Day 93

The drawing of the day: Coleman Morris-Goodrick. After about a week long break from the drawing of the day, I wanted to switch things up a little. I spent some time in Arkansas visiting my older brother. It was a great trip, and it was interesting to see a part of the country that was new to me. The one thing that I probably take for granted, is the fact that people here have such a unique style. Being in Arkansas, I really missed seeing people who had their own unique style. Fayetteville might as well have been sponsored by Ralph Lauren. Now, I'm certainly not ragging on people who wear that stuff, it just seemed there was no alternative.

So I wanted draw some people with their own look. One of the first people I thought of was a guy named Coleman. He's a local Ft. Collins celebrity, especially when it comes to the cycling crowd. He actually built the bike I ride. 

This drawing was done from a photo was taken by Darren Mahuron

Day 92

So I was flipping through an art magazine a few days ago and I saw some pretty sad news. My favorite painter, James Reynolds, passed away on February 8th. He is the artist that changed the way I think about painting, color and composition. I remember seeing my first painting of his about 10 years ago.  I was (and still) beyond impressed with what he was capable of.

James Reynolds was a storyboard artist in Hollywood for 15 ears before he moved on to creating his own pieces. He was a fan of Frank Tenney Johnson (another favorite of mine). James followed his lead by taking his composition and paint application to the next level and made it something his own. I remember reading a quote about James Reynolds from the leading western artist in the world, Howard Terpning. He said that James was SO good that he made everyone else look bad. Coming from him, that means a lot. James was an artist's artist. Meaning that only other artists were really aware of him. He was not much into advertising, or promoting himself. And at the top of his game (at probably 65 years old) he quit painting the scenes he was know for, and starting painting landscapes. His paintings became very academic, but they also contained a soul and a mood in each one of them. He had released a book of his landscapes through the gallery Claggett/Rey in Vail Colorado. I recently purchased it. The day it showed up in the mail was the day I found out he had died a few months back.

The reason this bummed me out so much is that  in the western art scene, it's not very big, so once you get in, it's a very close group. I have pretty much had the chance to be in art shows with most of the leading artist in the business. He was 1 of 3 (and the most important) I was hoping to meet, I really thought I was getting close. So, I really missed the chance to meet a pretty special person.

This is a drawing of the bio picture he used for the last few years of his life.

Day 91

Sorry gang, I ran out of time for anything creative...so, yeah, another Native American...

Day 90

The last few drawings have been pretty lousy. I have not been focusing as much as I should be. Maybe I'm drawing too similar of images. I might need to branch out a little...

Day 89

A lot of the people in Edward S. Curtis' photos had something wrong with one or both of their eyes. Sometimes I think out fixing it and make them more symmetrical, but then I decide not to...

Day 88

Day 87

This might be my favorite drawing to date. This one just flew out of my hands in about 15 mins. I really had fun with this one.

Day 86

Day 85

I remember March 9th, 2005 very well. I was driving in Cody, WY to look for some locations to take photos for some painting. There are only a few radio station around my home town that get service in this area. As I'm driving, the news comes on and says that musician Chris LeDoux had passed. I remember pulling over to the side of the road to focus on what I had just heard. I remember feeling incredibly sad over the news, though I had never had the chance to meet him, and I unfortunately never saw him in concert. The sadness came from two places: the first being a family losing a father and a husband, and the second being the world losing a valuable artist.

Chris Ledoux is beyond an icon in my book. He is the example of where hard work gets you. If you get a chance to read up on him or even hear a story or two, it's well worth it. Growing up in Wyoming, you knew about Chris LeDoux at a very early age. I remember being in elementary school arguing with another classmate about whether or not he lived in Wyoming or not ( I was on the losing end, I thought he lived in California).  He was a source of pride for people in Wyoming. He was like us, only famous and REALLY talented. Let me give you a brief overview of him: at a relatively young age, he started to learn how to ride a horse, after a few years he starts doing rodeos, he starts getting so good that he goes out on the road, to pay for this, he decides to start writing songs, while he is doing this, he happens to win the world's bareback riding championship, the a few years later he dives in music full-time and happens to become one of the most authentic country musician ever (just ask Garth), oh yeah, and he also did some great bronze sculptures. What they need to do is make a moving about his life.

Chris LeDoux is a hero of mine because he didn't take any shortcuts. He is a result of long hours of hard work. He was a no frills guy, who was humble and lived an honest life. That's why I selected this photo to do today's drawing. I like this image because about 80% of his face in a shadow and almost hidden under a hat. He wasn't out there doing a glamour shot, it looks like just a moment of his life captured. But yet, he has a great big smile on his face that shows his happiness and appreciation.

To look at me you would think my musical and/or artistic heroes would be more of the punk rock or heavy metal variety, but I choose people like Chris LeDoux. He makes me proud to me from Wyoming. He never left to sell out to a big record label (which he easily could have). He was one of the guys that made me think that I could achieve greatness.

During my last few years of college, I had the opportunity to get to know Chris' son, Will, a little bit. He's a great guy. When I got the idea to do a drawing his dad, I really wanted his permission before hand, out of respect. He gladly gave it to me.

Thanks, Will. I hope this does your dad justice.

Day 84

Day 83

This one really went by quickly... from beginning to end in about 10 minutes!