Book cover: Elder's Pride - Part 1

August 2016 sketches drawn in preparation for my friend Robert's book cover! His novel, Elder's Pride, focuses on a group of Smilodon fatalis in the California Pleistocene. It's a fantastic read, and if you're familiar with Robert T. Bakker's Raptor Red, you're going to want to keep your eyes peeled.

Kitten Day!

Kitten Day: Taffy
9x12 Prismacolor marker, Sharpie, and Staedtler Lumocolor on Strathmore 400 Series Mixed Media paper

Sketchbook page.

Tracing paper transfer. 

Prismacolor marker outlines.

DONE!

My friend, Heather - Daily Cat Drawings on Tumblr - hosted a Kitten Day reblog-a-thon today as a means of calming anxieties over the results of the election. I know little Taffy doesn't have the power to heal the hurt that so many feel right now, but I hope she managed to bring smiles to the hurting.

Taffy was inspired, in part, by my late cat, Gimpy. While not actually three-legged, Gimpy earned his name for his gimpy foreleg. He passed away July 2015. Although sorely missed, he brightened my life, and my brother and parents' lives, in more ways than I can count. 

INKtober 2016, Day 30!

INKtober 2016, Day 30: Barn Owl Linocuts
5x7 linocut prints on Utrecht American Master's Multicolor printmaking paper

Speedball brand Speedy-Carve block. It's even better than Blick's version!

Test print at left; inked linoleum on inking plate.

Obligatory desk shot!

Another series of linocut prints I made to celebrate one of my favorite birds: the barn owl!

INKtober 2016, Day 24!

INKtober 2016, Day 24: It's Gonna Be Fine
4x6 Prismacolor markers on Strathmore 400 Series marker paper

I know there are a lot of self-affirmation types of art out there right now. Sometimes I desperately need to hear that Everything Will Be Okay; sometimes I can't shake off my self-doubt no matter how many happy things I see. But this little hummingbird is a reminder that I can't give up.

INKtober 2016, Day 23!

INKtober 2016, Day 23: Derp Frog
4x6 Prismacolor and Copic markers with Sharpie on Strathmore 400 Series marker paper

A quick one-off I made in between sessions on my Brainsick poster. Sums my my feelings about recent... stuff.

INKtober 2016, Day 16!

INKtober 2016, Day 16: GIMME ANOTHER ONE
6x8 Derwent Inktense on Strathmore 400 Series Mixed Media paper

Ballpoint pen sketch.

Dry Derwent Inktense looks like regular colored pencil.

I needed to draw another silly thing for Inktober. After a half hour or more of deliberation, I had the urge to draw an "angry drunk" hummingbird. And so it was done.

INKtober 2016, Day 15!

INKtober 2016, Day 15: Thank You for 200 IG Followers!
6x8 Derwent Inktense on Strathmore 400 Series Mixed Media paper

I quick beagle puppy to show my thanks for reaching 200 Instagram followers. Woo hoo!

INKtober 2016, Day 7!

INKtober 2016, Day 7: Kritchpaw and Chester
9x12 permanent marker / color marker on Crescent Rendr paper

A fun, fairly quick drawing of Kritchpaw and Chester, two of my KriMauTai characters. These gals look like they're ready to cause trouble! Kritchpaw excels at hand-to-hand combat; Chester's specialty is subterfuge.

INKtober 2016, Day 1! (plus BONUS)

INKtober 2016, Day 1: Happy Hummingbird Hound
9x12 acrylic ink on Stonehenge paper

Camille and I had a bunch of friends over yesterday for an art jam. We need to host these more often, because they always prove inspiring! I'd begun my first Inktober drawing before anyone arrived, but finished it while visiting. I inked the outlines with my homemade quill pens (see the link below) and added Liquitex Dioxazine Purple ink with my new Princeton Art & Brush Co. Umbria #6 Round brush. (Say that five times fast!)

Homemade quill pens for Inktober! (2013)

Rough sketch in Palomino Blackwing.

Crow feather on left; pelican on right.

I use a large dowel as a Mahl stick.

Outlines done!

SO MUCH PURPLE.

Inktober 2016, Day 1 BONUS: HOOT JUICE
5x7 acrylic ink and coffee on Cottonwood Arts paper

A silly bonus drawing featuring a severely caffeinated owl.

We discussed Transformers for a while. I grew up with Beast Wars, thus:

Dinobot sketches! He's one of my favorite characters in the show.

Last sketch of Inktober, Day 1: Beast Wars Megatron!

Stay tuned for today's sketches!

Throwback Cat 1993!

Throwback Cat 1993
colored pencil and markers on approx. 6x9 smooth bristol

It's about time I posted my first 2015 update!

This was a fun excuse to use a lucky find from I've Been Framed: Lyra Color-Giants. They are MASSIVE colored pencils that layer well with Prismacolors. I bought the five colors available, but I plan on buying the full 18-color set from Blick soon. They'll be indispensable for large works!

Original 1993 doodle.

Outlines drawn with Prismacolor Fine Line Markers.

Lyra Color-Giant (Farb-Riese) on left; Prismacolor on right.

Throwback Cat served as an important reminder that smooth bristol cannot handle as many layers as Stonehenge paper can. Overlapping is evident in many places, but I'll consider it a warm-up for the Oaxacan Toucan. For all the planning I did last year, the Toucan never saw its sketch stage. I'm going to fix that this year!