On the shelf were three Math books, ten English books, five Art books and the rest... is History.

Looking back in retrospect, I never realized how much I really liked being in school. I remember anxiously awaiting the day school would end, with eager anticipation of what the next chapter of my life would be. However, now that it's over, while that curiosity still looms, I cant help but yearn to be back in school.

I think this is the same approach people take towards painting. We often think of painting as something separate than drawing. With this thinking its easy to stop drawing once we become painters but this should never be the case. We should never stop drawing, even if its just scribbles. At least I can take comfort in knowing that drawing is one school I will never graduate from.

Scribbles from my sketchbook.

People on the train.

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Boy Meets World

I realize that I ask a lot of questions on this blog, a lot more questions than I have the answers to. I ask questions to engage you as the reader to come up with your own answers, but I also ask questions because I am truly interested in all the possibilities of the subject at hand. Most of my posts are just things that run through my mind on any given day. Whether the answers are conspicuous or nonexistent I can't help but be equally intrigued. The world is fascinating to me and I have always been extremely inquisitive. I've always wanted to know as much as possible about everything possible. Even the smallest details can fulfill your life in ways you could never have imagined. As an artist, you should never stop expanding your horizons, learning to truly understand and draw one thing well will lead you to draw others better.

If you ask an artist what interests them, I believe there should only be one answer.

EVERYTHING.

The Power of Imagination Makes Us Infinite

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11x14 inches

I'm Feeling Rather Pixelated Today.

Among all the things in this world, the idea of life itself, seems to raise the most questions. However, even with all this speculation, it still manages to yield the least amount of conclusive answers. Who are we? and why are we here?, always seem to be in the back of your mind and you think about them from time to time, but that's all they really are, speculation.

Regardless of your religion, or what you believe or don't believe, for the most part, we can usually all agree on one thing. We as human beings, in a physical sense, are real and we can think and act under our own free will.

What if we turned this idea upside down?

What if we, and everything around us, aren't real. What if our lives are one giant simulation? What if our creator is an avid Sims player and controls every aspect of our lives through his insatiable gaming addiction? Sure it seems trivial, but it might not be impossible. Every action in our lives could be all be all played out by someone else, just like we were in the Sims, and we would never even know. We might think that every idea, every action, every thought is ours, but what if they belonged to someone else first?

Is it crazy? Perhaps. Could it be possible? Maybe.

Without definitive answers, anything could be possible.

I'm not saying this is the answer and I am also not saying that it's not. I'm just saying that it is fun to ponder about these things from time to time, since there are no right or wrong answers. Feel free to come up with your own ideas, because wondering about our lives, is what makes life fun and interesting. There will always be room for faith or whatever you may believe in and religion will always fill in the gaps in our knowlege. However, I dont think we should ever

stop speculating.

Petra

India Ink

Watercolor Paper

Inanimate Objects

Do you think that its possible for inanimate objects to feel things? Sure maybe not in the same sense that we as humans do, but we are all made of the same molecules, so why not? Just because something cannot speak or move does not mean that it cannot feel or express emotion. Objects can be far more expressive than we think, especially in the art world.

We usually don't empathize with lifeless objects, perhaps due to a lack of reciprocity. However, it seems I know exactly how a used battery, a run down car, or the countless broken household appliances we have ever thrown away, feels.

Replaced.

Minolta

Watercolor

5 x 7 inches

Scenes From a Sketchbook: Volume 2

Recently I took a trip to the doctors office. While patiently waiting (pun intended) in the examination room for the doctor to see me, I couldn't help noticing all my old friends staring back at me. Lined on the walls and set all over the counter tops were all the products that I used to mindlessly put into bins when I used to work at a health supply company. Since the doctor always takes forever, I decided to get out my sketchbook and draw some portraits of my old pals.

Examination Tools

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Depth Relationships on a 2 Dimensional Surface

It governs everything around us.

It tells us how we see the world.

Even blind people have the ability to see it.

Since it can transcend the eye, everyone can see it differently.

It has a place in art as well as our conscience.

It weighs upon us.

It can shift and change.

It is a master of illusion.

It can be first, second, or third person, or any number of points.

As we grow older we gain more of it.

Sometimes we look to the past to gain a better view of it on our future.

It's the intangible manifestation of one's ideas.

It has laws, but all laws can broken.

But most importantly,

Without it the world as we know it would not exist.

PERSPECTIVE

Perspective is everywhere, it can even change when you put on a cool pair of sunglasses.

Antique Sunglasses

Watercolor

5 x 7 inches

Endangered Species

Why do we love the things we love? Why do we attach ourselves so strongly to things or ideas even when we cannot explain why we do it? Is it possible to love something too much? And in the process, do we knowingly or unknowingly, set ourselves up for our own destruction? Our physiology presents us with these questions we cannot answer beyond the realm of instinct or reason. If history has taught us anything, it is that what we do not understand, we tend to destroy. Maybe it is the misunderstanding of ourselves that causes us to do the things we do or make the choices we make.

Life flies by with meandering intentions and no matter how cruel or unusual they may seem, they happened for a reason. You just have to believe that everything will work out in the end, because it usually does. Someday, all things in life must come to an end, but while one thing withers, there's always another beginning to bloom.

Until it comes, I'll patiently wait for my time to bloom once again.

These are some quick sketches that I sketched the other day at the Field Museum.

Tiger and Rhino

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