Sad Boy

Sad Boy

 Some days we have more than we can take.  Some days we are elated.  That is life.  So today is Sad Boy’s turn.  Some of the yellow from the background got onto my brush and onto the lower lip of Sad Boy.  I left it as perhaps it was suppose to be.

Grandpa Lost His Teeth

Grandpa Lost His Teeth

 When I was a kid I had a great uncle who drove a Studebaker.  Uncle Cliff would come for visits frequently and I loved the time he spent with my family.  Uncle Cliff had false teeth and would put those teeth in a glass of water during the night.  The above Grandpa reminds me of Uncle Cliff.  I kind of wonder if he ever forgot where he put his teeth sometimes.  I do remember something said about those teeth ending up in his bed.  I don’t remember the details though.

Paris Waiters' Race - 04

Paris Waiters' Race - 04

 

I do like how the highlighter worked with the silhouettes of several of the Parisian monuments.  Maybe I have struck on something for other pieces. :-)

Waiter's Race video

Paris Waiters' Race - 03

 

Paris Waiters' Race - 03

This waiter was not actually running in the race with the others.  His daily regime at work was his race exhausting him each night.  He kept it up until he retired at age 67.

Paris Waiters' Race - 02

Paris Waiters' Race - 02

 Since the theme is Paris and the Waiters’ Race I had to have the Eiffel Tower in one of the spreads.  However, I did not want to have to cut out all the grid work on the tower.  A handy-dandy highlighter was perfect for the job making the Tower vibrant.

Paris Waiters' Race - 01

Paris Waiters' Race - 01

One day in the 60-Minute Paris workshop that I have been taking we were introduced to the Paris Waiters’ Race.  The day’s “lesson” was more informational than actually designed for us to create something.  I was inspired to create a mini journal though.  All of my background ephemera or first layer papers are ones that I designed as “ugly”  papers in yet another workshop.  I scanned it and then I did some iColorama magic on it.

Moulin Rouge Drag Queen

 

Moulin Rouge Drag Queen

In the 60 Minute - Paris workshop that I have been taking the Moulin Rouge was our emphasis.  We were asked to make a poster.  Most people did a Can-Can dancer.  I decided on an aging Moulin drag queen getting ready to perform.

One-Eyed Jack

One-Eyed Jack

I had so much fun with One-Eyed Jack.  He has personality plus.  I wonder how he lost his eye.  Was he in a brawl?  He kind of looks like he might be a cowboy so perhaps he was in a shoot out?  Who knows? :-) 

Twins Separated at Birth and Dr. Fauci

Twins Separated at Birth

Dr. Fauci

This was an early on portrait.  If you squint your eyes you might see Dr. Fauci in the second one! :-)  Sorry Dr. Fauci! :-)

Stop in the Name of Love, the Fashionista

Stop in the Name of Love, the Fashionista

Here is another Exquisite Corpse using my Fashionista guy.  He is dancing to Stop in the Name of Love.  I really like the large hand disproportionate to the rest of the body.  I love how his body is in movement.

Dancing with Mona

Dancing with Mona

 I have not done an Exquisite Corpse in a long time.  For anyone who does not know about Exquisite Corpse it is where one does separate heads, torsos, and lower bodies and then puts them together as one.  The head is Melvin.  You remember him from an earlier post.  Melvin is in love with Mona Lisa and visits her daily at the Louvre.  Melvin is rockin’ to a rock and roll version of Mona Lisa.....  https://youtu.be/AIRx9MPBJEc

Raymond, the Fashionista

Raymond, the Fashionista

Raymond loves clothes.  A huge portion of his monthly income is spent shopping online now because of the pandemic.  Poor Raymond has nowhere to wear the clothes he buys, not yet anyway.  However, he does look good on his Zoom calls! :-) 

All My Hopes and The Soccer Player

All My Hopes

The Soccer Player

I used the same portrait but did different things to it in Photoshop.  The funny thing about the soccer player is that I called him el Said and there actually is a soccer player in Egypt called el Said and mine looks a lot like my portrait.  I did not know that until after I had completed it.  Now that is weird.

Cross the Line

Cross the Line

 I took a Lewis Rossingol workshop earlier this year.  It was so much fun and inspirational for me.  It is how I got started on doing portraits.  Some of what Lewis instructs is how he uses text in his pieces.  You can easily find his work on Pinterest and you will instantly know his style.  Who knows how ideas just pop in the old brain but ‘crossing the line’ did for me.  The piece above is what evolved.

Gate

Gate

 

I think Gate must be a gardener or at least works outside.  His jacket reminds of those yellow slicker rain jackets.  Maybe he is a fisherman but I think more likely he works on an English estate keeping the garden beds in shape and minding the hedges.

Melvin

Melvin

 I am taking an online workshop called 60-minutes with a theme about Paris.  Each day a new prompt or activity is added.  Some of the activities have revolved around Lauduree, the Waiters’ Race, Idioms, Mona Lisa, to name just a few.  This piece I call Melvin and  as you know me  I love a narrative.  Melvin visits the Louvre daily so he can gaze upon his true love Mona Lisa.  We had to incorporate Mona somehow in our piece so Melvin is wearing his Mona Lisa t-shirt.  I like the child like look of this portrait.  I also like the fact that Melvin looks to be an older gentleman.

Momma

 

Momma

Doesn’t she remind you of Aunt Bee on The Andy Griffith Show?  Maybe you have never seen the show.  I grew up watching it.  Momma just reminds me of cinnamon rolls and other warm smells coming from the kitchen made by this grandmotherly woman.

Priority - BLM

Priority- BLM

 I suppose there are many people who just do not get discrimination because they have never been discriminated against.  Let me tell you it hurts.  I know, I have experienced it.  I am not black but being gay one is bullied a lot growing up.  It does not stop when you are a grown up.  It may lessen but that does not mean it has gone away.  So I totally understand when a person of color who is discriminated against says they were.  I believe them.  The news has covered racism quite a bit and we have leaders who are saying things that are ridiculous.  One senator from Wisconsin is being a total bigot and racist.  The sad thing is that they are getting support financially for the racist things that are saying.  And do not get me started on Marjorie Green.  So yes like the sticker says,  Accepting differences is and should be a PRIORITY!

Transgender/Grease Monkey

I started with the first drawing and then I downloaded that portrait into PhotoShop.  The second and third are the two results of that magic.  The last image is the one I selected for the postcard which has the addition of a couple of other mixed media techniques.

The Boxer

The Boxer

 I have never understood boxing.  I do not understand any kind of fighting.  The distortion of this man’s face represents my concern for what some people call sport.  How can that be a sport when one is hurting someone else?

Mixed Race

 

Mixed Race

Last month I signed up for a Lewis Rossingol workshop through CarlaSonheim.com.  It turned out to be one of the best online workshops I have ever taken.  I have done a few portraits in my life but taking this class inspired me to do more and more and more of them.  I will be sharing many of these portraits on this blog.  Remember I share the best of what I do with the not so good.  It is just what I am producing and learning to do better.

Using my style and my love for making postcards I created this one.  It is not perfect and I have learned a lot more in one month than I ever thought I would learn but boy am I having fun.  The one I did today will be shown in the future.  I just want to explain that I am trying to do a portrait a day and just have fun but also increase my skill level.

Indigo III

Indigo III

 This is the last of the indigo three.  To be the vertical stripes resemble bamboo and how appropriate is that with the two images.  The leafy images are some paper I got an Asian food store.  Seems to go with the indigo quite well.

Indigo II

 

Indigo II

The background paper was made during a workshop I took at the Sitka Art Center near Lincoln City, OR a few years ago.  The technique was folded rice paper dipped in indigo dye.  I found the images of the two people on some vintage wallpaper.  I dropped alcohol ink to give them the indigo color.

Indigo I

 

Indigo I

Over the past few months I have shared several postcards that I have sent to members of the Belltown Bookies.  The exchange is winding down and I have three cards that members indicated Indigo as their color of choice.  Indigo I is the first of the three.

March 2021 APCs

March 2021 APCs

 These are my artist playing cards for March.  The playing cards were found in a shop in Chinatown in San Francisco.  They have red and black dots.  I have not idea what card game they are but I liked the dots and the cards came in handy for the APCs.

Sedona

Sedona

 I am in a round robin with six others in the NW Collage Society.  I received a journal from Jan Clem and she had a travel theme with a car in her spread. So I decided to do a similar theme using Sedona.  It reminded me of road trips across the country as a kid.  I remember one trip through Arizona in the summer.  It was hotter than Hell and we had no air conditioning.  My mother had a container of ice water for her feet to try and keep cool.  Hence, the idea of driving through Sedona came to mind.

Zine February 2021 Times 2

First Zine - February 2021

Cover (front)

Cover (back)

 

Pages 2 and 3

Pages 4 and 5

Pages 6 and 7

Second Zine - February 2021

Cover (front)

Cover (back)

Pages 2 and 3

Pages 4 and 5

Pages 6 and 7

Several members of the Creative Gents are making Zines to share with the other members of the group.  It is not a requirement but I must say it is lots of fun.  Thanks Terry Garrett for starting us on this project.

Video of the Zine....

Three Pheasants and a Cow 04

Three Pheasants and a Cow 04

 Here we are at the end of the little mini journal.  Four spreads makes a nice little book.  I have a video of this mini but I have to email it to myself and download it from my desktop computer.  So I will do that in the morning and add it below.  I like the title of this book. ......sounds like it could be a children’s book.  You know me, always about the narrative. :-)

Video of Three Pheasants and a Cow.....

Three Pheasants and a Cow 03

Three Pheasants and a Cow 03

 When I was a kid and lived on a farm I use to see pheasants all the time.  I do love their distinctive squawk.  I have visited the English countryside many times and there are abundant pheasants everywhere.  Alas they do not seem to like urban life and I miss their sound and beautiful plumage.

Three Pheasants and a Cow 02

 

Three Pheasants and a Cow 02

Perhaps the pheasants squawk is disturbing to this cow.  She looks startled by something or at least she looks surprised.  It must be the sound of the pheasants which is so distinct.

Three Pheasants and a Cow 01

 

Three Pheasants and a Cow 01

Just as the title of this mini journal suggests there are three pheasants and a cow gracing the spreads in this  little book.  I used some graffiti in the background of each of the works.  I like the vibrancy of each.