The day the inspiration died

I know it's been, what? Two months? That's eight weeks where publishing a post did not happen. My brother, who apparently reads this particular blog (who knew, right?), asked me why I wasn't posting on here and that he really enjoyed it. Well thanks Aaron! I appreciate the compliment. I stopped posting right around the time I lost my precious Daisy. I don't know what happened, but since that day, my inspiration has been...well...waning. I actually drew everything but 'creatures' since that day. So perhaps my weekly 'creature' feature should become something more along the lines of Weekly-when-I-have-the-time-and-resources Feature. And if I may be so bold as to throw in a second 'perhaps' then I will probably not be devoting this to just my fantasy art. I think this is going to be a record of just art in general. From cartoons and creatures to horses and cows. This blog needs a content makeover. I know there's no art on this posting, I just thought you might want to know I am alive and have not forgotten this blog. You know...if there's anyone out there reading this.

*crickets*

I'm just kidding. The blog's mostly for me.

Now that wasn't so bad

This week I tried doodling a few sketches so that I could pick one that would be less complicated than the previous week. I wanted to be able to whip out a finished product in one night as opposed to my previous entire week dedication. It turns out that if I tell myself that I'm doing this in one night, then I can do it in one night. Who knew? Anyhow, not the most creative product of my skills but hey, it's not like a million people are out there biting their nails in anticipation of the great new things to come on this blog. Did I mention I'm a very sarcastic person? No? Well...I am. Anyhow, blah, blah, blah...on to the feature.

Complications

So it turns out, odd enough, that drawing one complete drawing per week is a bit more difficult than earlier expected. I end up spending all of my evening 'free' time hunched over my drawing pad while watching countless episodes of Smallville. This unfortunately has left me with little precious time to do much else that I would like to be doing. Am I late in my weekly posting. Yes. But every project, especially in the early phases, can't go perfectly. I ran into some slightly unexpected complications. I have two children who quite enjoy drawing/coloring. Being an artist (yes, I classify myself as such) I prefer to use art supplies that do not consist of colorful wax wrapped in cheap paper. My choice of medium for many things is slightly more professional (if you can call what I'm doing 'professional'). Since high school, my preference is that of Prismacolor colored pencils. Very smooth colors. These pencils cost $1.39 and up depending on where you shop. That's for one pencil mind you. My pencils stay safely away from the kids in high spots hidden in boxes. Safe. Ha! Not likely. Turns out that my major road block happened last week. I busted out the old work in progress only to discover that the major colors that I needed were MIA. Gone. Bye-bye. I then come to find a book...yes...a book...that is colored with colors matching those that are missing. When I give the kids the third degree they feign innocence, though I knew better. Three days and a few choice color words later, I found them. On laundry day. In my dirty close hamper. Those little rascals stashed them for later. Anyhow, a few road blocks later, I've finished my latest masterpiece-ish piece of work. I thought that this week I would show a little four part imagery of phases of my drawing style. Please note that the creature I've done is wrapped in a multi-colored quilt. When I asked my son what color his blanket should be, he said yellow, blue, red, and purple...for The Wiggles. Don't ask.

One pain in the thumb later

I have a dirty little secret. As much as I knock art (despite the fact that I am, in fact, an artist) I am actually enjoying drawing again. Shhh. Don't tell anyone. I was hoping that dusting off my art skills and putting myself to the test would rest my mind on the ever growing concern that my artistic abilities were swirling madly down the drain of life. Ever since having kids, art has been the last thing on my constantly growing 'To Do' list. Oh, occasionally I'll whip out my art pad to help the family or friend in need of something artsy. But that's about it. I thought that forced art would be a drain on my brain and a thorn in my side. My brain in coping just fine. I do, however, seem to be experiencing some fairly annoying pain in my thumb due to the small canyon sized crack that has developed from holding my pencils. Anyhow, you can imagine the surprise I felt the past two weeks when I looked at the clock to see 2:00 a.m. on it because I have been so involved in my drawing. Are they masterpieces? No, no, no. Of course not. How naive do you think I am? But I am enjoying it. Not to mention I'm enjoying the countless episodes of Smallville that I drool over while I'm sketching away. It's not that I think Tom Welling is the hottest Superman to date, I just really appreciate his well sculpted body. You know...purely from an artistic point of view. *wink* I added a close up this week of a part of the drawing just to throw in a little difference. May I introduce my Weekly Creature Feature week #2:

Welcome to Weekly Creature Features!

I officially declare this blog to be OPEN for business. Not that I am selling any of this art. Well, I would sell it but I'm fairly certain no one's in the market for what I draw. Once upon a time I aspired to follow in the footsteps of my favorite artist, Ralph McQuarrie, and go on to work for the movie world. In case you're not savvy, he's is the artist for Star Wars (the original trilogy). I had the dream of working in Jim Henson's Creature Shop or working for 'the man' himself - George Lucas. Or at the very least, someone in that line of work. Believe it or not, I actually spoke to Ralph McQuarrie on the phone. I sent him a fan letter and he wrote back with his phone number and said to call him. I was as giddy as a teenager on a first date. I picked up the phone and stared at it for about half an hour. Dialed the number up to the last digit and hung up. Then dialed again....hung up. After repeating said pattern more times than I could count, I finally let the phone ring through. When the woman who answered hollered (literally) for Mr. McQuarrie, I swear I actually squealed a little. I know. Who gets that excited to talk to an artist? Well...a huge Star Wars fan who just happens to also be an artist. That's who. He looked through some art samples that I sent him and we talked for awhile. The conversation was most enlightening. He told me the reality of getting into the movie business if you're an artist and how he lived a very full life before he was finally 'discovered' by George Lucas. He told me I had talent and needed to hone my skills. So twelve or so years later, here I sit. One art degree, a husband, two kids, and a mortgage for a matchbox house. I'm not sure where my future lies in the art world but as I've yet to make any forward progress, I hope that perhaps just that one person who happens to stumble upon my blog might find my art of moderate interest. Who knows if anything will come of it, but my goal now, is to follow the advice of a seasoned pro. I'm going to continue to hone my skills until either my hand falls off or someone finally appreciates my 'skills'. (Besides my every faithful family. Bless them for their undying support, but they are a bit biased.) So here's to Mr. Ralph McQuarrie and all his wonderful advice and taking the time to talk to a fan. I'd like to introduce to you the first week of my Weekly Creature Feature. May it bring more than one hit to my hit counter.

Stay tuned...

Judging from the massive leap from the number 1 to the number 4 on my hit counter (two of those hits being me), I'm betting there are mass amounts of people out there sitting on their hands just bouncing up and down waiting for the big moment when I post my first art on the world wide web. As you can see, the title-bar is done and the blog is up and running. Stay tuned...the first creature is coming...

Coming Soon...

Blog under construction. Check back soon!