Meow Mix

MEOW MIX, August 2011, 3' x 4'

My faithful dogs, Bella and Corleone, are very upset about my latest work, "Meow Mix."
The drawing shows the dogs' sworn enemies half-awake, in a ball, on a blanket. It's pretty much what cats do.

The black one is called Weez, because he wheezes.  He was bottle-fed as a kitten, four years ago now, he was so small. He's always in trouble but is a friendly pain in the ass.
The striped cat is Waylon, or "Wayne." He was found in our trash can about 16 years ago, has had several brushes with death, and is a badass.

My dogs torture these cats. They feel no love for each other.

But the dogs would be really upset if they knew what I've been cooking up in the basement the past three years: Cat drawings for my friends.

 

Yes, my friends have cats.  And that's OK. Some of them have dogs too. That makes them even better.
I'm a dog person at heart.  But cats are cool in a low-maintenance kind of way.
In fact, they could care less what we think of them. And they ignore the dogs, which pisses off.Bella and Corly even more.
Here are some more cats, drawn in secret and kept out of sight of the canines:

 "Literally took my breath away. ... You are absolutely amazing."

 

  

Want me to draw your cat? Bring me a picture.  Don't deliver the actual cat.  The results will not be good.  The dogs, you know.

For inquiries: hankbonesman@embarqmail.com or willstom01@gmail.com

Two Years Gone

No 401K, savings account, or CD will give you the return on investment that a four-legged friend will, one who will love you for nine or twelve or fourteen years and stay in your heart forever.

HANK, August 2009, 3' x 4'

This is Hank, beloved Chocolate Labrador Retriever, who died at 13, two years ago. 
This is also one of my early drawings, just as I was getting back into the craft.
I would change just about everything on it, doing it today.
I wouldn't change a thing, having done it then.

Hank's been over the fireplace for two years now.
He's watched his little sister Bella grow up.
He's met Corleone, the German Shepherd, who would never dare replace to Hank.
He's seen his cat pals Waylon and Weez get relegated to the basement by Corleone's endless torture tactics.
I love them all, but Hank, perhaps, the most, still. We went through so much together.

There's still a shrine to Hank over that fireplace. Knick-knacks, Chocolate Lab figurines, photos. A box of his ashes.
For two years there have been discussions on what to do with these keepsakes, where else to put them.
All have stayed put.
Shortly I will move the ashes and the knick-knacks to other places. But I think the sketch will remain in the family room.
I like seeing him first thing in the morning, and last thing at night.

He also sees us.
So indulge me this weird little reminiscence about a dead dog.
Some of you will be shaking your heads in disbelief, wondering why the continued obsession? Why the wasted space and time? "Get over it, already. Don't you have enough to do today?"
Yeah yeah yeah.
But those of you who are truly alive and feeling humans will be OK with this.
I am a mess right now, and I'm done. Next year will pass quietly.

Living Color

SWALLOWTAIL, August 2011, 2' x 3'

Surprise!
Not everything in life should be black and white, cut and dried.

So, I splashed some colors over one of my drawings. The result is one of my first watercolor paintings.

Welcome to my house!

The butterfly visited a friend's garden, and she caught it on her camera.
For more of her work, on Facebook, check out  https://www.facebook.com/StorytellerPhotographyImagesbyRebecca
Storyteller Photography is a photography studio in Kinsman, Ohio, owned and operated by Rebecca S. Nieminen Sloan, an artist, author, teacher and award-winning journalist.  She strives to create beautiful and unique images that capture the essence of her subject and spark the creative imagination.

This one's a a perfect picture: The colors on the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterfly are perfect, and the flower had just bloomed. The butterfly is a female -- you can tell because of the blue. The plant greens are vibrant with summer light.

 I thought it would make a beautiful painting, and I thought on it for three weeks before getting started.

 

It's not perfect. In fact, it's amateurish. And, I went over the butterfly wings with a pencil to bring out details that I couldn't capture with a brush. But it is pretty. and I am happy with it.

The background of greens, blues, browns and blacks (and a little orange and yellow) is supposed to depict the other flowers and foliage behind the pink flower and the yellow-purple butterfly. It has a translucent quality, which was unintentional.

It was a challenge mixing up all of those color variants in a Dixie Cup.  Actually, I used several cups. The paint set was a cheap Crayola kiddie box, with black, red, orange, yellow, green, purple, blue, brown and black. That's it.

Drawing in black, white and gray comes easier to me than working in a color field. It's a slow process, waiting for that paint to dry, and then layering on more and more. I will surely try it again, but not for awhile. Perhaps I'll wait to see what fall's colors reveal. Or, maybe I'll wait 'til next summer and see then what blooms.

https://www.facebook.com/StorytellerPhotographyImagesbyRebecca/info

 "Swallowtail"
A watercolor by Tom Wills, 3' x 4'
From a photograph by Rebecca S. Nieminen Sloan
This piece is for sale
To inquire on this, or other original art: hankbonesman@embarqmail.com or willstom01@gmail.com

The Kids Are Alright

BROTHERS AND SISTER, 3' x 4' August 2011

"He was just here with my birthday present.  I can't overstate this... I LOVE IT!  Thank you so, so much.  In fact, I would like to see if I can order one for my Mom & Dad.  I'm pretty sure that when my Mom sees it she will want to arm wrestle me for it, so to avoid any big disasters I would love to get them their own."

Sometimes I can't keep the best ones.  Occasionally I give them away.  This one is for a trade: A custom-made, handcrafted, hand-painted birdhouse -- decked out in Rolling Stones tongues and lips.

Rolling Stones birdhouse! Front view.

Rear view. Birdhouse Man didn't want his name used. But I can find him, if you want one!

I do not know these children. They're the neighbors of Birdhouse Man.  But their parents did a nice job. They're adorable.  As a dad, I hope they can stay that way as they grow.

They are Travis, Andy and DeeAnna. And they love the Birdhouse Man.  I think he's special, too.  That's why I couldn't refuse the job. I think this worked out fine.
Tom Wills Productions. Making moms happy since 2008.

 The sketch itself took six solid days. Here's a look at the progress:

Before the final shading.

The clothes are pretty much done.

Little Andy came first. He's the focal point.

Suddenly ... faces!

Consider an original for your home or office. Inquire at hankbonesman@embarqmail.com or willstom01@gmail.com.  The holidays will be here before you know it!

Photomorphic Process

GEORGE HARRISON, August 2011

Morphing is a special effect in motion pictures and animations that changes one image into another, different image.

Duke gets drawn outdoors on the deck, July 2011.

I have developed what I call a "Photomorphic Process" for turning a photo into a pencil sketch. It involves an accurate outline, image magnification on my computer, much staring and then careful shading. The process can take a week to three weeks, depending on the subject and condition of the original picture.

George's face is actually two faces, from two distinct photos.

The finished sketches can be seen in various blogs on this web site.  I like to take pictures of the works in progress as they come to life.  The practical reason for this is to see any flaws to be addressed. But people seem to like watching the process.  Here are a few examples:

Let's have a hand for Aretha Franklin.

Bill Nelson is about ready to have a hand on a neck.

Eyes first, hands last. That's how these things go.  If the eyes and nose are wrong, everything else is off, so why continue?  Hands are last because they are the most difficult. If I can avoid drawing a hand, I will.

Sammy and Frank have a smoke as they await Dino.

Sometimes I take a measure. Duke played several.

Human hair is more difficult than dog hair, unless you're a vacuum cleaner.

The shading is accomplished with the aid of two or three different-type pencils, with lighter (hard) to darker (soft) leads, A rubbing stick (or finger, or Q-tip) then comes into play to smooth out the rough edges.

Eyes and noses first.

Here you can see the outline of Hank's guitar on what will be his lap.

The cool thing about The Photomorphic Process is how I can use it to combine two or three images into one: Aretha's hair and hand are from two photos.  Duke Ellington's face is from three. If the original image is lacking an element, I can piece new ones in.

Johnny issues the artist a challenge. Challenge accepted.

The pencils are nothing special: Just regular school supply sticks, and especially cheap Dollar General pencils.  I break them by the dozens, so why pay more? I have an old-school "school" desk pencil sharpener for keeping them sharp. Grind, grind, grind!

Hair, before it looks like hair.

A good snapshot makes a good sketch. But even a bad one can be saved with a little sleight of hand (techniques used by a magician to manipulate objects).  This is where the ability to scan a photo and blow it up becomes handy.

"Sisters" outline, and original snapshot.

"Sisters" finished.

I enjoy this work immensely, especially when the lines fill in and flesh out into a face, hand or body. it's not magic, but I try to make it entertainment. Can I put something together for you?

To inquire about original artwork, willstom01@gmail.com or hankbonesman@embarqmail.com

And remember, if it's in focus, it'll work better.