SeaTree

I have always been fascinated with time and trees.  How you never see them growing, but time does.  I wonder what a tree would look like outside of the dimension of time.  How do you sum up a tree, from seed to rotting log?  What would that look like?  This is the basis to a lot of my art.  I want to capture that lifespan in a single image, as if it were a specimen unfurling on a slide. 

This is a green ballpoint pen sketch that has been inverted.  I am experimenting with achieving this look organically with linoleum cuts and scratch board.

Here is one that is more portrait-like.  Red+blue ballpoint pen sketch that has been inverted. 

 

 

 

I wonder what shapes my branches would hold were I a tree, and someone did my portrait.  If my whole life was summed up by one outline, what markings would be in the bark, how sturdy would the trunk be?  How tangled would my arms be?  Would I block the sun and choke the life out of those who grew by me, or would I help create a lush forest?  How much ivy would be clinging to my branches, tugging me down?

I don't think my tree would be portrait worthy right now.  It's black with soot, and the earth is scorched all 'round.

  Time will tell how the forest grows after a fire.     

Octopi

This is a sketch done in blue ball point that has been inverted.  

Fox-like

I was asked to draw a fox once upon a time, and so here it is.

 He's made out of red, orange, and black ball point pens, with a little bit of gesso.

 

Months after I finished this guy i went for a hike up in the foothills and came across a dead fox.  It was pretty sad, yet fascinating.  I have an affinity with foxes, which I'm sure a lot of people do, and I couldn't help but admire the structure of the body as it lay decomposing.  I drew a skull when I got home.

  

This one is purple, red, and blue ballpoint pens with red illustrator ink, as well as some gesso.  Not quite anatomical, but I liked how it turned out.

I'm on a whole skeleton kick now.  I owe that inspiration to happening upon that little guy who's time had come.  I think the next time I'm lucky enough to see a live one, I'll appreciate it all the more.   

Mixed feelings

  Well now, what should I do with this blog?  I have made a hobby out of putting pen to ink, and plumbing the depths of my mind for something.  What am I looking for you ask?  Something new, yet familiar.  Something that represents many things, and nothing.  When it comes down to it, a piece of myself.  I plan to go through the stacks of hits and misses, and select a few to put up, talk about, and see what they say to you. 
  So, what else to do..  I am out of the habit of expressing myself through the written word.  Straight up haven't been doing it.  Until recently, I hadn't documented a thought in a long while.  If I have anything I feel is worth saying, that goes here too.  I hope to get better at it, so bear with me.
  I am at a crossroads in my life.  Change can be deeply painful, but I have learned that I have a choice whether or not I hold onto that pain.  Nothing good can come from it, and the sooner you change your focus from it, the better.  You let that hurt fester and hone in on it, and it quickly turns into anger.  A good analogy to anger is moonshine.  You get drunk off it, go blind, think you're invincible, stumble around with purpose, make stupid decisions, chances are you're going to hurt yourself, and when all is over you feel terrible.  No bueno.
  In the end, the pain is still there.  I catch my focus drifting back to it, and I do what i can to set my gaze somewhere else.  This change happened for a reason, to facilitate growth..  And I'm going to grow, dammit!  I guess that's really what this blog is about.
  Stay tuned for doodles, thoughts, and hopefully some adventures.