September is one of the four months out of the year that it's truly comfortable hanging out in the garage. Crystal doesn't understand why Justin likes skull pipes so much. It's just because they're cool. I think this is not only a pretty accurate depiction of us hanging out in the garage, but also a fairly (at least to me) interesting study in our different emotional stances... I always feel like they are just so much more "with it" than I am. On the other hand... I can blow smoke rings, and Justin can't.
In October, we go to the pumpkin patch. A couple of things about this drawing. It is the first time I've used Abby's Nana in a Daily Life picture, and I was a little nervous about it... Don't know why. I'm not sure what to do with her left arm, it looks like she should be holding a cane, but that's just silly. I'll just move it down and have her holding her purse. Amy says that Olivia is too small. She is, but I think I'm going to leave her that way, because she's just so dang cute.
We bake, and bake, and bake... one of the nice things about being at home all the time, is that you start making things, and that just plain enriches life. Abby is a very enthusiastic helper, which sometimes necessitates reminding her that some things are just too dangerous for a two and a half year old. I realized while I was drawing this that I have never not had a tea kettle on the stove, and that led me to wonder how common that actually was. It seems like everybody should have one, though I'm sure they don't... also yes, I normally do kneel on the floor when I'm dealing with stuff in the oven. I just feel more stable that way.
The Christmas morning illustration. I've done a pretty good job (I think) of avoiding the holidays in these illustrations. Christmas morning however, is not only my fourth favorite morning of the year, but it's also one of the funniest, story-wise. Sorry, again I inked it before I scanned it.
July is awesome because it's the month I was born in. Not, as my wife would have you believe, because of the Webster Groves 4th of July parade and fireworks extravaganza. I used some old "Calvin and Hobbes" illustrations as inspiration for the van, and am overall pretty happy with the way it came out. I give it an 8 on the experiment-o-meter, and think that I will continue trying out some of this more cartooney approach to objects.
I forgot to scan this one before I inked it... oops. So I left the pencil lines because I know how much you guys like seeing my sloppy drawing. Pretty happy with this one too. I hate August, and I hate being hot. My wife always makes fun of me, because I still will often wear jeans and long sleeve shirts. Thinking about it now I think I mostly buy clothes in the winter, because I like winter and winter clothes... Maybe I should start thinking about my summertime comfort a little more. Also, maybe there should be a few more toys on the floor in this drawing...
May is pretty much all rain all the time here. You don't need a weatherman to tell you that. We have this ceramic cat planter in the backyard by one of our trees that we used to use to put cigarette butts in (When we smoked. So glad that's behind us!) but it's had nothing but leaves and a few acorns in it for the last year or so. When we get a really good rain, it fills up and overflows. I just noticed, when I was doing adjustments on the scan of this drawing, the look on Abby's face. I think this is the third or fourth drawing out of the whole set where somebody's making that face... Maybe I should rethink it. I'm looking forward to painting the ladybug pattern that's on her rain coat, and the boots have some pretty rad graphics on them too. I really like the way the umbrella came out in this one.
In June, we can pretty much count on the days getting hot. I remember wearing a jacket on my wedding day in June and still being comfortable, but like I said... By the time June rolls around the cool days of spring are pretty much over and we start asking ourselves why, why, WHY did anybody ever decide to live in Missouri. So, with summer comes pools, and play dates. In the pool. And somebodies going to get wet that would rather not. I know you're thinking "A tidal wave? Aren't you being just a little dramatic?" Trust me. They happen. I decided to switch things up a little on this one and not have anybody whistling, or saying "oooh", "Whew", or "goo". I also decided to show the back of the house, and the crazy tree that's in the retirement centers house across the street from us. Also, there's usually more dirt than grass in this area of the yard, but I'm choosing to not show that... Although usually it's not in too bad shape in June. Except for the mole that's wrecking the yard in general. Ugh... that's another thing entirely, and I'll probably need to write a chronicle of my quest to gain a mole free yard. or MFY. or muffie.
I don't know if I've mentioned here how much Abby loves "raking leaves". Every time we go outside lately, she wants to get her gloves and the trash barrel and rake leaves. She usually helps for a few minutes, and then decides she wants to sit in them and spread them around. The kid's probably around 40% help and 60% hindrance. She's so amazing though, that it's easy to forgive her. 
My original idea on this one was to just have the baby popping out of the box. It's hard to really show though just what a gift Olivia has been to our family, and how much Abby adores her. I was glad that Amy "got it" that she was dressed up in a batman costume before she read the text. I was going for the Adam West version, and had hoped it wasn't too subtle. I'm thinking I'm going to add some actual package graphics to the gift-box, too.
Here it is without all the title and copyright graphics. I'm overall happy with how it turned out. I think if I had it to do all over again, I'd probably color the background characters a little more graphically with flat colors and cell-style shading, but that's really neither here nor there. 
Here it is with the title and copyright logos added. I wanted to keep it pretty simple and collegiate. 
The final archetype I have for you is the ring leader. This character archetype can vary wildly, but the constant is that he's charismatic, and perhaps a bit mischievous, but above all, he holds everything together. Examples include Anthony Edwards character in "Revenge of the Nerds", Val Kilmer in "Real Genius", and Ryan Reynolds in "Van Wilder". I based mine in part on Jeremy Piven in "PCU", and Bill Murray's unforgettable Peter Venkman in "Ghostbusters". Cast as Justin Bateman, I think he'd be charming, strong, and capable of being sardonic when the situation required it of him. 
I have never liked "Scooby-Doo". There... I said it. I've always thought it was a cool idea, but ultimately, it was the same old show over and over again, and honestly it wasn't that entertaining the first time. I did like the intro, however... THAT was cool. Four kids and their dog on an adventure, being chased by monsters. Cool. So, that's what I had in mind when I was drawing the cover art for Frat Boys -Versus-. What would Scooby-Doo be like if it was cool. It's got everything from redneck truckers, to ostriches, to zombie girl-scouts, and even an astronaut with a sword!
I have a very large backyard with a fire-pit on the edge of the property. Being a "Man of the North" as I am, this is pretty typical dress for me in January (Sweatshirt and scarf ensemble with jeans and a hat). Especially when I'm working a bonfire up to full-on AWESOME. The funny thing about this drawing, is that (With the exception of Abby and I) these are not people who would be at this particular event. I haven't spoken to Andrew "The Fat Kid" in a couple of years, and the woman is really just a representation of what girls look like to me in the winter. Maybe when it's all done, I'll add some peoples who might actually be there. Ha-ha-ha!
My friend Justin has two basic haircuts. This one and long hair. I prefer his hair short. I don't care if me having a preference of what my guy friends hair looks like says about me either. So there. I have noticed lately that Abby stands like this with her hands on her hips. That's also something I do, and I think of "Forest Gump" every time I do it. It's funny seeing bits of you in your children... I've never seen my wife run in her GIANT winter coat, but I imagine it would look something like this. She takes winter more seriously than I do, but notice that by the time February rolls around, I finally admit that maybe I do need to put a "real" coat on over my sweatshirt. There are a couple of things I need to edit in this picture, mainly that Justin's head is too big, and that his son looks a little too old... Also, I might move the window up a little bit.
First up is the Party Animal. Most often, when I think of the party animal archetype, I think of John Belushi in "Animal House". I thought it would be kind of funny to cast him as Seth Rogan, and strap a keg on his back as his zombie-killing weapon-of-choice.
When I think of the Outsider, honestly I think of the black running-back in "Varsity Blues". At any rate, I thought it would be cool to have the person who was different from all the other pledge brothers be... A girl. Not just any girl would do though, so I cast Rosario Dawson. Steve said something to the effect of "I don't know what she's going to do with the beer-bong, but I have a feeling it'll be awesome."
The original inked version of the art for the West Canaan Wizards.
The Original Inked artwork for the Frat Boys Versus:Party Animal
A high quality digital print of the Pytheus Club cover.
A couple of months ago, we gave Abby a spiral notebook to use as a journal. She likes to draw her name, her hands elaborate, multicolored, scribbly compositions... We gave her a sheet of stickers which she happily used to fill the pages of her journal with a fascination combination of neat rows and layered smiley faces, stars and dogs saying "GOOD JOB!". The point is, she draws in the book, and (usually) not on the walls or bills.
Finally, on the left here is an example of something recognizable drawn using only shape. Specifically using the shapes in all of the darks to put together an illustration that is both familiar and dramatic. 
Archon 34 was a blast. I got to meet a lot of really cool people (Like Steve Dixon here, in his incredible Jek Porkins Costume) as well as hang out with some older friends. Archon is a science-fiction and fantasy convention that centers around the gaming aspect of the hobby. 3000(ish) gamers and fans take over a portion of the Saint Louis (This year it was West Port) area for the weekend and play games, talk, wear costumes and drink and dance. What's not to love?
This is the reason I missed two posts last week. I was proud of myself for working ahead (and am glad for the head start it gave me) but still ended up scrambling on Wednesday and Thursday to finish getting everything together. I'm really pleased with the spread of work that I was able to present, but think that next year I'll try to have more color images to show. Hopefully next year they'll have the artists alley again as well, and I'll get a table to talk to interested peoples from behind. And maybe sell a thing or two as well.
And finally there were the guys from Hex games. Had a great time hanging out with them and playing their games. I got to sit as a panelist on a couple of their panels (World Building, and Magic: You're doing it wrong) which was both fun and informative. I'm excited about some of the upcoming projects we discussed for the upcoming year as well.
From Wikipedia:My wife tells me it looks like the car's hit him. Admittedly, the whole "Spirit leaving the body" aspect of this illustration is a little shaky. I know what's going on, but that's because I drew it, Ha-ha-ha! At any rate the drawing was more about the car anyway, and I actually am really happy with how that turned out. I think the next one is the the car that won't die. I have an idea for it, and it should be good, but I need to see if they have "The Blues Brothers" at the library.On January 1, 1953, Williams was due to play at a New Year's Day concert in Canton, Ohio, but he was unable to fly due to weather problems with snow and ice in Ohio. He hired a college student, Charles Carr, to drive him to the concerts he was to perform during the few final days of 1952 and early 1953. Upon leaving the Andrew Johnson Hotel in Knoxville, Tennessee, Williams apparently had injected himself with some pain-killers which included a morphine/Vitamin B-12 combination. Also found in the Cadillac convertible were some empty beer cans and the handwritten lyrics to a song yet to be recorded. According to some, Williams was carried semi-conscious to his automobile by Carr and a hotel employee, who wondered about Williams' condition, and later believed he might have been dead at that point.
In a slightly different version, Carr suspected Williams was moribund at some earlier point, but realized the great singer was dead several miles before entering the town of Oak Hill, West Virginia where he, almost in a panic, pulled up to the gas station to seek help.
Abby loves playing in the water. She will literally stand there for an hour "washing the dishes". I was struck by just how grown up she's getting. I know I say it a lot, and will probably keep saying it, but it always surprises me when I realize that my daughter is a kid now, and not a baby.
You may be asking yourselves, "what does this have to do with the title of the post?". There have been many, many times over the years that I have thought about being a teacher. In fact I almost was one, but my resolve faded when faced with the enormous responsibility involved in being a part of these kids lives. The NPR interview led me back to the classroom, and got me thinking about how I would teach an art class. I have a lot of ideas for the actual class room, but I think this is how I would start out. You can follow along, if you like. I feel a little self-conscious about this, like "He has a lot of nerve trying to teach about drawing." but I think that's just shadows of a six-year-old whispering to me. So... Here goes.
I have been busy...
First off, Neglect... Just noticed it's been two weeks since my last post. In case any of you weren't counting, that's about one week and four days too long. It irritates me (not a huge amount, because I actually do realize that people have lives) when I check into my blogs, and it's been forever since an update. The funny thing about that is how often I'm guilty of the same thing. So... To sum up. I've neglected the blog. I'm sorry. Here's to doing better.
I did this in college, as part of my degree focus in Studio Art: Printmaking. Working at the Wal-mart at the time led me to feel like just another numberless cog in a vast machine. On the plus side though, the job was mindless enough that it essentially left me 8 hours a day to think (earnestly, as all college kids do) about the world, my place in it, and how I felt about it. There's a reason, I guess why they say you find your self at college. Digesting and synthesizing all of these new ideas are what helps define the people we are going to be. Here's the description of this artwork from the shop.
I got my new promo materials in the mail last week, so now I can start putting packets together to send out. I also have the brochure in the downloads section of my website, so if you would like to check it out, you can get it here: redherringillustration.com/downloads.
This second one is... well, okay lets call it more ambitious. I was in tenth grade, and totally into punk music and comic books. Can you picture how cool I was? No? That's okay, I wasn't.
Thanks for taking this little trip down memory lane with me. Until next time, take care and be good!