mello-toons

Super Bowl weekend at Market Square

2012-02-06T14:04:00.000-08:00

Saturday was a good day, Sunday being

Super Bowl Sunday plus it was overcast,

with a few showers during the day.

Got home in plenty of time to watch the game.

This young couple are from Florida, he is in

the Army, back from Iraq and going

thru physical therapy.

The jacket he is wearing has

the Wounded Warriors emblem on it.

That's a good charity to give to along with

the Fisher House Foundation.

Both help the wounded military and their families.

The weekend at Market Square

2012-01-31T11:30:00.000-08:00

Fort Sam Houston is an army fort based in San Antonio,

and one of their large missions is training

medics plus other medical personal.

Here are 2 young men in the U.S. Army visiting Market Square.

They are in training at Ft. Sam to be medics.

This young lady, from Rochester, NY,

came up to me this weekend and asked

me for my last name. She is a friend of my

daughter's on Facebook. Now she has never

met my daughter in person, but she has met her dad.

That seems a little strange to me.

Another Photo from my Christmas trip

2012-01-30T07:32:00.000-08:00

Jennifer took me to Disneyland for a day of fun.

here is a photo that was taken on one of the rides.

As you can see I am promoting the ISCA.......

That's the International Society of Caricature Artists.

I have the ISCA cap on and the yellow t-shirt from

the convention from St. Petersburg.

When I was given the t-shirt they asked me what size

I would like.... I told them I would like a Medium..

But I know that would not fit me. Now it looks like

a billboard.

Babies at Market Square

2012-01-25T13:09:00.000-08:00

This past weekend at Market Square I think I drew

more babies then I have in a long time.

From 11 weeks old to just a little over a year old.

more Photos from my Christmas Trip

2012-01-24T13:59:00.000-08:00

On my trip to California for Christmas

my friends Jerry and Erica who have a band

called Monkey Soop gave me a lift to the airport.

They also gave me a shirt for myself and one for

my daughter Jennifer.

Here were are Christmas morning wearing the shirts proudly.

Thank you Jerry and Erica for the shirts and the ride.

Erica is also a fellow caricature artist in the

San Antonio area. We work a lot of gigs together.

Best Tip Ever

2012-01-23T08:26:00.000-08:00

Working this weekend at Market Square, a family with 3 daughters

wanted each girl drawn separately in color.

The oldest girl was a second grader the other was first grader

and the youngest was 2 and a half year old.

Now at La Margarita restaurant they have paper placemats

where children can color.....

After awhile the girls' dad came back with his daughter

"Bella" the first grader and said she wanted to give me this.

She even took the time to tear out the center of

the placemat.

Like I said the Best Tip Ever!!!

More Photos from my Christmas Trip

2012-01-17T22:08:00.000-08:00

I wrote earlier about going to the set

where they tape my daughter's show

DVD on TV.

Here she standing in front of the door to her dressing room.

It's hard to see in the photo.

They had the fake claws that were used in the

Movie Wolverine.

Here is Jennifer with them on.

Fun at the Market

2012-01-16T13:36:00.000-08:00

Here is a couple from Houston, Texas

that were visiting San Antonio.

Both had a sense of humor, and I enjoyed

kidding with them when I was drawing their

caricature.

If you are not having fun and enjoying

what you are doing. I suggest do something else.

Back to work

2012-01-10T06:07:00.000-08:00

Here is two young college guys

who were visiting San Antonio for the first time.

They were here for a Basketball tournament

in Austin, Texas.

Christmas 2011

2012-01-06T09:29:00.000-08:00

My DSL line was cut along with thousand of other lines

by a construction company last Friday. So I was not able to

post on my blog until today.

My Christmas 2011

was great!

Here is Dave and Jennifer at the set of DVD on TV

My daughter Jennifer did not come home for Christmas this year,

so she invited me to come out to LA for a Christmas with her.

For the last 8 or so seasons, Jennifer has hosted

a show along with Dave on the FX network called DVD on TV.

It's airs on Monday nights and is repeated several times

during the week. They show a movie and during the breaks

talk and show deleted scenes as well as interview some of the cast

members and others that are part of the making of the movie.

When I was out in LA, I was lucky to go to Jennifer's work

where they were putting together the show being aired

this coming Monday. "Wolverine"

Market Square and La Margarita

2011-12-18T08:12:00.000-08:00

I drew these 3 kids last night

at my location in Market Square.

They are brothers and sister.

The boys are twins in the 7th grade

and the young lady

is a Junior in high school.

What I like about my location:

It is right outside of the

La Margarita Restaurant & Oyster Bar.

Behind the children you see a clear plastic wall

for entrance and basically outside dining.

They put it up for the cold season in SA.

OK 40's maybe usually 50's.

They get quite busy and sometimes the

wait time is between 30 minutes to a hour.

So the people visiting Market Square

walk around to see what they can do before

their buzzer goes off. My location is

just outside of the restaurant's entrance.

People ask me how long it takes for a drawing.

"3 minutes for a black and white per face.

a shade longer for color".

Note the black disc in the boy's hand with

the white shirt on, that's the buzzer

I get a lot of business when the restaurant

get packed.

More practice in Adobe Illustrator

2011-12-15T14:12:00.000-08:00

Some more pieces that put in my portfolio.

This is only practice work that I am doing

in Adobe Illustrator. I experiment using

photos in some as well as try

to show some movement in some.

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin

President of France Nicolas Sarkozy

Professional wrestler John Cena

Henry Winkler and Adam Sandler

In the movie "Waterboy".

More practice in Adobe Illustrator

2011-12-14T23:54:00.001-08:00

Here are some of the work I had in my portfolio

for this year at the ISCA convention.

All of this work was done in Adobe Illustrator.

I choose to work up some world leaders

that seem to make the news.

Of course some won't be in the news.

I doubt we will hear from this guy.

Practice drawing with a 6B and 3B graphite pencils

2011-12-13T13:04:00.000-08:00

After the ISCA convention I visited my cousin and

her husband in Florida. Took a photo of them.

I decided to see what I could

do with a 3B and 6B graphite pencil, and

draw a caricature of them.

Drawing in a similar style of our guest speaker Drew Friedman.

and using the tools that Tom Richmond prefers.

I hope they are still willing to talk to me

More of My work at the 2011 ISCA convention

2011-12-09T08:40:00.000-08:00

Here are some more of the drawings I drew with

the iPad and displayed in my area at the convention.

This week I purchased

a wireless wi-fi printer,

a wireless rotor and

a holder for my iPad attached to a tripod.

I plan on promoting digital caricatures

for parties / trade shows / etc.

next year where I will be drawing at the events.

Of course, I will offer it along

with the traditional way of drawing

with markers and graphite on paper.

Practicing drawing on the iPad,

I have drawing caricatures down to between

7 - 8 minutes. That is the drawing time.

I want to get that down to at least 5 - 6 minutes.

Now the printing takes 4 minutes....

.... although I can start the next drawing when

the last drawing is being printed.

At the present drawing in Black and White

the traditional drawing on paper takes me

between 2 - 3 minutes.

It takes between 6 - 8 minutes for me

to draw adding color.

Tomorrow night I have a gig where they

requested color. So, I will have a better

handle on my time per drawing.

2011 ISCA Golden Nosey Winner

2011-12-08T06:43:00.000-08:00

As I wrote in an earlier blog,

at each ISCA convention, an artist

is chosen as the best for that year

and wins the Golden Nosey.

This year it was

Tomokazo Tabata from Japan.

Above is some of the work

he displayed on his wall.

He even drew me. I am the

third drawing from the bottom

on the left side.

I worked with Tomokazo when

I was invited to go to Japan back

in 2000. Even then you could see

his creativity and talent.

My work at the 2011 ISCA convention

2011-12-06T20:33:00.000-08:00

This year I decided to do all my work

on my iPad. that I was going to display.

Here is about half of what I drew and

hung in my space.

I enjoyed doing the drawings and

with a lot of knowledgeable artists

using the iPad. I was able to

pick up a few tips.

I was hoping on gathering more tips and

the settings in Art Studio.

ART CRITICS!!!!!

2011-12-05T16:49:00.000-08:00

Art Critics are hard to deal with

Whether they are 80 years old or

16 months old.

The chef from La Margarita, across from

where I am set up, brought his grandson

by to get drawn after I drew the little guy

his mother wanted a photo of me holding

him and the drawing I did. She took the

photo with her camera. Everything went

well. So I asked if she could take a photo with

my camera. All of a sudden the boy saw his mom

across the way I was not his grandpa....

Here were the results.....

I think he just practicing being an art critic.

OK! these two young ladies laughed and like the drawing.

Can't win them all

More Art drawn at the ISCA convention

2011-12-01T08:46:00.000-08:00

A lot of the work is more studio type art than

the quick party type caricatures.

although there were some good

party / theme park caricatures displayed, which

I will post later.

Excellent color caricatures

There were caricatures drawn in about

any medium you could think of.

from crayon - pencil - watercolor to oils

to computer and now even

on the iPad.

Some of the artist chose

to have their display area a theme.

Being the convention was held in St. Petersburg, Florida,

This artist used his space to

create a ocean scene, where every

model was a sea creature.

Here is one display who chose to have a Batman theme.

People who know Tom Richmond of MAD magazine, know he is big

Batman fan.... so every caricature had a mask on.

and there was a very good likeness of the people drawn.

Here the artist chose to draw every Master who was

in attendance in a body situation.

Strong black and white drawings.

Back at Market Square after the ISCA convention

2011-11-30T22:11:00.000-08:00

Working at Market Square after a good time

in St. Petersburg for the annual ISCA convention.

The 2 top industries in San Antonio are

Tourism / Conventions

and the Military.

Above is a young couple who are from different areas

of the country... but are both in the U.S. Army

training and serving at Ft. Sam Houston here in SA.

Cheers to all the branches of the military who

give of themselves to serve.

Below is some of the entertainment they had

for the Thanksgiving festival held this past

weekend in Market Square.

These young ladies enjoy what they do and they are good.

Both photo and video were shot from my iPhone.

Some of the Masters work

2011-11-29T09:10:00.000-08:00

At the ISCA convention they hold

competition for different categories.

The top 3 awards are the

Golden Nosey / Bronze Nosey / Silver Nosey.

The one that wins the Golden Nosey is

put into the Masters' level.

Here is some of the quality work

that the masters who attended this displayed

on their space.

This is only a few of the caricatures drawn by

the masters all in 4 days.

I will try to post some more work of the other artists

who attended the convention

Have a Great Day

2011-11-24T08:34:00.001-08:00

WOW

2011-11-23T06:17:00.000-08:00

Work / Vacation /

Get Away / Education

Or just plain old Intimidation.

Call it what you want.

This past week I have been away from

downloading anything on my blog until yesterday.

I attended the 20th ISCA Convention in

St. Petersburg Florida.

I had a chance also to visit my cousin Carol and her

husband Warren.

Please feel sorry for me. This is what I had to put up with.

These are the scenes just outside the hotel resort.

I will be posting some of the artwork of the different

artists who attended the convention in the week(s)

to come.

More fun and Practice on the iPad

2011-11-22T18:01:00.001-08:00

Drawn on the iPad in Art Studio

Sagittarius

November 22 - December 21

• Sincere

• Open-Minded

• Deep Thinker

• Idealistic

Some more drawings with the iPad

2011-11-08T09:20:00.000-08:00

Just spending time drawing.

Did not take any photos

this weekend at the market.

I am liking the credit card app on my phone and

iPad more and more. Not only being able

to say YES, when working retail and customers come up

and ask if you take credit cards.

Also, being able to book parties over the phone

and have the money in the bank before the gig.

Companies like it.

Saves them from writing a check.

Fun drawing on the iPad

2011-11-02T06:52:00.000-07:00

working in Art Studio on the iPad.

Practice drawing....Practice drawing...

then.....

....Practice drawing more.

Day of the Dead

2011-10-31T07:46:00.000-07:00

In Market Square this weekend,

San Antonio being a large Hispanic population,

they had a festival celebrating

Día de los Muertos - Day of the Dead

Not knowing of the tradition... at first

you think it to be a little strange until

you learn of it's history.

Here is a video I took with my iPhone.

If you want to read more about the tradition....

Here are a couple of websites telling

the history of Día de los Muertos

http://spanish.about.com/cs/culture/a/dayofdead.html

http://www.azcentral.com/ent/dead/articles/dead-history.html

Also on google and go to images of day of the dead.

Working at Market Square

2011-10-27T06:59:00.000-07:00

Had a lot of visitors wanting to get drawn.

I only took one photo on my new phone.

These 5, high school 11th grade, girls were visiting San Antonio.

I think one of their mothers was with them.

5 teenage girls.... I'll bet someone was tired in the evening.

With my new phone and the app to take credit card payments,

I was able to make a few more sales.

Another Art App

2011-10-25T21:06:00.000-07:00

Looking at the apps in iTunes. I ran across

an app called Art Set. It has some interesting features.

You can select the color and style of paper you want

to draw or paint on.

When you select the paint brush tool icon, it opens

up a tray of different medium that you can chose from.

Oil paint / color pencil / crayon / oil pastel /

ball point pen / large marker / small marker

and of course for you people who make mistakes

an eraser.

After you select a medium to work with, you

can go to the palette icon and select from

a wide range of color no matter what medium.

Here are a couple of drawings I did using

the color pencils and oil pastel.

It won't replace Art Studio or Zen Brush.

But it is fun and interesting to work with.

More fun and Practice on the iPad

2011-10-24T09:39:00.000-07:00

Drawn on the iPad in Art Studio

Scorpio

October 23 - November 21

• Imaginative

• Perceptive

• Subtle

• Purposeful

2011-10-20T09:06:00.001-07:00

In an earlier post, I wrote about getting signed on

with intuit so I could accept credit card payments.

My iPhone at the time was only 3.1 and to

download the free app it had to be at least 3.2.

So I started looking a the 4GS and the 4G.

I worked an open house at Sam's Club where

they had the 3GS on sale for $00 .96

I couldn't pass that up.

Now here are couple of photos I took

with the 3G iPhone. It takes a better photo

than my last iPhone.

I mistakenly changed the setting to video which the other phone

did not have. below is couple that wished I would have film longer.

They laughed for about 5 minutes, before they got up

to pay for the drawing, and were laughing as they walk away..

Still learning the bells and whistles of my new phone.

A face that got away

2011-10-19T06:07:00.000-07:00

Being a caricature artist, at times

you see a face that you hope sits down for a drawing.

Drawn on my iPad the next day using Art Studio

This man along with a pretty lady

were eating at the La Margarita restaurant

in the outdoor patio area near where my

location is in Market Square.

With his long white hair and his mustache black.

More wrinkles than I have, I was hoping they would

stop by for a drawing... They didn't, so I drew from

memory the next day.

Accepting Credit Cards

2011-10-17T06:51:00.001-07:00

If this is old news to everyone..

Forgive me.

I learned of a way of accepting credit cards

at a low rate.. and the app is free

as well as the card swiper.

intuit go payment.

It attaches to your iPad or smart phone.

It does NOT work with windows yet.

You can have it where there is

no monthly payment.

Intuit will charge 2.7 for each

transaction. 3.7 if you manually key

in the card info.

There are several different

companies that offer this service

I chose Intuit. You down load

the app go payment and sign in.

Of course giving them the bank account

you want the money sent to and in a few

days they mail you the swiper.

I have had it for two weeks and

have used it at Market Square

for tourist who wanted to use

a card vs cash.

It's better than accepting a check.

A check could bounce.

I have also used it for a

payment on a studio piece payment and

for booking a party in November.

Their tech support is 24/7

7 days a week. And so far

very friendly and helpful.

Some San Antonio Facts

2011-10-12T20:04:00.001-07:00

Checking out Google and keying in San Antonio,

I found some interesting facts about

The seventh largest city in the U.S.

More than 26 million people visit San Antonio each year.

It is one of America's favorite cities to visit.

We have.....

• The Alamo

• The River Walk

• The Tower of the Americas'

• Two theme parks.

• Third largest zoo in the U.S.

found this on

http://www.visitsanantonio.com/visitors/plan/local-info/san-antonios-story/the-facts/index.aspx

I first came to San Antonio when I enlisted in the

Air Force, spent 4 years here and went back to

my home state of Nebraska for one year before

moving back to SA....

Scratch Board Artwork

2011-10-11T16:37:00.000-07:00

I always have liked the look of a scratch board illustration.

When I was in art school. This was years before the computer was

even thought of as an art tool.

The students were required to do several scratch board drawings.

This Bulldog was one that I did in art school back in 1964.

When I was an art director at an ad agency

( long before computers were considered to be used as an art tool)

We had a home builder client that had a sub-division out in the

country. They wanted to have some ads showing what

your neighbors would be if you lived out in the country.

These were three of the scratch board drawings I did

for the different ads.

What I have found working as an artist,

No matter what art you have done your past experience

is always helpful in doing something new in art.

When they wanted some animal drawn and be the

featured illustration of the ad. I remembered what

I had learned in art school.

Market Square and Rain in Texas

2011-10-10T22:17:00.000-07:00

I only worked at the Market on Saturday,

because on Sunday we got over 3" of rain

in San Antonio. Three Cheers for rain.

On Saturday I had return business from years past.

The little girls above, I drew last year and the parents

said they hope to see me next year for another drawing.

This couple I drew 4 years ago. They said they

had it framed and hanging in their hallway.

He did not want to get drawn 4 years ago, and

they said it showed in the drawing.

They said they get a laugh every time they it.

This drawing is going to be hanging next the other.

This daughter and dad were in town from

Austin. The young lady is working on her

master's degree in Corpus Christi.

First time I drew them.

The Weekend

2011-10-04T08:29:00.001-07:00

Saturday I worked an open house in Dallas, Texas.

The Texas State Fair started that Friday so the agent had

trouble finding an available caricature artist in the

area, so they contacted me to work a 6 hour gig

plus travel expenses.

Sunday, I was back at Market Square.

I now have on my iPad and soon my iPhone

(when I purchase an updated model) an app

that accepts credit card payments.

Worked great with the iPad.

This little guy has about as much control of his hair

as I do with my hair.

I drew him and his Dad on Father's Day.

They came from Corpus Christi. They claim

they came just to get a caricature of him and his Mom

drawn by me.

But I saw them later with shopping bags, and

going into the restaurant next to my location.

Talk about having your BUBBLE BURST.

Hoping for Change

2011-09-28T20:44:00.000-07:00

Been watching the GOP Presidential debates.

Working in Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop.

After the last Presidential Race when

we had HOPE and CHANGE!

The GOP could go with

HOPING FOR CHANGE!

Drawing a moving target

2011-09-27T14:13:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday, I drew this little guy.

He was on the move the whole time.

Drawing his face was not a problem.

I would catch a feature now and then.

Where I had a problem was drawing his cap.

I was trying to get the right look to it.

His Granddad was trying to get a photo of the boy with

the drawing. It took him 3 tries. I got it in 2 tries.

You can see his Grandmother holding by the shoulder

while his mother is holding him down.

Sunday at Market Square

2011-09-26T12:48:00.000-07:00

The first few people I drew this past Sunday

came from different parts of Texas.

Each had an event to celebrate.

This couple were in town celebrating

their 40 wedding anniversary.

This young couple got married on Saturday and were on

their honeymoon.

These 3 brothers were in town and celebrating

their big brother's, on the left, 17th birthday.

After I drew the 3 brothers...

they walked away and came back.

They talked their folks into getting drawn.

More fun and Practice on the iPad

2011-09-23T07:58:00.000-07:00

Drawn on the iPad in Art Studio

Libra

September 23 - October 22

• Charming

• Easy Going

• Optimistic

• Sentimental

Trip to the airport

2011-09-21T09:46:00.001-07:00

My daughter, Jennifer, is in town for a few days.

Here she is arriving at the airport.

Always good to have her back home in San Antonio.

USS Bell Annual Reunion

2011-09-19T13:07:00.001-07:00

This past Saturday evening

I was contracted to draw at the

USS Bell Destroyer Annual Reunion.

Now normally at a gig I do not take photos.

I was booked for 2 hours and they let me

dine with them.

Being it was for WWII Navy veterans.

There was only 25 in attendance.

Only 4 were there that was on the USS Bell.

The rest were family and friends of the veterans.

I had but 1 of the guests drawn in the first hour,

we ate and then I drew the rest with some of

them getting drawn with different people there.

Plus I took some photos.

This lady said she was the oldest one there.

She was a widow of a sailor who was on the Bell.

The gentleman in this is the son and brother of

the two people below.

This gentleman was one of the 4 who was

on the Bell. His job was in radar.

That is the job my Dad had during WWII

station on the USS Saratoga - Aircraft Carrier.

Old Dogs can still learn.

2011-09-17T07:19:00.000-07:00

1. After 3o years of drawing caricatures for a living,

and 47 years of earning a living in art.

2. Learning more on what the tools can do

that you have that can help you finish a job.

I was contacted by a new client from Houston

(200 miles away)

on Tuesday morning. They needed a poster to be printed,

for a conference, no later then Friday AM.

They wanted the final to be in Adobe Illustrator.

They said they looked at my website and told

me what they liked.

Now most caricatures artist out there know

usually people like the exaggeration on others,

but not themselves.

So here is how I did the faces in Illustrator.

WRONG!!!

Here is where lesson 1 kicked in.

They wanted it look more like my gig caricatures

that I do at parties only in color.

Here is where lesson 2 kicked in.

In the past when a client wanted a caricature for a

studio piece, I would draw the person on paper and

then scan it in to the computer. open up photoshop

and work up the caricature.

Because of the deadline, I drew the faces in color

using my iPad with the app Art Studio.

emailed them to myself and dropped them in the poster

to get approval.

Once approved on the faces, I did a black line outline

with a new layer in Art Studio and resent them to my computer

and made a live trace in Illustrator so they could be worked

up for printing.

Here are the final faces along with the bodies/professions they wanted

each to portray.

I was able to make the deadline and

my contact said they were happy with the final.

Lesson 1.

Not all people fear being exaggerated.

It does not hurt to listen better.

Lesson 2.

using my iPad

Art Studio

emailing capability

Adobe Photoshop

Adobe Illustrator

Adobe Acrobat

I can get the work done quicker.

The Line up at the Hard Rock

2011-09-16T07:01:00.000-07:00

I worked a 3 hour gig last night at the Hard Rock - San Antonio.

For Wrigley. The last 20 minutes all of the guests had gone to

other places along the Riverwalk and in downtown SA.

So I drew a lot of the staff from Hard Rock.

As I was packing up I noticed the photographer who

was hired to work the gig had the staff lined up and

was taking pictures one with them holding the

caricatures in front of their faces and another where

they are holding the drawings in front of them.

So I grabbed my cell phone, and took some of my own photos.

The photos did not turn out very well. Is it because.......

The room was dark or......

My cell phone does not take good photos. Or.....

is it because I am crappy photographer?

You be the judge.

Fun on the iPad

2011-09-14T19:57:00.000-07:00

Here are some drawings using Art Studio.

This was just drawing something.

This is a drawing of a young lady I drew from memory.

I drew her, her Mother and Father.

It was their first visit to the USA.

She was a very happy go lucky young lady.

Just an experiment.

9/11 Weekend

2011-09-12T16:20:00.000-07:00

This past weekend, my thoughts were on the life(s) lost on 9/11.

The heroics of the firemen, police, military, civilians and

the passengers on United Airlines Flight 93.

They will never be forgotten.

As far as work. On Saturday I drew caricatures at

the Annual AGC Barbecue Cook-Off and Picnic.

I have been contracted to work this event for

at least the last 10 years.

Each year they have a theme. This year it was

Hollywood / Movies.

Each booth was decorated

The Duke was there

Rocky was there

Even Bernie of "Weekend at Bernie's"

That was a 3 hour gig Noon to 3.

From 6 to 8

I was contracted to draw caricatures at

a wedding reception at a golf course club house.

The wedding was held outside the club house.

Sunday I worked at Market Square.

Drink and Draw

2011-09-08T11:36:00.000-07:00

It's been awhile since we had our

MONTHLY "Drink and Draw" get together.

OK, it's been 5 or 6 months.

There was only a few of use and most of us

had to leave early. I took my iPad.

Here is my drawing of Jerry using the Zen Brush app.

This was my drawing of Sanford using the Art Studio app.

Labor Day weekend at the Market

2011-09-07T14:22:00.000-07:00

Was set up Saturday, Sunday and Monday.

Had a great turn out.

This young boy is the son of the man who helps

with the couple in the booth next to mine.

This little girl Rocks.

This was a couple I drew last weekend.

iPad fun

2011-08-31T07:32:00.000-07:00

When my nephew Mitch and his son, my great-nephew

Addison,visited me awhile back.

They are both in music and both play guitars.

Addison was drawing on my iPad in Art Studio.

Here is what he drew.

Another Weekend at Market Square

2011-08-29T08:10:00.000-07:00

As usual.... Fun at Market Square.

A lady from Houston, Texas asked if

I could draw her 96 year old mother.

She'll be 97 in December.

They were Chinese and the mother spoke no English.

The lady said her mother told her in Chinese

"The market is fun."

Her daughter was telling me when I was drawing

more wrinkles...

She's proud to have them.

Now that is the first female I've drawn that was not

worried about wrinkles.

This young couple are from McAllen, Texas in an area called

the Valley. They wanted a picture of me with them, so I also

had the lady take a photo with my camera.

This was in a wheel chair visiting from out of state.

At first I don't think she wanted to get drawn.

But she liked the drawing when I showed her the final.

More fun and Practice on the iPad

2011-08-23T13:12:00.000-07:00

Drawn on the iPad in Art Studio

Virgo

August 23 - September 22

• Perfectionist

• Critical

• Practical

• Discriminating

Second attempt on working with 123D Scuplt

2011-08-11T15:23:00.000-07:00

Working with the different tools, and seeing

what they can do. Basically, just messing around.

Having some fun with the iPad

2011-08-10T07:20:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, looking at the App store on the iPad

I came across a free app in Entertainment

called 123D Sculpt.

It has it's limitations, but what do you want for free.

It has different shapes that you choose from

from a human head to geometry shapes as well

as different animals and objects.

You can model the selected piece

as well as color it. What I found out is

that you can only work within the shape,

but you can turn it in any direction for any angle.

A cool thing you can do is not only save it as a

drawing you can also save it as a movie.

Here is the dog they had as one of the objects.

That I saved as a movie.

I have only worked on it yesterday afternoon,

so I don't know how much you can take it as

a drawing or how much control on the action

if saving it as a movie.

It's looks like a fun app to mess around with.

Fun at the Market

2011-08-09T07:57:00.000-07:00

Another good weekend at Market Square.

This boy was fun to draw with his hair

going every which way.

This young couple had some interesting features

especially in their eye shapes.

As usual there is different entertainment that show

up over the weekend. This was a Mariachi group

of young musicians with their leader.

Working at the market

2011-08-04T13:55:00.001-07:00

Since I have been back in San Antonio

and school vacation is still on, I have been

setting up at Market Square on

Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

When school starts up again.... Things slow down big time.

these are a couple of drawings I did a week or so ago.

The samples that I have on display are mostly caricatures

of the people I have drawn and then taken a picture of

them holding the drawing. A lot times people ask

me to take a photo and them asking me if I could

use their drawing for one of my samples.

I tell them every once in awhile I change the samples

but I never know which ones I am going to use until then.

Just drawing on the iPad

2011-07-28T13:19:00.000-07:00

San Antonio a military city

2011-07-26T13:36:00.000-07:00

Lackland Air Force Base / Randolph Air Force Base /

Fort Sam Houston / Brooks Medical Center /

Lackland Air Force Base... where all enlisted men and women

go thru their basic training before being sent

to a tech school or to the next assignment.

Every Friday there is graduation day where the trainees finish

the basic training. A lot will have family members come

for the ceremony. Saturday and Sunday are free days

before being sent to tech school of their future career in the Air Force

There are a lot of the recruits who with

their family visit Market Square.

More fun and Practice on the iPad

2011-07-25T07:54:00.000-07:00

Drawn on the iPad in Art Studio

Leo

July 23 - August 22

• Out-Spoken

• Broad-Minded

• Warm-Hearted

• Generous

I had company visit

2011-07-20T23:10:00.000-07:00

The past few days I had family visit me from Nebraska.

For the past few years my nephew and his son

take a week's vacation and travel to a different part

of the country each year.

This year they choose San Antonio.

Their trip was cut short because of car trouble

on the way to San Antonio, but I hope they enjoyed

their time here anyway.

My great-nephew Addison and me in front of the Alamo.

My nephew Mitch and of course Addison.

Now they are both interested in music, antiques and traveling.

Below is a caricature I did of Addison and added the

Antiques Rock after I took them to a antique store

while their car was being looked at.

The little guy really knows his stuff

with what is worth getting and not getting.

Back from my annual trip

2011-07-14T10:15:00.001-07:00

My yearly trip to the Midwest was a success.

I worked 2 three-day festivals and 1 one-day event

on the Fourth of July.

About 85% to 90% of the people I draw at all 3 events

are people I draw every year or

I draw another member of their family.

These two young ladies are cousins

who I drew in past years.

This young man I have drawn about four times.

The two boys over is right shoulder

I drew a little later in the day.

These three are brothers and sister. Their mother claimed

I have drawn them every year that I have been at that event.

That would be 14 drawings. This year I drew them all on one sheet,

the other years they always got individual drawings.

This couple had gotten drawn six years ago by me and

wanted to get an update. They had copied and reduced

that drawing and colored it in. They brought it along to show me.

This young man was a student of my sister when she taught the

second grade. This was about the 10th drawing I had done of him

My yearly trip to the Midwest was a success. Until I got home

and found out my air conditioning system was not working.

The AC guy is coming this afternoon. Then I'll know what

I have left.

More fun and Practice on the iPad

2011-06-21T07:51:00.000-07:00

Drawn on the iPad in Art Studio

Cancer

June 21 - July 22

• Sensitive

• Loyal

• Shrewd

• Romantic

School is out

2011-06-20T03:23:00.000-07:00

School is out! Tourist are visiting San Antonio for the Summer.

From Grandparents visiting from out of state to....

... to grandchildren visiting the grandparents

during the summer to...

couples just wanting to get away for a week or two.

It's all fun.

Drawing caricatures and having fun!

2011-06-03T12:54:00.000-07:00

If you are not enjoying what you do.....

Then do something else!

iPad fun

2011-06-01T12:05:00.000-07:00

Just having some fun with ArtStudio on the iPad.

I guess these two drawings work together.

The news media are suppose to ask

who where when and what when

getting what is the news and report

it that way. Not alter the news to

what is their opinion or the opinion

of who is paying their salary.

A drawing I did of Sarah Palin.

She can't be a stupid person, when

she can mess with the NEWS media minds

from keeping them guessing about

almost every move she and her family makes.

If she is as dumb as the media and the liberals want us

to believe, why keep reporting about

everything they do?

To me she is a fighter/believer in what we as American

businesses can do with less regulations from the government.

The U.S. could use more like her.

Market Square Entertainment

2011-05-26T09:09:00.000-07:00

As I have said in the past Market Square gets many different

groups to perform. Here was a group representing an

Indian tribe, with their ceremonial dances.

I hope one of the dances was a rain dance.

We could use some.

Oh, yeah I did some work.

Here are 2 couples that I had fun drawing.

Self-employed and the Competition

2011-05-24T15:02:00.000-07:00

My parents made a living being self employed.

I learned most of what I know about business from them.

They were in the midwest running businesses

that cartered to the farmers in the areas

they would open up a store.

Iowa, Colorado, Kansas and Nebraska.

Being self employed is what I grew up knowing

that is what I wanted to do.

One of many concepts I got from them was

to be friends with your competitors.

You never know when you need them

or they need you on the same side.

Plus it makes life a lot easier for both.

That being said if one of your competitors feel

they are above you or feel inferior to you (whatever)

and they try to best you one way or another.

Have enough business sense to work with it.

Case in point a competitor of mine at the market

out of nowhere lower his black and white drawings 30%

and his color he lowered 27%.

His new price for color was only $1 higher than what

I was selling my black and white drawing for.

I had an OK day, but not as good as I had hope for.

So the next day I was not going to play his game

and lower my prices to match his.

But, what I did do was print up a sign 17” X 16”

that faced the direction of where his customers

could see it clearly from where they were sitting.

The way the sign reads, if someone was to asked

I could say if 3 people are drawn I would only charge for 2

or if 4 people are drawn one would free

or get 2 people drawn in color I will do a black and white.

so on and so on. I left that open. I think you get the picture.

Interesting, not one person asked me about the sign.

I was busy all day, as my competitor most of time

sat in his location watching me work and closed up early.

The next week his prices

were back to what he was normally charging

and they have been that way since.

Note: the line across the bottom of the sign.

the moral of the story.....

If you can’t get along. Have fun.

More fun and Practice on the iPad

2011-05-23T10:28:00.000-07:00

Drawn on the iPad in Art Studio

Gemini

May 21 - June 20

• Versatile

• Inquisitive

• Intelligent

• Fickle

Fun drawing on the iPad

2011-05-06T13:08:00.000-07:00

Working on the iPad in Art Studio.

Having fun drawing some different animals.

Experimenting with Realism

2011-04-29T06:45:00.000-07:00

drawing on 11" x 17"

My nephew's oldest boy is getting married June 11,2011.

My great-nephew Ted.

So again, I get to practice to see if I can

still draw something where I don't exaggerate

some feature.

duotone in Photoshop

I could not help myself.

On the photo their eyes

came across so blue I had to add it to

the duotone that I am planning on giving them.

I plan on printing it out and decide if I should

just leave it alone or add the blue.

Photo resource

Easter weekend at the Market

2011-04-26T06:16:00.000-07:00

The shops on Easter Sunday were closed, so all that was open

were the restaurants and the outside vendors

who showed up.

The 2 restaurants get a lot of visitors to come and

eat on the holidays. People from San Antonio as

well as people from around Texas.

They put me in a new location. I am still lobbying to get

my regular location back..

These top 3 photos are sister and two brothers.

These boys ( brothers ) were from Houston. The little guy did not

want to get drawn. But after the drawing was done

he wanted to be one carrying the drawing.

HAPPY EASTER

2011-04-22T21:24:00.000-07:00

More fun and Practice on the iPad

2011-04-20T05:37:00.000-07:00

Drawn on the iPad in Art Studio

Taurus

April 20 - May 20

• Practical

• Stable

• Reliable

• Affectgionate

Market Square and Visitors.

2011-04-18T11:05:00.000-07:00

Market Square is one of tourists attractions in San Antonio.

Of course the number one and two attractions is

the Alamo and the Riverwalk.

Then we have the 4 other missions besides the Alamo.

We have the 2 theme parks SeaWorld and Fiesta Texas.

In and around San Antonio there are many places

to visit.

A young couple from the Dallas area visiting SA.

When I am drawing my customers I ask about

what they have already seen in San Antonio.

They have either visited the Alamo or it is next on

their list to see. Most have already gone to the Riverwalk.

Working on the iPad

2011-04-15T09:39:00.000-07:00

Taking it easy this week.

These are some drawings I did just for practice,

in the past few weeks.

These are all done in Art Studio.

Watching TV and working on the iPad

2011-04-11T10:29:00.000-07:00

These are all drawn with Art Studio.

Watching the Spurs playing the Boston Celtics

I noticed Ray Allen and some of his unique

features. I don't think I got a good likeness,

but I did work on what caught my attention.

Watching Tombstone

Kurt Russell with that big mustache is not

the best way to caricature him.

Watching some of the interviews with Donald Trump

Trump for President.... that would be interesting

I am BACK

2011-04-07T07:25:00.000-07:00

Had company visiting from out of town, so I have spent

the last 3 or 4 days playing tour guide.

This is my excuse for not posting anything.

That's my story and I am sticking to it.

Here is a photo I took when I was working at the rodeo.

It was near the way to the restrooms.

For you young folks. This was the way it was in years past.

Watching TV and drawing on the iPad

2011-03-29T23:35:00.001-07:00

Watching the movie "Eraser" and working

on my iPad in Art Studio.

Here's Arnold.

Now I wonder why I didn't draw

Vanessa Williams instead.

Would have been easier on my eyes.

A weekend drawing

2011-03-28T09:55:00.003-07:00

Had some fun at the market again...

Had a good weekend, but took only one photo.

He was a Texas U. graduate and

she was Texas A&M graduate.

If you know anything Texas College

rivalries. This would be an odd couple.

2011-03-28T09:55:00.001-07:00

Market Square Entertainment

2011-03-24T22:10:00.000-07:00

I am planning on working at the market this weekend.

The final 16 is being held in San Antonio this weekend.

What I was told 8 of the college basketball teams

are playing here...

So hopefully there will be a lot of college B-ball fans that

need to take a caricature home with them.

Here are some photos that I took in the past showing some

of the entertainment we get

Drawing on the iPad while watching TV

2011-03-23T22:57:00.000-07:00

OK, the TV was on and every once in awhile I would look at it.

Bret Humes on a news talk show.

Watching the Spurs play and started drawing.

These two just having fun.

The 4 of these were drawn with Art Studio.

More fun and Practice on the iPad

2011-03-21T10:21:00.000-07:00

Drawn with the iPad in Art Studio

Aries

March 21 - April 19

• Impulsive

• Quick-witted

• Restless

• Passionate

Last week at the market

2011-03-19T21:08:00.000-07:00

The week of Spring Break was very good.

I had some of the best days in my last

10 years at the market.

I worked last Friday, Saturday, Sunday

as well as Tuesday and Wednesday.

Did a lot of drawings but took few photos.

the above photo is a young couple from China

visiting San Antonio for the first time.

Here is a young girl, I took the photo while

her mother was also taking a picture.

These 2 were from Oklahoma and

his mother said she was a professional photographer

and she took a ton of photos while I was drawing the them.

She asked me for my email address

saying she would email the photos....

Hopefully she does it would be good

to get a series of photos from different angles

as well as see the progression of the drawing.

This weekend I am taking off working and catching

up on some minor and in some cases major

tasks around my house.

Work on the iPad

2011-03-17T23:13:00.000-07:00

I mentioned in an earlier blog that I downloaded

some other drawing apps.

I got Art Studio and Zen Brush a while back

I like both but prefer Art Studio.

below are samples I drew from a couple of the other apps.

So far I am not real pleased with the results.

This drawing was done with the app Paintbook.

It is a little harder to work with than Art Studio

or Zen Brush.

This drawing I did in LiveSketch it was a free app

and I can see why.

There does not seem to be much control, because

when you make a mark at the same time a flare out occurs

all in one stroke...

It is fun to see and experiment with the different apps

Spring Break Weekend

2011-03-14T19:00:00.000-07:00

It was a successful weekend at Market Square.

So good that I got some business taken care of today

and plan on going back tomorrow and Wednesday.

Here are two young Freshmen girls. One of the mothers wanted

a photo of me with the girls, so I gave her my camera,

so I could have a photo.

Two young girls. Why one had on wings, I don't know.

When I was taking this picture their dad put their heads

together. Again, I don't know why.

A family visiting from a small town near Houston.

TV and my iPad

2011-03-10T21:46:00.000-08:00

Watching Die Hard 4 and drawing on my iPad.

Bruce Willis had hair in the first Die Hard.

Everything seems to get destroyed in the Die Hard Movies.

Little Brother and Big Sister

2011-03-09T22:17:00.000-08:00

A forth grade girl and third grade boy this past weekend.

Like I said in an earlier blog. About the only time I take

a photo is when someone pulls out a camera and

wants a picture of the person or people who were just drawn with

the drawing. The mother was taking a photo when I snap this one.

IPad drawings

2011-03-07T15:40:00.000-08:00

Just some more practice with the iPad in Art Studio.

For Christmas my daughter gave a gift card

for items on iTunes. So I bought several

art apps, Ink pad, i Sketching, Paint book, and

SketchBook. I wanted to see if there were other apps

that would be helpful in producing

drawings. It's either the learning curve or

they are not as easy to work with as Art Studio

or Zen Brush.

Market Square this past weekend.

2011-03-04T16:31:00.000-08:00

Here are some of the people I drew

this past weekend at the Market.

I added the freckles after her mother said

they are hard to see, but they are there.

This couple were in from out of town

for a truck racing meet.

Cousins in town celebrating their Grandmother's Birthday.

I will be at Market Square again this weekend.

The Last of the Rodeo 2011

2011-03-03T21:54:00.000-08:00

OK, there maybe one or two more posts on the fun I had.

This family man was looking at some products

in another booth with his family.

I was hoping he would have himself drawn

when they walked by my booth. Anyway I had

my iPad handy.

I found the creator of BUBBA TEETH!

This guy below was at another booth looking

at what they had to offer.

I have a set of Bubba Teeth.

My daughter has several sets of Bubba Teeth.

We both have fun messing with peoples' minds,

by having these ugly fake teeth in

our mouths when we want to have some fun.

These were his real teeth, and his name was Bubba.

Again another time with my iPad.

Market Square during the rodeo

2011-03-01T09:30:00.000-08:00

Here are a couple of drawings

I did on the weekend at Market Square

during the rodeo.

Weekdays at the rodeo and weekends at the Market.

That was 18 days straight of work, at either the

rodeo or Market Square.

Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of last week....

You would have seen a very tired old man...

Fun on the iPad

2011-02-28T10:31:00.000-08:00

3 down 9 to go

Pisces

February 19 - March 20

• Compassionate

• Sympathetic

• Easy-Going

• Lovable

Last of the Rodeo

2011-02-25T09:06:00.000-08:00

When I was not busy making a dollar,

I practiced working on my iPad.

Below are some of the vendors that were near

our space.

Nellie here was selling knitted hats and jewelry.

One day is got very cold for South Texas, she had

a very good day.

These 2 are married and sold western wear.

2011-02-23T19:07:00.000-08:00

Growing up in small towns, and having parents

who always had businesses that serviced

the farmers and ranchers.

It is refreshing to see the trend has not changed.

Below are photos that I took of young kids caring for

the animals that they brought to the stock show.

They were ages from 4 graders to Seniors in high school.

The children that I drew were very respectful, by saying

"Thank You" after I drew them. Odds are I did not

draw the children I photographed going thru the different barns.

In Texas as well as the Midwest where I grew up

Nebraska, Kansas and Colorado....

The raising of livestock is a way business.

The kids are taught early that working hard for your

goals will pay off in the long run.

No matter what you do with your life.

Who knows you may be having pork chops are a steak

from one of the animals I took a picture of.

The Rodeo is over for 2011

2011-02-22T09:34:00.001-08:00

The rodeo is over. Below are some of the drawings

I did during my time there.

I guess my drawing is somewhat boring. The baby was

awake when I drew him but by the time I drew his

brother, he was out like a light.

these 3 top photos are children from the same

family. You could see a likeness in the features

and know they are related.

This is a brother and sister, where I drew the girl and

later she brought her brother back to get drawn.

A young couple.

Rodeo Down Time Fun with the iPad

2011-02-16T07:58:00.000-08:00

Near our booth is a company

that is selling a machine for $1200

as well as charging people $40 to detox

their body in their booth.

What they do is have you put

your feet in warm clear water and place

a cylinder in the water attached to

the machine. After 3o minutes the water

is any thing from a red / brown / black

They then tell you which body organs you

are having problems with.

Most of the vendors in the area seem

to think of it as a snake oil salesmen from the old west.

They claim it was first discovered in 1930

and that is can detect different diseases.

Our thought is if it worked why don't

medical doctors and hospitals use them?

Why would you have to be at

a stock show and rodeo to get the treatment?

People are actually buying the machine.

These are a couple of the people that are

in their booth selling it.

Fun with my iPad

Rodeo Down Time Fun with the iPad

2011-02-09T05:54:00.000-08:00

There is a lot of down time at the rodeo

where there are more vendors than people

visiting the rodeo.

A great time to work on my iPad.

below is the couple Gary and Erica

whose booth is next to the caricature space.

They have an interesting product.

where they take liquor bottles both beer

and the small hard liquor bottles you get when flying.

They cut a side off of them and make them into night lights.

Now the rodeo committee ask the vendors to dress for the rodeo.

Below I drew Gary on the day (last Friday)

where the temperature got down in the high teens.

The building we are in is not that well heated.

Gary thought he looked more like a drug dealer

than a vendor at a rodeo.

Set Up at the Rodeo

2011-02-05T08:46:00.000-08:00

When Harry was kind enough to ask

if I would be willing to share the time

at the San Antonio Rodeo.

I said under one condition.

We are able to change up his booth with

a different arrangement.

For the past 23 years Harry sat in this booth

drawing caricatures where the people would

stand in front of the box while he drew them.

He had a camera set inside the booth where it would

project him drawing the person and the people could

see the progression of the drawing by watching

the 2 TVs above the booth.

For the past few years I have filled in for him

one or two days during the 17 day run.

Now I am 6' 2" tall and that booth was not

made for someone over 6'.

Here is the changes in the same space.

We took an old EZ up removed the top braces, turned it

up side down and raised it to the first notch and only opened

it by no more than 2'.

For safety we drilled an extra hole in each leg

and put a bolt in so just in case the button on the

EZ up does not hold.

Then we bolted a 3' by 3' board on the top of the

4 leg extensions and covered the sides with the same

blue drapes they have thru the exhibit hall.

We still have the 2 TVs that show both our work

of stills, that goes as a slide show when we are not drawing.

There is a camera attached under the caricature sign

so if we want to show the drawing in progress for one of us

with a remote we stop the slide show and people can

watch either over our shoulder or from the monitor.

Most of the time there will only be one of us working.

On Fridays we are both going to work..

Last night it worked out great.

More fun and Practice on the iPad

2011-02-02T16:45:00.001-08:00

It's Rodeo time in San Antonio!

A drawing I did yesterday on the iPad.

I am on the left and Harry is on the right.

My friend and fellow caricature artist

Harry Schneider has been an exhibitor at

the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo for 24 years.

The show lasts 17 - 18 days straight.

For about the last 6 years or so Harry has

asked me to fill in for him usually for one day

in the middle of the show. Before that he worked

every day of it.

He asked me this if I would like to split the time

at the Rodeo this year. I agreed to it, so for the last 3 days

we have been setting up our booth area.

The show starts tomorrow and I will be doing the

first 2 days. I may not have time to blog for the next

couple of weeks, because on the weekend I will be

going downtown to Market Square...

It may start making me feel as if I have a full time job.