Design software: Stud.io by Bricklink

Build materials: LEGO bricks

Location: Spring Hill, TN

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For a competition hosted by McKay's Used Books in Nashville, TN, I designed and built my own creation (MOC).  It’s a fully posable octopus model wherein all 8 tentacles can be moved to any position.  The body has some limited movement as well, allowing it to sit (as below) or be posed like it’s swimming. Posed like it’s swimming, it is 17” long and 3” wide. It is made of 530 pieces, none rare or hard to find.  This was designed in the Stud.io software from Bricklink.com.

Cartoon Materials: graphite, large format paper

Flag Materials: Colored Resist, Dye-na-flow silk dye, medium weight silk

Location: Antioch, TN

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For a time I was part of the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA) and the focus of my research with this educational non-profit was in Medieval flags.  Over time I had two types of flags I would make, proper historical flags (few as they were time consuming and expensive) and display flags (modern techniques, but historical designs).  This is one of the last display flags I created.  3 feet wide and 18 feet long, made with silk and dye, this is a style of flag called a Standard that could only be flown by Peers of the Crown during the High Middle Ages.  As in the middle ages though, the initial drawing (the cartoon) was drawn on paper and then transferred to the fabric to be painted.  Drawing such a large scale image by hand takes almost as long as the painting process.  The modern technique for painting the flag though consists of using resist, a thick ink that prohibits the flow of dye, to outline the areas and then painting each cell with dye in one go to prevent lines from when the dye dries.  Some areas take multiple coats of dye for the right depth of color.

Photographed: 35mm B&W film

Developed: 8x10 Multigrade Photography Paper

Location: Fairview, TN

 

The final photo in a set exploring the remains of a family farm in Williamson County, Tennessee.  This image in particular is of the wide and shallow Wild Cat Creek that runs between the rolling, forested hills behind the barn and shelters still used by livestock that wanders this far back into the property.  The image was taken to capture the serene beauty the back woods of Tennessee, a place rarely seen by those who didn’t grow up nearby. 

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The image was hand developed from their Nikon 35mm camera film.

 

An artist’s note about the image is that a false spring had turned cold, leaving the creek ironically warmer than the air around.  After trekking in the creek bed for a mile to find the right view, and then back up to the new farm house, the artist found they had almost gotten frostbite due to the cold water and colder air.  “Worth it.”

Materials: Acrylic paint on finished drywall

Location: Antioch, TN

 

After a few years of painting murals in children’s rooms, the artist was presented with the opportunity to paint one for his own child.  Drawing on the mutual love of these classic characters by the client (my wife) and the artist (me) a theme was chosen.  The design and layout were hand crafted by the artist with some reference to the styles presented classic book illustrations. 

 

This work was considered to be one of the best children’s murals done by the artist, while also being an established footnote in the growth of their artistic skillsets.  The production of the mural incorporated a few new techniques to the artist, such as color washing and the removal of outlines to lessen the cartoonish quality of past murals.  Each work in an artist’s history should be another step forward in their skills as well as a proving of their advancing technique.  This shows one stepping stone to the artist’s current skills.

Photographed: Nikon D70s Digital SLR

Data: f/11, 1/400 exposure, 35mm length

Location: Tracy Arm Fjord, Alaska

 

While on an Alaskan Cruise, we had the good fortune to be able to go down the Tracy Arm Fjord.  The day was cold, but the sights were beautiful.  While no whales or other fauna were frolicking about, the natural landscape was beautiful all the same.