Ink, Imagination... and Coffee.

New shirt project

2012-02-14T19:04:00.001-08:00

At the rather adamant suggestion of my mom, I put a leprechaun character on a shirt timed for St. Patrick's Day. It turned out really well, and I'm pretty excited about it. You can get it here
As long as I have one in stock, it'll usually ship the following business day (USPS).

-posted from some gadget you can fit in your friggin' pocket.

Location:N 7th St,Hiawatha,United States

Shop link

2012-02-12T14:19:00.001-08:00

Ok guys, I figured this out.
here is where you can check out and buy shirts from my shop. I'll get some pics of my physical store in Hiawatha
up here soon. It's a really sweet little place. Just give me a little bit. Until then, here's a pic of my dogs that I did with instagram:

-posted from some gadget you can fit in your friggin' pocket.

Location:Shawnee St,Hiawatha,United States

Just checking in, folks

2012-02-11T16:13:00.001-08:00

This is amazing, guys. It's been so long since I've posted anything. I've been working and parenting. That's about it. I've got an Etsy store with some stuff in it that's kind of been my creative outlet recently. Billy the Squid. If you can find it and if you buy something, I'll ship it out in a sweet package that looks like this:

-posted from my pocket computer.

Location:N 7th St,Hiawatha,United States

Pencil Miles #22 Eyeballs

2011-06-17T11:00:00.000-07:00

Notice the ceiling fan noise. It's definitely Summer around here.

Waiting for food...

2011-06-16T18:40:00.000-07:00

I had the pork chop out at the cabin this evening. It was dang good.

Pencil Miles #21 Mr. Pencil part 2

2011-06-16T14:06:00.000-07:00

Pencil Miles #21 Mr. Pencil part 1

2011-06-15T10:53:00.001-07:00

Pencil Miles #20

2011-06-15T08:59:00.001-07:00

New model

2011-06-15T08:03:00.000-07:00

I'm having way too much fun with this guy. Check him out at www.bonktees.com

Pencil Miles #17-20

2011-05-23T08:03:00.000-07:00

Pencil Miles #16

2011-05-10T11:17:00.000-07:00

Pencil Miles #15-- Angie's Amazing Hot Dog

2011-05-04T09:04:00.000-07:00

and part two!

continuing on....

2011-04-27T12:42:00.001-07:00

probably never get caught up...

2011-04-26T14:55:00.001-07:00

Putting miles on the legs...

2011-04-22T14:33:00.001-07:00

Crap! I'm running behind...

2011-04-20T13:10:00.000-07:00

It's easy enough to record and upload these things, but I've gotta get them where they need to go after that!

Pencil Miles #6: Cars

2011-04-15T14:13:00.001-07:00

Pencil Miles #5: The Fist!

2011-04-13T09:37:00.001-07:00

Pencil Miles #4: Hands again

2011-04-12T11:24:00.000-07:00

Pencil Miles #3: Hands

2011-04-11T13:50:00.000-07:00

Pencil Miles #2: Why the Head Comes Later

2011-04-11T13:48:00.001-07:00

Pencil Miles #1: Lines

2011-04-07T11:38:00.000-07:00

Tribute to Winter...

2011-02-17T09:50:00.000-08:00

I'm trying to get my desk cleaned off today, and I had this one done for a while and sitting around. My studio is in an old, drafty house and I'm too stingy to turn the heat up. This Winter has been a good one, and if I know Kansas weather, it's not over yet.

yink...

2011-02-16T10:09:00.000-08:00

I inked it. Used my Raphael 8404 #2. I'll see if I can get it colored soon, too. I've got some other stuff I gotta get knocked out.

Promotional Material...

2011-02-15T12:56:00.000-08:00

I've gotta do it. It's not like there is any extra time for it or anything, but it needs to get done. It's good for the job, it's good for the soul. Here's the sketch. I'll see how quick I can get this sucker finished up.

It comes with the job...

2011-02-14T12:01:00.000-08:00

I've been really busy recently. Everyone is, I'm sure. I know I've been really busy when I do homework--which to me is work that I bring home with me and do. I've been doing a lot of that recently. Wears me out if I do too much.

I also don't get to show off too much stuff because of confidentiality stuff-- I can't "publish" it until it's been published by my client, but once they get it done, I've kind of forgotten about it (see my note about being busy in the previous paragraph). Here's a little piece of a piece that I did in the last couple of days. I think I'd really like having one of these little trucks.

Umm, let's make it a Chevy...

2011-02-14T11:56:00.000-08:00

After getting this logo worked up, I was told that 99% of the guys who run mud trucks run Chevys-- a detail of which I was not aware. It's a Chevy now, and it's on a brown shirt. They did white ones in the past which, as the nature of the sport would indicate, were turned into rags fairly quickly.

I love logos

2011-01-19T17:07:00.001-08:00

I don't get asked to do logos too often, and I really enjoy doing them when I get the chance. Here's a recent one that I got to do-- featuring an illustration modeled after a 1977 Ford pickup.

-posted on the fly.

In the beginning...

2011-01-14T12:10:00.001-08:00

He made some shirts and saw that it was good.

The Astronaut. Lemme know if you want one ($18 shipped).

-posted on the fly.

Slingin' Ink

2011-01-12T14:44:00.000-08:00

On with the show! This afternoon, I broke into my pile of drawings to ink, and I thought it would be fun to do a quick before, and after piece. My setup is pretty simple. I use plain ol' paper and ink with a Raphael 8404 #2 brush with india ink over 2H pencil lines.

For those of you who are a little scared of inking with a brush, I'll say, "Don't be. Just try it. You'll screw up a little bit, but there's always whiteout and/or photoshop to correct your mistakes. Brushes aren't nearly as fussy as pens. Get into it, and have fun." There you go. No more excuses people. Get inky if you're not already.

My wife, the idea machine.

2011-01-11T09:03:00.000-08:00

My wife's got super good ideas. I was wondering what I would do next for this series, and she dished out like three ideas instantly. If you don't like this one, then well, it wasn't my idea. I think it's pretty sweet, though.

Designing in black and white...

2011-01-07T13:08:00.000-08:00

Hey everybody!

Here's some stuff I've been working on recently. I wanted to put the pieces together to see how they looked-- kind of like when you step back from a painting to see if you've got the proportions correct.

These are all shirt designs for a line of t-shirts that I'm going to be producing out of my shop. I'm pretty excited about them. I think I'm going to do some more with this series, but I'm not sure what to do next.

The Death of the "Original"

2011-01-06T13:27:00.000-08:00

I was asked today if I ever sold any originals. The funny thing is that I don't have any originals to sell for the most part. Not anything that looks like the finished piece, anyway. The only things that I do as original full color pieces are presents for my wife. Everything else is just done on a sheet of copy paper small enough to fit onto my scanner bed. I squirrel away the "original" for some reason. I remember an older friend of mine several years ago said to me, eyes wide, "never throw away your originals!"

Well after about 10 years as an illustrator, I've got boxes of originals. I left an entire box of them at the house I moved out of a few years ago. In the attic. That's where I still keep the boxes of originals that I have now are-- in my attic. Just so you know.

My working illustration process just doesn't generate heirlooms right now. Oh well, maybe someday.

This particular piece was done for an ad pitch. They asked for something Seussian, and this is what I came up with. I used a ballpoint pen to ink it up because the pen lines closely resemble pencils, but are easier to clean up. The archival quality is questionable at best. In 100 years this drawing will be really crappy looking-- then again you probably will be too, and as one's eyesight fails after living that long, you probably won't be able to see it even if you're one of the few people who live longer than 100 years.

My advice to the potential art connoisseur is to amass a collection of ballpoint pen drawings. You can ask to be buried with them when you die, and no one will care because they'll all look really bad anyway.

Moving on...

After I finished the ink work, I scanned it in (actually in two parts -- it's on an 11x17 piece of copy paper) and colored it up.

I use Photoshop and a graphics tablet of some sort to color stuff up. When I did this piece, I used an Intuos 3, but I have a crappy Cintiq that I got off of Ebay for about half price. I adjust the "Levels" to brighten the white of the paper and darken the linework a little. I have the drawing on a "multiplied" layer sitting on top and subsequent layers of color underneath. I always try to preserve a digital copy of the original drawing.

I really liked the "original" piece I did for this drawing. Super busy. Lots of stuff going on. Fun to look at. So it's in a drawer in my filing cabinet with a bunch of brother and sister drawings. They keep quiet for the most part, but sometimes I open up the drawer and it's apparent that something had to have been going on in there. Some kind of party. I never leave my drawers that messy.

Astronaut...

2011-01-05T15:06:00.000-08:00

New shirt coming up. Let me know what you think.

They're starting younger and younger...

2010-11-04T07:07:00.001-07:00

I did this drawing while attending one of my 10-year-old son's football games. It just seemed weird-- all those skinny little kids with those pads on.

it's not that I don't think in color anymore...

2010-11-04T06:49:00.000-07:00

it's just that I don't have time to do the coloring.

My feelings about football:

Busy

2010-09-06T11:35:00.001-07:00

Sorry, I've been busy.

insecure skeleton...

2010-08-28T18:24:00.001-07:00

#22 The learning curve.

2010-08-20T09:54:00.000-07:00

Any question as to how I've been doing over the past week can be answered in this strip. Back and forth between tired excitement and whatever Flash is doing on the floor there.

#21 (pretty important number for gamblers)

2010-08-12T08:27:00.000-07:00

On hot dogs...

John Brown

2010-08-10T14:56:00.000-07:00

I was doing some thinking last week, and it struck me, "I need to do a John Brown t-shirt! Che Guevara style!" The dude attacked a federal armory to start a slave uprising. So I'm doin' 'em. John Brown shirts.

comics....Served up weekly here, too.

2010-08-02T13:19:00.000-07:00

This is a service to all my friends with RSS readers and crap like that since I haven't gotten that rolling with my comics feed on my site.

Comic Class #4 The Teaching Experience

2010-07-23T14:04:00.000-07:00

The week of July 5th through the 9th, I taught a comic class in Iola, Kansas with Becky Gill. It was fun, and I learned a whole lot. I hope the kids got as much out of the class as I did.

I went into it not really knowing how to go into it. I'd never really done much teaching in the 5th-8th grade range, so my method was to just analyze where everyone was at and go from there. I had a room full of guinea pigs, basically, but we had fun, and the kids really enjoyed the class. I've been told to get it on my schedule for the next summer.

(flying hamburger courtesy of Olivia Taylor)

Cartooning Class #3-- Drawing...

2010-06-21T18:16:00.000-07:00

3. Don't take drawing for granted. It's deep. It can blow your mind if you let it.
Please know that I respect other approaches to drawing. I just go with what I think is best. It follows that to me, my way of drawing and thinking about drawing is the best. But that’s just me. I say that because I know I’m going to get a little heavy-handed here.

Ahem.

Remember that the drawing BEGINS in your mind, so don’t limit yourself at the beginning by small thinking.

Drawing isn’t really about rendering something in 2 dimensions. I haven’t seen anything in the real world that is totally and completely flat (don’t argue with me here, I’m trying to make a point). Even a “flat” piece of paper becomes a dynamic form when you pick it up off the table. It bends and moves. Everything exists in some kind of space, and since the human imagination has the capacity to deconstruct and transcend what we know as “reality” we ought not limit ourselves to two dimensions-- especially this early in the game.

So:

Draw a balloon, but:
Don’t draw a circle. Think “a spheroid kinda squishy, shiny balloony thing” and then draw what you’re thinking.

Draw a man running, but:
Don’t draw a body, arms and legs just positioned in a certain way-- think “RUNNING” and then draw the ACT of running.

Your pencil is not just traveling across the surface of your paper. It’s moving through three dimensional space and giving form to three dimensional ideas. See the horse exercise below. A lot of times, the “how to’s” you’ll find on drawing will start you off with some shapes to which you add arms heads and legs to. This isn’t helpful. Let the subject exist as fully as possible in your mind.

Apply this to things you take from life. You’re not drawing shapes, you’re drawing three dimensional forms that have their own energy or essence--whether it’s a rock, a cloud, a man beating his dog for crapping on the rug for the 3rd time that day. Understand that because that’s what you’re communicating-- qualities of being and not just shapes on a page. Let your drawing become empathetic. Feel what your subject feels (on some level at least) and communicate that through your drawing.

It’s ok. I know it sounds pretty dang kooky, but it goes through my head automatically when I work. Plant it in your brain down to the deepest parts. I could feed you and burp you and help you along every little step of the way, but I’ve got more respect for you than that, and I think you can handle this.

It's not my intention to do a whole "how to draw" course on here. There are a bunch of folks out there doing it already. One of the ones that I think you'll find most helpful is Rad Sechrist's. He's super good and really get's down to the nitty gritty. Check out his "how to" blog here.

http://radhowto.blogspot.com/

Cartooning class #2 "It says in the Torah to find thyself a teacher. This I have done." --Avram Belinski in the Frisco Kid

2010-06-15T11:52:00.000-07:00

2. Get your mind blown as often as possible.
I have a little bit of experience with the Suzuki teaching method. Among many of the brilliant ideas it espouses, one of them is that every musician that one actively listens to, studies and appreciates becomes one's teacher.

Looking back I find that I did this HEAVILY as a teenager. My teachers were Sam Keith and Todd McFarlane mixed in with a generous amount of Bill Watterson. After I got into college, my scope widened. I accepted the angularity of Mike Mignola's work and was able to see him for the genius he was (and is). I got into George Herriman's Krazy Kat big time. Winsor McCay too. After I graduated college, I picked up a couple of Benito Jacovitti's books. Add to that guys like William Heath Robinson, Robert Wilson, Sergio Toppi, Jeff Smith, Honore Daumier, Lionel Feininger and Heinrich Kley and you get a fair picture of my post college aesthetic.

Each artist that you appreciate and study is like an ingredient in the soup of your style and how you visually express your ideas.

I learned different ways of composing a comic strip from the people who did it best.

I learned how to draw hands from a number of sources. Every time I saw a cool hand, I'd mark it in my memory and return to it as necessary.

I'd never really copy another drawing. What I would do is mimic a style. It became another way I could express an idea that I had in a way that was more exiting than what I could do by myself. As I did this, my various influences mixed together more and more, and I had a manner of doing things that was all my own, yet totally dependent on the artists I chose to be my influences.

As time has passed, I've collected more and more teachers. Scott C., James Jean, Skottie Young , Earnest Shepard, A.B. Frost, Graham Annable and I'd better stop there because I'm going to leave a lot of people out. I've never stopped. I'm always looking for something out there to blow my mind. Thanks to the internet, dang near every one who has something that's worth looking at has put it out there for everyone to experience. For YOU to experience.

The most important thing is to think outside of the bookstore. Sometimes you can find good stuff there, but it's not too often. Recently comics have been largely disappointing. I'm pretty picky, though. Never followed comic book stories too much. I've always been into them for the art. What I'm on the lookout for is quirkiness. I'm looking for stuff that surprises me. I'm looking for someone who has found a different way of seeing and expressing things rather than just recycling the same ideas. I take that experience that they share and add it to mine and TRY to take what I'm doing to that next level-- just a little bit farther than anyone else has ever seen before. Notice the emphasis on the "try".

I've gotta leave a quick note for the Manga fan boys and girls out there. I'm not going to knock it, but artistically I think you need to keep moving. There are thousands of people drawing that way. Probably millions. Do you want to be one AMONG millions or one IN a million?

You are unique. Let your artistic expression reflect your uniqueness. You didn't figure out math by yourself. Someone taught it to you. Likewise learn to solve the problems you encounter artistically with help from wherever you can finagle it. Broaden your horizons and your experience by engaging in the pursuit of the host of teachers that are available to you.

I really can't stress enough how important this is. It's like the fuel inside your creative engine.

Cartooning class #1

2010-06-14T14:04:00.000-07:00

A few weeks from now, I'm going to be teaching a comics class in my home town of Iola, KS. I was excited initially, but soon excitement gave way to a little bit (JUST a little bit) of apprehension as the time to do the class drew nearer. It's not that I'm not confident in what I'm doing as a cartoonist. It's the teaching part. I've taught drawing and painting classes in the past with considerable success, but not cartooning. Not yet.

At first I thought that I should follow classes that other people had taught. What book did I need to find that could be "the text". Surely there has to be some outline out there that tells me more or less what a class like this should look like.

I don't know if it's laziness or gut instinct, but I've determined that what I'll do is outline my own process and see how that works. I'm going to attempt to go step by step through the development of a comic strip the way that I figured out how to do it and divulge whatever helpful information I can to maybe help make the trek through the wilderness a little less lonely. And if all you might get out of this would be to know not to wipe your butt with the plant that's got the three leaves on it, then I've at least saved you from a really annoying and potentially embarrassing rash.

Without further ado, let's start where I think we should start:

1. Get prepared to capture your ideas.
You're going to create an entire universe out of nothing. God needed a place to put his universe-- we call it the universe. You will likely need something to put your universe into as well. Given our limitations as humans, I would suggest using something smaller than the universe with which to receive and organize your geniusness. I use a sketchbook. I also have a sophisticated application on my telephone and computer that I use to capture and organize dang near every stray thought that I have--including ideas for cartoons.

You can use anything, really. Some people are "back of the napkin" folk. I can appreciate that, though I'm not one of them. I happen to mind the way the napkin makes the ink bleed and easily tears. I also have little faith in myself to remember to remove the napkin from my pocket before the pants enter the laundry. If you get into the romance and spontaneity of writing your brilliant ideas down on receipts and business cards and matchbook covers, then you're going to need a folder and/or filing system. You've got to have access to these awesome ideas after you give them form. You can use whatever system you want, but you need to be sure that once you've gotten your idea down on paper that it's safe and that you've written down enough of the idea that you'll be able to understand it when you see it the next time.

I would suggest something that you can hold in one hand. That way you have everything you need right there to develop your ideas. If you're like me and just want to be told what to get so your mind can concentrate on actually creating things rather than deciding what tools to use, get a sketchbook/journal with no lines. Moleskines are expensive, but I have to admit they're handy. Size doesn't matter too much. Not too big that you can't carry it around easily, but you want to make sure it's not too small too. I did the too small thing for a while. I ended up with crappy small ideas that didn't go anywhere, and then I lost it. Small things are easier to lose than big things.

Also, you'll need something to write with. So get a pencil. And a pencil sharpener unless you're the mechanical pencil type--which is fine. I don't have any problem with people using mechanical pencils. I just don't because after 4th grade, I didn't like buying the little leads for them. Wooden pencils are everywhere. I haven't bought a wood pencil for myself in years. Get the ones with the erasers on the end-- one less thing to remember when you're going out the door.

I need to add a note on pencil sharpeners. You might have to buy one. I would recommend a little one that's easy to put in your pocket (I used a razorblade that I taped inside my sketchbook for a long time, and I'd sharpen my pencils carpenter-style). The point is you need your own sharpener. The one in the closet at your mom and dad's house doesn't count.

Anyway, let's summarize: You need a good place to capture and develop your ideas, so get a sketchbook and start a collection of pencils. Don't forget the sharpener. Very important to have your own sharpener.

Alright, that's the end of lesson #1. Go get that crap and come back for the next lesson.

Getting things figured out

2010-06-11T13:14:00.000-07:00

The News...

Crap is there anything going on? Yeah. Moving into the summertime proper now, and I'm trying to make the best use of my time. I worked up a print for this weekend's Chamber of Commerce golf tournament here in Hiawatha. It was really fun to do-- the print. I like getting in there and slinging the old brush around.

I've also been working up my website (which you may currently be viewing). I'm a total newbie at this, so let me know if any of you have any suggestions or things you'd like to see happen with the site that you're not currently.

I'll try to keep updates rolling and make them worth keeping up with.
Cheers,
Stephen

Floyd the Fly

2010-05-05T14:21:00.000-07:00

He's just looking for a decent piece of poop to settle down and raise some maggots on.

2009-12-03T06:33:00.000-08:00

I've been up to a lot recently, but haven't had much time to post things -- or had many original things to post. This little gem is from the last installment of the "Gecko and Sticky" series of books -- which are actually pretty cool. I had a lot of fun with those.

Things you need

2009-08-24T15:07:00.000-07:00

The things needed for continuation or your corporeal existence: air, water, food, shelter, clothing.

The last one I can provide you. Get a Toothless Joe shirt and impress your mom when you wear it. It may not make her happy, but she'll be impressed.

Also, if you haven't seen it, I've added the first chapter of "Lestrygonians: the Transdimensional Frenulum" to my site and you can download it.

One MORE thing, if you have kids and want a book or two that they'll want you to read over and over and over and over (really) to them, then you can get them here.

Chester 150% RDA of cuteness

2009-08-21T07:16:00.000-07:00

I've been thinking about this one for a while now. We got Chester almost nine months ago. I had said that after the last dog I had, I'd never get another one. With all the kids we've got, I just didn't need the hassle.

But my wife Angie has a weakness for cute animals, and in mid-winter, it caught up with her. Since she had done so much for me, since I owed her more appreciation than any other person in the world, I didn't even think of putting up a fight (she could have wanted a boa constrictor and I would have found a way to make it work :) So, in February we got Chester the dog.

It wasn't but a few seconds before I was overwhelmed with his cuteness and any shred of internal resistance that I might have still been harboring was gone. There's something about a living, moving ball of fluffiness that makes it impossible not to believe that the world is, in fact, a wonderful place and that just to be alive is all the awesomeness that one can handle.

So that's Chester. Our lazy little mop dog. He lightens the load without even trying.

Transdimensional Frenulum #1

2009-07-20T08:31:00.000-07:00

The first issue of my epic, "Lestrygonians: The Transdimensional Frenulum" is finished. I've got some pages posted on my Lestrygonians blog for you to check out.

toothless joe mini comic!

2009-06-15T13:51:00.000-07:00

I've been working as an illustrator and cartoonist for several years now, but this is the FIRST time I've ever done a whole comic book. It's a 28-page mini comic about my buddy toothless joe, and it's pretty awesome.

"Greeting" cards

2009-02-23T08:12:00.000-08:00

I have been pretty busy and haven't had time to get a post up recently. Well, I'm still busy, but I needed a distraction. Here are some cards I've recently done. A couple I did for my wife on her birthday and one for Valentine's Day (which happens to be our anniversary -- killed two birds with one stone there). The other one with the skeleton and the clock is a birthday card illustration I did for more general use.

Batman and Robin

2008-12-17T12:12:00.001-08:00

I was recently asked to do a "Batman" for a child's Christmas present, so I did. It was pretty fun --not as fun as Spiderman, but still pretty fun.

a spiderman

2008-11-14T09:18:00.000-08:00

It seems like the more I have to do the more distracted I get. I was doing some inking on another project, and I whipped up a Gilpinofied "Spiderman". It was fun. I connected with my two-year-old self who pottytrained himself in exchange for that awesome eleven inch spiderman action figure.

the waiting times

2008-11-13T12:03:00.001-08:00

Hey there. I've been up to a lot recently -- work and chasing kids and stuff. I had a moment while I was waiting for stuff and did some drawing.

Cheers,

Stephen

Therapy is going nicely. I'm making progress

2008-10-06T09:04:00.000-07:00

Here's a page from the Lestrygonians book I'm working on. I manage to squeeze in time on this in between the other projects I've got in the hopper. It's going well, I'm psyched. It's even got Semicolon Man in it ( the little runner guy ) which I'm pleased with.

--Stephen

The Lestrygonians

2008-09-18T14:33:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm doing it. The Lestrygonians, my all but forgotten comic strip has been dusted off and taken into a new direction. I'm sixteen pages into the project, and I'm pretty pumped. I hope everyone else will be too. It's pretty awesome so far if I do say so myself. This is the cover with the working title and stuff which means I'm not sure exactly what I'm going to call it. And if you're not sure how to pronounce it, "Lestrygonians" kind of works out phonetically. Okay, that's it.

--Stephen

Demolition Derby, Falls City, NE

2008-08-07T15:02:00.000-07:00

Okay, last Saturday I went to my first demolition derby. It was AWESOME! It was hot, noisy, kind of smelly. I love the philosophy behind it: take a car that's good for nothing else, paint it up, give it a silly name and let it have one more shot at glory before it's drive shaft falls off. I wish I could do that with my body after I die.

This is a shot of the beginning of the final round. There were several rounds, though-- one for cars from the sixties and seventies, one for eighties and newer, and one for compacts before the final round. They really thought it through.

This car actually caught fire. It was pretty contained by the time we got the camera out to take a picture.

This one was my favorite. He got 3rd place overall. The $25 car.

This was how it all ended up. That's the $25 car in the front, hanging tough.

You also get to see all kinds of crazy people at these things. There was this fat dude in a plastic Viking helmet who was being escorted out by a police officer for fighting. Another guy had a shirt that said, "Do something with your life, get me a beer". Scary looking kids with mohawks. Great folks, but I wouldn't feel comfortable leaving my kids with any of them. There was all kinds of other stuff too including good hot dogs. You guys just have to go to one sometime. I highly recommend it. I think we're going to another one at the end of the month -- they'll have a bunch of minivans crashing it up at that one.

Spanning Time

2008-07-30T11:25:00.000-07:00

Not much going on. Working a lot. Riding my bike. Having an awesome time. I did this little painting in a sketchbook. I guess it's kind of a colored drawing. I started it on a flight home from Portland and then finished the drawing part of it while I was waiting for an oil change. I painted it today just for kicks. Have a good one.

-s

Grunting through

2008-07-23T12:55:00.000-07:00

You know it's hard getting out of a rut, but man, I really don't have a rut right now, and that's kind of the problem. I guess I need to sort of create a new rut. One that I like. One where I do lots and lots of awesome stuff artwise.

Which is not to say life hasn't been awesome here in Hiawatha. I'm almost a two month veteran of this little town, and I'm digging it majorly. I've been getting some serious bicycle miles in. It takes like two minutes on a bike and bang, I'm in the country. Nothing but farms for miles and miles. Pretty cool. I've been having an awesome time with Angie too. The kids are even a lot of fun. Anyway, just checking in. It's been a while. Laters.

-s

Amazing things

2008-03-04T07:59:00.000-08:00

This last week has been pretty amazing. I've had my kids around all the time. When you have three kids around you all the time, it sort of necessitates an adjustment in your thinking. You don't get to do everything you want to do. Even if it's work. You have to play games and read stories and have fun. You don't really have a choice unless you want to be a real scrooge and yell all the time.

In spite of the compulsory levity I engage in, I've managed to get a fair amount of adult style bummer time in, so don't worry about me. Also I've been working. This is going to be a cool one.

Sláinte,

Stephen