Studio

Remember the days when you just brought in a picnic table from outdoors and it was the coolest drawing table you ever had?


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Those Darn Cows

The age old question always comes up..." Do you like me just for my body?" ...Well honey...the good Lord really did a nice job on your packaging and I am just responding to a job well done. How's that!


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Felonius

Have you seen yourself as a fool? I do all the time. Taking myself too seriously is not a good thing. I developed my motley alter ego Felonious a while back and never totally developed his exploits and adventures...was I waiting to get married and have children?....hmmmmm

But someday I will return to this art clown who juggles ideas , work schedules , family and credit card interest rates.....


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The Churchy Chap

Christianity is serious business but I have met some Saints who take themselves a little too serious. I was thinking of the Church Chap. The busy body who is the self appointed guardian of all things true and virtuous.

A doodle in one of my sketchbooks


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Self Portrait and Faces

This is a college buddy of mine from Art Center in Pasadena. We ended up being room mates on Oakland St . We went with a group of friends to a football game and on the way home we discovered that we were both going to celebrate our birthdays on the SAME DAY. It kind of freaked us out and we have had a strange kinda bond ever since. He is 1 hour older that me , adjusting for Mountain Time. He is an Art Professor at a Community College around St. Louis.



















Its been awhile and I have put a little too much energy into " On Being Frank ". This was a sketch Doodle that I did for fun in my sketchbook back in my Pasadena Ca. days. By my head was ol Gus dusting the studio with a mask over his nose and mouth.

The rest of these pen and ink drawings are in my ol sketchbook. One of about 30 such books. Most are quick idea scribbles and others are more thought out such as the ones I have posted here.

I think I will change the name of this Blog again. Finding the right Name is kinda important to me and holds a spirit in the words. One of my close friends who is Irish has always called me OrDoodle...I think I will go with that as it has a playful jest and feel. And I am comfortable hearing it .


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Prophets

These two individuals were some of my favorite models. What just occurred to me as I posted these drawings for a client was that they are linked by a religion.

The man on top was a member of a Christian commune and somehow they stumbled upon some writings of some earlier Church fathers and they all decided to become Greek Orthodox. So, on the outskirts of Santa Rosa is a Greek Orthodox Commune and all the men have grown out their beards. This man is Irish and he is one of the leaders of the group. He posed for me 2 times.

The bottom fellow is my bud Steve who is also my Web Master. He did the Evangelical Christian routine until he gave up on the total lack of depth which he was experiencing. He tried to become an Anglican priest to now avail and now is also Greek Orthodox. The services are about 3 hrs long followed by a large communal meal. Good eats I might add.

St. Malo

Assemblage






In the North of France is a fortified town accessed only by a draw bridge. St. Malo
( pronounced Ma -Lou ) was a pirate fortress until the French turned the town into a civilized village. One island , just a swim away, was used as a penitentiary for a short run. I stayed at a manor that was once a pirates home. The stoned walled structure had wonderful views of the Atlantic Ocean.

The Rocker

I recently saw the DVD "the Rocker" which featured the actor who plays Dwight Schroot in the Office. It was suprisingly funny. His character played the drums for a hair band . He was unceremoniously kicked off the band " Vesuvius ". The rest is history and the band then went Platinum. The movie picks up 10 years later.

It reminded me of a doodle I did who knows when. What if my desk were a drum set and my sticks power brushes?

The Doodle

Is it rude to Doodle while someone is saying something important? How about doodling while listening to a dull message?








Validation at Last. Blasting over the airwaves was a result of a "study" ( todays version of Holy Scripture ...don't get me started ) and the results proved that those that doodled while they listened to a lecture or talk actually retained more comprehension and memory of what was said.

One of the Research Professor said:

"This study suggests that in everyday life doodling may be something we do because it helps to keep us on track with a boring task, rather than being an unnecessary distraction that we should try to resist doing."









Could it be that there are separate programs in our brain designed to multitask? Can this operation be trained? I know for a fact that I have caught myself daydreaming while driving and have " awoken " myself to see that I still am driving between the stripped lines on the road. How could this be!








So for today, if your teacher, pastor, motivational speaker or boss catches you doodling while an important message is being delivered just say "Studies Now Prove" that doodling while listening to a lecture improves comprehension and attention.

The above doodles were done at different periods but all were done at a Christian Conference or while a sermon of profound importance was being delivered. I have to say that taking notes also helps!

Here is the link in Science Daily http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/02/090226210039.htm

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The Adventures of Spike and Dick

Just one of many ideas that I started to develop...