Mumble the Mummy

My 8-year-old daughter wrote a book called "A Mummy Named Mumble" for a school project. It's due tomorrow, so tonight she's doing the illustrations. At dinner tonight, she asked for my help drawing a mummy. She drew her version while I drew mine. I'll let you decide which is better (I'm voting for hers!)

Daddy's Mummy

Mumble the Mummy

Meow Brains

First, let me say that I love and appreciate Mr. Rogers as much as anyone, and this probably isn't the most fitting way to commemorate the 10th anniversary of his passing. Once I got this image in my head, though, I knew I had to draw it.

A Grumpy Rondeau

A rondeau poem inspired by the Mr. Grumpy Pants drawing from a few days ago.

What’s up with him? That grumpy guy

A spark of fury in each eye

His hair sticks out to either side

His brow is clenched, his nostrils wide

Don’t get too close, his fist may fly

When we first met, I thought I’d try

To be polite, so I said “Hi!”

But he just muttered something snide

   What’s up with him?

I tried again, I said “good-bye”

And then he kicked me in the thigh!

He bruised my leg and stung my pride

That jerk! I think his soul has died.

I bet he makes his momma cry!

   What’s up with him?

(See this site http://www.shadowpoetry.com/resources/wip/rondeau.html for a description of the rondeau form)

Rockets & Robots

I spent a good part of the afternoon with my co-teacher, hashing out most of the details of our summer camp program. Bonus points to the first person who can guess this year's theme!

Mr. Grumpy Pants

A Sunday bonus! I taught the 1st-2nd grade Sunday School lesson today about the Golden Rule. Part of it involved drawing a "meanie" on the board, to the kids' specifications. This is what they came up with (including a frown, curly hair, smoke coming out of the ears, punching fist, flexing muscle and kicking foot.) I hereby present Mr. Grumpy Pants!

Exhibition, Part 8 - A Trip to the Rings

Today was the last day of the art exhibition at church - I took down my drawings right after the service. Here's my 8th and final entry into the show. I initially drew it to fill a long, skinny, 5-hole frame.

First Robin

I saw my first robin of spring this afternoon on the back patio. He was a fat little thing. Maybe the groundhogs were right and we will have an early spring. Let's hope so. Anyway, later we went out to Red Robin for dinner. The choice for tonight's drawing was pretty obvious.

Exhibition, Part 7 - Little Octopus

The exhibition in the church gallery ends this Sunday, so I need to post the last 2 pictures that were in the show. (Also, I spent most of the evening unsuccessfully trying to get my mom's Blu-Ray player to connect with her home wifi network - ugh!) Anyway, this picture was my sister's Christmas present from 2011.

Sock Monkeys in Space

Today I wanted to draw a sock monkey. I started with the one on the left. He looked like he was just floating around without a care in the world, so I gave him some friends and put him in outer space.

I put the "bad"...

... in badger!

Tonight I tried drawing a badger. It was terrible.

Durrr... my face is all squat and misshapen!!

I figured what I was lacking in quality, I'd make up in quantity. So I drew a bunch more, in various styles, and called it a night.

Copernicus

Happy 540th Birthday, Nicolaus Copernicus! (born 1473)
I found it interesting that he developed the idea that the Earth and planets orbit the sun around 1514, but didn't publish his findings until the year of his death (1543), so I wrote this...

If you’ve got an idea in your head

Don’t wait ‘til you’re virtually dead

To let it come out

Instead, give a shout

And be proud of your thinking instead

For instance, Copernicus found

That the planets all circle around

Not the Earth, but the Sun

Yet he clued in no one

‘Til the year he was put in the ground

Oh Pluto

(To commemorate the discovery of Pluto by Clyde Tombaugh, Feb. 18, 1930.)

Oh Pluto

Oh Pluto

Oh poor, neglected Pluto

Forever hanging out in space

Forever hide your dusky face

Until Clyde Tombaugh checks his plates

And spies you sneaking past

Oh Pluto

Oh Pluto

Oh loved and lauded Pluto

Congrats! You are a planet now

At least five moons all circle round

With New Horizons to be found

Approaching you at last

Oh Pluto

Oh Pluto

Oh sad, rejected Pluto

So tragically misunderstood 

They took away your planethood

They call you dwarf, and think that’s good

A planet’s lowest caste

So Pluto

Dear Pluto

My darling little Pluto

I wish you happy Founding Day

And from my heart sincerely pray

You’d please stop throwing rocks our way

It’s getting old real fast

Exhibition, Part 6 - Moonlight Bay

Picture 6 of 8 in the First Pres exhibition series. The exhibition ends next Sunday, so if you were planning on seeing it in person, you'd better hurry up (assuming, of course, that any real people actually see this - if you're real, leave me a comment, especially if you have any topics you'd like me to try drawing or writing about.) Anyway, this is an 8 x 10 inch pencil sketch I did back in 2008, trying out different hardnesses of leads.

Namaqua rain frog

(aka Breviceps namaquensis)

Words don't do this little guy justice. Just click here.

Mr. Giraffe

is not amused.

Instant Valentine's Day Poem

It’s simple! Just choose and insert a word or phrase from the lettered category and you’ve got an instant, personalized Valentine’s Day poem! 

My dearest ___(A)___, you are the one

You make my ___(B)___ so much fun

I love your ___(C)___, they make me smile

Your ___(D)___ constantly beguile

And so, my ___(A)___, this much is true

I’ll be forever ___(E)___you! 

A - man, wife, girl, guy, boss, mate, friend, ex, dear, love

B - lifetime, evenings, bedroom, work day, lunch break, stalking, tweeting

C - eyes, legs, lips, jokes, pants, threats, notes, songs, posts, hands

D - kisses, movements, glances, e-mails, touches

E - loving, holding, haunting, avoiding, missing, watching, texting

Penguins on the Moon

Today one of my students showed me a rocket she had been decorating. "Look," she said, "penguins on the moon!" Well, I know a good idea when I hear it, so here's my take on that theme.

Happy Birthday, Charles Darwin

I've been wanting to try drawing people for a while, but I haven't wanted to mess up. Today I realized that if I did end up making someone look like a misshapen monkey, who better to start with than the father of natural selection himself? Happy Birthday, Chuck!

Background Check

I filled in my papers online yesterday

For a routine security check

I applied for a job, and I’m sure I’ll be fine

Though it sends a slight chill down my neck

See, it’s possible while they’re all digging around

Through the details they might have obtained

That they might find an incident, maybe a few

That I probably should have explained

Like, for instance, the crop circles, that was all me

I would wait for the end of the day

And then try to make art for my alien friends

I suppose I got carried away

And with all of my studies in biorobots

You would think I’d be able to guess

That when testing a giant mechanical beast

I shouldn’t have chosen Loch Ness

I suppose I’ll confess that the moon landings, too

Were all faked in my backyard one night

And that face up on Mars? My idea of a joke

Just to give some old egghead a fright

And there might be a couple more things in the past

That I might be responsible for:

The Titanic, Tunguska, Tiananmen Square,

And the Peloponnesian War 

The Crusades were my fault, and the Hindenburg, too

And the Plague was because of my fleas

And the storm that sent Dorothy and Toto to Oz

Got it’s start with my one little sneeze

That flood of molasses, that river that burned,

And Vanilla Ice learning to “rap”

I’m the one who sent poor old Miss Earhart along

With a sadly inadequate map 

That’s all I remember, there could be some more

They’ll uncover with all their research

But I hope they’ll be kind, cause this job would be great

At the daycare that’s run by my church

Happy Chinese New Year!

Good-bye Year of the Dragon, hello Year of the Snake! (I can just imagine the dragon thinking, "Good luck, kid.")

Bonus image! This is what you get when you pick up a picture mid-scan:

Mountain Stream

Here's the landscape I've been working on yesterday and today. It's based on a photo by Chris Clor.

Exhibition, Part 5 - Sloths

Tonight I've been working on a fairly detailed landscape. It's 11:24 PM, it's nowhere near done yet and I don't want to rush it and mess it up. (I'll mess it up at a leisurely pace tomorrow!)

So, here's the 5th drawing (of 8) that's currently being exhibited in our church art gallery. This one was a Christmas present for my sister last year.

A Clowder of Cats

In honor of the Monopoly cat, I thought I'd practice drawing cats today!

When My Glasses Come Off

Tonight we were out driving around (my wife was driving, I was the passenger) and I told her I didn't know what I was going to post here. She suggested I do something about lights. So, to make things more interesting, I took off my glasses and enjoyed a very pretty (and blurry) ride home.

When my glasses come off of my face

The city’s a much better place

All the dirt disappears

And the lights become spheres

Gently glowing and floating in space

It’s especially pretty at night

When the mixture of darkness and light

Sets the world all ablaze

With kaleidoscope haze

And it’s all thanks to myopic sight

Dragon

I once read somewhere that when creating a creature, you should start with the eye and work out from there. So tonight I tried it (with no preliminary pencil sketch or idea where I was going with it) and came up with this dragon. I'm not sure why he's wearing a stocking cap and glasses.

Duck!

My wife suggested we watch a little Duck Dynasty tonight, which is always a good idea. (Hey! It's the best show ever, Jack!) While we were watching, I doodled a duck.

The Big Game

It's the Pangolins vs. the Penguins in the biggest game of the year! Unfortunately, I don't think either team has a firm grasp of the rules...

Groundhogs

Three out of four groundhogs agree - it's gonna be an early Spring!

Remembering, Part 3 - STS-107

In memory of Rick Husband, William McCool, David Brown, Kalpana Chawla, Michael Anderson, Laurel Clark and Ilan Ramon.

... most of all, they should have come home.