The Chad Frye - Illustration GuyOften when I reach for a sketchbook, I don’t really know what will come forth. This was one of those times. With a blank page before me, I just started doodling an eye, and then another, and a nose, and eventually this dragon just came out of that magic pencil.
Sure glad I bought that pencil and not a different one. No telling what would have come out of a another pencil!
My friend Rick Detorie, the cartoonist of the syndicated comic strip One Big Happy, has a collection of vintage produce labels originally intended for the sides of crates back in the day. They are all gorgeous old designs in immaculate unused condition. Rick doesn’t like them the way they are, though. He asks his cartoonist buddies if they would draw all over them.
So, Rick let me choose one, and this one with three big apples just spoke to me. I immediately could see their potential. First of all, I was amazed at the magical apple tree that could grow three different types of apples, so that impressed me. Secondly, I could tell those were bad apples that needed to be exposed.
So, with a little white gouache and some black ink, this produce label takes on a much improved form…
I especially like the touch of the small print that came on the label which says….
Oh, don’t get me wrong. He’s not mean or anything. You just don’t want him preparing any meals for you because you just know you are going to end up pulling great big long red hairs out of your dinner, and that’s just nasty.
You are probably thinking he is named the Red Scourge because I drew him with a red pencil, and you would be partially correct. The “Red” part is also is because of where I drew him. This monster was added to my sketchbook this past summer when I was on a camping trip in the heart of Russia. I know that sounds like I just made it up, but it’s true! I actually went on a six-day camping trip in Russia. I’m glad I had my sketchbook because there was LOTS of time to add things to it in between swatting mosquitoes.
You may have noticed that last year I did not do any Monster Month posts because scary as it may sound, I was so preoccupied with work that it had slipped my mind that October had come once again.
There has been no mental slippage this year! Get ready for a new monster to be posted each weekday during the month of October. You will see twenty-one sketches, ink drawings, paintings, and various other artistic expressions of strange things that go bump in the night.
What better way is there to start such an entourage of entwined entities than with one of the greatest classic monsters who has been fearing fire since 1818, your undead favorite and mine, Dr. Frankenstein’s monster!
Frankenstein’s monster has made so many appearances over the years on my blog that he has his own category on the home page. If you would like to see other iterations of him from the past, CLICK HERE! Regarding this new one, this Frankie is a traditionally drawn ink sketch from my sketchbook that was later color tinted in Photoshop.
“If the people don’t want to come out to the ballpark, nobody’s going to stop them.”
– Yogi Berra (1925 – 2015)
Today happens to be the one-year anniversary of the death of baseball’s beloved, Yogi Berra. I was a kid from Jersey who was a huge Yankees fan, and I seem to remember that not far from where I lived, Yogi Berra owned a fitness club with racquetball. I always loved racquetball, but by the time I got a driver’s license and could seek it out, I moved out of state. Ah well.
This drawing, however, is NOT of good ol’ Yogi. I just felt that if an old baseball coach was being posted for a Drawn & Quoted post, who better to quote than the most quotable old baseball player. Yogi was the natural choice.
I like the nostalgia of baseball. I used to play in high school, and still have a love for baseball despite not keeping up with the current status of the game. Old photos of America’s pastime, and even better, illustrations that immortalize the essence of the sport from days gone by always make me recall the smell of the glove, the buzzing of the bugs, and the wafting scent of freshly cut grass from my position in the outfield.
I was doodling in my sketchbook the other day, and as this face emerged, it just made me think of an old, grizzled baseball coach, wise beyond his years with the science, psyche, and feel of the game, so the hat and suggestion of a uniform were added.
Then, of course, the quote from Yogi.
“America is a country of abundance, but our food culture is sad – based on huge portions and fast food. Let’s stop with the excuses and start creating something better.”
– David Chang (1977 – )
I’m not sure this is what Chef Chang meant, but the drawing still seemed to fit his quote in its own way. The thing about this kind of fast food, though, is that you have to be faster in order to catch it. However, just be careful with those portions. Too big might be too much to handle.
Okay, I rarely get personal with my posts online, but today I shall make an exception. Today is the 40th birthday of my brother Blair!
Now, normally I wouldn’t go all public with the age of someone because many people are sensitive to such things, myself included. However, Blair has his birthday, including the year, on his Facebook page. So, I figure I am safe. I may no longer be safe, however, when he sees this post.
So, without further ado, I thought I would share with you the birthday card I made for my brother that is a portrait of him at the age of 40. He has held up pretty well, considering…
Earlier this year a friend talked me into joining Instagram. I was apprehensive at first because it was going to be yet another thing to update constantly, but when I took a look and saw all the amazing creativity there, it felt like I should have joined that party long ago. So, I got on my computer and joined it, not realizing that the only way to post was to do so from a mobile device. As a non-mobile phone user, this complicated things.
Well, I got it worked out, and have been posting lots of art there. While some drawings only make it to Instagram, some also get posted here on the ol’ blog. So, I invite you to check it out if you also are an Instagram user, and follow me there. My handle is ChadFrye_IllustrationGuy (naturally), and you can get to it by CLICKING HERE!
You can also be whisked away to Instagramland by clicking on the image below that features some Instagram posts.
