The Tree at Fisher's Hill

We took a little Sunday walk up to a nearby battlefield called Fisher's Hill. In the Civil War, Jubal Early lost a fight here against General Sheridan. At the top of the hill there is an old, twisted, knobby oak that looks venerable enough to have seen the battle itself. The branches stretch out starting very close to the ground so that you could almost walk right up into the tree. I was able to sit and do a quick sketch of the old character, and I put little Julia near the bottom for scale.

So much for Sunday Sketching, now a word about Daily Doodles: I clear off my desk probably once every two weeks (and by then it really needs it!) and there's always a pretty eclectic assortment of little studies and ideas and characters. Most of the time I ust let them float off into the scrap pile, but this time I scanned a few of them for posting. Here:



Oh and finally, here is a link to some cool handmade books: Blackspot Books. The link is courtesy of Matt Phelan, who has a very nice sketchblog and who authored a book called The Storm in the Barn from Candlewick.

This isn't a Turkey

Happy Thanksgiving! Here is a skull that I doodled at my desk during a... board meeting? Feel free to speculate on where this species fits in on the xenobiological tables.

Graphic Novelty

So the first Zita the Spacegirl book is off being published! I had forgotten about these little character sketches until I found them posted on First Second's Flickr Page.



Trolls is definitely afeared of the PLUNGAH! You see? there are universal truths.

Mr. Smith(sonian)

I took the girls to the Smithsonian and the National Gallery yesterday. Washington Dc really does have some great museum all packed close together. It makes these infrequent forays as simple as they are exciting. Of course, every time I visit the ancient sea life and dinosaur exhibit I just want to sit and fill a sketchbook -and one day I will! I'll go on my own and draw all day. But for now I had time only for a couple quick ones.

Back to the Brushes

I've been working on a still life painting for the past few days. I'm finding that painting is like most other skills -it atrophies from lack of use. Still, if nothing else it's nice to have the smell of linseed oil and medium hanging around the studio/office again.



I've also been rearranging things a bit, which always means leafing through old sketchbooks. I know I've posted this before, this picture of Angelica turning herself into a cat by force of will. I drew it at cafe Picadilly in Pontremoli, and when I see the picture I can still get a feeling of that sunny morning in the piazza:



Finally here is a link to some monsters by illustrator Rob Steen -link courtesy of the First Second blog. Oh, and speaking of First Second, I'll post a graphic novel update soon!

Happy Hunting!

Wise Guys

Three days short of a month between posts. Man it's like I don't even try anymore.

Here are some recent illustrations of some kids dressed up as the Three Wise Men. They are quite Sendak-inspired. There are a couple more over at SmallPax.com:







And here is a little leaf drawing that I did years and years ago. It keeps turning up between the pages of different old sketchbooks:



I may have a painting to post soon. I've set up my little wood shop as a sort of temporary painting area. It's rather dark, with only one small north-facing window, but I decided it's better than letting the painting part of my brain (and eyes) atrophy...

More than a Painter (Carl Larsson)

Where has my sunshine gone? Today is swordfighting day, but the cold air and pouring rain are making strong arguments for staying indoors. Perhaps it's time to hang up the swords and shields for the year and turn to writing. It's not a bad prospect, though it would be more exciting if I had a hearth or a woodstove.

I've been reading about Carl Larsson lately, and coming to appreciate his art a little more. He seemed to live a very integrated life, making his whole home a changing growing work of art. From his paintings it seemed that his house was a good example of the ideas in Pattern Language since he and his wife designed and built much of their added spaces and furnishings. And when I see the pictures of his studio ...well, I salivate a little.

Larsson worked for ten years on his first album of pictures from his home life. On one hand, it's a little daunting to think about, but on the other hand trying to catch little, fleeting moments around the house is certainly a good exercise for the artist. In that spirit, here are a couple of my own little household sketches:

Monsters on the Internet.

Monsters on the Internet

I just discovered a cache of great monsters at the Creature Spot! -but then, I’m a sucker for concept art. Some of the most interesting are from and artist named BRYNN METHENEY, who I discovered through Lines and Colors.

Over the weekend Anna and I took a trip to a yearly art show called Art at the Mill. It’s held in a working 1700s water-powered mill. The art was nice (pictures below) but every year I always find myself more enamored with the mill itself -a complicated set of wooden gears and leather straps turning a huge millstone. It’s amazing and other-worldly.





And what do I have to show today? Nothing but this little sketch of the Boy-Wonder that I did at the kitchen table:

Leveling Up

I made an afternoon trip to the Small Press Expo in Bethesda the other week and it was a fun and interesting time. I finally got to meet Joey Weiser, from Flight, and I spoke briefly with Anthony who makes these hilarious comics about Reginald and Bertato.

One of the fun things I brought home was Life Meter 3, and anthology of comics inspired by classic video games. I can’t think of any other place where you could find a comic about Joust or Oregon Trail. Dave Roman, who is the editor of the anthology, used my Legend of Zelda illustration for the cover! Check it out:



...Man I used to think Joust was the coolest game.

This Little Piggy Came Home

We brought the pigs over to our house this weekend. They are tilling next years garden plot and they're doing a good job of it! On sunday I did a couple sketches of them. These guys are deceptively hard to draw.







Jake Parker is celebrating "Inktober" and posting some cool drawings over at his blog. Take a look! And then try drawing something in ink without the aid of a pencil -it's not so easy.

The Riddle of Steel (or wood)

The picture above is a two handed broadsword from Starfire Swords. Starfire swords are forged with stage combat in mind, rather than costuming or wall mounting, but I think they are all the more beautiful for it. The edges and tips are blunt, but the steel rings like a tuning fork when struck. I’ve had a pair of these for about eight years now (actually the forge has burned down and been rebuilt in that time) and as you can see they’ve had a bit of use.





I’ve been meaning to post something about swords for awhile now, and this is a good time. Because swords mean a lot, and even in these postmodern days they can still play an important part of our lives.

For instance, last week my sister-in-law (God bless her) locked the keys in our van. Thankfully, the passenger door was not latched all the way and I was able to wedge it open and work some strips of metal (flattened curtain rods) past the weatherproofing up to the lock button. But my paltry flattened curtain rods were not rigid enough to unlock the car. I was on the verge of calling the locksmith when I thought of an old French military saber I had at home. It worked like a charm.

Lately some friends and I have been sparring once a week with wooden swords and metal bucklers using a medieval fighting system developed from Manuscript 1.33 (and explained further by these guys). It’s a lot of fun and yes, okay, right after swordfighting we go in and play Dungeons and Dragons.

Making Out (like a bandit!)

Right. So I've been an industrious fellow of late. Since I had a Fire Show this weekend and SPX coming up next weekend, I spent some time on a batch of hand-drawn business cards. Here's a few of the better ones:







Sadly, I wasn't able to get any good pictures from the fire show.

It's been awhile, but I finally have a bit of a woodworking shop here at home and I've been putting it to some use. Last week I made a set of bunk beds for the girls:



...and I made this oak practice sword (more on that soon):



I'm definitely not the ultimate woodworker, but it sure is satisfying.

Overdue

I know, I know! I'm overdue for a blog post, but things have been HOPPING around here! I'm finally in the finishing stages of the Zita the Spacegirl Graphic novel and I've been learning a lot more than I would have expected from the coloring process. Here's a page below with the dialogue cut (so that the book seems more mysterious and intriguing):



I've also been hard at work building a set of bunk beds for the girls. As a woodworker I'm slow and I have to plan for mistakes. But these beds are turning out pretty well, if I do say so myself. I'm particularly proud that they are made entirely from scavenged wood. The other sideline project I've been working on is preparing for an upcoming fire show. I'll try to come back with some good pictures.

Well, fall is in the air and, sadly, I'm afraid the summer is going to slip by without seeing me do a lick of real painting. And I had such high hopes...

Ponyo (and another Mouse)

Another mouse, they have such funny proportions! This one was drawn directly from life. I found him in the middle of the night, a tiny little thing -he had fallen into a bag of cat food and couldn’t get out. We kept him in a bucket for a day, fed him cheese, and let him go far from the house.

We took a family outing to see Ponyo on a Cliff by the Sea this weekend and it was utterly fantastic. It was a tribute to hand drawn animation at a time when so many studios have forgotten things like beauty and story and just seize on whatever effects fad is most current (OMG 3D!!). The peaceful beauty of Ponyo was thrown into even sharper relief because the film began after a string of frenetic mind-numbing, over-the-top previews. As soon as the simple Studio Ghibli logo filled the screen you could take a breath and watch a film where every panel was lovingly drawn by hand. Ponyo was like watching your favorite picturebook brought to life.

Worlds Finest Breakfast

Another San Diego Comic Con come and gone without me. This morning, over coffee with Anna I doodled Supes and Bats, my old friends. I should draw you guys more often!

Pizzicato 2

The Mouse from the last post is Pizzicato, the oversized rodent in my Zita the Spacegirl story. Because what’s a graphic novel without a giant mouse that you can ride on? Seriously? Ironically, he was driven from his clan for being a runt, among other things. Poor thing. They shredded his ear.



I’m now working on the colors for the book, and tightening up some of the drawings. If all goes according to plan (ha! When has that happened?!?) I’ll have still have some time at the end of the summer for painting. Probably just some still lifes, but who knows?

Meantime, here’s something from my growing pile of crazy robot/creature designs: