Edgar Rice Burroughs

ERB
6x9
watercolour


Next up in my inspirational watercolors is none other than Edgar Rice Burroughs. I have a few writers on my list and he nears the top of it. His creations range from the jungles of Afica (Tarzan) to the far reaches of Mars (John Carter)  and it was once said that if you read a Burroughs tale that took place in a humid jungle, then you would be soaking wet after reading it. He was very descriptive in his environments. And though many were critics of his style, I found myself immersed in his worlds because of this, as if I were really there.  Or at least he was. That was his magic.

His Warlord of Mars series began in the early 1900's and I can never help but think of what people originally thought of these tales. What an imagination!

I'm currently finishing up the last book in his Caspak series with Out of Time's Abyss and wonder why this one wasn't made into a movie as with the first two (The Land That Time Forgot and the People That Time Forgot). Maybe it was, but went straight to the sci-fi channel (I refuse to spell it the way it is now...).

With this watercolor I experimented with the limited palette once again, but this time tried using three colors that the Iowan painter Marvin D. Cone used in some of his door paintings. White, black and yellow. The next few may be with this same color scheme as I try to get it to where I want it.

Friday Ink: Charles De Mar?

So, for today's Friday Ink I chose to do Curtis Armstrong's character from Better Off Dead, Charles De Mar. Not too sure about the likeness. However, I do like how this came out, so let's just say it's De Mar-esque. As with each Friday Ink drawing, this original drawing can be yours for $30 mailed.

Reggie

 Reggie (1997-2013)

Reggie, Regman, Regolicious, Regomatic For The People, Refrigerator Raider, Poogee... he had a hundred names and seemed to enjoy having so many monikers. Well, at least I like to think that he did.

Of all the dogs that I have ever had in the household or met period, Reggie was by far the best. We never had to train him in any, way, shape or form. He was complete when we rescued him at 6 months old. From that first day that I let him loose in the yard and he treated every single flower bed as his own personal slip n slide, and then ate all the evidence, he knew he was home. He lived a complete life of happiness and even though we tend to spoil our dogs, he brought his own contentment to the household. Reggie was never a predator in that he never attacked or went after squirrels, birds or rabbits. He liked crickets and would watch them hop around, but for some reason did not like beetles and would smash them flat with his nose whenever he saw one. He did eat a big ole carpenter ant once and the ant bit him on the tongue and its head stayed there until I had to remove it. He would lay in the driveway on a summer's eve with birds hopping all around him and he would just watch them.

Reggie had these big, brown, thoughtful eyes and always seemed to be in a pensive mood. And he was completely in tune with us and sensitive to everything. Not long after my grandpa died I came home from work after having a bad day. Things just caught up to me and I collapsed on the couch and just sat there sad as all hell. Reg walked in front of me, took a look, then hopped up on the couch right next to me. He sighed and then leaned on my shoulder. He just knew.

I have a thousand and one stories about him and have bored many with them. His personality was better than most people I've met. He was a character through and through and he took care of us as much as we took care of him.

Old age finally caught up with our little tank and he left us yesterday. I guess he went as peacefully as we could make for him, but it still sucks. He was awesome.

I think Mark Twain said that he wasn't much interested in a heaven that didn't include dogs. I couldn't agree more.

Blue Intent

Blue Intent
6x20
acrylic and colored pencil on illustration board



While not in Detroit's Dirty Show this month, I do have something dirty for all of you perverts. Well, not really dirty dirty at all, but you know what I mean. I chose the thin working space to experiment with just a slice of the picture.

Radagast

I just loved the character Radagast in The Hobbit movie. He was the right amount of quirkiness (including a large amount of bird poop), yet seemed to be a formidable wizard. So, I had to give a go at a drawing of him.

While I was doing this drawing, I thought that I would try something new. A few artists pick a day of the week and do some kind of artwork for that given day and then offer it up for sale. I think I'll give it a shot. maybe I'll call it something like Friday Ink and focus on just that, ink drawings. For a flat rate of $30.00 I'll ship this to the first interested party anywhere in the US (maybe a little more for international). And each Friday I will pick a subject from pop culture mostly and post it for sale. Contact me if interested!

Arthur Rackham

Arthur Rackham was one of those artists that was a huge influence on me far before I realized that he was a huge influence on me. My childhood, as for many others, was filled with his images of elves, goblins, dragons and mermaids, all the good things necessary for a right good adventure. In fact, his artwork for these tales always seemed to me to be the authoritative voice for all of these things, as if the artwork itself was a deep part of the folklore and fairy tale passed down through the ages. He was the camera that followed Alice down the rabbit hole and watched as Seigfried slew the dragon Fafner.

His use of mixing charcoal and watercolours was a revelation to me when hearing of it for the first time. Such a unique combination that worked so well for what he was representing.

I had debated whether or not to post this watercolor, as I felt uneasy about it, not quite hitting what I had hoped to achieve. But, the more I looked at it, the more I thought maybe I'd show it. After all, I have never been the best barometer of my own work...

I do see now what I could have done differently, so all is not lost as far as learning from it. Now, if I could only borrow one of Rackham's elves to help me with the details...

Shiver On The River 2013

This Saturday, the 2nd of February Belle Isle will be having the annual Shiver On The River event and most of the buildings on the island, including the aquarium will be open and will have activities and such. The aquarium will be open from 10-3 (probably later than that if the crowds are big) and their will be plenty of volunteers on hand to help you and give answers to your questions.