Haven't done a portrait in too long. I took some reference photos while in Boston, some snuck during lunch with my old boss, Tony Davis. Did something a little different with this; it's in very subdued colors, mostly blue-greys but then threw a layer of bright blue to bring up the overall contrast and tint it. Then went back and accentuated some things in the shirt. The hard part is to stop before it gets overworked. Might have gone half a step too far. But I am happy with it. Wanted it to have a kind of jazzy feel, as Tony is that kind of guy. We'll see what he says.

Haven't really been drawing much since I got back from Boston. Feeling lazy and then sick, which I still am. Haven't done inktober but for the one quick sketch, which was satisfying in its own way. Haven't done a skater in forever. So I penciled something quick then photographed it and finished it in Procreate. This, too was satisfying. Not great, but something. I need to use the turpentine brush more, and in fact, this might help me on a portrait I was working on and struggling with. So, Smatt to the rescue.

This sort of counts as Inktober as the initial drawing here is a kind of ink. Trying to do a very large scale painting of Basher; 32x40 inches on canvas. This photo doesn't really give an idea of scale. Penciled a grid, did a sketch, inked with a kind of graffiti marker I ordered online called Krink. It's alcohol based, permanent and doesn't smell. I think the canvas really ripped up the felt head and I'm not sure how long it's supposed to last. I plan on taking this out to the garage and using house paint on it. We'll see.

Haven't touched real ink in probably a year. Maybe more. When I had cataracts, not having any depth perception made it almost impossible to ink with a brush or pen as I could never tell when they were about to touch the paper. Too frustrating. So I put my table and lamp away and went digital. I don't regret it and I don't regret doing work with the iPad. I've been able to grow and learn a lot that way and I'm not cluttering up the house with extra stuff I don't need. And I think my work has improved because of it. That being said, I do miss the brush, the black ink. So I pulled out the pad, pencil and brush and did a quick sketch from an old Frans Hals painting. I was very happy to find that I hadn't forgotten how to ink, that I could see just fine. I hadn't lost anything. Of course, I also smudged and got ink all over my fingers but that's part of the charm. Don't know how far I'll go with Inktober this year, but I'm glad I did at least one.

These are the final photos of cosplay this year at the local Renaissance Faire. That's me as Basher, the friendly orc that hands out treasures to kids and poses for photos. There's one in there with my partner, Corso. The armor is real and heavy. In the rain? Heavier and stinkier. The last day of the faire had pouring skies and we loved it, had a great time. People weren't leaving and kids that were sad were made just a little happier when the scary green guys handed them some trinkets and or took a photo with them. In one, Basher is pretending that he's friends with a mermaid. My favorite is the center one, taken in the parking lot just before we shucked the wet armor and went home. It was a great day and a lot of fun. That armor, 50-60 pounds and that mask, a full head, silicone job weigh a lot. It's still a good time and we had a lot of people tell us that they remembered us from previous years and/or show us photos from before. Very glad we did it and also glad it's over for the year. Wish it was cooler all around, but it's a blast. See you next year, Basher.