INTO THE STREAM

It seems like forever since I had time to draw with so much other stuff going on, but this weekend I am back into the stream, working on personal projects and another bigger project I can't go much into now, but hope to soon.

Anyway one of the things I have been restless about is moving ahead with more personal art or comics away from the commercial needs to make a living. Though I still need to do that. Spending time out west this summer and looking at the art in many galleries has only reinforced this. So I am embarking on a journey and I don't know exactly where I'll end up with this stuff, but I am moving ahead, but I know it's something I have to do artistically, something that I feel is vital to my developemnet as an artist. last year I would comment to my students that I was a bit envious o them in regaurds to being able to do so much life drawing, something that my work schedule makes difficult at times, though I am committed to doing it, maybe taking a day class in Philly or just hiring a model. Drawing the figure well is the root of the tree, and the better you draw it the better all other aspects of you art will be.

The sketch above was done in about an hour or so? while my TV was paused. I was just working on it till I was happy and I was basically using my ON DEMAN cable and my big screen TV as a way to use a model. I've drawn from the TV many times before, doing quick doodles. I can record on my DVR like TIVO, so I have been getting into Gunsmoke, the old TV show because it had great lighting. So many old TV shows, especially B/W ones were light so well because many of the old hollywood craftsmen were moving into TV back in the 50's and 60's, bringing their sense of craft from the movies.

It's sort of funny because I watched a few episodes of Gunsmoke ( which I hated as a kid) on night as a lark after I had watched a Spaghetti westen one day on the Western Channel. I was struck by how well it was lit and how many great cool old character actors they had...I wanted to start drawing right then and there. So what I did was "record' a bunch of shows with the aim of searching through and using cool shots to sketc from. TV does tend to flatten things a bit, and it's not like using you eyes to see 3D from a life modle, but the shows being in B/W and lit so well it was a sort of cheap way to use a model. I will continue to 'sketch ' from the shows. the cool old character actors, are something you don't see much in modern films, Steve Buscemi sort being one of the only throwbacks working today.

When I ate lunch yesterday after dropping off stuff at my accoutant it was a really unstaisfying eating experience. I had movies to return and the movie place is in a mall that has a used book store, a super market, a Staples and the Manoa Diner. I was starving so I decided to eat first shop later. Well let me tell you friends, this place was something out of the Twilight zone. Besides myself there we only 2 other people eating under 70 in the place. it was like the Planet of Old people, and what frigg'n weird old people they were! It was like Dan Clowes and Robert Crumb had made a diner in the twilight zone!

I snapped some pics with my handy cel phone and I think the result of this terrible meal the strange conversations and the weirdo's are going to be put into a comic.

Stay tuned