The Paintmonkey is published!

The new edition of Prehistoric Times magazine is out and the Paintmonkey made it in! That is the front cover so you know which issue to rush out and buy! And inside is even better!



Here is a bigger version better for viewing of my submission.

And even better still, the publisher posted in the "From the Editor" section a mention of a brand new event that we are coming up with at work called (tentatively) "The Fernbank Dinosaur Sideshow!" Right now we have Mr Fredericks (the publisher of my new favorite magazine) confirmed as a guest but we are working on many more guests and surprises! Stay tuned. Hopefully by Sunday I will have a working version of our advertisement poster ready for viewing! If not I may go ahead and post my rough sketches.

And remember, rush out NOW and buy this magazine as it will SURELY turn into a collector's item soon!

Geckos, Part Deux

So I had so much fun doing the coloring pages for work, that I just HAD to try my hand at painting these cute little buggers. So I took my trusty camera and took some photos of the geckos in their enclosures at work. They really are photogenic little things. So here's the first of a few anyways...



And if you want to see these little guys live, go here for info.

The Taste of One's Own Foot

There is a long history of blaming the president (past and present) for problems facing the country. It has become particularly nasty these days but it has also gotten EXTREMELY surreal and disjointed from reality. Michael Steele, the head of the Republican National Committee, the face of the party is a SUPERB example of this. I get that he has to oppose the current administration on, well, just about everything. It seems to be what they do these days. I would probably be less cynical about conservatism if every Republican advertisement for governor that I've seen recently (and good lord, there are a LOT of them these days) say that they are bound and determined to cut our taxes! With every teacher in the state either being furloughed or laid off, they are going to cut taxes. Okay, but quit wringing your dang hands when, for some reason, our schools are churning out woefully stupid kids. Just a thought...

Anyways, Michael Steele was caught on tape at some fundraiser, saying that the war in Afghanistan was a "war of Obama's choosing". Seriously. He didn't even giggle or smile when he said it. He may have actually been serious. The war in Afghanistan, the one that started in October of 2001, four years before Barack Obama was elected to the SENATE much less the presidency, is a war of his own choosing. Okay. Sure. Why not?

What led me to the cartoon was the fact that since this tape made it's way around, most Republicans have turned on their fearless leader and said he doesn't represent "their" Republican party. And seem like they would REALLY prefer it if he would, in fact, just shut up.



Weird. There ARE sometimes instances where politicians and I agree on something.

Happy 4th of July!

In honor of this great holiday, I give to you...a giraffe.



Nope, it has nothing to do with the holiday other than I finished it today.

But, my wife wanted a painting of a giraffe so I did one for her. This is a 4"x6" pen and ink and watercolor.

Have a happy and safe holiday weekend!

American Pride

I have been a soccer fan for going on 16 years now. I (like many of my southern compatriots) didn't understand the sport and thought it was actually pretty slow and pointless. I mean come on, 0-0 is a FINAL score?!?! That can't possibly be right. But like most things in life, it becomes MUCH more interesting when you understand the rules and nuances of the sport. While in college I had the good fortune to be roommate's with a talented artist/musician/goalie who explained the rules of "the beautiful game" to me. Since then I have been a HUGE fan, particularly of the United States National Team.

However, this has not always been an easy job. While you consign yourself to the knowledge that soccer in the United States is an "up and coming" sport, you are always hoping for the team that breaks through the barrier. Well, this year's team could just be that team. Usually, the U.S. team plays well for part of a game or they play well for one game but not the next. Or they make their way into a tournament and just do horribly the entire tournament. But this team is different. They play like they know what they're doing. Every time. (Okay, they sometimes take a bit to warm up to the game but they get there.) I have not been disappointed in their play this World Cup. Not once.

Which brings us to Game 2 against Slovenia. Not enough that they finish up a masterful comeback from a 2-0 deficit. Not enough that they did not give up. They WON the game. On a brilliant cross from Landon Donovan, Maurice Edu jammed home the winning goal. Except they didn't.

Everyone who follows the game knows what happened (or more importantly, what DIDN'T happen). Here is my take on it...



Take what you will from this. Do I think that it was a referee who had placed a bet on the game AGAINST the U.S. taking a victory? Do I take it as a vast conspiracy of FIFA who dislike the idea of such a "non-futbol" country as the United States advancing in the tournament? Or do I take it as a simple mistake by a referee who might have been a little in over his head? (Okay, for the record I definitely do NOT take it to be the last one.)

I am so proud of our boys. If they were to be knocked out of the World Cup in the first round I will be just as proud of them. They have done everything in their power to win. And to them, I say "thank you" for helping to reignite the passions of a fan who sometimes has trouble keeping the fire going. But for everyone else in the world of soccer, I leave you with this message...

Watch out. Our boys are coming.

Iguanodon and Charlie Brown

Just a couple of new things this week. I've been working on my submission for Prehistoric Times magazine for the fall issue. I had done one previously but I was never EXACTLY happy with it. So I decided to give it another go with a different attitude about the composition. I went with less of a central motif and had the old girl wandering off into the background as well as added a little iguanodon for a little more of a family touch. I decided the foreground needed a little something so I put one of those giant dragonflies that were very prevalent at the time. I liked this composition MUCH better.



And I really wanted to submit one in color this time so after a few days of horrifying myself about the color, I grabbed the old watercolors again. And then I got THIS...



I'm still not happy with my watercoloring skills but I AM really just starting out with them so I can't beat myself up TOO much (even though I will).

So while I'm working, I take little breaks here and there and usually sit in the studio listening to my music and I do different little things to distract myself while something dries. I will sketch out a new drawing, play solitaire, or usually read something. I surround myself with a lot of different reading materials. Right now my main reading book is The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay but I also have a collection of Peanuts cartoons I've been picking up periodically. The man was, in the simplest terms, a genius. He could encapsulate inspiration and a way to live in a few simple ink lines and fewer words.



(Now obviously in this case I mean the inspiration of Schroeder's words NOT Lucy's but she also has her moments.) There is no anniversary today, no reason to be appreciative of a genius who left us ten years ago...other than the reason to always look on work that touches us and appreciate it again. We miss you, Sparky.

Geckos!

So a couple of weeks ago, I was asked by the marketing department at work if I could do some drawings of geckos to turn into coloring sheets for he kiddies. No problem. But since I wasn't being paid I asked if I could put the address for this blog onto the drawings just for a little exposure. And they agreed so, if you're joining us from that advertisement, then welcome! I hope you enjoy looking around. But for those who don't manage to find their way to Fernbank museum this summer, here are the original drawings I did for the geckos coloring sheets. (I think the graphic design department added a border or something. Not really sure, I didn't get a good look at them and they never emailed me the finished copies.)

First up is this little fella...



Then there's this little guy...(I LOVE the jazz hands and how excited he is to be doing it.)



Then this one.



And finally this little critter.



I'm not sure if these are big enough for you to color if you print them out at home, but please feel free to try. (Just let me know how it turns out. I'd love the feedback.)

And if you get the chance come to Fernbank Museum this summer. These little guys are really a lot cuter than lizards have any right to be. They always look happy (even when they are most assuredly NOT happy) and it's really fun to find all of them in their enclosures.

As always, enjoy!