Colombian Carving

 

Stephen King compares the process of writing to digging up a fossil.  You use your writing to dig around an idea, and eventually your story is revealed. I'm fascinated by stone carvings, so I decided to draw this ancient sculpture from San Agustin, Colombia. I had fun building up the textures with dry brush, which eventually brought out the details. It wasn't until I completed the drawing that I noticed the prominent phallic symbol on this guy! Drawing reveals some potent surprises.

A print of this piece is available here.

 

Hawaiian Ink

Here's a drawing I started two years ago - which was originally a straightforward portrait of this tattooed 19th century Polynesian. The composition looked a bit stagnant, so I added the Hawaiian palms trees today - which hopefully makes this picture more dynamic. This is part of my series drawn on old maps. You can view the whole map collection here!

Prints of all pieces from this series are available here!

Thanks for visiting!

Australian Elder

 

I'm so happy this piece has found a new home with a true-blue Australian (who hails from Brisbane). It seems my series (drawn on world maps) has attracted people from all ends of the globe. Regardless of your homeland, you can view more of my original pieces available here.

Thanks for visiting, and g'day mate!

Dogdrawnit Prints

Kitty - 11" by 17"

Next to the illustrations and fine art I post here, my pet portraits tend to be a different sort of animal. But it was so much fun designing these prints (based on some of my favorite drawings), I had to share. They were drawn with charcoal, pastels, and other mixed media. I hope you get a kick out of them. You can purchase any of these prints here (my Etsy site).

Lisa - 11" by 14"

Mooshu - 11" by 14"

Stella - 8" by 10"

Sophie - 11" by 14"

Summertime Swimming

Summer seems to be taking shape in my sketchbook. 

I hope yours is going swimmingly!

Republicans vs. Birth Control

Yesterday, the Supreme Court ruled that requiring family-owned corporations to pay for insurance coverage for contraception under the ACA violated a federal law protecting religious freedom. The 5-4 vote was divided along party lines - with five male Republican appointed justices deciding the ruling. There's been much said about a so-called Republican "war on women". This decision goes a long way towards reinforcing that that notion.

This sketchbook excerpt is from January, but it's strikes me as very relevant today. It was inspired by controversial statements about contraceptives by noted Republican politicians. For whatever reason, the idea of brith control seems to scare the heck out of them.

Thanks for viewing. You can view more sketchbook excerpts here.