feeling sketchy

2009-07-25T13:26:00.000-07:00

Grandpa and the Walkure. Couldn't draw his face the way it was.

rest in peace

Day 21

2009-06-17T21:45:00.000-07:00

Nana and I spent some quality time talking about family. She told me about one of the Uncle Louis:
"He played the hand organ. His son Joe was a shyster. I told Papa, 'Don't you ever buy anything from him.' Joe could sell anything and make you think it was a good deal, even real junk. Well what do you know one day Papa bought a car from him. Joe said, 'Now I'll give you a special deal cause you're family, real cheep.' So Papa bought the car and within a week they had to get rid of it, it was no good.
"His wife liked beer better than he did. She came to our house and said 'Got any beer?' So we give her a bottle and he gets real mad.
"Joe, the organ grinder's son, and his wife owned a little monkey. Everyplace they went they brought the monkey. They went to Florida and left the monkey in the car for half an hour. All the windows were up and it was real hot. When they came back the monkey was dead. It was a cute little monkey."

Day 20

2009-06-16T23:05:00.000-07:00

Jazz fest. Bonerama. Wow! They were incredible! There was so much energy and movement. In their hands, trombone became a living breathing creature with a voice of its own. The best song was the last, an incredible cover of "When the Levy Breaks"

Day 19

2009-06-15T21:18:00.000-07:00

I love the room. I love the sights from the roof. Here are some of the distant and frequently overlooked aspects of the skyline. The Xerox tower is the focus of Rochester's skyline, everything else is back round scenery, poor buildings, they don't even know that they are insignificant.

The Rochester International Jazz Fest started today. I attended a few minutes of a free concert, but it was boring. Butchering my friend's portrait was more fun.

Day 18

2009-06-14T21:15:00.000-07:00

I visit Nana.

day 15

2009-06-11T14:27:00.000-07:00

I visit the grandparents. They all eat lunch together.

Spot coffee, an amazing warehouse, a Rochester institution, more shapes and angles and color, its all too big to fit on a page, or in a sentence.

day 13

2009-06-10T09:00:00.000-07:00

its really 2:30 AM day 14 when I draw this. I slept in the tower, like a princess and watching the light shapes move across the ceiling, and the city lights and listened the cars outside. Each car and truck had its own rumbling voice. The skyscrapers were there, just in the corner of the window. I drew in moonlight.

I wanted to watch the sunrise, but when I woke up, the sun was covered by a white haze of clouds.

day 10

2009-06-06T17:15:00.000-07:00

Kisa likes me more all the time. She modeled for awhile today.

The roof slopes down and the walls and the light and everything together make beautiful shapes and angels that I want to capture on my paper, but its impossible for me with an ebony pencil as my tool.

day 8

2009-06-04T13:30:00.000-07:00

The Po'Boys Brass Band play a short set at Hochstein's Thursday lunch hour series. It was short but very very sweet.

day 7

2009-06-03T09:00:00.000-07:00

I paint the sunrise.

woke up at 4:45 and watched the orange and yellow burn across the cobalt sky, setting fire to the clouds, illuminating the trees and houses and

the sun rose too fast for me to catch all of the glorious details.

day 6

2009-06-02T22:53:00.000-07:00

I explored the DVD collection downstairs and picked out a couple of Russian titles that had attractive box covers for viewing. The only equipment that could play region 4 was my computer. As the sun set, I sat in my tower watching an incomprehensible foreign film. Very quickly I became more interested in the lengthening shadows on the wall and the sunset to the south of the city, than the struggle between the lecherous priest and the freaky woman.

The movie was Vedma. And it was probably a better movie for my not understanding the dialogue.

day 5

2009-06-01T23:43:00.000-07:00

My friends came over for dinner. Neither of them realized that for me to finish an attractive representation of their faces, they would have to hold still.

Kisa didn't want to hold still either.

day 3

2009-05-30T17:00:00.000-07:00

My roommate has grown to like me very quickly. The first morning, while the alarm was ringing, she stood by the side of my bed mewing and plaintively looking up at me. She tried to jump up on the bed, but I leapt back in surprise and then she was surprised and fell back on the floor. Now she sprawls, seductively, on the carpet, lazily blinking her eyes at me, like she's trying to lure me into scratching her neck, or giving her food.

Day one

2009-05-28T20:12:00.001-07:00

I opened the door today and Kisa, my new roommate, was there to greet me. Apparently I was not who she expected to meet; she shied away from my friendly advances and ran down the hall, through the closet, into the bedroom, and ended underneath the bed. She hissed at me whenever I came near, and remained under the far corner of the bed until the alluring sound of the dry food bag shaking brought her out into the kitchen. Shyly, she examined her bowl to see if I had given her anything good.

If I went downstairs now, she would briskly install herself under the bed again.

musicians

2009-05-28T07:46:00.001-07:00

Two weeks ago, my brother and I and two other friends, danced at a church talent show. Our Lindy Hop was the second act. We sat down at our table, breathless and exhilarated, then the show continued for another two and a half hours. There was a lot of singing, a couple comedy acts, and one other dance act.

My brother accused me of drawing people like anime characters, so toward the bottom of the page I had to show him what real anime characters looked like. An adorable anime Marie Elizabeth is to the left. DBZ style anime brother is to the right.

The next evening the Po'Boys performed. They are very fun performers. Their music is a blend of funk and rock, a dash of jazz, and a lot of brass.

Last Night, the Spring Trio (which consists of five musicians) played at Nasty D's. They were great to dance tango to. Moshe is in the center he playing hiss accordion, he also had a violin. My pencil snapped when I was drawing the violinist in the lower right corner, :-(.

wedding bells

2009-05-27T15:50:00.000-07:00

Patrick and Marie were married this Sunday. The mass was held at the vast and impressive chapel on the Nazareth campus. Dinner was served at the Green Lantern Inn. Scribbles of other people include the cellist who played before the ceremony and at the reception, the grooms brother (they looked like brothers until my pencil killed the resemblance), a Ted (random boy who was sitting midway down the hall), and my dearly beloved coffee cup.

mother & daughter

2009-05-20T15:07:00.000-07:00

Chloe sat at the table munching on peas and dry ham. Her large almond eyes darted from her neighbor's conversation to her plate of food. Throughout the meal she was unaware that on the other side of the water pitcher lurked the stealthy sketch stalker, who was busy capturing her portrait

Sunday, she sat, her gaze fixed forward to where her husband paced as he taught the lesson on Psalm 73.

You can see the family resemblance in the forehead and lips especially. The light was incredible, I wish I could have captured it accurately.

southern tour

2009-05-04T18:01:00.000-07:00

Went south of the Mason Dixon Line on a road trip. As soon as I took my seat on the plane, a little 82 year old, sitting in my row, greeted me with her life story. Once the plane ascended through the clouds she ignored me in favor of the window. Her profile was fascinating.

We drove down i95, which has to be one of the ugliest stretches of road I've ever been on. Usually on long drives I make sketches of the scenery, but there was no scenery, just a straight 6+ lane highway with minimal trees, minimal hills, minimal curves, no bridges, no farms, no lakes, rivers, or marshes. So I drew the driver instead.

A messy montage of our day in Columbia.

our hostess.

The tour of the lake.

Mid trip, I thought the month had changed to July, I don't know why...

On the return trip we decided to be cultural and stop for a play. "Lend Me A Tenor" was hilarious. Above are my Row N impressions of the cast.

The hunger pains were so intense, that I couldn't lift my pencil before we arrived at a Waffle House outside of Richmond.

Flying home.

sunday school sketches

2009-04-16T00:07:00.000-07:00

On the back of old Bulletins, all covered with scribble, I found these old sketches and started a blog. These portraits were sneakily drawn some time over the last six years while I was sitting in church and mostly listening.

Howard Statler, Jr. High Sunday School teacher for decades. He was a wonderful man, and influenced many a crazy twelve year old, including me. This is definitely the oldest drawing in the collection.

4-5 years old.

4-5 years old.

I drew this last picture a couple of weeks ago. The lady in the bottom center is Grandma Lester, who is now at home with the Lord.