Anthony Bourdain - RIP

This was one of the most heartbreaking of days. As soon as I got up, I looked at my phone and saw the beginning words of a headline, "Anthony Bourdain" it started. Oh no. Before I swiped over, I briefly thought, maybe he and Asia Argento got married. But no, the worst news ever, dead at 61. I thought, heart attack. And then the news did get worse. Suicide. It was a same 1-2 punch as the morning I woke to the news of Chris Cornell. Unexpected death. Must be a heart attack...and then shockingly, suicide. I saw him twice in person, first in Milwaukee and then in Chicago. I've watched him for 15 years. I have his Les Halles cookbook, the great "Kitchen Confidential," and, no bs, just pulled "Parts Unknown" off my bookshelf last Saturday and started re-reading it. I can hear the cadence of his voice, imagine the movements of his body in some of my favorite episodes. It feels so personal, as if I truly lost someone I knew, a friend who took me along to places I couldn't go to on my own. It's a thought all fans are feeling, no doubt. I imagine his best friend, Eric Ripert, finding him. And I'm conjuring up all sorts of reasons in my head. His food explorations led him, and us, to the truer journey of connecting with people, cultures, history, socio-economic crisis or in other words, humanity on the most vulnerable level. He was vulnerable, too. I'm so sorry for your pain, Anthony. Thank you for all you gave us and tried to make us understand.

Lost

I had been feeling disheartened for a few days.  Part of it had to do with the gloomy weather we had been experiencing, which is strange, because I actually love rainy, gray days.  It probably was a combination of things, but that was the background for this emerging portrait I had drawn last night.

LOST

Below, I put the portrait behind the doors of a bookcase, giving it a slightly different story.

Headband in Oil

Well, I just couldn't leave my "headband" drawing from a few days ago alone.  It just felt like he wasn't done yet.  Here he is in oil.

Headband

I toyed with the idea of drawing this man's left eye to perfectly match the right, but I liked the way it looked as if he were ominously moving forward--one eye closer to the viewer than the distant left.  I felt like he was coming our of a city tunnel or a hospital or a psych ward.  I sketched this quickly on a large shard of paper--all ink and dried out ink brush.

Tiny Mouth, Offcenter SOLD

Here was on of the pieces that I sold last night, but scrolling through my artwork to place a "SOLD" beside the post, I realized that I never posted it to my blog!  I created it back in June or July.  Here she is, and now she is off to a new home.

inktober Day 26 Box

How to elevate a drawing of a box?  Give it the one, two, three treatment by Sammy Hagar.

Sketchbook

Sammy Hagar - Waaaaaaaaaaaay before Van Halen (1982).

"One, Two, Three Lock Box"

Inktober Day 25 Tired

I was going to draw myself for today, but decided I felt like I more represented the word "exhausted."  I have GOT to get some sleep.  However, the World Series is on tonight and that only comes around once a year so my slumber prospects look slim.

I feel this fellow that emerged from my pen is probably way more tired than I.

Inktober Day 5 SAD

I was trying to evoke sadness, here, with just black ink lines.  I think the eyes can help you create this man's story.  I don't need to tell it.

Muhammad Ali

When I first heard Muhammad Ali had passed, I drew a quick pencil sketch of him.  I wanted to reflect his intelligence and sense of humor which I thought were just as brilliant as his boxing.

I started...and then I stopped. I was intimidated by the task and thought I could not do him justice.  Finally yesterday, July 31st, I thought, don't let another month pass without paying tribute to him.  So, I dug deep and finished his portrait.  I hope you like him.

 Ali--the quick sketch where he lingered for nearly 2 months.

Red and Gold

Red and Gold

Oil

Day 25 Incredulous

Finally Friday!  It was a busy, busy week, and I am tired and ready for the weekend.  Our sunny day turned into a rainy one, although that's no bad turn of events in my book.  I happen to love the rain and grey days.  I have a friend's big birthday celebration in Chicago tomorrow with a Mariachi band and a salsa instructor--fun!--so I'm going to rest up, have the slow-cooked pork roast in chiles and lime that has been simmering away in my crock-pot, and leave you with this drawing of a woman in a a state of disbelief.  Have a great weekend people!

Day 21 Smooth Operator

Did a little experimenting on this one.  He's so slick and cool, he cuts himself up!

Smooth Operator

Out The Window

Out The Window

Watercolor

Red Lipstick, Purple Earring

Red Lipstick, Purple Earring

World Aswirl

Our world...

I Existed on My Own Terms (Shannon L. Adler)

I created this drawing over a couple of quotes by Shannon L. Adler.  I'm feeling an affinity to those words.  It's never easy to stand by your own principles--it's a lonely endeavor.  It's easier to whisper one thing and then cover it with sugar to the public.  No matter how painful though, I feel called to live by the words of John Mellencamp:  "You've got to stand for something or you'll fall for anything."

You can read the full quotes below.

I Existed on My Own Terms

“I existed on my own terms. I was different my entire life. Some called me divergent, wild, crazy, unpredictable and unconformed—an apostate to the rules of the majority. I called myself God’s creation and found purpose in the madness. When that day came, I didn’t allow other people to dictate how I should feel or act. I learned there was no shame in imperfection because history had shown being different had the power to change perspectives and eventually the world. This is when I realized that flaws had responsibility. This was the day that I learned I was truly BLESSED.”

***

“The wise do not buy into other people’s perceptions of who they are and what they are capable of. Instead, they bypass a person’s public persona and see who they are in their highest expression. When you see actions taken with integrity, instead of words only, you will then know a soul’s worth.”

***

And then there is this most dead-on, nail-on-the-head piece:

“Sensitive people are the most genuine and honest people you will ever meet. There is nothing they won’t tell you about themselves if they trust your kindness. However, the moment you betray them, reject them or devalue them, they become the worse type of person. Unfortunately, they end up hurting themselves in the long run. They don’t want to hurt other people. It is against their very nature. They want to make amends and undo the wrong they did. Their life is a wave of highs and lows. They live with guilt and constant pain over unresolved situations and misunderstandings. They are tortured souls that are not able to live with hatred or being hated. This type of person needs the most love anyone can give them because their soul has been constantly bruised by others. However, despite the tragedy of what they have to go through in life, they remain the most compassionate people worth knowing, and the ones that often become activists for the broken hearted, forgotten and the misunderstood. They are angels with broken wings that only fly when loved.” 
― Shannon L. Alder

Scratches

Scratches

From 2/15/16

Ink, acrylic, pastel, oil on paper

Eyes Wide Set

Eyes Wide Set

(Black and White Version)

Just A Guy

Paper and charcoal.  If I were limited to only two art supplies, these would be it, and I would be a happy gal.

Just A Guy

Martin Luther King, Jr.

"Love, Not Hate."

Honoring Martin Luther King, Jr. on this namesake day.