The Pez™ Dispenser of Doom...

I'm not sure where this drawing was going initially, but once someone made the comment about it "kinda looking like a Pez dispenser" was out on the table...that's exactly where it went.

A Bright Idea...

All in the flick of a wrist...

I dabble in Cartooning...

I've never been good at the type of abstraction needed for high end cartooning...at least I don't think I am. Nevertheless, it's never stopped me from playing...

Just a Peek...

A study I did for a painting that will be a part of the series I'll be showing in September. Corvus Corax.

"A Simpler Time...."

Simply put, I enjoyed this photo I scanned of my great-uncle Earl, and so I sketched it. It can't get much more direct than that.

80K is a Whole Lot of Demons...

Doing research into other things I came across the image and story of Zhong Kui, the Chinese ghost hunter. I had seen prints of the Japanese version of him before, but hadn't before seen him identified along with the tale of how he came to be. I believe I was looking at info on pomegranates, but even mentioning that is a potential digression. Anyhow, with my trusty brush pen I tried to approximate the unique marks that both flow and have sharp angles that Chinese artist employ in ink drawings. It didn't exactly come out...but I also realized, I wasn't working on a huge scroll of paper with a 2 foot long Sumi-style brush...that might have had something to do with it.

Ah...It's Been Too Long, My First Love...

Well, I've let this lie fallow long enough methinks. Don't for a moment think that I've not been drawing.

I've done plenty.

I even got paid to do it for half a week.

But I've neglected the scanner, and my duty to post. Alas.

That will all change soon enough. I'm seeing the light at the end of the tunnel on the paintings I'm trying to complete for my featured spot in a show in September. I've been thinking of putting a book together of my favorites of these...something I'll need to do quick as my desire to look at and/or show old work diminishes quickly. I need to get some ideas together for some shirts I'd like to design. And so, this, my first blog must cease to have life breathed into and continue to thrive.

Sort of like my long neglected deviantart page...I still don't know what to do with it.

And so, I shall return!

Time to Break out the Scanner...

This lonely little fella was the result of me sitting on the trunk of my car for a few moments while I was waiting for a friend to return from an audition. I think he sums up a whole lot of things quite well.

"My Friends don't call me Tex..."

Every now and again, I tap into my inner Tex Avery. I've often admired cartoons and comic strips for the range of expression that can be rendered out of such simplified forms. It's deceiving. Everyone assumes that it's easy to pull off, but much like all comedy, it's the hardest to pull off. I don't think I succeeded.

Solid Lines...

One Handsome Devil...

The model for this image will never know that he was the model for this image...I so swear it.

A Moment in Whimsy...

When It Rains...

So you may have noticed a lapse in posting...but that doesn't mean there was a lapse in drawing. Well, not so much drawing as a whole lot of painting...and there's a lot more painting to be done. Be patient with me...guilt and having to rush give me the wicked jeebies...

Final Remnant of Wonderland...

In the world of nonsense, the Rocking Horse Fly is second only to the Bread & Butterflies...

In Memoriam...

This post is for the special birdy who flew free...

By Poseidon's Trident, we set up Hippocamp for the night...

Call it leftovers from my recent phase of preparation for the Wonderland themed art show I did a drawing from. I was drawing this rather poorly looking horse when it was suggested I make him a seal. I did that.

This Moment in "Awww....."

sketch1141, originally uploaded by ryanjebelt.

I meant to post my Alice image as the capper to that series, but discovered that I forgot to scan the damnèd thing. So as this little fella (which I did for another blog...admittedly) came at the end of the Alice series while I was still playing with watercolor and ink. After all, it is the year of the tiger...and come on...ain't he cute?

"You'll Never Guess. I Couldn't."

sketch1140, originally uploaded by ryanjebelt.

The next Alice test got a little more elaborate. The trick was to lay down some watercolor and then ink over it without it bleeding like the proverbial stuck pig (since even the most diehard ink seems to run with enough water washed over the top of it). I was also trying several different watercolors I had and some gouache to see what combo worked best. Funny, looking at it now, it doesn't look like more than a few minutes rough drawing...Anyhow, the lion...from Through the Looking Glass...who figures into my final Alice drawing...

"You mean you can't take LESS..."

sketch1139, originally uploaded by ryanjebelt.

The next test for Alice...and yes, I returned to the March Hare. Those who find rabbits cute and cuddly, tend not to be familiar with their cousin the hare. I'm used to seeing the strangely googly-eyed beasts in south Texas, and have always found them interesting for some reason. The interesting question is whether the March Hare of Alice is meant to have a sexual connotation based on the expression his name is extracted from, or whether Carroll was using the words very literally. Either way, here was a quick portrait in watercolor and ink of the kooky beast.

Time to Run a Caucus Race...

sketch1138, originally uploaded by ryanjebelt.

Wonderland week continues with my 2nd bit of play time with Alice characters, The Dodo. I later gave him a watercolor tinting and made him into a card for my mother's b-day.