[Sketch #19 - Reflections on the Door of Yahweh]

This is not a double exposure, just a simple photograph taken in a double glass door down at Bonaventure with my crappy little Cannon Powershot. I decided to go for a long walk in the cemetery since it's right down the road. I see why it's a huge tourist attraction now. Lots of history and holy crow, the place goes on forever. I thought I was going to get lost walking around, so I went back for my car. The view of the marsh from the bluff at the end of the burial sites is amazing. Lots of Snowy Egrets down in the river. I also took some pictures with my Yashica but I'm going to have to wait until I can get space for a dark room to develop them.

Here's a wider view of the door, just in case y'all don't believe me.


More to come.

"Oh my God, you think I'm in control
Oh my God, you think it's all for fun
Is this fun for you?" - Ida Maria (Oh My God)

[Sketch #18 - Twisting the Tapestry]

The Moirae are the fates in greek mythology. Even Zeus knew better to f**k with the fates. These lovely ladies aren't necessarily part of a new story, but rather just a series of thoughts that I had on what my version of the fates would look like, how they would be styled. I think there will be more sketches of them in the future. They kind of have a connection to a story I'm writing that's based in present times, but only very loosely. I think you can tell that I sketched Clotho first and kind of spent less time on Lachesis and even less on Atropos. But I like them all. I have some really cool ideas for Atropos. They're popping up in my kraft sketchbook, so hopefully I'll have more to post soon.

Went to a Yeasayer concert on Sunday that was amazing. I think I'm in love with all three main members, but especially Ira. :3

It's going to be a busy week, but I officially love October. So many good things to look forward too. Its a good time to get my head back in the game. If anyone wants to join me, feel free to dive in.

More to come.

"If you find me, I'll be sitting by the water fountain
Picket signs, let downs, meltdown it's Monday morning
But it's alright, it's alright, it's alright, it's alright
It's alright
Cause in no time they'll be gone, I guess I'll be standing here." - Yeasayer (2080)

[Sketch #17 - Back In The Saddle]

People always say when life throws your ass off the horse, you just have to brush yourself off and get right back on. In Zombieland, Woody Harrelson coins the phrase, "Nut up or shut up."

I feel like I've been dragging my feet for weeks, but now, I'm ready to get some shit into gear. This is especially true considering the nice new studio I have to work in, the readily available supplies from my job at Primary, the inspiration of living in a beautiful place and the excitement of meeting new people and expanding my horizons. So to get my unmotivated ass motivated again, I've signed myself up for the Art House Co-op's Sketchbook Project. If you haven't heard of this pretty kick-ass sketchbook tour, you can find info here.



When my moleskin came, it looked like this. Bland and unimpressive. Not the vibe I want to give off, suffice it to say. So now, Mr. sketchbook has a bolder look:



Not only did I spruce up the cover, but I removed the pages and interspersed them with a variety of papers. The inside inscription simply says, "There will always be stories to tell, so long as there are people to tell them." The outside spine is also marked with "The Sketched Chronicles", though I need to fix the binding slightly. Bookbinder, I am not. But I think I did pretty decently for a first try. My theme is 'the greatest story ever told'... so we'll see what happens.

Working on some posters for downtown Savannah and some watercolor paintings for shits and giggles. Also writing a lot, and damn does it feel good.

So more to come, kids.

"Here's to living long enough to be
forgiven for the bones I broke...
I had to make a living!
But we won't back down from anything
in search of a remedy." - Miike Snow (In Search Of)

[Sketch #16 - The Stuff of My Dreams is Probably Your Nightmare]

So, a few weeks ago, I had the most amazing, bizarre, wonderful dream. Many people may think I'm making this up, but believe me when I say, I totally experienced this... in my head.

I was a vampire (ew in general, but they're everywhere now, right?) and I lived in this huge ass mansion with a coven who believed we should 'hunt' and dispatch of people in the same manner as the great Dexter Morgan. In other words, we would sneak up on our victims, tranquilize them, drain them of blood, and cut them up into little pieces. My coven was at war with a rival coven who collected animals (kind of kept this weird zoo, right?) and killed people outright instead of 'humanely'. They had also recently stolen a castle from us... Well, while the rest of my coven was out fighting these other vampires, I was left behind, being a younger vamp myself. How did I fill my time you ask? Why playing hide and seek with our Guardian Zombie Giraffe. :D


That's right. Zombie Giraffe. Totally awesome, and you know you wish you could have one too. Our awesome pet came with interchangeable heads! He was a big sweetie too... Is it weird for me to say I miss him? There was more to the dream, Maggie (my dog) got taken away to be put in our rivals weird ass zoo and I had to go save her (choke out a few vampire bi*ches in the process), but Mr. Giraffe stuck with me the clearest. I've been meaning to draw him for some time now and I finally got around to it at work of all places. So there you go. Bet you never thought you'd see the day. I might have to incorporate this into a story at some point. My brother seems to think it would make an awesome kids show, which I question.

Need to get more art done. Working on it.

More to come.

"Like stars burning holes right through the dark
Flicking fire like saltwater into my eyes
You were one inch from the edge of this bed
I dragged you back a sleepyhead, sleepyhead. "
- Passion Pit (Sleepyhead)

[Sketch #15 - '81]

"I found a little plot of land,
In the garden of Eden.
It was dirt and dirt is all the same.
I tilled it with my two hands,
And I called it my very own;
There was no-one to dispute my claim.

Well, you'd be shocked
At the state of things-
The whole place has just cleared right out.
It was hotter than Hell,
So I laid me by a spring, for a spell,
As naked as a trout.

The wandering eye that I have caught
Is as hot as a wandering sun.
But I will want for nothing more,
In my garden;
Start again,
In my hardening to every heart but one.

Meet me in the garden of Eden,
Bring a friend.
We are going to have ourselves a time.
We are going to have a garden party.
It's on me!
No, sirree, it's my dime.

We broke our hearts
In the war between,
St. George and the dragon,
But both in equal parts
Are welcome to come along.
I'm inviting everyone.

Farewell to loves that I have known.
Even muddiest waters run.
Tell me, what is meant by sin or none
In a garden seceded
From the Union in the year of A.D. 1?

The unending amends you've made,
Are enough for one life,
Be done.
I believe in innocence, little darlin',
Start again.
I believe in everyone.
I believe, regardless,
I believe in everyone."
-Joanna Newsom ('81)

[Sketch #14 - The Vampire Hunter and the Fashionesta]

Finally got the designs done for Ryan Besiani and Jacqueline Desmarais, two of Clarity's best friends in Devour Them. Ryan is from Albania, has a very thick accent and a very bad attitude. Couple that with the fact she's incredibly attractive, and much shorter than either Clair, or Jackie, and you get a really fun person to play with in the story line. Jacqueline is French/African, a SCAD graduate, model, and in love with anything trendy or cute. It's a sketch, they still need tweaking, but I really, really like these two a lot >_< <3

So this is my post for the day. I don't feel like rambling. I'm actually sitting at work at the moment so I should probably do something... more work related. But hey, I posted something, yay productivity!

More to come.

"On the back of a motorbike
With your arms outstretched trying to take flight
Leaving everything behind
But even at our swiftest speed
We couldn't break from the concrete
In the city where we still reside."
-Death Cab for Cutie (Brothers on a Hotel Bed)

[Sketch #13 - Poseidon Progress]

It's been a while since I've posted (again) and I figured the perfect come back piece would be to post the progress of the painting I was working on last time. I've decided to go ahead with my plans to make it into a series about the Greek Gods, reversing their genders. This is going to be Poseidon. It's still not really close to being finished, but working on it has been relaxing and insightful. I think this picture is much better than the last one, but I do really want to get a larger scanner for these things...

Work is starting to pick up, which is a double-edged sword. I won't be able to work on art as much as people start opening their pools for the season, but maybe I can start making some nice commission sales. Need to get a paypal account and start submitting to 99designs as well. Hopefully, I can get my ass in gear soon. I've been writing more and drawing less for Devour Them, and I want to switch that trend. Also if you couldn't tell, my thoughts are wandering pretty much beyond the point of cohesion lately ._. So forgive me for the rambling.

Been watching a lot of Dexter. Expect to see the impact it's having on me in my work. I already have a piece in mind. Should be interesting.

More to come.

"You say I'm foolish
For pushing this aside
But burn down our home
I won't leave alive."
-The XX (Crystallized)

[Sketch #12 - Watercolor Test]

It's been a while since I've posted anything, so I decided to post more "in progress" pieces. Taking a brief hiatus on Devour Them to work more on a painting I started a month ago. I'm going to try and finish this sometime before I go back to work next Tuesday. Initially this piece was just another 'test' inspired by the Bezentine heads of Alphonse Mucha. But, like many of the things I start working on, it's developing a life of it's own. I'm considering doing a series of these pieces now. I love water color, but I work really slowly with the medium, and I'm always worried I'll over work some areas and under work others. Won't know if I don't keep at it eh?

Taking a short vacation has been refreshing, but I feel like I'm not getting as much artwork done as I wanted. I blame my desire to read (next on the list being Pride and Prejudice And Zombies)... and play video games >_<. It's good to relax though.

More to come.

"Sea and the rock below
Cocked to the undertow
Bones, blood, and teeth erode, with every crashing node.
Wings wouldn't help you
Wings wouldn't help you... down
Down fills the ground, gravity's proud."
-Bon Iver feat. St. Vincent (Roslyn)

[Sketch #11 - Clarity Color Test In Progress]

A couple of weeks ago, I picked up an art book featuring the works of Alphonse Mucha. I've always really liked his style of illustration, the intricately detailed backgrounds, the flowing fabric, the voluptuous female figures with their heavy black outlines, etc. So I decided to do an experiment of sorts with Clarity and draw a picture inspired by that style, but still keeping it my own. This is the result... in progress.

There are issues, like her left hand being way too effing big, and she looks very young in my opinion (granted she's only 21), but still I'm having a good time working on this. I'm dubbing it a color test because I wanted to do a more definite version of Clair's color scheme and this is my vehicle for that idea. While I've been working on this, I've also been working on a pastel drawing of the circulatory system. It's a close up of the heart and major arteries in particular. I think I'm going to lay the ribcage over top, but I'm going to photograph the first stage, because something about the way veins branch out reminds me of tree limbs and roots. It's been very calming to work on. It's also a bigger piece than I've done for a while, 24"x18".

A lot of things have come up lately and I find I stay the most positive when I continue working. Art is really starting to see me through again. And although I never made any new years resolutions this year, I think I've decided that the only resolution I need is this.

"See it through."

More to come.

"I'm working on drawing a straight line
And I'll draw until I get one right
It's bold and dark, girl, can't you see?
I done drawn a line between you and me."
-Frightened Rabbit (My Backwards Walk)

[Sketch #10 - The Woman with the Skull]

Okay, I lied about the next post being Devour Them related. This is a sketch I'm working on for my deviant ID (Also Dangerous-Roots for those curious, although there's nothing posted there... yet). It's still a work in progress but I'm pretty happy with how it's going so far. I'm contemplating doing this one in watercolor. I hesitate calling this a self-portrait as it doesn't really look anything like me, other than the fact my hair is getting ridiculously long, and is now about halfway back to my natural auburn instead of black. For those not aware, I'm in love with the TV series, Bones, and recently when I'm not working on comic stuff I draw a lot of skeletal things. The bird skull two posts ago was a great blue heron. A friend of mine renovating a house downtown also found two large mammal skeletons (probably raccoon or opossum) in her attic I should be receiving soon. It's healthy to be excited about that, right?

More to come.

"I've crossed the last line
From where I can't return
Where ever step I took in faith,
Betrayed me."
-Sarah McLachlan (Sweet Surrender)

[Sketch #9 - Ink]

I quite literally just did this sketch about fifteen minutes ago, but I felt I had to put it up. Earlier tonight, I watched an independent film released last year called "Ink". I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. I came across the movie while randomly browsing through netflix and decided to give it a shot. The story was creative and interesting and the characters were all very unique. Jacob (the sketch above doesn't do his coolness justice) is a Pathfinder who helps a group of dream-giving Storytellers find a way to save a little girl's soul from an eternity of nightmares. He's loud, he doesn't make sense half the time, and yet, he's a freakin' genius. I also really want to sketch Allel, who was equally bad ass. The bad guys (Incubi) were efficiently creepy, the fights were fun to watch, and the cinematography of the film was just pretty in general. So if you haven't seen it, I encourage you to. I'm listening to the soundtrack right now.

I've decided to try a few new things with the blog including changing layout colors and whatnot.
Next post should again be devoted to Devour Them, which I still slave over on a daily basis. However, I'm going to try to completely randomize my postings as I really want to get my Portfolio revamped. I started applying for jobs down Savannah way and I want to have all my ducks in a row... as it were. ;x

More to come.


"There's a darkness upon me that's flooded in light
In the fine print they tell me what's wrong and what's right
And it comes in black and it comes in white
And I'm frightened by those who don't see it..."
-The Avett Brothers (Head Full of Doubt, Road Full of Promise)

[Sketch #8 - Devour Them]

"So this is the new year and I don't feel any different." This is a quote Death Cab's Ben Gibbard uses in a song that I traditionally listen to every 1st of January. Although I will undoubtedly repeat said tradition when I get into my car today, I can't say that quote is true for me this year. There are a lot of things I'm very hopeful for and as I said back in a fall post, I welcome the changes 2010 will bring into my life. There's a lot to do, but I'm really excited about doing it. Excited for meeting new people, going new places, and in many respects reinventing myself. This I especially hope to accomplish through my art. Last week, I posted a preview for one of the characters in my new comic, Devour Them. This week, I give you a preview of page zero for issue one:

"Swift as a shadow, short as any dream;
Brief as the lightning in the collied night,
That in a spleen unfolds both Heaven and Earth,
And ere a man hath power to say, "Behold!"
The jaws of darkness do devour it up:
So quick bright things come to confusion."
-William Shakespeare (A Midsummer Night's Dream act i scene 1)

Lately, I have become enthralled with William Shakespeare. We all recognize him as a playwright and poet that we are all but forced to read in Middle School and High School, but very few people delve deeper into the man or the stories. Currently I'm enjoying reading through Twelfth Night, and just picked up a box set of twelve more of his plays through Amazon.com. I'm most excited about reading The Tempest, his final play. I'm using the above quote to open up Devour Them not only because I am a fan of Shakespeare, but because I find it has a deep resonating tone to my story.

This page was fun to work on despite it's simplicity. I haven't had a lot of opportunity yet to play around with screen toning in Photoshop, so this was mostly experimentation. I'm really looking forward to working rest of the comic which will be much more complex. I'm sure I'll be posting more as I go along, including more character sketches, environments, and whatnot.

For now, I'm off to watch Land of the Lost and District 9... and sketch more :)

More to come in 2010!