Nothing to cheer about

As it is my self-given obligation, I am doing my daily sketch blog! As you might have guessed from that last sentence, I have very little to share today. I worked on some comics and did precious little sketching. (These Tiffany's are from a few days ago.)

On the plus side, things should be picking up soon! I have lots of painting projects in the queue and they shall provide much blog fodder. For today, FOOTBALL AND VIDEO GAMES! Woo, laziness!

Snow day!

Winchester got 5 inches of pretty today, and it certainly brought out the kid in me. Snow day = day off, right? A day off from what? My job? Hey, being unemployed makes every day like a snow day!

Today was meant for comic grinding, but I took a day off from that as well. I got one comic done, and it was a STRUGGLE. I am really struggling to ink right now, and I think it's my nibs. I can't find one with the correct feel - even though they're all supposed to be identical. I have one more strip ready for inking tonight. Maybe I'll play with nibs and see if I can find one that doesn't suck. The night *is* still young. Maybe I can get some lettering and drawing done too. After all, now that the sun has set the pretty is no longer distracting.

Feasting and fire, a winning combination

Here's the first sketch for another commission: Tiffany celebrating the feast of St. Lucia! All I know about it at this point is that fire and food are involved, which is promising. Little girls wear candles on their heads and serve foodamajigs for some reason. (I have not done my research yet.)

This painting is going to be a challenge. Lots of little lines and details are needed, and I won't be able to fit the full form into the canvas space. I'll have to focus on a waist-up look, I guess. Won't know until I try it!

I'm a miracle worker!

I've started work on a new commission! I'm making a portrait of someone's mother, with full permission to get as stylistically crazy as I want!

There's just one problem: The source image is itty bitty, under-lit and out of focus. IT IS TIME TO WORK MIRACLES, PEOPLE! I scanned the photo, blew it up in photoshop, sharpened, contrasted and printed the result - reversed for style points! I then threw the image on the light table and began drawing on the back. The result is what you see here. NOW I have a decent image from which to start painting! Ta-dah!

It's all over, people!

After much delaying I have finally completed my latest sketchbook. I made that sucker last weeks longer than it should have due to drawing elsewhere, being judicious with my scribbles and flat out avoidance behavior. What can I say? I'm too lazy and cheap to go buy a replacement! The only reason I finished now is because I found an old sketchbook with lots of space. If I play this right, I won't have to leave my house for weeks!

Oh, and I'm blogging from my iPhone purely because I can. My perfectly fine computer is right beside me!

All I wanna do is paint!

Not much progress to show on the painting today, but that's because of all those other obligations that make up ones life. There's so much I need to do! Most important right now is making sure Precocious has a strip ready for Thursday. Gah, I don't want to make comics today. I wanna paint! Result: Not doing either due to whininess. Brilliant!

Oh well, can't fight it any longer. Tonight is the tedious act of lettering on a week of strip and the start of some drawing. Tomorrow I will ink and finalize what I need, as I have no choice! I'm back to no buffer! How could I? Nooooooooo!

The series continues

Wow, what a blah day this turned out to be. There is only one solution for the blahs: PAINTING! So here we have the sketch of the next painting in what I am currently calling my "little anxieties" series, as all are based upon whatever was nagging at me during production. So far I've covered wanderlust, dental pain and not getting enough attention. This one? So far it's frustration with productivity. I'm moving and a fine pace, but I always want to do more! This painting purge is meant to help me enjoy the process and stop worrying so much about the future. I should have fun playing with this!

Edit: Here are the finished paintings on display. It makes me happy to show 'em off!

Painting at the speed of snail

I'm entering the home stretch with the latest painting - after much much delay in production. Hey, I've been doing comics! It's not like I'm being lazy!

This one took a while because it fell into the typical painting trap. Great paint sketches are tough to turn into great paintings, while lackluster sketches make one want to improve! This one isn't going down as one of my best, but I think it'll come out solid. When combined with the others this size, I should have a beautiful show ready for a gallery near you!

When those other paintings are finished, that is. This is painting #3, and I have 5 canvasses to go. I need to paint FASTER!

As I progress, I do get excited on having a new series to show off. Imagine two walls of four, with a the rest of a gallery peppered with bite-sized paintings and my massive four-footers! Now if only this economy was doing better... Eh, by the time I get this series finished, there's a chance the art world will be welcoming again!

Family is exhausting!

I'm finally back home after extended Thanksgiving festivities. Status: TIRED! Combine a Thanksgiving which had me up until 3am chatting with the cousins and two early mornings in a row, you get a Chrispy in need of a good, old-fashioned SLEEP IN 'TIL NOON DAY! Oh, tomorrow, I don't want to see any of your beginning!

Tomorrow must be the day I finish up drawing this current storyline and shore up the scripts for the next week. Tonight is not for thinking too hard.

The time of gluttony is upon us!

As it we Americans needed an excuse for conspicuous consumption, it's Thanksgiving; a day in which we go through great lengths to avoid too much family interaction by eating ourselves into a coma and enjoying distracting football games. I don't knock it, mind you, as I am ALL ABOUT food and football! (And occasionally family!)

Thanksgiving is a kick ass holiday and I intend to enjoy it to its fullest! I will WIN Thanksgiving! Think you will be able to go back for leftovers? THINK AGAIN! You will leave me alone with the turkey and all those delicious turkey accessories, thank you very much. And I will be taking the center spot for football watching, even if I hate all the home teams with a passion. It is still coma background, and that is a vital component of Thanksgiving.

I'm not sure if I'll be able to get a post up on Thanksgiving (and possible Friday) as I won't have access to a scanner, and probably little time for my useless and unenlightening blogging anyway.