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I’ve been trying to get into the habit of sketching from life and reference instead of my head all the time.  Over the years I’ve gotten too caught up in drawing strictly from my imagination.  That’s not a bad thing in and of itself but I think doing that exclusively leads to stagnation and a bit of a lull in one’s artistic progress.  Without reference or life studies and putting in new visual information into your brain you start to draw, paint and produce the same things you’ve done before.   The above sketch is from an image I found online.

I think I’m just about done retooling the entire website as well the the blog here.  I moved over to wordpress which is fantastic.  I can’t recommend it enough.  Hopefully, I will update more often as now it’s just so dang easy.  I hope everyone enjoys the look of the new site.  I’ll be posting quite a few sketchs and things in the coming days so check back soon.

2009 is going to be a great year. I don’t care what all the talking heads on CNN and Fox News are saying, that’s my story and I’m sticking to it. Despite the economy, which does suck, and is having an effect on just about everyone, myself included, my ambition and attitude about my work has never been stronger. Necessity is the muther and I do mean “muther” of invention and a little financial incentive is going a long way.

Towards that end I’ve been working my butt off and very soon I’m going to be showcasing some brand new stuff. My best work yet. I’ve realized a number of things about myself and the way I work and so I’ve changed some of my process and habits. Things like proper reference, strong initial drawings, and all around more attention to all aspects of my prep work. Many things I skipped because I just couldn’t wait to get to painting.

All good improvements.

So, here’s to 2009.