Smokin' Joe

This is an old newspaper spot-illustration I drew in 2004 for a project that is explained here. I'm sorry to hear that he has passed away. Joe Frazier was my favorite fighter when I was a kid. Whenever he was on TV he seemed like a pretty nice guy; and I really liked the sound of the words "And in this corner... Smokin' Joe Frazier!" Dad would say that whenever we started play-boxing.

Frazier lost to Ali and Foreman. That's all.

Frazier, in his prime, beat Ali, in his prime. 'Nuff said.

Sad to see you go, Joe. I'm not a religious person by any stretch, but if I'm wrong -- and there really is a Valhalla -- I know you're lacing up your gloves right now and getting ready to stand in against whoever wins the Gentleman Jim Corbett/Joe Louis fight.

The End

Rough Doodle Paint-Over

A couple of weeks ago I hacked out the sketch on the left. Fleshed him out in a long series of very short painting sessions, finishing tonight. Whew. Long time to get that done, and not all that crazy about it.

But it's the only drawing I've done lately. Been busy. I hope to pick up the pace soon!

A Little Rejected

This is a rough for a project at work. It's not going to be used, so I thought it might look nice on the blogwall.

Passing By

I linked their pinkies at the last moment, and that seems to give it more interest, if that kind of thing is interesting to you. Weird thing is, I feel like I've seen that idea before. I don't like stealing; at least not without knowing where I'm stealing from.

When I first drew the characters they reminded me of Earl Oliver Hurst -- a big art-hero of mine -- but, when I started coloring, they began to look more like Tadahiro Uesugi drawings -- another huge art-hero. I looked at some of their work as inspiration, and I've obviously leaned in Uesugi's direction.

The End.

Goofing Around Again

More nonsense characters. I've been awfully busy with work and family visitations this month, and I feel like I haven't had time to focus on anything for longer than a few minutes. I've been fiddling with these two scribbles for a couple of weeks and took about an hour this morning to try to polish them off.

Like the two in the previous post, I have no idea what they are. I thought they looked silly when they first appeared beneath my pen, and maybe I should have made them even sillier. They are only moderately strange instead of excitingly so.

Character Studies (?)

I have no idea.

I started these as an exercise in character design. As usual, I strayed from the purpose of drawing something that could be helpful to my portfolio. Could you see these as Star Wars characters? Perhaps as designs for the hot new Xbox game? Me either.

Again, I self-destruct.

Still, I dig that lady's pants.

Character Doodles

Busy weekend done. Time to squeeze in a drawing before bed. Three characters! You must provide your own story...

Bonus art, just for fun: Step 1, roughing them out. Step 2, refining the drawing. Step three, laying down some flat colors. Maybe I should have stopped there, that looks fine to me.

 All of it drawn in Photoshop.

The End.

Another Study

Here's a rough hewn painting I did this morning. I'm staring down the barrel of a multi-chore weekend , so this may be the only thing I do. If I post another it means I'm putting stuff off.

Georgia Hale, the leading cutie in Chaplin's "Gold Rush."

Screen Capture Painting Again

Another study. This is taken from "The Gold Rush." It's probably my all-time favorite movie. Well, that changes day to day, but it's always in the top five.

These are the two guys in the assayer's office where Big Jim McKay goes to stake his claim, but he cannot remember where it is. I should have gone color with it, just for the exercise, but I'm a little on the lazy side today.
Next one!

Spidey vs Vader

I love a good mash-up. Or is that "pastiche?" Whatever.

Sherlock Holmes crossing paths with Dracula? Awesome. Tarzan off on an adventure with Indiana Jones? I'd watch that. The Three Stooges meet Vincent Van Gogh and try to cheer him up? I am so there.

I'd buy this comic, or watch this movie. But for the moment it is merely a hasty scribble. I painted a background just now because it needed one.

Too late it occurred to me to have them fighting in Fred Sanford's junkyard. THAT would have been brill.

Fish and Fowl

Here are a couple of digital paintings for an infographic that will run in most of the Bay Area News Group newspapers this week. We have a duck (a greater scaup) and a fish (a sturgeon.)

Oh! And clams! Painted in Photoshop!

The End.