Haven't drawn in about a week for a couple reasons. First is that my sister came to visit and while she's sleeping in the spare room which also happens to be the studio, I also wanted to focus on her and not drawing or anything. Secondly, I finally got one of my two cataracts operated on. Vision is decidedly different in a very GOOD way. Things are already sharper, colors are more vibrant and I haven't worn my glasses since. And that's with only one eye done. When the other one is done mid-may, well, I'll be back to normal or better. This is page 8 of Ghiroy's reboot and it was not only fun to do, it came together really fast. Don't think I started this til 4:30 or so today. Makes me happy.

After the fox done yesterday, which went over rather well on Instagram, I wanted to do another one so pulled out the pose from last winter's Mass Ave print and redrew him in the same sort of style. The black lines are ink (iPad was recharging) and the colors from Procreate. I think it works really well as an organic feeling image and I can see these working well as prints.

Something I never do; contests. This wasn't really a contest, just a 'draw in your style' kind of challenge. Since the subject in question was a fox, I decided to try. This from someone I follow on Instagram, @vanessagillings. Procreate.

Ghiroy page 7. This is my third go around with this comic. Will it ever go anywhere? Probably not but since a popular podcast that involves D&D just raised over ten million bucks, I figure there's no reason not to keep trying. The one thing I will say for this is that the current part, all in the caves is hard to see unless the pages are against a dark background. Likely most people are missing things because other stuff on their desktops or screens is glaring stuff out.

And another Sad Boy.

Three new abstracts for the morning. Therapeutic in a way an otherwise just fun. Might be more fun with paint but far more messy and I'd end up with this giant painting to add to the ones already in my closet.

Not going to explain this just yet, but this was an experiment. I call him Sad Boy. Well, maybe I will talk about it. This is an experiment in marketing, or branding, whatever one might call it. In this age of symbols that seem meaningful but don't really stand for anything, I think Sad Boy has a real shot. Or why not? I'd wear t-shirts with him on it. There's more work in these than there seems; it's not just drawing it's painting over as well. I have a fondness for Joyce Pensato's work, and this is sort of my take on this. I made these images on the iPad so that they'd print at 16x20 but I can see them much bigger. Or I'll never do them again.

Did another one of these this morning. This time, I rotated the canvas many times, zoomed out and did the things I said I'd do with the last one. I also have a process video which I posted elsewhere. Made sure to make this 16x20 at 300dpi so I could print it if I wanted to.

Another quick abstract on the iPad tonight. There are some times that I can only scratch artistic itches with abstract stuff. This one was fun, but also had me really thinking of three things at the same time; composition, spontaneity, lack of image. I didn't want it to represent anything. The more I work at something abstract, the more it tries to look like something. Also, even with just black and white, I zoomed out to check the balance of the colors. The only things I didn't do were flip or turn upside down. Perhaps I should have. Even though I didn't work on this too long, I could feel, to some small extent how some of the masters would work and work a canvas over long periods of time. Again, for me, that risks making it look like something. We all have our different ways of working.

New Ghiroy page. There was kind of an artist block on this one so it sat for a few days. Today, the block broke and I managed to go from zero to done. Which makes me happy. Sometimes there are days when I don't think I can do this and/or that what I'm doing has no value. This doesn't help. Eventually, I get through and I think Ghiroy is a stronger comic because of it. I cannot WAIT til the group gets around the corner to a torch or some OTHER form of light so I can add some other colors. I think the palette works fine for the moment. I just want a change. And there will be.

Haven't been drawing much this last week as scheduling has been a problem. That being said, it's also an issue trying to remain focused on Ghiroy and not wander off into other styles or work. I recently rearranged some stuff in the studio which had me going through and getting rid of a lot of my books. Reference books just aren't as much a thing as they used to be as there's so much more varied and accessible information on the web. There are still some books I don't want to do without, some of which capture work or information in ways the web can't. I just really don't need any more books. Really. And the danger of flipping through any given art book is suddenly wanting to do something like THIS or THAT which takes my head and hand out of the task in front of me which, currently, is Ghiroy. Sometimes I can exorcise art demons like this, with quick, ten minute sketches. Sometimes I can't. Portraiture is a favorite and I miss doing it. Again, it's not related to the comic. Must keep focused.

Ghiroy promo for the new re-boot. Also, I needed an album cover for the stuff on Flickr.

Just some quick demo sketches from work of the Ghiroy crew and possible characters that could inhabit that world. What's fun is that the current style is easy enough to adapt to different species and types. Easy and quick. Fun. iPad and Procreate.