Tuesday, January 03, 2012

Image for January 2, 2012 - Farewell Christmas, Hello 2012!

...and so, the Holiday season has once more come to an end, unless you're one of those "twelve days of Christmas" people, then you're only halfway there. Our un-decorating event is as sad and joyless as the decorating part was festive and fun. I got the ladder out and took down the few strings of outside lights while Janet cleaned up the inside. After all the ornaments were removed from the tree, it was time to bring it to it's finally resting place. Lucky for us, we live right across from the beach, so it's an easy enough job to carry it down and find a dune. Note, the photo is staged, that's not where I actually left the tree. It wound up with three other trees grouped in a cavity carved out by Hurricane Irene and so the cycle continues. Better that the trees lives on helping to grow the dune, then grow some landfill.  Weirdly enough, I felt most of my Xmas spirit after the 25th this time. The holiday season came up way too fast for me.

Nothing says, "Happy New Year" to me then a living room empty of the tree. I am still thinking on my goals for 2012. I find it more helpful to make concrete goals, rather then "resolutions", which may be splitting hairs, but whatever works right? One goal I have committed too is increasing my hiking goal from 700 miles as I did in 2011 (actually finished with 717 miles) to add another fifty miles on for 750 miles. That's sixty-two and a half miles a month. No moss will be gathering on this stone. It's day two in 2012 and I already have fourteen miles, just 736 to go...

OK HW

Thursday, December 29, 2011

Image for December 28, 2011 - AKAN!!!!


I'm trying to finish off a little sketchbook that I've been carrying around for way too long. It's filled with mini-portraits of surrealist artists and African masks. Recently while catching up on the ever-growing pile of New Yorker magazines on the bed stand, I read a wonderfully enthusiastic review by Peter Schjeldahl of an exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of African masks. One of the mask images accompanying the article caught my eye and I had to add him to my sketchbook. This drawing is rough three inches high. I included an extra enlarged image because I love looking at the texture of the pen marks.

OK HW

Monday, December 26, 2011

Image for December 26, 2011 - 700 Miles and Counting...

This photo is actually from yesterday, but no matter, I'll be hiking again today too. I took this just at the moment when I completed my seven hundredth mile for 2011 thus accomplishing my hiking goal. I pulled a seven mile walk yesterday that left my total at seven hundred and three miles and will add a bit more to it before this year is done. I am pondering now whether to increase my goal from seven hundred to say, seven fifty, but we will see.

This has been a good year of hiking. I had the opportunity to hike in several different states including Virginia, North Carolina, New York, Wisconsin and Florida, not to mention one overseas excursion to Scotland. I've had the chance to walk with a lot of my friends, some of whom aren't regular hikers, but I'm always trying to convert folks to the walking life so I'll always have companions for the trail. No point taking a journey if you don't have a friend or two to share it with.

OK HW

Sunday, December 25, 2011

Happy Christmas 2011

Our Christmas card for 2011. Merry Christmas to all! I wish you health and peace and love.

OK HW

Friday, December 23, 2011

Image for December 23, 2011

Click image for larger size
...and so, two days before Xmas and I'm posting a sketch I did of Edgar Allen Poe, go figure. I did this as a warm up for the Monster Drawing Rally event at 1708 gallery in Richmond, Va a couple of weeks back. I had some fun with this portrait, pushing the asymmetrical quality of Poe's face and exaggerated the size and shape of his head. I think I'll be doing another drawing or two of Poe, something more detailed as I just like his face. He also has a haunted, slightly crazy look in his eye that I find compelling. Kinda how I feel about the Holiday Season about now. Merry Ho-Ho!

OK HW

Sunday, December 11, 2011

The Monster Drawing Rally - December 10, 2011

Ralf and I throw down
Today was a great day because it was Monster Drawing Rally day at the 1708 Gallery in Richmond, VA. The premise is simple, invite a bunch of artists to draw in one hour shifts and donate their efforts to the gallery, which in turn sells the art at $65 a pop as a fund-raiser for this most excellent non-profit creative space. I did the event for the first time and was a bit nervous drawing in front of people and under a time limit to boot, but actually found the boundaries actually had a freeing affect. This year, I couldn't wait for the big day, which was originally back in August, but Hurricane Irene ruined that, so it was moved to today. An old friend from way back in the underground comix days, Ralf Schulze (of Zombie Vomit and Dinky-Doo fame, check out his blog) joined me this year. That is he and I in the top photo, Ralf is on the right. My first big drawing was called "Edgar Allen Poe VS. The Brain Eating Microbe" and some one from the Poe Museum in Richmond stopped by to look at it. I'll post a clearer image of the drawing in a later post. Several Richmond friends came out in support and it was wonderful to see so many old friends that I haven't seen in so long. Mark your calendars and come on out next year!

OK HW

PS- My friend Casey Gwinn took the photos. Check out his photo-blog COGfoto!

Me and my drawing "Edgar Allen Poe VS. The Brain Eating Microbe