Gift

Winsor & Newton colored inks on watercolor paper

Here are some drawings I made for my dad for Christmas...animals doing human things! Yay for gifts! Enjoy.

Backstage

Graphite in sketchbook

Dec. 2010

So, my new assignment at work is to be on headset, backstage, stage right, during Jeff Daniels' Onstage and Unplugged concerts over the next couple weeks at the Purple Rose. This job involves gushing over the spectacular bluegrass extravaganza happening onstage from my position behind the musicians, various small pre-show duties, and keeping nosy patrons from getting through the locked door at my side. All in all, not too strenuous a task, and I have found that I have the time to draw while taking in the genius happening onstage, bluegrass style. Here are the drawings that happened during the first few shows...I apologize for the poor quality...I recently find myself without a scanner, and my camera doesn't pick up the graphite too well. I felt the need to draw some more ladies with abnormal teeth...I really like exploring the idea of these women having hidden strength/danger within them; the teeth represent that inner strength...and they're creepy, which I am strangely drawn to. Most of the them also turned into self portraits--when I sit stage right, there is a mirror right in front of me, so I felt like brushing up on drawing myself (plus headset). Enjoy!

Floating Heads and Hair Ladies

Winsor and Newton colored ink in sketchbook

Dec. 2010

Well, it's kind of embarrassing how long it has been since I last posted...since then, I have moved to the center of the country (to a new job in Chelsea, MI, from the Quimby artist colony in Portland, ME, for those not abreast of my recent activities). It took awhile for internet to happen in this new place, but never fear, I am now connected to the great interweb, and consequently I have a slew of drawings to post. I have been doing a lot of self portraits over the time that I've been in Michigan...it is often easy to do self portraits just as an exercise because I am my own most readily available drawing subject, given the presence of a mirror or an untarnished mind's eye, but here I'm doing a little self-examination...or just some surrealist versions of myself, to dig through my ideas on the changes and new situations happening in life. The likenesses are not perfect, but there you go. A note on the hair ladies, which may not be so self-focused...I've been fascinated with hair, kind of inexplicably, for a long time...I love how it can be so symbolic, of emotions (like how the Victorians viewed their hair), of longevity, of a part of your visual and emotional identity (I also really like how hair can very easily become creepy). I also adore Frida Kahlo, and how she was always painting her hair in different arrangements to represent different things...just lovely. Anyways, enjoy! The drawings that come along with the floating heads are just some whimsy from my brain. More to come, and much sooner this time!

Gratitude/Departure

(detail)

(detail)

Speedball ink with brush and nib pen

Nov. 2010

Pilot rolling ball pen and watercolor

Nov. 2010

Well, every good thing does indeed end (and hopefully leads to more good things)...I left the Quimby Colony in Portland, ME yesterday after completing a three month residency. Twas very sad to put Maine behind me for now, but hopefully new adventures will prove to be equally spectacular. These are just a few drawings I did to thank some of the people who made my experience at Quimby really, really amazing/transformative. The 60s lion has become kind of redundant, but I thought I'd do a different version. Then there's a sassy looking, smoking, Victorian buffalo (you know, like you do), and also a Victorian giraffe. The non-animal is just a musing on Victorian fashion, for another gift. Enjoy!