Mar 19, 2009

Framed


The first two I did for some friends. The first one was inspired by a book my buddy Oleg recommended to check out, called "Into thin Air" by Jon Krakauer. The author recalls the tragic events of a 1996 expedition to the summit of Everest. He described the mental and physical perils of attempting or even thinking about climbing Everest. What I didnt realize about high altitude climbing until I read this, is the fact that your brain doesnt function as well on the summit at 8,848 metres (29,029 ft). In fact without bottled oxygen most people begin to loose their mind, and take on child-like behaviour (simple tasks can take hours, you are cold, and out of breath all the time). These may be accompanied by severe headaches, and quickly develops into high-altitude sickness which can lead to a very painful death. There are, however, exceptional individuals capable of climbing Everest without the use of bottled oxygen. As I was reading, I realized that this is one of the furthest, most unreachable, and most isolated places on Earth. You cant call your Mom to pick you up, no taxi, no ambulance, no helicopter, only what mother nature deals for you. It either lets you pass, or it doesn't. Its probably easier to rescue someone from the space station than from these 8000 meter titans. Over the course of history this mountain claimed over 200 lives. If this notion is not enough to keep you away, there is also a $50000 ticket ($25000 permit, $25000 to the guide, sherpas, equipment) to get you to the top. Perhaps when I'm really bored....maybe....but then again, my skinny ass will freeze even at base camp. For me, free-diving with the great whites is further up on the list. Anyways, a good read! The drawing was reallyy fun to do as well, just using good old pencils. In the background is the silhouette of Everest.

The second picture is watercolor and color pencils.

The last drawing is for my Grandfather: My family boxer Julya, evil cat Billy, and yours truly in space helmets. What else can a grandpa want!

Jan 12, 2009

SketchCrawl 21

This weekend I went drawing for the entire day as part of the SketchCrawl. It was my first time participating, and it turned out to be a lot of fun. After drawing in a series of interesting neighbourhoods, everyone met up at the end of the day in a Cafe to share what they have sketched. It was really cool to see every one's approaches and styles! Also, we couldnt ask for a nicer day; it was 20C, sunny, and we were in t-shirts in mid January (still weird for me). Here is my stuff from the day: (We were in Haight District, and Golden Gate Park)







this guy was real! He had what looked like a black band-aid across his cheeks and nose! (Maybe it was a tattoo) Cant wait for the next Sketchcrawl in April.

Jan 6, 2009

winter pictures

1/2 a meter tall sand barrier..looks big, no?
Local Venice beach parrot at the cafe.

My governor...how cool is that?
Frozone being forced to sign a Beauty and the Beast book at Disneyland. I dont know why he's smiling?
There is nothing between Los Angeles and San Francisco.
A forgotten onion starts growing. Currently the only plant at my place...Across the street is the bedroom to one of many Berkeley homeless hippies. Arround him is brand new graffiti!

A cop makes a report of the new art.
Another view from the appartment. Downtown SF at the horrizon.
Shoes hanging on the powerline. I've heard different stories as to what that means.
Desk at work.
More posts to come soon: I've been drawing :)
Happy new year!

Nov 16, 2008

C Block Poster Sketches

A few quick color pencil poster designs..I like the first one...thinking of developing it further.














new stuff


blue angels flying in "diamond" formation.. there is about 18 inches between them...this is how the navy gets young people to enlist. sign me up! Here are some of Oleg's pictures from the day:





when the poses are long I have to time to draw the drawers. :)




Yosemite