"Randy's Barn" pen

I did a few sketches from some pictures I took over the Thanksgiving break. This is a little drawing of my uncles barn. The starkness of the drawing is also due to freshly fallen snow.

"Winter" pencil

Tree's in winter are fascinating. When there leaves have shed, the trees soul is laid bare. You can see their true caricature, be it old and gnarled or young and fragile. They seem to me to have their own personalities, their own voice.

"Old Man Winter" pen

"oiseau" pen

Another bird for today.

"Lincoln" charcoal

The quote from Lincoln that I used yesterday, was a Thanksgiving proclamation that was given in the mists of the Civil War. When there was much torn apart by the war, Lincoln still recognized the importance of gratitude.

"Thanksgiving" watercolor

"The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God."

Abraham Lincoln

"Turkey #3" pen and color pencil

One more day to go.

"Cobble"pen and color pencil

A turkey a day, until Thanksgiving.

"Tom Turkey" pen

The noble Turkey. If Benjamin Franklin had his way, this would have been the symbol of the republic.

"The Old Man of the Forest" pen

With the onset of winter, many things start to feel old.

"The Green Man" pen

I am sure that I drew this because I spent a good portion of the day outside raking leaves. I have done several Green Men before, this particular one looks like a big salad bowl.

"Face study" pencil

"Howler" pen

These monkeys always look surprised.

"Cathedral" pencil

I am still playing with architecture. Moving from the geometric design of perspective, to something purely organic. The Spanish architect, Antoni Gaudi said that it is not art unless it comes from nature. His masterpiece, the Sagrada Familia cathedral in Barcelona, the marriage of the sacred and organic design.

"Ville de La Tour" pencil

I have been working with perspective with my students. This is a little study that I started, using two point perspective.

"Chateau du Gaucheries" pencil

A castle for the clumsy.

" The Watch Tower" pen

This is a small sketch of a city of old.

"bulldog" indelible pencil

A wrinkly dog for today.

"The girls on a ride" pencil

I sketched this from a photo I took this past summer. It is of my youngest daughter going for a horse ride with her little cousin. My daughter has always loved getting on these animals and "go for a ride". Now the horse in this picture is not a giant, it is that these two little girls are just that really little.

"From the front" pencil

Happy Veterans Day!!! This sketch is of a WWI soldier from the trenches of one of the most horrific episodes of western history. This day is also called Armistice Day. On the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month Germany signed the Armistice, effectively ending world war one. This also a day of remembrance for those who have given up so much. Those who were willing to stand in harms way. This is for my father, grandfather, and other family members who served their country in times of great conflict.

Thank You.

"The Taming of the Shrew" pen

"bloomin" pen

My wife asked me "What is up with the flowers?" I really am not the flowery type of guy, but hey, it makes for an elegant flowing line.

"Fleur" color pencil

I created a demonstration on how to draw a flower. Starting out by blocking in shapes, then gradually moving into greater details.

"The Ruins" pen

This is another one of those drawings that just come out of a few scribbles.

"Facial structure" pencil/pen

I did this drawing in my altered book. It started out as a little study in facial anatomy, but I found this poem and threw it in. The poem is somewhat nihilistic and thus may add a different spin on it all.

"cylinders and cubes" pencil

This was a demonstration that I gave my students. They are studying value, so I set up a still life arrangement of bottles that I painted white so that they may more easily pick up on the highlights and shadows. Many students are afraid of shading, but with some confidence and careful observation they are successful.

"This Old Home" pen

When you have a house, there is always work to do.

"CV" marker

"Piggy" pen

Post #300, Celebrated with a pig today.

"Coach" pen

This is from a photo I found. The intense look reminded me of stare down one would get from the sidelines.