This old tree house

Luncheon

Back roads and Summer skies

Peach Pie

The peaches I picked (shown in an earlier blog post) have now been turned into a pie. This simple recipe yields a tasty dessert. Ingredients include cut peaches, peach flavored jello, sugar, corn starch, and a pre-made pie crust.

Sun up

The Creative process

People sometimes ask me where I get my inspiration from....

Peach Harvest June 2012

I am pretty happy with the harvest this year. For trees that do not have any herbicides, fertilizer, or pesticides the fruit looks pretty good. My estimate is that this is about 30% of the fruit on the trees. Another 10% or so is being eaten by animals or is diseased.

Down South

Butterfly on Shale

Toesies

Dragonfly in Spider's Web

With apologies to the English poet Mary Howitt, "Come into my palour", said the spider to the dragonfly...

Poolside

..on Father's day

Sleepy Head

This is another older one I never posted. At the time, I was doing a lot of children images and didn't care for it..but now, especially after coming back from a trip without seeing them for a while, it makes me like it a lot. It's interesting to note that the way we respond to images as little to do with how they look rather than how they connect with out personal stories. I am always fascinated by that. For example... I was in BD fugue in Annecy, ( it is one of the two local graphic novel stores , the other being 9Quai) looking at the books, and my eyes kept being attracted to the flashy covers .... but when I would pour through the book, I got bored more often than not. Than, Vincent, the store manager, gave me this book by Rabate called "les petits ruisseaux" which is drawn in a very loose way..very sketchy and definitely without all the visual artifacts of paintings and textures etc etc.. I think I might have seen it in the store but didn't stop on it.. but when I read it.. I could NOT put it down. It is just a great and touching story that is served so much better by a simpler drawing style. I think what I am trying to say is that sometimes, a simpler drawing, a simpler way of saying things is better than a very well rendered drawing. There are things that you can get across in a simpler image that you can't in a more rendered one.... Something to think about I suppose. Ho..and thank you Vincent for that book!

Two for tea

This is an older image I never posted.. it made me smile when I saw it again!

Mediterranean

Just got back from a wonderful week in France where I was at the film festival, in Annecy. It was incredible...I didn't get a chance to see ONE film, but I met and did book signings with so many outstanding artists that I actually felt overwhelmed. I signed books alongside my good friend Matthieu Forichon who had his latest book out, Miss in Paris. A treasure trove of beautiful images that make you long for a romantic adventure in PAris. Matthieu is not only talented, he is incredibly humble, modest and generous. A little disconcerting given his talent. THEN .. I drew alongside Boulet. I was actually in school with him, but had not bumped into him in the past twelve years..what a shock. The guy draws faster than anyone I have ever seen, without any preliminary sketches or structure, and it is ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS great and funny. It's amazing. No wonder he is one of the top graphic novel artist in France right now. I also got the chance to meet Sephy who is a young up and coming artist working for Ankama... with a very funny personality and an incredibly style..both in animation and illustration! Mauro Pietro Gandini and Eloisa Scichilone are the sweetest couple in the world. From Italy, they were in Annecy to sign their activity book.. they PAINTED an art piece in the book they gave me.. literally PAINTED. It is gorgeous. Barbara Canepa was there as well, while I was signing, but she was so busy with the humongous lines of people wanting to get a drawing that I didn't even get a chance to say HI! reno from Tigobo animation was there doing a project with Bill Perkings. I just saw a little of it and it looked fantastic. I wish I had had time to see more of it. The unsung heroes .. Vincent from BD fugue and Michel, Laurianne and Agathe from 9Quai... once again.. not just "nice" but something more for which I can't really find a word.. it was such an amazing experience.. All in all.. I met so many more people like Nicolas Keramidas, Sergio Pablos, Nicolas Bannister, Dik Pose, JP Anohen, Flora Grimaldi, High school friends and college friends.. it was such an amazing experience. I met the crew of CAfe Sale who did my book and visited their offices in Paris and got a sneak peak of some of their upcoming books and projects.. all I can say is..WOW.. keep a close eye on those guys, they are really moving and shaking things! I highly recommend to every artist out there to attend this festival at least once in your life. It gave me a huge kick in the butt in terms of motivation.. seeing the sheer amount of great work that is being produced out there just made me ....happy. VERY very Happy! I know this is a long note, but I just had to give credit to all these people ( and all the other ones I am forgetting... sorry about that) for making this such a great experience> I just got back, and now I have a ton of energy to get back to work. ON that note.. I have some very fun and cool projects I am working on right now, and , after seeing all that art in Annecy, I think I am going to focus more on these projects and less on the daily sketches for the next few months. I won't stop, but will definitely slow them down so that I can truly give my best to these cool projects I am working on. Cheers P.

Calla Lily 2012

Calla lily that started blooming June 7, 2012 in Louisville, Kentucky. So far, two blooms have appeared. This set of plants is quite hardy being able to survive the Louisville winters.

Sum sum summertime

I'm flying out today..so this is ( truly) the last daily sketch for a while. I might be posting pictures of my trip though for people who are going to be in Annecy. I'll be doing book signings basically everyday , from Wednesday to Saturday. Come on by and say HI!

Crackle Vaseline Glass Marbles

Crackle vaseline glass marbles that will glow a green color when exposed to ultraviolet (UV) light. See them on eBay at this LINK

Plain vaseline glass marbles can be found for sale on eBay HERE.

Park

Scorcher , and cool down

Just a note to say that I will be gone for awhile.

Make over

Daylilies - May 2012

 Daylilies blooming in Clark County Indiana (May 2012).

Home by the sea

Jagged Yellow Petal Flowers

 Jagged petal yellow flowers blooming in Lexington, Kentucky (May 2012).

Yellow Flowers Blooming in Lexington Kentucky

 Not sure about the name of this flower but I found it blooming in Lexington, Kentucky (May 2012).

Red Amaryllis Flowers

 Red amaryllis flowers blooming in May 2012. Plant usually blooms later in the year. Another odd aspect is that the stalk only has two blooms and not the normal four. As of this writing a second bloom stalk has started which I assume will have two more blooms on it.  Seems plant wants a staggered blooming pattern for this year.

Prickly Pear Cactus Flowers

Pictures of two yellow flowers from a blooming prickly pear cactus (Opuntia). The cactus was blooming in May 2012. Learn more about these cactus at http://opuntiads.com/O/