LUDstuff!

ANIMATION!

2012-02-03T18:19:00.003-06:00

Trying something new here...hope it works! I've created a few animations from projects I've made for this blog. Recently I tracked down an older copy of Photoshop 7 that will work with the "antique" version of my iMac's operating system. THAT means, I can create animated GIF files again! (Yes...I know it's an outmoded format...but it's still fun for me.)

Above is the "Silverback with a Jet Pack" from the "Flying Monkey Squadron" series I sculpted. (You can click on the "labels" section on this blog to see the process of making them.) For these animations, I just took lots of photos of the sculpt with my camera on a tripod. Then I laboriously cut them out in Photoshop and created all the sky and smoke elements. Then I used the program ImageReady 7 to construct all the frames. It's like "old school" stop-motion-animation for the digital age.

Next, you'll see the movements of four of my AUTOMATA projects. Folks have asked for videos of these...this is the best I can offer without a digital movie camera.

Hope you have fun looking at these...I'll definitely be making more!!

Odd Creatures

2012-01-29T20:33:00.006-06:00

I was recently invited to contribute to a new blog called

"Professor J. Fenious Peak's Fantastical Menagerie of Verification Creatures". The site has been up and running for about a week. The idea is to create sketches and illustrations inspired by the unusual "verification words" you see when you sign in to websites or leave a comment on someone's blog.

The big mosquito above is called a MORPEST. If you want to read all the stats on these and other oddities, go visit the site:

http://theverificationmenagerie.blogspot.com/

Below is an ALIKESOR...

...a few SHILEADI...

...and a VAIRKIN.

SCULPTURE - "Santa vs. The Yeti" FINAL

2012-01-20T23:07:00.003-06:00

BEHOLD...The SMACK-DOWN in TOY-TOWN!

Santa didn't start this fight, but he sure as fruitcake is gonna end it! Ain't no giant Yeti gonna be munching on Kris Kringle's workforce and get away with it! Some heard him exclaim, as he drove the beast out of sight..."I know when you are sleeping...I know when you're awake..."

Okay...enough silliness. Here are photos of the last few stages of the sculpting process...pretty much the same techniques that I've shown all along. I added smaller pieces of sculpy to build the general shapes and flow of the Yeti's fur. Then I spent a good deal of time adding detail with various sculpting tools.

Once all the fur was done, I glazed the whole piece with oder-less solvent. Then I let it sit overnight, to set up after "melting" the sculpy to a smoother surface. I covered the bottom of a pie pan with a piece of aluminum foil, and placed the sculpture in the center of it. I baked the Yeti in the oven at about 250 degrees, for 30 minutes. After I turned off the heat, I opened the oven door, and just let it cool down slowly.

Next, I painted a gray-blue base-coat with acrylics, then several layers of glazes, building up from the darker values to the lightest...dry brushing and blending until I was satisfied with the results.

While waiting for the Yeti to bake, I started painting Santa...first a base coat of brown, then the colors I wanted. I then used very thin washes of tans, black, and various blues to add depth and variety to the paint job.

After all the painting was finished, I used super-glue GEL to fix Santa onto the back of the Yeti. I had left a hole in the Yeti's shoulder for the armature wire that protruded from Santa's foot. I had also sculpted a "foot hole" in the Yeti's back. Once the glue had set-up, I sculpted a little piece of "fur" out of plumbers epoxy to look like Santa's hand was holding on the the beard hair of the Yeti. A bit of touch-up paint to match the Yeti fur...and it's all finished!!

Here are various views of the final "Santa vs. The Yeti" sculpture. Hope you enjoyed watching the process!

SCULPTURE - "Santa vs. The Yeti" pt. 4

2011-12-31T16:56:00.003-06:00

"Here comes Santa Claus, Here comes Santa Claus..." This is my final post for 2011! Hard to believe the year will be over in a few hours. Glad I was able to finish this phase of the sculpt just in the "St. Nick" of time! (I know...I'm groaning too.)

Let's walk ya through the process...I'm sure it's starting to get a bit repetitious. As before, I made a wire armature to get the size and pose where I wanted it. I made Santa a bit larger in scale than the original rough-in.

I made the hammer out of a nail, and plumbers epoxy. Then I covered them with the sculpy, and baked it.

I was trying something new this time around. Many sculptors that I follow online use a heat gun for "locking in" certain areas of a sculpt, while keeping other areas soft, to continue sculpting. I have much to learn about technique...as you will see, I scorched a lot of the rest of the sculpture. I just didn't want to wait on using my little toaster, as the heat gun is a faster way to bake stuff. I used plumbers epoxy to connect the hammer to the arm...then just started building up details.

Santa's face was a little tricky, since the size of it was so small. I'm not super patient with the tiny details, so it isn't as refined as I'd like. After I had baked the face, I added some beard bits on top. It's all shiny, because I glazed it with solvent, to blend the surface some.

Once I attached the head, I just kept going with more detailing. As I've said before, I was going for a "barbarian" style Santa. After the final baking, the features were so scorched by the heat gun, that I couldn't see much of what I'd sculpted! So...I painted on a quick coat of acrylic, and it's good to go. (I will not be baking it any more, so the next stage for this guy will be the final paint job.) I'm currently re-reading "The Hobbit", so it may be why Santa looks a bit like a battling DWARF!

I'm on the home stretch now. Next will be addition of Yeti Fur, and an ice-covered base. After that...the final painted piece!

"See ya NEXT YEAR!" Happy 2012!

SCULPTURE - "Santa vs. The Yeti" pt. 3

2011-12-26T14:46:00.004-06:00

Now that Christmas is behind us, I'm picking up some momentum on sculpting the YETI. The image above is still pretty rough, but it's getting there bit by bit. Let's look at the development of some of those "bits".

Usually, after I rough in a general layout of a piece, I start taking it apart and refining specific elements. I cut off the hand, and made a new armature of wire. After adding a bit of Sculpy for the fingers, I made some claws separately and baked them by themselves. I then added the claws back into the softer clay. You'll notice the gray color of the Sculpy...it's a mixture of "super" sculpy and "super...firm" (which is gray). I didn't like the crumbly texture of the firm, so blending the two gives it enough firmness for detailing. (Thanks, Jake A., for that tip!)

Before I baked the hand, I glazed it with some oder-less solvent (like you use with oil paints). This softens some of the details a bit. After baking, I used super sculpy to add some fur texture...then baked it again.

I attached the wire "stem" from the armature of the hand back onto the forearm of the Yeti. I used wire to wrap the stem around the arm's inner foil/wire, then used Plumbers Epoxy to make a good solid joint at the wrist. I added the sculpy back on top and it's ready for more detailing later.

Okay...now let's switch over the YETI's HEAD! This is one of the most important parts, and was fun to see where I'd end up. I was strongly influenced by Silverback Gorillas, but tried to keep some human-like expressions, too. I used the rough sculpt to give me some size relationships, but the face got a bit larger...which was fine with me. I began with a nice set of "choppers"...fangs made separately and baked, then blended in to the jaws.

Once the teeth were baked, I just started adding bits of clay to create the head. I didn't linger on the fur details, as I would be adding that later. The eyeballs are copper colored "BB's".

You've heard of "defacing art"? Sorry if this looks a bit gruesome...he felt no pain.

Here's the new face, with a little bit of quick texture to give me an idea of how it will look, once I start refining the rest of his fur.

You'll notice that Santa is not on his back...think I'll work on him next. Stay tuned!

SCULPTURE - "Santa vs. The Yeti" pt. 2

2011-12-21T16:35:00.004-06:00

Let's get this Yeti started! I finally got all my Christmas shopping and wrapping done, so I was able to sculpt some this afternoon. This version is, as usual, my rough block-in. I will cut things apart and start refining specific areas...i.e. the Yeti's face, hand, Santa, etc. Then I can work all the fur after I reassemble the parts. Now that I look at the proportions, I will probably make Santa a bit larger.

Here is the basic armature that I started with...and a bit of foil wrapped with wire to "bulk" out the torso (so I don't have to use so much Sculpy). I forgot to take photos of the in-between stages of putting on the clay...but figured you'd get the idea. Remember, you can click on the images to see larger versions.
More to come in the days ahead!

RUBY SHOES...my last gig

2011-12-18T23:44:00.002-06:00

Last Friday night, I had a blast playing with the band at our drummer's "farewell to my house party". Rick and his wife are downsizing, and we "rocked the neighborhood" one last time. Well...for me...it was, indeed, the "last time". The guys (and gal) in the band have been very gracious and understanding about my situation, and I really appreciate their friendship. I posted this on the RUBY SHOES BAND facebook page a few minutes ago:

Not sure who all will read this, but I wanted to explain why you probably won't be seeing my face in future photos of "Ruby Shoes". Sadly, I've had to "retire" from playing percussion with the band. It was a really tough decision, but the right one. I have a congenital heart condition that runs in my family, as well as a bad lower back. The HUGE FUN of playing with these great musicians over the last year distracted me from listening to what my body has been communicating. This "band life" is just too physically challenging for my heart. I appreciate all the support folks have given me while I was having the time of my life jammin' with my friends.

Please continue to come to the gigs when Ruby Shoes is out there... guarantee you'll have to "keep on dancin' !!!"

Thanks, Shoes...it was a great ride!

SCULPTURE - "Santa vs. The Yeti" pt. 1

2011-12-11T19:54:00.006-06:00

It's been WAY too long since I've done a sculpture project. I'm taking some time off during the holidays, and really wanted to have something fun to work on while at home. An epiphany hit me one morning, and it seemed perfect for the season. I may not be able to finish it before Christmas is over, but I'll get a good start on it.

I was thinking about all the animated classics on TV this time of year...especially "Rudolph", with Yukon Cornelius fighting the Abominable Snowman. It occurred to me that since Santa lives in the North Pole, it's possible he comes from good Norsemen stock. I figured that, before he could set up the ol' toyshop, he had to make it safe for Mrs. Claus and his tiny little elves. Thus, the battles ensued to clear the land of voracious Yeti...a much larger and more vicious version than the modern day shy creatures of lore. Maybe Santa is the reason they hide!

I started with a very rough sketch, just to capture the idea. Then I saw my ugly mug in the mirror and a camera on the dresser...voila...yeti poses to work from.

I gathered images off the internet to inspire me. (Hope these folks don't mind my posting this stuff!) I plan to build on the "viking / barbarian" theme for Santa's look.

Tonight I decided to work up a tighter color sketch shown above, just to help refine the concept a bit. I will probably change some things along the way. I don't want to be limited to the sketch...the YETI must reveal himself in the clay! Stay tuned!

SKETCHBOOK - "Waiting for an oil change...again"

2011-11-13T21:07:00.004-06:00

I promise...I don't go to get an oil change for my van, just so I can draw people.

But since I was there yesterday, I couldn't resist continuing this ongoing series.

SKETCHBOOK - "Tree Grove"

2011-10-29T15:21:00.003-05:00

Had no plans this morning, so I went to mail some bills, then had breakfast. I wandered across the street from the restaurant afterward, and walked the path around an office park pond. Found a little bench in front of this grove of trees...a perfect place to spend the morning sketching in the warm sun.

On the stroll to my van on the other side of the pond, I came upon this amusing sign. They could've just said, "No Fun Allowed!" I then proceeded to fish, swim, wade, throw rocks, and feed the geese until they were ready to pop!
UPDATE 10-30-11

Decided to add one more sketch. Stayed after church this afternoon (instead of coming home to rake the stupid leaves). It was pretty windy out on the lawn. I like the architectural design of the layered roof line. But my perspective got a little off on this one...once you start with the ink pen, there's no turning back. Might have to try this one again sometime.

SKETCHBOOK - "Kearney Farm"

2011-10-27T16:13:00.003-05:00

Today, all the folks from my department at work went on a "Day Away" to Kearney, MO for some creative renewal and fun. We were free to roam the property that is owned by Hallmark...acres of land with ponds, beautiful fields and walking trails. The weather was gorgeous (though a bit nippy), and it was great to just kick back and enjoy time with my co-workers. Above is the only sketch I made...started in the morning when my friend, Joan, was beginning a painting...then finished the drawing and added color in the afternoon.

I decided to dig around in my archives to show you a painting I did of the same house 6 years ago, on another "Day Away" in October of '05.

SKETCHBOOK - "Stinky Pig"

2011-10-22T19:19:00.006-05:00

I can't believe it's been a month since my last post! Truth is, I have been doing a lot of creative things...but not with the visual arts. I've been working on co-writing some songs with a buddy of mine who lives in New York...we share music files over emails, and each work on the other guy's tunes. It's been a blast! However...today I HAD to get my sketchbook out...it's been way too long!

This batch of drawings is from a few hours that I spent today at the Deanna Rose Farmstead. It's a petting zoo that we used to take the kids to. Over the years, it has expanded into a wonderful park with lots of antique farm equipment all about, and many more animals. The weather was perfect, so I had a great time (even though it was pretty crowded with families everywhere).

The sketch at the top was a VERY STINKY pig that was kind enough to take a nap while I drew her. Below is another cooperative model..."Chico" the pony, who was on break from "letting" kids ride him.

A bison in the sun...or "buffalo" if you prefer.

And a couple of nifty pieces of farm machinery.
After I was done sketchin'...I ended up at a music store and bought myself another little drum, a "foot tamborine", and a new "shaker" for band practice tomorrow. All in all...a very nice day!

RUBY SHOES...Post-gig

2011-09-25T14:48:00.005-05:00

Just thought I'd give a brief report on the gig last night at Danny's Bar and Grill. We were crammed onto a very tight little stage (which looked much bigger when it was empty). Didn't quite know what to expect with the turnout...started off small, but by the end of our set, there were at least 75 folks in there to hear us. Frankly, I think the band wished we could have played more than our Hour and a Half slot before the other band played at 11:30. We had to cut our playlist short, but as they say...leave 'em wanting more! We had a lot of fun, though, and it was good to get some exposure. Hopefully we'll get invited to play somewhere else soon.

If you facebook, do a search for "Ruby Shoes Band" for some more photos.

RUBY SHOES...Tonight!!!

2011-09-24T11:51:00.002-05:00

Media blitz!! Just givin' you one more chance to change your plans and come see us!

RUBY SHOES...Tomorrow Night!

2011-09-23T11:22:00.003-05:00

The poster says it all...well...technically, not ALL. It doesn't say how much fun we have in the band, or how much fun YOU will have if you come see us in person!

Waitin' and Sketchin'

2011-09-18T15:17:00.005-05:00

Many of the drawings I've done in my sketchbooks are created while waiting for something else to happen. It helps pass the time, and I often get so caught up in the process, that I forget what I was supposed to be doing instead of sketching. Today, after church, I was waiting for a store to open, and saw this little construction site in the parking lot. As has happened before, someone came up at the end, looked over my shoulder and asked, "Are you an artist?" I try to be polite when I answer "Yes", but it always amuses me. Kind of like watching someone swimming laps in a pool, and asking, "Are you a swimmer?"

In keeping with the "waiting theme", the sketch of the guy above, and the series below, were done while waiting to get my oil changed back in May. I've posted similar "oil change" sketches, and you'll probably see more...just a great spot to people-watch.

Here's one I drew way back in 2008, but haven't posted before. This was done while waiting at an Art Fair in downtown Kansas City. "Cliff" was selling CDs of his music while playing live...some nice jazz tunes, if I recall.

RUBY SHOES...our next GIG!

2011-09-10T11:47:00.004-05:00

I haven't been doing a lot of artwork at home these days, but have been focusing more on music in my "spare time". The dance band I'm in has an upcoming gig at a local sports bar and grill. If you happen to be in the area, we'd love to have you drop in and check us out! See the little flyer above for details.

And if you're on facebook, you can do a search of Ruby Shoes Band to hear a few audio clips!

Grandson, part 2

2011-09-06T11:59:00.006-05:00

Okay...one more update on my new grandson, then back to the "art stuff" on this blog. Jackson came home yesterday, and everyone is doin' great! He's still a tiny little dude...I had to run out and get some premie "onesies" yesterday, 'cause he was being swallowed by his KU shirt!!

Oh yeah...I guess I do have some "art" to show you...here's a sketch I made during the long night waiting for lil' Jackson to be born...Courtney and Andrew trying to rest in between contractions. I think Andrew figured out how to do that the best.

Even while fighting off a migrane headache, contractions, and a long night with no sleep, Courtney said something while I was drawing: "I can do this. I'm awesome."

She is, indeed! Way to go, daughter of mine!!

I'm a Grandpaw!!

2011-09-02T21:40:00.005-05:00

Big day...loooonnnngggg day...exciting day!!! My daughter Courtney had a baby this afternoon...Jackson William Shay! We had a "false start" on Wednesday afternoon. But around 12:45 this morning, Courtney's water broke, and we were off to the races.

Proud parents, Courtney and her husband, Andrew, with lil' Jackson.

Tiny baby Jackson in the hands of his Uncle Dan.

Everyone is healthy and we're so blessed that things went well. Thank you Lord!!

UPDATE...day 2...grandson stole my crusty ol' heart already!

SKETCHBOOK - "Art's Bench"

2011-08-07T18:29:00.003-05:00

I went out to Shawnee Mission Park today to paddle a canoe on the lake. Thought it might cool me off a bit...just made me sweat. Then I decided to grab my sketchbook and head down a walking trail to a bench that Cathy and I used to sit on occasionally. The bench is a memorial to an artist I used to work with, Art Carlson. In fact, in this very spot years ago, Cat asked me why I never painted with oils anymore (it had been probably 20 years since my college days). I didn't have a good answer, and soon thereafter, started up doing landscapes again. This sketch is the first time I've actually done a piece from that view.

Just as I was finishing adding some washes to the drawing...the sun went behind some very menacing looking rain clouds. The wind whipped up, and I decided it was time to leave! Alas...all bluster and no rain for my dried up lawn. I made a composite image from my cell-phone camera.

Monterey Trip: Pt. 4 Finale

2011-08-04T18:08:00.010-05:00

Okay, Folks...here's the big finish to my series. We end with a day trip along the BIG SUR COAST!! I'm posting a lot of photos in this batch, because there were just too many amazing things to see.

My daughter, Jenni, and her beau, Brad, drove down from South Lake Tahoe to join me for the day. We started the morning in Monterey (at Coco's for breakfast, of course), then stopped in Pacific Grove for these shots. After that we headed south on California's Highway 1!

Visibility was limited for much of the drive...lots of fog. As we climbed the elevating terrain, it became a bit spooky on the curvy highway. ("Dad, keep your eyes on the road!!") It was hard to tell where the Pacific Ocean was...only a few places to pull over and look out, like the spot below.
I stopped because the view opened up to the beautiful vista you see here. This is a collage made from three photos. The native wildflowers were pretty, as was the little barn on the other side of the road (again...a collage of two photos).

Before too much longer, we came to this view. Disregarding the "private property" sign by the clay banks, we scampered up to quickly get a few photos. Awesome colors in the water!
I borrowed one of Jenni's photos (below left) of me taking a picture of the ledge we were standing on (my shot on the right). Brad had pointed out that it was really eroding away..by golly, he was right!

Here is another glorious view a bit farther down the coast. It was so cool to be above the purple clouds that hovered across the waters.
Eagle-eye Brad noticed way, way, way down below that there were two tiny little dots in the water...SURFERS! I have circled where they are and enlarged them a bit...even still, I can hardly see them. Dang tri-focals!!

This next image is one of my favorites of the whole trip...it took my breath away being there. Even Brad, who has done a lot of traveling all over the world to climb boulders and cliffs, said that he had never seen anything like it. Good Old U.S.A! We live in a wonderful country...I want to see more of it!

Now we move to a new location which was at the half-way mark of our journey before heading back. I had seen images of this place on the web, and really wanted to go there. So glad we did. It is the McWay Falls, at Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park.

Before we got to the actual waterfall, we explored some of the trails that split off in different directions. Below is a composite of two photos showing Brad standing by the dangerous terrain off the main trail (as the signs try to explain to folks like us).
There were lots of wonderful trees along the paths...ancient and weathered.

We found out that there is no access to the beach allowed...tourists would make a mess of it in no time. But it was SO inviting looking down there. At the bottom of this image, hidden in the foliage, is the creek that pours water out onto the beach. So we began the long trek to the far side of the cliffs on the right, to get the best view.

Behold! McWay Falls! (I know...not huge...but in a great location!)
Jenni and I are both laughing (nervously). Notice that she is touching my shoulder, as my hand steadies me on the railing. I had just gotten a little woozy at those heights. Taking a tumble was NOT on my agenda for the day! (Though I really did want to get down to the beach...just not THAT way.)

Getting close to the end now, folks. On the way back to Monterey, we found the unmarked, one lane road (with a little help from the tourist guide info) that took us to Big Sur's most popular coastal access point...the U.S. Forest Service's Pfeiffer Beach. Once you walk down the sandy pathway under the canopy of trees...
...it opens onto this amazing beach, surrounded by towering cliffs!

One of the main attractions is this huge arch shaped rock formation. The water has blasted a perfect doorway through the stone. I've seen a photo of the rays of light during sunset glowing through the arch...magical.

Thought I'd try out the timer on my camera for this self-portrait. Jenni is walking up on the left.

Well, my friends, this marks the end of the trail. Hope you enjoyed the tour!

Monterey Trip: Pt. 3

2011-08-02T21:31:00.008-05:00

Time to visit some of the more well known tourist spots. We'll start with the Monterey Aquarium...super place to spend hours looking at amazing things!

Below...the Kelp Gardens. Mesmerizing...sways to the rhythm of the waves.

The penguin display...

"Um...yeah...that outfit DOES kinda make your butt look big."

A few more things you'll see...note that the sand dollars are alive...not bleached like you find them on the beach.

One of the huge tanks they have..."The Open Sea" display. The turtle was great! At the bottom of the tank was a huge school of fish...notice the open circle where the fish keep moving away from the hammerhead shark.

One of my favorite areas was where they have the jellyfish...could watch them for hours.

I started with fish bones...I'll end this part with fish bones...er...and mammal bones.

The Aquarium is part of "Cannery Row". Here are a couple of views from down the road. Kind of makes me want to read the famous novel by John Steinbeck.

Nearby is "Fisherman's Wharf"...great places to eat...especially if you like clam chowder. Free Samples everywhere!

Here's an angry giant pelican, moments before he wrecks havoc on an unsuspecting fishing vessel.

Didn't know they made these...an industrial gull-poop catcher.

A couple of shots of nap time..."Sea Lions in a Box" (that floating crate is literally loaded with loud barking sea lions...for $2 they'll let you get up close and see them)...and "Whale Dog".

Okay...we'll end this post with a few images from the well-traveled "17-Mile-Drive" which takes you through several golf courses, the best known being "Pebble Beach". Mid-way through, you end up at Carmel-by-The-Sea (which I only looked at briefly...another trip required to see everything). These photos were taken at the famous "Lone Cypress Tree".

By the time I was heading back to my hotel, it was nearly dark...and was definitely FOGGY! I was a bit tense on the very curvy, hilly road...especially since I don't see well driving at night. I pulled over to take a photo of the ridiculous driving conditions. But my camera senses light almost like night-vision goggles, and captured way more detail than you can see with your eyes. I seriously considered driving back looking through my camera display, so I could see better!

Okay...only one more set of photos left to post. I'm saving the best for last..."BIG SUR" on Highway 1!! See ya back here real soon!

Monterey Trip: Pt. 2

2011-08-01T18:55:00.007-05:00

This first batch of photos is limited to the town of Pacific Grove, California...just on the outskirts of Monterey. "P.G." is where I stayed for the week...lots to see within walking distance.

I got a few good shots out of the window of my plane. On the left...some nice coastal views north of Los Angeles. I thought it would be clear and sunny where I was headed. But on the right, you can see the cloud-cover that was to block out most of the sunshine the whole time I was there.

Here's my smiling face as I pull out of the San Jose airport in my rental car...windows down, radio up, jammin' to some Peter Gabriel's "Sledge Hammer". On the right...my first moments on the beach...gray, overcast skies, a hat and jacket required. (But I'm smiling on the inside!)

This is the Point Pinos Lighthouse, and a golf course, just down the road from my hotel...

Next up...several photos of the wonderful rock formations along the beaches of "P.G.".

Much of the coastal area of Pacific Grove is protected by the state...you can see a bit of the wildlife below.

On the left side are some tiny black dots in the middle of the water...Sea Otters!!

Lots of Seals and Marine Birds!

That's it for this post...more later.

SKETCHBOOK - "Trip To Monterey" Pt.1

2011-07-31T13:09:00.009-05:00

Hello, everybody...I made it home from my Monterey Adventure in California! I got in late last night, and slept like a log. What a terrific vacation and "creative renewal" time...I really needed it!

I must confess something right off...I didn't create as much artwork as I thought I'd have at the end of the trip. What I'm posting today is everything I drew or painted. However...I took 850 photographs!!! I won't make you look at all of those, so it'll take me a while to sift through them over the next couple of weeks, and pick some of my favorites. An artist could fill up a lifetime drawing and painting the interesting and beautiful things out there. But I knew my stay was short, and the camera was the best way to capture the beauty. I hope to create some studio paintings from some of the pictures I took. I was exhausted from wandering, climbing rocky beaches, and driving up and down the coast seeing the usual tourist spots! Okay...enough of an intro...let me show you a few sketches.

This location was just a short walk down the road from where I was staying. My late wife, Cathy, had always loved pastels, and often wanted me to try them. I wasn't fond of the powdery mess, fixatives, etc. But I thought I'd give it a go. I had read a book on the flight out about working with pastels...should have read it before I left. I really was not equipped with the proper set up. I had minimal colors to work with, and the wind was blowing my paper everywhere. I needed an easel and paper mounted on boards. I was not happy with the results...I much prefer oils (but didn't want to haul them on the plane).

So, I decided to try again with my usual pens and watercolor washes. I often prefer the line drawings without color, but it was so gorgeous out there, that I went ahead and added the washes (as seen in the first image at the top).

Here's a sketch of the famous "Cannery Row" done late in the afternoon, as the sun was starting to go down. I need to clarify that...I assumed that the sun was around somewhere, but you wouldn't know it by looking. MOST of the time, the skies were gray and overcast...it looked the same in the morning as in the evening. If you didn't have a watch, you would not know the time of day with all the fog. Only occasionally did I get a bit of "sunny California" during the mid-day. I'm told that it's pretty common along the coastal regions. (I can't really complain about having to wear a jacket in the chilly wet air...it was a nice break from the blistering Kansas heat!!)

Here's a dry-docked boat that I drew, while waiting for the Monterey Aquarium to open. Usually, I don't do a lot of journaling, but thought I'd write more on this trip. Click on the image to enlarge it...you might be able to read my "chicken scratch" handwriting.

One morning I went down to the "Fisherman's Wharf" to draw. It was early, and there were few people roaming. This is another example of wishing I'd left the drawing un-colored...though adding washes helps define some of the shapes a bit better. Those are three little seals swimming in the water.

My hotel was in a quaint little town called "Pacific Grove", which is on the North-Western part of Monterey. The "A" marks the spot for "Sunset Inn".

In the downtown part of "P.G." (as the locals call it), there was this great looking gnarly tree that caught my eye. Spent about 2 hours sitting on the corner drawing it, chatting with passers-by.

After having fun drawing the tree above, I decided to try a mixed-media approach with the pastels. I sketched up a cyprus tree with ink pen on gray pastel paper, added opaque washes of water color, drew some with the pastels, added more washes, then redefined a few more of the lines in ink. I felt a bit better about the outcome this time.

One wonderful discovery was a diner called "Coco's". I ate there every morning for breakfast. I didn't feel guilty loading up on the heavy-duty food, because I sometimes skipped lunch if I was in the "exploring zone"...just forgot to eat a couple of times!

Okay...this one need some explanation. When I was at the Aquarium, this guy walked by. I couldn't resist, and took a sneaky snapshot. When I had to go back to the hotel to recharge my phone and camera batteries, I drew this sketch from the photo viewer in my camera. I'm afraid the guy's challenge to find shorts that fit the front of him, left a major "wedgie" in the rear. (If this is also what I look like, would someone please tell me? The joke may be on me after all.)

As with most of my trips that require flying, I feel obligated (or perhaps bored enough) to draw stuff in the airport and on the plane.

Finally, I leave you with a few "designs" that I found in some of the wonderful rock formations all around the beaches. More to come...stay tuned!!

SKETCHBOOK - "Trip To Monterey" Prequel

2011-07-23T11:42:00.003-05:00

Just wanted to let you know about a cool trip I'm taking on Tuesday, July 26. After hearing about vacations that friends have been going on this summer, I started thinking, "Well, Warren, what's stoppin' you from taking one yourself?!" I've been working hard painting rooms in my house for the last month, and am ready for a break. My daughter, Jenni, has been to Monterey, California a couple of times, and I was totally taken in by the gorgeous photos she took on her trips there. So...Monterey...HERE I COME!! I'll be out there for almost a week.

I've purchased a new sketchbook, watercolors, pastels, pens, and (the best part) a new Stetson hat for my "artist retreat". I plan to wander aimlessly, with no ipod, no computer, no deadlines, and no art directors. I want to just "be" for a few days on the beach, scanning the rocky coastline for interesting treasures, taking photos, and sketching whatever I feel like. I'll have my phone, of course. I'll even meet up with my daughter, Jen, and her beau, Brad, for one day, as they drive down from Lake Tahoe.

I'll be posting the sketches and photos from my adventure upon my return. Stay Tuned!

(The image above is some Photoshop magic using pictures taken by Jen, and my late wife, Cathy. However, if I find a cute Seagull to wear, I may ditch the Stetson...I kind of like the look.)

SKETCHBOOK - "Life Drawing Session #2"

2011-07-12T23:24:00.004-05:00

Got a chance to go to another Figure Drawing session at work this afternoon. Decided not to show all of the sketches...just those that I was fairly pleased with. This time, I chose to use a brush pen with brown ink for the drawings (instead of pencils or charcoal), then I added some watercolor washes here and there. It's a bit risky with the ink...you can't undo the mistakes. But it was a nice challenge and I was glad to have my workload unexpectedly lighten so I could go draw for a couple of hours.

Monster Fountain on the Plaza!

2011-06-25T22:05:00.005-05:00

Well, I'm still painting rooms in my house, so nothing current to post. So I thought I'd reach back into the archives and show you this little oddity from February, 2010. It's one of my entries into a goofy photo contest from CREATUREBOX, a fun website by two incredibly talented artists, Dave Guertin and Greg Baldwin. The idea was to assemble a little cardboard monster "paper toy" they designed, called "Thorndyke", then put him into crazy locations. I didn't win any of the prizes, but I had fun anyway.

So here's the original location on the Country Club Plaza in Kansas City.

Here are the monster parts...took about two hours to build...way longer than I expected.

And here's the little guy all put together. The wire was to help me get the "one-footed-tip-toe" pose I needed. With a little Photoshop magic...voila! A new fountain for Kansas City!

UPDATE! Thanks to my nephew's eagle eye, I was made aware that I had forgotten to add one other source photo for this image. I borrowed the water spray that comes out of Thorndyke's mouth from a photo of another famous KC fountain. I can't detect exactly what bits I used...I'm sure I "cloned" parts that I liked and moved things around to make it work. Thanks, Christopher!

SKETCHBOOK - "Life Drawing Afternoon"

2011-06-19T11:10:00.003-05:00

A little over a week ago, I went to one of the figure drawing sessions that are provided for artists at Hallmark Cards once a month. I really hesitated to post these drawings...it's been FOREVER since I've gone to a life drawing session, and I felt REALLY RUSTY!!! By the time it was over though, I knew I'd have to go again, because I've always loved drawing the human form.

First there were some 5 minute warm-up sketches. I didn't plan my time well on these...should have been looser.

Then we had a few 10 minute poses. I was a bit frustrated by not being sure of what materials to use. I bounced from sepia pencils to graphite, with white pencil for highlights...toned brown paper, then to white.

Next were two 20 minute poses. I had wanted to try laying down a mid-tone over the paper, then lifting out highlights with a kneaded eraser. I had not, however, prepped my paper beforehand with graphite, or with charcoal...so scribbling on the paper didn't really work as well as I wanted.

Finally, we had a 15 minute pose. I was pleased with this drawing...finally started to feel like I could get back into this figure drawing thing. It was also a challenge using a larger piece of paper and an easel, instead of my sketchbook. All in all...a good 3 hours break from my regular workload.

I leave you with a photo of my current "assignment"...painting several rooms in my house. Not nearly so fun.

SKETCHBOOK - "Another ZOO Day"

2011-05-31T11:11:00.005-05:00

Yesterday, I decided I needed to get out of the house and go do something fun. "Hey, I'll go to the ZOO and draw animals!" I said to myself. By the time I got there, it really never dawned on me that a lovely sunny Memorial Day would also inspire a couple of thousand other folks to get out of the house and go do something fun. Not being a "people person" (especially a "huge crowds of people" person), I sighed...and went about my adventure anyway.

Above is one of my favorite critters...the beautiful WARTHOG! I love every bump, tusk, and gnarly thing about these guys. Took a while to get this sketch locked down...he kept getting up, walking away, then back again to lay in the sand.

I decided to walk in reverse order from my last visit to the zoo in July of '09 (Check my labels on the right of this blog for other zoo sketches). So I went straight over to the AFRICA area, and warmed up with a few poses of some baboons.

Around the corner were these multi-colored African hunting dogs...but they weren't hunting. They were sleeping...so I let them lie...as the old saying instructs us to.

Found my way over to the Crocodile House, where I took note of this guy's camouflage. Did you know that if you sit quietly in a zoo, minding your own business drawing a crocodile, that several children will soon be crawling all over you, to watch? I had forgotten this little detail about zoo sketching...happened almost every place I stopped to draw. It was okay, though...I decided it was good training for my soon-to-be-a-Grandpa status, come September.

This underwater view above was right up next to the glass enclosure...the croc hoping to make a quick snack of one of those curious children watching me draw. Here are some of the questions I was pummeled with while drawing: "What are you doing?" "Are you an artist?" "Did you draw that from scratch?" (I told him, "Yep...no tracing here!)

And my personal favorite question of the day was from a very loud teenage girl looking over my shoulder as I was drawing the hippo below: "Are you drawing that?" (as I am literally "drawing that" while she watched.) I just turned around with a huge grin of disbelief on my face, and said nothing.

The little rhino sketch above was disappointing, in that the beast kept eating and moving around. So I just managed a quick little thumbnail drawing.

It was almost closing time, when I came up on the elephants enjoying their evening meal. I thought, great...they'll stand still for me! Wrong...I would do some sketching...pick up my gear, walk down the path...sketch a bit...pick up, move down, sketch, etc. The last drawing of this female was fun...I was captivated by her smiling face (between bites of hay), and the long girly eyelashes. It was a good day.

Dinos In The Garden!

2011-05-21T18:21:00.004-05:00

I currently have family visiting from out of town. Today we drove out to Powell Gardens to enjoy looking at the various dinosaurs that they allow to roam free throughout the grounds. Here are a few of the ones that happened by, while we soaked up the sun and smelled the flowers. Actually, two of them were just resting under some trees...we tried not to disturb them too much.

SKETCHBOOK - "Spudnut Cowboy"

2011-05-04T10:18:00.006-05:00

Just returned from a trip home to see my family in El Dorado, Arkansas...a weekend full of sketchin', eatin', laughin', bush-hoggin' and swimmin'! Thought I'd post a few images of some of the fun.

On one rainy morning, I headed over to one of the iconic places in my home town...The Spudnut Shop! Most folks wonder what you're talking about..."What's a spudnut?!" It's better than any donut you'll ever taste...made from potato flour and love, covered in a sugar glaze and greasy as can be. Melts in your mouth!!
I had started the sketch below, when "hoss" sat down right in front of me (the drawing at the top)! Couldn't resist. I told someone later, "Don't sit down in my composition and not expect to get drawed!" (You may notice that I'm even writing with a southern drawl now...always happens when I "go home" for a bit.) Anyway...after the "Spudnut Cowboy" left, I finished the sketch of the tables.

Mom, her sketchin' buddy "Speck", and I spent a couple of days on a sketch adventure . Mom had scouted out some locations before I arrived, and hit the "Mother Lode" with a wonderful place ..."Rusty Acres" Salvage Yard!! The name says it all...acres and acres of junked out cars, trucks, tractors and who knows what...all rusting away. It was beautiful!!! We stayed out there for a few hours, in spite of the threatening rain clouds, and had a blast. I will be back!!
Mom and "Speck" sketched some ol' John Deere tractors, while I was around the corner continuing my series of vans with weird things sitting on the roof.

We ended that day's efforts at the Arkansas Gas and Oil Commission building, next to First Assembly of God Church.

Another day, we drove to nearby Smackover to visit the Arkansas Museum of Natural Resources (a.k.a. the Oil and Brine Museum). There was an interesting vehicle made from a former circus trailer that was owned by the locally famous "Goat Woman" during the depression era. She was a "one woman band" and could play seven instruments at once. She lived in this little trailer, raised goats, and would entertain any visitors who might drop by.
There were a couple of old "boom town" vehicles on display...I liked this delivery truck.

Since it was raining, and we were getting tired, I was not able to sketch some of the terrific treasures out on the grounds of the museum...antique oil drilling machinery. Another time!

One of the highlights of the trip was going out to the home of my brother Kris and his wife Debra. For the first time in my life I got to drive a tractor and bush-hog the front pasture!!! I had a silly grin on my face the whole time. Kris was more than happy to "let me" mow for about an hour. (Reminds me of Tom Sawyer's approach to getting his fence white-washed.) After showing me the ropes, and goin' a lap or two around the field, he turned me loose on my own.

Whew! Worked up an appetite...I need me a SPUDNUT!!

SKETCHBOOK - "A herd of trikes"

2011-04-20T22:03:00.005-05:00

I haven't had much going on with projects lately...well with "visual" projects. I've been focusing more on music these days...playing percussion with my church band, and also with "Ruby Shoes" (the dance band). I've also been goofing around at home creating "sound sketches" with my keyboard, drums, vocal experiments, and mixing them on my computer. Since I'm not set up for posting mp3 files, you'll be spared.

That said, I did manage one little sketch yesterday while waiting to take my daughter Courtney to lunch. She works at a KinderCare day-care. I saw this little bunch of red tricycles and thought they looked fun...just taking a well-deserved break before the next wave of wild children jump on and ride 'em hard!

Remembering Cathy

2011-04-16T20:05:00.006-05:00

On Tuesday, it will have been one year since my wife, Cathy, died.

I've thought a lot about how much I should post on the matter. While I could probably fill a book with all that I have gone through, I think I will keep things simple. Many of you have written very thoughtful and caring messages to me. I really appreciate it...more than you can know.

I found this photo in a box this week...it is from 1982. We had been married for only a couple of years, and were celebrating Cat's birthday at her favorite Japanese steak house. Those are the moments I want to remember. After nearly 30 wonderful years of marriage, I can truly say that Cathy changed me for the better. Thanks for your prayers, as my family continues on.

SKETCHBOOK - A Few Random OddBots

2011-04-10T00:31:00.004-05:00

It's been a while since I've loaded some ROBOT sketches...so now I have.

Ruby Shoes...all happy and everything

2011-03-30T14:25:00.004-05:00

Nothing new to report today...in fact, I'm gonna be busy for the next week with family in town visiting.

I had told you in an earlier post that I should have some images of our band's first gig to show. So far, whoever took the photos has not shared them yet. Maybe they forgot to take off the lens cover or something. So...stay tuned. In the mean time...here's another image of our happy band.

I had said something juvenile to try to make everybody smile for the camera. Being the most immature of our bunch...I laughed the hardest at my own stupid joke. Truth is...we laugh like this all the time during practice...love hanging out with these folks!!

SKETCHBOOK - Big Sharp Teeth and Bones!

2011-03-19T16:47:00.008-05:00

I just spent an enjoyable afternoon at the Natural History Museum on the campus of KU in Lawrence, KS. I had planned on going camping for the weekend, but got rained out. So...if you're gonna get stuck playing indoors, what's better than SKETCHIN' DINOSAUR BONES?!! The museum also has a pretty fair collection of pre-historic mammal skeletons, and some decent dioramas of indigenous wildlife. (Caution...if you're not fond of seeing displays of stuffed animals, you might not care for it.)

Before I took the drive this morning, I went and purchased a nifty little stool that folds up when you pull the shoulder strap. It was lightweight enough to comfortably carry around for sketching.

On the way out, I had to get a shot with my cell-phone camera of the wonderful MOSASAUR on display over the lobby door.
"The tail bone's connected to"... pretty much everything.
And this is...dare I say it..."the end".

BREAKING NEWS! (Sunday, March 20)

On the subject of SHARP TEETH...I caught that dang squirrel that's been trapped up in my attic for the last couple of weeks!!! Waaaa-Hoooo!!

That vicious little bugger was not happy...I didn't know that squirrels could GROWL!!!

(And thanks, Brad, for the headlamp you gave me for Christmas...came in handy in the attic. Sorry...I was so excited about my big catch, that I put it on a bit lop-sided.)

This is the nice park I took him too...catch and release. I couldn't get a photo of the moment, 'cause he sprinted off lickety split into the woods. This is the basic route he took. Happy Ending for all!

SKETCHBOOK - Road Construction

2011-03-12T17:49:00.002-06:00

Went out sketching twice today. Been ages since I've taken some time to just sit and draw. Seems like the stretch of highway near my house is always under construction. One of the exits is getting a make-over...which means on the weekends, I have some fun stuff to look at. I went out early in the morning to catch the sketch above...it's a gigantic asphalt loader, with some little bobcat loaders nearby. The drawing I did later this evening, below, is of the muddy dozer that is barely showing in the first drawing (on the far right). Nice to get outside...Spring is nearly here!!!

Ruby Shoes and a Squirrel

2011-03-06T20:32:00.002-06:00

What the...? You waited almost three weeks for THIS? Stay with me here...the goofy photo above will make a little sense in a minute.

Since my last post, I've been quite busy with some NON-ART activities. A few months ago, I was invited to join up with some friends of mine to play in a NEW DANCE BAND! It's called "Ruby Shoes", and I've been having a blast!

Last Saturday (Feb. 26), we played our first gig at the Sheraton Hotel Convention Center in Overland Park, KS. When it was done, the events manager liked us so much, she placed us on the hotel's "preferred vendors" list for folks to call if they want live entertainment!! So we're pretty dang excited!!

Below is a group photo. I've never been in a "real" band before (though I do play in church worship bands), so this whole thing is new to me. From left to right RUBY SHOES are: Rick Thaemert (Drums and Vocals), Warren Ludwig (Percussion and Vocals), Ken Sawatzky (Guitar), Wendy Godfrey (Lead Vocals), Wendy's brother Tim Godfrey (Keyboards), and Eric Rivadeneira (Bass and Vocals).

Below are the only photos from the gig that I have for now...more will be coming. You can see my nice red congas, and the stage set-up before we played (Thanks, Tim, for the photo from your phone). If you are on FACEBOOK, a brand new page was loaded today that let's you follow our adventures...just search for "Ruby Shoes Band".

Which brings me to the stupid part about the squirrel...

I've got one in my attic, and it's driving me crazy. I had some gutter repairs done last Thursday, and evidently the little bugger got caught upstairs. Yesterday, I set traps, so that I can try to relocate him (or her...it's one of a pair, I'm afraid.) I'm hoping the tasty little peanut butter-birdseed balls that I trailed up to the traps will entice it in. A couple have been eaten so far, so I know the squirrel has found them. Hopefully this will be resolved soon, or I'll have to call the Pest Control Guy. Sigh.

TABLETOP GAMING - "Making a MAMMOTH CAVE" Pt.6

2011-02-15T22:39:00.008-06:00

The modular CAVERN TUNNELS are complete...the MAMMOTH CAVE PROJECT is DONE!!

I wasn't sure I was ever going to finish this thing. But in spite of feeling under the weather this evening, I wanted to post, so I could get you all updated with the last of this series. It was a bit more involved than I expected...a solid 2 months to finish everything. It was a bit too much fun, so I'm gonna "retire" from making terrain for a season, and catch my breath.

This set of tunnels was intended to be "modular" so that it could be arranged in whatever configuration was desired. There are enough bits to make a couple of separate passageways. I started with two markers taped about "2 characters" apart. I then drew all over a piece of masonite board...making it up as I went along without a sketch.

Then, as with all the other pieces in this series, I cut out pink foam with my band saw to match the shapes I had cut from the board. (The saw cuts the foam like butter!) I then started shaving off edges with a hot-wire sculpting tool. (Thanks for the loan of that, Jaye...couldn't have done this without it.)

Once all the segments were finished, I painted on a layer of wood glue mixed with sand, to give the floor of the tunnels some texture. After that came a coat of glue mixed with brown acrylic. I then went through the crazy assembly line process of glazing and dry brushing everything to match the other pieces in the Cave Series.

When I was all done, I decided that I needed a couple of "proper" entrances to the tunnels...so I quickly made two. I kept the backside relatively flat to line up against the other segments. Below are the finished pieces, with a few close up shots for detail. The BLACK areas are meant to represent deep, deep shafts that drop into nothingness below.

And here's the whole shebang on the floor of my studio...and then piled up on the card table.
Now I've got to figure out how to box it up for traveling...sigh. Thought I was done. Hope you all got some new ideas from following this tutorial. Jaye...have FUN with this stuff!!!

TABLETOP GAMING - "Making a MAMMOTH CAVE" Pt.5

2011-02-07T01:13:00.004-06:00

As promised, my little Cave Dwellers...STALACTITES and STALAGMITES!

This week has been crazy busy, and I really pushed it to get these guys finished up tonight. I'm gonna go light on explanations, since the basic building processes have been shown previously.

So here goes...I started with the core shapes made from styrofoam glued to some board. I had a few scrap pieces of board which determined the random shapes. I used a wooden dowel as an armature.

Next came a lot of smaller dowels sharpened on the belt sander, and bunches of toothpicks stuck everywhere. I quite frankly bit off more than I intended...as usual...and made a lot of work for myself.

Next I used the trusty hot-glue gun to cover the stalactites and stalagmites. I then painted a base coat of brown, mixed with wood glue.

Then came the mulch-paper mache...and a little detailing with a tool once it had dried a bit.

Here are all the little pieces covered with mache, ready for the final paint job. The ol' card table is full!!

And here are the completed terrain pieces!
I'm nearly done with this project...next up...modular Cave Tunnels!

TABLETOP GAMING - "Making a MAMMOTH CAVE" Pt.4

2011-01-30T21:12:00.007-06:00

Got a new piece ready for the Mammoth Cave theme...a ROCK WATERFALL!

The runoff stream disappears under some boulders into a vertical shaft of darkness. Any brave explorers willing to repel down and see what's there?

I made this set in two sections, to make it easier to store them. They could be used separately as well.

Since I have already shown the basic building process in earlier posts, I won't take too much time explaining things. However, this is a good example of what you can do with leftover chunks of pink foam. I glued together several random pieces, and just started carving away with the hot wire tool. It makes it challenging, but also gives it more interest than with a large flat slab of foam.

I decided to raise the water level of the falls a little higher than the lower section of the stream. So I just carved out a groove into the big rocks...added some little pieces of foam to a board, then hot-glued them into place.

Here is the set with all the carving done.

I did the usual process of covering everything with spackling paste, for added rock texture...when dry, I sanded off the sharp edges. Then I made a mix of wood glue and dark brown acrylic paint, and gave a base coat to the whole thing. When dry...I painted all the rocks and water areas to match with the other sets in this series.

Okay...here's how I made the waterfall. I got a large sandwich bag...cut a strip about two inches wide from the edge of the bag...then spray-glued the inside of the bag together, so it would be a sturdier and thicker piece of plastic.

Next, I taped the plastic to a board...then I used a hot glue gun to make strips all up and down the plastic. I left a gap in the middle, to add interest. When the glue had cooled down, I cut off the excess baggy, and trimmed the ends of the glue near the tape.

Once I had hot-glued the falls into place, I used the hot-glue gun to add splashes to the water, and spillway. I gave the water a bit of aqua-blue glazing with very thin acrylic...then added a bit of white paint to the splashes and ripples.

Here are all the set pieces so far! Actually, I'm getting close to being done with this whole project. Even though I have ideas for making lots more sets, I've been making terrain every week since mid-December...I think I'm ready for a break. But I'll hang in there a little longer...I've got some stalagmites to make!

TABLETOP GAMING - "Making a MAMMOTH CAVE" Pt.3

2011-01-23T23:47:00.006-06:00

I finished a new Cave piece...a Stalactite Waterfall with Cascading Calcite Pools!

I won't be spending as much time showing the process on many of the upcoming posts. Mostly because it gets a bit repetitious with techniques. So, here's a quick review of how I constructed this one. I carved my base structure from styrofoam using the hot wire cutter. I wasn't happy with the first stalactite shape, so I made another. The cascading pools were made from 3 sections of foam spray-mounted together, then carved into multiple levels.

I covered the foam core with paper mache. I let the first stage dry, before adding on the little cone pieces and blending them in. I then coated everything with wood glue to give the surface a smoother texture, and to give it a harder shell. I did the same process for the Calcite Pools base.

Once I had painted everything, I got a heavy-gauge wire from a plastic clothes hanger (with the clips on it) and pushed it into the base and stalactite (with a little wood glue on the wire). I then began to make the water effects with a hot glue gun. As I covered the wire, I went back and reshaped some of the glue by rubbing and melting it with the hot point of the glue gun. I also added "splashes" and ripples in the base pool.

When that had set up, I finished off the water with a glaze of white, a glaze of aqua, then coated it all with varnish for a nice shine.

Here's a shot of the piece in the lake. But it could also be a stand-alone somewhere else in the cave. I know it looks like it's floating in the air, but the intention is that you have to imagine the cave ceiling above it. Then again...could be cool to have a levitating fountain.

TABLETOP GAMING - "Making a MAMMOTH CAVE" Pt.2

2011-01-18T23:57:00.007-06:00

"Enter The Caverns, If Ye Dare!"

I finished painting the MAMMOTH CAVE ENTRANCE tonight, and decided to stay up past my bedtime to post it. So "phase one" is now complete.

Last time, I had left you with the main structure covered in spackling paste. I won't show you the next two steps: I covered everything with a coating of wood glue, then painted the cave parts with a gray acrylic/gesso mixture. But I'll walk you through the finishing touches. I wanted to add a few more details, so I made a "bag 0' boulders" to have on hand. I also needed some smaller "rocks", so I put some chunks of the pink insulation foam into a blender, and "Viola!"

After strategically gluing the bigger boulders throughout the cave, I then mixed some sand into the wood glue. I painted that in random places where rocks had "fallen" here and there on the cave floor.

Here's the transition from "no rocks" to "rocks" to "rocks painted gray".

And here's the whole scene with the final paint scheme! I wanted the water to be a bit foreboding...it's not the pristine clear lake that some caves offer. This one goes really deep...with potential "scary thingies" livin' in there!!
One thing I did to differentiate the "outside" of the mountain from the inside of the cave, was to paint things a bit "cooler" in tones. The stone is more slate gray, with glazes of brown.

Finally, here are the three separate terrain pieces that can be configured together or apart, depending on the needs of the game.
More to come...got some Stalactites and Stalagmites to make!

TABLETOP GAMING - "Making a MAMMOTH CAVE" Pt.1

2011-01-13T22:43:00.008-06:00

Here we go, fellow Spelunkers! Time for a "Mammoth Cave" adventure!

I've been busy this week on phase one of a multi-part scenario for my friend, Jaye. I got inspired to tackle this project after seeing an incredible series of photographs from National Geographic of a newly discovered gigantic cave in Vietnam. It's now considered to be the largest in the world! (Check out the images HERE!)

My imagination took off, and I began to sketch up some various components that I plan to make over the course of the next few weeks.

Below are some other images I gathered off the web for inspiration and details. I also bought a cool book at a half-priced store featuring the "Great Caves" of the world.

The first component I wanted to make was the cave entrance and a cavern lake. The lake can be removed and placed on a different part of the gaming table. I began with a rough sketch on board, then cut out both pieces with a jigsaw.

Jaye let me borrow his hot wire foam cutting tools, and I began to cut out the various shapes. I then glued them together with "SUPER 77" spray to form the basic configuration.

Next, I continued to carve the "mountain" with the hot wire tool, to shape more convincing rock contours, and to help hide the seams of where the foam was stacked.

There were some obvious gaps in the construction, so I filled cracks with a hot glue gun. Then I began to cover the whole sculpture with spackling paste. I used a putty knife, like spreading icing, then went back over the surface with a cheap rough-bristle brush. This broke up the surface into more irregular textures. I will sand off the little "nuggets" when it dries...but not too much. I don't want to lose the rock-like textures. Because of the size of this cave terrain piece, it took me two nights work to cover it all with the spackle.

Here's where I left it tonight...drying. I also made a little "boulder island" that can be placed on the lake, or used as a prop on the cave floor. I'll continue working on it over the long weekend (Martin Luther King Holiday on Monday). To give it a bit more interest, I'll add some rock "debris", where various sized boulders have fallen here and there. Stay tuned!

TABLETOP GAMING - "Making DESERT DUNES & River" Pt.5

2011-01-07T22:00:00.005-06:00

The RIVER is now FINISHED...and so is this hexagon-based project!

Below are all of the final pieces, painted and ready for game-day.

I tried a different technique for making the river banks than I've use on other river projects. (Check out my earlier post on "Making Rivers".) As you see below, I've got all my pieces cut out of masonite board. This time, I decided to use PAPER MACHE for the edges of the river.

I'm using "instant paper mache" that is a dry, papery mulch in a bag...just add water to the stuff in a mixing bowl, and squish it up with your hands. I preferred a consistancy similar to tuna fish salad...has a nice texture that I liked. If you add more water, you can get a smoother surface, but it does take a longer to dry. I purposely applied the mache quickly, and didn't get too fussy with it. The rougher surface helps for making it look like foliage at the water's edge when painted.

I decided to show a few of the stages these went through when I painted them. It took a lot longer than I expected...just couldn't land on the colors I liked. And I had to repeat the process of the glazes for all 12 pieces in the set...each had to look consistant. A long evening!

Here are the segments ready for two coats of high gloss varnish...and the shiny "water" below.

This little group of tiles are pretty versatile for creating many configurations. Good luck making your own river set!

Spoiler Alert! I'm going to keep going with making more gaming terrain for my buddy Jaye. Stay tuned for some cool ideas I have for a MAMMOTH CAVE scenario!!

TABLETOP GAMING - "Making DESERT DUNES & River" Pt.4

2011-01-03T19:44:00.005-06:00

The DESERT DUNES are DONE! I finished up the final paint job this weekend.

I was going to show the painting process as I worked on these, but there were too many glazes used to build up the layers of color. In short, I used a burnt red acrylic undercoating for the rocks, then used a very watered down chocolate brown glaze over the whole thing. I dry-brushed a honey brown over all of the sand and rocks, to pick up some highlights. Then I dry-brushed some light orange over that. Finally, I hit the sand with some very light tan, which accentuated the darker under-painting. I was surprised that a bit more of the original texture that was sculpted with the fork into the "icing mud" was visible through the glued-on sand (see last post).

Here are the four basic pieces...

...and some variations on how they can be arranged for game-play.

Next time, I'll finish up this project and show you the process I used to make the RIVER.

TABLETOP GAMING - "Making DESERT DUNES & River" Pt.3

2010-12-31T21:54:00.008-06:00

Primed and ready for the final paint job! I'm giving you a sneak peak of the river segments...I'll be showing the step-by-steps later. For this post...here's the next stages of making the DUNES.

I had some left-over dry-wall mud from redoing a bathroom project...so I mixed in a little brown acrylic paint. Viola...icing for the styrofoam!

My desire was to emulate the wavy texture of wind-blown sand. So I just spread on the "mud" and dragged a plastic fork through it to get the effect I was trying for.

Once the mud was dry, I sanded down the surfaces to soften it a bit...wanted the "sand-blasted" look on the boulders.

After that, I coated everything with watered down Elmer's wood glue, to give it a harder shell.

Once that had dried, I painted full-strength glue onto the areas where I wanted to add sand, for more texture. Sadly, I basically wasted all of the time I had put into making the wavy lines in the sand areas. The "real" sand pretty much filled all of that in. Oh well...I'm making this stuff up as I go...sometimes it doesn't quite work the way I had thought it might.

Once the glued-on sand had dried, I painted on one more coating of a primer tan.

Now I'm ready to do the fun part, and paint these guys to look like rusty-red boulders on sand-dunes!

This is my last post for 2010. I hope you have a Happy New Year! See ya back here in 2011!

UPDATE!
Decided to make one more Dune this morning...a larger piece with a gentle slope. I skipped the "icing" phase of preparing the surface and just gave this one a coating of gesso. Next I painted on the glue and covered it with sand. Now it's primed and ready for the final paint job.

TABLETOP GAMING - "Making DESERT DUNES & River" Pt.2

2010-12-26T18:39:00.004-06:00

As usual, I like to lead off with a photo of where the next stage ends up...here are the basic shapes of my DESERT DUNE pieces. Now let's work backwards to see how I got there.

In my last post I had different pieces of insulation foam on the hex-shaped boards. I realized after I had already cut them out, that I did now allow for the transition of the sloped sides from the base. They would have ended up too small, when sculpted. So I cut all new pieces of foam that matched the maximum edges of my hex-boards. Live and learn...

I used various tools to begin shaping the "sand/rocks"...a saw from my miter box, a piece of sanding paper from an old belt sander, and a file that looks like a cheese shredder. I don't own a hot wire "foam cutter" tool, though I have tried to make one in the past with a soldering iron. When melting through the foam, they tend to give off very strong fumes that aren't good for your brain...you have to use them in a well ventilated area. So...just doing this "old school".

Once I had the basic shapes the way I wanted them, I used "Super 77" spray mount...I coated the bottom of the foam, then the board. Once they were a little bit dry, I pressed the foam onto the board. You'll notice I've also spray-glued a big boulder on the top of the dune.

Here are all three segments of the dunes...the hex-base format lends itself to various configurations.
Next, I gave everything a coating of gesso, to seal up the surfaces, and give a uniform base coat to the shapes. I will begin to further refine the shapes to add details, and create more "sandy" textures and transitions on the forms.

TABLETOP GAMING - "Making DESERT DUNES & River" Pt.1

2010-12-19T18:30:00.004-06:00

Time to start up on a new project! It has been a long time since I've made any tabletop gaming terrain. So I asked my gaming buddy, Jaye, if he needed anything specific for some new campaigns. He asked for some DESERT DUNES and a RIVER...but made to fit on a grid system that is designed upon HEXAGONS. I'm not the best with straight edges, but I think I can make this work.

First off, I pulled a few images of some research and inspiration from the web. I told Jaye that I thought it would be cool to add some big boulders in the sand, and not just make it look like a "sandy layer cake".

Jaye had provided me with an image of the grids with some possible configurations. The green areas would be the "dune" shapes. I printed out one of the sections and spray-mounted it to some cardboard as a template to trace around. The width of the hex is 5", measuring from flat side to flat side.

Once I had traced a few of the hexes onto a sheet of 1/8" thick pressboard (masonite)...I cut them out with my trusty jig-saw.

Next I traced the shapes onto some "pink foam" (2.5" thick insulation styrofoam). I loosely cut them out with a hack saw blade, then worked out the curved shapes with my band-saw.

These show the first level of "sand"...then the next layer of boulders. All of this will be carved and sculpted to look more dune-like. Nothing is glued down at this stage.

Finally...here are the additional hex shapes I cut out to make the river set. These will be completely flexible for designing the way the river will be put together. I'll finish the dunes first, then show how I work on the river segments.
Looks like I now have something to do on my holidays off from work!

Oregon Coast: A few more

2010-12-12T23:55:00.007-06:00

A Christmas Star...fish.

Okay, I'll come right out with it...I don't have any current projects to post. We've come nearly to the end of this crazy year, and I must admit: I'M TIRED! I've been slowing the pace down the last couple of weeks...and probably will continue to do that through the end of 2010. So, until I start up my "next thing", I thought I'd just show a few more photos from my October trip to the Oregon Coast.

Below are a few "stars at night"...clinging to the barnacle-covered rocks during low tide at the base of "Haystack Rock" at Cannon Beach.

On our flight in to Portland, Courtney and I could see Mt. St. Helens, and Mount Hood from the window of our plane.

Here's a nice ol' "Grinch Faced Eel" at a dinky little, over-priced aquarium we went to at Seaside, Oregon.

In Ecola State Park, there was some really interesting green slime growing on the rocks. Very festive for the holiday season!

In Astoria, we saw these huge sea lions all over the docks, barking loudly at who knows what. Note the rain that was coming down during most of our trip. Courtney took this photo.

Here are Jenni and Courtney standing in front of what's left of the shipwrecked "Peter Iredale"...an English sailing ship that ran aground during a storm in 1906. This was in Fort Stevens State Park, just outside of Warrenton. (Love the name of that town!)

A pair of salt-water crocs on Cannon Beach.

As we were driving out of Cannon Beach, the sun broke through the dense fog for just a brief moment.

Here's one more photo by Courtney...it makes a great screen-saver for my computer!

Obviously...this last photo is not from the beach. It's my house, all lit up. In case I don't post again for a while, I just want to wish you a Happy Holiday with friends and family. Count your blessings...each day you share with your loved ones is truly a gift!!

SKETCHBOOK - "Random Collection"

2010-11-27T20:58:00.003-06:00

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.)

SKETCHBOOK - "Trip to Shreveport"

2010-11-21T20:36:00.007-06:00

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!

AUTOMATA - "DiggerBot" FINISHED!

2010-11-07T14:07:00.005-06:00

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!

Kris and Warren's Most Excellent Adventure!

2010-10-31T17:46:00.009-05:00

"Hey! Teacher! Leave them kids alone!"

My brother, Kris, and I had the time of our lives this weekend! Last night, we went to an incredible concert at the Sprint Center: Roger Waters - THE WALL Live Tour. And while that would have been enough in itself, the best part was getting to attend via "guest tickets" with backstage passes through the awesome courtesy of JON CARIN, keyboardist in the band!!!!!! Roger Waters understandably gets most of the press on this concert tour. However, I want THIS post to be a "Tribute Page" for JON!!

How did we manage such a cool opportunity? Well, it's part of a silver lining to an otherwise very challenging situation. Our Mom and Jon Carin's mother have been fighting a very rare form of cancer for some years. But they became friends through an online support network. Through that relationship came the generous gesture of "The Meeting of the Sons" at the concert.

Jon was an extremely nice guy, and we really enjoyed talking to him (both before the show and during intermission). Part of the fun was some "Jon Carin Fan Club" t-shirts we made to wear when we met Jon, just for a laugh. Some of the guys in the crew thought they all should wear them! (Not sure what Roger Waters would've thought about that!)

Time for some photos...
Above is one of the early moments after meeting Jon. He took us not only backstage, but ONSTAGE as well. I did not colorize the image of Jon and Kris...it was Kris having a hyperventilating "Pink Moment" (ok...maybe it was a light check...but who's to say?)! He's a huge Pink Floyd fan (a "Floyd Head", as he puts it) and has loved their music most of his life. So getting to see Roger Waters perform "The Wall" was a dream come true for him.

My turn for a photo op. Kris and I noticed later that Jon had a pen in his hand...guess he was just too shy to ask for our autographs. (Jon...we can mail them to you sometime!)

The drums and guitars, ready and waiting...Jon's keyboards...

Jon's view from on stage behind his keyboards...

Warren, Jon and Kris near the "hospitality area" (Thank you, security guard lady, for taking the photo!)

I won't try to relive all the details of the evening's events. Let me just say that it was a Visual and Auditory FEAST! Some of the most amazing stage production I've ever seen...modern computer technology making possible what could never have been achieved otherwise. The music was thunderously loud and technically perfect...all in all, an amazing experience!

Here are a few select images of Jon Carin performing (in the back). The quality of the photos are not wonderful, due to the "non-professional cameras" rules that apply there at the venue. So we could only get the shots with smaller cameras that weren't great in the dark environment. The two images on the right side show stages of the wall being constructed during the show. Sadly, we couldn't see Jon's face from where we sat. I'm not complaining, though...we had INCREDIBLE seats...center floor, 12 rows from the stage!!!

Jon, playing both keyboard and guitar. He's an incredibly versatile musician...plays mulitple instruments as well as sings.

The rest of these images are just a sampling of some of the amazing visuals we beheld. It was almost sensory overload...but so much FUN!

Finally, from Kris and I both...a tremendous "Thank You!" to Jon and Terry for making this adventure possible for us! We'll never forget it!!
UPDATE!!!
I have 28 photos of the concert I took that were posted on the Pink Floyd Fan Site "Brain Damage"(www.brain-damage.co.uk). If you want to see them, check out the link HERE. Scroll down the page near the bottom, and you'll see their write-up! Pretty cool!
If you want to just see their Facebook page...click HERE.

AUTOMATA - "DiggerBot" Pt.8

2010-10-24T20:37:00.006-05:00

The detailing is done...all ready for the paint job! But that'll have to wait for next time. Let's take a look at the final additions.

I made the "tank tracks" from lots and lots of pieces of cut bass-wood, and stuck them on with wood glue. I also added some more little "wheels" on the sides. I also added some support "hydraulics" for the main digger arms.

Next came the rivets. I used a small hole punch on some "peel and stick" foam rubber. Then came the "fun" of meticulously placing each one on the Bot with tiny pliers. Some of the sticky-back stuff wasn't holding, so I had to dip some of the rivets in super-glue, then stuck them on. The black foam won't stay that color...it will all be painted over.

Here's the back view of the boiler, and of the front grill. Once I had all the rivets in place, I painted everything with wood glue, to give a harder surface to the spongy soft foam. It also unifies the surfaces, and gives some "aging" texture to the very smooth wood.

Now comes an experiment that sort of worked...but was a huge mess. To create some lightweight "dirt", I tried using an old blender to chop up some packing foam peanuts. The chopping part worked fine...the static cling made little bits of foam go everywhere and stick to everything! I had originally wanted to use a heavier weight, denser pink insulation foam, but did not have any. I took the little chunks, mixed them with wood glue, then applied them to the front of the base.

To complete the "dirt" effect, I added sand to gesso, then painted all of the ground surfaces, as well as coating the chunks of styrofoam.

The gesso-sand helps pull everything together. Once it's painted, it will look just like real dirt!

One more shot of the back view.

On a side note...just letting you know that it will be a while before I can finish the final paint job. Next weekend, my brother is coming for a visit so that we can go see the Roger Waters Concert in Kansas City on Oct. 30th! They will be playing Pink Floyd's "The Wall", and the reviews have been awesome!

AUTOMATA - "DiggerBot" Pt.7

2010-10-17T20:51:00.006-05:00

Here's your base-model DiggerBot...no radio, no air-conditioning, no power-steering. I spent most of the weekend on this project, and am so glad to have finally gotten to this stage! Now that the basic automata works, I move on to the fun part of adding the "steam-punk" elements like rivets and more details. After that...the finished paint job!

Let's take a look at the new added-on bits since my last post. I needed to give a little more stability to the gear-box, so I made some framing in the front. Next I glued on the stationary "shoulders" part of the digging arms. In the back, I added the piece that holds the dowel that will allow the head to move up and down. The larger dowel acts as a "neck", and keeps the smaller dowel from going crooked, as it moves.

Here are all the parts that go together for the head. Underneath, I have drilled a hole large enough to fit around the "neck", and also the hole for the dowel. I wish I was a better craftsman with making all of these parts...nothing is squared up, and looks very "hand-done". (How about we just say it "adds charm" that way? There I feel much better.)

One adjustment to my original idea for the head movement...I added a little peg near the neck piece, so that the head would have a slight turn towards the person cranking the handle. Before that, the head was loosely turning all around, and looked a bit goofy.

After the head was done, I started to box everything in, and created the form of the outer body. I also added some more wheels on the sides.

The last piece to make was the boiler tank with double exhaust pipes. This view is of the inverted DiggerBot...I turned it this way to keep the tank from sliding as the glue dried. As I look at the photo now, it reminds me of one of those two-legged walker machines from Star Wars. Hmmm...ideas for later, perhaps?
Here are a few more shots of the semi-finished DiggerBot. Next time, I'll be making piles of "dirt" for the base, completing the tank tracks, and adding more "doo-dads" all over.

Oregon Coast

2010-10-11T14:33:00.010-05:00

I just got back from a very significant trip with my two daughters over the weekend. We all flew out to Portland, Oregon, then rented a car to travel to Cannon Beach. As many of you know, my wife, Cat, died on April 19th of this year. The main purpose of the trip was for my daughter, Courtney, to be able to spread the remaining bit of ashes of her Mom. Cat had loved the ocean all of her life, and we thought it would be something she'd be happy with...to become part of the Great Pacific!

This will probably be the longest post I've made so far. I decided to load it all at once, instead of breaking it up into "chapters". There were many more photos, but I chose some of my favorites.

We arrived at Cannon Beach late in the afternoon on Friday. We managed to avoid rain for the trip out there, but as soon as we made our way to the beach...raindrops started to fall. We knew the local weather was going to include rain...Oregon usually does.

There's a nice little path that was near where we stayed (The Lighthouse Inn). Walk through the covering of trees...and there is the beach!

Just happy to be here!! In the background is the famous Haystack Rock. One of the fun things about picking this area was that several movies have been filmed around there, and farther up the coast..."Twilight"..."Point Break"...and of course "The Goonies"!! (I'm ordering the Goonies 25th Anniversary Special DVD this week!)

The next morning, after breakfast, we headed up the coast. Down the road from Cannon Beach is Ecola State Park. Just as we entered the park, we saw about 10 ELK just laying around near the road!

You drive through the park down a curvy road, surrounded by lush green pines, with ferns and moss covering every surface...magical. Then we came to Ecola Viewpoint...crazy weather time!! The fog was dense...the wind was brutal...the rain was whipping into our faces...and WE WERE LOVING IT! Jenni has seen some comparable coastlines in New Zealand...but Courtney and I were in awe. We miscalculated on proper rain gear for Courtney...her poncho was ridiculous, and inflated like a giant blueberry (remember the girl in the Willy Wonka movie?)!
Wet and windy!!
Love those gorgeous waves!!
Later in the day, Courtney borrowed Jen's rain suit, and we returned...we thought it was windy before...it was insane when we came back!!! It was nearly blowing us off the trail...but the whole time Courtney and I were screaming to each other, "This is AWESOME!!!" (Screaming, because it was the only way we could hear, and because it was so much FUN!)

This next segment is from Indian Beach, in the park...about a mile and a half from Ecola Viewpoint.
Courtney is below on the rocky shore, with Jen's gear on...much better than the poncho!

We kept going up north...I'm leaving out some of our stops along the way...too many photos. But I had to show these from Astoria, Oregon...the "Goonies House"!

Finally, on Sunday, we had a break in the weather...at least no rain. But the fog was beautiful, and gave us some great photo opportunities back at Cannon Beach.

Jenni and Courtney heading towards Haystack Rock...
...but the waves kept chasing them back towards the beach. Run, Forest, Run!

Here are two panaramic scenes I pasted together from several shots...the beach view, then the ocean view.

We spent a bit more time wandering around Haystack Rock, the girls following in their Mom's footsteps with camera in hand. Then we headed back to Portland and got on our planes...Jen to Lake Tahoe, Courtney and I to KC.

I'll leave you with this image of what I will now call "Cat's Rock"...the little half oval rock in the center of the photo. This is the place where Cat's ashes joined with the great waters she so adored.
We love you, Cathy...thanks for being with us on this journey!

AUTOMATA - "DiggerBot" Pt.6

2010-10-07T00:10:00.006-05:00

Looks like I'm finally making some progress on this project. I have to say, this week was very challenging to keep my enthusiasm up. Lots of technical issues arose...but once I figured out how to work around them, my momentum picked up again. So...what did I get done since last time?

First off, I managed to assemble most of the parts for the digging arms. Now they're ready to be attached, once I get farther along on the other bits.

Here's where things started to bog down...making some gears. I drew up some plans on the computer, spray-mounted them to a 2x4, then cut them out on the band saw (one tiny tooth at a time). I tried some small triangular teeth first...took quite a while to do. But I soon found out that precision measuring and cutting are really crucial...not my strong points.

After failing at different variations, I finally found a website that had a little gizmo on it that lets you custom design patterns for gears. The larger teeth seemed like it would work better. Also, I decided not to make the gears so wide (from the 2x4 width) and used some half-inch hardwood board.

Here's the final version, and a little "gear box" that holds it all together. I've added the circular attachments where the digging arms will go 'round and 'round. The smaller gear at the bottom has the axle going through it that will be part of the hand-crank mechanism.

I then constructed some "cams" that will rotate on the axle, and push a "paddle/lever" up and down. This is what will cause the DiggerBot's mouth to open and close (by pushing a dowel rod to be added later). I shortened the paddle a bit from what you see below.

Finally, I made the "tank tracks" shapes that supports the gear-box. I will do a lot more detailing on those later...just wanted to get the main structure built. I'm still having some problems with the gears hanging up a bit, when I crank the handle. Hopefully, I'll be able to adjust some things later to fix that.
Okay...that's it for now...my head hurts from too much thinking this week!

SKETCHBOOK - "Renaissance Festival"

2010-10-02T17:54:00.002-05:00

Had a lot of fun today at the Kansas City Ren-Fest! Took my daughter, Courtney, and her boyfriend, Andrew. The weather was gorgeous (although a little on the windy side). The last time I had gone out there was almost 30 years ago. They've really expanded it, and I was quite impressed. Instead of a camera, I decided to take my sketchbook along. After about 5 hours out there, I was surprised at how few drawings I ended up with. The costumes were great...but hard to sketch, because the folks were on the move most of the time. Just so many interesting things to look at.

Above is the back side of the main entrance...minus all the throngs of people as they came through the gates. Below... a pirate with a mechanical fake monkey on his shoulder.

Next... a bald, rotund fire-eater, in a cute little kilt...well...a rather large kilt, actually.
Here's another bald guy...this time a very tall, hairy juggler who was terrible at juggling, but hilarious with the comedy.

Finally...a couple of gentlemen playing duets on very long trumpets.
All in all...a terrific day. Will have to go again next year and draw some more!

AUTOMATA - "DiggerBot" Pt.5

2010-09-25T12:23:00.005-05:00

Well, there's not much to show this week, except a messy workbench. But I do have some sketches of "problem solving". There were design issues that I had not yet figured out, so I needed to do some thinking on paper before I spent more efforts in wood.

One of the things I decided to add to the movements was the DiggerBot's mouth opening and closing. I had considered using a string or wire, which would pull on a hinge...but ended up with a simpler idea. The weight of the head will press down to keep the mouth closed. But a dowel in the neck will be pushed upwards by a lever, and gravity will pull the jaw open, as the head goes up.

I had cut out a more organic shape for the larger support arm. Originally the flat side was on the left, like an "L" (see sketch above). But I looked at modern diggers, and flipping the "L" was more like today's style. I had also made a circular end-piece for the lower arm. I now prefer the way I did the upper arm, so I'll have to modify them.

Once I had flipped the "L" shape, I was wondering about some other embellishments. On a modern digger, there are hydraulic arms that push and pull the main arm. Mine will be just for looks, since the support arm will be glued stationary.

Next, I just started sketching some variations on proportions and design. As I was working on some of the bits and pieces, my original prototype model started malfunctioning a bit. The earlier "belt drive" began to slip some, and the cranking motion wasn't working consistently. So I got a little concerned that my final version would have "issues". So I began to consider a gear driven mechanism. It seemed like it would be sturdier, and more dependable. I also spent a little time figuring out the cam-driven lever that would make the head go up and down.

It didn't take long before I was again handicapped by my lack of engineering skills. So I started sketching around with how I'm gonna make these wooden gears. Luckily, YouTube.com has some demos from woodworkers to give me some help.

So this last page has the basic gear-drive in place. I also thought that I should flip the triangular "tank tracks" around, more like early World War I versions. This approach would let me hide a second gear underneath, which would now become the axle used for the crank handle. The early model had a gear-box underneath...this way I can let the DiggerBot rest on a single base of wood.
That's it for this time...hopefully I'll make some progress on the construction next week. (I have to be honest here...this is moving slower than I want, and is not as much "fun" at this stage. I know I'll enjoy painting this guy...but that's a long way off. )

"Yosemite and Lake Tahoe" Pt.2

2010-09-18T10:46:00.013-05:00

I'm taking a break from working on my "Digger Bot" project this week. I am enjoying a visit from my Mother-in-Law, and will be spending time with family. So I thought I'd share a few more images from my recent trip out to Lake Tahoe and Yosemite National Park. Some of them are composite panaramas that combine several shots. Hope you can make a trip out there...photos just don't do it justice. The first few are of Yosemite.

Jen was on this trail to show us the tents where she and Brad lived when they worked summers at Yosemite. Moments after this, we met "Ranger Charlie" who let us know that we'd be fined $1,500 if we continued up that trail, since it was closed due to rock fall in the camp. It would have been nice if there had been any signs telling us that first!

Leaving Yosmite...

Here's an industrious young fellow creating a pile of rocks at Tanaya Lake. These are similar to markers called "cairns" in the world of climbers and hikers...they indicate direction of a trail in a treeless area (thanks to Brad for that little bit of info).

This is a composite of Mono Lake in California...very high in alkaline and mineral salts.

A dried up hot spring source, in Sierra Nevada.
And this little trickle is the new source.

The valley view as we got closer to Lake Tahoe...

A very windy and cold day at Lake Tahoe...a bit too much to fully enjoy the song Brad played for Jen and I on the mandolin. But we both appreciated his efforts!

Here's my one and only trip to a casino. This little horse race game is a favorite of Jen and Brad's. Brad won $6 that night!! I had way more fun later that evening at an "all you can eat" sushi restaurant.

And speaking of gambling...here's Las Vegas!! (from the airport anyway...)
That's it for this trip!

AUTOMATA - "DiggerBot" Pt.4

2010-09-11T22:41:00.005-05:00

I'm making some progress on the final "DiggerBot" parts. Here is how I made the bucket and arms.

I used the flat bucket shape from the prototype model as a template, then traced it onto a piece of 2"x4". I added a bit of length to the front of the bucket for the "teeth". Then cut it out with my band saw, and sanded it smooth on a belt sander.

Next I cut out the sides of the bucket from some bass wood, then glued them onto the bucket.

I had to modify the bucket a bit to allow for the full range of motion when connected to the arms. I had not accounted for this problem with the flat bucket model. So I cut out a section, then glued on a little extension, drilled it and sanded to the circular shape.

Here's how I made the "couplings" that go on the dowels for the arms. You may note that nothing is exactly squared-up and precise. I don't think I can do that if I tried...I definitely show the "hand of the artist" on these projects. Adding the paint job at the end hides a lot of those imperfections.

Here is how this new bucket will move. The lower arm is probably going to look different than what is shown here, but you get the basic idea.

AUTOMATA - "DiggerBot" Pt.3

2010-09-05T20:22:00.011-05:00

Welcome back to the "DiggerBot" in process. It's nice to have a long Labor Day weekend to work on this a bit more. Above is the two-armed prototype that I made to help me figure out some more of the mechanical components. I will change this quite a bit later, design-wise...but it was very helpful to build a rough version.

I'd like to take a brief moment to give some credit to my Mom's "sketchin' buddy", APRIL, for sending me some ideas to improve the engineering of the arm movements. It's been fun collaborating with someone who has a better brain than mine for these things. Thanks, April!

Below are the bits that make up the "bike pedal" action for the top axle. The Bot-arms will attach to this part. I like to use dowel pegs and a bit of Elmer's wood glue, instead of nails and screws, to put all of this together. The tight fitting pegs will hold things in place until I'm sure things work.

I temporarily attached the arm bits, to see if the axle rotation produces the effect I want.

Next, I made the gear box, so I can figure out the drive mechanism that will be underneath. I had to add a little block of wood to the base of the axle housing, because I had cut off too much earlier. These things happen. Again...this is quick and dirty, just for figuring out if this will really function.

Now you'll see the series of "failures" before I found a workable solution. My first idea was to use one of my daughter's "ponytail holders" to attach to the drive shaft underneath. Too stretchy...not enough tension. Next I tried a bit of twine, since it was rougher. But it slipped on the wood axles. So I ground in some grooves with my dremmel tool. Still didn't work. Then I made a little "cuff" of sticky-backed foam rubber. That seemed to help. I then made a larger "gear" for the lower drive shaft, to give more tension...the string still slipped on that, too. Finally I added some foam to the gear...it worked! Sort of...the string would slide off the rubber part and snag up on the sides of the axles.

Finally, I thought of making a true "belt drive" for this. I had some "fake leather" material, cut a long strip the right length...super-glued the ends together...and added a little duct tape for good measure. Worked just right!!

I made a duplicate arm for the opposite side of the Prototype TestBot, and...VOILA!
Things will slow down a bit from here on, because I will be designing more complex shapes for the final "DiggerBot". I'm also thinking about adding some other moving parts (like the Bot's mouth opening and closing). Stay tuned!!

SKETCHBOOK - "Yosemite and Lake Tahoe"

2010-08-30T14:17:00.015-05:00

My trip out to see my daughter Jenni and her boyfriend Brad was outstanding!! I hate to be one of those guys that forces you to look at hundreds of slides from my summer vacation. But I did want to share a few of my favorite photos (out of the near 300 that I took). But first...the only sketches I managed to draw during the trip.

Above is a little bridge near a beach in Yosemite National Park. Some folks were swimming in the really cold water...I left them out. You can see the granite mountain called "Half Dome" in the background.

Below is our campsite. It was near a huge boulder. Brad's swimsuit is hanging from a tree limb. I slept pretty well, considering all night long you could hear people shouting, "Get out of here, bear!" when one of the locals made it's way down into camp to forage. Brad was out running late that night and saw a black bear nosing around the trashcans. I did hear a shotgun go off, when a ranger fired a shell loaded with a small beanbag, to deter the bear. That's why we have to put everything that has perfume (deodorant, toothpaste, etc.) or any food in the "bear boxes" that are all over Yosemite. The bears will rip up your car, even if you have stuff in the trunk. Fun sleeping!

Below are some drawings I did on Saturday morning and evening around the beach at Lake Tahoe, a couple of blocks from Jenni and Brad's house.

That's it for the sketches...time for some photos. Here's the gorgeous sunrise we saw while driving from Tahoe to Yosemite. Delicious.

I'd like to introduce you to our campsite's giant boulder. Note our designated "bear box 7C" in the right corner.

Below is the magnificent valley view...each of these granite formations have names, but I forget them. My terrific tour guides, Brad and Jenni, have both worked at Yosemite a few summers ago.

Right by the valley above, there is a tunnel for cars to pass through a mountain. Inside that tunnel is a very thin sidewalk next to the road. Up that sidewalk is another smaller tunnel, that shoots out the side of the mountain. Of course we had to investigate. Spooky!!

The tunnel opens to a different mountain view. It didn't take long for Brad to "do what he does"...look for rocks to climb...climb them...look for more rocks to climb. I made a little composite below.

We made our way to Meriposa Grove to see the giant Sequoia trees. Amazing.

Here's Jenni and Brad waiting for someone to turn on the faucet to a waterfall. Earlier in the season, when the snow is melting, the water shoots off the rocks in torrents.

On our trip back to Lake Tahoe, we took a little detour to a spectacular site...Tenaya Lake. I got pretty choked up by the beauty, and wishing my wife Cat could've been there with me to see such incredible scenery. The water is crystal clear, and was made of a rainbow of blues...indigo, aqua, green. We spent a good bit of time there...Brad and Jen napping on the beach, while I wandered the trails with camera in hand.
Around the lake, I came upon this cool little curly corkscrew tree.

As we were leaving Tenaya Lake, we drove by this huge granite mound. I was attracted to the lonely little tree on the right side of the slope. Then Jenni and Brad noticed there were climbers on the face nearest to the road. Can you spot them?
Here's a little help!

When we were driving through Sierra Nevada, we went to a little place off the main highway on a dirt road to visit some hot sulpher springs. Brad is still recovering from an injury on his bike, when he got hit by a car, and I had pulled a muscle in my lower back before the trip, so a soak in the rejuvenating waters really helped us both.

Here's Jenni and Brad's little "home sweet home" in South Lake Tahoe.

I did a patchwork panarama of the beach view that is a 5 minute walk from Jenni's house. Note the piers on the right side that I sketched (scroll back to the top of this post).

The morning before I was to fly home, Jenni and I visited Emerald Bay.

Okay...you made it through the whole post...I leave you with one last photo of Lake Tahoe! A lone little yellow sail boat on a gorgeous day.

AUTOMATA - "DiggerBot" Pt.2

2010-08-22T17:38:00.003-05:00

Pretty darn exciting looking, isn't it?!! This is what you were all waiting for, since my last post. Life has been pretty crazy for the last couple of weeks...in a good way. But I've been preoccupied with other stuff, and hadn't gotten as much done on this little "Digger Bot" as I'd expected to. But the point is to show you the process as I go, right? Well...livin' life is part of that process.

Below is some of the research that I pulled off the internet as inspiration for this project. I have kept it as a low-rez image, 'cause I don't own the rights to use any of these...but you know what they say...once you put it out there on the internet! Anyway...the main thing I was looking for were how real digging machines actually work. Also, there were some really cool toy ideas I found that help to break things down to the simplest shapes. As I said last time...I'm NOT an engineer, so it takes me a while to understand the basic principles of how to build this thing.

Next, I procrastinated a bit more, and cleaned my work area...then finally made myself go buy some basswood from the hobby shop.

I started out with some little bits and pieces that I could modify and rearrange, to have a "real time" working model to play with. Some of the things to consider is not only the functionality of the toy (how I want it to be animated), but I've got to think about the driving mechanisms that will be underneath the "Digger"...how it all works together.

These are a few of the early variations of how an arm might extend to reach out and grab "dirt".

After goofing around with many more variations than I will show here, I eventually added the "scoop" part of the robot's digging arm. I wanted to have the scoop extend, and then pull inwards, as the arm movement reaches out.

This is where I ended up...I have the basic animation I wanted. I've incorporated a device on one of the lever bars that acts like a "bike pedal" movement. It will rotate around in a circular loop, and extends the scoop outward, then back inwards. Since I will have two arms on the robot, this will allow me to make the arm on the other side go counter in movement to the first (like pedaling a bike).
I'm going to have to take a break from this little project for a week, since I will be traveling out to South Lake Tahoe, CA and Yosemite National Park, to see my daughter and her boyfriend. I plan to take the sketchbook and camera and will post my adventures when I return!

AUTOMATA - "DiggerBot" Pt.1

2010-08-10T17:44:00.002-05:00

I'm starting a new project and returning to the very first topic I ever posted on this blog...AUTOMATA! (For you newbies, it's basically a mechanical toy with cranks, gears, cams...whatever creates movement.) Today at work, I had an unexpected email exchange with a product engineer I met just yesterday. I had commented on a fun little crank toy on her desk, then ended up referring her to my blog to see what I've made over the years. That exchange just reminded me of how ridiculously long it's been since I've made one of my toys. Unlike previous posts of finished automata, this time I'll show you the "making of" process as I build it.

The sketches above of the "Digger Bot" were done last year sometime, but they were intended to represent a Sculpey piece, not a "kinetic" sculpture. I just put them in a folder, thinking I'd eventually get back to it. Now, the idea of turning it into a moving mechanical thing seems like a natural. I may still use Sculpey for some detailing, but it'll mostly be out of wood.
This sketch shows where things starting heading today. I'm sure this will go through several variations before I figure out how to make it work. Since I'm not an engineer, I'll have to look at some books I have on machines, and gears, etc. I haven't decided which way the "arms" will bend...like a human elbow, or like a modern earth mover on a construction site. I'm pretty sure I'm leaning towards a "steam-punk" approach (think Jules Verne era), with boilers and rivets, etc. Stay tuned! You can click on the "Automata-Handmade Toys" Label to see past projects.

SKETCHBOOK - "Drillers"

2010-08-04T23:39:00.005-05:00

There's a lot of construction going on near my house. New upgrades to the highway means that some of my favorite things to draw are strewn about for miles and miles. These big boys move around a lot from day to day, so I took several photographs of them a few evenings after work. Usually I like to draw stuff "live", but tonight I worked from the photos I'd taken, and put up on my computer screen. Actually, it lets me see a bit more detail...and it's certainly safer than sketching when the cars are whizzing by! Here are two giant "drillers" that make some big ol' holes.

SKETCHBOOK - "Dinos in The City"

2010-07-29T21:18:00.003-05:00

It's been a while since I've taken my sketchbook out. Tonight after work, I decided to break in a brand new 8"x10" sized book...a bit larger than I usually use. What better subject matter than some dinosaurs at Union Station!

For several weeks now, I've been driving by a life-sized T-Rex on my way to work. There currently is a Special Exhibition on display, aptly called DINOSAURS UNEARTHED! Check out the link, if you want more information. I haven't seen the full exhibit yet, but it looks fun. I saw the big dude shown above when the sculpture was being set up. It was lowered from a huge crane, held dangling from straps...looked just like a scene from a Jurassic Park movie. Very surreal looking on a foggy day, too.

And talk about "surreal"...that was my experience when I relocated to the back of Union Station to sketch this Apatosaurus (Brontosaurus, if you're "old school").
As I'm about half-way done, a security guard comes up to me asking for I.D. I complied...kind of surprised that it was necessary. When he asked if I was a "professional", he said I'd need a permit next time. "A permit to just draw?!!" I asked, incredulously. Turns out, the guy was new to the job, and was just being a bit overly careful. Made some sense, when he said that professional photographers have to get permission to shoot there. It all turned out fine when a supervisor told him it wasn't a problem...artists come over there all the time from Hallmark. (One might be inclined to imagine an enthusiastic "Barney Fife" scenario...except that the guy was very polite, and wasn't all nervous and goofy.) So, in the end, we had a nice talk, I made a new friend, and am giving the Dino Exhibit some free publicity!

PAINTINGS - "From The Past" Pt.2

2010-07-24T20:12:00.006-05:00

I had family in town last weekend, and my eldest daughter stayed through the week. I didn't have time to do any new artwork for the blog. So, I'll continue the series I started a couple of weeks ago and show you a few more of my oil paintings.

Above is a little 5"x7" I did on the 4th of July, 2003. It's one of my first attempts, right after my wife, Cat, had encouraged me to start painting again. Those are some flower pots next to a chair on our front porch.

This next one is of a little farm in Solomons, Maryland, done in 2004. This painting is 12"x5" (after I cut it down from a larger composition). We were visiting Cat's Mother and eldest sister who live in Solomons. Since we drove on that trip, instead of flying, I was able to bring along my painting gear, and had fun wandering around for a couple of days.

This landscale was done in 2007 during a workshop taught by Joan Parker. I didn't quite finish it to the degree that I wanted, 'cause I found myself enjoying talking with other artists, instead of focusing on the job at hand. This view is in a little valley of farm land, south of Lawrence, Kansas. The piece is 10"x4".

This last image is of a very special place to me...Cat and I used to go there sometimes and enjoy quiet moments watching animals drink from the creek. The water flows from the spillway, at the west end of the lake in Shawnee Mission Park. I painted this in 2006...it's 6"x8".

Cat's Memorial Bench

2010-07-19T10:17:00.005-05:00

This weekend, a small group of family and friends braved the incredibly hot weather on Sunday, and went out to the Overland Park Arboretum. We gathered to see the new plaque on the memorial bench dedicated to my wife, Cat. We shared some tears and a few words from the heart, then took a brief walk in the gardens. It was so hot, however, that we didn't stay very long. A special thanks goes out to everyone who was able to be there. I'd also like to thank those who donated to the bench memorial fund. Cat would be so pleased that you honored her in this way.

Below are a few photos of "Cat's Bench" which is located within the "Legacy Garden" area of the Arboretum. It is such a beautiful setting, with the sounds of a bubbling brook nearby. I hope, if you are in Kansas City, you can visit the Arboretum (when the weather is cooler) and take a moment to breathe in the fresh air, listen to the birds, and enjoy a quiet moment of reflection while sitting on Cat's Bench. Cathy loved to go there often and take photos of the flowers, so bring your camera and enjoy wandering the many trails and walkways.

TABLETOP GAMING - "Making a Battle Octagon"

2010-07-14T21:40:00.008-05:00

Well, folks...this is it...the last of my hand-made tabletop gaming props that I've got left to show you. Behold...
"The Battle Octagon of Serious Discomfort!!"

This isn't "terrain" per se, but it was a commissioned request from my buddy, Steve. He was wanting a game that could be played during our lunch breaks...sort of a gladiatorial arena, whereby characters could go at it, and the roll of the dice would determine much of the outcome. Part of the risk factor would include the floor opening up to reveal a pit full of some deadly contents. A manly-man-testosterone-driven game if there ever was one! Which makes the next part kind-of sad...

To my knowledge, the game was never used. Steve has since had two little daughters, who are both in their pre-school years. I think the little darlings are using the Octagon to keep their Happy Meal Toys in. (You can still bring that thing back to the office, Steve...it's not too late!)

Okay...let's take a closer look. The Octagon is made mostly of pressed particle board, and painted to look like metal plating. There is a lid that is attached with Velcro strips. On the underside of the lid is a plastic pocket that holds 4 interchangeable "Pit Disks".

The four disks are painted to look like LAVA...ACID...POINTY SPIKY THINGIES...and nasty SWAMP WATER that could have lots of creepy critters swimming in it.

Two sides of the Octagon have handles that, when pulled, open up the pit doors. Run, Forest, Run!

Here are all the pieces and parts.
Top Row: base...floor 1...floor 2 with sliders...all 3 sections assembled.
Bottom Row: Floor 3...Floor 3 on top of sliders...walls and disk shape...all parts assembled.

Here are the components, ready to be glued together, and painted.

One final adjustment had to be made, once it was all finished. I had to drill a hole in the center, to be able to push out and remove the "pit disks".
I don't have any plans to create new tabletop gaming terrain in the near future. But, who knows...I might build some stuff to show "making of" demos just for this blog. (I'm sure Steve's daughters would love to play with 'em when I'm done.)