I have long been fascinated by the vision of a campfire in a dark forest and I have drawn a few versions of it with different results. This is the latest attempt
When I am angry and frustrated with the world (politics, wild fires, injustice, etc.) I seem to be drawn to drawing raptors. The first one is today's sketch, the other two are from former days.
Blackwing pencil and woodless B4 pencil on Canson sketch paper.
55 mins
“I Never Noticed The House Was On Fire” This is a painting for an upcoming group exhibition about memories. When I was a kid I grew up in a household where my parents were functioning alcoholics. They gave me toys, put me in front of the tv, and sent me outside to play to keep me distracted from what was going on. When I look back almost all of my childhood memories revolve around these things. I became obsessed with these imaginary worlds and I learned to draw by copying my favorite cartoons and characters from children’s books. It was not until I was much older, that the truth could no longer be hidden from me. The imaginary world of cartoons and books kept me shielded from the harsh realities of home. As I grew into an adult that form of coping grew with me as I created my own imaginary places inspired by the ones I loved as a child. A healthy place to escape.
The 3x3 Illustration Annual I was recently chosen to be in, inspired this recent doodle. Fireworks went off in my head and then spilled out on this Moleskine page.
I was too late and missed the entry deadline…eating too much ProCrastinate?? lol. Anyways, couldn’t resist and fired up Adobe Dimensions, Illustrator and Photoshop for this quick and dirty advert.
I got a little emotional when I heard the Lahaina banyan tree would make it through the Maui fire. I found a reference and painted a watercolor of the new growth. I come from a Navy family and was born in Hawaii. Let me know if I got the transparency and shading right or if it is aesthetically pleasing.
Way back in '88 I was staying up late,
Playing games like Donkey Kong (and of course Pac-Man was great!)
Smashing barrels, chomping dots, chased by Blinky, eating Clyde-
Climbing ladders, jumping fire all to make that princess mine!
Wanted to try out something different with art styles and experimenting with utilizing light and shadows.
If you guys have any tips or suggestions on practicing lighting and shadows, please let me know.
This one was for a friend of mine from highschool. She wanted me to change the dragon to black and white. I complied with her request, but I'm posting the original here. I think the classic red is best for the legendary creature.
Of all the things to jumpstart my inspiration for this, I never had an eye-test and a fresh set of glasses the day after the Samhuinn Fire Festival took place… but alas, here we are!
Apparently, Blixa Bargeld of Einsturzende Neubaten and Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds fame actually did this to his school back when he was a lad! I needed an idea for a convoluted weird-as-they-come title, and after reading that story I knew I had something, heheheh :)
"Lang may yer lum reek (a Hogmanay greeting, implying "May you never be without fuel for your fire!", but more literally translates to "Long may your chimney smoke!")" All this I corrupted and used to inspire me here.