Saturday, November 27, 2010

SKETCHBOOK - "Random Collection"

I had a few sketches that I've done recently...well, sort of recently...and thought they might be "post worthy". The first and second sketch are of Kerry, my friend and manager at work. Our studio had a much needed "day away" at a farm last month. Part of the time was spent sketching some of our co-workers...well, just Kerry and I volunteered to pose. I really enjoyed drawing these...need to do more figurative work soon.

Today, I went to Lawrence, Kansas to do a little shopping. Ended up buying a new "moleskine" sketchbook for myself and broke it in with this drawing.

This sketch was done back in September during lunch. The maintenance crews were out in force, winterizing the fountains in Crown Center. I just drew their carts.

And I would be remiss if I did not include at least one robot drawing! (I don't remember when I drew it...probably wasn't "recently"...oh well.)

Sunday, November 21, 2010

SKETCHBOOK - "Trip to Shreveport"

It's been about two weeks since my last post. I've been down south, being with my Mom after some major surgery. She had to travel to Shreveport, LA for a special procedure that should greatly help her with the rare cancer that she has. After a 9 hour surgery on Nov. 12th, I drove down the next Saturday, so I could stay during last week, and relieve my brother and his wife who had been with Mom up until then. Now that I'm back, I thought I'd post some of the interesting things I sketched while there. Keep my Mom in your prayers...she's still in the hospital recovering.

Okay...let's start with the first sketch at the top. Nothing like a little "razor wire" on the fence surrounding the free parking at the LSU Medical Center. Felt like a prison yard! What was so strange was that there is no gate on the entrance, and there's a big opening in the fence for pedestrians to cross the street. Why would they need "razor wire"?!!! To keep out people who insist on PAYING for their free parking?

Below is the view looking from across the street on the west end of the lot...nice damp fog adds to the friendly atmosphere. (Let me just say right here...the staff at the hospital are TERRIFIC!! It's just a gloomy neighborhood where they have to work.)

Next is the view from inside the fence...northwest corner of the lot, looking across the street. There is a nice fleet of trash trucks ready to serve you, right next to a mini-electrical plant, and old warehouses. Not pretty...but interesting.

Here's a view from the cafeteria inside the hospital. It was late in the afternoon...one lone med student having a bite to eat. There were lots more chairs and tables...I ran out of time.

Here is the waiting room on the 7th floor. There was some brand new glass in the snack machine...someone had recently busted it...guess they didn't have exact change.

The last two sketches are of Saint Mark's Cathedral just up the road a bit from the hospital. This was drawn while Mom was still in ICU, and I could only visit for 30 minutes, four times a day...I had lots of time to fill up.

I wish I had been able to sketch some of the people in and around the hospital. Saw a couple of guys in orange jump suits with cuffs and chains on with police escort. Saw one guy in his gown outside, walking in a hurry, looking around, like he was "makin' a break for it"...not sure how far he got. There was quite a gallery of folks standing around outside smoking, holding their I.V. bags, in wheel chairs, on crutches, doctors, nurses, etc., etc. ...all due to the "non-smoking campus" designation. And I would like to have sketched my face when I locked my keys in my van (as we were hurrying to get my Mom into her semi-private room) and then when I had to pay $40 for a guy from "Pop-A-Lock" to get them out. An interesting week.

Huge thanks to my brother Kris, and his wife Debra, for their continued vigil taking care of Mom in the days to come!! Hope she gets home soon!

Sunday, November 7, 2010

AUTOMATA - "DiggerBot" FINISHED!

This little guy is finally done!!! The DiggerBot was way more involved to build than I originally anticipated. I had lost steam for this "steam-punk" project several times. But today I went out for some location shots at a construction site, and am actually smiling at the results. There's not going to be a lot of commentary on the paint job...just enjoy the photos!

I wanted to show the earliest stage of when I began to paint the Bot. I was really torn as to what color to go with, once I had sprayed on a primer coat of black. It reminded me of an old black train locomotive...and I really liked that look. I came really close to just hitting it with some silver on a few details, and calling it "done".
I also like the yellow colors of modern construction equipment. In the end, I went with a worn-out ol' rust-bucket bronze-red. Below are the basic arm movements. Unfortunately, the crank mechanism ended up being tighter to turn (due to the paint), so there's a bit of effort required to bring it to life.

So that's it for the latest project. Might have to get some more shelves!