Loaded Imagery..

sketch151, originally uploaded by ryanjebelt.

There's still something I've always liked about the finger-gun. The implied danger leaves a little threat, menace, or sexiness in the air. I was just having some fun, and keeping things pulpy...

The Light is On!

sketch150, originally uploaded by ryanjebelt.

For some reason, sketch-wise, I've been getting into a sort of surreal pulp zone. The results are evident.

How Are You?

sketch149, originally uploaded by ryanjebelt.

It is what it is....you see it dontcha?

Modernity

sketch148, originally uploaded by ryanjebelt.

If you weren't there...you're not likely to know what was going on...but it's likely the closest I'll ever come to Cubism.

Movement...

sketch147, originally uploaded by ryanjebelt.

This was a relatively quick sketch of a young woman who was moving around quite a bit in high contrast lighting. I started her off one way, but then she turned and settled in another (...hence why the eyes are a little off...). The nice thing about my pen is that once it runs low on ink, you can actually do some soft shading.

Perception

sketch146, originally uploaded by ryanjebelt.

On one hand, I'd say it's the drawing with speed from close up that harangues me about this drawing. Or, is the distortion I always seem to see when I scan/photograph anything...like how a drawing or painting appears when I look at it, versus how it looks when digitized. I can't say exactly...in any event, I was happy with the drawing at the time...and the subject was as well...

All Things Considered: It can be tough avoiding bee puns...

Bee - Painting Detail, originally uploaded by ryanjebelt.

A close-up of one of the items featured in the painting I finished last week, which will be on display next month. I have more sketches on the way, but thought we needed some color to brighten up all that ink.

Live and Interesting

sketch145, originally uploaded by ryanjebelt.

There's not much for me to say here other than I'm glad I managed to do more than just a portrait.

A Sneak Peek at the Past...

sketch144, originally uploaded by ryanjebelt.

I remember when my attention in drawing turned from superheroes to pretty ladies. My grandfather took me aside, and showed me a picture of a Vargas girl in an old magazine. He made a joke about having a pin-up artist in the family, but I looked at it and thought "I could probably do that..."

Sound...well, no...but certainly Vision

sketch143, originally uploaded by ryanjebelt.

I did a drawing of Bowie last night for a friend to use as a prop in a short film he's making. I think he turned out pretty well.

June 2009 Group Show at the Hive Gallery...

For those who were unable to attend, this was the piece I'm showing as part of the group show currently on at the Hive (www.hivegallery.com). This is my second month at the Hive, and it's been quite fun to get to show there. If you haven't been, I recommend coming out for the openings...there's a whole lot of art, some live music, drinks, and general socializing.

Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.

sketch142, originally uploaded by ryanjebelt.

Since I had so much fun with Thor, I did a quick (and graceless...haha) recreation of a Nick Fury by legend Jim Steranko. Before you judge me too harshly, keep in mind I'm a) doing it for speed/fun, b) as a style study, c) much smaller than Jim did, and d) on sketch paper that bleeds (instead of illustration board). Though Steranko's Fury issues are still popular, I'm still surprised that his surrealistic pop approach and intense action sequences never made Fury a sustainable A-list character.

A Super Hero Literalizes My Blog Title...

sketch141, originally uploaded by ryanjebelt.

In honor of the rare Thunderstorm in Los Angeles yesterday, I did a quick line by line recreation of a drawing of the Mighty Thor by comics legend Jack Kirby. As a kid, I didn't appreciate Kirby's bulky, blocky style, but as I got older, I really saw what the man could do and it's damned impressive. More importantly, Kirby's style seems simplistic, but it's not as easy to reproduce well as you might think. That coupled with the fact that in doing a recreation...I tried to stay faithful to the original, but couldn't be hesitant with my brush strokes on the ink. (Yes...it's all brush, I would've done some in quill...but the important word here is "quick"...)

...a Horse for Me?

sketch140, originally uploaded by ryanjebelt.

Then some days you say to yourself "Inanimate objects? Pshaw, I'm drawin' the memorable mug of Jack Elam!"

A Reminder...

sketch139, originally uploaded by ryanjebelt.

The other day as I was helping out on a friend's short film shoot I remembered: Part of the reason for this was to make me draw stuff I wouldn't ordinarily draw...like inanimate objects...and plants. So, voila!

Not Exactly a Return to Form...

sketch138, originally uploaded by ryanjebelt.

Well, as promised, I have returned with some more sketches. It's been a busy last couple of weeks, so if I have been negligent, it's been forced negligence. She may not be my prettiest work, but who am I to deny her a chance at being seen? (Incidentally, I'll have a painting featured in a show next weekend...if that's any excuse for not being around.)

Hard at work...

Hammer Study #2 - Detail, originally uploaded by ryanjebelt.

I'm in full awareness that I've not been posting sketches lately. That's because I've been working on slightly more realized work. I just finished a nice piece that I hope to display in a group show next month. This is a detail from it (I'm kinda obnoxious about not showing something in full until the public (ie. humans complete with bodies) have seen it). I've got a couple of sketches...and I'll be doing more. So I'll be back in full swing soon.

AN ARTSY ANNOUNCEMENT

Come one, come all...See the new work...(painted...not ink...so don't get your panties in a bunch...)

Saturday, May 9th, from 6 to 10. (Click the pic for details.)

This Sketch was...

sketch137, originally uploaded by ryanjebelt.

....drawn only for the sake of drawing big goggles..

Go Ahead...CROP IT! (...just click on the photo...)

sketch136, originally uploaded by ryanjebelt.

Moving back out from portraiture, I need to do more full body shots. I've always thought it ironic that some comic drawing friends of mine (and some pros) can't seem to draw anyone standing still. If the characters not upside down ninja roundhouse kick, they just look awkward. I, on the other hand, usually have motionless down pat. Onward DYNAMISM!

sketch135, originally uploaded by ryanjebelt.

My subject requested, denied, then demanded my doing an illustration of her...and so I have. (Also...thppbbttt...stupid cropping...)

"Excuse me while I have a Strange Interlude..."

sketch134, originally uploaded by ryanjebelt.

Ok, so a portrait slipped back in there. Having nothing else to be in the mood to draw, I decided to draw Groucho. I felt pretty good about how he turned out. (And before anyone jumps on me for the odd-looking eyebrows and 'stache, for the uninitiated let me let you in on a secret: In the old days, Groucho painted them on.)

On Set...

sketch133, originally uploaded by ryanjebelt.

Looks like I'm slipping back into portraits...but at least I got both hands in there. This was speedily executed to try and bring a little cheer into a *bleh* day...

If It Wasn't for Bad Luck...

sketch132, originally uploaded by ryanjebelt.

In my continued effort to do more than just portraits, I did a rendition of one of my favorite blues men. The nice thing about the brush is some of the soft shading you can do.

Hey, Check Out That Scared Guy...

sketch131, originally uploaded by ryanjebelt.

Sticking with people but moving away from portraits, I found this interesting physical specimen. Finding a squatting guy's center of gravity is fairly challenging...

A Point...Just Over There...

sketch130, originally uploaded by ryanjebelt.

After this...no more portraits...for a few entries anyway. I went for a softer touch here, and used the brush to create a soft shade hatching. So I present an Asian man looking off in the distance...much like Cushing did yesterday.

You're Far Too Trusting...

sketch129, originally uploaded by ryanjebelt.

As I was doing portraits anyway...I broke out the old quills and a jar of ink that I was amazed hadn't dried out. As an old horror movie happened to be on, I decided to reproduce the amazing features of the great Peter Cushing.

A Moment Aside...

sketch128, originally uploaded by ryanjebelt.

I was, until this, trying to figure out how other ways to represent shadows, but saw this woman and couldn't not draw her. The only problem...I'm stuck doing portraits again when the whole point was to try and mix it up a little.

sketch127, originally uploaded by ryanjebelt.

I tried to do another noir-type drawing without slinging on the black...but this time, with better results than the last. It's felt good to be hatching again after all these years...

No Matter Where You Go...

sketch125, originally uploaded by ryanjebelt.

I've tried moving on to a sort of test in noir...but I didn't want to simply start just blacking things out. While I don't know where I was going with this...first it became more Jack Kirby than I wanted as I laid on the ink...then it became like Kirby doing Frank Miller...some sort of hybrid. I'm not sure where it ended up...but there it is...

Still Stuck...

sketch126, originally uploaded by ryanjebelt.

As just a super quickie after yesterday's post...I did a quick attempt of reproducing a Flash Gordon by Raymond line by line. Not sure why I signed it...although it's definitely not Raymond's.

Klytus...I'm Bored...

sketch124, originally uploaded by ryanjebelt.

So, I'm still stuck on Alex Raymond as an illustrator. Now, this sketch doesn't look much like Raymond's style, but I'm still trying to capture something about those early comics. So, I scribbled out one of Flash Gordon...and figured that Buster Crabbe would make a good model...after all, he played Flash in the movin' pictures.

Table for Four...

sketch123, originally uploaded by ryanjebelt.

The other night, I took an old Micron pen and just sketched whatever or whoever was in front of me at Kitchen 24...at 4am...

sketch122, originally uploaded by ryanjebelt.

A study in micro and macro from one spot: the small flower on the bush beside me...the giant monument to consumerism across from me...

Begin Again...

sketch121, originally uploaded by ryanjebelt.

Having felt bad that my other portrait of my friend here made him look like a ill-tempered comic villain...I've redone him in softer and gentler light...and with a helluva lot more cross-hatching...

The Cold Kiss of Steel...

sketch120, originally uploaded by ryanjebelt.

Since I'm already making people look evil...well, in this sketching related effort, I've also been trying to capture other people's styles...attempting to expand my horizons so to speak. So I pulled up a picture of Tatsuya Nakadai (a damned fine actor), and tried to do a rendering of him that was similar to old samurai comics...I think I did ok.

Ok, ok, ok...

sketch119, originally uploaded by ryanjebelt.

I had a relapse back into drawing faces...I'm working on it!

Spread Out...

sketch118, originally uploaded by ryanjebelt.

I said I needed full bodies...so I whipped this one together. Now I guess I need to work on developed backgrounds.

A Fine Gent...

sketch117, originally uploaded by ryanjebelt.

I realize that I also need to do some full forms...here, I got a head, torso, and nearly half a leg....I still gotta work on it.

Animate Objects...

sketch116, originally uploaded by ryanjebelt.

Mug Shot...

sketch115, originally uploaded by ryanjebelt.

A quickie I did from a mugshot of Machine Gun Kelly...for no other reason than I happened to come across it and liked his face...

sketch114, originally uploaded by ryanjebelt.

I've tackled some architecture...decided to tackle a little auto-mo-car. The interesting and frustrating thing about cars is their mishmash combination of straight, curved, and slightly curved lines. (Sorry it's off center...but click on it if you want to see it better...I don't have time to fix it.)

Miss Blaise...

Modesty Blaise Sketch, originally uploaded by ryanjebelt.

For my cousin's b-day, I did this quick drawing of my interpretation of Modesty Blaise. I'm quite a fan of Enrique Romero's work on the strip, and have been trying to pick up some stylistic pointers from his draughtsmanship. I'm not as quick and angular with my inking as he was, but I'm working on it.

Across the way...

sketch113, originally uploaded by ryanjebelt.

I never had many opportunities for life drawing classes...but then again, after some of the horror stories, I'm not sure I wanted to draw the people who were willing to sit around nekkid for me. Anyhow, I've also been trying to sketch more from life...this gentleman was sitting across the way from me, and even though he wasn't much for sitting still, I think I got him.

Bonus...

sketch112, originally uploaded by ryanjebelt.

Because of some other work I'm doing...I drew a werewolf havin' coffee...

Very Small...

sketch111, originally uploaded by ryanjebelt.

In one small corner of my sketchbook...I did a person...some (* ahem *) architecture...and a tree...all in one place...I'm not patting myself on the back just yet...it's too small for that...

Ink Slinging...

sketch110, originally uploaded by ryanjebelt.

Took some time yesterday to let the pen move a little looser and just did some cartooning. I haven't tried anything in this sort of style in...well, I don't remember how long. Working in ink again is making me enjoy taking a few more risks, and just setting things down on paper without over thinking them.

Heads Down...

sketch109, originally uploaded by ryanjebelt.

Just a quickie...more to come...

sketch108, originally uploaded by ryanjebelt.

I figured that something in a cathedral always made for a good traditional drawing subject. This one was a spire I capped a photo of while wandering around Stockholm. My attempt to get over my malaise with drawing buildings continues....

Down...Not Out...

sketch107, originally uploaded by ryanjebelt.

Between a wacky flu...and two different work deadlines...this past week was a little too busy for sketch time. This morning, however, for a few minutes, that all changed...