My morning cup of news.

Blacker than usual lately.

An eye in the sketchbook.

Not sure what creature it belongs to, but it's looking at me.

A pile of rocks.

From the sketchbook.

TV Tsunami.

I sketched this tonight. 

Wooly mammoths drypoint plate.

Working on some drypoint plates. These wooly mammoths are almost finished. I keep the plate inked as I work so I can see what I'm doing. You can see shiny new marks without ink in them. The snail shells are reference for another plate with snails. Too bad the nature lab didn't have some wooly mammoths I could check out for reference.

The place where I work.

And also live.

OF OTHER SPACES.

I submitted a print to this year's Printmaking show and the jury was kind enough to include me. Yay! What print, you ask? I'll post that later---it's something brand new and I need to photograph it. For now, here is the promo postcard for the show.

Crows, detail.

I continue to adjust and revise my murder of crows poster; the latest addition is tiny little crows hidden throughout. These guys are very small--about a quarter-inch across. I currently have over 50 placed, and most people still don't notice them. My goal of a subtle third read is currently too subtle. Working on it. Detail.

Layer separations.

Two of my hand-drawn background layers for a print in progress. Will post how they look in edit: colored ink on paper later.

Abnormal Growth, work in progress.

Not quite finished.

Abnormal growth.

A thumbnail, botanical study and rough sketch for an editorial on the mysterious, controversial and ever-more-common G.M. crops.

Will they solve the global hunger crisis and propel the world into an era of universal prosperity, or are they the gateway to a zombie apocalypse?

Come back tomorrow for the finished drawing.

This week is now sketch week.

A sketch or two every day! Hurrah, drawing is awesome. Two from my sketchbook:

Blind contour from the sketchbook. Fans.

Sometimes I don't really feel like drawing, but feel as though I should be drawing. At such times I compromise and draw blind contour--that is I look at something intently and try to draw it without looking at my paper. It's an ancient technique, based on wishful thinking and procrastination. It almost invariably results in hilariously wonky disaster.

Fortunately, the mere act of putting pencil to paper usually results in a continued and productive drawing session. Does anyone else feel that beginning work (and ending play) is always much more difficult than the work itself?