Art show at Cherry Sprout!

"J. Titus Bloemkamp and his trusty sidekick Mr. Marvelous first met on the transoceanic ship, the "Bellerophon," where they spent a choppy winter stowing away below decks beneath sacks of potatoes . . ."

Come out to Cherry Sprout to see the opening of my new show "Family Portraits" featuring work from the last year as well as stories by myself and Aaron Greyson of San Diego.

This event is in conjunction with Cherry Sprout's "Celebration of Love" in the park next door featuring the musical stylings of

The J.E. Love Company
The Original Duke of Hominy
Alan Singley
Pillow Fight
Larry Yes and the Tangled Mess
and Blake the Singing Sensation.

Music, art, sun, fruit, drinks, and anthropomorphized characters. What more could you want?

Cherry Sprout is located at 722 N. Sumner St., Portland, OR 97217. Right off Albina between N. Killingsworth and N. Alberta St.

Uncle Arnold

Here's a portrait of my Uncle Arnold from a picture that was probably taken in the mid-80s. He was an awesome painter and ceramicist, and sadly was lost to skin cancer about 20 years ago. Although I was very young at the time, I have fond memories of visiting his art studio/converted warehouse in Berkeley,CA and seeing his art. His work was gestural and figurative, serious and funny at the same time, and I still think of him as an inspirational figure in my life and in my work. He's missed by many.

Thievery!

This wasn't the face that I made when I found out my backpack had been stolen out of my car last Thursday, but it sure could have been. As some of you know I've been in a bit of a funk the last week due to this theft which included both of my primary sketchbooks, art materials, one of a kind reference photos, post cards, my ipod and headphones, and a library book of the adventures of Baron Munchausen. I'm feeling a bit better than I did and making a real effort to stay on the positive side of things. Here's a list of positive things to come out of this situation:

1. While my stuff was being stolen I was seeing an awesome concert. The thief did not get to see this concert, therefore is eternally bummed.
2. Since I post everything on this blog there's only a handful of drawings I hadn't scanned yet, so at least I still have a record of the images lost. (though I am sad I won't get to share the ones I was working on with you folks)
3. I'll have to get a new ipod which will most likely be infinitely superior to my old one. Joke's on you thief!
4. Maybe the thief will be turned on to some awesome music from my ipod which will change him forever.
5. It's always nice to be reminded the uncertainty of life and to not put too much importance on possessions, even artwork. There will be many more drawings in my lifetime no doubt, even better than the ones I lost.

The worst part is just that feeling of violation. The feeling you get in the pit of your stomach, and all those lingering questions. When exactly did he take it? Where is my stuff now? If I had parked on a different street would it still have happened?



Well, enough dwelling on it. Time to move on to BIGGER and BETTER things!

Oh dear, what a colorful mustache!

Here's a first pass with color. For this one I just set some values down in a burnt sienna to "set the stage" for what's to come in the future. I'm having fun with this one so far and it's nice working with a new medium. Especially one that's so hard to control. I'd still like to get looser and more spontaneous with my work. Maybe I'll do another version of this once I'm done with this one without the pen marks.

Self Portrait with Mustache

Here's the bare bones of what will become a watercolor painting I'm doing of myself. Right now I'm too tired to post any more. More to come tomorrow.

"Thank you for that breeze. It is quite cooling on my mustache"

These cats were contestants in the European Beard and Mustache Championship. I think you can see why. Thanks Lauren!

Caterpillar

I'm really enjoying this series of old timey portraits with insects. I wonder how far I can take it. My brother says these two look like a duo of sorts. I invite anyone who is willing to make up names and a backstory for these two. Best one wins. You can submit via comment or by emailing to dailysketch17@gmail.com

Purple

Purple mustache sneak a sketch. Man, I'm running out of material.

Yellow

Nobody calls him yellow. NOBODY.

Let me know what you think about the new look of the blog. For those of us who fear change I tried to keep it as close to the old design as possible, while making it more streamlined and professional looking. Your comments are welcome!