Merry Christmas

This year each member of the family designed their own Christmas Tree for the family Christmas card. It started with my children wanting me to draw a Christmas Tree Ent.

I would like to wish you all a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

B is for…

Over the past few years I have been slowly working on an alphabet series. You can see D, Q, S, P and W at the link provided. This is part of a series call “A is for Alliteration” and is currently on display at the Quimby Gallery as part of the 2015 faculty exhibit, “Blue.”

The title is “A bevy of beatnik blue footed boobies boogieing to the bodacious blues beat of The Baby Blues Brothers, a blue whale bleating on the bassoon, a blue lobster banging on the bongos, a blaring bagpipe, a blue agama on the base, a boar on a banjo, and a blue jay belting the ballad, is the bee's knees.” 

I had a blast working on this one. I am still trying to figure out how to give it the jazz club feel without making my colors so saturated, so if you have any tips let me know.

I Believe in…

This is adapted from The Church of Jesus Christ's 13th article of Faith into a more personal statement of my ideals and what I strive for. I love all that it says. It is a statement of belief that encapsulates so much.

It is also an example of me stretching myself into new areas. I have never attempted a design like this before.   

Upcoming Exhibit!

On Thursday, December 3 I will be exhibiting a new illustration or two for the Lyndon State College Faculty Exhibit. The theme this year is “Blue” and I am having a wonderful time coming up with what could quite possibly be the bluest illustration ever! If you are in the area, I would love to see you there.

I also had a great time creating the painting and designing the poster.

Last week my wife and I celebrated our 18th anniversary by going to the LDS Temple in Boston and then driving to the cape. I am so grateful for Julia in many ways. One of which is she gives me time on trios like this to do a little sketching. This is a sketch of the Nauset Lighthouse in Eastham, MA. We walked along the beaches and had a wonderful time.

If you are ever on the cape I would strongly recommend eating at the Karoo Restaurant. It is wonderful South African cuisine.

More Sketching from my Summer-Stoker Elementary School

While visiting family over the summer, I took the opportunity to sketch the first elementary school I attended. It is the oldest school still standing in Davis County Utah. The school shut down some time after I went there as a child. As fate would have it, the University of Utah purchased the building and the last class I took as an undergraduate in my Art BFA was at this building in the same room where I had my Kindergarten class.

I started and ended my formal education in this building.

I love this building. I have such great memories of my first two years of education and my last 3 credits of my college years. Every time I visit family, I hope to do more sketches like this. I also plan on paining this at some point.

Sketching at the Fairbanks Museum

Here is a quick sketch from my summer class. This is the King Tody at the Fairbanks Museum. 

Weekly Bow tie Guy- Giant Panda

Giant Panda (ˈjīənt ˈpandə)

It could be argued that the giant panda is one of the most recognizable endangered species due largely to the World Wildlife Federation's use of the giant panda as their logo. 

Humans are their greatest threat through deforestation and fragmentation of forests due to roads and railroads. This isolates the pandas form one another and makes it difficult to propagate the species. Currently there are just over 1,800 pandas in the wild.  To put this in perspective the population for the town I live in was 5,981 in 2010. I live in a small town. The college I teach at has a student population of 1,300. 

For more information on the Giant Panda and what you can do to help go to the WWF website. https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/giant-panda

Weekly Bow Tie Guy—Hawksbill Turtle

Hawksbill Turtle (hôks bil ˈtərtl)

The hawksbill turtle is another animal on the critically endangered list. There biggest threat is wildlife trade, but they are also greatly affected by excessive egg collection, loss of living habitats, egg collection, pollution and costal development. 

Again you can find out more at World Wild Life Federation.

Summer Sketching-More Llamas

Another sketch made while teaching the field book studies class this summer. This was from our day at Agape Hill Farms in Hardwick, VT. A great place to draw a wide range of farm animals. I love drawing Llamas.

Summer Sketching – Camp

This summer I had the opportunity to help at two camps for my church. They were both at Camp Joseph in Sharon, Vermont. A beautiful location. These are sketches of the day we went canoeing and the nurse's cabin. 

Sketching-Lunch Time

I love opportunities to draw people in restaurants. I was eating at a Panera Bread a few months ago while waiting for an appointment. There is a level of concentration in peoples faces as they eat that you do not see in any other situation.

National Bow Tie Day!

August 28th is National Bow Tie Day. I thought I would post a few of my favorite Bow Tie Guys over the years.

Weekly Bow Tie Guy

Vaquita

The Vaquita, the smallest of the porpoises, can be up to five feet long. It is the rarest and the most endangered marine mammal. Discovered in 1958, there are estimated to be only 100 left. Over half of their population were destroyed in the last three years. They live only in the northern part of the Gulf of Mexico and are mostly threatened by nets used by illegal fishers.

For more information on the Vaquita you can visit worldwildlife.org 

Summer Sketching-Hill Cumorah Pageant

While on our trip we saw The Hill Cumorah Pageant in Palmyra, NY. It depicts Stories from the Book of Mormon and how Joseph Smith found the Golden Plates on the Hill. It was a fun evening with the family. Aside from a wonderful play we discovered the joys of salt potatoes. This is a sketch I did of a group of performers in costume talking with some of the audience before the show started.

Summer Sketching-Carhenge

While on our family excursion across the US we made a three hour detour in Nebraska to see Carhenge. It was a wonderful stop, Quirky and fascinating at the same time. Our children loved it as well. It is located in Alliance, Nebraska.

Weekly Bow Tie Guy—The Gump 2.0

Today's Bow Tie Guy is a little different. This evening is when entries for the 3rd Annual Lego Competition at the Quimby Gallery are due. I am entering this, The Gump 2.0. This is patterned after the Gump from L. Frank Baum's The Land of OZ with the palm leave wings. The difference is this has an elephant head, a hot air balloon, a yeti rowing, multiple jet engines, helicopter blades, and is powered by a una-kitty horn. It is a redundancy time machine that has been floating around my head for a while now.

Next week I will be getting back to my endangered species series.

Summer Sketching-Montpelier

The day before our family excursion across the US, I had an afternoon in Montpelier to sketch. I spent some time on the corner of School and main to draw one of the churches.

Summer Sketching-Peter Whitmer Farm

This summer our family took a drive across most of the US to visit family (which is why I haven't posted in a while). Along the way we visited many of our churches historical sites. This is a sketch of the Peter Whitmer home. It is a recreation of what the original looked like and is where the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was first organized on April 6, 1830. Fifty people were in attendance.

I was impressed by the small size of the home and how big our church has become. It was rather humbling to be there.

Sketching–Joseph Smith Memorial

While I was at boys camp a few weeks ago, I took the opportunity to visit the birth place of Joseph Smith and do a sketch of the memorial. It is a beautiful location in Sharon, Vermont-very peaceful.

Bow Tie Guy of the Week–The Amur Leopard

Amur Leopard (äˈmo͞or ˈlepərd)

The Amur Leopard is the most endangered large cat in the world. They live along the Amur river in northeastern Asia. A large part of this river forms the boundary between Russia and China. The Amur Leopard is largely at risk due to poaching for their fur.

There are only 57 known to live in the wild, placing it on the critically endangered list. The good news is this number has doubled since 2007 when there were only around 30 in the wild. 

From a personal artistic perspective, I found that I really struggled with drawing the cat. I am not satisfied with it and will need to do more studies of cats in general. 

For more information on the Amur Leopard you can visit World Wildlife Foundation Web site here. 

Restaurant Sketching

A quick sketch while waiting for a check at a restaurant. Julia and I took our youngest daughter to lunch as a celebration of her good grades this past grading period. I couldn't resist drawing the woman sitting across from us.

Sketching at VINS-Snowy Owl

A few weeks ago i visited the Vermont Institute of Natural Science to spend time studying the raptors they have rescued. It was a wonderful visit. You can see some other owls I sketched here. This is the Snowy Owl they rescued.

Sketching Horeses

Here are a few pages from my sketch book. I took an afternoon a few weeks ago to do some horse studies. 

Bow Tie Guy of the Week–Narwhal (IF Sharp)

Narwhal (ˈnärwəl)

The narwhal is a small whale that lives in the arctic. For many it is thought of as the unicorn of the sea. The horn is actually a twisted tusk that develops from one of its teeth. Only the male grows the tusk. Sometimes it can grow as long as ten feet. In a few instances two tusks are grown. 

This is the first of my endangered species bow tie guys. The World Wildlife Organization lists them as near threatened there are more than 80,000 in existence today. They are threatened by climate change, oil and gas development and ocean noise. If you want to find out more about this wonderful sea creature you can visit the World Wildlife Federation's website here. 

This is also submitted for Illustration Friday's word “sharp.”

The Letter P

Over the past few years I have been slowly working on an alphabet series. You can see D, Q, S, and W at the link provided. This is part of a series call “A is for Alliteration.”

The title for this is “A peculiar pair precariously placed within a pumpkin patch in a predicament of a plethora of pouring pineapples and pomegranates perilously pelting pretty, puny, purple and pink polka-dotted parasols.” I think the title says it all.

I will be working on the letter “B” for the next one. That should be completed before December as it will be exhibited in the faculty exhibit at Lyndon State College. The Subject of the exhibit is Blue.

This is also this weeks submission to Illustration Friday for the word of the week, “Danger.”

Sketching while camping

Last week I was able to be an adult leader at a boys camp with my oldest son. It was surprisingly rejuvenating. I realized some areas that I need to refocus on in my life. This is a sketch of one of the camp-sites at Camp Joseph. It is a wonderfully peaceful place to visit. The camp is owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and is located right next to the birth place of Joseph Smith.

I spent the week helping with a small group of youth ages 12-15. I helped split and stack wood for the camp and spent time drawing, studying, pondering, and playing games with the young men (among many other things).

Miss Lyndonville Diner

I sketched this a few week ago while I was at the Miss Lyndonville Diner. I was there with my oldest daughter for a breakfast date after her school year had ended. The food was great and the company was wonderful. I love drawing while I wait.

Woodstock Vermont

This is a small information shack found at the park in Woodstock, Vermont (a location I love to sketch at). Woodstock is a beautiful little village and has a wonderful small town feel to sketch. I try to go there often.

Weekly Bow Tie Guy

The Rabbit-Dragon (ˈrabit-ˈdragən)

This rare small reptilian rabbit can be found scurrying through the dense forests of Northern Europe, New England, and North Eastern Canada. It glides more than it flies and likes to live a solitary life.

This is the last of my rabbit series for a while. I want to move on to endangered species.

Fiddler on the Roof poster for The Vermont Children's Theater

I just finished the illustration for the Vermont Children's Theater production of Fiddler on the Roof. Creating it was a wonderful honor as this musical is on my top five musical list. I watched the movie again recently and was reminded how brilliant the show is. I love the  message of love, of approaching trials to long held traditions, of perseverance, and how traditions and faith are not necessarily the same. The show gives me hope.

My challenge initially was to try to come up with something different. Every poster has a fiddler on the roof. As I worked and consulted with the director, I realized the traditional approach was the best way to do it. I believe I put the fiddler more precariously positioned on the top of the roof than any other poster I I have seen though. It also captures the joy of life amidst the trials we go through.

The best part was while working on the illustration, I found myself humming the tunes to the songs.

Weekly Bow Tie Guy–Rhinorabbit

Rhinorabbit (ˈrīnōˈrabit)

This is currently the second to last of my rabbit series (there might be more if I come up with some other ideas).  While I was working on other types of rabbits this one just piped into my head. I thought it would be interesting to have the trust of a rabbit jump in connection with the power of a rhinoceros' horns.

Elephant Gestures

Here is a page of elephant gestures that I drew while at the Granby Zoo last week. As I mentioned in my last post I need to get to the point where I can remember what I am looking at and do more detailed studies. I am currently looking at Aaron Berchild's work for inspiration. I want to get closer to his observational skills. This will take time.

Sketching at The Granby Zoo in Granby, Canada

Yesterday, I took my my sketching class to The Granby Zoo in Canada. I love drawing at the zoo. The down side is for the first hour I was on a visual overload. There was so much I wanted to draw. I also realized, I need to get better at drawing animals from life. I did well with the gestures, but when it came to longer studies, I struggled with the movement of the animals and working form memory.

Here is one of my stronger sketches. (I added color digitally in class as part of a demonstration on how to take the sketches and add limited color.) The Japanese Macaques were holding still long enough for me to get a stronger drawing.

Sketching at VINs in Woodstock, VT

On Tuesday I took my animal sketching class to the Vermont Institute of Natural Science (VINS) to draw the birds. They have a bird refuge where they house aviary that cannot be released back into the wild because of injuries they have sustained. I highly recommend visiting. Not only is it a great place to draw, it is also a great place to support. They do wonderful work and the Birds are so majestic.

These are two of the Eastern Screech Owls they have. They were easier to draw because they held still for us.

Sketching Class (This is Not a Yak)

Yesterday, I started teaching my week long intensive sketching class. This summer we are focusing on animal studies. For the afternoon, I took the class to the Fairbanks Museum. This is a great place to start as it is a natural history museum with a large collection of taxidermy animals. Although, I was impressed with the classes work and had a wonderful time helping them I struggled with doing anything that I felt was good.

This is not a yak. I started the day really wanting to tackle the Yak, but every attempt left me frustrated. I never realized drawing a yak could be so difficult. By the end of the day I managed to have a few sketches of other animals I was pleased with. This bee-eater is one of them.

Even when you are not feeling good about drawing and struggling with it you need to push through until it works. Now I have the challenge of figuring out how to draw a yak.

Weekly Bow Tie Guy-More Rabbits

Uni-Rabbit (ˈyo͞onəˌˈrabit)

This is the next installment of my rabbit series. These will be appearing on series two of my business card collection and I will be printing them on greeting cards.

Most unicorn bunnies are the cute fluffy rabbit with a single horn. A gave this rabbit a more equestrian feel with its prancing, main, and beard. It has more of an elegance associated with the unicorn.

Sketches from Europe – Monterosso Part II

When I was in Europe this past February, I had some extra time in Moterosso, on of the Cinque Terre. I was able to do a second sketch. I love how the buildings are not standing straight. It is a nightmare for those that love linear perspective. I love to exaggerate the angles, so I am not as worried about it.

I hope that I will be able to eventually spend a few days in the Cinque Terre to do even more sketches. It is truly a beautiful location.

Bow Tie Guy of the Week-Wolpertinger

Wolpertinger (wōl pər tiNG ər)

A mythological winged rabbit with horns and fangs that inhabits the alpine forests of Bavaria in Germany. This is the third part of my rabbit series.

I work on these for a number of reasons. Yes, I log bow ties, but it is also a quick way for me to practice drawing different things and explore use of color. I also use these drawings as part of my personal brand. They appear on my business cards and on my correspondence with potential clients.

I also have many wonderful competing demands on my time. As much as I love to draw, my family, faith, and students, and others take precedence. working on these allows me to better dedicate the time I need to others and still draw on a regular basis. When I do have time to work on a more complete illustration I have not let my drawing skills slide because I am still drawing a little on a daily basis. This Bow Tie Guy project has been a great way to keep my drawing skills up.

Sketches From Europe – Lucerne

This one of my sketches from my second day in Lucerne, Switzerland this past February. On this day I practiced the art of drawing in cold weather. The temperature was dropping as the day progressed and I suffered through some minor painful moments trying to finish some of the sketches. It is hard to draw with gloves and my hands were getting painfully numb. That made for faster drawings.

Weekly Bow Tie Guy- Jackalope

Jackalope (jaklˌōp)

I just turned in my final grades and celebrated by doing some art work. This is the second of my series of rabbits. Here is to a summer of many illustration projects.

Sketches From Europe-Vernazza

We only had a brief moment to enjoy the beauty of the smallest of the village in the Cinque Terra this year. I am grateful it was enough time to get one sketch in.

May the Fourth Be With you Special Bow Tie Guy

Nuna (NOO-nah)

As it is a day were all things Star Wars are thought of I thought it would be fun to draw one of the more obscure awkward creatures from the movies. I am not sure if I will post anything when we move to the Dark Side of the Fifth tomorrow.

The Nuna is a two legged birdlike creature native to the swamps of Naboo from the Star Wars movies. They are also called swamp turkeys. You can find out more about them on the Wookiepedia.

Bow Tie Guy of the Week-It's Finally Spring

Rabbit (ˈrabit)

It's finally feeling like spring in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont. To celebrate, I am on a rabbit frenzy. I have been studying and drawing them for a few weeks. As such I will be posting different kinds of rabbits over the next few weeks.