Sketching At The Detroit Zoo

 

5x8

colored pencil in sketchbook

This past Wednesday found me back at the Detroit Zoo with some friends doing a little sketching and walking around. The Detroit Zoo is known worldwide for the happy mental state of their animals and it shows. They are usually quite active. Those dainty rhinos would not stay in one place. I tried to sketch the young chimpanzees, but wow, were they flying around. I was able to at least get some good pics, though. 

Blue Shark Sketch

5x8

ink in sketchbook

My buddy's kid is going to the University of Maine to become a marine biologist and he's been keeping me in the loop as to his doings and experiences. He just finished a weeklong course where they went out into the Atlantic and caught and tagged some sharks, mostly blues. So, a bit inspired, I did a quick blue shark sketch for #SundayFishSketch. It's been awhile since I've done one.

And he had some very cool pics. 

 

Emerging

 

My latest Substack is about one of the pieces that I have in the Emerge! 2026 show at the Hannan Center in Detroit. You can click HERE to get there.

Star Wars Galaxy Chrome Sketch Cards

 So, after a six year time-out with Topps and doing Star Wars stuff, I am now back in the fold. I was doing MLB work for them, during that time, so all was not lost. Anyways, I am now on my 3rd set for them this year. I signed on to do 60 cards and had 19 of them rejected. My likenesses were off, so they say. Some of them, I could see why, as I was pushing some stylized looks. Others had me scratching my head, but it happens. So, here are my accepted cards for the just released set for the Galaxy Chrome series.

You can click on each individual set of nine for a closer look. For this set, I wanted to focus on the movies and series that I didn't get to draw during my six year absence. Andor, The Mandalorian, Season 3, Skeleton Crew, and The Acolyte. Fun stuff to draw, for sure. 

My next set has less rejections! 

Entangled

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ink on bristol board

I started this drawing years ago and just now finished it. It really only had a little bit to go, I just needed to buckle down on the bottom part. So, I'm thinking that maybe my style evolved some, but not too sure. I think I would have handled the helmet a little different these days, but I think that my objective was met with this one, so I'm happy. 

This could have easily been titled Mislead Man In A Mangrove. 

 

Sketchbooks And The Stickers That Adorn them

Hey, a double post today!

My latest Substack is up and is about... stickers! You can read about it HERE.

 

Emerge! 2026

 I will have two pieces in the Emerge! 2026 exhibit starting tomorrow at the Hannan Center in Detroit. The show will run through mid September . 

My two pieces are a sculpture and a woodblock print, keeping with the them of emergence. 

Emerging

soapstone
photo by John Wood

The sculpture, pictured above was carved out of soapstone and has all these great looking colors that come out when wet. I had applied a coat of tung oil recently that brought out some of those colors, but it did make it darker than what is pictured here. 

Ascending

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woodcut print

The woodcut print was a lot of fun to do. My first woodcut, actually. I was happy with how the patterns of the sea came out. And... it's a hammerhead!

So, the opening is tomorrow as stated in the flyer and it goes from noon until 7.

I will be exhibiting alongside a few friends, as well. Dug Rusin will have two colored pencil pieces and Mary Stebbins Taitt and Laura Reed will have pieces, too. Stop on by, check out the show. I'm sure that it will be a good one (I saw some of the works when I was dropping my pieces off and there are some good ones). And remember, there will be a hammerhead present!