Tag Archives: art

Rubbing Earth’s Elbows

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My Friends,

the sun rubs earth’s elbows
the moon caresses her back
the wind feathers the soil
the rain cleanses her wounds
the fire titillates new life
the ice sculpts her bed
the clouds find purchase
the mountains alight
her muse sustains us
in perpetual current
as dried leaves fluttering away…

Autumn Leaves

Autumn Leaves

Thank you. May you dream of the seasons – old friends conversing at a tea party graciously allowing one another time to tell their tales…

Galeen in Autumn, collage created a few months ago. Published in a prior post.

Outside the Window

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My Friends,

Outside the window buildings twirl into the clouds
Inside are wisps of twisted thought
Up in the skies are throbbing raptor hearts
Inside are thumps of programmed expectancy
Westward are sands that time cannot shift
Inside – the tap, tap, tap of an egg timer
Under the waters coral architects sculpt
Inside are teardrops falling down a drain
Outside the window the world plays against the glass
Inside the sun stops reaching
big skyMay you dream while awake…

Dinophor

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My Friends,

We lived as kings
none as fierce
We unleashed massive power
taking what we needed
Impenetrable as we were
we did not understand
our inability to punch through
the black clouds
We lived as kings…
TrexThank you. May you dream of blue skies and rainbows.
T’rex Battle created in the 1990’s using Adobe Illustrator and a mouse.

February 12 Birthday Call

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My Friends,
Every year I call my youngest brother who was born on Lincoln’s birthday. I ask if he’s had his birthday cake. Each year on February 12, I think about Mr. Lincoln too. I often (more than I care to admit) pretend I’m part of the crowd in Sangamon County back in 1832 when a tall, awkward man delivered his first public speech. I wish Mr. Lincoln and I could have shared a slice of birthday cake.

“…But if the good people in their wisdom shall see fit to keep me in the background, I have been too familiar with disappointments to be very much chagrined.”
Your friend and fellow citizen – A. Lincoln.
March 9, 1832
abeThank you. May you dream of tall men wearing tall hats speaking of grand possibilities.

I created the computer portrait above using Adobe Illustrator and a mouse. At the time, Prentice Hall hadn’t purchased stylus pens or tablets. And as I mentioned in my previous post, I was learning enough with Adobe to be dangerous. This was done many years ago. 

House Painting

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My Friends,
The giant husband’s father was a house painter by trade. Pops was old-school. Everything had to be perfect and not a drop of Behr’s ever spilled. When it comes to painting the walls in our home, the giant husband expects no less. He’s a perfectionist. I’m not allowed to paint interior walls solid colors. I can’t paint neatly. Though, the giant husband doesn’t mind when I use more than one color. 🙂
Lion muralspirit:raintoucan muralsun muralVmural detail2Vmural detail3The carousel (with Spirit the Horse) I painted in the delicate daughter’s room and the Jungle Babies mural I painted in our nursery. I painted the remaining murals in other homes. Sorry about the image quality.
pops brushPops’ paintbrush hangs in a special place in my studio. It reminds me of how painting can bring happiness into ones life and home.

Thank you. May you dream of being surrounded by beautiful color…

 

The Legend of an Angry Catwoman

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My Friends,
The legend of Wampus Cat speaks of a Native American woman of breathtaking beauty who possessed a passion for knowledge. A passion that would ultimately bind her in fur and claw.

Wampus Cat
Daring to learn the sacred stories of magic, she stole under the cloak of night and mountain cat-hide to eavesdrop on tribal elders. Medicine Man sensed something amiss and she was soon discovered. As punishment, Medicine Man transformed her. With one stroke of his mighty hand, her body absorbed the mountain-cat hide she wore. She morphed into a wicked creature destined to roam the woods and hills forever alone. She never acquired the knowledge she so desperately desired. She was educated in rage. Her mind knew what she’d become. Forever…

So if you venture into the forest deep, and should you hear the crack of wood or the soft patter of a two-hundred pound cat woman, you best run. There is no smooth-talking Wampus Cat – you’ll only piss her off.
Wampus Cat Thank you. May you cuddle with sweet kittens and pampered pooches. And hopefully, Wampus Cat stays in the forest.

Wampus Cat sketched today while beautiful snow was falling. This sketch is unfinished. She needs  work and I’m unsure about the tail – could look unnecessarily ‘phalic’ (might be a bad thing for an agitated woman). Final render will cover Wampus in black fur and white teeth 🙂

Fly Lord

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My Friends,
What can I say about this sketch. Today I subbed as a teaching assistant in an English class. I had the privilege of listening to an intelligent teacher discuss, William Golding’s timeless masterpiece, Lord of the Flies. And since listening only requires ears, my fingers kept a pencil and paper bizzzyyy.

Mr. Golding never ceases to inspire.
fly lordThank you. May your dreams be free of buzzing bugs.
For some reason I think Fly Lord should be playing a fiddle.

Zealous Zombies

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My Friends,
I hope the morning conversation I had with the big son gives you a smile, before darkest night settles into your bedrooms.

Setting: This morning. I’m in my studio working. The big son is in the family room connected with teen buddies via his mystical Xbox.
Action: Studio phone rings. I answer. Nana (my mom) is on the line with a tech question. The big son handles all grandparent technical issues.

Me, “MAX-”
Big son, “WHAT?”
“MAX, I need your help-”
“Ugh!” Speaking into his headset, “Guys, if I die just leave me there.”
Big son enters studio. “What, mom?”
“Nana’s on phone with a tech question.”
Big son takes receiver, assists Nana then ends phone call. “Mom, I was killing zombies!”
“Aren’t zombies dead already?”
“Yeah, but they can still run really fast-”

zombie skunkape

Ah, to be dead and still run really fast 🙂
Thank you. May you dream of outrunning zombies…
Pencil sketch raised from earth yesterday.

Life is Short

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My Friends,

Life is short
Throw jellybeans at a giant
Challenge a lion to a dueling roar
Whisper into the wind’s ear
Sail the ocean aboard a paper boat
Howl at the moon during sunrise

Life is short
Live it long…
bullbloardmy tablecar and max on roadThank you. Dream until you fall asleep
Kitchen bulletin board and studio table photographed 7 pm tonight. My kiddies photo taken twelve years ago.

Money Whales and Wolverines

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My Friends,
This weekend I sketched a gentle humpback whale and an uncooperative wolverine. When uncertain with specific morphology, drawing animals can be challenging. My bathtub is a tad tight for a frolicking whale, and I dare say a feisty wolverine would snack on Mojo the Dachshund. Since I can’t have a play-date with a whale or wolverine, I need to rely on resources. I use my general knowledge to imagine the subject first then roughly sketch out a preferred pose. Next, I research multiple image sources and study them noting specific characteristics. I move on to studio reference books, i.e. Animals in Motion. I use this text to get a sense of bodyweight and movement. Finally, I combine this visual knowledge with a bit of improvisation to render a critter I can call my very own. This is important if one hopes to get published and have no concerns over royalties or copyright issues.
I’d like to introduce you to my newest friends, Henry Humpback and Willard Wolverine born today.
whale:wolverine

Below Henry and Willard’s pencil sketch, is a post from January 2014 – my first month into blogging. It mentions whales. Notice the clever segue 😉
whale and wolverine

Posted January 2014

My daughter is in tenth grade. Today she will peruse college course offerings with an eye toward the future. She’s unsure what she wants to do, or who she wants to be. She’s interested in two things – marine biology and making money. At the tender age of fourteen, whatever she decides will probably change. But as long as she’s filled with cockeyed-optimism, she can keep a positive outlook when if they begin downsizing at her job.

I wonder if there is an employment opportunity out there for rescuing money-spouting whales. 🙂

Thank you. May you and your pet wolverine dream of sitting in a whale’s belly for some quality reading time.