Arizona Artist Jephyr (aka Jeff Curtis): artwork

Showing posts with label artwork. Show all posts

Tuesday, May 26, 2020

Memorial Day Memories And Pastel Pencil Bunny Photo Study

Memorial Day Remembrances And A Pastel Pencil Photo Study Of A Rabbit

A Young Patriot At the 2009 National
Memorial Day Concert At The US Capitol

Hope you are doing well and (if you're in the US) enjoyed your long Memorial Day weekend — and were surrounded by family and loved ones.

If you are a US military service member — or had or have one or more in your family — thank you for that service.

And to all those who gave the ultimate sacrifice to protect this nation — I honor you — and offer gratitude to each family member and loved one for that sacrifice as well!

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With Memorial Day in mind — I'll share a few photos of my Grandpa and Dad.

I'm not sure what kind of military service my Grandpa did — but recently found photos of him in a Doughboy style uniform (possibly during or just after World War I).

Composite - Photos of my Dad and Grandpa

My dad served in the US Navy during World War II — and related to his time on the docks — he succumbed to mesothelioma many years later.

Mesothelioma is a lung cancer caused by Asbestos exposure, Learn more about it here.

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Repaired this photo of my Grandpa in his Doughboy uniform - probably taken around 1918 or 1919.

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And A Recent Pastel Photo Study From My Sketchbook

Thanks as always for stopping by my corner of the world.

Look for more artwork soon....

Wednesday, May 20, 2020

Pastel Pencil Birdy

Sketchbook Pastel Pencil Photo Study

As mentioned in my last post, I feel a recharged after taking some time off over the last couple of months from drawing / painting every day.

And since the governor of my state has relaxed his Covid-19 'stay at home order' - I've FINALLY been able to get out to do some drawing as well.

Today, I put the finishing touches on the pastel pencil attached below at a local coffee house — and it's felt good after several weeks to be looking at something besides my same ol' walls.

Not to say that I haven't been getting out at all.

In fact, since the first of the year I've been walking almost every day — and thankfully our governor declared that exercise was an 'essential' activity.

So I've been able to continue walking around my neighborhood and having a few 'social-distancing' appropriate conversations with other walkers — which as been really nice.

Still, it's been great to be able to go to a coffee houses or restaurants in just the last week or so — and sit and do some work outside mi casa for a change.

Anywho — I was looking for something to draw — and came across an old pastel pencil of the little birdy that I had started LONG ago — and decided to finally get around to finishing it today.

I used an awesome photo as a reference — so a big thank you to that photographer!

Thanks for stopping by.

Look for more artwork soon......

Sunday, May 10, 2020

Happy Mother's Day And Pastel Pencil Froggy

Hi,

Here in the US we're celebrating mothers today.

As I just wrote to my niece (who has 3 kids and is always kept busy looking after them):

"I know mommas work their fingers to the bone and don’t always get acknowledgement for all their hard work — so I hope you are feeling a special warmth and Blessing from your family and the Lord today!"

So if you're a mother too — whether your kids are grown and out on their own — or you're still wiping noses and bandaging scraped knees — I hope you feel loved and appreciated today!

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I've been feeling a little recharged in the art department myself after taking some time off from drawing and painting all the time.

Recently and somewhat naturally I began making art again — and I feel refreshed by taking that time off.

In my last post I shared a pastel pencil portrait I did for a nephew — that kinda got me started again.

https://artmusicpoliticsfaithhopeandlove.blogspot.com/2020/04/birthday-pastel-pencil-portrait-sketch.html

(Also, I've been working with 3D animation software and hope I can share some of those efforts soon too)

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Today I'll share a pastel pencil photo study I just finished.

In the past, I've always really labored over my artwork and recently I've been feeling more relaxed and am working way more quickly than before.

Years ago I heard an expression, "Perfectionism is the enemy of art" — and the more I work at this thing the more I understand that.

Anywho — here's my draw'ring.

Have a Happy Mother's Day!

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Thanks for looking in on my little corner of the world.

See you again soon......

Wednesday, April 22, 2020

Birthday Pastel Pencil Portrait-Sketch

Howdy!

Just finished a quick birthday pastel pencil portrait sketch for my nephew.

His family had sent an Easter package to me — and his momma and he and his siblings had each done some awesome color pencil sketches they'd enclosed for me.

I was planning on sending my nephew a birthday gift and at the last minute — inspired by their great artwork — decided to do a portrait of him to include with it.

So the night before I had to send his gift package out, I sat down and drew sketch of him using pastel pencils (you can see a few along the bottom in the photo below).

Anywho — thought I'd share a photo of my draw'ring with y'all too.

Thanks for stopping by.

See you again soon..........

Sunday, April 5, 2020

LOL Animation - Sketchy Blues - Bird Box Studio

Recently, YouTube has been suggesting 2D animated films to me from Bird Box Studios — and I'm falling in love with what they do.

In fact, their work is inspiring me to re-think my own labored approach to making animations.

Hint: I've tended to think more in the lines of highly polished Pixar and Disney offerings — rather than the uncomplicated Bird Box approach:

First, their video/animations are very short — often clocking in at under a minute or two at the most (at least every one I've seen so far).

Second, their characters and backgrounds are stylized and simple — but have a certain charm.

Lastly, their videos have relatable story-lines with very funny twists woven into them.

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Screen Capture From Sketchy Blues - Bird Box Studio

Their video, Sketchy Blues (attached below), was uploaded in 2010 and rockets by in well under a minute — and ends with a big laugh (at least for me)

Please keep in mind — no cartoon characters were harmed in the making of this short film.

😁

Enjoy!

Thanks for stopping by.

See you again soon.......

Thursday, March 19, 2020

Excellent And Funny Short Animation: Carpark

The News has been quite unsettling recently and I'm sure no one needs to be reminded that it has been filled with endless Corona Virus reporting.

If you have been personally impacted by it in any way — then I honestly pray for you that you will feel peace, and that you and your loved ones will be healthy and well.

Since there are many other sources of news that you can turn to — unless I feel I can add some important information about it — I'll keep my blog posts here a light and entertaining oasis away from all that.

A Screen Capture From The Animation 'Carpark'

Funny Short Animation: Carpark

With that in mind today you will find a very amusing, well-crafted animation called Carpark from the folks at Birdbox Studio.

Though the entire video is black and white — the characters and background designs are stylized and very appealing — the animation is smooth and well done — and the sound track is perfect.

I won't give anything away about the story-line — but it's very relatable and offers a funny pay-off in the end.

The entire video is less than a minute and a half and offers a small dose of much needed light entertainment.

Hope you enjoy this one too.

God Bless!

Thanks for stopping by.

See you again soon......

Wednesday, February 5, 2020

Oscar Winning ~ VERY Moving Short Film - Father and Daughter

The beautiful animation/video below, Father and Daughter by M. Dudok de Wit, features his Oscar Winning, Short Film "about love and the passage of time."

The short film won 24 awards, including:

Oscar / Best Short Film, Animated / Academy Awards, USA, 2001
BAFTA Film Award / Best Short Animation / BAFTA Awards, 2001
Jury Award / Best Film / Anima Mundi Animation Festival, 2001
Cartoon d'Or / Cartoon Forum, Europe, 2001
Best Animation / International Competition / Clermont-Ferrand
International Short Film Festival, 2001

Father And Daughter - Screen capture From The Video Below

As an artist and sometimes animator, I feel the animation's accolades are certainly well deserved.

While the animation utilizes simple, stylized characters and backgrounds — it's narrative unfolds in a deeply engaging way — and is very relatable and beautifully moving.

The music adds a lovely nostalgic touch as well — amplifying the film's over-all emotional impact.

Screen Captures From The Video Below - Select Scenes From Father And Daughter

A word of caution, especially if you have lost a loved one and are still having difficulty processing that — though it ends on an uplifting note, Father and Daughter will really pull on your heart-strings — and many comments under the video on YouTube reveal that it left people in tears.

With that disclaimer out of the way — I hope you'll enjoy this one too.

God Bless and Comfort you if you're missing someone today!

Thanks for stopping by.

See you again soon.......

Saturday, February 1, 2020

Digial Paintings From the Archive - Last Group

As I wrote in my last three posts (1-15-20, 1-22-20, 1-27-20) — I've gone through ten years worth of old digital paintings on my PC and am publishing a few that either haven't been shared on-line before — or where uploaded but then taken down for one reason or another.

The ones below that are marked (WIP) — are "works in progress" that were never fully completed (but I reserve the right to finish them someday : ).

Let's get to 'em:

Thanks for stopping by!

See you again soon....................

Monday, January 27, 2020

Still MORE Digial Paintings From the Archive

As I've shared in my last two posts (1-15-20 and 1-22-20), I've gone through a decade of old files while cleaning up my trusty old PC — and have been sharing some of my old digital paintings that I found.

Some have never been shared publicly anywhere before — others were posted and removed for one reason or another.

Anywho — here's another group in no particular order:

^ ^ ^ This digital painting is from the "works in progress" file — and I was using an awesome photo of an old guy as a reference,

As said in other posts — if you know the photographer for this one or any others used as a reference — please let me know in the comments or drop me an email — and I can add a credit or link to their site if they'd like.

jrcurt77@msn.com

^ ^ ^ This cartoon birdy is also from my digital paintings "works in progress" file.

If you've looked through my artwork before you know I love to draw / paint all kinds of critters — but for some reason I end up doing a lot of birds.

Also, somewhere in my soul, I have a "cartoon" gene that keeps appearing in my original art.

I moved on from finalizing this one a few years ago — but kinda like the shy expression on this cartoony boid.

^ ^ ^ Pretty sure I shared this digital painting photo study of a horse here before — but later removed it — so I'll dust it off and share it again.

☺

^ ^ ^ I remember knocking this digital painting / photo study very quickly — and shared it here around that time, but later removed it.

Usually I have to sweat a bit more to finish a piece — wish they were all more like this one!

☺

^ ^ ^ This will be the last one for today — a digital painting / photo study of a li'l gator.

Again, shared here around the time I painted it, but later removed it.

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Thanks for stopping by.

Look for more work from the archives soon.

Wednesday, January 22, 2020

More Digital Paintings From The Archive

In my last post I shared a number of my old digital paintings that I'd found while going through a decades worth of old files on my trusty computer.

Today I'll share a few more — some that were finalized and others that were (still are?) "works in progress."

It's been interesting to look back through my own work — hope you enjoy the trip too!

Anywho — here are a few oldies in no partic'lar order:

^ ^ ^ I found a GREAT macro-photograph of a wasp and set about digitally painting it. The wasp's head was in sharp focus in the original photo — but the photographer had artfully used bokeh or depth of field — "the aesthetic quality of the blur produced in the out-of-focus parts of an image produced by a lens" on the wasp's body.

At first I was tempted to paint the image as it was in the photo and then the idea of adding some other kind of body came to my mind.

I tried a few different options but when I began painting the tux (using a photo reference) it just felt right.

^ ^ ^ Someone posted a GREAT portrait of a hairless cat I used as a ref to paint this study.

Thank you photographer-person! It's an EXCELLENT image.

BTW — as I wrote in my last post — if you know the photographer for any of the references I used for any of these images — please let me know in the comments or by email — and I can add a credit and link to them if they'd like.

jrcurt77@msn.com

^ ^ ^ I created and digitally painted the dragon above first and slowly expanded out from that as you can see in the next image/view of it below.

One day while working it — I was zoomed in a bit and kinda liked the close-up view you see above as well.

BTW — I added the yellow/orange moon long before the we saw the series of Blood Moons a few years back — but I liked the effect it had on the painting and later it took on a more symbolic meaning as well.

https://www.thetrumpet.com/11780-blood-moons-do-they-fulfill-bible-prophecy

Joel 2:31: “The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes”

^ ^ ^ Though this Dragon painting still remains in the "works in progress" file — I like the idea enough "some day" I might get back to it and finish it off.

^ ^ ^ Had a client a few years ago who I did a book illustration for — an ant character — and did this digital painting study in preparation for that using an incredible macro-photo as a reference.

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Thanks for stopping by.

See ya again soon..........

Wednesday, January 15, 2020

A Few Digital Paintings From The Archive

Howdy,

I've been cleaning up my trusty old 'puter because I need to transition to a newer OS — and have gone through a decades worth of old files - deleting a ton and backing up MANY others.

It's been a time-consuming pain - made worse by the fact that I still LOVE my current PC and wouldn't even consider a transition if it wasn't going to be supported anymore.

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The upside has been a nostalgic journey through ten years worth of old letters, images, and files, etc.

In that process I came across tons of old artwork — some that were finished and other "works in progress" that I ran out of steam on for one reason or another.

So today I'll share a few of those in no particular order.

^ ^ ^ Ages ago I found a photo portrait of an older woman and loved her sweet looking expression and decided to paint this digital portrait of her.

I got this far before moving on — but really enjoyed the process on this one.

^ ^ ^ Was watching the movie Flatliners and captured an image of Kiefer Sutherland during a scene and digitally painted this using it as a reference.

As I recall that original reference was monochromatic — but I was also kinda in that artistic "phase" at that time as well.

^ ^ ^ Found an awesome photo of a snail in a natural environment and really loved the lighting on it and tried my hand at capturing it in this digital painting.

^ ^ ^ A photo study / digital painting of an image of a statue of Christ I found online.

In the original photo, the statue was either stone or concrete in natural light — but as noted above, I was in a "monochromatic phase" around that time and went with this greenish color scheme.

^ ^ ^ This 2011 digital painting, I used as a reference just the "portrait" section of an amazing photo called "Strength."

BTW — I'd love to give credit to whoever took the original photo of the old man.

So if you know the photographer for this one or any of the other references I used (unless otherwise noted), please let me know who they are and I'd be happy to add a credit for them and link to their web-site(s) or social media etc.

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That'll do it for today — although I may share more older images that I found in the archives down the road.

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Thanks for stopping by.

See you again soon.......

Monday, January 6, 2020

WOW Animation! Steve Cutts - The Turning Point

Happy 2020!

Hope you have a great year!

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While I don't personally agree with a lot of his politics — there is no question that Steve Cutts is doing some amazing artwork and animation.

Below you'll find his newest video — uploaded to YouTube on New Years Day 2020 — called The Turning Point.

Screen Capture From The Turning Point by Steve Cutts - Found Below

The video's description on YouTube states:

"The Turning Point' explores the destruction of the environment, climate change and species extinction from different perspective. Music by Wantaways.

Created in After Effects, Premiere Pro, Clip Studio Pro and Cinema 4D.

Written, directed and animated by Steve Cutts."

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From an artistic stand-point, Cutts' character designs and backgrounds have a unique, unmistakable style — while he takes viewers through dense and complicated scenes that could otherwise easily become confusing and muddled if not for his amazing ability to flow seamlessly through them.

His use of "cute" animal characters often contrasts with the animations stark message — while conversely humans are shown suffering from the adverse conditions they find themselves in.

Cutts leans towards the use of monochromatic colors and then splashes some scenes with reds and yellows, etc, to create a very appealing and dynamic look and feel.

Various Scenes From The Turning Point by Steve Cutts

Over-all this animation is extremely well done — and again — though I don't agree with everything Cutts espouses — and his work tends to be very "dark" — there is no denying his talent and skill.

If you take a look — please keep in mind this video shows scenes with some cartoon violence and is not presented for anyone under 18 years of age.

Thanks for stopping by.

See you again soon......

Tuesday, November 19, 2019

Pastel Pencil Drawing And Its Original Sketch Concept

Today, I'll share a pastel pencil cartoon I did using a "new" sketchbook that is larger and has a paper with more tooth than the type I've been using for quite a while.

I'd actually purchased the large sketchbook years ago when I was taking art classes, but just hadn't ever used it before for some reason.

^ ^ ^ After I sketched the original character concept for this one in my usual sketchbook, I decided I wanted to have more space to work in to add the background etc—so I dug around and found the larger sketchbook which is 14 x 17 inches.

My normsl "go-to" sketchbook has very smooth paper and is 11 x 14 inches—while this large one's paper is textured with way more "tooth."

Article On Understanding Paper Tooth

I'm really happy I tried this one out because the paper works a lot better with the pastel pencils I use.

Below you'll find the original sketch—which I redrew in the larger sketchbook, colored, and added an appropriate golf course background.

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BTW—If you're a golfer you'll no doubt get this one's title:

"Jerry Employs The Ol' Footwedge."

If not, here's my brief explanation.

When I was young my dad was an AVID golfer and I took it up just to be around him. He used to tell me to use the "footwedge" when I was learning—which meant moving the golf ball to a better position for your next shot. It's not proper etiquette once you've learned the game—but I was a just a kid, ya know. ☺

https://www.liveabout.com/what-is-the-foot-wedge-1564148

Thanks for stopping by.

Look for more new artwork soon......

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

Excellent Video: The Making Of The Animation "TheTale"

Over on my Awesome-Stuff blog—I just posted an excellent video/animation, The Tale, from France's GOBELINS, "School of the Image."

(all links in this post open new windows)

After a bit of snooping I found the director Guillaume Arantes' Vimeo channel, where he uploaded a "Making Of The Tale" video—showing behind the scenes footage of musicians creating the music track, story-boards, character designs, rough animation passes and refinements, backgrounds, 3D visualizations, compositing, and more—and you'll find that video embedded below.

Screen Grabs — Scenes From The "Making Of The Tale"

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If you're into art and animation like I am—I'm betting you'll enjoy this video too.

Thanks for stopping by.

See you again soon......

Monday, November 4, 2019

Two New Sketchbook Pastel Pencils

Lately, I've been feeling pretty inspired, and much of that has come from seeing a lot of excellent 2d and 3d animations—and some amazing DIY craft tutorials put online by people who are tremendously creative.

Hopefully, I'll be posting some of my efforts based on ideas I got from them on down the road.

Until then, I'll share some more recent pastel pencil work from my sketchbook.

^ ^ ^ On October 30th I posted an anime-style animation/video here called X-STORY.

https://artmusicpoliticsfaithhopeandlove.blogspot.com/2019/10/outstanding-short-animation-x-story.html

As I wrote then, I thought it was fantastic and the next time I sat down to draw, "Strato" jumped outa my cranium onto a page of my sketchbook—influenced in a large part by seeing that animation.

(Although his face reminds me a little of the old film actor James Dean)

Once I had the pencil sketch done—I whipped out the pastel pencils started in with them.

As mentioned in other posts—they're a bit hard to control and after a few layers it becomes more and more difficult to change things—but even with that concession—I was kinda happy with the final result.

I'll call this a "study" though because I might either digitally or "real-world" paint this in the future.

^ ^ ^ Someone uploaded a heavy-metal mashup with a Celine Dion song—and while I thought it was kinda interesting—there was a still photo of Dion used a backdrop for the video and I mused about how long her neck looked.

After scrolling through the comments, I found I wasn't the only one who noticed.

So I took a screen shot of pic and printed it out, planning to see if I could caricature her—and of course thinking that her neck would be a featured aspect. ☺

IMHO, Dion has grown weirder through the years as well—so after I had the basic caricature—I added some other elements to represent that.

Again, this one was done with those pesky pastel pencils.

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Thanks as always for stopping by!

Look for more artwork soon.....

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

New Artwork: Pastel Pencils And A Regular Ol' Pencil Sketch

Hi,

My computer's operatin' system has informed me that my version will no longer be supported soon.

So I need to migrate everything to a new hard-drive/OS ASAP—and I've been deleting old unused files and programs, etc—both to make the migration process faster—but also so I'm not transferring a bunch of un-needed stuff.

It's amazing how much of that accumulates through the years—and it's been pretty time consuming.

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See News Update below. *

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While in the midst of that—I've STILL managed a little drawing time, and today you'll find a few new sketches using both graphite and pastel pencils.

Let's get to 'em!

^ ^ ^ A LONG time ago I found a photo of a little girl and loved her expression and pose.

She was at some kind of event and was holding balloons—but she looked like she was NOT HAVING FUN!

I printed that photo out ages ago and have been carrying a copy around with my sketchbook planning to sketch it some day—and I finally decided to do a caricature of her recently.

Once I had her lightly sketched in using graphite pencil—I decided to expand my sketch—and at first just drew in the balloons she was holding in the photo.

I thought that her hand was already in a position that would make holding something else easy to do and quickly imagined her holding the leash of a BIG ol' dawg.

So, after searched for reference photos of dogs online—I combined several to create the final look of Molly's pal, Rex—and used some photo references to rough in a background.

I used to love watching the painter Bob Ross—and he often said that doing something to a painting was a "bravery test." With that phrase ringing in my ears once I finished the sketch—I got out the pastel pencils and made my first dabs of color with them right on my drawing.

Once they're added—they're impossible to completely remove—so I knew I'd just committed myself to coloring this one (or having to re-draw it).

In the end though, I was happy with the final result—and am considering this a "study" for a larger version I hope to paint using oils some day soon.

BTW—I'd be happy to credit the little girl's photographer—so if you have any info please let me know in the comments below or shoot me one of them thar email-thingys:

jrcurt77@msn.com

^ ^ ^ Just having some fun with exaggeration and character design in my sketchbook.

Had a blast letting my imagination flow and making her YUGE feet/boots. 😎

^ ^ ^ Though I'm putting this one last, Fazazz one was one of the first of my recent pastels pencils.

When using pastel sticks, unless you press too hard you can create layer upon layer of various colors—and you can make numerous corrections and changes as you go along.

With pastel pencils however, they tend to build up very quickly—and after just a few layers it gets harder and harder to adjust things.

So there'd be a lot I'd re-work on this guy if I could—but I'm calling this one "done"—although I may eventually paint a version of this with oils as well.

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* Additional News: I have just completed another extensive update to my website adding a LOT of artwork I hadn't shared there before.

The lay-out on my website shows thumbnails of everything I've shared in different categories on a single page (ie: digital art, sketchbook drawings, etc)—and clicking on any image will take you to a link to a page with a larger view of it, and often a few words about it or how to find out more.

All links below will open a new window:

Jephyr.com

Jephyr Digital Art

Jephyr Sketchbook Drawings

Also—I edited my Honors and Awards page—making it easier to read IMO.

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That'll do it for today.
Thanks as always for having a look.

See ya again soon.

Monday, October 14, 2019

Cool Animation: Sturgill Simpson - Sing Along

I've been using pastel pencils again and am working with them on an somewhat involved piece I hope to share here soon along with some other new artwork.

Until then.....

I ran across a cool animated music video by Sturgill Simpson — for his song called, Sing Along—and have embedded it below, along with the lyrics underneath it.

A Screen Grab From The Video Below

While I'd change some of the words to better reflect my tastes and beliefs—the anime/animation in the video is pretty engaging and the music track adds to the imagery.

I've been wanting to do some animation of my own that would have this look and style.

Anywho—have a look/listen—and as mentioned above—check back soon for some new Jephyr artwork!

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—Please note: While not explicit—this video contains some brief scenes of cartoon/animation violence and implied sexuality/nudity .

Sing Along - Lyrics

Words can stab as deep as night
And cut like razor thorn
Bitter air and winds of spite
Like the cold of winters scorn
Leaves may fall on sleeping ground
But the wind sweeps them away
Like hurt lovers in the final round
What once was in now decay

I can't go on living alone now that you're gone

A single strand of spider's weave
Just dancing in the sun
Please don't turn around and leave
You are my only one
Compromise is made out of peace
But history is made out of violence
After the war of words has ceased
All that's left is the deafening silence

I can't go on living alone now that you're gone
You done me wrong so here's your song
Now sing along baby

Well, I know you know that you're killing me
But its worth it just to see you smile
Tell em' to carve my name in the barstool baby
You know I'm gonna be here a while

A single strand of spider's weave
Just dancing in the sun
Please don't turn around and leave
You are my only one

I can't go on living alone now that you're gone
You done me wrong so here's your song
Now sing along

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Thanks for stopping by.

See you again soon....................

Tuesday, October 8, 2019

AMAZING Digital Speed Painting - Marc Brunet

Video Below

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When I studied art history and took several drawing/painting courses a few years ago—it was interesting to hear about famous artists traveling from one city to another to study work by other masters.

Because of the great costs involved with travel—I must admit I was a little jealous that I wouldn't be able to follow in their footsteps .

Even though it was only 10 to 15 years ago—the internet was more in its infancy—and it was more difficult to find tutorials, speed-paintings, and large scale master-werks to study back then.

What a difference a few years have made.......

Just today, I watched an amazing time-lapse of Marc Brunet painting his piece, 'The Titan's Tomb."

Marc really has a great understanding of human anatomy, composition, and lighting—and although most of it goes by very quickly—I learned a ton from watching it.

A Screen Grab From The Video Below

It's like being able to stand at a master's elbow—and see them create a painting from early concepts to completion!

So check it out for yourself if you have a sec—and be prepared to be amazed.

☺

Please be advised: This video contains artistic renderings of nude figures.

Thanks for stopping by.

See you again soon......................

Tuesday, September 10, 2019

New Artwork And A GREAT Old Song

Hello,

Today I'll post a couple of new sketches/character designs—and an excellent old song that's related to the second drawing.

Let's get to it!

^ ^ ^ I went out to draw one afternoon and as I drove I prayed that God would help me come up with something that would serve Him.

While I'm not exactly sure how this sketch fulfills that—I definitely felt inspired as I drew it—and enjoyed the process a lot.

BTW—I also asked God to open doors with people—and as I finished this up several employees where I went were really engaged by this character (and were complimentary and encouraging)—and that led led to some enjoyable conversations about their interests and lives.

^ ^ ^ I prayed before starting this one too—but had a bit more of a struggle to bring it to life.
I started with my world famous, and patented "Scribble Technique" ™ ☺—and after a bit—began to "see" the GIGANTIC...ummm..."well-fed" character emerging from those lines.

As I put more detail into him, however—I was left with a large open area on his shirt that looked far too empty.

Since a lot of people walk around giving free advertising to corporations etc—I mused for a bit about who/what this character would happily advertise for—and then a light-bulb went on.

I've seen first hand the terrible health costs of our processed "convenience" and fast-food diets—such as obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes, joint issues, edema and skin disorders, sleep apnea, heart-attack, stroke, depression, and social isolation, etc.

In fact—a few years ago, I lost a friend who was just in his early forties—and his death certificate listed his weight as a contributing factor to his early departure.

So, as a protest of sorts—it felt "right" that this...ummmm....large character would be wearing his corporate "master's" advertising on his shirt—while simultaneously advertising the effects of their poisons (oops...I mean products) on his body.
☺
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Even though it's about another vice—smoking cigarettes—Randy Stonehill's 1976 tongue-in-cheek, Lung Cancer, seems appropriate to include with this post.

It's fun and light-heart but has a pointed message too.

BTW—while smoking cigarettes has decreased—the use of vaping and e-cigs has now surged—and there are over 400 illnesses and and as many as FIVE recent deaths being attributed to them.

In this first link, it reports the US Center For Disease Control (CDC) "said 450 cases of vaping-related lung illnesses in 33 states and one territory are now under investigation by state and federal health officials."

https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/medical/five-vaping-related-deaths-confirmed-another-under-investigation/ar-AAGV7FB

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-7432983/California-man-diagnosed-respiratory-failure-placed-medically-induced-coma-vaping.html

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7433569/Teen-18-claims-nearly-died-vaping-starts-campaign-hospital-bed-ban-products.html

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7432067/Second-person-dies-U-S-lung-illness-linked-VAPING.html

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-7408783/Vaping-cost-college-athlete-20-lung-family-says.html

Update (7pm - 9-10-2019):

Since publishing this post a sixth person's death has been linked to vaping.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7448731/It-time-stop-vaping-Kansas-reports-6th-U-S-death-linked-mystery-illness.html

Update (9:30am - 9-11-2019):

Today—another article on a serious vaping related illness and hospitalization. A twenty-one year old man is "fighting for his life on a ventilator after developing a lung-related disease" after vaping for six years.

Minnesota student hospitalized with vaping-related lung injuries and SIX US e-cigarette users die | Daily Mail Online

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Thanks for stopping by!

See you again soon.......

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

Just Updated My Website "Sketchbook"

Hi,

I just finished updating my jephyr.com website's "sketchbook."

See images of that update below—(although they're smaller than what appears on the site).

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Now—thumbnails of select sketchbook work can be found—all on one page—with links that will open a new window with larger views of them.

There is still a bit more work to be done to that page—and I plan on updating all of my other website pages as time allows.

But for now at least my digital art and sketchbook drawings pages on my website are more complete and up-to-date.

Please check 'em out—and eagle-eyed visitors—please let me know in the comments here if you spot typos, or broken links, etc—and you will have my deep gratitude!

Thank you—and see you again soon........

The Top Of jephyr.com Website's "Sketchbook" Page

↑ This page continues below ↓

Middle Of jephyr.com Website's "Sketchbook" Page
Several Images/Links Extend Below What Is Seen Here

Copyright Notice

Tuesday, May 26, 2020

Memorial Day Remembrances And A Pastel Pencil Photo Study Of A Rabbit

With Memorial Day in mind — I'll share a few photos of my Grandpa and Dad.

And A Recent Pastel Photo Study From My Sketchbook

Wednesday, May 20, 2020

Sketchbook Pastel Pencil Photo Study

Sunday, May 10, 2020

Here in the US we're celebrating mothers today.

I've been feeling a little recharged in the art department myself after taking some time off from drawing and painting all the time.

Today I'll share a pastel pencil photo study I just finished.

Wednesday, April 22, 2020

Just finished a quick birthday pastel pencil portrait sketch for my nephew.

Sunday, April 5, 2020

Thursday, March 19, 2020

Funny Short Animation: Carpark

Wednesday, February 5, 2020

Saturday, February 1, 2020

Monday, January 27, 2020

Wednesday, January 22, 2020

Wednesday, January 15, 2020

Monday, January 6, 2020

Tuesday, November 19, 2019

Pastel Pencil Drawing And Its Original Sketch Concept

"Jerry Employs The Ol' Footwedge."

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

Monday, November 4, 2019

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Monday, October 14, 2019

Tuesday, October 8, 2019

Tuesday, September 10, 2019

Wednesday, August 28, 2019