Samoa cookie drawing

My 10-year-old daughter drew this cookie with a pencil and markers. When I first looked at it, I thought she had cut it out of a photo. I am impressed!  The white highlights on the chocolate stripes really accent the dimensionality, but she said that part was an accident.  I told her that fortunate accidents are a key component to many great works of art. 

Two Pen and Ink House Portraits

Here are a couple of house portraits I finished over the past few weeks. Both are in the 8 x 10 range.  The first one below is actually a little longer than that; the house was so broad across the front that I had to increase the size a little for it to look right.  Both were done with a combination of sumi ink/dip pens, and disposable drafting pens.

House portrait - Crescent Hill

House Portrait - St. Matthews

End of Whiskey Row

January carrots

I just pulled these from the partially frozen earth in my back yard. First of the year! No, wait...the last of last year's! ...or maybe a bit if both.

Mice & Mystics on the living room floor

We started Chapter 5 of Mice & Mystics late on Sunday afternoon, but only got through the first room before we had to stop for the evening. It is still sitting out, waiting for us to finish it.

As with any game, there are good things and bad things.  I like the game quite a bit, but my biggest complaint is that, at least while playing with kids, getting through a chapter can be a bit time consuming.  This one is seven rooms long (I think).

Fortunately for me, my oldest daughter is eager to keep playing.

Ohio River, Icy Day

At work, boxing it up, putting it away

See ya next year, Christmas!

Game night with friends

Some old friends and their kids came over for dinner. Then we stayed up past midnight playing Sheriff of Nottingham, Telestrations, and Beyond Balderdash, with wine, tea, and lots of leftover holiday chocolate. This was, to me, a great way to be closing out the Holidays. Now begins the long slide into the back half of the school year, and the less festive portion of winter. Maybe more hanging out with friends will break up the dreariness.

Was good Christmas. See many family. Talk many.

Was good Christmas. Ate many cookies. Ate many fudge. Still eat many both.

Was good Christmas. Unwrap many gifts. Still paper scraps on floor.

Now is time between Christmas and New Year. Parties and fudge numb brain. Sky gray and wet. Lights pretty.

A game of Dixit on Christmas night

Obi-Wan Kenobi Pizza Hut Tumbler

I threw this away a few days ago.  It was a Pizza Hut Star Wars promotional item from 1979, during a re-release of the movie.  

I remember having more than one of these cups, and using them in our kitchen, but at some point not long after we got them I started using this one as a water cup for painting.  I used it while paining pictures, and I used it for painting figurines, and I kept using it through high school and college.  I must have used it from time to time since college, too, but in recent years it's mostly been in a box, saved for sentimental value.  

It was encrusted with layers of dried paint-water on the inside; the lettering had mostly faded on the outside; and the plastic was brittle.  I did some garage de-cluttering over the weekend to prepare for Christmas, and decided it was time to say goodbye.  Goodbye, Ben!

And then I went and saw the new Star Wars movie, which was good.

7 x 10 inch pen and ink house portrait

A couple of nights ago I finished this house portrait, which was the last one I needed to get done with a due date of Christmas. Whew!  Now I can take a breath...but I also need to start on a few more that I owe for people who have gift certificates.  There are two of those, and the people who hold the gift certificates have been very patient.  After those two, I have another commission, plus two more probables that I discussed with someone today.  That should keep me busy into spring, but I hope to get a chance to work on some drawings and paintings on my own.

This drawing is 7 x 10 on Bristol board.  I didn't use any thinned down sumi ink on this one.  In the reference photo, the big tree was right in front of the door.  I had to judge from other, older reference photos was the door would look like from this angle, and moved the tree forward and to the right just a little.

It's been another busy year.  I am immensely happy that so many people have liked and admired my work enough to commission artwork from me.  There are so many other artists--some known to me personally--whom I admire as being more diligent, disciplined, and skilled than I am, so it's hard for me to feel too proud of my work.  ...But I am thrilled by all the compliments I get, and very happy that people enjoy the images I produce.

I hope readers of this blog have a Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and a great New Year.

"Break!"

Pen and ink house portrait

This one is 7 x 10 inches

Pen and ink house portrait

Ballpoint pen doodle

House portrait in pen and ink with watercolor

house portrait in pen and ink with watercolor

This is about 10 x 10 inches.

Pen and ink house portrait, 11 x 15 inches

Leaf and reflection

Paper wasps on Black Friday

Here are some slightly chilly wasps in a tree at the Summit Walgreens. This might be the first time I have ever seen paper wasps with a nest in a tree instead of on a man-made structure. I am sure it happens all the time, I have just never noticed it. I noticed the wasp nest from my parking space. It was pretty obvious because there were no leaves on the tree.

Enchanted Forest

Wings of Glory WW1

I finally got to play some games with my new WoG material! I invited friends over for a game on Armistice Eve.  Four of them were able to show up; none of them had ever played before, although a couple of them had played X-Wing Miniatures.

I have a big piece of scrap MDF flooring that I’ve been painting with ancient cans of house paint and some old bottles of cheap craft acrylic.  My goal is to make it look like a generic section of Belgian countryside from overhead.  It’s still a work in progress, but I think it looks decent enough to use.  It’s about 71 x 41 inches (180 x 104 cm).

First, I just told the three of my friends who had arrived to pick out some planes for a basic dogfight.  We started with an Alabatros D. Va and a Fokker D. VII vs. an Se5a and a SPAD XIII.  The dogfight wheeled around the table; my brain wheeled around as I tried to explain and keep track of the special damage rules; and my friends exhibited admirable patience as I clumsily tried to clarify rules points. 

My fourth friend arrived, and picked out the Fokker Dr. I and threw it into the fray. The SPAD was the first to go, after a Boom card was drawn, leaving the lone Se5a against the three
Central Powers planes.  The friend who picked the Fokker Dr. I, just the round before, quickly changed sides—what everyone had thought was a Fokker turned out to actually be a Sopwith Camel!

The dogfight moved sort of like a whirlwind from one side of the board to the other.  In just a few more rounds, the Albatros and the Camel both plummeted to earth, full of holes.  Finally, the Se5a got in some final shots on the Fokker D. VII before it could turn around, leaving the Se5a as the last plane in the air.

A couple of friends had to leave at that point, but the two remaining were enthusiastic about another match.  I quickly came up with a simple scenario:  An Airco dh. 4 with a SPAD XIII escort returning home from a bombing mission, waylaid by two Albatros D. VA.s.   The dh. 4 and the SPAD started on one end of the play area, with the goal of flying off the far end to escape.  The Albatroses started 2/3s of the way down the board, near the Entente aircraft. (I flew both the Airco dh. 4 and the SPAD, and they each took an Alabatros).

The distance was closed pretty quickly, with the SPAD racing ahead to meet the attackers.  All aircraft took fire.  The dh. 4 tried to zigzag to keep out of firing arcs, and to let its rear gunner fire, but the two-seater’s B guns were doing minimal damage to the attackers.  The SPAD’s intentions were to repeatedly zip through combat, do an Immelman, and then return; however, twice inside of two rounds I chose the wrong maneuver cards (once playing a stall instead of an Immelman, and once playing a sideslip instead of a turn).  The result was that for several rounds the SPAD was too far downstream from the action to be of any use.

The Albatroses had been distracted by the SPAD, but soon realized that their larger prey was moving to escape, and was leaving them behind.  They pursued the Airco dh. 4, but lost a round of firing as they tried to catch up.  After they caught up, the dh. 4’s rear gun jammed, and then the dh. 4 was set ablaze by the German aircraft’s guns.  The day-bomber’s damage was stacking up, but escape was at hand!  The next round, the dh. 4 made it off the board with 14 points of damage taken out of 17—but there was still one flame token on the plane.  In the interest of fairness and story, I drew one more damage card to see if the plane could make it safely home—and drew a 0!

The SPAD neared that edge of the board, and was game for attempting to take down one of the Germans.  However, after another exchange of fire, the SPAD’s guns jammed.  The pilot then decided that discretion was the better part of valor, and flew off the board at the start of the next maneuver selection phase.

The two Albatros D. Va.s were left frustrated with their empty hunting bags—but were still intact enough that any new prey that blundered in their direction would be in danger.

That was the end.  It was a fun night of shooting, with a few beers thrown in.  I am eager to play again.