A Bad Day For Polar Exploration

This is an ink drawing done from a photo in the New York Times of a ship running into a few problems as it navigates an ice field. I'll concede that the ship in my drawing appears to be making its way through either a body of water or a giant pile of lumpy mashed potatoes, but trust me, it's ice.

Figure Drawing at Gage Academy

I recently took a weekend figure drawing workshop at the Gage Academy with Juliette Aristides. She subscribes to a very rigorous, classical approach in her workshops, which made for a really intense weekend and a kind of art instruction I'm not accustomed to (she was not afraid to stop me and say "no, you're doing it wrong.") Although we did one longer drawing over the course of the two days, I'm actually happiest with these two 20-minute value studies. I would highly recommend her courses for anyone who wants to really push themselves in their drawing.

My Triumphant Return

After several months of inactivity - during which time I'm sure all my fans have been crying themselves to sleep every night - I have finally found time to resurrect this blog. All of us here at Revenge of the Pencil, Inc. apologize for the lengthy absence. I moved from New Orleans to Seattle in March and, while I have continued to draw, there have been numerous demands on my time (primarily the really excellent beer they serve here in the Pacific Northwest) that have kept me away from this blog.

And what better way to come back than with Vorosh the Hunter? This was drawn from a Magic Card on loan from my friend's 10 year old son, who pronounced this drawing "pretty good." Astute viewers will notice that I initially spelled Vorosh's name wrong and had to make a correction. It may be a bit unsightly, but what choice did I have? Vorosh the Hunter does not cotton to spelling errors.

Last One From New Orleans - The Pirate's Alley Cafe

This will be my last post from New Orleans. Tomorrow afternoon I'll be moving to Seattle and leaving behind my home in the swamp. I've had some amazing times here and I hope I've managed to capture at least a little of the city's crumbling grandeur in my drawings. It will probably be a month or so until I can post again since I won't initially have access to a scanner in my new home, but I do plan to keep drawing and posting from Seattle.

This pencil sketch was done in the courtyard of the Pirate's Alley Cafe, one of my favorite bars in the French Quarter. I've stopped in there on Mardi Gras day a few times and it's always a great scene. This is one of the many places I'll miss when I leave town tomorrow.

Me Vs. Van Dyck, Round 2

This is a charcoal pencil drawing based on a painting by Anthony van Dyck called "Study of a Man's Head." This is the second drawing I've done from a van Dyck piece - the other one is here - and I am forever amazed by the depth of his skill.

Elephants in Ink

Here's another one drawn from a photo. I really liked the composition and the deep shadows in the original image and I wanted to see if I could capture that with a pen.

I also find myself wondering what exactly these two elephants are up to. I like to think the one on the right is saying something along the lines of "Hey, you've got something on your face. No, not there. A little to the right. No, wait, a little to the left. Oh, let me just get it for you." Either that or they're sending secret trunk signals that will precede their taking over as the dominant species on this planet and sending us all to work in their underground salt mines. I call the big shovel!

Back in the French Quarter

I celebrated our return to New Orleans yesterday by taking the streetcar into the Quarter to do some sketching. This is the view of Jackson Square and Saint Louis Cathedral from Chartres street.

Belize

My wife and I just got back from an amazing vacation in Belize. We stayed at the Blue Reef Resort, where we spent the better part of a week relaxing by the beach while being waited on hand and foot. I'd go back in a heartbeat.

Around the House

We've decided to sell our house in New Orleans and move into a smaller, more manageable house in the same neighborhood. The best thing about this new place we'll be moving into? We're renting it. This means we will no longer have to deal with all the headaches that come with owning a charming old house that sits on a swamp and is subjected to punishing weather all year round while being attacked by insects the size of small dogs. Take that, American dream!

As we prepare to leave our humble abode, I've been running around trying to get in as many drawings as I can. I suspect the new owners might have mixed feelings about my spending the morning drawing the kitchen cabinets once we are no longer living here.

New Orleans: Leading the World in Scary Clown Masks

I saw this carnival mask hanging on the wall in a cafe in the French Quarter. They had others that were even more disturbing, but I try to keep things family-friendly around here.

Apartments in Shanghai

Has it really been three months since I've done anything with this blog? Yes, I suppose it has. I wish I could make solemn promises to post more regularly, but in truth I think it will always come in fits and starts. Let's call this a "start." Wait... it might be a "fit."

This is a pencil drawing of some very new and very old apartment buildings in Shanghai, drawn from a photo in the New York Times.

Back at the New Orleans Museum of Art

Here's an ink drawing from a trip to the New Orleans Museum of Art. This is an extremely ornate helmet (circa 1890-1900, according to the wall text) on display in the Faberge room on the second floor. This strikes me as a fairly impractical design for a helmet that one might actually wear in battle, but it does make for a fun drawing exercise.

I've been spending a lot of time at NOMA lately. Heck, I even went so far as to buy a membership, which means I get to haggle over my member's discount when I'm in the gift shop buying books that are already on sale and breaking the little magnetized puzzle toys that they have on the counter for impulse buys. Well, OK, I didn't really haggle and the toy could be put back together after the very friendly woman behind the counter helped me find all the pieces, but I like to make my life sound more exciting than it really is. In the movie version, the nice woman in the artsy sweater will be played by a giant man plucked from the ranks of the Ultimate Fighting Championships and I'll have to challenge him to a knife fight in order to avoid being charged for the broken puzzle toy. Then I'll make some sort of witty, ironic quip as I step over his still-twitching corpse and make my way out of the blood-soaked museum gift shop. It's still a little rough around the edges, but any Hollywood producers who may be reading this should think "Night at the Museum" meets "Rambo" meets "Leprechaun in the Hood." The money will roll right in.

Sketching at the New Orleans Museum of Art

I spent a good chunk of my morning sketching at the New Orleans Museum of Art. They have tons of good stuff to draw and it's an excellent option for an indoor drawing destination during the summer months in New Orleans. I actually started out drawing outdoors on the front steps, but it was clearly time to move inside when the sweat dripping from my face began to spoil my drawing. Was it really necessary for me to reveal that in a blog post? Probably not, but what is the internet good for if not over-sharing.

As for the drawings, the top one is a statue from Papa New Guinea and the one on the bottom is a 16th century credenza that is sitting in the Baroque painting room.

Ink Portraits

In the immortal words of Nigel Tufnel: "There is none more black."

I've been doing a lot of portraits lately and I've been slowly gravitating away from pencil and towards ink. Ink tends to go faster and it's a lot less forgiving, but I think it helps do away with my tendency to get overly fussy with pencil. The one on top is another entry from the Flickr Portrait Party and the one on the bottom is a self portrait done with pen and ink wash. As a side note, I hope to someday do self portrait where the expression on my face doesn't make me look like I'm about to punch someone. I seem to have trouble drawing and smiling at the same time.

More Portait Party Entries

I know, I'm going crazy for the portrait party. But who doesn't like a party? Well, I guess it depends on the party. If it was the kind of party where you were obligated to eat olives and artichokes with Dick Cheney while watching every episode of "Who's the Boss" back-to-back, then I'd probably rather stay home and draw.