A Drawing for 2010

Scaling the Ivory Tower in 2010 (Crayola Marker Sketch)

The drawing above is a sketch I made to represent my major goal for the year 2010. I've been working on my doctorate in Curriculum & Teaching for a long time, but this will be the year I finish. I was inspired to make this drawing after doing a similar one (below) for the year 2009. I noticed that every single goal I noted in the '09 drawing I either accomplished, or made a conscious decision to save for later. This year I only put one goal because I'm thinking I may need to set some things aside for a time and really knuckle down and finish.

They say that many successful people write down their goals or visualize themselves being successful before attempting difficult objectives. I guess these drawings are my way of doing that. At any rate, you can read more of the rationale behind that here.

"Ropin' Fool" -- A Comic Strip about Will Rogers

I enjoyed making this comic about a person I've always thought was fascinating, and I learned a lot more about him while doing the research. There have been many successful people who just did not do well in school, and telling their stories is a recurring theme in my comics. I think these stories remind us to try to be accepting of the square pegs who don't fit into round holes!

Two Paintings

I had posted the study for this painting of my dad a while ago. I was at my parent's house, so I snapped a photo of it. I had been reading about Rembrandt's approach to painting -- how he'd paint the canvas dark brown and then build up the lights in layers, so I thought I'd give that a try. The one below is also acrylic, a painting of Dad's barn. I used a palette knife a lot in that. This one is from quite a while ago -- senior year in college.

The Greatest Gifts

I believe the best gifts are things people make themselves. The painting above is from Anna to me. It is done using the Bozzo Technique. I was surprised. I guess I had forgotten that I had dropped some heavy hints about possibly getting it as a gift for Christmas!

Dan took ceramics this year and made a lot of really neat projects to give as gifts to family members. The snowmen and tree were thrown on the wheel, then details were added. The wheel-thrown bowl below was for me.

The Artistes (pronounced \är-ˈtēsts\)

This is the Mansfield University art department faculty and staff, where I will be a part-time instructor next fall (in addition to my day job!). We are supposed to be posing for the yearbook. It is a very positive, creative and sometimes zany bunch. I think I will fit in pretty good.

Parallax

Sketchbook drawing: scene from a DC comic redrawn by me.

EC #4 Cover Preview

Here's the cover to the next issue of my comic. The original is in watercolor. I enjoyed doing some experimental techniques, like using the salt technique in the alien, and using a paper towel to blot wet paint in Andar's background.

All the comics are done for this issue, but I hope to have the rest of the work done over break!