Perfect Holy Good Friday...

It is always a great day when the family gets together for a meal and a good time. Swimming, hiking, steak, chili, cheese cake, ice cream... What ever we find and can throw together in short order.

What I figured is the best part is that it is far more cost effective to do things with our family group then for the individuals. It is kind of like getting beer.... Do you really want to pay $6-$8 for just one? Especially when you can get the whole case for around $30. See what I mean... Get the group, it cost far less.

I hope your Easter break is as good and adventurous as our will be. I even found time to breath a bit for a sktech too. Love my sketches.

~ ! Enjoy all !

Choices ......

It has been pretty sureal at times to think how life unfolded for me.
Everyone will at one time face a choice that will greatly alter their life. You can choose life or you can choose money. Money governs all things except you... Life, you need to live with for the rest of your life.... I know what my choice has been. The balance is hard to navigate and when it is all done, can you look back and say it was a good choice?

For now I'm glad with the way things have rolled out. I still have a mountain of life left to live though. I'm not sure how it will all play out. But for now it seems to work. The best part is the measure people use for themselves. I have to say it is all just splendid for me... I can't help but laugh at what other people use as a measure though.

maybe we all need a moment of reflection.

~ enjoy !

Cirque du Soleil

waiting to hear back from the

Cirque du Soleil

team to see if I get to be part of the action. 

I'm still not sure what to make of this whole thing... I've been told several times to keep an open mind. Can't wait to hear back. 

horror pallete twist...

I loved the original B&W illustration I did so much I decided to try moving away from the cartoon colors and use a selected horror color selection. This one really evoked the mood I was thinking of. It turned out great. The BG is an ink wash done on a separate sheet. The text from a newspaper page that I crumpled up, scanned and then over layered on the ink-wash. The moon was pulled from the internet, blurred, re-sized and softened to fit the illustration. A glow was added and expanded then opacity adjusted to tie everything together. By pulling the ambient BG color into the main illustration, the two began to unite a bit more.... Of course I totally abandoned the light source of the moon. I felt that the contrast in direction led to a strange ambiance. Visually it looks weird but seems to work none the less.

I love this one.... What about you?!

~ Enjoy!

Ever feel like this...

A worn out sack of bones who fell on his own sword. That is how I feel some days. It is as if the harder you push forward the deeper the hole becomes. Yet your still moving forward, just in a downward trajectory.... I need some more positive injections in my life. That would perk me right up.

Anyone!? Anyone!? Anyone!? Anyone!?

Beuller?!

~ Enjoy!

Some Body familiar...

I had a rare chance to join my wife at lunch the other day and saw a person who i thought I knew/recognized. Because I rarely get to "Date" my wife, I did not go over to say hi. I mean it has been about 20 years and the guy put on about 80 pounds so I could not really be sure it was him.

Well I looked the guy up today and turns out it was him. It also turns out I lost a huge chunk of Life as it would have been lived if I did go into debt, went to university and gained a great career. no that was not my path...

Instead I chased the Olympic dream as well as art, then met a great lady, failed at every career I chased and ultimately ended up the stay at home Dad with an understanding Amazing wife who supports us all... to my chagrin. It is hard to explain to people I don't work, I'm a stay at home dad of young children... My wife would argue differently. Still it makes for a very awkward situation since I lack the accolades that others have because they embraced the way of the establishment we live in. Long story short... Nathan Stone, it was a brief recognition and a by pass. Hope life is treating you well.

I however feel like a huge part of life has been missed. I've seen first hand the accolades and longevity of Nathan's career as represented on the internet.The career successes and group of folks he was dinning with. With that said, my family is much better for it all. I would never change a thing. Who cares if I have to collect bottles for a date with the wife. I'll take the struggles and lumps as they show up. One step at a time, one lousy nickle at a time. That's the path I chose to walk. That is what I ended up getting. Some how I know it is for a greater good.

warm up page

I needed to focus on breaking out forms for this page. I found my self struggling a bit. Then I remembered that I might be more successful if I look at things with a character in mind. That is what restored my confidence and my art style really started to shine through today. May be I should be inducted into a small animation studio for some character design or some such work.


- Enjoy !!!!

First quick illustration after a cold - Hate it!

Trying to shake out the cobwebs here... I really don't like how this turned out. i will say a strange message is creeping out from this piece. I'm not sure what that message might be but if I was to hazard a guess.....

"Why is the Easter Bunny having a hot drink with the Demon?"

feeling a bit better

Man - I hate Canadian flu and colds... They are hell on the body.
Fortunately I might be finally getting closer to sketching more. With all the challenges I've faced I simply can't sit still long enough for my self over the last few weeks. I just want everyone and me to be healthy and stay healthy. All these dirty people coughing on my children really makes me want to withdraw from the world. Take a bath people. Try washing your hands once in a while... Cover up your gob when you cough for crying out loud.... Man I hate people.... Get some damn class and respect the space of others.

Enough ranting from me.

~ enjoy!

I am pleased to announce that I have been inducted into an esteemed group of fellow creative people listed on The Glass Coin. I think my accolades are more slanted towards art then they are towards the writing. As you can see, the list of creative is long. The people on The Glass Coin list are very gifted. I just happened to be humbled and blessed with a chance to share my talents with these good people who all love to create.

 I suppose being recognized on a digital web site is a surprise, especially since I try so hard to be present in the real world with real people. This is a huge honor to have people in the digital world allow me to share in their spot light…. Really I’m rambling on because I’m so speechless.

~enjoy

waiting is painful

I'll never know why the waiting game is so full of suspense. Maybe one day I will not have to wait...I will dictate. Maybe I'll always wait. Maybe I'll just never know...some times things just are and reasons will always defy my understanding.

Phil - Thanks for the Hitmen Tickets

We can count on one hand how many times people have offered us a Free oppertunity to go out. Lets just say it is less then 5. Still We greatly appreciate the Hitmen Tickets. It is a very rare treat.

Thank you so much Phil.

We will ~ Enjoy!

Short Tale Complete....

I Just finished a short tale for publication. I usually have two to three projects on the go every year. This of course is on top of the every day chore of earning a living and what ever freelance stuff that stumbles my way. I'm pretty happy about the latest project. Once I see a copy I can direct folks to where and how they can buy it. I was told that copies will be avalible for a local comic convention...Still I would be remiss in detail if I said it has not even seen print yet.

So My excitement has gotten the better of me. Still It is a small tale to be added to an anthology of work by other writers and artist in various forms as I was told. These details do tend to change though. If any folks need an illustrator for a short tale, Please do keep me in mind. Rate are good...Some would say great.

I love sharing my perspectives on work. You should love reading / Viewing them.
~ Enjoy!

People think I'm Cranky...I am!

Listen, if your the kind of person that will not bring any value to my little world then you are wasting my time. You need to just leave me alone. Don't beg me for money, Don't ask me for things I don't want to give you, That would be any and everything you ask for I will not offer back to you, and most importantly don't offer me useless crap like booze and cigarrettes.

If you want to offer me something - Make it $50 million dollars. If your want something from me it has to be a two way street. If I get nothing then your going to make me cranky really fast.

Yes I'm a cranky guy... Live with it or get lost.

PayPal Scammers...

To the Idiots using my name to start a PayPal account - Screw you!

Stop trying to use my name and false Identity to create illegal accounts. I hope the police find you and You Rot in some Dirty Mexican jail. I forwarded your scam to local authorities. If your in my city they will hunt your sorry Ass Down and feed you to the Twisted Prison Perverts.

Pray I never find out who you are!

Interviews....Argh.... Calgary Crisis... Snoots...

I'm tired of interviews. I've had so many and not one real offer for a real full time paying job. People need to understand that I have a family, and that family needs to be fed. No one can work for less then $17 per hour and be expected to stay for the long run. A nice $20 per hour would be good for a start. Folks just don't want to pay that. Yet they want a commitment of 2 years or more. Hog wash. Pay me if you feel I meet your needs. Then I'll stay for two years.

I know I will not kill myself if I'm not happy. Everything needs to work and work well. I need a hobby. Hobo, drunk... Both might just be the best way to go. Crazy word I tell you...Crazy.

Tomorrow is a new day. Stay positive... Yes I'm positive I'm still unemployed.

~ Enjoy!

Frozen Ink...

Laying down ink, Adding Lettering... Plugging away on a short story. Of course this is not paid work, Just a labor of love. Almost finished the whole chore... Well About half way.  I need to get more out of this soon. This project has inspired a few more ideas and I might start doing custom campaign design and illustration for those folks who make there own role playing adventures for the players. This sounds like a ton of fun. I just need to find a few GM's that want to try a project out and then try to sell it on a large scale.////

Back to the sequential stuff.

~ Enjoy!

Hitmen...Hockey that is.

The family enjoyed a great hockey game Friday night. The home team lost 3 to 1 and we still had a good time. The older the children get the more they appreciate all the pomp and pageantry of one of our nations greatest games. The request for a flames game is in the works next. It will take half a year to save for such an event. Pro  teams cost so much more to watch then the WHL players.

Boys seem to have settled on a routine too. It looks like we are going to accommodate more outings as best we can. Now for the rest of the week end.

~Enjoy