Test Versions

In order to reduce the temptation of cheating with the students, I always have two versions of tests that alternate between them.  Instead of test "A" or "B" for the final, I like to find new critters I have never heard of before.  This year will have Version Sea Pig and Version Long-eared Jerboa!  These little drawings will be on the front of their exams.  (Note: Sea Pigs do not have eyes.  It was part of the cute-ification process.)

Spirogyra

Awhile ago I sent a letter to my lovely Aunt Sue-Z.  Now that she has received it, I can share the image!  Protist good times!  The gray shading on the left side is that edge of the water droplet these were floating in.  The drawing it through a microscope.

Dr. Dufty

My adviser Al Dufty died last week quite unexpectedly.  He was a tall, kind person that helped to guide many grad students through their intense work.  If it was not for him, then I never would have gone to Boise State.  I still remember sitting in my apartment in Placerville, CA interviewing over the phone and thinking that this was the adviser for me.  You don't pick a grad school in reality.  You pick an adviser, and he picks you.

In honor of his memory, I painted two watercolors.  One being the brown-headed cowbird - his "specialty" if you will.  The other being the puffies (AMKE nestlings) in a BSU box, which he shared with his grad students.

Thank you Al, for enriching our lives.

Journal Page Drop!

So here are some images that I ether forgot to note that I did post or just fell through the cracks.  I actually have only a few pages left on my "travel sketch" journal.  I've had it for so long - it's time to wrap it up!

Young Goodman Brown #1

So I putz and doodle.  I'm always experimenting.  I love that, but I also have no idea if I can have a style or be consistent, which is an important skill.  I've always been inspired by illustrators (i.e. Quentin Blake, Ralph Steadman, and Beatrix Potter), so I am going to try to work on developing illustrations.  Plus, they lend well to ink and watercolor! 

In order to not feel pressured to keep the first style I attempt, I've decided to work on short stories in the public domain.  That way, I can try to be consistent in style with three different images per story, and then can move on to a different "look."  If I don't like it, at least I gave three decent attempts to get the hang of it.  Also, I'll feel less of a burden if I know I can move on to the next story and try again if I mess up.  Hopefully I can learn more about myself now that I have learned so much about others.

Below is the first watercolor of three before adding on the inks.  I am illustrating Nathaniel Hawthorne's "Young Goodman Brown," which is a fantastic read!  Pick it up late at night to really absorb the creepy devil v. Puritan feel.  After reading it twice, I thought about the most impacting visual cues that encapsulate more than a snapshot of the plot and also give the atmosphere.  Then I researched Puritan clothing.  I sketched out lots of layouts and decided on the three with the best pacing and imagery.  Each one will have one color and then gray tones.

I am now at a stumbling block - the inking is where MY touch can really be added.  I'm okay with watercolors and feel that when I'm painting.  However, I honestly PLAY with inks.  It's not art, it's a visual puzzle to solve.  That's where my styling will come in.  Which style though?  Gah?!  Thick lines?  Varied lines?  Wood cut look?  Geesh.

I need to stop overthinking and just do it.

Easier said than done!
  
Later note: All righty - here is the final...

Lessons learned - 

• I apparently am going "safe" for the first story - no weird interpretations, basically following the watercolor edges
• Style-wise, I love adding thicker edges to...
• The outside of shapes
• Closer objects
• Occasionally used hatching, but I am still uncomfortable with it because I can't make reliable lines
• I used my Ahab pen, which smears like all get out, but I like its flexibility
• Inking on lumpy cold-press paper is hard for creating smooth edges
• Maybe try smooth hot-press in a future story?

New Batch o' Bookmarks

New batch of bookmarks!  I needed genre related, so there is the - Adventure (Verne-like), Modern, Nature, and Creepy.  I embossed the blood on the creepy one so it is a little 3D and shiny!

An Afternoon at the Japanese Friendship Garden

It may not be San Francisco, but there is a nice little hideaway right next to the I-10.  A sketching group went out there, and I joined in.  I really must come to more of these gatherings!  These were my sketches, each about 45 - 60 minutes.