I have never posted a photograph on this blog, but in lieu of drawing, I couldn't resist a picture with my "girl" for this years Christmas card.  She is a 2004 Honda Goldwing, a very appropriate holiday red, and provides endless joy and passion!!  We've been together a tad over a year and a half. ;)

                         

Kristi lives in Nevada, and along with her love to dance/shake her boot-ae, she fits right in wearing her cowgirl hats and boots, so this years card features the "Carson City Christmas Lizard" shaking her tail to some lively holiday tunes.

Lauren has enjoyed attending massage school at the Healing on Hands Institute, so I thought of an iceberg in the vague shape of hands as a comfortable place for a polar bear cub to get 40 winks, anticipating Santa dropping off a little something on his journey south.

Commission for an awards presentation…a pretty lady named Bonnie.

My sister Karen teaches piano lessons and wanted to give her students an incentive toward reaching certain goals.  She decided on t-shirts, and this is the design I came up with for her.  The challenge was coming up with something that both boys and girls would be ok wearing, though it seems most anything goes these days.  

Amidst a lazy streak, motorcycle trips, caricature gigs, various activities, etc., it's been quite a while since my last post, so I guess it's good holidays come around on occasion...at least something gets drawn.  I usually do a Halloween theme for my sister Shauna, since her birthday comes a week before, but this time I decided on an autumn-y one using characters from a cartoonist I enjoy: Wiley and his strip Non Sequitur, using headstrong Danae and her horse, Lucy, to express best wishes.

 

My family have sent videos of my mother dancing at the facilities she is staying in, so for this years birthday card, I thought of her as belle of the ball, her white hair being the same hue as those wigs worn by ladies of the18th century, though not piled quite so high. :) The concept also worked with my struggle picking words that rhymed with eighty, haha! 

Lauren just bought a new helmet, so for her card, I combined a similar design and color as I remembered it, along with her years on earth, and a big headed lizard popping out to wish her a happy birthday, since she sees the little critters all the time while living on Mt Wilson.

It's Mother's Day this Sunday.  I thought a mare and her colt would mean something to my mom since she was raised on a ranch in Idaho and loved to ride horses.  Maybe, despite her current state of mind, this will jog her memory with glimpses of better times.

I was drawing caricatures at a Bat Mitzvah recently, and a distinguished gentleman seemed to be spending an unusual amount of time watching the process.  Eventually, he commented that he thought my drawings were "amazing" and asked for my card.  He owns a toy distribution company and thought he might like to utilize my abilities for some of his products.  I didn't think much would come of it, but  two days later I received a call and drove to his warehouse for a talk.

He sells mostly small items with licensed images from Disney, Marvel, etc., but for years has desired to do a line of his own, while supposedly struggling to find an artist able to render his vision.  Apparently my work thrilled him enough to give it a shot.  For our first project, he wanted a design for a plate and saucer set, with a dinosaur (specifically T-Rex) as the focus, to be geared towards the 4-7 age set, with the dino being cute, yet also fierce.  I didn't know what that meant, so I sent quite a few variations for him to choose from, and this is what he decided on.  Not that I see much of the cute in this, but he said kids are so sophisticated now days, it takes a lot to keep their attention.  I guess this particular dino best fit his idea of the concept, for now. 

After sketches, some color comps, tweaking, and oks from the client, I started on the final, and this is the end result.  Though my preferred medium is watercolor, I thought this project would be better served with acrylics.  The challenge was to keep the colors simple, mostly primary, yet differentiate the values enough to visually pop each element in the design.  There are probably ten layers of re-painting in some places as I made subtle adjustments getting everything to "read" as dynamically as I could, yet still work together as a whole.  I wonder…as a child, would you enjoy eating your mac and cheese off a plate like this?  :)

Easter card for my mom up in Idaho.  Always hoping to bring a little smile to her face, despite her circumstance.

Daughter Kristi turns 23 this year, and after having moved with her mothers to Carson City, Nevada, she decided to start her life anew.  She joined a gym, made lots of new friends, and reshaped her bod, which has helped instill a confident self image and positive attitude that she had rarely exhibited.  I thought of a lithe puma (stylized) for her card to mirror the progress she has made.

I know…two Koalas in a row…so sue me, haha!  I'm in cute mode, and you can't get too much cuter than a Koala.  This is for my sister 53rd.

My mother is suffering from dementia and has been placed in an assisted living home where she has activities and can be watched over.  Since I live in California and she lives in Idaho, I'm trying to let her  know I'm thinking about her by sending cards with a personal note inside.  My brother runs the chocolate shop my mom and dad started, so this is my attempt to wed some significance to mom's life with some cute to help her smile...a Koala stirring a batch of fondant in the big copper kettle used at the shop, soon to be beaten, cooled, and rolled, then enrobed with luscious chocolate!!