I gave myself a treat after last night's gig. I went to a bar to see the Arkham's playing music. They played some of my favorites: The Road to Arkham, and Hell is Where the Good Records Are:

http://www.myspace.com/thearkhams

They also brought in a band from Kentucky - The Rumble Club. I'm trying to make sense out of the picture I drew of the Rumble Club. Rough or Clean - I can't decide which is the better picture.

First, here's the rough drawing that I drew standing in the very dark bar. Not only were my subjects turning and bending and changing their expressions on the high stage, but the biggest obstacle to really seeing them was the apparatus in front of them - things like the curly part of the upright base and the microphone:

So I came home and cleaned it up a bit. Outlines and colors:

But the real surprise to me was this 3rd picture. More correct, but not nearly as good. It's clear that the Artist has to have the Feeling of the genre. Gotta be out in the world. Gotta experience. That's much more important than having the 'right conditions'. The 'right tools'.

I drew this 3rd person in the quiet of my Studio. Having seen them in person, I was able to make sense out of the photos on their website. I made this cleaner, more 'correct' picture in the quiet of my well-lit studio. It got no energy, no rhythm:

I was recently out in California. Had the opportunity to draw the owner of Deep Space Records. dspacer.com Keni was definitely a chance to use my new hat skills with the Hats!

I'm just tired of looking at the same first msge here. So I'm posting something that I quickly drew in my car today. It was based on the woman who was in the car behind me. I like how I got her very dark eyelashes.

Beauty. What is it?

I was just laying around on the floor of my office. As usual, there are piles of pictures everywhere. (I admit it - not just on my desktop, not just on my walls, in my files or in my car, but also on my floor, in my pockets, in other rooms......)

Anyhoos, I was laying on the floor relaxing, daydreaming .... An old picture of a stranger that I had drawn was in my line of vision. Relaxing, I had been so pleased to see this 'woman' peeking over at me. She seemed so comforting. As though she understands me. As though I could trust her. Beautiful!

She spoke to my heart as beauty, but I know that she doesn't 'qualify' as officially beautiful. My interpretation makes her beautiful.

And here's a picture that I recently drew at a party where I made a 'standard' beauty. I like this image too, but I don't think that we all have to look like this to look beautiful: