Little Snail

After a nice long rain I decided to go check my mailbox. As I turned the corner of my building I happened to glance at my window sill and see this adorable little snail.

Lovely Dining With You

Early in 2014 my friend Matt decided to move to Tampa. In the months that followed we would make plans to meet. We would normally catch up over lunch and I always took photos. 

Thrilled at Einstein Bagels.

Trying to find peace at Bikkuri Sushi.

Avoiding the paparazzi at Tijuana Flats.

Trapped in my apartment.

Trying to enjoy a hamburger at Checkers somewhere in Seffner after coming to rescue me from the highway after one of my tires exploded. 

Remarkably, after all this, he still agrees to meet up with me.

The Bet

Back in high school I took an art class with a friend who was a very devoted fan of anime. I love the human form. I was always interested in people and how to capture everything from their powerful movements to subtle gestures. I would argue with my friend that although most anime was very detailed it often lacked the intricacies of anatomy. 

My friend was offended at my statement. "Yeah, well I bet you couldn't even draw anime" 

"Are you serious?" I boasted "Of course I can!" 

I borrowed one of his manga comic books called Oh My Goddess! and set to work. 

Within a few days I produced this illustration featuring five of the main characters from the story. Two of the characters feet remain unfinished to this day. However, when I showed the drawing to my friend his jaw hit the floor.

"You're right" he conceded "You can draw it extremely well."

So far this remains my one and only attempt at drawing anime.

This self-induced project born out of a bet helped me realized that I could create anything with pencil and paper.

Skull Study

Recently I had gone through some of my old drawings and I found this: 

A study of a skull that I had done in college. It reminded me of how much I loved my drawing classes. The funny thing is that I have drawn that skeleton so many times I was sure I would be sick of it. But the truth is that I can only see it as a thing of beauty. The roundness of the cranium, the angles of the jaw, the way the cheek bone sticks out to define the face - it is structure and definition at its finest.