Cubist Comix

The Passage of Time

This image of singer Sade dates from the mid 90s and was intended to be the first in a series of portraits of beautiful and intriguing women all bound together in one sketchbook. For some reason I never got around to doing any others but now that I've found this it makes me want to renew my goal. The challenge in doing this piece was to do something loose while still maintaining the essence of the source material. Despite the date of this piece, I consider it to be a success and one of my better works from the time period. Pen and ink and watercolor in Aquabee.

Kate Bush

I first discovered Kate Bush in 1985 when I first heard the brilliant "Running Up That Hill," from her masterpiece, Hounds of Love. Right from the start there was something intriguing about her music, something different. It was unlike anything I had ever heard before. The more I listened the more I became addicted to what I heard. She really was a breath of fresh air for me at the time. Although her output has slowed down greatly in the past decade she still remains an exceptional artist.
One day, not long after I had completed this drawing, I was at a local copy shop making copies of pages from my, then current, sketchbook when I was approached by a woman who was enchanted with my portrait of Kate. "Oh my goodness, that's beautiful! Did you do that?," she asked. I told her that, yes, the drawing was indeed by me. She told me that she wanted to buy it and I replied that I don't normally tear pages from my sketchbooks to sell. She then asked me if I would consider doing a copy for her. At that point she pulled out her business card and told me that she worked for the local art museum and that she would love to add my drawing to her personal collection. I agreed to do the drawing for her and said that I would call her when it was done. A few days later I called her and told her that I had her drawing and how much my fee would be. She told me that she would have to talk to her husband first and that she would get back to me. That was about 15 years ago! Unfortunately this is something that happens way too often; people want art but have no clue about what it takes to make it. There's a prevalent Wal Mart  mentality that afflicts people nowadays. They think everything is on sale. It's sort of pathetic that this woman, who worked for an art museum, was still clueless about art. Pen and ink in Aquabee

Jean-Michel Basquiat

I was looking through some of my past sketchbooks and found this portrait of actor Jeffery Wright as Neo-expressionist painter Jean-Michel Baquiat from the 1996 film "Basquiat," directed by Julian Schnabel. I had never heard of Basquiat before seeing this film but, nonetheless, I could relate to his struggles as an artist. I can't remember exactly where I found the picture that my drawing is based on but when I saw it, it leapt right of the page at me. I still think that it's a really cool photograph. Brush and ink in Aquabee.

The Nightmare

A sketchbook can serve many different purposes, from doing figure studies or roughs for a project to annotating your daily activities, In this case it was none of those things but instead a horrific nightmare that I experienced in August of this year. I remember that a weird, anthropomorphic being was pursuing me relentlessly where ever I went. I couldn't run fast enough or hide well enough. I really thought that it was never going to end but luckily it did. As soon as I got up I began recalling my nightmarish vision in my Moleskine. This drawing contains something of what I experienced during those early morning hours. Micron pen in Moleskine

Laetitia

This drawing is based on a post card that I found in Piccadilly Circus in London. I'm a sucker when it comes to photos of beautiful women and Laetitia is certainly striking. I had just a day left before I was going to leave to come back to the US and wanted to start this drawing, so that night I hurriedly sketched it in my sketchbook. The drawing stayed in my sketchbook for at least a couple of months before I got back to it. Pen and ink on Bristol board.

Still Life?

This ceramic cab belonged to an old roommate of mine and was made to be drawn. I actually didn't do the drawing until quite a bit after I had first seen this. As with anything that tempts you to draw it, you always have it in the back of your mind and every time you see it the desire to draw it grows and grows until you say, "That's it, I have to do this!" The term still life is sometimes a bit misleading, there are some things that have a character all their own despite being inanimate objects. This also goes for my prior post. Still life? Hmm, I'm not too sure about that. Pen and ink in Aquabee.

Brushing it All Away

This glass decanter was given to me by my maternal grandfather circa 1971. One day as I sat in my studio I felt that it needed a place in my sketchbook and so I decided to draw it. At first I wanted to render it in pen and ink but something told me that a brush would be more suitable for the task. I'm glad that I decided to follow my gut instinct because I'm very happy with the results. Despite this appearing to be a finished piece I consider it to be a rough for a larger version. Brush and ink in Aquabee. 

On The Road

Drawn on a recent trip to Southern California. I always carry a sketchbook with me where ever I go. On this day I had my trusty Moleskine with me along with a few Micron pens. The woman in the upper left hand corner was drawn at a Jack In The Box near Bakersfield. I only had a few moments to get the drawing down in my Moleskine before she got up and left. Unfortunately, this happens far too often when drawing in public places... sigh. The woman at the bottom was drawn whil eating at Denny's. This time I was luckier, my subject sat for quite a while chatting with her friends thus allowing me to get a good look at her. I had been up for about 21 hours at the time I did this. What can I say, I still want to draw even when I'm dead tired. Micron pen in Moleskine.

Stress Death

The cover of a sketchbook from 2000.I had this idea in mind for years before I ever worked it out into a finished image. My idea was to show the connection between the stressed out life style many people lead nowadays and the ultimate consequence, death. I first had this idea in the late 80's when I was still in art school but now, 20 years later, it is still very relevant. Perhaps even more so then when I first had the idea. My technique reflects the influence of Moebius and Philippe Druillet, two artists whose work I greatly admire and respect. Pen and ink and liquid acrylic in Aquabee.

A Magical World View

This is an idea for a story that I would like to work on at some point in the near future. This design is one of 4 different ideas for the splash page of the story. Of the 4 I think that this is the strongest one. The story is based on the work of Carlos Castaneda, who in the late 60s became famous for his book The Teachings of Don Juan: A Yaqui Way of Knowledge. In the book he writes about befriending a Yaqui shaman named don Juan and his incredible experience of learning about a different cognitive system through the use of peyote and other plants used by the Indians. Through sheer coincidence it turns out that many people whose work I follow, director Alejandro Jodorowsky, French comics artist Jean Giraud and neuroscientist Dr. Jacobo Grindberg Zylberbaum,  also have an interest in the magical world view that Castaneda writes about in his books. Some of them have even had encounters with Castaneda himself or with associates of his such as Barbara Guerrero, the curandera known as Doña Pachita. The stories and experiences that bind these people are fascinating and worth investigating. For now this is just an idea. An idea that I hope to fully develop sometime soon.