 The Artist (Posted 04/25/2005)
I wanted to capture the idea of solving a puzzle by figuring out where things interlocked, jigsaw-like, which is sort of how the cryptogram solver works (when it works). But I like the picture of the artist (it was going to be a critic, but I think the barely-contained pride of the artist comes through, contemplating his vision of how the world fits together). Except that he's a dinosaur. It's genius, I tell you. |
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 Crypto-Vagrant 2 (Posted 03/16/2005)
Revised drawing. The sign says 'Will encrypt text for food'. I like the around-the-corner arrangement better … more interesting, and the expression and posture of the coder is more what I was going for. The left hand isn't working and needs to be re-done. This is a compound drawing ... the coder is a cleaned up drawing from a page of test figures that I inked, cut out, then dropped into the street design on another sheet of bristol board. I cleaned up the resulting scan in Paint. |
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 Crypto-Vagrant 1 (Posted 03/15/2005)
First drawing designed for the cryptogram pages. The sign decodes to 'Will code for food', which actually wasn't what I meant to write … it was an earlier idea that I committed to ink before I caught the mistake. I thought the kid was a little bland, and the pencil he's holding makes him look like he's smiling, at first glance, which he isn't. |
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 Locks for Love (Posted 12/01/2004)
Quick sketch done for the page devoted to Allie's contribution to the 'Locks for Love' charity. See: http://www.vandine.biz/TheNewDo.php
Inked with blue/black ink using my Pilot fountain pen, but converted to black and white with PictureStudio. |
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 Renaissance Dinosaur (Posted 11/30/2004)
My alter-ego. Not only is this my favorite picture for the site home page, but is one of the few drawings I can remember doing wholly in ink ... no preliminary drawing/erasing/swearing phase. Converted to black and white for the home page, but originally executed in blue ink with my Pilot fountain pen. |
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 Stop That Dino (Posted 11/29/2004)
The site's original home image, which still sports the dino half, colored in PaintBrush. Pencils with ink from a black Uniball pen. |
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 My Life as a Programmer (Posted 11/28/2004)
A quick drawing done for an essay which, one reader pointed out, had nothing to do with that particular essay ... another one of those "gotta do something new for the site" rush jobs. So I switched pictures for the essay, finally, but I still like the drawing. |
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 Dino Remote (Posted 11/27/2004)
There is a lot I like about this drawing (pencil and Uniball for ink), but the idea was that he was using the TV remote control, but it usually just looks like he's pointing at something. |
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 Fairy Tale (Posted 11/26/2004)
A few years ago I read and really liked "Jack of Kinrowan" by Charles deLint (highly recommended ... I haven't found a deLint book to date not worth the read). I tried a number of semi-modern fairy drawings at the time, none of which really came together, but I haven't given up trying. |
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 How Do You Draw a Monkey? (Posted 11/25/2004)
Seems like it should be so easy. I wanted a picture to go with the Primordial Quiz essay (monkeys at typewriters ... it actually fits, trust me). The trick is in not believing that the face is that important ... I think the arms and ears sell it, if anything does (and yes, I should have spent more time on the typewriter). |
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 Critics (Posted 11/24/2004)
The second picture done for the site's home page. I thought my character worked out overall, but the dino critic is a little forced. I also tried coloring it in PaintBrush, which made it a little brighter, but not a net gain on the artistic experience. I'm still searching for a tool that makes adding coloring and shading a more pleasant experience. Coloring and then scanning may be the only option, but at photo density, the scans show stray lines and erasures as vibrantly as anything else in the picture. |
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 In the Egg (Posted 11/23/2004)
I don't really remember what this is for. I think it is an obscure reference to something I once learned from one of those low-budget sci-fi movies we'd watch on Saturday afternoon TV in the 60s ... that it is easier to kill a dinosaur while it is still in the egg. When I was 9, this was simple practical advice which I planned to use should I ever emerge in the Land Before Time while wandering around the woods of Western Pennsylvania. Now that I'm older, I use it as a metaphor for solving problems early, while they are still manageable. |
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 Knight Erring (Posted 11/22/2004)
There was a brief interval in the 80s when I explored the idea of setting up a freelance illustration business, and I think this was a design for the business card representing that business. |
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 Surprise Party 1 (Posted 11/21/2004)
One of two images for a surprise party from 1985, done for a friend from work (the party was for her Dad and had a Western theme ... sometimes you just have to play the cards you are dealt.)
There is something wrong with the Indian's head (although I like the Mohawk). Maybe it's that, having spent his arrow and seeing that the other guy has a gun, I can't figure out what he has to smile about. |
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 Surprise Party 2 (Posted 11/20/2004)
Second of the two surprise party drawings from 1985. |
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 Anniversary (Posted 11/19/2004)
Picture for a 25th Wedding Anniversary party for family friends, done in the late 80s. Cupid (yes, Cupid) is the Ref standing on the 25th yard line ... which isn't actually marked on a football field, but bear with me. The couple met in high school when he was a player on the football team and she a cheerleader. |
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 Christmas Card 1 (Posted 11/18/2004)
For a few years we created our own Christmas cards, which seemed clever at the time. The 'Mark' side of this drawing worked out but the 'Carol' side looks rushed and I feel lucky, even now, that the vase she is holding isn't hurled at my head. |
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 Christmas Card 2 (Posted 11/17/2004)
Another of our Christmas cards. I like this one a lot and am impressed about the moon as backdrop, which I think was a first for me at the time. I wonder what the recurring symbol of the toppling Christmas packages represents? |
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 Road Race 1992 (Posted 11/16/2004)
Pencil drawing submitted for the 1992 Hingham (MA) Road Race, always held on July 4th, hence the Uncle Sam iconography. I will ink this one of these days … I thought the drawing came out really well. |
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 Project manager (Posted 11/15/2004)
The "Project Manager Dinosaur" was a hurry-up sketch for one of the project management essays. The hourglass just would not work. The dino did, although the left foot is a hack job. The body language and the eyes worked out pretty well. |
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 Shaking Off the Signs (Posted 11/14/2004)
Sketched during a Red Sox game this past summer (2004). |
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