Today was a day to go crazy in my Moleskine and then continue it on my iPadPro. It was so much fun to just let my brain take me for a ride and was pure therapy on a day where a lot of crap was coming from many directions.
I believe the future is about connection. Sometimes it seems that technology is making us more alone, but I like to believe that with every post, like, comment, follow, share, email and tweet, we are making ourselves more visible to one another. And together, we can make ourselves heard... Keep it positive, keep it loud, and keep it going forever.
This is inspired by the expired stuff we find in the fridge more often than I’d like to admit. Plus I just had to draw sardines because my brain made me.
After the success of last year's birth month flower drawings and the products I made with them, I decided to continue drawing flowers - this time it's all the state flowers and state insects. I'm a little behind on the insects.
PSA to not be a dick to retail workers this holiday season (and all seasons!). Working retail during the holidays was some of my shittiest experiences. People become coupon-waving, red-faced monsters that deserve nothing but a trip into Krampus’ sack.
Here are a few things to remember:
1: They have literally no authority. Honestly, the cashier would love nothing more than to accept a stack of expired coupons to get some cranky-ass customer indignantly insisting that “at this point YOU owe ME money!” through the line. But they can’t. And no amount of screaming will change that. Oh, and the manager is bunkered safely in the back refusing to come out and will only troubleshoot through walkie.
2: If you’re nice (like basic human decency) they are more inclined to help you as much as they are able. Being kind and patient costs nothing and might actually pay off. You might even be able to coax out a skiddish manager that *sometimes* has the magic touch to get things accomplished.
3: Corporate overlords. Managers can do a lot but in the end, the retail world is run from corporate overlords through the machine sentries AKA registers. Welcome to Black Mirror, people. If the machine rejects your request then back to the matrix with you.
"Flying in the sky with a lady in its arms,
The Platform's heading fast out to the farm.
She was harmed unknowingly and now she will become a seed,
From which the platforms now will feed until they breed." -- Drawn with fountain pens, colored with my iPad using Procreate.
The man with a vast red hat met a flower on the pad and asked, "Are you my dad?" The flower said, "No. I'm not the one, but I'll pretend I'm your dad if you'll pretend you're my sun."
Skip James is the man. I’ve been wanting to do something music related. I sketched this a year or two ago. It was fun to bring it into Procreate and add doodles, lettering, color and more elements like the guitar neck. I’m always looking for a way to combine my pencil with color and have it look like it really goes together. This one felt right.
I miss grapefruit. Doesn't it just figure? The only medicine I take and it has to have that limitation. It could be worse. Stop whining Jim. At least you made it to the World Series of doodling. Well...in my mind anyway.
My favorite time of year is almost here. The cool breezy air, the colors and smells. The sounds of the last crickets, the mood of the sky. I could go on and on. This was A fun piece to work on. What will the next challenge bring?
