• Making a Drawing – The Painting!

    This is a cleverly titled part two of a previous post. There I discussed the ins and outs of making a drawing and inking it with pens. I also wondered why this generic looking man had the expression that he does. Who knows? But I figured he could use some…

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  • Making a Drawing

    This is how I generally go about making a drawing. I did this as a demo piece for my students so they could see the steps from initial drawing to inking. The face is of no one in particular, it’s just a generic man. He looks nonplussed about something or…

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  • Picasso in Hell part 1

    I am a big fan of the Divine Comedy by Dante. I won’t write much about it here since that would be like trying to describe the Brothers Karamazov using only pictures from Awkward Family Photos. But please allow me to say a little bit. Dante populates his Inferno with a…

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  • Illustrations of Bugs

    Once upon a time I had the idea that I would be a scientific illustrator. I really didn’t know what doing that would entail. I figured I could just make some good bug drawings and BANG! I’d be a successful scientific illustrator. I found out that’s not the way it…

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  • Of Gyotaku, Real and Artificial

    The number of gyotaku posts here are all out of proportion to the actual number of prints I have pulled. I am actually far more interested in making drawings of the fish than in pulling prints of them. “Ah,” you say, “then why are you polluting the internet with all…

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  • The Drawing of Skeletons

    Everyone loves a good skeleton drawing. Of this I am absolutely convinced. And why not? Skeletons are cool to look at. They are tempting for the artist because they show off his command of drawing. They are also a shorthand way of imparting gravity to your work. Take this piece…

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  • The Crawdad that Keeps on Giving

    Yes, I know that you are saying to yourself, “What a redundant title. Of course crawdads keep on giving. Of all the decapods, the crawdad is the most selfless and magnanimous.” This is of course true. But I mean in the artistic sense. I have been recycling this crustacean for…

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  • Sunday School Drawings

    I have been asked by my bishop to make some drawings for a Sunday school curriculum that he wants to make available to the diocese. This has been an interesting job because I have both the original scripture references to work from and the author’s take on them as well. So…

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  • The Alchemy of Drawing

    Many of you out there wonder how it is that an artist takes a blank page and turns it into a fascinating drawing*. Simply put, it’s magic. Actually it’s alchemy which is a branch of magic. Mostly I just spill some pink or watercolor and wave a few pencils and…

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  • Dreams and Visions

    I think I have settled on Dreams and Visions as the title for my current drawing book. (If you don’t know what a drawing book is, read this.) No, I don’t think I am an artistic prophet of the Romantic 19th century variety. It’s just that I have spent the…

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