Arizona Artist Jephyr (aka Jeff Curtis): October 2018

Monday, October 22, 2018

Arizona Water Bird Photos

Hello!

Recently I posted these photos on my photography blog — but have decided to post them here on my art blog.

I'll share the comments/text as originally written over there as well.

Hope you enjoy a loo-see at few of my boid pics.

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I was going through some photo files looking for references for a painting I'm working on and found some photographs I'd never shared here.

There were taken with my much loved and trusty Canon EOS 5D Mark II — along with the latest Canon 100-400 II L Lens.

Let's start with this guy:

^ ^ ^ After a bit of research on this handsome creature — I believe it is a Snowy Egret — which according to a Wikipedia entry on the Birds of Arizona is a wild bird seen frequently in the state.

This is definitely true in my experience — as I've seen these beautiful boids all around riparian preserves and lakes near my home in the Phoenix area.

This guy stood contentedly on that branch for as long as I was there — and I'm pretty sure I heard it say it was ready for its close-up.

: )

BTW — until I saw this photo on my computer screen I had no idea how BIG their feet are!!

^ ^ ^ Pelicans are also surprisingly found on lakes in the Phoenix desert

I think this is an American White Pelican - although with all the spots and color on it I'm not certain. .

I've been told Pelicans fly in from California — but are also listed in the Wikipedia entry on Birds of Arizona.

I love the texture on it's beak and it really comes out on this photo.

You can see the large version of this pic by clicking on it.

^ ^ ^ This charming little fellow — grabbing some supper — is a Black-Necked Stilt — also seen at a riparian preserve near my home.

These birds are called "waders" — and those long legs definitely give that away.

The late afternoon sun added some soft reflective light on the normally VERY white parts of this little bird's body.

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Hope you enjoyed seeing deez boids as much as I do.

Thanks as always for stopping by!

Wednesday, October 10, 2018

Lotza New Doodles

Hi!

Today I'll be posting some newish sketches for your perusal — mostly from the last few months — and one from last summer.

Let's get to it!

^ ^ ^ One morning I got up early and went to a local greasy spoon to sketch and came up with this other-worldly guy "photo bombing" an alien dood in the background.

While he doesn't seem to pleased about it — this sketch makes me happy — and it was the first in a new sketchbook — so a good way to begin.

: )

^ ^ ^ As I've mentioned in numerous posts through-out this blog — I start a lot — if not most — of my "just for fun" sketches by lightly scribbling on the page and looking for shapes and ideas to jump out at me from those lines.

This cows head was the first thing I "saw" — and I added his body and other details to him as I went along.

The background "logo" and the milk carton and glass were some ideas I came up with towards the end of this sketch.

I imagined our determined looking friend the "Cow King" — negotiating a new contract for his herd with the Milk Council.

: )

^ ^ ^ Last summer my artist friend Chad had some serious on-going health issues and passed away after a long battle.

Although this might seem like a very dark tribute — I thought about him as I worked on this.

^ ^ ^ I went to a local coffee house to sketch and of course started with some scribbles. Pretty quickly I "saw" this guy's monkey-like head and tried to add a matching monkey-like body.

Later at home — I looked on-line for monkey reference photos to help me finish this off — and printed out a bunch. <banana humor)

But when I tried and tried to make something like that work it just wasn't happening — so at one point I erased everything except his head — and the lines that were left on the page led me to putting this costume on him instead.

Ultimately I was way more satisfied with that.

By the way — the banana the Prime Minister is pondering — began life as a few lines I hadn't erased from my initial scribble.

Life is good sometimes!

Oh...and the caption in the sketch is just one of the MANY ways I entertain myself.

: )

^ ^ ^ Towards the end of last summer and through September I began a routine of going out to various places to sketch — and one day drew the basic idea for this one after lunch in a local dive.

When I was a kid my mom had a Christian book with amazing illustrations in it called Sermons by the Devil — I still have that old book published in 1904 and find myself going through it from time to time.

It's written from the perspective of the Devil laying traps for the unwary — and beguiling people with his words and charm — and contrasts those dark "sermons" with life in the light as a Christian.

This drawing would fit in well with a lot of the illustrations found in it.

BTW: This is the way many people see Satan — as a scary tough guy — but I always think about the verse from the Bible and what it says about him — Isaiah 14:15-17:

12
How you have fallen from heaven,
    morning star, son of the dawn!
You have been cast down to the earth,
    you who once laid low the nations!
13
You said in your heart,
    “I will ascend to the heavens;
I will raise my throne
    above the stars of God;
I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly,
    on the utmost heights of Mount Zaphon.
14
I will ascend above the tops of the clouds;
    I will make myself like the Most High.”
15
But you are brought down to the realm of the dead,
    to the depths of the pit.

16
Those who see you stare at you,
    they ponder your fate:
“Is this the man who shook the earth
    and made kingdoms tremble,
17
the man who made the world a wilderness,
    who overthrew its cities
    and would not let his captives go home?”

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v v v That equally applies to this somewhat more cartoony — but sad creature with a tear in his eye — whose home is also in the "lake of fire":

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^ ^ ^ Someone on the Concept Art Sketchbook Forum recommended I do more backgrounds and so I put this Native American looking guy in a village scene.

The name I came up for him makes me laugh.

^ ^ ^ I've been going through old sketchbooks and realize how much I used to LOVE to draw figures — but have been doing mostly portraits for quite a while now.

This one of a few recent attempts at doing an entire body — and I'm obviously very rusty at it....

: /

^ ^ ^ This cranky old pup started as another scribble.

I really love drawing all kinds of creatures and critters!!

^ ^ ^ This one also started out as a scribble.

I "saw" both the bird and this guys nose as I went along.

At first I wondered how I could make both of them work together in a final drawing — and initially thought — maybe the bird was something like a coon-skin cap.

But as its proud expression emerged — I decided that Pigeon-Head Jones was allowing it to nestle down on his aging noggin'.

: )

^ ^ ^ Just another wacky character concept that started life as a scribble

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^ ^ ^ This character concept started eons ago.

I was really never happy with that original sketch and decided to rework it one day more recently — and eventually came up with this — which I'm much happier with.

While it wasn't what I intended to do when I started out — this sketch reminds me of something Marvel Comics might do as a concept for a creature that is part man — part sea-creature.

: ?

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v v v Last one:

^ ^ ^ This guy may look a bit intimidating — but he's actually quite good with kids and teaches Sunday School at St. Troll's under the old bridge down on Main Street .

: D

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Thanks as always for stopping by!

See you again soon!

Copyright Notice

Monday, October 22, 2018

Arizona Water Bird Photos

Wednesday, October 10, 2018

Lotza New Doodles

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