Discomedusae

A small piece (5" x 7") inspired by one of my favorite artists, Ernst Haeckel (I suppose William Morris too), done in watercolor on hot press Arches. This is for a gallery show at 3rd Street Gallery in Philadelphia. I've decided this is going to be the style of my children's book I wrote, tentatively called "The Boy Who Lived on Top of the World."

And...my business card!!: 

Done with my Buddha Bear design. It also has my phone # on there, but I blocked it out...pesky web creepers.

Major Ursa #7: Bodhi-Bear

Major Ursa #6: Buddha Bear

Enlightenment achieved.

I've been reading a lot of Zen literature lately. The Zen Experience by Thomas Hoover is free for Kindle download on Amazon!! I think I'll keep with this theme and do Bodhidharma tomorrow.

WIP: Bear Dreams, the Next Major Ursa

Major Ursa #5: Self-Portrait

An old self-portrait I did for the first children's book I ever illustrated.

Major Ursa #4: Snuggle

Little hibernating guys.

Major Ursa #3: Dream Bear

"I have a dream." Happy Martin Luther King Day.

Major Ursa #2: Borealis

Polar bears are my favorite. I read somewhere that sloths are "in" and polar bears are "out" this year. I don't care.

Introducing "Major Ursa"

In order to energize my creativity and develop my style, I've decided to start a daily-drawing project. I've noticed this kind of venture taken up by other artists and illustrators, and it seems to me, if they keep to the task, the pictures progress into a kind of distilled style that's sophisticated and unique. This exercise also seems to cultivate innovative thinking, considering that it forces you to approach the same subject differently each time.

I'm calling my daily-drawing project "Major Ursa" because I've had a major thing for bears ever since I was little, and the family Ursidae is to be my muse. And I thought it'd be funny in a nerdy kind of way to reverse the nomenclature of the constellation. Yes, I know: lame.

Land of Oz

There's no place like home.