Christmas Card 2012

Merry Christmas, everyone!

The rough. Ditched the duds for the final.
(An odd choice as I am known for putting scarves on things.)

And then dad sends this shot to say thanks for the card.
Sigh. Yellow would have made it better.

Cottonwood

 

When I was 8, I often climbed to the top of the cottonwood in our back yard. From that place I could see to the outskirts of the small west Texas town in which we lived. There, I and the mockingbirds perched, each blown by the breeze, surrounded by the rattle of the leaves. The blue sky our home.

Space Santa : Sketchbookin'

Sometimes an idea grabs me, and for no rational reason, I become obsessed with it. It's the nature of the artist, I guess, to be drawn into an idea and explore it--even if the subject at hand or task is of questionable value.

And so it has become with Space Santa. Meant only to be a sketch study, the idea's pulled me in. I don't anticipate having the time to flesh it out completely, so there may not be a final. We'll see.

Space Santa is not the soft old man he's sometimes portrayed to be, but a guy who lives in the raw pioneer scrabble of space. He's strong. Capable. Someone you want on your side. Therefore, some of these Santas look mean. (As was pointed out on Facebook.) The goal is to make him fit the description above.

They are presented in the order they were drawn, so here's some of my journey as I explore this idea.

(click to embiggen)