What Is an Eel House!?

Yay! I am finally pushing myself to draw what I am not familiar with. In this particular case, I challenged myself to create an abandoned storefront. I liked the piece much more before I started to color it with low-grade colored pencils and oil crayons. Plus, the coloring job is a bit shoddy--which was both intentional and unintentional since I wanted to finish off the piece by quickly adding an aged and weather-beaten look to the eel house before calling it a night. All in all, though, I am very happy with this piece.

Young Samuel

So, I have been making a lot of art recently. I have a long to-do list for this summer, so I am trying to get in as much time as I can for leisurely activities before I need to buckle down to accomplish everything that I need to by the end of June--that is my own personal deadline. Last night, I decided to draw a close friend's cat. I have never really drawn anything non-human before, unless you count all of the comic book characters that I used to draw as a young boy; so, I was really surprised by how well this first attempt at drawing an animal turned out. Of course, the actual cat is much cuter in real life, but I wanted to add some character and drama to the drawing; that is why I opted to give the cat a look of fear and puzzlement. I call this piece "Young Samuel," which is one of the actual cat's nicknames. :-)

Me, Myself, and L(i)no

Eek! I finally mustered the courage to draw a self-portrait. I have drawn myself once or twice before, but I did so years ago when I was still a teenager. So, I figured that it was due time to draw a more recent version of myself. I think that I did a pretty decent job at encapsulating who I am in 2016. I sort of look like what Ernie from "Sesame Street" would look like if he had some Asian ancestry. ;-)

Friend Reunions

So, now that I am back home in New Jersey for the summer, I have made a point to reconnect with some of my old friends. I was recently invited to an old college friend's birthday party in Brooklyn. I decided to draw my friend a picture of herself--a picture that she chose, of course. This is the final product. I am quite pleased with it. I even remembered that purple is her favorite color, so I colored the background different shades of purple and violet. My friend appreciated the gift, so I can confidently call this drawing a success, then.

Birthdays, Presents, and Old-School Comic Book Characters

This is my latest creation. I drew it for a very close friend of mine as one of his birthday presents. I used a selfie that he took as my inspiration. But I took the liberty of choosing different colors for his outfit; his actual outfit consisted of a black long-sleeve shirt and a gray cardigan. I wanted the piece to be much more colorful and special, so I opted to use purple, black, red, and yellow, instead. For better or worse, I subconsciously selected colors from the "Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends" cartoon show. ;-)

You Can Take the Boy Out of the City, But You Can't Take the City Out of the Boy

Going back home always gives me the opportunity to reset and recharge. Sometimes, I need to take a break from the daily grind, so I can reflect on who I am and what I want. Here is to taking advantage of my summer break to learn and grow. :-)