Derby 1 final

Derby 1- Self Portrait.  It's finally done, or I am finally done with this piece. Digital drawing 24" x 24".

Derby1 WIP Week 9

Working along and results are starting to become evident.  I hope to be done the end of next week.

Derby1 WIP week 8

Getting close to starting to see a lot of results really soon. Set up work is still going on. I am hoping that within the next week or two this will be completed.

A Burial At Sea

story - A burial at sea

A friend of mine at one time worked as a night manager at a local hotel.  He told me the story of what the term “a burial at sea” meant to the cleaning crew and staff of that particular hotel.

A burial at sea refers to the act of clogging a toilet so badly that the guilty individual ends up in a state of panic and covers their mess with massive amounts of toilet paper, only to leave in a rush in hopes that nobody will recognize them or see them leave the stall and restroom facility. Pause…

So, I entered a public restroom recently and opened a stall door to discover, you guessed it… a burial at sea. And it was a whopper. I was about to salute the results as I was holding down a dry heave when I noticed that something new had been added.  Someone, (hopefully the guilty individual who created such a terror) had stuck in the center of the paper island, a plastic fork.

My mind reeled as it attempted to grasp the situation that my eyes were seeing. Who brings utensils to a public restroom? Were they eating and decided experiment with cutting down a few steps in their biological process? Perhaps the were frightened by what they saw and ran off to find the first defensive weapon they could find… only to return with a plastic fork. Maybe it was a claim of power the way that conquistadors did by driving a flag into the ground and pronouncing that “this island is claimed in the name of The King!!” and the flag just fell off. For those who are conspiracy theory buffs, possibly it was a person of the opposite gender that entered in to perform this act of defiling the bowl only to leave unnoticed in order cover their tracks and thus leaving the blame to the local male population.

Shortly, I realized that I no longer had any desire to benefit from the use of this particular facility. In fact I also found myself in very short supply of fresh air. I did my best to sneak out without detection so that no one would tag me with causing such a crime upon at least two of the human senses. I ended up quickly driving away as fast as I could and spending the rest of the day with legs crossed, while shaking off a rather impressive case of the heebie-jeebies.

Derby1 WIP week ... seven?

still plugging away... It's moving slowly forward.

Derby 1: WIP Week 6

Week Six, slow and steady results this week. The next couple of sessions won't show a lot of results but then all of a sudden, things will pop together.  It is an odd time for the work. I just have to keep plugging at it.

I hope that you’re happy wherever you are

I hope that you’re happy wherever you are


Separated as we are, I don’t see you.
I don’t hear from you… still i keep looking for signs.
Elders say that you are in a good place.
I hope so.
Books say that you are with all those that you loved and loved you.
I hope so.
In my head I see you in a beloved academic atmosphere;
learning, growing, showing, teaching, loving.
I have no basis, no reason to believe this.
Maybe it is the sign I have been searching for.
Maybe it is a vision of what is to come.
Maybe it is a way for me that I can deal why you were taken.
I still miss you
I still love you
I have been fractured because of your loss.
Breaks can be glued back but those scars will remain.
I hope that you’re happy wherever you are.
-db

Derby 1 WIP sessions 4 and 5

Results from weeks four and five. Some progress moving forward but still a lot more to go.

Derby 1 WIP first post

Starting a new piece... this is about week three on this work in progress. A long way to go... just plug away a little bit every night.

doodle United: Luchador

It's been a long time since I was able to work up a piece for Doodle United. I just couldn't resist the topic of Luchador Wrestlers.  Such fun.

A Warning Glance

It's done. I probably need some distance from this one. It was far more of a challenge than the previous piece. I'm happy I did it, but I am more happy that it is complete and I can start something new.

Frowning 1 WIP week 5

Got some work done this week. It was a week of many distractions and looks to continue for another two weeks. I hope to get in some quality time in the evenings. Slow but steady.

Frowning 1 Week Four WIP

Week Four.... not much to show this week. A lot of prep work and under drawing so I can apply finishes to a lot of areas in the coming weeks.

Frowning 1 WIP weekend three results.

Weekend three of a new digital ink drawing. A lot of results this week. We shall see if I am getting faster. I hope so... I think so. Hope all is well out there for whomever sees this. Thanks for stopping by.

New digital ink portrait Frowning1 - week two Work in progress

I started my second digital ink portrait, and this time it is the start of three self portraits. For some reason, the second of anything for me is really tough to pull off successfully. Maybe I set my sights to high, perhaps after an initial success, I want even larger swings into the realm of achievement and that just doesn't happen in the real world.  But win or lose, I have been working on this piece and think I have it bent into a pleasing direction finally.

Old Man Left --- It's done. Whew!!

I don't know how I did it, but I buckled down and finished it tonight. Ah, That is a big load off of my mind. Now to research how to "archival safe" float mount a drawing.  I have included a couple of close ups. the Drawing is just about two feet high. 

Old Man Left -WIP Weekend Six: Skin all done.

Well, after another week of steady work on it, I am finally able to see an end point. I'm happy... now on to hair rendering.

Doodle United: Teen Titans

Doodle United for April 13th. Had to take a break from the old man drawing to pop out a piece for Doodle United. I have been so lax completing anything for that group. Humble apologies.  This week Starfire/Minion mash up.

Old Man Left -WIP weekend 5. Good results showing

So after the previous sessions not showing much in the way of results... I decided to turn of the TV at night and work on this each night this week for an hour or two and then hit it heavy on Saturday and a little more on Sunday. Much more progression this week. It is coming into focus for me. I hope to get the jowls done this week and hopefully will have only the hair to complete in the next two to three weeks. Hope everybody is well out there. -db

Old Man Left Working: session 4

Weekend four... not much work done on this one. But now I feel obligated to post whenever I get any work done on this just to show I wasn't just parking the entire weekend on the sofa watching ncaa basketball.

Old Man Left_working _ weekend 3 work in progress

Weekend three just ended and so I am posting my results on this project. It is progressing, slowly but surely.

Old Man Left- Week 2 work in progress

Week 2 progress... not much during the week, maybe a couple of hours total, but hit it hard Saturday afternoon and Sunday. My goodness this is a slow and tedious process, but I feel good at the progress and results.

Old Man Left - new piece, work in progress day one

Started a new piece to keep me occupied while my knee heals. And I haven't done anything of any real size for some time, so I am working a digital pen and ink drawing. This is all in photoshop but it is drawn one stroke at a time.  The size will be about 21" x 21" when completed. This is session one from last weekend. Fun stuff.

how long

I watch the water slowly creep up around me, I move to what I believe to be a safer place on the boat. I try to convince myself that situations can be changed for the better, that perseverance can overcome many seemingly insurmountable obstacles. I pass the Captain. The Captain doesn’t say the boat is sinking, that all we have done is for not, to go and try to save ourselves. The Captain designates who gets thrown overboard to temporarily lighten the ship.

I have seen many thrown overboard. Some went willingly, some went with sad faces and some fear as to what was to become of them. I wonder how long can they last in that cold water?

To quote Robert Louis Stevenson’s Long John Silver; “Them that dies will be the lucky ones.” I fought against that manner of thinking. Do what you can to survive, to make it work.  Now perhaps, looking around at the sinking, crumbling vessel that was once a mighty ship…. I wonder how long before the Captain points and signals that I am to be sent overboard.

3X3 Illustration Annual 11 is out

3X3 Illustration 11 is out!!! I am so happy to see two of my pieces in the professional show for Self Promotion. They have an online gallery for the book as well. 

http://3x3mag.com/annual/A-C

I am so very proud and honored.

Doodle United: Adjective Snowman

For the first Doodle United of the new year, we got the assignment of Adjective Snowman, in honor of the great Bill Watterson, Creator of Calvin and Hobbs... specifically "Snow Goon strips" We were given a link that is a random Adjective Generator. 
link > http://www.randomlists.com/random-adjectives. 
We were to Set the Limit to '1,' and hit refresh. The adjective that was generated we were to place in front of the word Snowman, and BOOM. Draw it. IT was fun.

Christmas Card Design for 2014: Niblet

I didn't know if I was going to even come up with a concept for this year. I am happy with this year's concept and with the illustration.

Niblet, The Christmas goat.

Doodle United for Monday November 3rd, Gargoyle

For the last of the Halloween type stuff for the year, the topic was Gargoyles for Doodle United.... I decided to solve this with a gargling gargoyle, or is it gargle-goyle?

drawlloween 2014 - day 26, Candy.

this topic was a real challenge for me. I dreaded it when the list came out... and I was right to dread it. Man this one was a tough one.

Drawlloween 2014, day 25, Pumpkin

drawlloween 2004 day22 Witch.

Drawlloween 2014 day 21: demons.

Drawlloween 2014, Day 20 Devil

Drawlloween 2014, Day 19... Skull

Drawlloween 2014 - Day 18, Topic: Gore

Drawlloween 2014, day 17. 8 Bit Zombie

drawlloween_2014 day 17, 8bit zombie. 

Doodle United: Ghost, Ghoul, or Peter O'Toole

reworked an older piece that I was never happy with... now I like it much more.  Camera RAW is my friend.

Drawlloween 2014 day 14, Eyeball?

Drawlloween 2014  day 14, Eyeball?
#drawlloween, #inktober

drawlloween 2014 day 12... dragon.

drawlloween 2014  day 12... dragon.  #drawlloween, #inktober

Drawlloween 2014 - day 11, Vampire

Drawlloween 2014 day 11:  Vampire.
I decided to see how successful disguising Nosforatu would be.

Drawlloween 2014 day 10... Frankenstein

I was out for a few days, but I am back home and back on schedule for submitting for today......Frankenstein.

Drawlloween 2014 Day 5, Goblin

Drawlloween Day 5... and welcome to day five... today?  Well, it's goblins.

drawlloween 2014, Day 4... Raven

Day four... raven finished in the evening of day four.

drawloween 2014 day 3: Rats

Day 3 of drawlloween- Rats!

drawlloween 2014: day 2 zombie

Drawlloween 2014 day 2... topic:  zombies.  The bottom one of the single figure is a reprint from the graphic novel Dead Anyway. A book that I was privileged to be invited to work on. Such fun and so many gifted and talented artists were involved in that project. Check it out if you haven't.

Drawlloween 2014 day 1 spider

Drawlloween 2014... a drawing a day for the month of October. I don't know how long I can keep it up, but this was the drawing for day one... topic: Spider

Groot Final For Doodle United.

final version... Groot in color for Doodle United. Due 09/21/14. just sent out a few minutes ago for upload on Monday. Should be an interesting and diverse collection of images.