Egyptian Scarab

Just a little doodle I did today of a scarab beetle. I stained a sheet of 140# cold press watercolor paper with coffee, and rendered the scarab with a micron pen and watercolor pencils. I think I'm going to try some more of these!

Spotted Moray Final

I'm finally finished! After laying in the powdered graphite background and about 40 hours' total work, the moray is done. Time to get cranking on the next one! What will it be? Stay tuned for the next exciting episode! Click on the image for a larger view!

Sending Christmas Cards

This year is a departure for me.

Usually I could give a flip for Christmas cards. (Unless they had a little cash inside, that is. heh) This year is a little different. Thanks to the Wet Canvas Pen and Ink forum Christmas card exchange, I'll be sending and recieving handmade cards from all over the United States and all over the world. It's going to be a lot of fun seeing all those postmarks from places like the UK, South Africa, New Zealand, Spain and Australia, even if they don't have any funds inside! lol
I'm almost done filling them out- I have about 25 cards going out, and I'm adding a little note to each one, so it's taking a little time, but I think it's definitely worth it to have friends in every corner of the globe!

oh,well...back to addressing cards! cheers!

Spotted Moray WIP

I finally got the inking done on this piece! Now all I have to do is lay in the background, which will be done in graphite. I'm looking for a certain effect and I think graphite will give me what I'm looking for. Wish me luck!

Christmas Tree Tessellation

This was done for a christmas card exchange at Wet Canvas' Pen and Ink forum. It's a tessellation of christmas trees and cardinals and is my first tessellation ever! It's a little different than what I'm use to doing- this is done with markers instead of stippling to give it an illustration feel.



I'm still working on the moray...it's hard to make time during the week, but I'm getting it little by little. I'll post an update soon. Later!

Spotted Moray WIP

I've been plugging away on the moray...here's where it stands right now. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel! woo!

Scribblerz Pics

This is a gallery of old work I did using oekaki, a neat little japanese drawing program. Enjoy!

Photobucket Album

Spotted Moray WIP

I'm currently working on something new, a spotted moray eel. This piece is 11 X 14 on bristol board (as usual) and done with rapidograph pens- a 2x0 and a 3x0. I put it together from a few references and I think the composition works well. This is about 12 or 15 hours' worth of work so far, and puts me about halfway done.

More Art Show Pics

I finally got around to resizing some pics and uploading them, so here they are! Enjoy!

The Black and White Show!





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My First Art Show...a Success!

I entered my piece "Ruler of the Night Skies" in the Saint Augustine Art Association's "black and white" show this month and came out with 4th place. Not bad for a first effort.

The worst part was waiting for the show itself. The butterflies were pretty busy, if you know what I mean. Once I got there, it wasn't too bad. I was expecting it to be a bit snobby to be honest, but everyone I met was very nice. After the awards ceremony, we meandered around, looking at all the wonderful artwork on display, sipping wine and chatting with the other guests. I took a few photos of the artwork and here they are.

the third place entry.




















the second place entry.




















first place.


















best in show. huh?

















I've been told that I kinda got screwed here, (and I tend to agree) but I'm happy with the results. I got my entry fee back with the prize check, and I got my name out there, and a LOT of compliments on my work, so no complaints. Nowhere to go but up, right? More later...

Ruler of the Night Skies final

After about 40 hours of work, Ruler of the Night Skies is finished. Surprisingly, the branch was more difficult than the owl itself, but I think it came out okay. Comments are welcome!

Hanging Some Prints

It was time to peddle some prints.

I framed up two prints of my Bridge Sentinel the other day, anxiously anticipating taking them to possibly be displayed in some cafe/galleries in town.

Yesterday I loaded them up and off I went to meet with the owner of the first place, a little coffee shop that displays local artists' work. Seeing as how I've never done this before, I was a little nervous. The owner was very gracious, however, and we were soon chatting about art and what not. I asked her what their policy was for displaying artwork. She replied that they charge 50% as most galleries do, but that she would put mine up for 30% as a trial. ( I had explained that I was an up-and-coming artist and just trying to get my foot in the door, so to speak.) So I went and retrieved one of the framed pieces from my truck and went back inside. She was very appreciative of my work, to say the least! After some oohs and ahhs and showing it to her counter person, she promptly removed a painting from a wall and replaced it with my piece! I played it cool, but inside I was like "cha- CHING!) This was a more positive response than I had hoped for! If everybody who sees it has the same response, I should sell quite a few prints!

The next place I went was a little sandwich shop/gallery. (I think restaurants are great for displaying art. Nothing to do while you eat but look around, right?) Anyway, the owners were out of town, so I'll have to wait till next week to talk to them. I left a card, however, so maybe they'll call me before I go back. We'll see.

Finally, I went to another restaurant that displays some artwork for free. I've been going there over the years and am friendly with the ladies who own it. When I asked to hang a print, they said "Sure!" and took down a small watercolor painting and replaced it with mine. RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE WALL! I had the primo spot! I was naturally pleased as punch! I ordered a sweet tea, thanked them and went on my way, more optimistic and motivated than before. Then reality peeked into my head..."Now all you have to do is actually SELL some!"

damned reality voice...

Ruler of the Night Skies WIP

This is what I'm working on at the moment. Ruler of the Night Skies is the most difficult piece I've done to date. It combines stipple (dots) with hatching (lines) to create the texture and patterns of the great horned owl. It also includes graphite work on the full moon using a technique called "circulism" which is simply making tiny circles, building layers until the correct darkness is achieved. The amount of dark background also adds to the difficulty in this piece for the simple fact that it is SO time consuming to get an even tone on an almost black background.

Bridge Sentinel

This is the first piece that I'm making prints from, and it's also my first serious stipple work. It is 11"X14" done on smooth bristol board. It is a rendering of one of the white marble lions that guard our "Bridge of Lions" here, and took about 40 hours to complete.

Castillo de San Marcos

This piece is of the Castillo de San Marcos, a 400 year old Spanish fort here in the nation's oldest city. It is 11"X14" on smooth bristol board.