Forever and a Day or Two

So it has been a few months since the last post, and I know my legions of loyal readers have been holding their breath and perhaps (according to my google analytics page) have possibly held it for a bit to long and passed or or worse.

Another summer has come and gone here in the great coastal city of Newport Beach and once again the beach is peacefully quiet, I have kept fairly busy with work and such and a few other projects. One project has been my involvement with a upstart group called Ecofficiency.org. At this point my help has mainly consisted of lending my design and web skills to the group such as maintaining and updating the website. Recently though the group held a fundraiser in which I had the very fun task of designing the poster for. The event was a success and the poster can be seen below. While I may not be the most active activists it does feel good to be able help out and give back a little to a worthy cause.

(click for larger image)

On another front here is this posts sketch. Since Halloween was this past weekend I felt this sketch was an appropriate one. I can not remember when I sketched this or what inspired me but have the feeling it was again another late niter and I do remember there was a very light ink drawing of the shoe on this page originally though. I hope you enjoy.
The sketch as usual was done fairly quickly and loosely using a dip pen, brush and ink, and some watercolor in a Moleskine sketchbook.

(click for larger image)

Price of Fame

So this sketch was done late night after a bunch of Amstel lights (shameless plug for Amstel, if you guys are reading this please send a case over) and listening to Jane's Addiction. The sketch as always done fairly quick, is of a stock photo of an older style camera and the face is a washed out black and white photo of a girl in a hoodie I found on David Carson's site. I then came back and scanned the sketch then brought it into Photoshop for a little manipulation. I copied and pasted the one original camera (the center large one) a few times and added a little color to them as well as to the girls face, a bit of white to somewhat look like a flash and a red box behind the text. As always comments or cracks are welcome.
Dip pen, brush, ink and Photoshop.

(click image for larger view)

A new sketch finally!

So it has been almost 4 months since I last posted a sketch and while I have been sketching, I just have not been posting them. Yes, I know the 20 people that read my blog are bummed and have been holding their breath. While hold no more as this is the latest to come out of my moleskine sketchbook. This is a sketch of some random model/person I found on a photographers site. As with most of my sketches the initial drawing was done fairly quickly in ink and then some watercolor was added and then a brief rambling of my thoughts on the side (which have been taken out). The words on the right were added in Photoshop as was the paint droplet. The original sketch had a very similar paint droplet that ran down to the bottom of the page and over my writing, but because I wanted to take out the writing it was a bit difficult (meaning time consuming for a quick sketch posting) to separate the droplet from the writing so I added a somewhat similar one in Photoshop.
Pen and ink, watercolor and Photoshop.

(click image for larger view)

How designers are treated

So in the last few days a video has been making its rounds and I felt that I should post it here so my hundreds of (well maybe 20) readers could see it. If you are a designer you will totally get it. For those of you who are not designers this is how we are often treated by clients but changed to reflect other real world situations.

Moleskin Lovers

So for many of you creative types out there and apparently white people (scroll down to #122) the legendary Moleskine® notebook is a not just a notebook but a piece of equipment, something that you put a reward on, something you treasure, something that you can't leave home without, something that you lay your creativity out on, something that blah blah blah blah... you get the picture. I know I love mine.

Anyhow over at the Moleskine website they have a new section called Project Detour. Detour is a Moleskine project dedicated to culture and creativity worldwide that features internationally recognized artists, architects, film directors, graphic designers, illustrators, and writers. There is some pretty cool stuff to look at and it gives you a little insight to some of todays most creative minds (my invitation I am sure was lost in the mail).

So check out some of the cool work from the artists here,
and read about Project Detour here.

Time to grab my Moleskine and do a little sketching.

Sore but Happy

So yesterday I got back onto the workout wagon and today I am feeling the effects of being a slacker for the last two months as the soreness has set in. After finishing my workout I was feeling beat and a bit queasy which is good cause it meant I pushed myself. Along with the exercise I am attempting to eat more, I usually only eat twice a day. While the physical part I enjoy and actually look forward to, the eating part is the hard part but I figure if I can take the time to actually eat a breakfast, lunch and dinner along with a protein bar and a Whey protein shake thrown in it will be a good start. Got to start somewhere and now is as good a time as any cause summer is just around the corner.

So today I figured I would sketch my breakfast oatmeal, orange juice and a few grapes. (I ate the grapes so they are not in the sketch). Ink and watercolor.

(click image for larger view)

Getting ink on your hands

Over the last couple of years there has been a trend in the design world to get back to basics and to hand build or draw out the design, to use letterpress, make your own type or screen print a design instead of have it sent to a printer. I for one like this trend and although unfortunately I have not had much chance to use with my clients I still like to get my hands dirty and use dip pens and watercolors and inks.

This sketch is of the word ink which seems to come into play in many of the forms of handmade design from sketching/drawing, screen printing, letter press, painting and so on. Sketch done with a fountain pen, dip pen, toothbrush for the splatter, waterproof ink and white watercolor. Hope you enjoy.

(click image for larger view)

AIGA Speed Networking

Its like speed dating except were design geeks.

This Thursday, February 19th the Orange County Chapter of AIGA will host its first "Speed Networking" event. The event is open to members and non-members alike ($10 fee for non-members). At the last AIGA OC mixer this was some talk of having one of these and it seems the powers that be have decided to make it happen. Basically this is how it works:

• 8-10 people sit down on each side of a table.

• You have 2 minutes to greet the person across from you, and then you each briefly describe to each other what type of work you do and the type of clients you have and 'want' to have.

• An alarm will sound at the end of 2 minutes and everyone moves over one seat. .

• The round ends when you reach the end of the table and you've spoken with each person on the other side of the table.

This sounds like a great way to get together with and meet some of your fellow designers, make some new contacts and have a laugh and a beer all at the same time.

The monthly mixers are usually well attended and this one I am sure will be no exception, so bring that stack of business cards and come meet some new people. The first round will start promptly at 6:00 pm.

The event:
Thursday, Feb 19th, 5:30-8:30 pm:
Tapas Restaurant & Bar
4253 Martingale Way, Newport Beach ::>view map
(949) 756-8194

For more info go to the Orange County AIGA site.

The ShamWow

Thanks to my great sister I am now the owner of the ShamWow. Yes Vince and his ear piece microphone won me over, plus it is made by Germans and you know they make good stuff.

The small ShamWow is 15" x 15" and the large one is 19.75" x 23.75". The real trick of this thing is that it dries stuff when it is wet so it is great for the car and drying dishes and it shines your fixtures when it is dry. While I have not put it through all its paces I did snaps some photos of a little demo I did for my friend Jeope.

Yes it did ship with two extra ShamWows, 8 total. The large one, while a good size, is not really big enough to roll up a sweater in, maybe if you used two or three together it would work.

Some flat soda I had in my fridge and the ShamWow. The bottle of soda is filled just to the bottom of the label.

Pouring the entire soda onto the ShamWow.

The ShamWow thoroughly soaked.

This is what was left on the counter after lifting the ShamWow up just after snapping the pic of the wet ShamWow. Not to bad if you ask me, better then my regular kitchen towel would have done plus it did not drip.

This is what I rang out back into the bowl. I actually made a bigger mess ringing the thing out, but the power of the shamwow was able to completely pick up and dry my new mess and what little it left behind in the original pour with one stroke.

Overall I am pretty stoked on this thing and the small ones really do seem like a good replacement for paper towels. Jeope I was going to risk a carpeted floor mat that is in my entry way but didn't maybe next time.

Happy New Year and back to work.

It is Tuesday and I am back at work and have decided that working equals weight gain dammit, and at some point I will prove that theory but not here and not now. Time for me to get back to my gym routine, which I have slacked on over the holiday season, and take off the holiday weight.

I hope all you had good Holiday season and that going back to work has not been to painful. Try to keep up with your new years resolutions and have a good new year.

Below is an older sketch in ink and a little color added in photoshop of a yogurt container.


This post was really kinda random and all over the place but sometimes that is just the way it is.

Holiday Shopping

So it may be a little late for this post but hey thats the way I roll. I may be one of the few guys I know that actually enjoys going to the mall to go Christmas shopping, the crowds, the music and the decorations all help me get into the spirit. Plus myself and my sister always get parking right up front, call it luck or positive thinking or a Christmas miracle it just always happens. Anyways one thing that I always do is take a picture of the tree outside of Bloomingdales at Fashion Island and send it to my friends via a txt message and wish them a Merry Christmas, sorta my Christmas Card for the txt message age.

This first picture is of the tree at F.I., I decided to get my big head in the photo this year. The tree is something like 120-130 feet tall.

(click for larger image)

F.I. is an outdoor mall with ocean views from the restaurants. The second is a picture from the top of the escalator out to the parking lot and the ocean in the distance. Christmas Shopping in Southern California, god bless it.

(click for larger image)

p.s.
for those of you in freezing weather please do not think of moving here it really is not this good.

Yet Another Sketch

Continuing my fascination with sketching faces, (I have been looking at a lot of fashion illustration lately) here is another with a little water color added. When it comes to sketching lately I am really liking sketching with a dip pen and different size nibs and even using a flex nib, that one is gonna take some getting used to. I can't remember what the hell I was watching on TV while I sketched this it could have been anything from House to a crazy show on Spanish television, but red seem to strike me and the phrase at the bottom came easily. I may soon take this to proper water color paper and mask of the negative space and let the paint flow.

click for larger image

Please feel free to post a comment if you like and Merry Christmas!

Those darn Democrates

As probably the only Spanish, Mexican very slight German dreadlocked Republican in the world it can be very lonely especially on a nite that looks like Obama will win, oh well at least it is not that evil woman senator from New York. On a funnier note here is something that I came across this afternoon that you Democrats will enjoy, and if your Republican then just pretend they said Democrat.
Canada's ELITE Program

Pinkie Master's

Pinkie Master is a little dive bar in Savannah, Georgia. I was there a little over a year ago and we would pass this bar everyday while walking around Savannah and down to River Street. For what ever reason we never stopped into Pinkie's Bar which is odd cause I am a huge dive bar fan/patron and this bar just had a great look to it, the Pabst Blue Ribbon sign really says it all. So on our final day I made sure to take some pictures of Pinkie Master and hope to have a beer there when I return to Savannah. The short paragraph on the side is just a little scenario I was thinking about when I was sketching this. Pen and ink in my moleskin sketchbook. I may add some color in photoshop and If I do I will be sure to post that one.

Click to see a larger image

hot sauce battle

I was eating a chicken taco from Taco Bell at my desk at work the other day and saw that I had an old Del Taco hot sauce packet, so I used that sauce on the second taco and then decided to sketch the sauce packets. I like Del Tacos hot sauce a bit better.

Click to see a larger image

Sketches from the Sketchbook

It has been way to long since I have posted anything on this blog which explains why the visitors to this thing are virtually non existent. So I am posting a few sketches from my sketch book which I am about to finish, there is only 1 page left in it, and then on to a brand new 5x8 moleskin sketchbook whoohoo.

The first sketch was made with a lettering pen and ink, brush and ink and water while watching the 11:00 Simpsons. I drew a quick outline with the lettering pen dipped in non waterproof ink and then during the next commercial break I went over the initial sketch with the brush dipped in ink and let that dry just a bit. After the Simpsons ended I then put a few drops of ink in some water and went back and did a little highlighting around the eyes and hair and added the eyebrows.

click for a larger image

This second sketch I am sure was made during another late nite television show although I can not remember which. I used the lettering pen dipped in ink for the initial sketch and then used the brush dipped in ink to ad some line thickness to certain parts of the sketch.

click for a larger image

For whatever reason I have been into drawing eyes and faces the last few months and using a lettering pen that I have to dip in ink. I am liking the way the pen feels on the paper when I write or draw with this so I may keep at it for a while or at least until I accidentally spill the bottle of ink and make a mess of my desk and carpet.

Hospital chair

I came across this sketch in my sketch book the other day of a chair I sat in at the hospital. I remember sitting there thinking the worst and the best and then thinking if these chairs could talk what kind of happiness and sadness could they speak of. How many people have heard news and sat back down in relief or sat back down to slump over and cry. On this day my news was good. It is not so odd that sitting in a chair in a hospital really gets you thinking.

Cookin up some Wheat Paste

So the other day I was thinking of doing some sort of collage project for a creative outlet. So I then decided to glue it together using the technique used by kindergarteners and street artists alike good old wheat paste. I went to the market to get some flower as I do not bake to much and came home and added some water put it all in a pan and slowly let it boil while stirring in some more water until it got to that nice paint like consistency. So the wheat paste is made and now I need to do something with it. I will post that project when I get around to making something.

Happy New Year

Well another year has come and gone and time continues on at what seems to be a ever faster rate, I must be having a lot of fun. I hope your new year was a good one and that you spent it doing whatever it is that you wanted to do.

Now it is time for those pesky resolutions that get forgotten quicker then your promise to never drink like that again promise. I generally do not make resolutions but this year I am making one that pertains more to my business then personal life and that is to be more diligent about my marketing strategy or almost complete lack there of over the last year. It seems like this is a resounding theme with many of the designers I have been talking to in my network that run their own shop or solo design studio. In a profession in which we help others out with their marketing, branding and advertising we tend to forget to turn that mirror on ourselves and see that we are being neglected. So with that lets give a toast to marketing!

I will make this resolution and that is to a least post once a month and get an Illustration Friday submission in at least once a month, so there you go.

Happy New Year all!

Hats not Shoes

This weeks Illustration Friday theme is "Hats". I have not participated in this in a very long time and need to get back into it as it is a good creative exercise. So this weeks submission was a quick ink sketch and watercolor background scanned into photoshop and then some patterns added to the hat boxes along with a hat in the background for good measure. Look for next weeks submission.



Click for a larger image.