Banjo

Here's a small sketch of my dog I did while she was sleeping a few days ago.

Cathedral City

Here's a photoshop sketch for an oil painting I'm working on right now.

Searstown Mall

I heard about Sears deciding to close a lot of their stores. If not with the initial closing of stores, in the near future I imagine the Sears in town will disappear forever. Much like Blockbuster and Movie Gallery etc. So of course, instantly Sears became an interesting thing to go and draw. It's strange to open your sketchbook and look at something you remember drawing, sitting in front of you and looking permanent, that's now gone forever. It's strange, but I kind of like it. That's what I wanted to do with this. Spend some time with the thing before it disappears.

Searstown Mall

Anyone who lives in Titusville knows about the two malls: Miracle City and Searstown. Miracle City (down the street from Searstown) is a giant pile of rubble and asphalt now. It was never even a half decent mall, but I used to walk down to it with my friends after school all the time.

I used to work inside Searstown before we moved, I used to go to the movies there as a kid, and I've eaten at Valentino's a few times. I used to buy my art supplies at the art store inside, but the owner died recently and it shut down. I have a lot of memories at both malls. None of them very good or all that bad.

The sign itself looks like a giant tombstone and the mall itself feels completely dead. Miracle City is gone, and Searstown just awkwardly waits.

Sky Hawk

I always want to sketch fair equipment whenever I drive by it. This is the first time I've ever actually been able to.

No one was at the fair until about 20 minutes after I started, then a few workers came up to the ride and started messing with things. They unfolded a couple tents and started goofing off and smoking. I'm not really sure when the actual fair opened, but only a few people (like six) rode the Sky Hawk the whole time I was drawing. I'm kind of surprised Fairs are still around. I like them, but never go to them. I think I just like looking at them. They're very strange. 

NC Wyeth studies

I love NC Wyeth, I've been wanting to get faster at painting, and I've also been wanting to get better with gouache. So a few weeks ago I decided to copy some NC Wyeth paintings in gouache.

I like doing these quick little copies, I think I learn a lot and they're fun. Right now I'm doing a few copies in oil paint.

City Entrance

I've slowly been etching away at creating a new world and/or discovering an old one. So currently my sketchbook is getting filled with drawings of this sort, showing places that I've been thinking and daydreaming about.

One of the many abandoned entrances to Cathedral City.

Christmas Shark Monster

My brother-in-law asked me to paint his skate board for him a few months ago.  I had so many other things to do I wasn't able to get to it for awhile. It was two days before Christmas and my wife kind of jokingly said it would be cool if I finished it by then. My first thought was "There is no way I can finish it that fast." My second thought was "I'd be a total failure if I didn't."

So I got out my paints and started it right then (December 23rd) and finished it that night, let it dry on Christmas Eve and then gave it to him on Christmas.

TJ with the board on Christmas