The solar eclipse was incredible for me on many levels ~ In deep mediation the movement of the solar eclipse inspired me, grounded me and offered an intense level of focus and internal balance of the feminine and masculine within us all ~ Parts of this ongoing collage has been done with the left hand. Grounding and clearing tools I like to use: Florida water, Sage ash, Palo ash (all ethically sourced and pure)
Part of a personal project I'm working on right now, to experiment with new art styles and practice lettering skills by drawing animals. The color palette and symmetrical motifs in this one were inspired by the boats on Lake Xochimilco in Mexico, which is the last remaining place wild axolotls live.
Bob the Drag Queen is a legendary performer and personality. She is one of my favorite people. I kept the composition simple to focus on shading and facial dimensions. I paid close attention to not lightening her skin tone and respecting her heritage but also contrasting the gold dress and blue background.
Phew! What a fortnight it's been here. Been engaging more in my photography as of late, but the day-job's had me on 'go' mode all Easter quite frankly. Thank the maker for those moments to yourself when you can just.. well, indulge really.
Was initially going to try coffee painting with this one, but that clearly wasn’t happening...
Hence the mentioning of divorce here, it being my expectations being split from the reality this time around. Still, things worked out in the end!
I had some family at my house this week and my niece kept wanting to play my ukulele, only she called it "kookulele". It made me laugh every time and in the morning before they got up I sketched this real quick to remind me of it.
These were drawn on different days, in different places.
A salt shaker and sugar rack at Beans & Barley on Milwaukee’s East Side—a place that is gone now. A chair at Starbucks, which is still there.
When I go places, I wait.
Waiting is filled with observation.
Observation is recorded with marks.
Marks spark memory.
I can look at a few pencil lines years later and remember where I was.
Maybe that’s what a sketchbook really keeps. Not drawings of things, but evidence of moments.
For Doodle Addicts, I would use this rather than making Beans & Barley the whole story. The loss of Beans & Barley gives one sketch poignancy, but your larger idea is better: drawing converts otherwise disposable waiting into memory.
A quick observational sketch from the chess meet—boards, pieces, and the strange architecture of waiting. The chessmen seemed to be rehearsing before the players arrived.
Ruskin believed that ornament was never decoration for its own sake — it was evidence of attention, a record of the hand and eye slowing down enough to truly see. These kaleidoscope name designs are built the same way: a name broken into line, repeated outward with discipline, until pattern becomes a kind of patience made visible.mandala, kaleidoscope, radial symmetry, pattern art, geometric art, name art, marker art, hand drawn, meditative art
The meal was my attempt to bring a little comfort into the rugged outdoors. The sketch was my reminder—to hold onto the moment, even when mosquitoes, ashes, and deflating air mattresses had other plans.
Sometimes the quickest drawings hold the deepest truths. During an after-sermon discussion about understanding the love of God, I found myself listening with one ear and drawing with the other. Frank, seated across the room, made a natural model—relaxed posture, thoughtful presence, and a face full of character.
With a pen in hand, I traced his form in a quick contour line, following the folds of his shirt, the tilt of his jaw, the stillness of his hands resting in his lap. Contour drawing asks us to see more than just the surface—it demands patience and presence, a slowing down until the line itself feels like prayer.
Frank became more than a subject; he was a reminder that the love of God is often revealed in ordinary moments and everyday people.
