another week of sketches

While I put the finishing touches on my current painting, I offer another handful of sketches.

Across from one of the bus stops I stand at, is an Oakland landmark.

I had a little help from V on this one. :)

This one reminds me of Edward Gorey.....

What are you reading?

random sketches from the week.

If a bear sighs in the woods, does anyone hear?

I have started trying to bike part of my daily commute. Fun!

The one sketch I managed during a fun day out with my brother & his wife in Muir Woods. For a monochrome sketch I feel I did okay capturing the trees. Must go back for more practice.

I am not fond of grocery shopping.

smacked by a fish (again)

I posted this gem earlier today over on the From the Stacks blog. This time  (as a tool to help my own self see the changes over time) I remembered to take some photos of the process.

These follow after the break below. :)

found the scanner

I draw something every day. Not everything is worth sharing. Some times even if it is, I've buried the scanner so deeply under half finished projects, I can't share easily even if I want to. I spent a chunk of today doing some cleaning in the studio and - surprise! - found the scanner. Here are a few images from the last month. :)

fatal phone calls

Using my head

The latest Illustration Smackdown posted on the From the Stacks blog featured the chimpanzee, Pan troglodytes. It also set me head-to-head with Jane Goodall, probably the only time in my life I can say that. 

In the aforementioned blog, I blather on for a bit about comparative anatomy, a subject that I find fascinating. It is a good example of why biology is, in my opinion, as much about vocabulary as it is about getting your hands dirty. Hand, paw, hoof, flipper, talon, carpals - all of these words refer to the same set of bones in different animals. While comparative anatomy is usually limited to vertebrates, it is helpful when looking at invertebrates of the same order. 

I created the above image with carbon dust on Ross Board. It was my first usage of Ross Board, due largely to the fact that it ceased being produced before I hit high school. Created by the Ross brothers out of Philadelphia, the board was used for carbon dust illustrations by medical & scientific illustrators.

It is been a long time since it was produced, although many people have tried to duplicate it. The rollers used to make the white clay-coated paper have disappeared along with the Ross brothers into history. I obtained some board through a retired illustrator and have been hesitant to use it. I feared ruining it. Ross board has a heavier tooth than other boards I have used. Having started with smoother boards, I am not sure I like it. I suppose that is all right as I only have a few pieces left. No sense in falling in love with a limited supply. *grin*

Illustration Obsession

What, you may be asking yourself, are those odd shaped sheep in that reproduced image (an engraving from ~1787), brought to us courtesy of the Biodiversity Heritage Library's Flickr stream?* They do look like sheep, don't they? Or some sort of odd ungulate-sized mice lazing about on rocks? Maybe a blocky rat, or muskrat? ...But, NO! They are bats. BATS!?!?! Printed the same size as the jaguar three plates earlier. What was Buffon thinking? I don't know, but I had to do my own illustrations of these little guys to demonstrate how much scientific illustration has improved in 200+ years...

The three bats presented in the above Buffon image done here in pastel, from top to bottom:

• Greater Bulldog bat, Nolctilio nigrita
• Ternat or Greater Yellow House bat, Pteropus vulgaris
• Senegal bat, Vespertilio nigrita

*Buffon's Natural history, containing a theory of the earth, a general history of man, of the brute creation, and of vegetables, minerals, &c. &c. From the French, with notes by the translator.  London:1797-1807.

Tooting my own horn

My new book of illustrations is out!! Twenty or so images interspersed among stunning ocean mythology poetry. Many thanks to Zachary Chartkoff for collaborating with me on this one. :) 

Get your copy here. 

Fish on Friday

Your Friday fish blog is here. I worked up this lovely Remora remora using carbon dust on illustration board for the latest Illustration Smackdown on the From the Stacks blog. Nature is full of wonderful creatures, but this one is just weird. The front dorsal fin has evolved into a giant sucker disc which the Remora uses to attach to a larger fish, turtle, ray, or shark. The larger animal swims fast enough to increase the oxygen flow over the Remora's gills, which is good since they will die in still waters. Wacky!

writing and reference

This past weekend I got some great new cards from the pickypockets booth. I spent the last three hours (in between reference questions - probably why it took so long) enhancing it with my first ever pop-up.

I had so much fun I might make a habit out of this. :)

I have! More pics after the break....