"The German" pencil

I have been reading about the events leading up to World War II. The thing that struck me was the quick militarization of the political parties which lead to fascism in Germany and Italy. Why would people be willing to give up personal rights and freedoms so easily?

"Reverence" watercolor

This is from an old black and white photo. I think this it was an albumin print (this is printing process using albumin which can be found in egg whites). The respectful profile reminded me of some one in reverent prayer or thought.

"Saggy" pencil

This guy just looked to small for his skin.

"study" watercolor

"Thoreau" Conte Crayon

This is a sketch of the young Henry David Thoreau, the naturalist, tax registrar, author and poet.

He is well known for his writings of his solitude on Walden Pond. I love this short prose of the sounds of nature that can only be heard by seeking the solitude that only nature can provide.

"THIS is a delicious evening, when the whole body is one sense, and imbibes delight through every pore. I go and come with a strange liberty in Nature, a part of herself. As I walk along the stony shore of the pond in my shirt-sleeves, though it is cool as well as cloudy and windy, and I see nothing special to attract me, all the elements are unusually congenial to me. The bullfrogs trump to usher in the night, and the note of the whip-poor-will is borne on the rippling wind from over the water. Sympathy with the fluttering alder and poplar leaves almost takes away my breath; yet, like the lake, my serenity is rippled but not ruffled. These small waves raised by the evening wind are as remote from storm as the smooth reflecting surface. Though it is now dark, the wind still blows and roars in the wood, the waves still dash, and some creatures lull the rest with their notes. The repose is never complete. The wildest animals do not repose, but seek their prey now; the fox, and skunk, and rabbit, now roam the fields and woods without fear. They are Nature's watchmen — links which connect the days of animated life."

Solitude, Walden

Henry David Thoreau

"Landscape Sketching" pencil

These are some quick sketches of some landscapes I would try to make a lino-cut out of.

"Marathon Design" digital illustration

This morning I ran a marathon. 26.2 m. I was pretty happy with how I did. One thing that I learned from today's race was that if you could smile during the entire race, putting one foot in front of another was not hard to do.

This illustration was from a photo's that my wife took. Yes that sad runner is me.

"Desert" watercolor

This scene is from my imagination. I was just thinking of the baked orange rock with the companionship of a few clouds.

"Rock Butte" watercolor

This little watercolor is from a photo I took while I was in Canyonlands national park years ago. I still am attracted to the complementary colors of blue and orange. This is what fills up my palette most of the time.

"floating Bella" pen

The dog now can float. Amazing!

"Manti" pencil

Today's sketch is another landscape of the temple in Manti, Ut.

"Vieux Bergerac" oil painting 48" x 36"

The varnish has finally dried. This is an oil painting that I have been working on for the past month and a half. It is a painting of the old city center of Bergerac, a small French village in the Dordonge region of France. The reference is from a photograph that I took almost 18 years ago. Bergerac is most known for it's favorite son Cyrano de Bergerac (a french dramatist) whose life was fictionalized in the play by Edmond Rostand. It is a landscape that still lingers in my head and heart.

"Peter with the keys of the Church" pen

Just got back in time to make today's post before midnight. The comes from a discussion we had today about priesthood authority.

That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

Matthew 16:18

"face doodle" pencil

Todays doodle.

"The old man" pen

Still sticking with the elephants for today.

"elephant" pen

"Poisson" color pencil

My son wanted to go fishing today. This is as close as we came.

"The Guitarist" pencil

I heard this quote once that with out music, life is like a journey through the desert.

"student study" watercolor

A start of a new work week meant that I did some sketches in watercolor.

"Split Mountain" pencil

This is a sketch from one of the photo's I took from our rafting trip.

"Cottonwood" pencil

This was a quick sketch in the sketchbook. Today has not given me much time.

"Youth" watercolor

“In youth we learn; in age we understand."

"Big Brother" pencil

Another one of the bears.

"The Pose" pencil

It might be cheesy, but I had to work on Little Bears family.

"Little Bear" pencil

This sketch of a grizzly bear reminded me of the book series Little Bear by Else Minarik. This was book was one of my favorites as a kid. It was illustrated by Maurice Sendak (Where the Wild Things Are).

"Desert Towers" lino block print

Finally the ink has dried. This print was first composed as a sketch and then I carved it in a piece of linoleum. I used a speedball block print ink on rice paper. I printed it onto the paper by using a rolling press. Overall I am still unhappy with the print quality. I think that the ink is rolled on to uneven. The paper it self is very fragile which effects the whole printing process. For my next block print I am going to try a thicker paper like BFK rives.

Green River Trip

Last night we came back from our rafting trip down the Green river. Trips like this are good for the soul. We left Thursday to Dinosaur National Monument, near Vernal Utah. The park it self was just amazing to visit. It has some of the most concentrated dinosaur fossil finds in the world. Around every corner you can even find petroglyphs from the Fremont Indian culture. Our campsite was right next to the Green River and was crowned by an enormous mountain of stone that violently thrusts up from the river below.

The rafting trip started about 9 miles up river from the camp site. It was a 4 hour trip of hitting the rapids, passing towering walls of stone, and seeing a landscape that few realize exists. There was only three people who knew what they were doing. I think the rest of us were basically idiots with paddles. But it was so much fun we were energized to do it again the very next day. I feel blessed to live where such beauty is available out my back door.

Below is just a few of the sketches and pictures that I made during the trip.

Thanks to Lette, Cameron, and Mike for the great time.

"Camp ground" digital photo

"Split Mountain" pencil

"Dinosaur Desert" pen