thing

Read an article that Gill's Ice Cream is closing, here's an old sketch in front of it at The Original Farmers Market. Los Angeles has a weird habit of destroying the real thing to put in a facsimile of the same thing, but without the tradition, charm or h

Mercorgi just wants to be friends with Catfish.

Lately, I have been working primarily on the computer to wrap up a coloring book that I just published. I've decided to make August about focusing on my sketchbook and discover some new things. I don't really have a direction in mind other than to tackle

an R containing lots of things to do with the person who it was given to

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.

Did you ever have a page in your sketchbook that was so bad and so embarrassing that you tore it out and chucked it? This was one of those pages that made me cringed every time I came to it. So today I said to myself, "ENOUGH!" and ripped it out of my moleskine. But something wouldn't let me throw it in the can. Now, I'm not one of those artists that can't bring himself to throw away any of his stuff because each and every piece, good or bad holds some kind of sentimentality or sense of importance. This particular page was a result of a crappy angst filled day and stuff poured out of me. For some reason, it felt like I was throwing away some piece of my soul. There were parts that were overworked and others that were painfully too personal. So I decided to cut it up and put it back together in no particular order, however it seemed best. As I was pasting the pieces down it occurred to me that this had a comic book feel so I scanned the final and added the black borders in photoshop which I really dug. I like that it is cryptic and jumbled up like my brain can so often be. This reminded me of the awesome @johnhendrix who said something in his book, Drawing Is Magic that stuck with me. He said, "Don't worry about doing anything wrong. If you're hoping your sketchbook turns into a glossy display of only your best drawings, you are not carrying a sketchbook, you are carrying a portfolio." In other words, explore, take chances, loosen up and have fun. Try your best to go at it like an uninhibited child. In so doing, you will stretch as an artist by avoiding repetition and predictability. We all know how to do what we already know. To sum up, I created a bad page, and whether or not I was able to fix it, it expanded me. So, follow your pencil, pen, or whatever and let them take you to places you never imagined when you started. Then, maybe you will end up staring happily at the final and with childlike wonder, say, "man, where did that come from?"

(HB pencil on a 89mm x 139mm postcard) The strangest things can sometimes trigger lucidity in dreams. Forget the fact that she was naked, or that she was sat next to an invisible man and that there was a monster trying to grope her. The dragon-headed man was smoking in a no smoking area. How fucking dare he?!

Love and want to paint everything around.. :) Painting on a wooden table / Peacocks

I started this drawing yesterday, and I finished up the sketch today. (The second image is the reference.) I wanted to get some feedback on the sketch before I colored it in. I'm pretty happy with how it turned turned out. Anything I should tweak before continuing?

I feel kind of lost these days... I am an artist, this is who I am and this is the only thing I wanna be, but can I really do it? Can you do this, even though everyone around you say it's impossible? Do they all have a point when they say that "but you are so smart!!! Why would you wanna waist it and be an artist" thing? Other people may see my job as a dream job, but I hate it.. all I want to do is create, be an artist, be me. But is it really possible?...

current mood

Meraki - to do something with love and soul; to leave a piece of yourself in your work. Alcohol ink + lettering.

Andy Dooley teaches to "enjoy the meantime" when struggling in life or working toward a goal. It's extremely helpful! So today I'm making a point to enjoy the little flowers in my yard.

Wandering with Mitchell, came upon a Berry Festival in Portland, but this is the thing that caught my eye.... https://dkatiepowellart.me/

Sometimes I like to draw things in the reverse (filling in the light areas, leaving the dark areas bare) and then flip them to see how I did. Today's warmups turned out pretty well. My favorite is the kid on the top, whose head & hair echo the strawberry shape. I wish I'd distinguished the girl's legs from the dog's body on the left more, but overall, not bad.

I think there's something great and generic about goldfish. They're everybody's first pet.

Trying out some drawing on a slightly bigger scale( it's still only 8"x12, but I usually draw in a tiny scale). It was fun and interesting because it made me try new things.

When I was a teen, my grandfather had alzheimers, a failing heart, and half of one lung. He was covered with scars and sometimes muttered at walls. I was asked to keep an eye on him, briefly, one afternoon, while my grandmother did something else. While I was alone with him, he looked at an empty space right next to me, and whispered: "Mom? Dad? Is that you?" With the exception of getting hit by a car, that was the most terrifying moment of my life.

The Sunbeam and the Troll. Illustration of famous Finnish song. I draw three versions of it. Top of the drawings is last and then second and first one. I try to catch idea that Sunbeam fairy is more made of light than materia. Pretty tricky to me ;) ”When sun had ended its mission, The last Sunbeam Was left behind her sisters for a moment. The dusk was settling on the grounds, A Sunbeam with golden wings Was just about to fly before it, But she saw a small Troll come across: It had just risen up from his cave. See,a Troll before the twilight May never live on earth. They were looking at each other The Troll in his chest Felt an odd flame. He said:"You are burning my eyes, But never in my life have I seen something so wonderful!" It doesn't matter that your brightness will make me blind It's easy to wander in dark.”

little dark things

My final entry for Stage 3 of the doodle addicts challenge! I have loved doing these challenges. They have not only got me drawing things I wouldn't have considered off my own back, but they have brought me out of my comfort zone too. Drawing steam is harder than I thought!!!

It's Weinerman Sam with his weiner schnitzel fam, Putting sausages to bed like a good fam-i-ly man. Doing ev'ry thing he can just to get them into bed, For a restful night of sleep in a warm bun made of bread.

Three kings stopped a walking man to ask advice about their dreams. But the man said, "Oh no please, I don't want to hear these things." "I have dreams of my own although they'll never come to pass... I just work my life away while all you rich guys sit and laugh."

Morning doodle. It's hard to get anything else when doodling is near the top of the list. Not that I'm complaining. ;)

True Like. Because everything on the internet is true, right?

Done in 20 minutes on a impulse - not one of my best ones.. but something

A poster I made based on an Inktober sketch (day 8) where I made a small pattern of macarons. I had a lot of fun thinking of flavour combinations for the macarons! I'm selling the poster (and other products, such as mugs and t-shirts) on my Society6 and Red Bubble stores.

What's inside my bag? well i bring point n shoot analog camera, a DSLR, pencil box (with pen, pencil and eraser inside), watercolor travel pack from Daler Rowney, mini sketchbook (i use Muji), lipstick, brush pens (Pentel). And no, i'm not bring botanical plant inside my bag, its just something i see and i directly draw it, haha.

Just thoughts of things I’ve seen on TV and pics I saved on my phone