstyles (02-27-11)

Again, some quick doodles, this time women and men hairstyles, Hip Portland style.

Fashion Sketches (02-27-11)

I truly enjoy doing these and let my imagination run wild...

My Beloved Gargoyle (02-22-11)

This week, during the Sketching class I teach at the Walters Cultural Arts Center, we worked on sketching some objects we brought from home.

Wild Thang

I brought my adorable gargoyle, found at Village Merchants several years ago. it makes me think of a Maurice Sendak character.

Profile in Brush Marker (02-20-11)

A quick profile done with one of the Faber-Castell Pitt brush pens I carry everywhere with me. I saw Don Colley's mind-blowing sketchbooks at the Portland Urban Sketchers Symposium last summer and watched the videos where he shows how he uses these pens. I don't feel very proficient using them, but like the colors...

Fashion Favorites (02-13-11)

Among the fashion sketches below, these are my favorite.

Self-Portrait with pen and paper

My favorite among all the outfits

Fashions (02-13-11)

Last night, I drew the following ladies while involved in a stressful discussion.