Seafood Daydreams

I have always been a bit of a seafood fanatic. But, just over a year ago, I took to doodling fish toons in my sketchbooks and notes. I enjoy remembering the highlights of my snorkeling trips in Indonesia, Hawaii, and Costa Rica. There's really no better way to study fish than in person. I guess it's kind of an escape for me because those are some of the best times of my life. The only problem is that as I draw fish and other sea creatures, I can't help but think about eating them. Some of the best food I ever had was on those trips that included snorkeling excursions. In Indonesia, we paid our cabin cooks to chase down some fishing boats and get dinner. They cooked a huge spread of white snapper (caught a few hours earlier), coconut, rice, and shrimp that we had caught in the tidal pools that afternoon. On Kona, Barbara and I caught a huge Mahi Mahi with some of our friends. We grilled it a few hours later and topped it with lemon basil butter. It was incredible! My most recent favorite was the Fish Casado in Costa Rica at the La Vista Restaurant at the Los Suenos Marriott resort. You can order it with fresh grilled Mahi Mahi or Sea Bass. Both were amazing. If you're ever in the neighborhood, don't forget to ask for the Salsa Lizano on the side though. It's fabulous!

Welcome to the Zoo!

I enjoy sketching animals whenever I'm not drawing fish. Animals have always fascinated me. As a kid, I had caught and raised a variety of species. Growing up in North Carolina, I had lots of opportunities. By the time I was 17, I had caught every species of lizard and skink in the Audubon Society book that I treasured. We had raised doves, guinea pigs, hamsters, gerbils, snakes, chameleons, lizards, skinks, rabits, cats, dogs, parakeets, frogs, toads, and everything in between. Then my family moved to Indonesia where they adopted a slow loris, parrots, geckos, and a whole bunch of half-wild Indonesian cats. The antics of all those goofy little critters are pretty entertaining, so once in a while I'll try to capture some of the fun in a quick sketch.

Toonies

Here are a few more toons from my notes. I'd have a better collection. But, I have a habit of losing them to eight year old kids who have an insatiable appetite for original cartoon art.

Vampirebots Etc.

This is a small sampling of some of my sketches of vampires and bio-mechanical alien robots. These usually appear in meetings when I get really tired or just get the urge to draw something and have no idea where to start. Sometimes when I have the time to sketch, I draw a serious blank and have to give myself a creative assignment. It's really tough being the teacher and the student though. I think I might do better embellishing a real assignment rather than an imaginary one.

Sketches - People

Figure Study - Man Sitting

Figure Study - Woman Sitting

Figure Study - Woman Sitting