“Will you draw my bowling team shirt, LumberMack?” Zima aka Ed Tedtaotao — Puget Sound F3 all-time top attender — asked in Kirkland’s Flatstick pub mid May. “Our five-person team” Zima said, “including my wife, Mary Lou, is named Alcobowlics.” Ideas abounded as Zima explained his Wednesday night ritual donned in matching watches, each a different color, attending West Seattle Bowl’s league night. “It’s a social club” Zima said. “We compete, but we also have fun.” I brainstormed ideas of a rowdy anthropomorphic bowling ball to Zima’s delight. “He could be a slapstick heavy, contrasted by timid pins.” Delivering a few roughs the next day, Zima and team picked one as the design evolved from two to six colors on a black shirt over six weeks. I went to West Seattle Bowl’s F3 party last Saturday meeting Mary Lou. “Ed grew up here” she said. “his dad, Ed Sr., bowled in the Army, often bringing Zima as a father-son bonding experience.” Looking over at Zima, a lefty with plenty of spin on the ball, chasing a near perfect game; on his right wrist was a teal watch representing one-fifth of the Alcobowlics.
The Pit — F3 Workout Marketing Flyer
“What’s the difference between toilet paper and drapes?” Mr. Hand asked me as we left Genesee Park near the beginning of last Fall’s Seattle Slog — twenty mile night hike through Seattle with thirty pound ruck backpack. “Uhh?” I said. “So it was you!” Six months later I discovered Genes Park — a dump until 1963 when Seattle refurbished it — hosts Mr. Hand’s home Area of Operation, Columbia City aka “The Pit.” Mr. Hand works out at The Pit every Tuesday morning, taking the dumping-grounds-to-mended-park a step further than the name imagining himself crawling out a Sarlacc Pit on Tatooine when tapping me for a Pit shirt design. “Less Pit eats Sad Clown,” when showing Mr. Hand roughs, “more Pax overcomes Pit.”
When hearing Mr. Hand share his decade-long testimony to Hell and back at last Sunday's GTE — GoRuck Team Exercise; I better understood the metaphor given the hard fact he lived it. If Mr. Hand can scrape and claw out of a hellhole of his own machination, surely we can too...one step at a time.”
Deanna
Deanna; charcoal and white conté on 18 x 24" toned paper; Spring, 2025.
Bela invited her mom, Deanna, to model for Portrait Club a few months back in the small studio atop the stairs at Gage Academy's South Lake Union office space atelier. The room was full, but fortunately I was able to set up an easel just shy of a three-quarter view. I could sense a bit of nervous expectation from Deanna being her first time posing for a room of artists for three hours. However, after the first or second twenty minute session, she eased into the modeling chair with confidence. Toward the end of the session I promised Deanna a cleaned up photo of the finished drawing, which I finally made good on.
Ksenia — Super Heroine
Ksenia; pencil, pen and ink on 9 x 12” mixed media sketchbook paper, April 21, 2025.
Ksenia, a Russian architect attending Gage Academy’s “Portrait Club” several months, modeled under studio light for this double-paned live sketch. Each monochromatic portrait took an hour in a two-hour block with blue and orange Inktense pastel to fill large areas of tone quickly. The drawing began with pencil, Micron drawing pen and Sakura waterproof brush pen; then colored with Inktense pencil and finally Inktense pastel. “You made me look like I’m flying” Ksenia said, giving me a hug for the valiant effort conceptualizing her as a super heroine in high chroma.
Andrea “Grappa” Giuliani
Andrea Grappa; charcoal and white chalk on 18 x 24” grey paper; June 9, 2025.
Grappa modeled last night on invite at Gage Academy’s “Portrait Club” for a dozen artists pursuing draftsmanship mastery on South Lake Union. I attend Portrait Club once a week four years this November. I’ve drawn and painted a hundred faces under studio light, but this one’s special connecting two passions — art and F3 — Fitness, Fellowship and Faith — 45 minute urban calisthenic bootcamps for men. Grappa and I workout in F3 nearly twice a week; sharing stories and Latin quotes. “I write poetry outside my biomedical career” Andrea said in Gage’s hall on break after sitting stoically in the model chair twenty minutes on, five minutes off for three hours. “I’m honored to participate in this artistic act of fellowship.” Grazie, Grappa, for taking the hot seat, supporting the art of portraiture through fellowship and faith. Here’s to the next one-hundred faces through consistency and focus — Gutta caveat lapidem — “A water drop hollows a stone” — Ovid.
Accompanying Campanario
It's not everyday a man meets his hero, but Saturday was such a fateful day. Accompanying Gabriel Campanario — The Seattle Sketcher — a news artist for the Seattle Times who explores the Emerald City there and back again in a decade-long weekend column capturing the pulse of city life with a keen eye and bold splashes of watercolor...one sketch at a time.
Last Minute Model
I modeled in an open studio portrait drawing and painting three hour session Wednesday night at Gage Academy of Art, North Capitol Hill, Seattle. I’ve been attending the workshop for two months developing observational drawing skills attempting to capture a realistic likeness while infusing a sense of self-expression into the sitter’s gaze. The class is free but you’re eventually called to model clothed among the dozen or more artists. I was asked and I took the seat on the raised platform enjoying the experience as my body remained still with deep breathing while my mind was free to wander. After a twenty minute timer, I would get up and rest five minutes repeating the process nine times. The five artists who drew and painted my likeness were each impressively unique bringing their own interpretive skill to the easel.
Childhood Dream Fueling Commission
Lacee Hughes, gym owner in Williston, North Dakota, commissioned me to sketch two cartoon characters as a Christmas gift for her brother. Lacee and he developed Darius and and his squat mom, Slugger, as kids fleshing out the characters throughout childhood. When Lacee asked me to do this drawing, she gave a two paragraph detailed description of how they should look and act. I appreciate the character outline to deliver the most accurate representation of their vision as possible. What a cool gig.
Kenmore Goose
Barnyard painting with Derwent “inktense” water-soluble pencils and Posca markers: 4” x 4” gessoed panel; submitted to Artist and Craftsman Supply’s “Posca on Panel” in store art show with supplies raffle.
All Day I Dream About Sketch
I felt good drawing this 18" x 24" charcoal and oil pastel portrait at the Gage Academy of Art, not having illustrated a live model in long pose under dramatic light since 2017. Mitchell — from the “center of the mitt of Michigan” — did a stoic job holding his expression without falter. I’ll be back to the Tuesday night drawing and painting live model session at the northern cusp of Capitol Hill, Seattle.
Dante Luca
Puppy sketch based off a photo sent from a man I met on the train out of Seattle of a Lagotto Romagnolo — a relatively new breed to the US from Italy originally bred as a wetland retriever — he picked up in Pennsylvania on his way back to Hyde Park in the Hudson Valley, New York.
Three Angels Express — Trucker Logo
Logo design for a 2’ x 2’ vinyl sticker for the door of a 2019 Volvo semi. This design took me a few days from start to finish after shelving the approved sketch by the client for a month. I struggled with getting the right look, but perserverance paid off trusting the digital tracing and manipulation process in Photoshop with a Wacom Cintiq.
Pop Cars — Sidney, Montana
If you're in Sidney, Montana before Labor Day, please enjoy the illustrated art show "Pop Cars" as the North Dakota tour wraps. This is the closest the show will come to Williston, with Sidney being less than an hour from where the idea for "Pop Cars" originated while driving an eighteen-speed Kenworth T800 through the Bakken oil-patch.
The forty plus cartoon biographies of cultural icons defined by their vehicle of choice drawn on trucker logs will likely be picked up for a two year tour in a dozen galleries, museums and universities through the "liquid-hot" MAGDA — Montana Art Gallery Director's Association starting early 2022. The dozen commissioned works for the show and those sold throughout the tour will be mailed to patrons and replaced with new art with a working title "Pop Cars II — Big Sky Tour."
Saving Sensei Ryan
Birthday well wish for Sensei Ryan Engberg who I studied Shito Ryu karate under for eight months in Williston, North Dakota obtaining an orange belt.
Yokai — Strange Apparition
Sketches and notes from Santa Fe’s International Folk Art Exhibit on Yokai — Japanese catchall for ghosts, tricksters, monsters, supernatural beings and mysterious phenomenon.
I enjoyed the show realizing how imbedded Yokai are in Japan’s culture. First appearing in medival scroll paintings — Emakimono — based on religious material represented as “Oni” — demons or goblins; Yokai now permeate popular culture from stage to screen in theatre, film, comics and animation. Highly successful Yokai-based stories include Shigeru Mizuke’s “GeGeGe no Kitarō” manga (1960 - 1969); Hayeo Miyazaki’s 1997 animation “Princess Mononoke”"; and Hideo Nakata’s 1997 horror film “Ringu.”
SKETCHIFIED
On set portraits and landscapes in the Badlands of the forty cast 'n' crew of the indie film "Sanctified," drawn in a Dollar General sketchbook purchased when sent on a blood-run to Belfield to get red dish soap, red food coloring and corn syrup.
The three, torn-paged female drawings are from a prop built on set by Production Designer, Dean Bellin — Technical Theatre professor at Bismarck State College — with scissors, worn paper and string when director, Nickolaus Swedlund, suggested I be "doing something" leading up to the big gun fight; asking to sketch a nude reminiscent of "Titanic." With no cell service for reference, luckily I had a field journal from last summer on a father-son road trip through the Dakotas with a watercolor study of the Muse "Vision" from the interior dome of Pierre's Capitol we spent an afternoon touring.
I imagine Cutthroat Clint clutching the paper scrap evoking Vision in his final scene saying, “Muse, sing in me and through me tell the story of that man skilled in all ways of contending, the wanderer...harried for years on end.”
Cartoon in Cando — Life Drawing Workshop with Art Show
Thank you Cando Arts Council, Kathy Benson and Joan Youngerman for coorinating an amazing afternoon of cartoon life drawing. I am grateful for the opportunity where the hearts of young artists were touched...mine certainly was.
Travis Blaise — Disney animator and story artist — interview notes
ToonBoom — 2D animation software — webinar notes of hour interview with animator and story artist Travis Blaise.
Notes from Floyd Norman’s 2013 book “Animated Life: A Lifetime of Tips, Tricks and Stories from a Disney Legend.” Floyd Norman, the first African American to animate for Disney Studios, offers insight in drawing characters “alive” with Disney’s inimitable illusion of life. A how-to memoir of a fifty year corporate ladder climb from magic factory apprentice on Sleeping Beauty in 1956; to in-betweener for tour de forces Ward Kimball and Milt Kahl; to animator assistant; to coveted animator; to story lead; to art director and finally to Disney Legend in 2006. Working in person with the maestro himself shortly before Walt’s death in 1966 while producing Jungle Book, to educating a new generation of animators on Toy Story 2 and Monsters, Inc. — Norman has seen and done it all. He writes about it with grace, wit and wisdom.
Mulner's Valentine
Homemade card barter with a Canadian heavy-equipment operator to borrow his RV for a Medora Western film-shoot in May.
