gent

Yoshi photo-bombed my cacti post-it note.

You can do more with a post-it than just take notes.

Gentleman Cat was modelled on a victorian oil painting with a special family cat as the star of the show! Part of a pair for a special Christmas present.

Graphite and iron oxide on paper

This drawing was done with pen and colored pencil. I wanted to create a self-portrait that could also serve as a profile picture for my art accounts. My other self-portraits tend to be realistic, so I decided to try and depict myself in my own illustrative style instead. My artistic influences for this piece include tattoo styles, pinup art, and art nouveau as well as inspiration taken from some of my favorite portrait artists, Sargent and Rockwell.

I am an art teacher with a master’s degree—trained by brilliant professors who believed that art could do more than decorate walls. I offer safe spaces for teenagers to grow—nourishing soil where their imaginations can take root. And yet… I am assigned to hallway duty. This is compulsory education, after all. So I sit—posted like a sentinel—watching young lives stream past. “Get to class,” I say with a smile and a nudge. The system wants attendance; I’m hungry for presence. Armed not with a whistle or clipboard, but with a pen— my scribble’s soft insurgency. The hallway stretches out like a geometric hymn. Columns and corners chant structure. Teenagers swirl past—half-formed galaxies of limbs and laughter— their orbits chaotic, their gravity pulling time forward. I begin to draw. Not their tardiness, but their motion. A shoulder. A blur of sneakers. A tilted head chasing freedom. Feet flickering like seconds. Each mark a pulse. Each smudge a breath. My paper becomes a seismograph of seeing— trembling gently through the mundane. This isn’t about making art for a frame or a feed. It’s about refusing to leak away in the fluorescent hum of obligation. It’s a quiet mutiny against the clock. I do this on long car rides, too (passenger side, mind you). Letting the lines grow wild, jagged, and unapologetic. Not for polish— but for presence. This is how I remember I’m still alive. Still growing. Still watching. Still choosing to see. Because sometimes mental health looks like a piece of scrap paper, a moving pen, and the simple, sacred act of marking time with wonder.

Pen & ink on Bristol

A dapper gentleman. 10” x 15” Original ink and watercolor illustration on Strathmore 500 Series 4-ply Bristol illustration paper. Signed by the artist. Unframed.

Being autistic and neurodivergent means I’m liable to mishear things quite a bit, especially when watching films where the sound mixing is utter shite (thanks sensory differences!). On that note, there’s a bit towards the end of Alien where Parker shouts “get out of the room” which I always interpreted as “get ready to roll” for years on end. Only recently did I realise how wrong I was! Considering it was the final act of the film, I guess I can’t be blamed for assuming as such, right? If you know, you know as they say...

I know there’s probably a few decent folks worth voting for come the general election here in Scotland I’ll settle on, though for the most part the loudest mouthpieces seem to just scream ‘bell-end’ to me... I was playing around with Google Translate and various sentences I’d jotted down, and opted to go with the closest approximation from English into German for ‘I’m voting for Muppets’, which is 'Ich stimme fur Muppets'. ‘Ich stimme’ read to me as ‘itch stim’ for whatever reason (anglophone and neurodivergent here), which seems rather fitting as the thought of the worst candidates getting in is liable to have us all come out in stress rashes, am I right?

Years ago, while digging through old journals and sketches, I stumbled across a quick, scribbled drawing of two pears. Beneath it, I'd written a raw and honest note: "Ann is pissed. I think it's because she's uncertain about me, us, life itself. She just ran into my car with the van. She says it was an accident, but she seems happier now—almost like it was cathartic. . . Like sex." At the time, I scribbled this in frustration, feeling a deep disconnect between us. Intimacy had become a confusing and distant concept in our relationship. The pears I'd sketched were rough and scratchy, charged with my chaotic feelings. Looking back, I see how emotions can drive us to strange actions, some intentional, some accidental, often leaving us oddly relieved afterward. Humans are complex, fascinating beings, navigating messy emotions and messy relationships, sometimes colliding intentionally or unintentionally, seeking relief in unexpected ways. Perhaps the pears were my subconscious pun on "pair," reflecting the awkward, confusing way Ann and I were bumping through life together—making messes, but occasionally finding strange humor and genuine catharsis in the chaos. I've learned to smile gently at the rawness of our humanity, appreciating even our scratchy sketches and emotional collisions. They're reminders that life, relationships, and our own hearts are never simple, but they're authentically human. Here's to embracing life's unexpected catharsis and finding humor in our imperfections.

Keeping busy as per usual!

Whale shark wanderings…

Tonight’s tangent lead to this.

This shambling creature haunts the fetid marshlands and is a protector of the birds and beasts who reside there. He's ancient, the last of his kind and a gentle soul who would much rather hide under the sticky mud than come face to face with a stranger.

Nibbelungenturm, Worms, Germany

This is my friend Peat. He is a highly refined, mature gentleman (9 years old). But he still absolutely loves to play in the mud!

Peony flower drawn and painted in magenta Bombay India ink on watercolor paper.

I think I might've gone overboard with this cat armor! I couldn't help but make it pink/magenta; I would think that color would make a wonderful armor color! :D Check out my IG @dittofunkysketch123 for up-to-date (completed!) Inktober posts!

Scratchboard, 5x7”.

Wanted to paint something soft - something my kids might like. What is more gentle and peaceful-looking than a sleeping koala? Check out the full timelapse painting here https://youtu.be/IxmUol8dsBs

The austral pygmy owl (Glaucidium nana) or Chuncho is a species of owl in the family Strigidae. It is found in Argentina and Chile.

Just a little fanart/character design I did while listening to the audiobook series by Sarah J Maas.

This is my first attempt at doodling some trees and it most certainly was not an easy task. I hope as I practice that I will be able to draw more detail and a variety of trees. Special thanks to Jean Garro (@Gentoo201) for the inspiration with her awesome drawings! ʕ•ᴥ•ʔ♥♥ Thanks girl!

Be gentle to little creatures

Being the guitar geek I am I decided to draw one of my favourite fuzz pedals...Ladies and Gentlemen, may I present to you, the Electro Harmonix Big Muff!