2nd St. Studio Sketches

So, during class this week I periodically took out my phone and snapped some pictures of a portrait I was drawing at Studio 2nd St. 

I labored on this guy for about 2 hours only to have Ron Lemen sit and, in the course of about 15 minutes, transform it utterly from the third photo in this set, to the fourth and final photo. It's inspiring and humbling to be shown how far I have yet to go as an artist by someone as skilled and as sweet-natured as Ron.  Exhilarating, too.

Can't wait for next class!

Danielle as a Faerie. Watercolor, 2002

Dungeon Majesty - Part 2

So, it was Spring 2007, and I was having the worst few months of my life.  I mean, I had a great job doing sketches for a small furniture design studio in San Juan Capistrano (which unfortunately left me a creative desert after what were often very long hours).  My wife and I had recently been inflicted with a profound loss to our little family, and I needed to feel sane again - inspired again.  I toyed with World of Warcraft for a few months, playing around with local pals, doing the repetitive quests over and over... but it was the huge time sink I knew it would be.  Then, one day, I find a story on Boing Boing on these kids who had put together a cable access D&D show in order to stave off the same doldrums.  I was in.