Mid-Week #11: An Odd Assemblage

So this week I had several thoughts on what to show for the mid-week post.  I finally decided to not decide and include a little of all of it. There's a bit of wire, a boredom sketch, and a work-in-progress.
First up: the wire-work. So there's a very short back story for this one. Like most great stories, it starts with a trip to the grocery store.  After doing the shopping I was waiting in line for the self-checkout.  While waiting in the aforementioned line I spotted something shiny on the floor.  If I see something shiny, I investigate. In this way I am much like a toddler...or maybe a raccoon. Either way, I picked up the object and found it to be a silver plastic-coated twist-tie. I removed the plastic and began to work the wire into shape. Since the wire was only a couple of inches long, this process was quite short. What emerged was the first ever MicroZeke! In case you have no idea what that is, it's a tiny version of this guy. So when I got home I took some pictures with a penny for size reference. Here they are.

Here's the boredom sketch.  As you can see it's a balloon with jagged sharp teeth and a survival knife.  I thought "How could a balloon be in any way threatening?" Question answered.  I also gave it the gift of speech to imply some degree of intelligence. If it has the ability to think it could potentially have malevolent intent. Yeah...that's about it...

 As an artist I am begrudged to show any unfinished work, but I thought posting this one might encourage me to go ahead and finish it. It's a large humanoid bat creature that popped into my head (or should I say popped out of my head) while I was on a break at work one day.  I will definitely post the final product at some point in the (hopefully near) future. Who knows? Maybe this will start off a new series of Works-in-Progress Wednesdays to give you an idea of the process that goes into making a finished drawing.

There's another week inside my mind.  It may be a place of chaos, but it's my chaos.  More paintings are coming Sunday, so check back then.  Also, my thoughts and prayers also go out to those affected by Hurricane Isaac as it moves across the Gulf Coast. Stay safe everybody, no matter where you are and of course...

Stay creative,

AH!

Mid-Week Post #2

It's the middle of the week again, so here are a few more sketches.

First is a little guy in a short tuxedo.  I'm going to call him a brownie.  Not the chocolate kind, obviously, but the mythological kind.  Even though I don't recall them being known as a particularly classy lot, I chose to dress him in a tuxedo. I suppose since I've drawn similar creatures these many times over the years that these guys must be one of the many native species of my imagination.  This one, named James, came to realization while I was sitting in the stands at a high school lacrosse game. He is on the back of a team roster, drawn with a dollar store blue pen, so not the best quality paper or drawing instrument, but I think he looks rather dapper anyway.

Here are some hands I drew while in college about *coughs* years ago. The right-hand...hand in the second drawing bothers me a little, but I drew it exactly as the source picture I was working from showed it.  I can't help it if they chose a hand model with a chimp proportioned palm.
I would highly recommend drawing hands in various poses for any aspiring artist.  They, like the eyes, are one of the most expressive parts of a person. Don't believe me? Watch people conversing.  Are their hands still?  Probably not.
Disclaimer: Drawing hands can be exceptionally frustrating and I am in no way responsible for any damages to you or your surroundings as a result of hand-drawing frustration. If you chose to punch a hole in a wall, your safety is (literally) in your own hands.

Finally is a portrait of a zombie drawn on lined notebook paper (a medium I prefer to avoid when possible).  I brought him into being between the first and second periods of a Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs hockey game where I was working as a camera operator. I realized that most zombies are given rather unbecoming names like Decomposing Composer, Vicious Girl Scout, or Miami Face Eater, so I decided to give them a little class.  That established, I submit for your approval Mr. Holden J. Glover, the Eloquent Zombie.  While other zombies are shambling around moaning and groaning, he is shambling around very politely moaning "I'm really rather famished. Might I partake of your brain?"  Alas, in spite of his impeccable manners, he is still a zombie.

So there you have it. Another mid-week post for you. I'm thinking next Wednesday may be the first Wire Sculpture Wednesday.  As always, please share any comments or requests for future projects (celebrity portraits excluded) below.  Who knows?  Your idea may be just the inspiration I'm seeking.
-AH!

Mid-Week Post #1

As promised, here is the first mid-week post. These are a few sketches that I've done when I had a planning period while substitute teaching. They give a brief glimpse into the more... unique side of my imagination that has been showing itself more often as time progresses.

The first is another dragon, this time more Asian-styled.

Next are a couple of vicious looking creatures drawn, unfortunately, on a yellow lined notepad.  Eh... I guess you work with what you've got.  Not really sure what to call either of them, but open to suggestions.

There you have it.  I'm sure that between sketches buried in piles of papers and new sketches that result from boredom inspired trips into my imagination, I should be able to keep up the mid-week posts.
-AH!