The Chad Frye - Illustration Guy– Radio announcers in the movie Groundhog Day (1993)
Last night I was watching President Trump’s first State of the Union speech. If you think I’m going to start making political statements, then you have another think coming! Nah, I just watched it for the sake of wondering what was going to be said, and it gave me the opportunity to sketch this here honey bear!
With my trusty Prismacolor 03 sized ink pen, I went to town sketching this bear in my Strathmore sketchbook, and rendering all his fur while my ears listened to words, applause, words, applause, words – you get the idea. I pretended that each time I got a small section of fur drawn, all that applause was for me. How nice of Congress to appreciate my work like that.
After my previous post of a sailor cat, I thought maybe you’d enjoy a little throwback post of another sailing themed piece of art I did once upon a time.
This is a pencil drawing I did of San Francisco Bay when I was in the 11th grade for a statewide school competition in New Jersey. If I recall, this won either second or third place back then, but only first place went to nationals. (You know what they say, second place is the first loser!) Anyway, it was based on a photo I actually took when in high school, likely from the boat taking us out to tour Alcatraz.
Maybe one of these days I’ll show you the piece I entered the next year that DID win first and went on to nationals. For now, though, here’s something by 16-year-old Chad.
Doodled a li’l ol’ sailor cat in my sketchbook this week. I wonder what it must be like to sail the seven seas with nine lives? (Rimshot anyone?)
I was watching a western the other night with my pop, and just felt the urge to grab my sketchbook and doodle during the movie.
There’s something about a good western, especially the old ones, that lures out all the interesting faces in Hollywood. They seemed to cast real people in their movies, not movie stars. Every now and then one of the real guys became a movie star, but when they put movie stars into westerns, they often stuck out like a sore thumb.
So, while this is no one in particular, it is inspired by the tough guy heroes of a good western. A good hero deserves a good chin and a surly squint. Gotta have the squint.
Couldn’t sleep much last night. Unwillingly awake at 4am, so naturally, I got up and drew some dogs. Yeah, I am the one in the middle, but by midday I’ll probably feel like all the outlining ones.
Last week I had the special opportunity to hang out with film score composers Buck Sanders and Marco Beltrami at their studio in Malibu, CA, for a recording session for their latest film National Geographic’s Free Solo (mentioned on IMDB.com). You might know their work from films such as Logan, Ben-Hur, No Escape, The Woman in Black, 3:10 to Yuma, and their Oscar nominated work in 2008’s The Hurt Locker.
As faithful followers of my blog know, I am a film score enthusiast. It is the music of choice to play in the studio while I do my thing with paper, pencils, and stylus. It is always a treat when music makers invite me to have a glimpse of their world. I take my sketchbook with me, and love sitting there hearing the music live, and trying to capture a little bit of it with pencil on paper, hopefully quietly enough that the microphones don’t pick up the scratching. If there is a more enjoyable environment for sketching live, I haven’t found it.
This was my first time spending time in the studio with Buck & Marco. It was a beautiful day surrounded by California mountains on the Pacific coast with a group of amazing string musicians working their magic.
Sketchbooks are where time is spent practicing the craft, so not all the drawings are worthy of display, but here are a few from the day that were successful…
If you like the topic of film music, please feel free to check out my other film music posts by CLICKING HERE, most of which involve more of my art inspired by the art of musicians!
As you enjoy time with friends and family today, remember that in the spirit of giving, it isn’t always the gift that matters, but the thought behind it. So even if you are a snowman who is given a pair of swim trunks, remember the wisdom of I Thessalonians 5:18 which says, “In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”
After all, today is the day we celebrate Christ’s coming into the world whose gift to us was His own self-sacrifice in dying for the sins of those who are willing to accept his gift (John 3:16).
