Friday, June 16, 2006

Illustration Friday - Dance


when the world has grown weary of me and my ways…
don’t walk away teary for halcyon days…

look to the sky… on the leaf by the path…
and open your eyes… remember my laugh.

when you have the choice, don’t miss the chance…
to raise a glass… to do a dance…

but i’m not gone… i still walk this earth…
for many years… and for all it’s worth…

i’ll give what I can … probably more…
and never pass by that unopened door…

i’ll laugh… i’ll cry… and i’ll hold your hand…
and do the unexpected and all that i planned…

life may be hard, but i’ll have fun…
and the world will grow weary of all that i’ve done…

so until then… i shall dance…




i figured I'd better get a jump on it this week… i start a new job monday… settin up shop at one of the largest museaums of modern art in the south… maybe i'll be able to sneak a painting or two on the wall when no one is looking…

Tuesday, June 13, 2006

Illustration Friday - Jungle


"Why are senseless slayings so assaulting to the senses?"

As soon as I heard this week's topic, I thought of the concrete jungle. But, "concrete" just doesn't say enough. It has become an urban jungle where only the strongest survive. In business and life on the streets it is the same. It seems man cannot tolerate the earthly jungle of trees and animals…not as a species. We seem to have to dig and destroy and build our own temples to and for ourselves. I would almost say that we are like ants. We build our communities and they spill over into the surrounding landscape. We wage war against the neighboring communities, making raids and stealing food. But that would not be fair to ants.

I just read that Tim Hildebrandt died this past Sunday. For those of you who aren't familiar with his work, he and his twin brother, Greg, were giants in the fantasy illustration field. I first came across their work after reading The Lord of the Rings. He and his brother were also responsible for the original Star Wars movie poster. I am sure that geeks and mouthbreathers all over the world are in mourning. I think their interpretation of Tolkien's work are, by far, the best. Their work is classic, harkening back to N.C. Wyeth's fantastic work on Treasure Island and Robin Hood. The Hildebrandts, along with Frank Frazetta, were some of the biggest influences on my career. Here's a pen and ink that I did way back in 1979.

Tim died due to complications of due to diabetes. There is a tribute to him at Spiderweb Art and more of his art can be seen here without all those messy copyright overlays.

Thursday, June 08, 2006

a couple of portraits of mick


I haven't got the slightest idea why, but I found both of these in one of my old sketch books. I thought they were kind of fun so I scanned them and had some fun in Photoshop. They were done a bit later, but they bring me back to my college days, especially my last year.

Tuesday, June 06, 2006

Illustration Friday - Portrait


So, I am back and busy as ever. I have a few deadlines to keep so I'm just going to have to dig deep. This one is from the late eighties. It is one of my faves.