Popcorn

Mmmmmm. Popcorn...

Pine Cone

A pine cone found on a walk with the family.

Grandparents

My grandparents are getting up there in age. There appearance has changed so much in recent years. We spent a great Christmas Eve with them.

Play-Doh Animals

My son and I were making Play-Doh animals using these weird parts.

faces, faces everywhere

Drew these from the newspaper. I'm starting to feel a little better about picking up key features. You know the things that make people distinctive. Like the shape of their head or nose, lips, and chins.

Oscar

This turned out good. Nice and simple. Tried not to waste any lines. I think I did him a favor though. Don't tell him but I think he's actually a little stockier.

Lemons

I just started drinking hot lemon water in the morning and evenings. Cleans that phlem right out. It's supposed to help with digestion too. Hopefully it doesn't dissolve my teeth in the process.

Samantha

Still hard. This one looks mor childlike, but maybe a little too old.

digital camera

My wife's digital camera. Sort of squished, but generally o.k...I think.

Family Room

Here's half of our family room. Hidden in the darkness is the dog kennel.

and more faces

If you thought drawing faces was difficult, try drawing the face of a baby. With those delicate litte features. Normal proportion rules don't seem to apply (not that I paid much attention anyway). The top sketch is of my daughter, the second two are of the same woman from the newspaper.

More Faces

More practice drawing faces. The first is from the obituaries in the morning paper. The second is a scary version of me from last year's Christmas card.

Crab Boat

A crab boat full of crab pots at the docks in Hammond.

Old House

Old house on another site I was working. In pretty good condition really.

Meat Processing

This building housed a meat processing operation a long time ago. I was working on site so took a little time to sketch it.

Faces

I've always been intimidated by faces, worried they wouldn't turn out right. Can't get better if you don't practice though. At least these do resemble faces.

Draw Stuff

Hands

Hands are hard to draw. Notice the crazily thick middle finger. It made the text easier to fit in.

Down Time

Drew these from an arrangement sent to my wife following the birth of our daughter.


The kitchen window sill again.

Time for the Little Things

Being home with a new baby has allowed me the time for all the little things I'm too hurried to normally worry about. There is the obvious of caring for my family. Sure, I've caught up on some reading, done a bit of drawing. But I'm talking about things like keeping my unibrow plucked and nose hairs short, even flossing has become less of a chore. Huh. Maybe it's the sleep deprivation.

First Spam Post

Yeah. I just received my first spam post. I have arrived. Time to activate 'word verification'.

Moving Right Along

Things are moving right along. After a weekend of blood test related to a mild case of jaundice we are starting to develop a rouding.

Finding time to read and draw has been a challenge. Easier now while I'm not working though. Both are done in short bursts. Most completed at an early hour when my only company is the dogs.

Most of the big leaves have fallen (lower left). But not the small red ones (lower right).

My mom came over and helpped get the yard cleaned up and dig up the dahlia bulbs for the season. Waited a little too long, some were already rotting. Earlier next year.

We're home

Baby items are accumulating everywhere. This is the often used magical bouncy chair. I am hesitating installing batteries which will lead to music and vibration.

Scanning and Posting

Can someone help me? I'm trying to figure out the best way to scan and post images to this blog. I draw strictly in black pen and ink. I usually scan by 8.5 x 5.5 sketch book pages at work in black and white at 300 dpi. Before posting them to my blog I reduce the image to 72 dpi while keeping the 8.5 x 5.5 dimensions. They look fine if you view the full image (by clicking on the image in the post) but they look a little odd as displayed in the post when they're reduces in size.

What do you think? Do the images look o.k. to you? How do you transfer images from sketch book to your blog? All suggestions are welcomed.

Stool

Hopefully we will be leaving the hospital today. Both bren's bed and the cot I slept on are terribly uncomfortable. We want to get home to our own beds and routine. Yeah, we are leaving at 5 pm.

Medicine On Board

These are fluids and pain meds for Bren in anticipation of imminent birth later today.

Samantha is Born

Our daughter, Samantha, was born just after noon today. After a mere 6 minutes of pushing, the 8lb 15oz Samantha emerged happy and healthy. Both mother and daughter are resting well.

COFFEE

COFFEE I'm not addicted. I can stop whenever I want. I just don't want to quit!

Eli and I were drawing today. I was doing caricatures of the family. This one is actually a likeness of me. The others didn't turn out too great.

Screwdriver

I've drawn almost everything in the kitchen. So, I pulled this old screwdriver out of the drawer.

Bren is just trying to stay busing and occupy her mind. We took Eli to see chicken little and met my mom there. The weather hasn't improved, still wind and rain. We just hope we don't get bumped on Monday.

Still Waiting

Text reads, "Still Waiting - We are still waiting to be induced. We, ore really, Bren was bumped twice. Now we have to wait until Monday night, late. I feel like a yo-yo, as I'm sure Bren and Eli do too."

Rain

Text reads, "RAIN and wind are blowing fiercely. Great night for trick-or-treating. Eli is going to be Mr. Incredible, or Dash, depenging on when you ask him. The baby comes on Thursday...or sooner. WE are scheduled for Thursday induction though. Getting a little nervous now. How did the breathing go?"

Morning Ritual

An illustrated example of my morning ritual. Feed the dogs, get the paper, make some eggs and coffee, do the jumble, get eli a juice box or milk.

Eli

Another sketch of my son napping. Faces are really hard for me. I really screwed up the lips. Or something. He's not a monkey, really. Oh, I'm starting to use some rubber stamps I just got.

The text reads, "Eli has been so loving and affectionate lately. He is such a sweet kid. He crashed on the couch tonight after a long day at grandma's. "Dad, you know what? What? I love you!" makes me feel so food. He doesn't look like a monkey (as I've drawn), but he does act like one."

Toyota Prius

The text reads, "Well, slow day, thought I would get an oil change. This Toyota Prius hybrid was parked in front. Today I had time to draw it befre they took it away for service. It drove off with a silent whiiirr, due to the electric motor, instead of the grrowhooa of a gas engine. Pretty cool.

An older woman walking by with her dog just said by drawing was beautiful. Cool.

Baby Swing

Another visual journal type entry. This is in our baby room. It was Eli's. My wife is scheduled to be induced on November 3rd. We are getting anxious.

Excavator

Draw while on a site in the industrial area of Northwest Portland. This excavator was next door on the Porland CSO project. Specifically, the Nicolai shaft. The project involves the construction of several of these hundred plus foot vertical shafts and severl large diameter tunnels.

Kitchen Counter

Not too original today. Just some of the things frequently found on our kitchen counter. At least in the morning when I usually draw.

Lunch Break SketchCrawl

Well, I haven't really drawn in public before, usually huddled in a corner or in my truck. On my way to grab a sandwhich I stopped to draw a few of things in Oregon City. A fountain down the street, Clackamas County Courthouse, an old motorcycle, and the Municipal elevator. They're pretty sloppy. I was nervous. When I was drawing the courthouse a guy came up and told me someone put it there just for me to appreciate/draw. When he walked by to return to his car he told me to keep having fun. Cool.

T.P.

Bren has a fierce cold. As if it wasn't hard enough to breathe. There are balls of tissue all over.

Below that is one of my many stocking hats. Now that its fall, I get to wear one every day. Function or fashion statement? Both?

Getting Ready

If you can't read the text, either due to the size or the messiness, it says "Samantha is coming soon. Time to make sure we have enough tapes and a charged battery. I can't delieve the birth is so close. When do you call the hospital?"


My sketchbook is morphing into more of a visual journal now, which was always the intent. This sketchbook was supposed to be practice for my first moleskine.

Kitchen Window

I took advantage of Eli's nap to draw the view from the kitchen window. Once I drew the window I thought it would be too busy to draw the view.

Eli Napping

This is another attempt at drawing people, specifically, my son Eli. He passed out on the couch during a lazy weekend. I think his feet should be bigger, but I was happy with the head and face.

Old Car

This was the car driven by one of the workers on a site I was at. The picture was drawn from a photo. I tried to get that dramatic front view. The grill should be proportionately bigger. Didnt' really turn out like I wanted.

Chinese Food

After a day of work at the coast I went to one my favorite resaurants from my high school years, Westlake Chinese Restaurant. I composed this scene which consisted of plastic squeeze bottles containing hot mustard and sweet and sour sauce, the sesame seeds in the large shaker, and the salt. I pushed the salt in becasue its shape was interesting with the faceted glass.

My Trusty Slipper

My wife says they stink, but I can't get rid of them. They are too comfortable. I suppose I could clean 'em.

Brand New Barn

A brand new barn at the site of a proposed winery out in the middle of nowhere. This was drawn from a photo. Didn't think the client wanted to pay for my time to sketch his barn.

Water Truck

A water truck on a site we were working on.

Front Entry

Our front entry. The cross-hatched shadow looks too loose, not very convincing.