Beary Christmoose

I made this today for an invitation to a hot cocoa party we're having next week.

Some guy- caricature attempt

This was a pencil sketch colored in photoshop.

IF: Scale

(Images can be clicked to view larger.)I did this a while ago. Been out of it for a while. Need to do more. Still need to finish the "Leafy Bug"- have just been exhausted lately and not wanting to do anything.

"Leafy Bug" Sketch

I figured I'd try to do an in progress step by step thing. This will hopefully motivate me to get some work done on this in time to post before Illustration Friday puts up a new topic. The topic this week is Extremes. My boys were extremely excited to find this extremely interesting bug in our back yard. It's a "leafy bug" and is their favorite bug now thanks to its extremely clever camouflage. So here's the sketch and hopefully tomorrow we will have the next step.

16 OCT 07
"Leafy Bug" Value Study

I don't always do this step but for this one I did. I like to determine the values and see if my composition is working. I think it's headed in the right direction so tomorrow I will paint over with color- Hopefully we'll have a finished piece tomorrow.

IF: Open

This is just my 3 year old Jake opening wide for a sip from the hose. He's a good kid, we tried several times before I got the right shot. He got a kick out of it though.

Edit 5-20-2011-   Jake is now almost 7.  I used this for an Illustration Friday post a few years ago but thought it fit nicely with this week's topic.  I mean what three year old can drink out of the hose without getting soaked?

Check it out.

Hey friends. I finally updated my website. Take a look... please let me know if you find any problems. Please let me know if you like it. Feel free to give me a job if you're in a position to do so. Just click on the moose.

Israel Dodge Allphin

This is my great great grandfather Israel Dodge Allphin. He was an early settler of Pine Valley, Utah in 1862.





This is him again in color.

Nate the Snake

You are aware, I'm sure, of Nate the Snake. Your not? Well Nate the Snake is infact the greatest hero of all time. Movie Star, role model, Idol, all around super guy, one heck of a dancer, and he's a snake. He's the greatest thing since... I don't know what. Anyway, this is his story... well technically its the story of Steve and Jed. Steve and Jed were Nate's biggest fans. Everything they did was based on a simple philosophy: What Would Nate Do? To say they worshipped Nate would be an understatement. To make a long story short, and for the sake of time, we will just say- no one loved Nate more than Steve and Jed.
As often happens, Steve and Jed were out for leisurely drive through the desert. As you very well know, in the desert there is a rather large lever in the middle of the road. This is no ordinary lever. This lever, if switched will utterly and completely destroy the entire planet. It just so happened on this drive through the desert that Steve and Jed were approaching the lever at an incredible rate of speed. There are signs to warn about the lever of course, so Steve and Jed were perfectly safe. However, as Steve tried to slow the truck down the brakes went out. As they neared the lever they saw something ahead in the road. It was Nate. They swerved right to avoid Nate but then they were headed for the lever. They swerved to avoid the lever but there was Nate.
Oh they were in it bad. On the one hand they didn't want to flip the switch and destroy the world. On the other hand, they just couldn't run over Nate the Snake and kill the biggest star in the world, their idol, their hero. Back and forth they swerved... Lever...Nate...back to Lever. Finally the time had come and Steve had to make a choice. He cranked the wheel to the left and world was safe. Through their tears, Steve and Jed agreed: it was Better Nate than Lever.

IF: Visitors

I did this a few years back. I reworked some of it briefly today. I think it fits in the topic. Wanted to do something but am too busy this week with other stuff to try for a new piece. Let me know if you like it.

IF: Captain

I know- everyone else has already done a pirate, but who cares. So a while back I saw this pirate on the amazing Mel Milton's blog. I absolutely loved the telescope and his hand holding it so I borrowed that part and it sort of became this whole thing here. Thanks Mel, please don't sue me.

IF: Emergency

In an emergency Santa is happy he has a spare.

IF: Missing

IF: Moon part 2

Well this popped in to my head last night and I figured I'd see if I couldn't get it together in time. I suppose a kid riding it would be better. Perhaps someday...

Just some shirt designs from work.

IF : Moon

I have been rather uninspired lately. Actually I've probably just been real lazy. So I did this 4 years ago, but it fits the theme and I reworked a few things tonite that have bugged me on this one- hilites, fuzzy edges, etc. Still far from good but It was my first real digital painting and I was quite pleased with it at the time. Many people don't seem to associate this one with bowling for some reason. I guess they couldn't really see the crows and maybe the lane isn't obvious enough. Hopefully some of the changes I made clear that up a bit. Maybe I'll have some fresh ideas soon.

IF: Twist

Same story two versions... which is better?

This might be a bit of a stretch on the topic... but here goes. There are twists in the rocking chair, she would twist the crank on the victorola, and if she weren't so old she could get up and do "the twist." I designed this for my pops who is in a bit of a folk band. They tend to perform at old folks homes and their music is definitely geared towards the older crowd. I look forward to when I can take it eaasy and just ROCK! all day.

IF: Camouflage

Camouflage:
noun: the act of concealing the identity of something by modifying its appearance
noun: an outward semblance that misrepresents the true nature of something
noun: device or stratagem for concealment or deceit

These definitions made me think of imitation. This is based on a rejected idea from work. It's one of those things that I find funny but not sure anyone else does.

Dinosaur sketches

Working on some t-rex poses for work. I like these. Really sketchy but I like the feel of them.

IF: Rejection

DRESSED TO KILL. (i'm really not sure who will get rejected here. Either the sharp dressed fellow, or the guys in the back. Choose your own adventure I guess. Either way someone is going home with the ladies and someone isn't.)

IF: Suit take 2

It's a BIRTHDAY SUIT!

IF: Suit

It seems to fit the subject.

Illustration Friday: SIGNS

Go Jazz!

Tag! I'm it.

So- Here's the deal. My friend Ken "tagged" me the other day. Apparently he'd been tagged by someone else who'd been been tagged by someone and so on and so on. You get the idea. Anyway whoever is it is then required to post like 7 sketches or something and then tag 7 new people. I guess then I'll have good luck or something. So here it is. Hope you like them.
Rock Lobster.

Yet another Rock Lobster

A seagull.

Fat Chef...the best kind.

A farmer with a hose.

Another farmer with a shovel.

Old guy/Super hero...thus the goggles.

The RAPtors.

Older Cowboy

Just another sketch during Letterman last night.

Illustration Friday: NEIGHBOR

I actually did this for work last year. It was for a zoo t-shirt.

Art Jumble: Folk Heroes/Legends

I originally did the Jack Burton sketch for Art Jumble this week. As I thought about it, although he is Legendary and a bit of a Folk hero in my own home, they were probably looking for something else. So I pulled this out. It's a shirt design I did a couple months ago, thought it fit well in the category.

The Pork Chop Express

I haven't attempted a portrait in a long time. This is Jack Burton from Big Trouble in Little China- perhaps the best film ever. Did I nail the likeness? No. Did I enjoy the process? Absolutely.

Illustration Friday: REMEMBER...

REMEMBER... Your pants.

So, my friend Dave does these amazing black and white paintings all the time. His values are right on. I've wanted to try some. Still far from amazing but pretty fun to just worry about value and not color. I enjoyed doing the Wicked Witch in sepia and wanted to try again. I may have to come back to this one with color.

Miss Gulch-

I joined a little online drawing community. This weeks topic: The Wizard of Oz. I drew Miss Gulch- AKA the Wicked Witch of the West- AKA the triple W. It was a lot of fun. Her theme song is in your head isn't it?

Another Rejected Design

This was an idea for our Redneck line. Once again, my boss thought it funny but doesn't think people would want to suggest that they might be a redneck, or wear something that could be considered self-insulting. I showed my mom, she was not offended.

Another Poster

It's time again for the Chili Cook-Off at the church. In addittion to making the poster( I did this one two years ago, they keep reusing it and just changing the date on the bottom) I also make a pretty mean chili. I will be there and I am going to win that blue ribbon.

Chili Cook-Off UPDATE
29 April 2007 : I did not win, not even so much as a nod from the judges. But I'm really okay with it. Thanks for the well wishes.

The Poster Guy

Every time there is a party or something at the church they need a poster. Every time they need a poster, guess who they call, that's right,... me. So this is what I did for the Christmas Party. It's a pencil sketch that was then fiddled with in photoshop and illustrator.

AAAARRRRR

I know. I'm obsessed with pirates. It's a fairly recent development. They are just about the funnest things to draw. Easy on the imagination I guess. I did two new pirate designs last month. This ship was a backdrop for one of them. When the art is released in July I'll post them here.

Beavers

Here's another sketch I dug up. Not too diferent from the finished design, but different enough. I tend to like my sketches a lot more than where my boss art directs to.