Month: October 2014

Another one for the Grateful Dead.

October 28, 2014 — Leave a comment
One of my favorite teachers.
The first study, to figure if I could even spell the word Grateful with pen drawn feathers.

The first study, to figure if I could even spell the word Grateful with pen drawn feathers.

Reminding me to go searching for the sound. To chase after the ever elusive muse.

The pen study.

The pen study.

To not be afraid to fail, or fall flat on my face.
The pencil hawk laid out with the letters and all.

The pencil hawk laid out with the letters and all.

To find the beauty in tragedy, and the strength to continue through.

The bird as it flies from out of the gates of my imagination.

The bird as it flies from out of the gates of my imagination.

To laugh my past away, and to make it one more day.

gratefuldeadhawkfinal1.jpg

Owls again, again, again.

October 23, 2014 — Leave a comment

Looking for the shapes in an owl’s face. I put this together last night while taking an evening off from riding bikes into the hills.

I wish I could tell you I got an owl to sit still for me. The two I saw tonight on my bike ride were heading silently away from me.

I looked at some sketches I did of owls two years ago. I can tell you this much. My sketches are starting to look less like cartoon cats with wings, and more like owls. I think that’s a good thing….right?

Spring of 2012 I bought 40, 4"x5" canvas boards and put a bird on every one. Some really looked like birds...

Spring of 2012 I bought 40, 4″x5″ canvas boards and put a bird on every one. Some really looked like birds…

owlsketch.jpg

Just a little trouble with acronyms…

October 19, 2014 — Leave a comment
A solid day on the mountain bike. 14 miles in the saddle this afternoon. Field work time. My favorite.
In the field today I saw:
Red-tailed hawk, Cooper’s Hawk, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Western Blue bird, Turkey Vulture, Mocking bird, and a few unidentified sparrows or wrens.
And one dead tarantula that I suspect a cow or other mountain bike squished. (Poor guy.)
The time after sunset at the desk brought about some sketches of:
A Hooded Oriole, Western Scrub Jay, and half a woman’s face
Dinner was B.L.T.’s with Avocado. Where do you put the A in B.L.T’s?
(in the acronym and/or the sandwich?)
I hope you had a beautiful day too.
(I put the avocado over the bacon to hold it still under the bread).
The Cuesta Grade, California. or, My field.

The Cuesta Grade, California. or, My field.

Western Scrub-jay.

Western Scrub-jay.

Half portrait.

Half portrait.

Hooded Oriole drawn onto watercolor paper. Looking to color this one soon.

Hooded Oriole drawn onto watercolor paper. Looking to color this one soon.

With each passing moment.

October 17, 2014 — Leave a comment

I sat down for 5 hours with a piece of plywood today. While I sat several cameras captured the passing moments. With which I am planning another time-lapse video project. I had done the pencil work for this over the last few weeks. My recent trip to Hawk Hill in Marin County, CA. inspired me further to make this project come about. Today with a free afternoon and all my laundry done, I sat down to bring the myth to the page.

hawkfinished.jpg

Two ravens by a railing on a hill in California.

October 13, 2014 — 1 Comment
I met with a friend over the weekend in Berkley, CA.
We rode bicycles through San Francisco, across the Golden Gate Bridge and up into the Marin Headlands.
There we visited Hawk Hill. I finally remembered to bring my binoculars, and what a treat it was.
I lost count of the raptors in a matter of minutes.
The sky was like beautiful blue gravy and the fog was flying mashed potatoes.
(Perhaps not my best analogy of the week, but let’s go with it.)
Before I left the hill, I met two ravens. They seemed amused with my excitement of the birds around me. They were the only two birds that sat still for me to take a half decent picture of so I went for it.  I have long admired Ravens. They made sounds like a chuckling cow when I rode away.
From Hawk Hill to San Francisco. Mashed Potato clouds make me hungry.

From Hawk Hill to San Francisco. Mashed Potato clouds make me hungry.

If I could, I’d give you the world in its own wings.

October 9, 2014 — Leave a comment
In July I had completed my first large (2’x4′) hawk drawing on plywood when it occurred to me, I could put words into the wings. The question I had was, what words?
It seemed Two words would be the best place to start. A word for each wing. Ok that was easy enough, but which two words?
So I thought it over for a few months. It got pushed to the back burner for a while.
Other interesting projects came and went across my drawing desk.
A recent voyage across the United States, took me from California, to Denver, to the prairies of northern Illinois.
I met my newborn Nephew, and forged many great new connections. I also connected with the roots from which I grew.
I was standing on the East bank of the Fox River, when the proper two words found me.
I didn’t bother to write them down, Instead with my mind I put them in my back pocket. Because I knew since they had arisen, they would never leave, or fall out of my pocket.
So I took the two words home with me back to California, where I put them into a hawks wings and let it go back into the world.
Thank you for the opportunity to share this with you. It absolutely means the world to me.

Looking back over my shoulder

October 4, 2014 — Leave a comment

I found this drawing in a cardboard tube in the bottom of my closet. I made it in April of 2012. This was among my earlier attempts at a bird in flight. While resembling a kite/squid/cartoon sort of bird. This drawing makes me smile to look at it.

It was with those drawings I made in the spring of 2012, that I discovered I had the ability to combat anxiety and depression with this powerful weapon of peace.

Thanks for stopping by and reading.