Now, you are probably wondering what sketches of lions, Darth Vader, and a dinosaur have in common with each other for a New Year’s post. They happen to be my final sketches for 2017, and they were all done this past weekend for my little nephews at their request – except for the dinosaur. The one year old can’t talk yet, but I’m pretty sure he wasn’t disappointed with ol’ Uncle Chad’s choice.
Aw – look at that mommy tasting her young.The Force was so strong with this one, that you can see him bleeding through the lion picture.Without looking at any reference material, I’m pretty sure this is scientifically accurate.
While I generally remain positive here on the ol’ blog, 2017 is a year that I’d rather forget. I’m sure you’ve all had a year or two like that. I just keep drawing and painting, and looking to the Bible for sage wisdom with life’s tough stuff.
So, here’s to the new year where hopefully the sketches get better, as well as the life experiences!
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…
Marco Beltrami working his conductor’s baton with an injured hand wrapped in a brace, though the injury was NOT musically related.
Buck Sanders as seen in the control booth during the session.
This violinist was totally absorbed in her work.
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).
Despite the musical enthusiasm of Olaf, not every snowman dreams of summer.
Adulting is really hard sometimes. There can be those crucial moments in life when you wish you could have a do-over – to go back a day, a week, a month, even eleven months, and redo things with the knowledge you have now.
Sometimes you even long to go back to the simpler days of your childhood when you could just disappear for the day down by the ol’ lake with your faithful dog to sit in the shade and fish the day away without a care in the world. Aaah. Nice, isn’t it?
Then you remember, as I did, that you never lived near a lake, nor did you ever own a dog.
Oh well.
This wistful interlude is brought to you by genuine ink!
Again I am revisiting a monster from last year in this new version. Remember the Snot Monster from last year’s Monster Month? He just stood there with a schnoz ready to blow. After I did that drawing, I thought of an fun application to draw him again, though slightly more cartoony.
I was writing a letter to a good friend, and decided to have some fun on the back of the envelope. Yep, that little snot monster seemed like a perfect choice to help seal the envelope shut. Good times.
Last year my Hipster Frankenstein debuted on the ol’ blog. (CLICK HEREif you need a reminder.) When a drawing like that is born, it comes from reflective study. One does not often just spit out a sketch and there it is. Several sketches are explored to find the perfect look for what the artist is trying to achieve. Thus was the case with ol’ Frankie.
So, here is a page from the sketchbook where Frankenstein’s monster was sketched in a variety of ways looking for that perfect hipster persona to apply to the creature. A whole page of Frankies, each unique in their own way, and none exactly like the final one from last year. These were necessary to inspire the final look.
Dragons are often misunderstood. They rant and roar, and breathe fire all over the place, but this is really because they are lonely. If only more people like Adelade here would take them in and give them some love, the world would truly be a safer place.
The tricky part is finding enough villagers to feed the dragon.
How does that saying go again? “Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue.”
Well, today’s monsters have something old that we are borrowing for this year. Do you recognize that monster on the bottom with the little tyke pulling his hair? That was a monster I featured in full color last year (which you can see by CLICKING HERE). It was an inked drawing from my sketchbook.
I never did show you the whole page from that sketchbook last year, so it seemed like a good idea to bring it back complete with the two menacing monsters leering above the family duo. Just some blue was added in Photoshop to give the ink drawings a little extra pizzazz.
Really, drawings like this don’t haunt my dreams. Maybe because I get them out while awake.
