tons of toons has been lying dormant for way too long.  I have been drawing, and have some more toons to add, including new calendar drawings.  But I wanted to start with a drawing that didn't make this year's calendar.  Chris thought it was too scary.  But I really like to composition and the concept of it, so I am posting it on my blog, to start things off again!!

We had a Peregrine Falcon spend some time at our house this last summer, and he made a few surprise visits to our bird feeders.  We realized that we were chumming for hawks by feeding our birds that are residents to our house.  We would periodically find little piles of feathers around our yard, and we confirmed what was going on when I happened to be sitting on our deck watching the birds, when POOF, and this guys showed up right on the lowest branches of our tree.  He missed the birds, but gave me a good show.

Keep watching for updates.  More to come!!

tournament logo

Haven't posted in a while. Meanwhile, I have been working on this graphic for Master Graff's upcoming tournament. It is going to be for the older members of the tae kwon do community. Those over 40...

So, the challenge was to make a character that looks old, but not feeble; universal, but not sexist; and, of course, badass!! I fell back on my favorite character that I have used a number of times before, bald with the long white beard. Sort of my own "Mr. Natural". Then I played off the cane as a gag for being old, but this guy is still badass!!

Then I used Master Graff's logo as the background. So, now this tournament is easily identified with High Desert Martial Arts.

A little photoshope fonts for the info, and Voila!!

If you are in town on Oct. 6, come on down and watch. It should be a fun tournament.

which wolf?

This story was posted on facebook by a friend, and I got so excited, I had to post the drawing I did of the story. I included this story and illustration in a book of fables that one of my tae kwon do friends and I made for our instructor. He loves to quote little stories like this for his students to ponder.

how to swim in rapids

Swimming downstream after ejecting from your kayak or canoe is a pretty important skill to know. My daughter, Maryn was writing about it at school, and needed a couple of illustrations to drive home the technique. So I put together this quick toon to get the point across. "face downstream, hold on to your paddle, keep your feet near the surface, lean back. The challenge is to show what goes on above the surface, and what goes on below the surface. So, I created a stylized water line, which shows some dynamic motion as well as defines above vs. below the surface. The fish helps that too.

Then Maryn wanted a drawing to show how to swim through "holes". So I penned up this little ditty below. It has a more dynamic water's edge as the hydraulic is also more dynamic!! For those who don't know, you are supposed to curl up in a tight ball to protect against impact with rocks, be patient, and hope the water sends you downstream. I really like drawing kayaking toons....

Fishing in Canada

It has been a long time since I have posted, but I have done some more sketching, and I obviously hope to do even more. This summer has had its share of fun trips. One of them was to Canada and Alaska. While in Canada, with our friends, the Shaseks, we went out into the ocean on a chartered boat to catch our weight in salmon and halibut. I am afraid my sea-legs aren't what they used to be, so, in this depiction of our epic adventure, that is me with my tongue over the side!! We did get our limit of both salmon and halibut, but I was glad when we got back into the calm of Ucluelet bay!!

This drawing shows some pretty good action to it, which makes it a lot of fun. It represents the first draft. It will most likely be similar to the final draft, which will be in the upcoming calendar. Look for it at Christmas time.

another greatest hit!!

This toon was first shown in my 2007 calendar. I had torn my miniscus (knee cartilege). It was a simple orthoscopic operation, and they didn't think I would need to be put out all the way. However, the doctors had me all hooked up just to be on the safe side. So, as the operation started, I was sooooo fascinated by the TV monitor, that I started asking them a lot of questions. That was about when the club came down. I saw the surgeon glance at the anesthesiologist and give a quick nod. That was the last thing I remember until I woke up in the recovery room!!

Greatest hits again and again

Back in '07, my uncle, who had lived in Europe forever, died. My dad wasn't feeling great at the time, so he couldn't go to attend the funeral, so I volunteered to visit Paris to represent the family. I decided that taking my youngest daughter would make the voyage much more fun, and provide her with an opportunity to meet her cousins. We spent 9 days in Paris alone, seeing family, seeing the sites, and mourning the loss of my uncle. Needless to say, we had a really great time together. We did the Louvre, Notre Dame, La Rive Gauche, Tuileries Gardens, Arc de Triomphe, etc. The perfect tourists.

During our visit to Notre Dame, I couldn't help but have images from the old movie, "the Hunchback of Notre Dame". I believe it was Charles Laughton who swung out of the rafters of the cathedral to rescue the damsel in distress from being burned at the stake, and hid her out in the highest perches. So, this toon is the combination of the movie, and our visit to the site. It was also really fun to try to draw the facade of the cathedral. There is an INCREDIBLE amount of detail to that place. It certainly made me appreciate the masons of the middle ages.

La Ventana

So, I just got back from Baja. La Ventana, precisely, also known as Hood River, South. It is a kite boarding, windsurfing mecca!! Very beautiful, with generally calm seas, though our first day there was pretty rough!!! But the water is relatively warm, and the sun was always shining. I figured with my surfing background and sailing background that kite boarding would be a breeze...just stand up and go!! Boy, was I wrong!!!! After doing countless body-drags, or chumming for sharks, I tried to stand up on the board. I ended up sailing through the air, going the wrong way, flat out horizontal, looking up at the sky, thinking, "Wow, this is REALLY going to hurt!" And after landing flat on my back, I decided that I was right...it did really hurt!

My son-in-law, Tyler, made it look soooooo easy!! He was Mr. Nonchalant!! Casually walking just enough into the water to put on his board, drop the kite, and GO! He had an incredibly relaxed attitude to the whole thing. He could catch HUGE air, 20' high, and travelling about 100' through the air, and casually land and go. It was beautiful to watch. So, this drawing is out of my sketch book, and I think it really captures the casualness with which Tyler kite boards. He is a joy to watch!! And I may try this again, but I have to let my bones forget what I did to them!!

tae kwon do-do

I have been training in Tae Kwon Do for almost a decade now. Recently, my instructor went out on his own, and started High Desert Martial Arts. So, he is in the process of developing his own look; logo, color scheme, etc. He has always been a great supporter of my cartoons, from pages in my calendars, to a book of proverbs I illustrated for him. I even made a poster showing the different pressure points. At his former do jang, the little kids (ages 4-6) were the "L'il Dragons". So, I came up with something new...the high desert "Tae Kwon Do-Do's". The character is pictured here. I hope to get this stenciled, or silk screened on the backs of all the little uniforms. This character is exciting for me because he has a lot of potential to be in different scenarios. Hopefully he will become the subject of many coloring projects by the students, including fire-safety, dealing with strangers, courtesy, and a whole host of others. I think I can also draw this guy kicking the butt of some opponent. I will keep you posted as things develope on this new look!!

link to design blog

Here is a link to my new blog site within my website. Let me know if you can make the jump. It is very exciting for me.

http://wrightdesignstudio.com/site/blog/natural-or-realistic/

greatest hits again

I think Joel was a senior at Bard when he announced that he was volunteering at the local prison, teaching the inmates philosophy.

Immediately, this great image came into my head; huge thugs, crack heads, murderers, gangsters, etc. all sitting around a classroom with little, defenseless Joel commanding their attention. I can just imagine the heated discussions, like, "That guy, Ludwig Wittgenstein didn't know #($*%& about how the world works!!!" I prayed that the discussions never over heated, because Joel would have been an easy target.

But, no!! He commanded their respect and everything went very smoothly. The inmates were eager to learn!! As it turns out, Joel is showing a definite talent for this kind of thing, and is looking at getting a teaching credential, with an emphasis on special-needs kids!! It is always amazing, the things in our lives that spur us on to greatness.

Anyway, this toon is a fun depiction of my first image of teaching in a prison...

staying home

This was on our '03 calendar, and I like this toon because it captures the essence of living at our house. It is very easy to just stay home!! We have nature running past our doorstep at about 100-800 cubic feet per second!! The river running past our house adds soooo much wildlife, and entertainment. When it is warm enough, our favorite thing is having that cup of coffee sitting on our deck watching the birds, river, dogs, cat,and anything else that wanders by. Plus, Chris has done such an amazing job landscaping our house that it is fun to watch what flowers are blooming, and what vegetables are getting ready to pick. I absolutely love where I live, and I think this toon really nails that. Even though the dogs in the drawing look a little wierd, you can still tell that they are relaxed and happy lying on the deck. Everything about the drawing reinforces a relaxed enjoyment of nature. That is what our house is all about!

greatest hits again

After our amazing trip to Nepal, we had to get the house ready for a wedding!! We had the wedding in our own yard, and I must say...it was gorgeous!! So, I tried a couple of different compositions to show the wedding, and didn't like any of them. I finally just decided to draw the whole thing. So, I looked over our numerous photos, and tried to include everyone in the drawing. So, if you were at the wedding, look for yourself in this toon. You should be there. If you can't find yourself, let me know. This is a little like "find waldo".

preview of calendar

This is a preview of the upcoming calendar. It is also the drawing that I submitted with my essay about becoming a 4th degree black belt. My poor honey has been sooooooo tolerant with me playing "master tae kwon do" for the last nine years!!
By the way...the test went well!

architectural novel

I ran into one of my sketchbooks, and in it I found a bunch of drawings I did back a number of years, which made me almost want to do a comic strip. I had the background figured out. It happened when we had one of our really good electrical storms, and all the computers in the area had to be unplugged, or risk getting fried. Phone lines went dead. It was interesting. So, I came up with this...

That concept spawned the following development for a story line. Yep, the character sounds a little familiar, but stuck in a no-win situation. At least I am not stuck designing door knobs!! So, this is my image of what it would be like working in a large architectural firm. Not my cup of tea.

So, I put the two ideas together, and came up with this little ditty below. It has some fun potential for a continuing story...perhaps a graphic novel?? The concept I like here is showing how removed from Mother Nature our society has become, and how one instant of anger from Mother Nature, and we are TOAST!! Whether it is a bolt of lightning, a hurricane Katrina, or a psunamie. Perhaps there is something to be said about living in harmony with mother nature...

greatest hits #2

I just love this drawing because of the fun time we had paddling the lower Columbia River. We stayed at Skamokawa, on the Washington side of the river, and paddled up stream from there, and down stream, to the beach where Lewis and Clark holed up for a whole winter, near the mouth. Our trip was guided, and the guide liked bird-watching. But at the same time, we could see the landscape, and paddled through some old indian villages. That's what those funny looking palm trees you see in the drawing are, old pilings from buildings that had been built over the water, and the tops were rotted off, and ferns had been growing them. They were all over the place!! The birding was great, and obviously, we saw some bald eagles that were spectacular!

topo duo

Hold the presses!! I found a bunch of old sketch books from years gone by this last weekend, while cleaning out the guest bedroom. This drawing is one of my favorites.


Two kayakers, in a Topo-Duo, in a very UN-harmonious situation. Yes, dear reader, I draw from experience. Chris and I have paddled the Topo-Duo down just about every major river in the West, including Middle Fork Salmon, Main Fork Salmon, Colorado through the Grand Canyon, the Rogue, Deschutes, Umpqua, McKenzie, and I don't remember where else... There have been times when I order us to paddle somewhere, and Chris has told me in no uncertain terms...."NO!" At one point, we were going to paddle back into a rapid to help out a raft that was lodged on a rock. As I paddled forward, Chris was paddling backward!! She wasn't going to have anything to do with that nonsense! That was the episode that spawned this drawing.

I think I have learned over the years, that this is a team effort, and both parties need to be in agreement before anything gets done. At least I hope I have learned...maybe not...our latest adventure in the Topo was on the Rogue, and we ended up going over lower Grave Creek falls upside-down, dragging both our heads over the rocks; all because I thought I could make a spiffy move above the drop. I forgot to include Chris in this decision.
Old dog, new tricks??? hmmmmmmm

Pendleton Roundup

Here's a fun one, just because it exudes excitement and motion. Besides, cowboys are just plain fun to draw!! This is from my '95 calendar, "Welcome to Oregon". It featured fun things to do or watch throughout the state of Oregon . This drawing represented the Pendleton Roundup, which has gotten to be quite the event, attracting pro rodeo cowboys from all over the country. I haven't been to see it yet, but have heard that it is really fun. Hopefully I will get to see it b.i.d. (before I die).

first greatest hits

So, I have begun working on the calendar for 2011!! Wow, I have been doing this for a long time! My first calendar was in 1994, so that's 17 calendars I have put together. So, I thought it might be fun to do a "greatest hits" series of posts. I will be selecting my favorite drawings, for whatever reason.

My first "greatest hit" is this series from a wonderful trip to Nepal, back in the '03 calendar, which means we were there in '02. I chose to post both these drawings because they were in the same calendar, and were from the same trip. And what a trip it was!! Lindsay did an amazing job of planning our itinerary. She was there for 6 months or so, while our trip was to visit her for 2 weeks. Wow, hiking, paddling, more paddling, riding elephants, bird watching, shopping,and tons more!! So, two highlights were riding elephants, and, believe it or not, battling leeches during our 4-day trek. Our elephant ride really did come face to face with a rhinoceros!! Quite a stand off. Fortunately, our elephant won the argument. Then the battle of the leeches wasn't necessarily a good highlight, but certainly something all of us will remember.

I think these toons really capture the feeling of the time, and have a spot of humor as well. They were colored with my felt markers, which is less formal and precise than Photoshop, but a lot of fun to work with. So, the feeling that these toons evoke from me make them one of my "greatest hits."

pygmy owl

I found this one in my archives, and although it never made it to the calendar, it catches a fun theme. Pygmy owls are, as their name implies, really small. Mean, but small. When one landed at our pond, there was actually a pretty big hub-bub. The other animals that come to our pond were pretty agitated. But this LITTLE bird, being a bully and hunter was an interesting juxtaposition. So, that is what spawned this sketch. I am sure the Pygmy Owl has a short person complex.