Pierro Studios

4 more for the pile

2011-11-17T23:15:00.003-05:00

Just 1196 left and I'll get started on some real drawings. I had better pick up the pace a bit.

Back to Pen & Ink Continued

2011-11-04T23:30:00.004-04:00

More for the pile. After about 1200 more of these, I think I'll be ready to take a serious crack at a good drawing.

Back to Pen & Ink

2011-11-01T13:44:00.005-04:00

The plan is to draw and post, draw and post, draw and post; so much that anyone paying attention may become bored. I apologize in advance.

Show is hung

2011-09-10T17:04:00.014-04:00

Jacque and I hung my etchings on Friday for the show next week. You can find info here
Twelve Art Show - City Arts Factory
Next time I will remember to bring a tape measure and level :)

Etching plate proofs - 11/10/11

2011-07-11T18:56:00.009-04:00

Just some quick proofs of some small plates I did over the last week. Some good, some well....... They are fun to do, will tinker on a few a little more. I like keeping them simpler then my ink drawings. I will have to do some over drawn ones also. I would like to have a good selection for the show in September. Not all will make the cut for the show, I'll just see what I have to choose from when the time comes to print them up.

Timmy Skeleton walks

2011-07-03T21:11:00.002-04:00

Ok, here's a fun test I did with Timmy's skeleton that I rigged up yesterday. It started off with some sketches to figure out Timmy's anatomy a bit. Then came the model, truth be told, I used a really bad base skeleton model from work and tweaked it out. Then for some reason I decided to rig it saying that it would be cool to animate it. Can you say compulsive? I guess I'll tinker a bit with animating this in hopes I can understand how I want my boy Timmy modeled and rigged. This is not the way he will walk, but it was just fun to test out the rig that I built, since it's the first one I have done, I wanted to see how bad of a job I did. It works pretty well though. Think I'll tweak a few things to give him more flexibility, but not bad.

Movin on

2011-07-01T11:01:00.003-04:00

Ok what started as a doodle in a meeting the other day started sucking up my time as I was compelled to keep scribbling. So I have decided to post it and cast it into the pile of the unfinished and get back to the agendas that are waiting for me. It can live hear with the other half baked ideas.

Drawing class

2011-06-29T18:02:00.008-04:00

Stopped today at work and went into drawing class for a couple hrs. Why aren't I doing this more often.

Etching plate

2011-06-29T00:29:00.003-04:00

Etchings, another one of those many things that fill me with the desire to live a long life. I have barely scratched the surface of how to to go about this process. The copper plates are beautiful, art in themselves. I think I'll punch a hole in this one, put a chain around it and wear it around my neck. Just kidding. I'll be working on a bunch of these and having a big printing session soon to get them ready for a group show in September.

LAte night scribbles continue

2011-06-28T00:15:00.004-04:00

I would like to say that I was as well thought when doing these drawings, but they have little if any story to support them. Mirjana, you touched on something that is very true in my process of drawing. The rhythm, I like drawing with rhythm in my strokes that I try and let dance around the page, just hoping they all dance together to make some sense.

Sunday Night scribbles

2011-06-27T01:24:00.002-04:00

Mirjana, Fred, and Yes you too Jacque, thanks for the kind words about my drawings. These days I am being pulled in too many different directions. Jack of all trades master of none. One day I will settle down and focus more. I would like to keep doing a late night scribble to post.

Late night doodle

2011-06-25T02:53:00.002-04:00

Doodles

2011-06-21T23:07:00.002-04:00

Just a sketch that started in a meeting in work today, will never get back to finish it so it can live here.

Ship sketches

2011-06-13T13:44:00.002-04:00

Some early ship ideas for Timmy's world. Long story, long way to go to develop the world he is a part of. I did have success over the weekend mapping out act 1, 2, & 3. I have a good foundation to build on. Just need to log a few good month's to get the visual world to emerge.

Timmy's World

2011-06-06T22:45:00.003-04:00

Giger on the mind tonight

I first met this guy in a dream about 10 years ago. Very vivid dream, I can still see it clearly now.

Long live Timmy

2011-06-05T15:05:00.002-04:00

Back to the drawing board

LAte night scribble

2011-06-04T02:21:00.002-04:00

Sketch

2011-06-03T00:16:00.002-04:00

Late night alien sketch. Trying to find time to revisit my story that was never written.

Fin

2011-03-20T19:59:00.003-04:00

Ok, it only took me around 3 months to get around to finish this. Would like to try and get it fired up for the show at work next month. Speaking of that, I'm looking forward to a new position at work for many reasons; one being, I will have more time to get back to my own work, Yippee!!!!

cont.

2011-02-22T14:58:00.002-05:00

I'll get er done.

Some progress

2011-02-21T00:46:00.004-05:00

Ok, I need to just finish this and move on, it's been sitting in the studio too long now. It would be nice to fire up the kiln again for a change. I'm not sure this will make it through the inferno of the kiln, along with another one that needs to be fired. I tend to build them a tad bit o off balance.

Late night doodle 3

2011-02-18T00:43:00.002-05:00

I would like to do this for awhile and see where it gets me, but I would really like to be sculpting and working on some pen and ink drawings.

late night doodle 2

2011-02-17T00:09:00.003-05:00

More photoshop scribbling. I don't normally paint in photoshop, but I'm starting to like it. Late night winding down, no real thoughts on what I was painting.

Late night doodle

2011-02-16T00:17:00.003-05:00

Just a late night scribble in photoshop.

Some work for a change

2010-12-30T18:23:00.007-05:00

Ok, I slapped some more clay onto this the other night. It's headed somewhere, I promise :)
Just started a sculpture while I'm off for the holidays. Anyhow, feeling a bit rusty, I have an idea what this is, it might change though.

Etching plate proof

2010-05-05T22:31:00.002-04:00

I had some fun stopping for a moment and firing up my kiln over the last weekend and then thanks to a a small bout of insomnia finding some time to bite a plate and run off a proof on the etching press. I'm very happy with the glaze results I got on these two sculptures below, I think I have finally figured out a good method of controlling the firing down phase of the kiln to control it's rate to help my glazes to develop more. Take a look at some of the detail close ups, and be sure to click on them to enlarge and see some of the nice glaze results I got. The etching print I like also, I had fun with the mark making on this plate. I think I could of taken it a bit farther, but it still works rather well for me. My acid is on it's last leg though, no much bite left to it. Hopefully the acid fairy will stop by and leave a new batch for me, Ronnie, you listening?

Fired up the Kiln

2010-05-05T22:19:00.003-04:00

Week 6

2010-03-14T22:24:00.003-04:00

Week 6 was a good week again for thumbnails, and I also did a quick painting in painter to flush out my values. The top pic is the original thumbnail, painter sketch and finish. Unfortunately I rushed the finish, and got a little messy, and didn't have time to work up my values to where I wanted to. It's still a good learning process for me. By the end of 52 weeks I hope to being more successful with my finished drawings then I am with my thumbnails.

"Ink In unfailing supplies" Week4

2010-03-08T23:32:00.005-05:00

Week 4 was a good week for thumb nailing, I had a lot of fun as you might be able to tell, I had a hard time stopping. I think in the end I settled on a composition that......... well, was ok. Not bad though pretty good week.

"Ink In unfailing supplies" Week3

2010-03-08T22:33:00.002-05:00

These are some of the thumbnails from week three along with the finished drawing. I thought this was a good start for me as far as making some changes in the type of drawing I normally produce. The top thumbnails are fairly abstract, no strong idea that fit the topic of the week, mainly focusing on cutting up the page to find a compositions until some visuals started coming to mind. Then a thought found it's way onto the page which led me down the path of a walking womb, which hooked my attention. I was also pleased with some of the mark making choices I did with the final piece, I think they work fairly well.

Process

2010-02-22T13:21:00.003-05:00

Since I started the new blog journey with Richard Kirk, posting a drawing a week, I've been slowly integrating a thought process that I have neglected to use for quite some time. As much as it pains me to admit this, I have poor work habits:(

But this years journey will force me to develop what I have so badly neglected these last maybe 10 years of scribbling with my pen and ink drawings. A process, yes commonly known as thumb nailing. I had gotten so used to drawing spontaneously, that I convinced myself that premeditation was the death of my artwork. Well the truth is I'm just not that good at it. So I think I will start posting on this blog my process of thumbnails, and inspirational drawings that I do to work up to the weeks drawing. Just a little more commitment on my part to help me get to where I want to go.

Todays post is from the week two drawing. A interesting week , I did some fun thumbnails, which I then wound up ignoring for the most part and then started some drawings which I then restarted over and over until I settled on the last one. You can see a larger version at "and ink in unfailing supplies"

.....and ink in unfailing supplies...

2010-01-19T15:37:00.002-05:00

This year I will be embarking on a journey and starting another blog. "And ink in unfailing supplies"Fueled by a number of inspiring artistic influences, namely Justin and Shel Rasch at Stop Motion Mission, and Tom Thorspecken at Analog artist Digital World and specifically his newest blog pursuit, South by North West, a blog he has started working with another artist who lives up in Seattle. Their idea is to have a visual dialog with their sketches sounded like great fun. I have been really enjoying myself by getting back into my pen and ink drawings, and wanted to push myself artistically in hopes of carving my artistic path a little deeper into the untamed and uncharted wild of the unknown. I guess the seed that was planted by Tom's new blog grew into the bold proposition that I wrote to another one of my inspirations, Richard Kirk about. I decide to invite him to join me in posting a drawing a week each for the next 52 weeks. We will both take turns posting what Richard has termed a "text seed", which will grow into our drawings for the week. I feel very lucky to have this opportunity to work this closely with such a talented and inspiring artist, that I know will inspire me to do great work, and hopefully I can return the favor and do the same for him. Check out Richard's website and I think you will see my point, and visit his blog also.

Pen & Ink continues

2010-01-03T23:58:00.003-05:00

Well my 2 weeks of freedom is up, but I did enjoy my time at home, stealing every moment I could away from the holidays to work on some of my stuff. I did get a chance to spend some time with a drawing I had started awhile back. I spent enough time to get myself back into the groove of widdle-ing away at one of my drawings that I love to do so much. Life is about living in the now, the moment. When I spend a few hours with one of my drawings, it helps me to be present and focused unlike any other thing that I do. Now if I could find a way to keep this bean of mine focused that well when I go out into that world, and mix with those humans:)

Closer look

2010-01-01T12:15:00.003-05:00

Here's a better look at was in the kiln from the last post. I think it's time to stop and focus on getting the display boxes ready for the masks I've been making, sort of shadow type boxes I am going to build to house each mask. Jacque and I will be opening up our store on Etsy this year and the masks and Vessels will be for sale on our store. By the way Happy New Year!! to all of my loyal blog followers:)

Kiln Firing 12/30/09

2010-01-01T01:28:00.002-05:00

Here's a look at what happened inside the kiln this past week. As always, some disappointments, but I was also able to salvage a couple of masks that didn't turn out so well the first time I fired them, buy re-glazing them and firing them again. There is so much chance in this process, but also like everything else, experience is key, and since I love to try so many different things, Well.............. it will take some time to become experienced in all that I am trying to do.

It's a marathon,not a sprint, see you all at the finish line:)

Back to the kiln

2009-12-23T00:00:00.002-05:00

I've got a couple of weeks off from work and am enjoying being home at the house. I fired up the kiln for the first time in too long a time, on monday night. I got to use a pyrometer that I had bought awhile back on ebay. I like knowing what's going on inside the kiln as it fires, trying to judge by color is not a very easy way to be sure of the temp. The one shot you can see through the peep hole and see the cone bending over, it has the number 04 upside down on it. Cone 04 is the temperature to which I fire my work to (Bisque)before I glaze and then fire it again. As you can see from the pyrometer reading at cone 04 is 1942 degrees, or somewhere around there depending how quickly or slowly you fire. Cones measure the amount of heat that the clay absorbs not the temperature that is in the kiln, when they bend over like this one is, you have reached your mark. I hope to improve my glaze firing with the help of the pyrometer. With it I'll be able to hold the temperature at a certain temperature to hopefully get some better results with my glazes. Anyhow, I hope to get some work done while I'm home. I just mixed up a new batch of paper clay so I can continue working on my series of man and woman theme sculptures. Merry Christmas!!

New Clay Stuff

2009-12-09T22:17:00.003-05:00

I got myself back into the studio today to finish up two pieces that have been neglected for a couple of weeks now. I think if I focused on one thing I could probably be really great at what I chose to do, but that apparently is not going to be the case with my life. So my only hope is that I live a long time so I can pull together all of the misfit, half baked, creations.

I like the mask, with the hole drilled in threw the bridge of the nose to add something after glazing and firing. I do plan on exploring this avenue more and add sort of a head dress to the ceramic masks that I make. I'd like to incorporate metal, wood, and other materials in the future.

This other sculpture, another one in the series of man and woman growing together theme, is interesting. I've attached them to the top of a vessel I threw. I like how the two forms are incomplete, fluid, and somewhat broken, but still beautiful. The male figure is playing a supporting role in this one, but they are both in the struggle together. I'm excited to get this one fired and glazed, because I can't wait to see it with flowers coming out of it's cracked and open forms.

Work on Timmy begins

2009-12-07T22:56:00.004-05:00

I recently started modeling my pal Timmy Fifel, as you can see he doesn't have his head yet. This is a learning process for me, mainly being a traditional artist and animator, I'm learning as I go. I did some simple rigging on him to see how his body mesh is working. It just blows me away when you start moving him like a puppet, to see him start to come to life. I guess that's the magic of animation.

Fun with Maya

2009-11-26T20:16:00.003-05:00

Here's a little piece I threw together with a small piece of animation I did awhile back when I was getting familar with the rig the students in the fundamentals of animation class use at Full Sail. I'm having fun learning more and more these days to be able to work on my development and animation reel for my story with good old Timmy Fifel. I think the New Years resolution for next year will be to model and rig him and start animating him in an environment.

Clay, Ink, and the Princesses

2009-11-05T19:31:00.004-05:00

I try not to labor over these pots too much since I haven't perfected my firing and glazing technique yet. I haven't done enough work yet to feel like I can confidently guarantee a successful result. So if they don't work out so well I haven't put to much blood and sweat into them, (makes it easier to swallow if they meet with disaster). I look forward to the day when my glazes will turn my work into something uniquely special.
Here's our two little girls, our found kitty Zen and my wife's precious little girl Shimmey. I'll have to post some video of them playing one day, they love to wrestle, and it's a hoot to watch.
Drawing continues. I would love to be able to spend a week on a drawing and see where I can take it, but for the moment I'll settle for a stolen hour here and there. I find it hard to weave a long deep story into my drawings unless I spend a great many hours focused mainly on the drawing. This drawing has no real story at this point, just a simple theme that's been showing up in my ink drawings. People biting people, although I love zombies, I don't think that is the motivation, and I'm not craving brains or human flesh. I have an idea what it means, it's just I haven't spent enough time exploring and weaving my tale.

Work continues

2009-10-19T11:37:00.003-04:00

As I continue to draw my small 4x6 pen and ink drawings on my breaks at work, I can't help but get the itch to do some larger scale work, so I just started one. I'll have to try and shoe-horn this into my routine somehow. Just do it until it becomes part of the day.

Like I said time to make some pots, The weather has made a turn here in Florida, and it a perfect time to fire up a 2000 plus degree kiln. Not to mention, that come February of next year my wife and I would like to be able to open up our store front on Etsy.

Back to Pots

2009-10-05T22:29:00.003-04:00

With the cooler weather hopefully just around the corner, I'm looking forward to firing up the kiln again, it's been awhile. Someday money will come find me, and I will no longer have to leave the studio to find it, then I will be able to focus on all that is waiting for me around the studio:)

almost lucid in my dreams

2009-10-04T00:20:00.002-04:00

I still am using my breaks at work to do small pen and ink drawings. No real preconceived ideas as I sit down with a sandwich in one hand and a dip pen in the other. As I look at these last few drawings in my book I've done, I can't help but see a story unfolding. Still going with the man and woman theme, just with a twist or two.

New Sculpture in the House

2009-09-25T22:49:00.004-04:00

This is Number two of a series of man and woman themed sculptures I plan to do, all having to do with the idea of growing together within you relationship. As you may notice these figures are hollow open vessels, which I think is symbolic and also seems appropriate for the medium that I choose to work in. I have also done a little color study of how I might go about finishing it up. I'd like to use some beautiful ceramic glazes, but also paint some with under glazes and finish them with a clear coat glaze.

Working

2009-09-08T19:16:00.002-04:00

Heres' something to look at: an etching plate I proofed this weekend, an Albino Frog out in the back yard, and me working on a sculpture that is nearly completed. Life is good.

The life and times of Timmy Fifel

2009-07-22T23:24:00.003-04:00

The trick is not to get distracted, drawn in, don't be reactive. Just remain still and present without judgement. I know, it's hard, but try.

Blogging Blogs

2009-06-05T10:58:00.003-04:00

Awhile back I posted some pics of a friend I worked back at Disney with, Tom Thorspecken,when he came over to sketch me while I sculpted. He started a blog in the beginning of the year with the goal of posting a new sketch every day. He's covered many interesting events here in Orlando over the past 6 months. His sketches are always impressive and his stories compliment them well. Right now I follow two blogs, one is his , and the other is Justin & Shels stop animation journey at Stop Motion Mission. They both inspire me with there dedication and love of what they do and also the work they produce because of this passion & dedication. Tom posted the sketch he did of me that day here :)

It wasn't easy, but nothing is............

2009-05-30T23:31:00.005-04:00

After finishing a sculpture I started many moons ago,I decided to have a little fun with it, colorful fun that is. Interesting thing about this sculpture; it is based on a pen and ink drawing I did awhile back "Growing Together" . My wife and I live a modest life in a modest house that is supplied with an arsenal of artistic weapons. It's our sanctuary, and we rarely seem to stray from it, at least for the last 5 years now. During that time we seem to have grown together, and made quite a content life for ourselves, both of us pursuing our art. I began drawing these man and woman themed pen and ink studies where the two were physically growing together. This 1st sculpture in a series I hope to do. It took some time to complete because of time issues and also a wandering mind that led me astray. When I did have time to sit and work on it my mind was not where it should have been and I veered off and added a bunch of design elements that had no real purpose and did not add to the story. I had a moment of clarity the other day and began lopping off the dead wood, so to speak. When I was done stripping it down, I found myself back at the original drawing. I think I have learned something from this, and if not I hopefully will be able to see more clearly when I am making poor design decisions:)

etching proof

2009-05-17T00:20:00.004-04:00

Here's a look at an etching proof I ran tonight. I'm rather pleased with the direction that my etchings are headed in. I scribbled on this plate off and on for the last few weeks during my breaks at work, along with scribbling on quite a few pen and ink drawings I have not finished yet. This plate was a bit of an experiment to try and see the kind of detail in line I can get to hold up through the acid biting process, I think it faired pretty well, and I think I can take it much further. Once I get through these last few plates and start working in copper with ferric chloride I think I can take it still even further. The ferric chloride bites straight down, so there's less expansion of line during the biting, which equals more detail holding up:)

Infected

2009-03-30T23:28:00.004-04:00

I know I'm supposed to be posting my first sculpture by now, but I just have not been able to finish it yet. I'm not sure that my schedule will allow me to produce my sculptures as quickly as I had hoped. But none the less, I still plan on doing a series of 12 sculptures, as you can see I'm continuing to explore the man & woman theme in my drawings. It's probably time to start tinkering with some etching plates along the same theme also.

Kiss!

2009-03-26T21:18:00.004-04:00

I think this will serve as inspiration for my next sculpture, speaking of that I'd better finish up the first sculpture. I think I'll be doing a series of let's say 12 sculptures, all with the man and woman theme. I guess that's what happens when you're happily married, it seeps into your work.

Back to sculpting

2009-03-22T23:59:00.004-04:00

A friend of mine, Tom Thorspecken asked if he could come over and sketch me while I was working on a sculpture. Tom is an extremely talented artist living here in Orlando Fl., and since the beginning of the year has been doing a sketch a day and posting them on his blog. While most of us may cringe at the thought of trying to tackle complicated and cluttered scenes, Tom revels in them and dives in with little trepidation. Along with a loose and carefree style of documenting all in his point of view, Tom has been writing the most wonderful, stories of his sketching adventures, that I find very entertaining and sometimes informative. You can see his sketchbook chronicles at his sketch blog here.

I'd like to thank Tom for giving me the jolt I needed to make some time to get back to playing with clay, and also for finding me to be Sketch Blog worthy.

I'll talk about the sculpture next weekend when I hope to have it finished up, Let's go for one sculpture a week, that shouldn't be too hard to manage? we'll see......

Pen & Ink continues

2009-03-16T22:28:00.003-04:00

The plan is simple at this point in time. Just to continue on smiling. The end of the year seems as good a time as any to pick up my head and look to see where I am. Sometimes giving up control, and being more content and accepting can take you to places you may not have been able to get to had you taken control yourself. I hope to find my work has traveled to an extraordinary place when I pick up my head to look, sometime at the end of this year.

Etching proof

2009-03-08T23:45:00.005-04:00

I stole some time last week during my breaks at work to scribble on a plate, which I dipped and proofed this weekend when I was supposed to working on some freelance. This one is getting a little more busy than the last ones, which I like. I still have to take them further and spend more time on each plate. No fear though, a have a bunch of plates to get though, and I plan on living till I'm about 92, so that gives me plenty of time to do some really unique pieces.

Pen & Ink

2009-03-02T21:58:00.005-05:00

There is a story here, I promise you that.

Pen & Ink

2009-02-20T19:20:00.003-05:00

Life just seems to get easier when you stop fighting it, and just enjoy the ride. My new mind set of working seems to be paying off. I've wrested long enough with my artwork, I'm just going along for the ride these days, and it's pretty darn fun!

proofs

2009-02-15T23:30:00.003-05:00

Proofs

2009-02-15T23:27:00.003-05:00

Proofing plates

2009-02-15T22:35:00.004-05:00

I guess it's been at least three years now since I bought my self an etching press. But for a number of reasons I have not produced any etchings besides a christmas print the first year and an occasional failed attempt to recreate my drawing style on an etching plate. The one major reason for not producing plates was just a yellow streak that was running down my back, and now with my new found happy art making mode, the fear of bunking up an etching plate has been alleviated. Good bad or everything in between, from now on I'll be making prints. The fear is gone, at least for now. These are some pics of me proofing some plates I did this past week.

Back in the saddle

2009-02-13T07:51:00.004-05:00

I said yes to some freelance 2d animation work and then I remembered I had sold my animation desk last summer. So I had to throw together a box to draw on. Here's my 30 dollar animation box hung on a drafting table. Next can of worms to open is Zbrush, I got a demo yesterday from a friend at work, and I'm sold. Trust me there's a path here somewhere.

Ease

2009-02-09T22:27:00.004-05:00

Now it's not that I haven't been working that I haven't posted any new work. I have just been working on computer animation, yes Maya, the 21st century, I have finally arrived!! But lately I have been drawing, and enjoying myself I might say. I hope to soon be posting some etchings that I am currently working on . I'm sure all my loyal fans we be thrilled at what I have come up with. This drawing is titled "Ease" for the reason of my new demeanor have have taken with the approach to my work. No more struggles here mate, all smooth flowing lines of artistic bliss:)

Back to making masks

2008-12-31T11:11:00.004-05:00

I know you may think I haven't been doing any work lately, but your wrong.

On Display

2008-12-23T00:28:00.003-05:00

I've got a number different ways that I would like to display the masks I've been making. this is one way, building display bases that hold them.

Beauty in death

2008-12-19T01:14:00.004-05:00

Thanksgivings flowers may be dead, but I find them more beautiful that way anyhow.

Buddha gets mounted

2008-12-11T01:46:00.003-05:00

Well, it's been a hart warming story that continues on with Buddha moving to greener pastures. A dear friend of mine showed up at the show last week and loved my work:) So he decided to become a patron. He purchase one of my masks, then he saw Buddha and loved him so we decided that he should go and live with Sam, Claire, and the kitties too. I could not think of a better place for him to live. So like the title implies, I've mounted him and am getting him ready for his new home. Thanks Sammy, for your support, your confidence and also your friendship.

Sculpture show

2008-12-03T01:02:00.004-05:00

This thursday, Dec 4th I'll be out at the Orlando Museum of Art for a sculpture show. I'll be showing three of my pieces with a smile. I also thought I might put out some promo cards, to try and expand my fan base. Now I'm not saying that I don't appreciate my loyal fans that I already have, I just think the three of you might be lonely and thought you might like to have some company:)

Buddha at dinner

2008-12-01T20:20:00.003-05:00

Well, some time ago, I posted a sculpture that was a over sized head with some arms that sprouted from beneath and with these he was walking on, also the back of his head was blown out and hollow. What was supposed to be inside of his empty head was this sculpture of buddha. Unfortunately, that large sculpture didn't survive the firing and came crashing down inside the kiln, which proceeded to take out a number of other pieces that were below it. Everyone but Buddha bit the big one that day, everything came crashing down around him, and I was lucky not to have any kiln damage and our little friend Buddha sat there untouched. Well that's something to give thanks for, so it seemed appropriate to have him join us for Thanksgiving dinner. I hope all my loyal blog readers had a wonderful Thanksgiving day, all three of you:)

More book art

2008-12-01T20:00:00.005-05:00

Here's a look at two more illustrations from that book I was working on. These were all done in the application painter, I think I would like to start painting in oils for the next two books I do. I like working in painter but there's something that starts bothering me along the way and I'm not sure what it is, I just think I'd rather have a real painting in front of me to focus on.

Chapter Cherubs

2008-11-28T23:58:00.003-05:00

These are the drawings for the chapter headers on the book I'm working on.

Signature page

2008-11-25T01:22:00.005-05:00

This is a drawing for the book I'm working on, this will be the signature page. I call it "In the Shadow of the Dark Angel. It's for a book being published by Roy Robbins at Bad Moon Books titled: "Shadow of the Dark Angel" by Gene O'Neill. I should be finished with all the artwork by the end of the month and will post more then.

Dark Angel Slump

2008-11-24T15:24:00.003-05:00

Well, I opened the kiln this morning and found that the Dark Angel sculpture slumped quite a bit during the glaze firing. I thought he might slump backwards, that's why he has those little feet coming off the bottom of his wings, to help give him support. I guess I've got another head scratcher on my hands, plenty of thoughts about why it happened that I won't bore you with. If you look at the sculpture unfired he has a bit of a backwards lean..... Oh well, I'm never quite sure what goes on inside of that kiln.

Pen & Ink

2008-11-11T02:04:00.000-05:00

Just exorcising some demons

Intestinal Disorder?

2008-11-08T02:34:00.002-05:00

Or I guess we could call it Montezuma's revenge

Work in progress

2008-11-07T03:03:00.004-05:00

I've recently discovered something while making my dough one day. It's a simple little thing, but it makes a big difference in the texture of the dough and also the bread after it is baked. Now you'll notice that I basically pour out the dough onto the table after I let it rise for an hour or so. You would think that I'm using too much water, but you get a better rise and a smoother texture in the dough this way. And when you bake it you get a nice crisp crust and a light fluffy inside. Now I had no cheese in the house to make my pizza tonight so I had to settle for just some diced tomatoes, and some spice. Let's call it Pizza Bruschetta. And remember always cook your pizzas at 500 deg. for that nice crispy crust! One day when I own my own gallery, I'll have my pizza oven in it, so I can cook pizzas for every show opening, hope to see you all there:)

Testing

2008-11-06T16:15:00.005-05:00

This is a piece in progress, which like most of my work makes me stop and scratch my head from time to time. I had this really fun idea in my mind that this sculpture, "Unforeseen obstacle" would look great if I constructed this light box with a thick piece of plexiglass that came up out of it (the "Unforeseen Obstacle"). You would turn on the light and the whole piece of plexi would glow (illuminating the "Unforeseen Obstacle"). Well as you can see only the edges of the glass glow. Which in the top pic, in the light, hardly seem worth the trouble. So, now I'm back to scratching my head to figure out if I should do something else.

Sculpture show

2008-11-05T20:57:00.003-05:00

I took a little time and finished up the base for the "Burly man" which I have submitted along with 2 other sculptures, for a sculpture show at the Orlando Museum of art. I got a chance to use a piece of that granite I picked up awhile back. It was quite a task to figure out how to cut those miters to trim out the granite. The angle was more then the old miter saw can get to, so I had do some head hurting thinkin' to figure it out. The little piece of walnut on top is on a lazy susan so you can turn him around. If you want to read a little about the "Burly Man" you can read it at my website. The Other 2 are "The Struggle Forward" and "Looking Back". Wish me luck, I'm hoping this might get me started in the local art scene.

Pen & ink

2008-11-02T03:12:00.006-05:00

I think I'm getting in the mood to do a nice big complicated drawing, now if I'm just smart enough to make the time to do it. I think the secret is not to make a big complicated drawing in my head first. Too much premeditation in work makes you focus on the completed drawing and not the drawing of the drawing.

Visit from the Dark Angel

2008-10-30T00:30:00.003-04:00

This is one of the interior illustrations from the book I'm working on. I think I want to say it's finished but I can't guarantee that I won't paint in the foreground figure some more.

"Shadow of the Dark Angel"

2008-10-28T08:50:00.005-04:00

This is the cover for a the book I mentioned I was doing, I'll post the interior illustrations as I finish them up. It's sort of a psychological exploration of the main characters damaged inner world. I think most of us who have spent too much time inside of our own heads, can relate to how messy things can get in there.

Posted new/old work on my website

2008-10-25T14:43:00.008-04:00

A few years ago I started messing around in Maya, which I really enjoyed, and thought I might be able to pursue a position in, somewhere? But after a few interviews with some studios, I realized that having no real experience, and little training was not going to get me very far. By that Time I had already gotten the bug to pursue my other work Pen & Ink drawings and Sculpture. I did enjoy working in Maya to come up with designs for a story of my own, something I hope one day to stop and return to finish. If your interested in seeing some more of this stuff, I've posted some of it on my website here 3-D Modeling

I also posted some visual development work I did back at Disney for a small side project that died one day because of production demands. The story took place on a wall and was told by the animated cave drawings that lived there, the story was base on the story of "King Lair". This is a panel of thumbnails I did to get some idea of the wall layout, and color. See more here Cave Art

A little over a year ago I spent some time working with a good friend of mine, here in Orlando. Xin Lin, pronounced "shinyee", a former background painter at Disney who grew up in China. Xin has many stories of what it was like to grow up in Communist China under Mao and the communist party. I'm glad I took sometime to get back to the basics with Xin, and would like to make sometime to do more work with him. Anyhow you can see more drawings and some other stuff here. Drawing & Painting

I've also posted some examples of my digital illustration,which has been off and on work for me, but at the present moment is on. I'll be posting some new work pretty soon after I finish it up for an up coming book title "Shadow of the Dark Angel" written by Gene O'Neill and is being published By Roy Robbins at Bad Moon Books

You can see more illustration work here Digital Illustration

The Devil from within emerges

2008-10-20T09:19:00.003-04:00

I was going thru some old archived files the yesterday and came across this portrait with horns. Since Halloween is coming up on us soon, I thought I would post it. It's just some digital photography tinkered with in photoshop. Happy Halloween- Boo

Life & Death in the back yard

2008-10-19T15:42:00.002-04:00

I was out doing some yard work this week, and this is what I have to show you, the last pineapple of the season, possibly the last bloom of the season, and a poor little squirrel skull I found under the wood shack.

Blessing

2008-10-18T19:47:00.003-04:00

Yin crushes Yang?

2008-10-17T00:29:00.004-04:00

I think this one is pretty good. Something about the tinted paper, I'm liking on these last few. Art to me is about enjoying the ride, if I struggle with something 9 out of 10 times I won't like it after I finish it. When you tense up and struggle with your drawing you loose the rhythm, and even if can mange to finish it up successfully, there will be less unity in the piece. Your head can be as much a hindrance as it can help you make the right decisions. These days I'm trying to ride that fine line of using my brain but not abusing my art with it.

Growing together

2008-10-15T14:01:00.008-04:00

I like this one

Pen & Ink

2008-10-15T01:50:00.001-04:00

I've been a little busy with some book illustrations and some other stuff. But I finally sat down to scribble out a drawing.

RIP

2008-09-29T18:19:00.004-04:00

Right after Gerry Garcia died, which was I guess back in 1995, an old friend of mine called me with an idea. He said that since the Grateful dead was in deed now dead, that a new group would soon take it's place. This new band was Phish, and the one thing fish didn't have was artwork to peddle. That's what he came to me for. Well anyway, we didn't get very far into our master plan, whatever that was. But I did do this funky drawing for what back then was one of their most popular songs, "Run like an antelope"

Ego 3

2008-09-28T02:34:00.004-04:00

Brain Sucker

2008-09-26T10:10:00.003-04:00

I think this was a little drawing I did after I realized that all my ideas that usually swirl around in my brain in abundance, were disappearing from time to time. I was convinced that something was cyphering them from my head.

What?

2008-09-25T00:19:00.004-04:00

This is an old ink drawing with water color that was sitting around in a box of many other old drawings just collecting dust. I like the energy and tone of what ever it was I was doing here.

pen & Ink

2008-09-24T01:08:00.003-04:00

Ego2

Pen & Ink

2008-09-23T01:08:00.001-04:00

Ego

"Then Came Shimmie"

2008-09-18T22:30:00.004-04:00

This will bore most everyone!

This is a movie I made in protest to the time when my wife Jacque decided we needed Another little mouth to feed. We already had two doggies, but she wanted her little Pomerianian, and me being Mr. Sappy went along with it. There's some really fun video on here with Dunkin and Shimmie playing, something they don't do anymore. I know, it's a home movie.

Pen & Ink

2008-09-13T02:02:00.003-04:00

I just like ink. It doesn't even have to be a good drawing, I just like the way it looks, and I like making the marks. Take these two doodles for instance, they stink, but I still sort of like them:)

Made symmetrical

2008-09-11T00:48:00.005-04:00

This is that same painter illustration from before, with much more work done on it, cut in half and book matched to make two. For some reason I like doing this.

Two

2008-09-10T13:17:00.003-04:00

I was cute!

Magic Eye?

2008-09-06T01:20:00.004-04:00

Something from painter, with a little help from photoshop.

Colors I found in the back yard

2008-09-03T21:54:00.004-04:00

Pencil sketch

2008-09-03T01:43:00.002-04:00

In the shadow of the Dark Angel

A young boy named Dunkin

2008-09-02T00:39:00.003-04:00

Thought this was a funny video that goes hand in hand with my earlier sentiments about my boy Dunkin. It was shot when he was just a pup, not the hairy beast he has become today. Even back then I was locked in a battle that, although the boy new very well he could not win, he still was not willing to admit defeat nor give in . Stubborn son of a Bitch!