The Doodle Bug

"Discovering Nature" (10x8.25" pencil, digital) This was a great ride all the way through! Even towards the end as the deadline quickly approached and i was fighting the process i had shackled myself to. i created it for this event: https://illustrationdept.com/classes/idid and it was a great event indeed!  Despite the frustration i was going through, i learned, "never again", but also, "yes, that again...that worked!" So, i hope you all dig it! Have a great weekend!  

Blue Beard (digital) in honor of talk like a pirate day! (and how odd that the audiobook version of Treasure Island is now available for me to listen to today....hmmm.) Yaaaaaaaarh.

"a very contented simon" (pencil) my dear simon is quite happy these days...what more can i say. we cool. looking forward to more simon during inktober...as the adventures of this lil creature will unfold... have a great holiday weekend, all!

a commission i did back in 2014 - digital (a great man on his horse) it was a gift from an employer to his boss for taking him under his wing and showing him the way...the pose of this man, the clothing, and the pose of the horse were all combined from different references. as were the various things on this horse. all elements were cobbled together into one scene. and for that landscape...well i did do research, but i was able to pull most of that out of my imagination. this was a great experience, indeed! aside from being the most lucrative project thus far...artistically it was a great experience for all of the reasons described above! if there were more of these headed my way...i'd find a way to be ok with that! may you all have such windfalls! and a great day as well, obviously...

"artist alien" (pencil, 5x5") a recent sketch for the image that i would love to use as its own painting sometime! throw that on the pile! lol...priorities, jenn... priorities! but, again, i love this strange being from out yonder...way out yonder. she's cute and pleased with her creation, which i haven't indicated here...but there is an idea that will land when i do this painting (whenever that turns out to be!)  far out man! have a groovy day!

  "a bit of magic for a spell" (oil, 11x11" on masonite) when i recently redid my site, i plopped this image into it...cause this thing has been hanging in the studio for years and not on my site. why is that? i haven't a clue... this is actually one of my last oil paintings i think...and one of my all-time favorites. i had a lot of fun putting all of that stuff in there for her to use in the concoction of her strange spells. and my thought with her expression is that she really digs being a witch! is she a good or bad witch? i have my opinion...but i'll leave you to yours... have a magical day!

"manager-bot" (pencil) this guy is the general manager in the lab...he checks in on zot to see if he's in the right part of the lab when he needs to be in the right part of the lab at the right time. he is also in charge of trying to keep all of the other robots in line, not an easy task by any means. but the professor clearly does not have time to attempt this himself! he's too busy for that kind of chore. (note the dot matrix paper...hahaha yeah, i grew up with a father who was a computer programmer in the 70s. so...yup) another fun fact: my dad gave me tonz of that paper, even the green and white striped kind, to draw on...miss that stuff! all those looooong scenes. (sigh) anyway...i'd send you a manager-bot replica pronto to keep you on task with your stuff, but honestly...this bot ain't all that reliable at managing such things...tho it means well and tries to do a good job... have a great day, be good!  

a lil section from my current image...(pencil) i'm really looking forward to sharing this whole thing when i finish it! i haven't started painting this piece yet but i cannot flargin' wait! it's gonna be mad fun. fun, indeed! have a great weekend everyone!!!

"what the...?" (pencil) does it make you wonder? what is this kid looking at? is it a turtle? is it a frog? i ain't tellin', not yet anyway! this is just one corner of the new image...man, i gotta move and start painting this very soon! but more sketching today and hopefully i'll finish the whole drawing in the next few days...so more to come! have a great day!

  forest landscape sketches (pencil, 8/8-14/2022) these are for a new image. i guess you'll just have to sit tight as this thing unfolds. but i will say this...it's a very exciting image for me. the elements involved, the ones i'm saving to show you all later, will have an interesting blend...you'll see! ok, be well. i need to get back to it!!!

Working now on setting up The Zot Spot, where I'll post things related to Zot, my picture book done in the style of a graphic novel. As that seems to be my main focus right now, I have decided Zot deserves his own blog...so I'll let you know when The Zot Spot is live. Thinking that won't be very long from today!

"what's he doing?" (digital, 7-4-2014) a pivotal scene in my book, back in the day! upon creating this drawing digitally, i knew this was how i was gonna do it! i found the image this morning on a random thumb drive! ha! smirk...i was gonna post something completely different today!!! aaaaaand...this is a very poignant point in zot's lil robotic life because it is in this moment when he discovers another robot painting! (zot and jazz look so different now!) wow...just wow.  

incidental robot reboot (micron pen) this is perhaps the first time i used a micron to doodle with. it forced me to do these very quickly which i think i needed in working on these secondary robots again. quick doodles first! now if i can simply remember this trick...

"The Effervescelator" (pencil)  this is the professor's main mode of transportation around the lab. that's not smoke coming out of the exhaust pipe...those are bubbles...get the name now? (my dad actually came up with its name the other day.) i virtually attended this year's SCBWI summer conference (friday thru sunday)...and while i did pay attention...(smirk) i did a lot of sketching at the same time. this was one of my favorite sketches from this weekend! As there is an awful lot of dark machine smoke spouting out of the professor's inventions, i thought, if he has to fly this thing all over the place...it might as well be spitting out something a little more pleasant...bubbles...(wink). this is also the first drawing i have done depicting the professor in all his new glory!!! fun, fun, fun... have a great day guys!

well, well, well. the gangs all here. it took me a month but the new improvements and changes to my site are finally complete! i've included tucked-away art that perhaps you've never seen before and definitely more sketches. so, take a gander if you have the time and desire...and i hope that you have both! this is definitely the best version of my site thus far. later on, i have plans to add a section for the sculptures i have made! so that will be grand to share with you all. i don't believe many of you have seen my sculptures...maybe you don't even know i dig sculpting... thanks in advance for taking a peek. and enjoy the oddities tucked intentionally within...be well!

  Gian Lorenzo Bernini (December 7,1598 - November 28, 1680) (this first image is a self-portrait, how did i not know bernini was also a painter...tsk tsk tsk, i'm ashamed of myself...lol) i first fell in love with bernini's work upon seeing his triton statue. to explain how amazing an artist bernini was...well i simply don't have time this morning...it would just take too long. so here's the wikipedia link if you desire to learn more about all the things this versatile and talented artist did in his lifetime... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gian_Lorenzo_Bernini

the emerging forest creature (digital, 8x10") this year's birthday present for pam. the photo was taken in washington depot, ct back in march or april of this year. we spent two hours hiking through this forest and took about a zillion or so photographs of all the magic we discovered there. all we kept imagining were all kinds of creatures hiding in the landscape. so many ideas sprang forth from that hike. so, when it was time to paint something for pam's birthday gift this year, i instantly knew i needed to create this image! and she loved it...mission accomplished!

professor whimpleschteen character re-design (pencil, digital 13 x 13.25") so, i'm redesigning all the characters from my graphic picture book about professor whimpleschteen and his robots and wondrous machinery. i have finally felt ready to do so, and so i am working diligently every day on this project. mad fun indeed. (ps- L. F. on the tag at the end of the string... stands for london fog...as that's my favorite kind of tea... it's a bit of an easter egg for myself to smirk over.) and yes, the professor is, in fact, british. why wouldn't he be? more of this madness shall absolutely follow! guaranteed. i don't have any money to give you back, so i guess i had better get back to it! later.

sox fan art (pencil, digital 8x4" 7-11-22) ever since i saw lightyear (the new buzz lightyear movie, 2022) i fell in love with the robotic cat character, sox. if you haven't seen sox in action, you really should! a very cute character...indeed! so yesterday being paper bag day (seriously, it's a thing!) i had an "ah-ha" moment. and that's the story of how i decided to finally do a fanart piece for sox!

jazz character re-design (pencil, digital, 17x23, 7-5-2022) yup, this is actually a new piece! can you believe it? me either. i'm redesigning characters for my zot picture book (which as it turns out is called a graphic picture book) ... i based jazzy's new upgrade on the version of her i did in my self-portrait. jazz has gone thru many versions, but i think i just landed on "the one". this was a relatively fast piece, i think all in all, sketch to the final character, fully painted and the text you see here, um...three days? (i started tinkering with the professor last night, keeping the style consistent with jazz's...i think i have found the professor's new look as well...) more to come on this developing schtuff for zot...hope you guys are into zot cause that's my current main focus.

chameleon (morning study, digital) pulled another one from my blog for yaz. these are such fun lil pieces, especially for this image. trying to capture the essence of a chameleon is just bliss, so i naturally thought he ought to be donning a grin. what is it like to have eyes that move independently of one another (and how does the brain of a chameleon figure all THAT out?) the logic of WHY doesn't escape me...just the logic HOW. personally, i'm glad my eyes work together, in the same direction, at the same time. not all creatures have this luxury...tho judging from the chameleon's smile, its' perfectly content to have been saddled with those weird orbs. to each is own! (still, weird.)

"commander gulp is lost again" (11x8.5" digital sketch, pencil shading, ballpoint pen outlines) happy world ufo day! [“I want to believe.” These are the words of notorious X-Files hero Fox Mulder, who convinced an entire generation that the truth is out there – we just have to find it. But on July 2, it won’t only be sci-fi enthusiasts trying out their ET sleuthing skills, as everyone on planet earth will have to opportunity to celebrate World UFO Day. UFOs have been the stuff of legend for centuries, but it wasn’t until the 1950s that freaky flying saucers grabbed national and international mainstream attention. Since then, UFOs have captured the minds of old and young alike, and witness’ stories have proliferated around the world. World UFO Day serves as a way for everyone to come together and watch the skies on the same night in search of UFOs, but that’s not its only purpose. Many see the holiday as a way to spread knowledge and awareness of UFOs, making a case for t

"the pneumatic-transporter" (11x8.5", pencil) this is another one from my zot book. it's how the professor and some of his robots get from room to room in his lab. i always love when i still see pneumatic tubes, like at the bank...the fact that they are used is glorious to my mind. (chuckling) but...i must add here, that if you know anything about the professor, it should be this... his machines and inventions don't always work properly...so, if you wanted to go to the spare parts room for instance, you might just end up in the deep dark recesses of the furnace room. which is where most robots do...not...want to end up... may your pneumatic-transporter take you exactly where you need to be today! "excelsior!"

"the steadfast bobby" (pencil concept sketches) the concept for this is simple... never leaving his post, this bobby is diligent in observing the things that go on from this street corner but for some reason he never acts to intervene or get caught up in the rumblings and squabbling of others. he is quite suspicious of them generally speaking, and he does use that squinty sidewise glare to try to dissuade hooligans from misbehaving but that is pretty much all he does... i loved drawing the wonky buildings for the background, all askew...and of course the cobblestoned streets. can't get enough of those. i could totally hear him walking his beat with those hard leather soled shoes, but since he never leaves his post...well, you get it. there is a moon somewhere, i haven't decided its position in the foggy sky just yet. the scene will also be lit by various old-timey streetlamps. yup, this is in london during a much earlier time, much, much earlier.

"bouncer-bot" (7x5.15", digital) this was a completely digital effort. the sketch to the left was with a brush in photoshop that started the whole digital pencil "thing" for me. the painted image to the right was an attempt to emulate watercolor in digital form. i learned how to use watercolor back in college one summer and i fell in love with the medium. so, after things got all digital around here, i really tried to achieve that watercolor effect when i created this robot... the idea behind him is this: there are things in our minds that we wish not to be there...things like experiences or thoughts that cause us suffering...so, i employed this 20's gangster-bot to kick these unwanted things out of my head. (smirk) anytime any uncalled-for thought manages to sneak its way into my head, a bouncer-bot is there to swiftly grab it by the pants and heave it out of my consciousness. what a handy-bot! he doesn't put up with any such mischief or tomfoolery! (o

art trek logo (3.5x3.5" pencil, digital) this is a logo i designed for an illustration critique group called art trek. it was formed a very long time ago and is, unfortunately, defunct. it was created by a great artist friend of mine and art trek was designed to be a monthly challenge thing where we would all work off a prompt and come up with something and then share this image with each other. it was cool, and now i miss it! maybe we should start it again...that would be grand! cheers to the one who conceived of this most sacred and extinct art trek!  

  "hugging robots" (pen, digital 8.5x10.5") final remember this one? i posted the original sketches back on april 7th of this year. well, here it is...the final, finally! this is a wedding present for my therapist. i got to see him after 2-3 years and actually got to give this to him in person! i hadn't needed to see him in that time as my symptoms had completely disappeared! so it was an amazing session, nothing to say but how fantastic my life has become. it was so good to see him and to be seen by him...and oh, yeah...to finally give him his wedding present! i hope you guys will share a love that stands the test of time, you both deserve nothing less! cheers!

  "fast eddie feslon" (pencil, 5x7") 6-19-2022 (for my dad's father's day gift) this image was from the paul newman movie, "The Hustler" (1961). one of my dad's all-time favorite flics. this is the movie that inspired my dad to teach himself how to play pool, and he's fantastic at straight pool. in the movie, ames is the pool hall where the fated match between minnesota fats and fast eddie felson takes place. my dad actually made a sacred pilgrimage to ames! how cool is that?  the scene i chose for this drawing is where this quote comes in... (minnesota fats) "Shoot pool, Eddie." (fast eddie felson)"I'm shooting pool, Fats. When I miss, you can shoot." this is such a great moment in the film, cause fast eddie is the underdog but knows he's better than fats. the confidence in this moment kills me. classic. if you look at the original still from the movie and then back at my drawing, you can see i changed the position o