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Thursday, August 27, 2009

Sketches




I've been so busy lately I haven't had the opportunity to post (or even make...) anything lately. The beginning of the summer was much more relaxed, and I thought I'd take this opportunity to post some of the random sketches done.

The first sketch is of my good friend Chef Terry in the kitchen whipping something up. It was really fun to draw Mike in the kitchen, but he sure did move fast. There's a bit of a time lapse going on here. Obviously he's shown more than once, but the ingredients also began to pile up in the drawing. My favorite part was when Chef put a box of pasta front and center, obstructing my entire view. jerk

The next two drawing were done in my neighborhood. There's a really great park in the area named McCarren Park, with a full track open to the public at all hours. I've found myself running on this track more than a few times thinking, "It'd be great to sit on the bench and just draw here." Well, seems I only thought of that whilst running, so the drawings never got made.

Well, I'm currently in recovery mode (Seems you hear more of my injuries than any successes in this here blog...) and am limiting myself to only two or three short runs a week. Well, I need to get out of my apartment for some fresh air more than that so I decided it was time to make it to that park for some good ol' drawing. In the park I positioned myself near the workout station/jungle gym thing and tired to be less than obvious while drawing. I got a few confused/annoyed looks but it was fun capturing everyone stretching, push-upping, pull-upping and dipping. It was really hard for me not to jump up and start working out myself. Luckily, I was smart enough to leave my running shoes and shorts at home, having anticipated this very urge.

I was really enjoying the scene, but the mosquitoes were out that night and I value my precious blood, so I was only able to get these two page done. It was a lot of fun, though. So, once work settles down I'll have to go out for one more try. And that time, MOSQUITOS BEWARE!

That's all I've got for now. I'm currently working on a new portrait and hope to be posting it pretty soon. Stay tuned true believers!

Thursday, August 13, 2009

Live Stronger: Lance Armstrong


Of course I'm going to do a portrait of Lance Armstrong. He's probably the best known endurance athlete of all time. I don't even follow biking but I can't help but look for news on this guy. "I think I'm going to win the Tour de France seven times, take a few years off, come back, and contend for the title again." I know, I know he got third this year, but his dedication to the sport is simply unreal. I know I hear he's got kind of an attitude, but he's become a celebrity. Give the guy a break, he raises millions and millions of dollars for cancer research a year. Here's to you Lance Armstrong!

PS. My marathon time is better than yours... granted I couldn't even make it 26.2 miles on a bike...

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

San Francisco is where Young People go to Retire




My summer of fun just keeps on continuing. This time it brought me to (sometimes) sunny San Francisco, California! What a trip. I was in the city for about week and I think I saw everything worth seeing in that seven by seven mile city. I, literally, think I could lead city tours now.

We jaunted from the Cliff House on the beach of the Pacific, through Golden Gate Park, Richmond, Haight-Ashbury, the Castro, and the Mission District. We then went back up through Union Square, North Beach, Pier 39, Fisherman's Wharf and to the Golden Gate Bridge. We even took a day to leave the city and tour the Sonoma and Napa Valleys.

Also on the constant lookout for art, we made sure to stop into the de Young Museum, San Francisco MOMA, and a few galleries we happened upon along the way. Some highlights for me were the Picassos' and John Singer Sargents' and it was great to see some Wayne Thiebaud's in their native habitat.

I took a couple hundred photos while in the city, but unfortunately didn't get much time to draw. There was just so much to see and do! These are the few drawings that I was able to do on-site, though. They include a drawing from our day in the Mission District, our hostel room, and of the planes from the airport. Not the most exciting things I saw whilst traveling, with all the sea lions, landscapes and hoola-hoopers around, but it was these were the only times I wasn't on my feet running around or passed out from all the running around.

There were so many things I missed drawing, I'll just have to go back there soon and make up for it.