Up In Lights.

Some signs I designed for the University of Baltimore have gone up around the city; I spent some time last week hunting them down and getting some pictures. When I was stopped on the side of I-95 shooting the billboards with a long lens, and heard the distinctive chirp of a patrol car siren behind the Scout.

The officer (a Transit Authority cop) was very nice; when I explained what I was doing and why, he somewhat apologetically asked if he could see the shots I’d taken, and then explained why. I thanked him for his time, asked if I could shoot the final billboard, and we both went on our way.

Below is the product of three coats of normal oil-based polyurethane on our office floor. When we originally did the floor we used a water-based polyurethane, but after four years of usage it wasn’t holding up at all. After moving all of the furniture off the porch, I sanded the edges with steel wool, knocked some of the high spots down, and laid better product down. Tonight I’ll begin the process of putting furniture back where it belongs (we counted the number of times we’ve moved stuff out there; we’re up to 4).

ILLUSTRATION ART

Illustration Art: “The glorious talents of the artists who illustrated stories, advertisements and comics in the 20th century.”

Obey the Fist.

Shepard Fairey went to Copenhagen to do a mural. Drama ensued. It got talked about on Metafilter. One of his original partners weighed in with an opinion that sheds a lot of light on the artist and his beginnings. One of the reasons I go back daily (and you should too) is for lively, intelligent comment threads like this.

MAGIC: Evolution of NBA Team Logos

This is pure awesome: Evolution of NBA Team Logos. Denver’s 1981-1993 logo is a standout; did they play some form of Tetris-based offense? What kind of crack-addled committee authorized the Washington Wizards’ mark? And why would the Hawks go from something with so much personality to something that looks like a mustache trying to fuck the Death Star?

Quark sold to merger and acquisition company

Color me… Not surprised? Quark sold to merger and acquisition company. I stopped giving a shit about Quark ten years ago, but once upon a time, it paid my mortgage.

webkit2png

webkit2png makes full-depth screenshots of any website you like without having to assemble them from multiple images. I noticed, though, that it doesn’t support Typekit.

Mondo: The Archive

Mondo: The Archive. Awesome poster art for the Alamo Drafthouse.

Drawing, 7/13

Class went pretty well last night, but I’m really having problems working with watercolors on sketch paper. I need to go buy some good quality paper that will hold a wash faster than a few seconds so I can work with larger areas. Interestingly, the best drawing I did was the first, and with a lousy pencil:

Drawing 1, 12 July 2011

This was the last one of the evening, and was working well until I got to the legs, which didn’t connect correctly.

Drawing 2, 12 July 2011

Off Night.

Last night’s drawing class was lousy. I was tired, hungry, and distracted, and never really felt like I got into a groove.

I’m going to try to find time to buy some larger, better watercolor paper and go larger than the stuff I’ve been using, with a finer tooth and pattern.

Drawing Class, 4th week

This evening’s class went really well, in spite of the fact that I brought the wrong sketchbook. I’m learning more and more about brush finesse, blocking tones, and controlling water so that I can lay a quick pencil sketch down and start working with ink sooner. The ratio of successes to misfires was a lot higher as a result.

As I was packing up my stuff at the end of the session, the short-pose model came over and asked if she could take a picture of the work I’d done. Flattered, I asked her which one she liked the most, and gave it to her: