Pages From the Book of Sketch Vol. 2

Some recent faces I've done in between other things going on. Feelings are a-brewin' down below that drawing people, or to be more specific, doing caricatures of random famous people, isn't as fun as it used to be. There may soon be a void where there was once hours and hours of enjoyment from people drawing. But I heard from a wise old man that if it isn't fun, then what's the point?

Ronald Searle at The Forbes Galleries

There's an amazing show that gives you a glimpse into the career of Ronald Searle going on right now at the Forbes Galleries, and I'm telling anyone that may read this that they should go check it out, a.s.a.p. It will most likely raise your spirits, open your mind, and cure any back pain you may be experiencing. There's also a room of brand spanking new illustrations he did to accompany a book of poems written by Robert L. Forbes. The show runs until March 12th and is on the corner of 5th ave. and 12th St. Here's some images to give you an idea of the awesomeness that awaits you.

Sharpen Your Spork!

http://thedailycrosshatch.com/2010/11/05/guest-strip-rob-hovden-rob-barton-and-phil-ashworth/#more-7423

Here's a taste of a project a couple guys and I have been working on for the past year. We submitted this comic we did a little while ago to www.thedailycrosshatch.com Every week, The Daily Crosshatch puts up a chosen comic submitted by followers of the site, and ours raised enough eyebrows, and cracked enough grins, to be this weeks choosing, or maybe it was just a slow week. I will soon spill the beans on the project that we've been working on, but for now, hopefully you will enjoy this little bit.

I Want to Ride My Bicycle! Bicycle! Bicycle!

This is a recent promotional project I did to appear on a website. A biking maniac, Andrew Fersch, contacted me about a goal of his to begin biking 1300 miles on Arbor Day, and along his journey, plant 1300 trees. Apparently, recently biking across the U.S. wasn't enough for this man because New England is the next to be dominated, and beautified. Andrew just requested a simple logo from me to help promote this adventure on his website. I figured, why not? Seems like a goal any decent human being could get behind. From start to finish, it was a quick and enjoyable one. Thanks again to Andrew. www.arborride.org


All inked up, just waiting for the color to get into the mix.

Below are some of the sketch ideas.

Reunited, and it feels so good.

New illustration for Steez Magazine. Pretty hyped that my good bud, Marcus Sears has been having his photos published in the same mag for the past few months. He's a rad photographer, filmer, and one fine human being.

Preliminary sketches:

A Quickie

"The Violent Femmes..they bring all their equipment on the bus. And you cannot fuck with the Violent Femmes. You cannot fuck with this band!"

Grip it and Rip it

"Sooner or later you must move down an unknown road that leads beyond the range of the imagination, and the only certainty is that the trip must be made."

-Bruce Catton

I found this photo a few weeks ago. No idea who took it, or what year it's from, but it's pretty gnarly. Seems like the blog is becoming a showcase for skateboarding lately but there'll be new illustration stuff soon.

The Salad Days

I've been wanting to share this for a while and today felt like the right day for it. I was fortunate enough to be introduced to this short movie by a Post Office clerk a few months ago. Usually when complete strangers try to talk to you about skateboarding it's a pretty embarrassing experience. However, this guy, After noticing I was holding a skateboard, doesn't bring up the X Games, but instead, tells me I need to see this movie from the 60's called, Skater Dater. It helped that he had this tone in his voice like he knew it was pretty ridiculous and that I would think the same thing. Plus, the title alone was enough to convince me to watch it. Even if it was a complete disaster, which most movies about skateboarding usually are, there would still be some good cringe-inducing laughs from it. Well, I watched it, and it is ridiculous, and cheesy, and totally awesome! From the choreographed opening sequence, to the hill bombing battle, it pretty much rules. It has hardly any dialog, which is a plus, and the soundtrack is pretty rad. There are better versions, but this was the only full version I could find at the moment. So, here it is, in all of its stupendous glory: SKATER DATER

Interviewed for Steez

Along with the 5 spots to wrap up the 2-part article, I was put on the hot seat and grilled about the finer things in life. A big thanks to Andrew Fersch.

Steez Spots: Part 2

So, here are the other 5 spots I had done for a 2 part article in Steez magazine. In case I forgot to mention it before, these spots were done to accompany definitions of terms used by snowboarders and skiiers. I especially got a kick out of drawing the fourth image down. Back when I did snowboard, I loved it when people ate shit so hard going down the hill; Powder and clothes went flying in every direction. Coincidentally, it was usually someone showing off, so I never really felt bad for blatantly laughing at them. But, in case they weren't showing off, and did get seriously hurt, I apologize now for laughing.

More stuff from this issue later on.

A Hallmark Moment

This guy is making another appearance on this ol' blog for one of those warm, cuddly, the family all sitting around a warm fire, sentimental reasons.

A few weeks ago I noticed an e-mail that had "The Loch Ness Project" titled as the sender in my inbox. Instantly intrigued, I opened that sucker right up and surprisingly, it turned out to be an e-mail from the wife of Adrian Shine (the man picture above). She had caught a glimpse of my drawing on-line and wanted to let me know Adrian saw it and got a kick out of it. After a few more e-mails and a trade off, I had a signed copy of a booklet of his resting in my hands. To have someone that I've done a drawing of see my work, find amusement in it, and reach out to me is kind of a surreal thing. It makes the work that much more satisfying and can even trump the financially fulfilling side of things. Aaaannnnd, that's enough sentimental junk for now.

Update

Some of my illustrations will be hanging up in the Gimme! Coffee on Green St. in Ithaca for the month of May. Stop in, get yourself something to drink and check out some of my work if you're in the area.

Ding-Dang Drawing for a Friend!

I just did this for a friend. He wanted a drawing of a young Bob Dylan and that's just what he got, gosh darnit!

Sh-sho-show Picsssss

The show has come and passed, and it was quite a blast. A lot of our friends made it into town for the night, which turned it into a big hang-out rather than some stuffy show. This picture is of my mom and Travis right before the show started and right after we had some awesome ice cream.

These are the cookies that my friend, Alexis, baked up for it. She's rad. Out of the 100 that she brought, there was about 10 of them left that I am now hoarding for myself.

After doing all these random heads for about 2 years, I finally found a place for some of them.

These following pictures have some of Travis's sculpture work that he brought down for the show.

Thanks again to everyone that stopped in. I'll let this picture of my bud, Marcus, sum up how the night wrapped up.

Spots

I recently did 10 spot illustrations for Steez Magazine. The article is split into 2 parts, so the other 5 will be on here in a little while. The purpose of the spots were to accompany definitions of slang terms that are commonly used on the slopes. I think I recognized 3 out of the 60 that Joe sent to me. I feel out of touch.

Coming Soon!

Who: Phil Ashworth and Travis Winters

What: Showing of some illustrations and sculptural work from the past year or so.

When: Friday, April 2nd. 7-10pm.

Where: Homegrown-104 E. State St. Ithaca, NY

Why: Because.

How: Begged until the guy felt sorry for us and decided to give us a show because he thought we were pathetic losers.

Hooty HooOOoo

These are just a few from the winter months when I had some free time. This first one came from a strong disgust for the long, cold winters that any north easterner continually develops year after year. It also comes from reading Calvin and Hobbes a lot when I was a kid.

Little scraps of left over paper, once again being used to draw famous people. George Carlin and Joan Rivers:

New Caricatures

Here are a couple portraits from a project I worked on a few months ago. Unfortunately, it didn't pan out as planned but, in the end it was still fun to do some new drawings, and get some insight into the literary culture of Romania. This first one is of a famous Romanian playwright, poet, journalist, and political commentator; Ion Luca Caragiale (1852-1912).

The next one is of Mihai Eminescu (1850-1889). Regarded as the most influential Romanian poet, he also spent time as a journalist and editor for the newspaper Timpul. Him and Ion Luca Caragiale both belonged Junimea, a literary society, which was an intellectual and political association from Romania.

Risk it for a Biscuit

Joe LoVasco, from Steez Magazine, contacted me recently about doing an illustration to be included in their new issue. The article was about the pitfalls and risks we take with winter sports and the dangers of competitions for the big cash prize. Joe dug the treasure map-like drawing, so we chatted about changing a few of the dangers that could be illustrated on it and it was a sealed deal. From sketch to finish it was a quick deal and was good fun. Thanks Joe.

In case you notice that banana peel on the bottom of the illustration and start to wonder to yourself if anyone has actually ever slipped on one, I'll save you the time and let you know that it has happened, and it was me.