fisherman vs. the fish

I like this one!!! It was drawn to be another graphic for a Knickers t-shirt. It could use some color if it ever goes that far. But I like it because it shows the perspective from both the fisherman, and the fish!!

The fisherman is jazzed because he got a great fish on the line. But underwater, the fish has friends that are either horrified that their friend got caught, or determined to strike back at the fisherman. All they have are his legs to work on. Notice the one fish biting him, and the other fish ramming his knee-cap. They have also procured the assistance from the local crawdad, who is pinching the guys toe!!

Lots going on here, but still a simple graphic that can translate into a nice t-shirt. I also think I came up with a nice detail in showing the water level. When colored, the waves would stand out as the dividing element between air and water. I think it worked well.

I like to draw fish. It is fun to give them facial expressions when real fish don't have any personality per se...

This is one of my drawings that was actually published!!! Paddler magazine was, at one point, a locally published magazine called "River Runner". A guy published it out of Prineville. If you have been there, you would realize how out of context that is. The place is all cowboys!!! How a whitewater publication started there is beyond me...

Anyway, I like this one because it has a sort of Pinnochio-esque quality to it. The sea monster, "Il Monstro", is silently creeping up on the unwary boaters. I have done some paddling in the ocean, even though mostly in protected areas, and my imagination goes wild, and I start looking for giant dorsal fins of that great white shark that I know is lurking just below the surface of the water. I get that feeling even more when I am surfing. If my buddies have all caught waves and are inside paddling out, I tend to suddenly need to pull my feet up on the board, and I start looking nervously in all directions. The ocean can be a very scary place.

little golfer

When Chris had her children's store, Knickers, we printed some clothes with my graphics on them. This is one such graphic. I actually colored this for the t-shirts. They sold, but not well. This composition attempts to hit the fanatical golf phenomemum. There are so many golfers and golf courses in this area. It has been known as the "Palm Springs of the North". So, we tried to capitalize on the market. I probably should have hit the pro-shops as well as Knickers, but it gave the store a little advantage. Very little advantage...

I like the simplicity of this graphic. Easy to understand, but not a lot of busy-work. Just enough shading to see the shapes, but not overdone. And the little guy is just so cute!!!

clients

Chris and I were talking this morning about blogs, and relating blogs to my website. Those blogs would be a bit different from this one, in that they would have to deal with house design issues and architectural highlights and such. So, when I was trying to decide what to post for this blog, I decided on this drawing...kind of a self-portrait, in that the poor schmuck behind the drafting table looks a little bit like me...hmmm, Freudian? Anyway, this drawing shows a lot about working with clients. Think about all the different dynamics that are at work here with the clients looking over my shoulder. (something I would never allow today!!!) So, maybe this will be the first panel of my new blog for Wright Design Studio. I will keep you posted...

going bananas

This is another drawing I did at Berkeley responding to the gag provided by the fellow I was working with ( see post "getting bald lately"). So, obviously, the caption should read, "Going Bananas!" Okay, it's a stretch, but I kind of like the transition from cranky, old suit to a bunch of bananas. I think I pulled it off pretty well. Again, never published.

ancient history

Okay, boys and girls!! Now we are really reaching back to ancient history. I don't know why, or how, but I have a book of my drawings that date back to 1964!! So, this page shows my great artistic prowess when I was in the fourth grade!! I am not sure one could call me a child prodigy.

Don't you love the salt-flat racer???? Of course, everyone wishes they could drag race a shopping cart! Anyway, hot rods were a big deal in 1964. This was during the Hey Day of Ed "Big Daddy" Roth, and Rat Fink. I had a bunch of models of Rat Fink and other monster hod rods that I had built and painted. So, this page shows my rendition of their work.

Also, you have to love the signature of the artist. Who was that guy anyway?????

computer geeks

It is fun to see the evolution of a concept. These two drawings show exactly that, and the final, the drawing below, is not necessarily the better of the two drawings.
The prelim drawing, at left, is from my sketch book, and depicts the essence of computer hackers after spending waaayyyy too much time in front of the screen. The perspective is a flat, two dimensional side view. The final drawing, below, is from a more dynamic perspective, and shows more action than the prelim, but loses some of the "wired"-ness of the first drawing.


And, the hackers look to be having more fun tapping into someone else's account online. The other thing that the final drawing plays with is the light from the computer screen. The black background gives the opportunity to play with the glow of the computer. Shading then becomes really fun, dramatizing that lighting effect.

A fun little study of the progression...