A Very Atari Christmas

Here's this year's holiday card for those who didn't get one (and for those that got one last year and didn't this year - I lost my address list, so I apologize for that).

What's Yer Poison?

A few sketches of our model Poison Girl from last night's Dr. Sketchy at the Belmont.

the Fox and the Bird

I did this as a holiday card for someone at work. Then I realized that the fox and bird were eyeing each other. Even though the story probably wouldn't end up with the fox getting a tasty treat, it really didn't scream "Peace on Earth" like I intended. I took the bird out and used him on the inside of the card.

Charming as an Eel

Rocket Through The Wilderness!

Through the magic of Photoshop, here's the mission patch for Ellie's journey to Planet X. I was trying to emulate the mission patches created for all of the NASA missions. I want a real one now.

The Full Story

Several months ago I watched a couple of documentaries titled Toulouse Lautrec: The Full Story and Van Gogh: The Full Story. The presenter was British art critic Waldemar Januzczak. He's got a very engaging personality and takes their stories and makes them accessible and captivating. I just watched another doc by him called Ugly Beauty, which explains why modern art is not only valid, but that it's also important and where it fits in the history of art.

He's an interesting looking guy too. Here are some sketches I did while watching:

Coco

Like a brand new suit!

I've just recently updated my website, adding some new artwork and a new look. Please take a peek at JimCanDraw.com!

Lushes LaSketchy

This month's Dr. Sketchy was held at Cliff Bell's, home of Detroit's Moth StorySLAM. This was the first session presided over by Lushes LaMoan, our new COO, replacing Sean Bieri. I want to thank Sean for a great four years of putting together a wonderful array of models for us to sketch, as well as keeping it continually entertaining. And thanks to Lushes for a fun session last night! Here's what I came up with:

Dusting Off The Archives

I took a little dive into the archives in preparation for revamping my moldy website, looking for specimens to add to my portfolio. Here's a few oldies that I haven't posted here on the blog before. The planet and the revamped Han Solo cover are likely to be included. And although my Herrimanesque Azucena playing her oboe isn't likely to make the cut, I slipped it in here 'cause I like it. And her too.

Lunch Doodle

Under the Influence

"What's this," you ask? Only the latest internet meme! I've seen a bunch of other artists do their own version of the Influence Map so I thought I'd give it a go. The rules are to pick those things that have influenced you the most creatively and then arrange them in some order, possibly showing the most important ones in the largest boxes.

Clockwise from the upper left: Star Wars, Warner Brothers Cartoons, Prehistoric Scenes, John Singer Sargeant's portrait of Mme Paul Poirson, Berke Breathed's Bloom County, George Herriman's Krazy Kat, Scott Morse, Henri de Toulouse Lautrec, Frank Espinoza, John K., Bill Watterson's Calvin & Hobbes, Rankin Bass' animated version of The Hobbit, Asterix Comics, Dr. Seuss, Cerebus the Aardvark, Peanuts

I know there's tons more I could list, but you have to stop somewhere.

If you want to do your own version of the Influence Map, you can find the original template right here.

Jungle Oasis

Saturday Sketch at the Scarab

I stopped into the Scarab Club this morning for their twice weekly figure drawing session. Unfortunately, or fortunately depending on how you look at it, the model didn't show. So the gentleman who was running things pulled up a chair and posed for three hours! He was great fun to draw. I did several different versions, but these are the only two that I thought worked.

Short Summer Sketchy Session Sizzles on Sunday!

Here's some sketches from a quick Dr. Sketchy session held last Sunday at the People's Arts Festival in the Russell Industrial Center. The models were the ever entertaining Satori Circus and the luscious and lovely Lushes LaMoan!

Logo

Artist of the Day!

I posed for the super talented Harper Yu Mei Geddes as she created this masterpiece during lunch today!

When she was younger she couldn't say "Jimmy" properly and it came out sounding like "Dzimmy", though she spells it differently than I do. Looks like I need to shave my forehead again. Darn!

National Dog Day

Apparently yesterday was National Dog Day. So in honor of that auspicious occasion here are some more sketches of Jambi.

And lest I forget about the current head of the house, I've included some of the lovely Bijou as well.

Pig-dog

My dog Jambi was something of a chimera. He was part Shar-pei and part something short. His feet stuck out at a weird angle giving him a flippered look. His nose was pink, his tongue was blue, his forehead wrinkled. He had yellow eyes ("I swear to God, yellow eyes!"). His fur was course and when he'd shed, it worked it's way into car seat and couch cushion material making it near impossible to vacuum out. Yet his ears were soft and velvety. And when he lay on his side to sleep, with his short little flipper-feet sticking straight out, he resembled a piglet, curly tail and all.

Cowboys and Katt

Girl & Pup

Sketchy Redux

Here's an alternate version of JJ Plush that I did during lunch today.

Dr. Sketchy is Four!

Here are my sketches from last night's fourth anniversary of Detroit's Dr. Sketchy, featuring models Sassy Katt and JJ Plush! Thanks goes to Sean Bieri for continuing to put on a great program time after time. He pulled a marching band out of his hat for half-time entertainment. A Marching Band! Cool.