Back in Seattle Again

A Weather Pattern Near North Seattle.

The two week long Seattle summer has finally ended as we now find ourselves thrust into the season of jeans, long sleeves, and wet shoes.  Aside from the weather however, it is also the season of Baseball playoffs (Go Tigers!), Hockey preseason (Go Wings!), American Football (of course), apple picking, light jackets, killer fall television lineups, chili cook-offs, apple cider (and donuts), pumpkin carving, crisp breezes, apple pies, harvesting those tasty crops, hay rides, haunted houses, Oktoberfest, flannel shirts, early sunsets, holiday after holiday....after holiday and many birthday celebrations (in my family at least).      

Experts in Search of Elusive Green Arrow

Nearly Retired Sketchbook Discovers Affinity for Geometry and Algebra

Shoreline, WA-
     GRE test day is hastily approaching.  Last minute study sessions are being crammed into every spare minute as former and future students prepare for their first official step towards fine tuning their higher education and entering the realms of graduate school.  And while most scrap papers used for jotting down notes and solving equations come from more traditional backgrounds (Five Star® notebooks and ruled legal pads) one local sketchbook is finding a new purpose late in life.
     "I guess it all started simply with geometry,"  claims the 78 day old sketchbook from Shoreline,  "shapes have always been my thing."
     The elderly sketchbook then reminisced about his younger days, realizing that he was no stranger to words and numbers frequently gracing his pages.  "A phone number here...a grocery list there...and most often, jotted ideas for future reference.  Algebraic equations were a simple transition.  It was just a matter of time and patience."  Needless to say, this sketchbook in particular seemed almost destined from the start to prepare his owner for the Graduate Record Examinations this coming August.
     Today, the sketchbook spends a majority of his twilight years dealing with illustrations, color studies and compositional sketches in efforts to create stunning visuals.  He claims while it was exciting to try something new for a while, it was refreshing to get back to his roots and indulge in what he is truly passionate about. 
     "I was happy to step out of my boundaries and help out, but I was mostly looking for an opportunity to prove to myself I could do it.  Now that I know that, I feel like I can do anything!" 
     This extraordinary sketchbook has proven to all sketchbooks, bar-top napkins, scrap papers, legal pads and notebooks alike that it is acceptable to do things out of the ordinary, and that sometimes it is a necessary exercise in discovering, or rediscovering, one's true self.        
         
     

Forecast : Clouds, Rain, Productivity...

The clouds rolled in with promises of rain; a common sight in the Pacific Northwest.  And while the summer weather is enjoyable, with copious amounts of heat and vitamin D, there is an interesting world that emerges when the rain comes down.  Slimy creatures come out of hiding and slurp across the ground, hard shadows disappear into a unified midtone with the colors of once thirsty foliage exploding to break up the monotony of neutrality.  The inspiration is there if you don't mind getting a little muddy or wet while searching for it.       

Whilst cooking breakfast this morning, a rare and surprising event occurred.  A supposed "lucky" double yolk graced my frying pan and in the blink of an eye, my cholesterol intake doubled unintentionally.  This got me to thinking...

Why are double yolks lucky?  And for that matter, why are black cats or walking under ladders unlucky?  Does it only become luck if you perceive it?  Is the luck (good or bad) transferable if you wish not to possess it?

   

Rolling Stone - Don't crease m'pages!

Rolling Stone - July 2011 Special Collectors Edition

Thank you Rolling Stone!  A new and updated "100 Greatest Artists of All Time" issue has surprised me on the newsstand this past week, replacing my long lost (misplaced?) 2004-05 editions (yeah that's right...two issues for the complete list) with one fully illustrated collectors edition.  Insightful articles written by musicians accompanied by beautifully executed illustrations make this a truly unique artifact for any illustrator's collection.  I can assure you Rolling Stone, that I will take better care of this one!     

A note on typeface addiction...

Number Study from The Adults by Alison Espach

As an avid reader of many subjects, I tend to navigate my way around the pages of literature with general ease and comprehension.  On occasion, however, I find myself on a detour when I see an interesting font choice for relaying a story.  Most often the chapter and page numbers pique my curiosity, the way they interact with each other, every other page a new exciting combination graces the typically insignificant corners.  From here it moves into a recognition of a single letter (a lowercase "g"; a capital "W") and continues to spread from letter to letter to word to sentence to pages to chapters...

At some point I come out of the stupor and realize that I have no recollection of any information presented in the last few pages (a blackout if you will).  Naturally, I reread the passage and all is well, but my addiction to the printed word is merely temporarily suppressed.