Butterflies are monsters.

Butterflies are monsters. I first heard that in a line from 'Giant Ant' from the The Handsome Family's first album "Odessa". I had no idea what Renni is going on about here so I googled it and found a few interesting tidbits. First one is about the Pope. He is definitely not afraid of calling a spade a spade and has labelled certain priests 'Butterfly-Priests". When responding to a question he repleied“...What is the place of Jesus Christ in my priestly life? Is it a living relationship, from the disciple to the Master, or is it a somewhat artificial relationship... that does not come from the heart?....We are anointed by the Spirit, and when a priest is far from Jesus Christ he can lose this unction.... Those who put their strength in artificial things, in vanity, in an attitude... in a cutesy language... ‘This is a butterfly-priest,’ because they are always vain.” Food for thought. I was brought up Catholic but am at odds with some of the teachings of the Church and more specifically how some of the priests handle the responsibilities of the power of their position. I read into this butterfly-priest concept as validation that we must not blindly accept what a priest or minister tells us. Blind allegiance to anything can lead to trouble.

The second post that caught my attention, Butterflies are Monsters Who Drink the Tears of Turtles was the from The Mary Sue. It is a quick and interesting read but better than the real reason, it would be a great prompt for writers.

And that leads me to the drawing above. It is for this week's Illustration Friday prompt, Stomach. Most of us tend to get butterflies in our stomach when we think about starting something important to us. Whatever that is, the more difficult the task, the more anxiety we face. I've been struggling with finding time in my life for a few projects. I have come to realize that starting is not the difficult part. Finishing is but we cannot finish something if we don't start. So we all need to make the time necessary to start and finish the things that are important to us.

TEETH

First of all, I am NOT a Gator, but I do have to do creative work for them every now and then. I used to be a regular contributor to Illustration Friday. It has been quite some time since I last participated. I do hope this signals a change. This is an illustration created for the annual Florida-Georgia Game in Jacksonville. I also painted a Dawg. It also has teeth but the Gator has many more.

And for all those Gator fans who might find this… Go NOLES!!!

Illustration Friday...ZOOM!

Space: Illustration Friday

Here's an illustration that I created for MOCA's education department for the School Tour brochure… perfect for Illustration Friday.

Over Snackarrinated

Last week the museum where I work, MOCA Jacksonville, held an opening for an amazing new exhibition called Imagination Squared. It was a huge collaborative effort by a wide cross-section of people. I participated, just barely, but I am so thankful that I pushed myself and got mine square in with only seconds to spare before the deadline. I am happy, too, not only because I am part of this great event, but also because this was the first time I used acrylics in over 20 years. I suppose it is a little like a bicycle… once you learn…

At any rate, this little painting seemed the perfect fit for this week’s Illustration Friday prompt. I would love to be saying that it is the start of a rededicated weekly practice, but life is still throwing fast balls and I'm still swinging. Soon, dear friends. Soon.

Dragon

Dragons are mythical creatures that populate almost every culture on earth so I find it hard to believe that they have always been creatures of man's imagination. I do believe that there was once a creature that inspired all the stories and know that I would not like to meet it in the wilderness.

This is a logo that I created for a youth soccer team. Below the logo is a crest that the team used on their jerseys. For those of you who didn't know today is Appreciate a Dragon Day so it is only fitting that this logo finally makes an appearance. Is that my geekiness showing again? Can't help that.

Illustration Friday-GERMS!!!!

germ, n. A pathogenic microorganism; something that may serve as the basis of further growth or development: the germ of a project;

The first thing that sprang to mind was something that causes disease. And every day I look at the news and see that our world is diseased… too many people in this world claim to speak for God… claiming that their way is THE way… but it isn't just the radical Muslims spreading their poison, although we see their terror most visibly… we are almost all guilty of it… every time we judge another… every time we point our fingers… every time we turn our backs… every time we put ourselves first… every day…

John Steinbeck said “A sad soul can kill quicker than a germ.” Too true. Life is moving way too fast… everyone feels it… we all need to slow down and think about the repercussions of our actions… take the time to see who we pass on the street… say hello to the stranger… smile… and let that be the germ that spreads… try it… you'll see…

Magnify – Illustration Friday

This is a recently completed illustration that I created for a series of lectures here at MOCA. It has been a while since I gave a talk but I KNOW that my fears are magnified when I step up in front of any crowds. And it doesn't matter how much I prepare, I still get the cold, clammy feeling. Thankfully, that feeling is quickly replaced, especially when I have connected with my audience.

Illustration Friday

I sure do miss Illustration Friday. Thanks to all my friends who have checked in on me over my hiatus and wished me well. Every week I get my e-mail announcing the topic and I am determined to participate… and for a long while, every week I have been pulled in one direction or another. Much of it has been fun. I took my daughter to Universal Studios and road roller coasters. The whole family spent a week in San Diego – the zoo, Sea World, people watching at Comicon, and a week with my oh so fab cousin Annie and her new family. And then there's WORK. It has been a roller coaster ride this summer. I spent June working on website designs for Taleo. The fruits of my labor should be live soon. Freelance projects kept me jumping and then there's MOCA. With all the trips and contract work, I spent much of my time either catching up or making free time.

And I almost forgot… silly me… if you didn't see my earlier post… I dusted off my acting muscles for the 48 Hour Film Project and was part of an award-winning short film. We took home "Best Picture", among others… AND I was fortunate enough to be a part of a group show at MOCA Jacksonville… the work was old… but it did help to light a fire under my…

Waaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh!! There it is. I got it out. And I also managed to get an illustration out. And some day I'm going to buy one of these little guys myself and do a little modifying. For now, check these cool designs out!

Illustration Friday – Adapt

Bugsy can't swin…
not even the dog paddle…
poor dog…
but he still knows how to have fun…
adapt or sit on the sidelines!


I've been away from Illustration Friday for way too long. Every Friday, I receive the e-mail and it only made me long for a few minutes, hours or days as it sometimes would take me to participate. I know I only grow as an artist when I do, but I haven't been slacking. Above is one of the many illustrations or logos that I have worked on since I last visited all those weeks ago. I hope my online friends haven't forgotten me. I surely haven't forgotten you.

I Don't Deserve This

About a month ago, I posted my entry for Illustration Friday. My thumb has just about recovered from the abuse of all the carving it took. It is a lot of work but so worth it. It was a woodblock of an ox and offered the remaining few in trade. One of my IF friends, Susan Sanford of ArtSpark Theatre, took me up on the offer. I just received this amazing piece of art. I'm certain I got the better end of this deal.

As for Illustration Friday itself, hopefully, once tax season, Easter and spring break (whew!) are out of the way I can get back to being a bit more regular and friendly.

Legendary

I guess I have been on somewhat of a superhero kick recently and last week's IF prompt Legenday fits the bill so I did a quick sketch of the Man of Steel. I had lunch with a friend last week and he told me about a story about Richie Havens. Havens. The story he related shared a number of life lessons that Richie Havens learned and how they revealed themselves at strange and unexpected times throughout his life. One of those awakenings was in the 1950s and tales of playing stickball growing up in Brooklyn, inspiring his mother’s wrath (“If your mother doesn’t believe you, no one will…”) and explaining his admiration for Superman as being driven by the fact that he “did what the cops couldn’t do”. HIs father told him that there were no heroes like the ones in the comic books, but I would imagine that somewhere inside he held on to the belief that somewhere this were such being. The George Reeves "Superman" television show changed it all for him and even at a young age got him thinking about the world we live in. This incarnation of the man from Krypton added a little something to the Superman mythology and in so doing revealed a little something about this great country in which we live. “Truth, justice AND the American way.” Four words added to the tagline opened his eyes. It also made him think. We always thought truth and justice WAS the American way. “You see how they fool us."

Illustration Friday - Intricate

Intricate plots…
Intricate plans…
Physician's friend…
Harmful to man?

I have to admit… this is an old painting. I used to sit for hours in front of the television with my watercolors and get lost. Now it seems I spend more time on Lost than I do painting… much more time spent on family and the never-ending home renovations… This is one of a series of paintings in a very different style that was inspired by my wife when we first started dating… not that a snake or Adam and Eve really have much to do with us… it was just a new path in life…

This one is called Physician's Friend. Water Worries can be seen here. More Than A Mouthful here.

Instinct - Illustration Friday

Sometimes something just feels right… or wrong…

Intuition is the ability to know things without reasoning or inferring… simply put… you just know something to hold truth. Right now our economy is a mess. We know this. We can't help but knowing this. Everywhere we go we are told how bad things are. And while it may be true, I think most of what we are dealing with is greed. Unfortunately, due to the Bush bailout and the Obama stimulus package those who created this mess don't have to live with the consequences of their greed. The banks and financial institutions who got more and more creative in their interpretation of the laws and basic good sense are now the happy recipients of our money. The automakers who refused to look at the big picture and keep mass-producing SUVs and trucks are facing ruin and the gift of our money. Then there are our neighbors who made a bundle flipping real estate… who bought way more than they could afford… who drive those big SUVs because we are Americans dammit and have the right… the stock traders who drive Wall Street with rabbit's feet and fly balls…

And through it all… good people suffer… hard working people lose their jobs because someone higher up in the food chain got greedy or lazy or just plain stupid… people who made good decisions and saved and didn't double and triple mortgage their houses to buy a new car or take a trip now get to pay the mortgages of our neighbors…

And through all of it… our intuition tells us that this is all very, very wrong… does anyone have an answer?

Time…

Late again… as usual… but not as bad as last week…

I know that as I get older, time moves by quicker. A minute compared to my entire life is minuscule so, essentially, a minute is shorter for me now. I get that… but come on already! Not this fast! Even small children complain that there is not enough time to do what they need or want to do. I think people are really sick of the pace. From Steampunk to Slow Fashion, the revolution is alive and well. We have so many modern conveniences to make our lives easier that we are drowning in them. On a personal note, we have forgone the landline in favor of our cell phones. And now we are all wired 24/7. I'm not sure if that actually slows the pace but we did do away with cable television. It is amazing just how much I don't miss it. Sure I miss a few shows but my life is slowly getting richer. I read more and have more time to work on the house renovations and, most importanty, more time to spend with my family.

Maybe this economic slow-down is God's answer to our prayers. And that would lead me to remind everyone the we need to be careful what we wish for.

Climbing… Illustration Friday

Well, here I am again… just at the buzzer… I think that I have finally gotten on top of all that needed to get done at the Museum. It truly is a great show. Go on… take a look… and if you are in town… stop in… I have an office on the 5th floor.

This little lady has just discovered something new and has climbed out of the soup and is off to see what she can find. I feel the same way right now. After having a nice comfortable place to "live" for the past two-and-a-half-years I am now on to something new… and wonderful… and exciting… AND a bit scary. I know a lot of people are in the same boat right now. Many have lost their jobs. Businesses are cutting away the fat or burning it up in order to stay afloat and I'm not so sure it is ALL bad. It forces us to look at wh we are, where we have been and where we want to go. It also gives us the opportunity to try that "thing" that we always wanted to do. And since I am looking at this from the fishes point of view (cold-blooded) I think many of the companies that are in trouble have gotten too fat and too enslaved to the layers and layers of bureaucracy. How many layers of middle management can a company have without having waste?

Don't get me wrong. I know that there are a lot of people suffering out there. Not only are my thoughts and prayers are with you… I am with you. So pull yourself out of the muck and find that new life. Or if you are in a place to help… reach in and pull someone out. Whatever you do don't stop climbing!

Contained

In a recent post Seth Godin talks about rigid boundaries and no boundaries ar all. It's fun to think about just how far you can go but that also has me thinking about the old saying… "give him enough rope and he'll hang himself". Rules are versions of boundaries. In design, to be a good designer I believe you need to know the rules… at least as many of them as possible… so that, if and when necessary, you can break them… or go beyond the boundaries of what is generally accepted. With clients you need to know where you stand and where, under no circumstances, should you go. Sometimes I am that kid that Seth refers to that spends days scheming to get what I want and I know that I am wasting my time. You need to know when it is time to accept that you can't always do the best work possible but you can always give it your best effort with the tools that you are given. You need to know when it is time to stop fighting those monsters and give the client what they ar asking for… no matter what. And hopefully, while doing so, you have an "ah ha" moment and figure out how to give the client what they are asking for AND the best possible work.

Resolve

So the New Year starts with a bang. Yada… yada… yada… I resolve… already lost four pounds… woo hoo! And I got done what I told myself that I would get done on my house renovations before going back to work from the holiday break… another woo hoo!

There is so much to do for me at this time of the year. The Museum is keeping me very busy… as is usual right before a new show. Once the show is over, I resolve to add one new client a month… could it be YOU?

Voices

This has been a wonderful week… hectic but rewarding in so many ways. I had all kinds of ideas for this week's topic and had planned to have it done over the weekend… but plans change… and change… and… you guessed it… change… and so did the idea I had for the illustration… and so, I opened the sketch book and started… and this morning I had it all figured out… but things change… and while the idea is still there… the rest has been lost with the hustle and bustle of the day… the illo gives voice to our most treasured loved ones… the ones who must endure what we believe is right as parents… and while we have the benefit of hindsight… we do often close our ears and minds to the voices of our children… often with terrible consequences…

This thought recurred over and over this weekend… and culminated in the movie I watched last night sitting next to one of those I most cherish in this world…

Rambunctious - Illustration Friday

Since this week has been one of those weeks… I am going to have to dig something up from the old sketch book. I do have all manner of rambunctious children and critters drawn and doodles in the stacks of books, but this logo caught my eye.

I worked on this project over a two-year period, first for Downtown Vision where I developed a direct mail and an online marketing campaign. The following year, the City of Jacksonville took the event over and as they were already a client, gave me a call to work on a new project of theirs. It is funny how things just seemed destined to be. We continued producing the direct mail pieces but the online component was scrapped. Luckily they did want to redesign the existing logo and after filling page after page after page with thumbnails, I came up with the award-winning logo that you see here. It even graced the cover of one of David Carter's logo books! Unfortunately, funding went away and so did the project but it was fun while it lasted. Their new agency liked my photography so much that they lifted one of my photos to use on the Downtown Vision's new site. Lucky me!!

Hopefully, I will have more time to get back to creating new work next week. Happy holidays to those of you lucky enough to be starting early.