Welcome to Coolville, USA

Back to basics

noreply@blogger.com (VisualMechanic) — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 02:14:00 +0000

I love working with charcoal.

Vine and compressed.

No smoothing sticks, just my hands.

A kneadable eraser.

A pad of newsprint.

Basic...basic...basic.

Ya gotta love it!

Technical issues

noreply@blogger.com (VisualMechanic) — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 03:36:00 +0000

Wow, what a stressfull couple of days. I was updating the last blog entry and then all the images from the previous posts disappeared! Needless to say, I had to go back and re-link/re-upload everything previous to yesterday. Very time consuming. It isn't perfect as far as image size and text line breaks, but I only have one more post to fix that is completely screwed up.

Whoever guesses which post it is gets a FREE years subscription to this blog! Just leave a comment so your reply is time stamped.

On a better note, I have installed a few freeware programs for my MAC and now can photo edit, create web pages and create vector drawings. FINALLY!! Now maybe I can put together a more visually pleasing front page and header for the blog.

Until next time...

Misc items and thoughts materialized

noreply@blogger.com (VisualMechanic) — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 02:43:00 +0000

I have seen shoes with pinstripes SEWN on, but thought that I could do this myself and I was very pleased after an hour and a half. The hardest part was getting the designs mirrored first of all and then identical from 1 shoe to the other.

Little Red Riding Hood and Paul's Girl (a sort of mad St. Pauli's Girl).

A couple of tattoo designs (rough of course).

Cosmo-naughty and Mrs. Frank

And I cut some slices of a tree trunk that a friend had cut down, sanded and stained and sealed. Now I have some "canvases" to work with. They are about 8" across at least.

Illustration Friday - Garden

noreply@blogger.com (VisualMechanic) — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 03:56:00 +0000

The topic this week is Garden. I "dug" deep for this one and found it "buried" in my sketchbooks from the turn of the century (it just sounds cooler that way). Hopefully you can appreciate the "fruits" of my labor. After letting this topic "bug" me, I finally remembered this piece.

Sorry for the puns. I'm feeling kinda weird right now.

- ink over a pencil sketch

More hand studies

noreply@blogger.com (VisualMechanic) — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 03:44:00 +0000

Yet more hands. All were done with pencil. I kinda like this little exercise. I always despised hands, but I never really took the time to try and understand them. Rest assured kiddies, kittens and daddy-o's, there are more phalanges, tarsals and metatarsals to come!

Not too bad. I'm a little disappointed with the index finger. But overall, not too bad.

I tried to just place my hand naturally on my knee and see how it works.

I just watched the movie 3:10 to Yuma and got the gunslinger/western kick.

Illustration Friday - Leap

noreply@blogger.com (VisualMechanic) — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 03:55:00 +0000

Another entry for Illustration Friday. The topic was "leap" and the first thing I thought of was an Airborne Ranger. I kept seeing this image and was reminded of the movie series "Band of Brothers" on HBO a few years back.

I'm not completely happy with the details (the left hand seems awkward, the boots could be more realistic) but I am happy with getting the picture in my head transferred to paper.

Now I have something to reference if I want to pursue this piece further.

It seems as if I have turned a corner, creatively. Almost as if I have been able to take a mental picture and make it real...something that can be seen by everyone...a portal directly into my creative cerebral cortex. Something that until recently has been a bit of a challenge for me. I seemed to rely on models heavily to inspire the piece. Instead I feel that the piece inspires the models and references that I use. I can put the idea in my head and completely see everything and the complete layout. It is only a matter of finding the right reference for the details (hands, feet, face) and plugging that into the mock up of my creation.

I don't remember what cerebral cortex means exactly or what part of the brain it refers to, but it sounded cool. Right??

-pencil, 9x12"

NEXT!!

Studies and ideas

noreply@blogger.com (VisualMechanic) — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 04:04:00 +0000

I did some drawings around Valentine's day. I would like to create a series of illustrations for each season/holiday throughout the year. That is the cherubesque figure as Cupid.

I also need to work a lot on drawing hands.
I have made a conscious effort to improve my interpretation of how I see hands and how the actually are. I read somewhere that the hands hold so much emotion that to not draw them or to generalize them would be doing the overall drawing a dis-service. I think that would be similar to drawing a face with out lips or eyes. You loose the whole emotion and expression of the moment.

IF - blanket

noreply@blogger.com (VisualMechanic) — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 05:19:00 +0000

First thought was of an infant curled up on a blanket. You know how they sleep...on their belly, feet crossed underneath and hands between their legs almost touching their feet.

This picture just oozes 'comfy-ness' and reminds me that I am not as flexible as I used to be.

-this piece is about 8" x 5" and is drawn with a charcoal pencil.

IF - stitch

noreply@blogger.com (VisualMechanic) — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 01:48:00 +0000

"A stitch in time saves 9."

What the heck does that mean??

We'll just not worry about saving 9. We'll get time stitched back up and back to work.

Something for the craftsmen...

noreply@blogger.com (VisualMechanic) — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 04:35:00 +0000

FINALLY!! (again)

Since we moved in, the steps to the basement have been in need of replacement. Finally I got the nerve to rebuild them. I have never built steps before, so I spent a lot of time researching the correct tread size, riser height and what type of materials to use. I spent quite a bit of time drawing a schematic out also for measurements and materials. The people that know me will not be surprised by this.

Originally there was some water damage here. But since I fixed my downspout drain pipe, that is a thing of the past. And we have had some good rains in the last 3 months. So now was a great time to fix this.

Well, when I started to demo the old stairs, they literally fell apart and disentegrated on the side against the foundation wall. It's a wonder they didn't collapse in the last 6 years.

1 evening to demo and paint the KILZ primer.
1 evening to cut and build the stairs.
a couple hours to put a few more screws in and build/put the handrail in place.

I feel really good about this. It has been on my honey-do list for a while now.

Stay tuned for the next edition of "This 'Older' House".

Another Cornhole Set

noreply@blogger.com (VisualMechanic) — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 04:17:00 +0000

FINALLY!!

These were a gift for my brother-in-law on his birthday at the end of Sept. He invited me to a cornhole tournament for a local girls softball team (his friend coaches them) and that was the perfect kick in the keister to get them finished. I spend every night for 4 nights working on them and the paint was still a little tacky on the day I gave them to him.

I picked him up at his house and presented the set and bags to him and he was blown away! We went to the tournament and they needed to use my set and the set I just finished for the tourney. We got set up and went to register, turned around and saw a couple of groups already throwing on our sets. He didn't get to have the first toss on fresh bags and a fresh surface. Oh well. We had the most original boards by far. Out of 16 sets, 8 were Ohio State themed, 1 was Cleveland Indians, 1 Ohio Univ., 1 Michigan, 1 a local H.S., and 2 plain.

We didn't win.

We made it to the semi's in one of the brackets and got knocked out in the other bracket sometime in the later rounds.

Until next time...the Corn Dogs will ride again!!

IF - backwards #2

noreply@blogger.com (VisualMechanic) — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 05:55:00 +0000

IF - backwards #2

Alright kiddies, kittens and daddy-o's...#2 in the Illustration Friday venture. I have been lurking there for too long and i guess that I am coming out in full force with a double post for this week's topic. Here is the link to IF (www.illustrationfriday.com). There are a ton of good artists there in a multitude of mediums. I am but a simple artist among some of these geniuses. i will try to keep up with them on a weekly basis. Stay tuned friends!

Illustration Friday - Backwards #1

noreply@blogger.com (VisualMechanic) — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 05:33:00 +0000

IF - backwards #1

This is the inaugural venture into the Illustration Friday environment. The topic is "backwards." My thoughts were that my children go down the slide backwards and I tell them to go down the right way (front facing) but I quickly remember that as a kid we were fearless. And to be quite honest, backwards anything was alot more fun than front facing anything. I guess that the "wisdom" of my youth is coming around to rear it's ugly head at me through my children to remind me that I may know what is best for my son and daughter, but they will disregard my advice and have to learn for themselves that the most thrilling way to slide is indeed backwards, but the risk of hurting yourself is much higher at the end.
Oh well...nothing new to you existing parents (and mine as well). I guess that we all have to go through it.

Cornhole Board Design #3

noreply@blogger.com (VisualMechanic) — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 04:56:00 +0000

All righty kiddies, kittens and daddy-o's...Here is the other cornhole board.
This is the first time that I have done anything on this scale and with more than one color paint. Basically I sat down and started drawing lines with my Mack #0 Pinstriping brush.

The only lines that I laid down to start were the grid lines. I don't think that it's perfect, but at least it looks cool, will stand out when set up with other boards, and hopefully the pair will be a conversation starter.

Both boards were done using 1-Shot enamel sign painters paint. COLORS used: lettering White, Orange, and Peacock Blue.

And the pair together below. No too shabby.

SUGGESTION:
Try and draw a symmetrical shape.

HOW TO DO THIS:
Start out with a grid to give yourself an anchor point, then dive right in. It is a little harder than it looks. Good Luck!!

Cornhole Board Designs #2

noreply@blogger.com (VisualMechanic) — Mon, 06 Aug 2007 04:18:00 +0000

Here are the progess pics of one board.

So there ya have it. I will post the other board in a few days (when I do it).

SUGGESTION:
Learn something about pinup art.

HOW TO DO THIS:
Find something out about 1 classic pinup artist

Cornhole Board Designs

noreply@blogger.com (VisualMechanic) — Fri, 03 Aug 2007 04:17:00 +0000

Here is the latest from my mind. This is a rough for the face of my cornhole game boards.

Some of you might recognize this from a classic film. The image I am referring to is of Slim Pickens riding an A-bomb and yelling "YEA-HAW!" while coming down to earth. Obviously a twist by making it a corn cob to tie it with my cornhole set.

I plan on doing this on one board and doing some Von Dutch style pinstriping on the other.
The boards are semi-gloss black and the colors that I would do the pinup in would be a simple line drawing using Peacock Blue 1-Shot paint.
The pinstripe will be 3 colors: Peacock Blue, White and Orange. (This will look sweet!!)

That is it for now.

SUGGESTION:
Learn about the pinstriping brush.

HOW TO DO THIS:
Ask an artist you know.

Welcome to Coolville, USA!!

noreply@blogger.com (VisualMechanic) — Wed, 01 Aug 2007 05:11:00 +0000

Welcome to Coolville, USA.

Coolville is any place you can think of. It represents everything that YOU think is "cool."

Cool to me is: hot rods, pinups, pinstriping, flame jobs, horsepower, American steel, drawing, painting, old faded tattoos on your grandpa's arms, nostalgia, retro, car shows, vintage locomotives, speed shops, non-conformist artists and other creative types, Airstream campers, hunting (with a bow and arrow of course), fishing, feodras, plain black shoes, wingtips, oldies/big band/jazz/swing/country/rockabilly music, prop planes, Western/Native American culture, any of the aforementioned things from the 20's to the 60's timeframe.

So in the spirit of American entreprenuership, I will post my own artwork for viewing. There will be quite a range of subject matter to keep you entertained.

So kiddies, dames and daddy-o's...Sit back, relax and read on for ramblings and thoughts on everyday life in Coolville, USA.

SUGGESTION:
Open your mind!

HOW TO DO THIS:
Don't form an opinion until you've read the whole thing.