Honey-Sweetened Love

My first lattice-topped double-crust cherry pie entirely from scratch was very inspirational. Pie for breakfast? Just try to stop me.

 

 

Futurama Redesign

One of my favorite tv shows is returning to air, and I'm so excited for the new season of Futurama that I took a moment to redesign the characters and the ship. The redesign is heavily influenced by the Nautilus of Disney's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, because great design never goes bad.

As for why they are all posed vaguely like pin-up girls? The more apt question is why not.

Sketchbook Pages V: Ross Park Zoo

Sketching adventures through the nation's 5th oldest zoo:


The Amur Leopard has a passionate dislike of machines that make loud noises.


The tiger on the right took a break from his nap while I was sketching to stand up on his hind legs and greet me face-to-face from three inches and a pane of glass away. I never expected I would ever stare down a tiger in my life.


The Great Cats of Asia exhibit is housed in a beautifully designed massive wooden cage. It seems old and weather beaten, which just adds to its appeal.


The colors of the building and surrounding landscape are quite marvelous, too.


I've never seen a bald eagle in person before. Luckily, the zoo has three and they can be very communicative at times.


The crows are rescued animals that cannot be released back into the wild. These crows have clipped wings as a result and can only fly the short distances in their cage.

Sketchbook Pages IV

Bonus: Not only does working for the AAU's Fashion Department provide exposure to a vast array of inspirational fashion illustrators, it also builds an appreciation for the care and attention that is given to fabrics in mass, form, drape and pattern. The following black and white striped outfits by Schiele, ERIC and an unknown artist (please comment if you know!) are captivating in design and construction. The stripes, which is a pattern that is typically stiff and unyielding, flow along the fabric, broken by the folds and drape to accentuate the soft femininity of the figures.

Books, Clothing and Accessories

Out today through Delmar Cengage Learning is Michael Fleishman's new book, The Drawing Inspiration: The Visual Artist at Work.

"Drawing Inspiration is a one of a kind text for beginning illustrators. This book examines the relationship between academic and professional illustration through the ideas and first hand experiences of professional illustrators working in the field today. With hundreds of diverse hand-rendered and digital images, readers can explore a world of illustration that has no limits. While learning the fundamentals and basic principles of illustration, readers will also gain insight on how these concepts can be used in the professional world. Drawing Inspiration will not only educate readers, but it will also inspire them to reach their full artistic potential."

It contains words of wisdom from a wide variety of incredible and inspirational artists, including Peter Cusack, Marcos Chin, Marshall Arisman, Jack Tom, Dice Tsutsumi, Andrea Wicklund, Drew Struzan, Shaun Tan, Sterling Hundley, Yuko Shimizu and many more!

I was lucky enough to contribute to this book, which is all the more relevant as I continue to teach figure drawing for the Academy of Art University.

Another t-shirt is available through Mysoti, continuing the obsessive crazy animal theme:


My sea monster squid has been skinned, flavored with a little William Morris and slapped on a laptop.


For the formal occasions, a plain, ugly wallet that I'd nearly thrown away was transformed from blah:


Into a personal handmade clutch or shoulder purse:


The bookstore I am employed at is closing at the end of January and I will be moving onto some exciting charitable illustrative opportunities. I'll also continue to teach, be rewarded in it through the development of the students and, of course, pay the bills. For the first time in two years I will be able to visit friends and family out of state. 2010 is shaping up to be a positive year.

T-Shirts? Why not.

Through MySoti, t-shirts are now available featuring the vector illustration of my favorite SEA MONSTER:

And for the tea snobs like me out there, declare your love with your choice of Green Tea:

Herbal Tea:

or Black Tea:

I really really do.

So much so that I had my squid printed on a t-shirt. The squids in my sketchbook were the results of stress relief from coding my website in CSS. Style Sheets and I are not on friendly terms, unfortunately.

And then there's the little pieces I meant to post ages ago. E&M is a situational piece about relationships and showing interaction without explaining the interaction. Also, fun with patterns.



I need to do many more Soyer mastercopies to study his ability to stand back and let the piece be. It's my life's goal to get to that point.