After the rain ...

Thanks for stopping by folks! I finally have a post after what seems like FOREVER! :) 

Hippos in graphite

Finally, a post after over a week! Thanks everyone for being so patient and many hugs to those who have sent me emails wondering if I'm okay. I've been out of commission ... sick with the flu with barely enough energy for my "real" job! But, I'm healthy and happy now and aching to draw! After the hiatus, putting pencil to paper felt like quenching an intolerable thirst with an ice cold Corona ... with a lime twist!

Special thanks to Ali Stewart from Scotland who graciously allowed me to use a photo from his amazing collection. Thanks Ali!

Life, onions, and soup

"Life is like an onion; you peel it off one layer at a time. Sometimes you weep .... and sometimes you make soup." Carl Sandburg, as modified by Joan Y.

There is a lesson in there.

Crazy tyrant

I loved the marble sculptures in the new Greek and Roman wing of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NY! There were artists there scattered in various rooms, drawing from the original ... wish I had the time to join them. I imagine that to be pure joy ... sitting for hours in the Met copying the masters and taking in all of that beauty.

I did this quick sketch of Caligula from a photo I took, before heading to bed last night. Of course, Caligula, as the 3rd Roman emperor, was known as quite the tyrant and probably a bit off his rocker ... but the carving was gorgeous and worthy of a sketch. I did the guy a favor tho' and reduced the height of his forehead, which I thought gave him a freaky look. Now, he just looks like the guy next door. Heh!

Hiking shoes

Tried a better paper this time: Strathmore Bristol Vellum. Sure beats my old sketch pad. It took graphite really well. I switched to slightly harder pencils this time around to reduce some of the grain and show more detail. This paper seems like it would work well for looser drawings, which I might try next time. So, this is my finished hiking shoes ... and my inside-out socks.