Inspired By 3

I wanted to experiment with my watercolor style again, with some other brushes, and see how this face ends up. Line work is always different from full color, so I was curious to see.

Inspired By 2

If you go back to the beginnings of this blog (all the way  back to Jan 1 2007 yo, you'll see how much my style has evolved over the. past almost 18 years. One of the things I'm proudest of is how I draw faces now, as I can identify key moments in my life when I started drawing differently after practicing, experimenting and observing more. Since I like to draw faces without copying from pics, they're certainly not as realistic as one that is based on a photograph. But I like to think my imagination and hand has evolved to the point that my faces look like they could be drawn (ahem) from real people.

With this one, I'm proudest of how his lips protrude. It's such an odd thing but I just feel like it looks to me to be as believable a face as ever, compared to the many faces I've done before, in that particular part where the cupid's bow meets the fullness of the top lip.

French Boy in the Train Light

On my way to Thanksgiving dinner at my friend Erwin's place on the UES, the trains were pretty empty and my car just had a French family of 4 (Or maybe French Canadian, I could overhear them talking). Anyhow, the one son was really well lit and I kept thinking, you need to remember his facil shading. But then I remembered I could actually draw it, since I had Procreate Pocket on my iPhone. The original study wasn't great, so I made a Photoshop version the next day.

Inspired By

 ...Stavrinos, but not in the way that you think.

I haven't been inspired to draw much lately, but reading about the life of one of my faves, George Stavrinos, I felt inspired to try and do something good. And this was a doodle that started to feel more nuanced )I loved his nose and lips) and that led me to refine him more. I think he could look like a contemporary male model of that very young-looking type. And this is just my line style using a new Grut brush (well, new to me—I have not used the P Borrowed Pencil Hi in a drawing that I can recall) so nothing like the Stavrinos style. Just that I was inspired by Stavrinos's story.

Sitter Form 2

After the initial idea, if I'm not particularly set on refining it to an extent that I feel is post worthy, I often leave things to be reworked later. So, this is that later.

Sitter Form

Several posts on Instagram (and porn!) that I was browsing through showed a guy naked and leaning back on one arm. Of course, in the porn his other hand was , uh, getting busy. But in this potential Insta post, I just want it laying there, covering his nethers somewhat.

Ruddy Flush 2

I know models look younger but I'm trying hard not to make him so twinky.

Ruddy Flush

I got an image in my head of a dark blue outline filled in with a very vibrant pink nose and eye. This isn't turning out quite like I imagined but it's not bad

Find Joy 2

My clients wanted a few changes so even if I haven't gotten a full decision on their project this year, I went ahead and retooled it a bit, thickening some lines, cleaning othes, and adding a new character while retooling an older one.

Stance 2

Was thinking a swoop of color (inspired by the brushstrokes or Ronan Bouroullec) might be a good finish for this pose. Plus I retooled his feet.

Behind 2

I was wondering if it would be better to see the guy's face as well as his hands, so I tried an over the shoulder look...he reminds me a bit of 90s model Erik Etebari...

Stance

Still on a dancers kick, I wanted to do something on a profile with spread legs, and just for the form of it. I dunno if this will develop into something further, but it's an immediate line...

Behind

I love poses where you see a man's hands from the back, as a lot of dancers often do some great things when their hands are the only things you can see on their backs. I saw a few from the dancers I follow and it ins;ired me to do something similar, just on a whim.

Find Joy, Too

I always offer a few variations for clients to select from, so I also did an updated version of my Polar Bear Hugging Penguin card of 2017.

Find Joy

I have a client who asks me to design a non denominational holiday card each year, and with teh results of the election bothering so many, I thought I'd encourage people to find the joy in your everyday lives, inspired by the holiday title of EQ3, a furniture store in my neighborhood, but twisted into a pseudo New Yorker cartoon.

Near Naked for Insta

I took a break from Instagram posting because of the elections, a hectic class sched, and most of all, a reticence to post another nude since I think IG is on high alert with the elections, and they censored one of y cut paper pieces, which is obviosuly NOT a real nude. Ah well, anyhow, I thought this guy would be apt with all those factors involved (after 2 weeks of not posting).

Gym Guy's Hair

 There's a handsome, hot guy who goes to my gym and looks a bit like Chris Evans with a buzz cut. I was observing him under the lights and noted how his hai had an interesting shadow pattern, almost like that of a sphere (if it was a hairy sphere). So I made note of the patterns and attempted ot draw it from memory.

Painted Silhouette

I've been wanting to lay with painted fields with textures for a while now, and I saw a silhouette of a face online somewhere and I got inspired to do the silhouette and add the strokes.

Yellow Sweater

I was doing a sample demo for a menswear student at FIT last Thursday, and I left teh sketch on my school desktop. I thought I'd bring it home and post it for last Thursday retroactively, but I ended up toying with it and making something newer. So, voila!

Trousers Top Too

Gonna see if a better croquis will serve the design more.

Trousers Top 2

That arm looked weird so I adjusted it.

Trousers Top

I had an idea (since I'm still teaching and teaching trouser flats) to do a top that looks like the top of a pair of pleated pants. The drawing came together rather quickly, although I'm not fond of my finishes so will have to retool asap.

Black Cat Man 5

I honestly thought this could first be a Halloween post, then I figured I could always do a Childeless Cat Lad post, then I thought it could be something of a victory post after the elections...but alas, twas not to be any of those. And here he is, almost finished, but with nowhere to be published.

Illustrator Doodles

Still in shock, but trying not to think about it. It's so hard to process, I don't even want to write about it. But I can draw and escape. Life is still going on...

I did some experiments in Illustrator linework, and I'm just gonna post this. I'm too forlorn to do anything even remotely involved.

Aftermath (Black Cat Man 4)

Hold on to your cats and loved ones, the unthinkable has happened. It's a sad day in the US for me and many like me.

Slider Brush Face 2

I experimented a bit with adding Photoshop patterns and I think it looks rather fun, akin to the stuff Cecilia Carlstedt is doing albeit still rawer and more amateur in this style.

Vote 2024

I had made a Vote drawing back in 2020 and instead of uploading my new Childess Cat Lad nude I'd been working on, I thought it best to post a Vote drawing again. I was going to just do a Flashback post and repost the older one, but in the end I couldn't leave well enough alone and had to tinker with the drawing until it was completely different...only Michael J Hildebrandt's Vote design is the same at this point! Keeping my fingers crossed and hoping for the best.

Slider Brush Face

I needed a break so I experimented with teh slider brush a bit to see if I can change things up. It's fun, and not bad...

Story Pose 2

Added a few more details to her outfit as well as cleaning up the form more, but still haven't the wherewithal to finish this one yet...I don't even know what it should look like finished!

Black Cat Man 3

I'm really not satisfied with the body—it's a bit hard to figure out how to angle his arms to accommodate a cat...which I am trying to imagine as a form but decided it was best to suggest one as a mass than figure out all its anatomy as well!