Kurt CobainGraphite, Vellum, 1999
This was an illustration project for school and also my first musician portrait. It ended up taking nearly half the semester to complete, which threw the half dozen other projects aside into the rush pile. It was worth it! I learned quite a few new techniques while working on this one, but still hadn't mastered the art of drawing hair. It can be really complicated at times.
I had planned to start a series with this kind of full cover illustration, but swerved over to the much simpler charcoal drawings for a while.
Gordon GanoCharcoal, Vellum, 2001
The first of my charcoal series, I did this one for my good friend Brandon, who is a huge fan of the Violent Femmes. It was his request that landed the Dead Milkmen logo on the shirt, which turned out to be a great idea. I really got into the idea of having the figure seeping out of the deep shadows.
Tom WaitsCharcoal, Vellum, 2001
The second of my charcoal series, this time it was Phillip's turn to get one. Having been the one to introduce me to the music of Tom Waits, it only seemed right. That picture is so great, capturing Tom's habitual smoking preference.
Pink FloydCharcoal, Textured Paper, 2001
My third charcoal piece, I had somehow landed my hands on some textured paper and decided to experiment with it. To be honest, I much prefer a smoother paper. Still strugglin' with the hair, too.
My aunt Pat was the recipient of this one, being a huge Floyd fan like myself. Every time I look at this one, I get the urge to do another one. Maybe bigger!
Maynard J KeenanCharcoal, Vellum, 2001
Always a fan of dark imagery, I decided to try my hands at these wonderful pics of Mr. Tool. Again, playing with the deep shadows. I think the toughest part on this one was shading the skin. For some reason, it wasn't looking right as i was doing it, but turned out fine in the end. Who knows?
Levi and Marguerite RandallCharcoal, Vellum, 2001
I did this one as a xmas gift for my mother, who teared up a bit when she opened it. Both deceased, I decided to immortalize my loving grandparents with a nice drawing. It was a bit of a challenge, but i think I pulled it off.
George Porter JrCharcoal, Vellum, 2001
This was done as a xmas gift for an old school friend, who is a big fan of the bassist. I've always liked this picture of George sitting on the tracks! I also just realized the inverted bass clef going on. Weird.
Ben HarperCharcoal, Vellum, 2001
I really played with the deep shadow effect on this one. At the time, I was somewhat of a Harper fan, but really haven't kept up him since. I still like this pic, though. It just radiates emotion!
Me and StephGraphite, Vellum, 2007
This one marked the return to the graphite pencils and was done as a xmas gift for my mother. I had managed to sneak a coupla' old pics of my sister and myself, and did a bit of photoshopping to combine the images. There were a few minor difficulties drawing this one, I guess having been away from it for so long, but I did manage my best effort at a hair technique.
Porkchops and RiceInk Stipple, Vellum, 1998
This one was a school project and a very tedious one at that! For those not in the know, stippling is a technique of using small dots to simulate varying degrees of shading. No solid lines whatsoever.
I'm not quite sure why I chose a picture full of rice, but I stuck it out and managed to pull it off. I guess I wanted to challenge myself, and I haven't done another stipple drawing since.
~ January 1st 2008 at 7:59 pm |
I was just looking at your gallery for the 1st time in a while and I wanted to say that the pic that you drew of you and steph is awesome! I’m sure that your mom was so happy to receive it.
~ January 8th 2008 at 10:20 pm |
thanks! i’d been procrastinating with that drawing all year, so when time finally ran out on me, i figured now or never.
~ June 6th 2010 at 2:52 pm |
these are great keep up the hard work!