Doodlin' Monkey Boy

12 Months, 12 Paintings

2009-06-06T19:59:00.000-07:00

Finally finished another one...I could make excuses, and I have many, but can I just say that sometimes life gets in the way...

This is based on a photo we took in Lunenburg a couple of summers ago...Just loved the image of the beach ball and bucket in a bank office window....

12 Months - 12 Paintings

2009-03-09T18:46:00.000-07:00

Finally finished a painting!

I could use this as a forum to complain about all the reasons that I haven't finished anything before, but I won't.

Terry was hanging out at school, and I wasn't teaching Art when the second semester started...I often painted along with the kiddies...finally, waiting for the Mrs. to finish up an afterschool meeting, I had time to slap on the last few touches...

Now, to find a place for him in my classroom...

52 Weeks - 52 Books #13, 14 & 15

2009-03-09T18:39:00.000-07:00

I posted these three together, as I read them in succession.

My co-teacher and I in the English department,( Okay, that's stretching it, we are the English department.) decided that we would set up our courses so that each class had a unifying theme. It's been working really well. I've actually been doing the reading for some stuff for next year's themes, so we can be on the ball and order some new novels. (That's an ulterior motive...getting some new novels into the rotation!)

One theme I really want to do is a 'War & Peace' theme. So I read these. Myers' books are great. I've read a pile of his YA fiction, and it's really good. I especially liked Sunrise over Fallujah...nice to read something current.

Night, well, Night is great. What a fantastic account of the Holocaust. Jeez, I just read that. By fantastic I mean well written, with a very definite voice.

I could've erased that, but I figured it stands very interestingly as is.

52 Weeks - 52 Books #12

2009-03-09T18:37:00.001-07:00

More Star Wars shenanigans...

I'll be honest, I'm looking forward to ending the series, not because it's bad, but I'm feeling kind of locked into the series, like I should have one of these in the wings, ready to be read...

52 Weeks - 52 Books #11

2009-02-18T20:29:00.000-08:00

One of my top five favorite movies of all time...and I've finally read the book...

Maybe because I loved the movie so much, it made the book a bit much to take...

See, Luke, in the film, brilliantly portrayed by Paul Newman, is much more whimsical...less dark...even his death seems to be in question (Sorry if that spoiled it for the one person who reads this blog, and if you haven't seen the film, get off the Interweb and watch it please...)

Luke, in the novel, has a much more palpable anger... the scenes that are so beloved from the film, such as the eggs, are present, but it just feels meaner...

And let's be fair, you can only create so much whimsy in a work of fiction about a chain gang...

52 Weeks - 52 Books #9 & #10

2009-02-18T20:20:00.000-08:00

Figured I might as well double up on this post. Yeah, I've clearly been geeking out...

I am really digging the New Jedi Order series...I mean, these are what I call popcorn books...I can polish one off in an uninterrupted afternoon...

But, I like what they've done with the series...the struggles that the characters are going through as a result of the war... well done.

52 Weeks - 52 Books #8

2009-02-04T17:17:00.001-08:00

Awesome!

So, I'll be dorking it bigtime soon.

I have the series, and have so far eBayed the first miniseries, and am being frugal in my searching for The Final Battle.

I loved V as a kid, and really, really enjoyed this book. I mean, it's not without flaw, but still really enjoyable.

Very excited to see that a new TV remake has been greenlit...well, a pilot anyway....

52 Weeks - 52 Books #7

2009-01-27T08:12:00.003-08:00

Finishing this was my 'red badge of courage.' Hurt like a wound would too.

Not going to lie to ya here, not a fan!

I'll probably still offer it as an option for some students to read (Grade 10 - Heroism and Facing Adversity) but it's gonna be a hard sell for me!

52 Weeks - 52 Books #6

2009-01-27T08:09:00.000-08:00

Again, reading for work. All our English classes are centered around a theme this year.

Grade 11 is 'Justice.'

I think some kids will be into this, seeing as how it's set in Manitoba.

Amazing what can happen, and be accepted in a small town...

52 Weeks - 52 Books #5

2009-01-15T20:09:00.001-08:00

A short one...and I'm a quick reader...

A classic. So sad...

I'll make use of this one at school for sure, especially since a recent retiree ordered a class set of 'em...

52 Weeks - 52 Books #4

2009-01-15T20:02:00.000-08:00

Okay, so I'm whipping along very well on this aspect of my New Years Resolutions...Semester is ending, so I'm reading a lot for next semester, books I may have the kids read...

This one, very good, and very sad.

Really, I don't want to be all spoiler-ific and give it away, but it's a bummer. I mean, I guess, how many chipper, happy Holocaust novels are there really?

Highly recommended though...

52 Weeks - 52 Books #3

2009-01-13T16:22:00.001-08:00

As a longtime fan of The Catcher in the Rye, I must admit, I've always been curious about Salinger's other works.

Franny and Zooey, although quite good, just doesn't have quite what Rye did. I dunno, it just wasn't as engaging.

Although, as usual, reading leads me to WikiGoogling (My term for all Internet research...I don't know if I coined it, but I'm claiming it like I did.) and so now, I've got his story collections added to the list of things I want to read.

Irony of all ironies, I've been looking for this book for a while, and did not find it in a book store, but in a record store.

If anyone actually still calls them that...

52 Weeks - 52 Books #2

2009-01-10T19:11:00.000-08:00

Weeks like this one will make up for the really busy weeks I'm sure...

This one, I read for work, but really enjoyed it. Each grade of English that I teach this year has a theme...Grade 11 is justice...

This fits.

And it's a really, really good book.

I'm in the process of bumping the movie to the top of my cinemail queue...

52 Weeks - 52 Books #1

2009-01-08T13:18:00.000-08:00

Star Wars: The New Jedi Order - Enemy Lines II - Rebel Stand
Aaron Allston

Probably a bunch of really dorky books will show up here.

Been working my way through this series for a while now, and thoroughly enjoying it. Finding it really interesting seeing the Solos and Skywalkers suffer through this war...

Pretty well written too, considering how hit and miss the Star Wars novel universe can be

2009-01-08T13:16:00.000-08:00

New Year's Resolutions

1. learn to play guitar...got one for Christmas, so it just makes sense

2. An idea I stole from somewhere online...
52 weeks - 52 books
I'm gonna read a book for every week in this year...

3. 12 months - 12 paintings
Which will be applicable to what usually goes on here...

A good art week!

2008-02-24T15:08:00.003-08:00

First off, I finally finshed my 'Cool Hand Luke' painting.

I had a pretty short week at work. Monday was a holiday, Tuesday and Wednesday, I didn't have to teach my 11 History, which freed up a lot of time. Thursday, I went to an Arts conference put on by the province and Manitoba Arts Council. I thought initially it was gonna be all curriculum stuff, but there was hands on-stuff. I also filled the Batmobile full of crap from ArtsJunktion. They're an organization that collects "crap" and makes it available to art teachers.
Chewie was my MondayArtday contribution this week, for the theme 'getting ready.' As a husband, I think Han would've been waiting for a looooong time. I sketched this guy during the talkie parts of the conference on Thursday.
This guy was what I did in the afternoon. I was stoked, as one of the things I wanted to do with my kids this year was create puppets or marionettes. This guy is a cardboard tube, duck tape, tin foil, beads, stones and that piece of material. The afternoon workshop I hung out at was put on by this great Winnipeg artist who is a big proponent of using whatever is at hand and creating. She made some amazing stuff...I made this guy...I'm stoked to see what the kids'll do.

Friday was a workshop here in Gimli for us teacher folk. I sketched a current self portrait on my coffee cup during the keynote. I also took notes on it.

I'd be painting this weekend, but I got kind of engrossed in Stephen King's Dark Tower series. I bought a couple of the later books that I hadn't read at a charity book sale recently, and decided to get the beginning of the series out of the library and read the whole deal.

I am Jay's ink stained fingers!

2008-02-15T19:37:00.001-08:00

Another piece for Monday Artday's 'favorite book' theme. Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk...a longtime fave. I got to see him read last year, and actually won a signed copy of the book. The audience was given Easter baskets or inflatable moose heads for answering questions or asking questions. I asked him if he'd ever considered writing for kids. (He said he'd love to get "a piece of that Harry Potter money.) As he was answering my question, somebody shouted something, after he had asked for the shouting to cease. He left the stage for a bit, leaving us all thinking that was the end of things. He did come back and finished out the event.

Later in the event, some jerk actually took a call on his cellphone in the middle of one of Chuck's stories. I imagine he was lynched later!

Apparently I have more time these days...

2008-02-13T19:17:00.001-08:00

She got some odd shadows when I scanned her, but I kinda like 'em. Just messing around. Lately, I've been cruising ffffound.com, checking out what's been posted. I snagged this pic for inspiration. I have my students doing a series of three pieces (realistic, abstract and non-objective) based upon the same image. I think, as I play too, that I'll use her as my realistic.

Paper towel mucking about

2008-02-13T19:13:00.001-08:00

One of my students was having some issues with the angle of a face she decided to draw. I showed her how the line should go on a piece of paper towel, and then just kept going with the line. Stuck this guy up as a late post for the 'half-beast' challenge on MondayArtday.

Favorite Book(s) for MondayArtday

2008-02-13T19:08:00.001-08:00

Hunter S. Thompson's Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

Mark Bowden's Blackhawk Down

Lost...Yay!

2008-01-30T13:56:00.000-08:00

Just finished watching the third season to prep for the fourth...kind of an annual tradition of mine! On MondayArtday, the theme this week was hidden messages. So, I submitted these!
I had a bit more time, as school got cancelled today since the temperature was hanging around -45!

The Bat...

2008-01-27T14:36:00.000-08:00

So, I'm back into comics. I think I'm gonna roll with Batman for a while.

This was a bit done for MondayArtday, where the theme this week was transition. Taking off the mask and returning to that other life was one of the things that always fascinated me about superheroes. I know I have a bit of trouble switching from Teacher Jay to Normal Jay (and they're not really that different, Normal Jay just swears more and doesn't tuck in his shirt)

This is a pencil and pen sketch done while I waited in the car for the Mrs. while she was at the optometrist.

January Mix

2008-01-18T20:53:00.001-08:00

I recycle my IMP mix (join at www.internationalmixtapeproject.com) for Operation Disc Drop. I like to explain why I choose the songs sometimes, just in case folks are curious.

January 08 mix

1. Highway Patrolman - Bruce Springsteen

I've been listening to the Boss a lot lately. We've had a Springsteen cd in the alarm clock since May of last year. We just took Nebraska out. (Switched it for 18 Tracks if you must know.) This song always got me, and made me think while I waited for my turn in the shower.

2. Loose Lips - Kimya Dawson

See Juno.

3. Revolution (acoustic) - The Beatles

I am a huge fan of Google drift. (wandering aimlessly around the Internet) Sometimes you find some really cool shit along the way.

4. Better - Dashboard Confessional

Regina Spektor covered by Dashboard?! - Awesome. I'm hoping for a Dashboard show in Winnipeg. The last time they were here, I was moving, and couldn't go.

5. Interstate Love Song - Velvet Revolver

I still listen to radio. The station we listen to on the way to work in the am has great morning guys. They play the STP version quite a bit. I saw VR a while ago, and they're awesome. It's like putting one of your favorite high school bands together with one of your favorite college bands - pretty much guaranteed awesomeness!

6. Grown - Jason Isbell

A big album for me last year. Loved this guy as a Drive-By Trucker (see track 9) and loved his solo album. This tune would be a huge hit if heard, I think.

7. Yellow Brick Road - Raine Maida

Buying tickets to see him tomorrow. Saw him last year. This is an album you should buy. And check out cbc.ca/thehour for some funny footage of him and an interview. Great artist. (He's the singer of Our Lady Peace if that helps you out. If that just raises more questions, well, now you have homework!)

8. Last Kiss - Seven Mary Three

If there's ever an IMP assignment where you create a primer for a band you think people might wanna hear, I'd just copy my 7M3 comp I made for myself. I put all their folkier stuff on one disc. This is off their forthcoming album.

9. Ghost To Most - Drive-By Truckers

An awesome band with an album coming out next week. Great songwriters...amazing headphone band in their back catalog. One of my most anticipated discs of '08 for sure. Get a bunch of their music and go for a long drive.

10. Local Celebrities - The Paperbacks

I'm beginning to discover music in Winnipeg. I love these guys. Their lyrics are great, the skewering of the local band made good in here, well, I know it must ring true for many artists. Isn't it amazing how as music fans, we do our best to try to limit an artist's growth?

11. Desert Of Our Love - U2

I'm a huge fan. I laid out a bunch of bucks for the super deluxe limited edition of the Joshua Tree recently. I'm taking a day off of work to catch the 3D flick this week...enjoy an unearthed tune.

12. Karate Man - The Super Friendz

Defunct Halifax rock...have to rep it for the East coast!

13. Band On The Run - Foo Fighters

Would, at the height of Nirvana's peak, you have seen Grohl as the force in rock music that he is today. Yeah, me neither. We've got tickets to see them in March. This cover really cooks when it kicks into rock mode.

14. Tournament of Hearts - The Weakerthans

Another Winnipeg artist, though one that may have been heard of. Great song, using curling terms as metaphors for love and all that stuff. I know at least two copies of this will make it into the states, so I'm spreading Canadiana. (I'll be honest, I don't really get curling either!)

15. New Years Ex - Air Traffic Control

Friends' band. I told them this had single written all over it, and now it's a single. If you dig it, let 'em know!

16. Rite Of Spring - Angels & Airwaves

I loved blink 182. I love U2. This band would be the bastard love child of that union. So I love this bastard love child.

Green...

2008-01-07T19:50:00.001-08:00

Although I haven't been posting there, I've been using the ArtJumble prompts in my Art class, along with those from Monday Artday and Illustration Friday. I coloured this guy tonight for this week's AJ, Green. It's actually a sketch that was in the sketchbook from an old AJ theme that I never finished...Sesame Street Gone Bad...

Eye have a New Year's Resolution...or more

2008-01-07T19:40:00.000-08:00

Like everyone, I make all kinds of jackassery statements about what I'll accomplish each year. I got cynical for a while, and vowed to quit doing heroin, just so I could say I achieved my resolution.

A big one this year is to spend more time doing arty crap...and actually bring projects to completion. More online illustration challenges will be completed, and paintings will be started and finished dammit - like the two hanging out on my art bench right now.

Been reading comics again, which is kind of inspiring... took the time to draw me some eyes...

Last of the Christmas "projects"

2008-01-07T19:32:00.001-08:00

A few of the projects from Christmas '07...
Ma-In Law's card...delivered on time this year!

The wrapping strategy completed...printing, Photoshop and glue gun used to achieve this mastery!

Santa's gift tags...were done in a variety of colors, and yes, the glue gun was used to affix them!

Happy Accidents

2008-01-07T19:28:00.001-08:00

I was pretty impressed with what happened here. I realized a bit late that I needed to complete that always expected homemade Christmas card. I started playing around with the gift tags that I had designed, and poof...there was this. Honestly, I dropped in the second ornament, and the little dangly doohickey thingies made a heart. Pretty effing cool eh? Coolest card in the display this year!

Arrrgh! Holiday projects

2007-12-23T08:24:00.001-08:00

Gift tags for the Mrs.' gifts! Fighting with my printer to print these off...posting and copying and pasting is my next strategy!

Operation Disc Drop

2007-11-21T22:43:00.001-08:00

Dropped a couple of these last week...one at Elmwood High, the other in the Calendar Club kiosk at Polo Park

Straight Outta Compton - Nina Gordon

A kid In the hall told me that he just discovered NWA. Yeah, I'm the teacher that they tell that kinda stuff too.

Betterman (live in South Africa) - Pearl Jam

A great version of a great song.

Number of the Beast - Zwan

Brings back memories...when I taught up North, this was on the mixed cd that we were listening to while we buried a friend's truck in snow.

Redemption Song (live) - Chris Cornell

Really love this one...would've loved to have seen him when he rolled through the 'peg earlier in the fall.

Badfish/Boss DJ - Jack Johnson

Jack doing Sublime... a little bit of a summery vibe that we need in November!

The Pizza Song - The Bouncing Souls

A fun song...I miss being able to buy a good, big slice like I can back home. I wish we could get that one together there Manitoba.

George Jones Talkin' Cell Phone Blues - Drive-By Truckers

Love my Truckers...recently read a Jones biography...this song sums up the most recent years pretty good.

Rollerskate Skinny - Old 97's

Just sticking with that alt-country vibe introduced last track...Rediscovered this one whilse trolling through the archives for a different song.

Local Celebrities - The Paperbacks

My new faves...been listening a lot lately...Winnipeg band. Love what the lyrics say about that fickle finger of celebrity.

Nobody Said It Was Easy - The Four Horsemen

A fave to crank on the iPod on the drive home. Shameless guilty pleasure to sing in the car.

Darling Nikki - Foo Fighters

I got Foos tickets last week! I like popping rarities on a mix like this. (Though I guess since this has been officially released, it ain't a rarity no more.)

Returning To The Fold - The Thermals

One of my musical discoveries of the year. So much fun, and a great show!

True Patriot Love - Joel Plaskett Emergency

Reppin' the east coast...that's all this is about!

Realize - Air Traffic Control

More East coast stuff...a friend's band, check them out!

Plea From A Cat Named Virtue - The Weakerthans

I love this song. I love the fact that it's a narrative from the cat's point of view...so much fun!

I've Got An Ape Drape - The Vandals

Just ponder mullets for a second...now you understand why this was included!

Breakfast Club - Z-Trip

Fun...and I want those Saturday mornings back.

The Maritimes - Classified

Pretty self explanatory...Miss the coast the most!

Drop The Disc

2007-11-17T07:04:00.000-08:00

So, the cat on the left here has a great TV show and radio show...takes up about 7 hours of my week. This week, he suggested a project called Drop the Disc, where you make a mixed cd, and drop it for someone to find. So I did that. I dropped it in the city when we went Christmas shopping yesterday. Hopefully, the person that found it is digging it right now. I actually, being time-strapped this week recycled a mix that I used for the International Mixtape Project last month, so I have the notes explaining the song choices. Since I put my blog addy on the disc, I'm gonna post the notes here.

Baby, Come On (acoustic) +44

Just a good song, and I like this acoustic version. It has that fall feel to it, a sense of something lost, which is a very autumn feeling. Also, I live in a summer town, and there's that sense of excitement that goes away when the cottages start getting boarded up.

Streets of Philadelphia - Bettye Lavette

I'm a big Drive-By Truckers fan, and they're backing her up here. I just like the soulful take on this tune, and it has a vibe similar to the first track on this mix.

Ruby, Don't Take Your Love To Town - Kenny Rogers

The Killers are releasing their inferior cover of this soon. I dunno, there's just something in Kenny's voice as he delivers a story like this one, when he plays a role that a lot of singers today can't seem to reach. (That kind of sounds like American Idol type advice doesn't it?)

He Stopped Loving Her Today - George Jones

On the other hand, this tune is begging for a cover. Maybe that's the problem with the Kenny Rogers tune, and the Killers' cover-wrong artist doing the job. A country cover would probably be too easily done, I'm thinkin' Tim McGraw, but wouldn't a Kid Rock cover of this be huge-or maybe Jason Isbell.

Grown - Jason Isbell

Loved this guy as a Drive-By Trucker, and loved his solo album as well. I dunno, fall also seems to be a time of introspection as well, so this kinda fits in that vein. As well, it's a great tune that I'd release as a single if it were my choice to make.

Fever Dreams - Dashboard Confessional

It's funny, I teach a bunch of kids that hate on emo, and I'm putting Dashboard on mixes. I don't care, I like the song's insistent beat kind of pulling the song along. It's fun, and getting a lot of spins at my house

All I Can Do - Chantal Kreviazuk

This is Canada's best female artist. The hell with Avril, Celine and Nelly, Chantal is the way to go. This one, this is all about my wife. We spend summer with our family, and in the fall, I get her all to myself again. Man, I'm lucky.

Livin' In The Future - Bruce Springsteen

I'm a Boss fan. We just rotate Springsteen albums in and out of the CD alarm clock. We took a special trip to the city, just to buy the new album. Great songwriting, as always, and the way I've been obsessing over Springsteen lately, no mix is coming outta my house without some Bruce.

Band On The Run - Foo Fighters

Love the Foos. I know a lot of people hate on 'em, but I can't. This is what music is about for me, guys who love what they do and have a good time doing it. I popped a cover on here just in case the recipient of this mix has some Foos, and maybe didn't get their paws on the cover. Also, I didn't wanna drop another track onto the mix off an album released this fall, because this mix seems to have a bunch of those.

Civil Twilight - The Weakerthans

I've lived in Manitoba for about three and a half years now, and I'm starting to dig it. I'm slowly discovering what there is to offer musically. This band was probably the first one I discovered. This song, I love it. I love the mention of places I know, I've been. I also love the upbeat music and the kinda sad lyrics - that juxtaposition is awesome.

Institutions - The Paperbacks

A new musical discovery. Opened for the Thermals when I saw them a couple of weeks ago. This song blows me away lyrically. So sad, yet so beautiful. They're a Winnipeg band, so I actually got a chance to tell them that, which I think is nice for everybody involved.

Worker's Song - Dropkick Murphys

I'm a teacher, so the fall means back to work. Not that I'm the blue collar frontline guy of the song, but it's definitely a tougher gig than people think. (Could be the reason I seem to be compulsively late with IMP mixes.) It seems in recent years that more is asked of us, yet less is given, including respect.

Money Honey - State of Shock

Simply on here because the radio station I listen to on the morning commute (iPod on the way home) plays it, and it gets stuck in my head.

All Summer Long - Kid Rock

Catchy. As. Hell. I could explain my enjoyment of Kid Rock, but I've recently come to that point in my enjoyment of music where I feel if I have to justify my decision to like a song or artist, the person I'm justifying it to needs to pull their head out of their ass. Good songs are good songs, and that is judged by the audience - me. Personally, I think this melding of 'Werewolves of London' and 'Sweet Home Alabama' is fun, and sounds like summer. We need that in fall!

New Year's Ex - Air Traffic Control

A friend's band. My mixes usually include an ATC track. I think this one's great, and deserves to be a hit. Support local music! And these guys - www.controltower.ca

Tired of Waking Up Tired - The Diodes

Back to work. Like I said, teaching is a lot of work, a lot of it outside of school hours. This song is how I feel most mornings.

Workshop and Meeting Notes

2007-10-28T10:07:00.000-07:00

I've been attending a bunch of workshops and meetings lately. I'm a doodler. Because I don't have as much art time as I'd like, my doodles are a bit more like mini art pieces than mindless doodling.

I was at one workshop about differentiating instruction, and the presenter actually said it was okay to doodle if you were a doodler! That's where the boy in the bottle arrived. Actually, she was a really good presenter, so I was actually listening and taking notes, not just doodling.

The girl on the tire swing is a sketch that may become a larger piece at some point in the near future.

I'm hoping to get some stuff up here. I'm working really hard on finishing some pieces that I've been working on for a while...some prints at work, some tape art, and a couple of paintings at home...Optimus Prime and Cool Hand Luke...

FISH! sketches

2007-09-03T16:34:00.001-07:00

Hey there! Just to make it look like I'm doing more arty stuff than I really am, here's four sketches that I scanned to stick on some posters I made for my classroom(s). They're for posters about the FISH! philosophy, this great thing that I learned about during PD up north, and have been reading up on again. The whole philosophy is based on the workers at Pike's Fish Market in Seattle, where the workers just have a ball at work. The four main concepts, as I've sorta illustrated are (in order of the pics) Make Their Day, Play, Be There and Choose Your Attitude. I love the philosophy, as it is more or less the way I feel about life.

Also, I realized that I am fun to draw. Little kids love to draw me.

2007-09-01T15:30:00.000-07:00

Finally got something new up here. There wasn't near as much doodle time as I'd have hoped over the summer. I have a couple of pieces from Nova Scotia that nead a few more minutes each that I'll get up here soonish, as well as a chalkboard for quotes that I'm painting for my classroom. That should be done tomorrow, but I may not get it posted until I get my 'puter back from the shop!

This sh.. is Bananas!

2007-06-15T20:08:00.001-07:00

I was thinking I needed a logo, or whatever. I doodled this guy up. It's Bananas, our stuffed monkey, who travels pretty much everywhere we do.

I'm hoping at some point to take this, and spiff it up digitally...you know, when I get time.

ArtJumble: Rabbits

2007-06-15T04:13:00.001-07:00

Okay, so by staying up really late when I should've been asleep, I found time to finish a piece for ArtJumble this week. Obviously, the theme was rabbits. This guy started as an evil bunny, but he got kind of non evil looking and then I got sidetracked, and wasn't feeling the desire to give him a body. So the original plan was to have this head poking out of grass. Then, I thought of Watership Down, and the grass became water.

Vader

2007-05-30T21:07:00.001-07:00

I love ArtJumble. I hate having to find the time to do a piece each week, but I love getting the topic, and running with it.

Two weeks of Star Wars. Yeah, I know...awesome.

This guy is done in pen, so you know it took forever. Had planned to keep him in the car to work on while waiting for DW, but wound up working on him at lunchtime. Took a long time!

HNRAAAH HWRAHH NHRAAAGH!

2007-05-24T04:35:00.001-07:00

Punch it Chewie!

Finished this guy up yesterday for ArtJumble. He's acyrlic on acetate, which kinda means painting backwards. Good exercise in planning out a piece.

FrankenBerry

2007-05-18T19:09:00.001-07:00

I babbled about the rationale behind this piece on ArtJumble when I posted him there.

He's a chalk and sharpie creation.

A new piece for ArtJumble

2007-05-12T16:27:00.000-07:00

Actually found the time to get a new piece done for ArtJumble this week. This guy's about three feet by one foot. Another faux batik, crayon resist. It's pretty entertaining working with crayons as a grown up.

Audrey

2007-05-10T04:23:00.000-07:00

This is a big piece that I did for DW. It's hanging in our living room now, and will probably occupy a similar spot in our new place. I'm planning a Cool Hand Luke piece for my office. Oh yeah, acrylic on canvas.

Batman!

2007-05-10T04:20:00.000-07:00

I popped this guy up on ArtJumble this week. I was hoping to get a new piece done for the Heroes & Villains theme, but it ain't lookin' good.

Kaujjagjuk

2007-05-03T20:31:00.000-07:00

I posted this one on ArtJumble, but I usually post all the AJ stuff here too. There's more explanation than I have time for here, over there...a bit of mixed media...it was gonna be a basic pencil sketch for a larger piece at a later time, but I decided to ink it with a felt pen, and then brush the ink with a wet brush, something that I've been messing with lately (see the pirate from AJ last week) Then, I added some background with an ink wash, and threw in the little pink tongues for some whimsy. I plan to do a better version as a larger piece. I may try to track down the storytellet whose story inspired it and try to get the story and do a series.

Some ArrrrrrrtJumble homework....

2007-04-26T18:15:00.000-07:00

Done in watercolour pencil and felt pen, you know, for those who like to know that kind of stuff.

More poker room pieces...

2007-04-20T04:14:00.000-07:00

This one should be hanging in Fredericton somewhere...hopefully watching someone who calls himself Vancinator getting busted out by a Q-6. By the way, he f's bears.

2007-04-20T04:06:00.000-07:00

Two variations on the same thing...the orange one sits in the corner of my office in the stack of finished pieces, the other hangs in a poker room in Berens River

Another one for ArtJumble...

2007-04-19T19:39:00.000-07:00

This week's topic was The Wizard of Oz...what else would you expect me to draw. I have some time whilst I wait for DW to leave work.

2007-04-07T18:35:00.000-07:00

Rock star week at ArtJumble. A Bono faux batik (crayon resist) that was hangin' out in my classroom. Too busy with school stuff this week to do much new...hopefully get something new up here soon.

ArtJumble

2007-03-30T15:05:00.000-07:00

One of the reasons I started this blog was so that I could post on ArtJumble.

It's a really cool site I came across. They give weekly assignments, and artistical folk post their take on the assignment. I'm hoping to stay on top of this, especially since I'm not planning on taking an art class until the fall again.

Anywho, this is my first contribution. The assignment was the zodiac. I was working on a unit for school, and wound up spending a bunch of time Googling 'The Mighty Hercules.'

March Break Sketches

2007-03-30T14:59:00.000-07:00

Usually, after church on Sundays, DW and I take a stack of schoolwork to the local coffee shop and have lunch, and do a bit of schoolwork. This week, since there was no school, I brought my sketchbook instead. The coffee shop has a bunch of masks on the wall. One I just drew, the other, I put on a body of sorts. Much more fun than school work. (gel pen again)

Rodin sketches...

2007-03-30T14:51:00.000-07:00

Before Christmas, I was taking a drawing class at the WAG. (Winnipeg Art Gallery) They had a Rodin exhibit, and we went in one evening to sketch. I worked in ink, (gel pen to be specific) and thouroughly enjoyed myself!

Old school stuff

2007-03-23T08:55:00.000-07:00

These are a pair of paintings that I did for folks the school Darling Wife (or DW as she'll be referred to henceforth) used to work at. It's a logo that I tossed together for some sweatshirts we got for the kids. Dropped the logos on top of some wildernessy stuff I painted up.

Hey there, ho there!!

2007-03-23T08:37:00.000-07:00

Got myself on of these here fancy bloggin' spots, and I figured it was time to start using it!

I'm planning on using it to stick some of the arty stuff I play at out for perusal. A bunch of folks wanting to see it are pretty far away, and I'll be honest, I wouldn't be too good at emailing stuff all over.

For the first bit, it'll probably be some catchup as I post some older pieces, really just from the past year. I'm also hoping that having this space will give me the extra kick in the pants I need to do more!

This is a piece that I actually just finished. It seems that my camera is doing some odd thing related to capturing straight edges, so I may repost. I just dig the colours!