Original Art Sundays No. 157: Sketchbook: Swipe Files

My jury duty has finally ended and I will be posting about it soon.
The next page of Surrealist Cowgirls is closer, closer, closer to completion and scanning.
Meanwhile, here is another batch of themed sketchbook images.
These are from the same sketchbook as the preceding batch, but the uniting theme here is different. These are all works drawn from reference.
I have not shared these with anyone until now.
Again, this was a very fertile period for me. While my personal life was in shambles, my confidence in, and skill in, my art was growing by leaps and bounds. This may have been a posture of defiance (the one thing that could not taken from me at the time). Or it could have been just a way to keep my mind off my situation.
Whatever the reason, while these have their flaws, there is something to recommend each of them. As cases in point, the Pyle study is in large part an experiment in single direction hatch, and the Spike Lee piece is an attempt to draw in pure shadow- as few lines as possible.
Here they are for your perusal and enjoyment.

Fortune's Friends by Colleen Doran, composition inspired by cover, #4 pencil

Figure study from Burne Hogarth, #4 pencil

Study from Burne Hogarth, #4 pencil

Face study from Kaluta/Russ Heath Shadow book,
#4 pencil and marker

Accidental color version of Kaluta/Heath piece.
The marker chemicals embedded on the page
facing the original sketch,
and created purple and yellow tones on their own!

J. Noel Paton copy, #4 pencil

Howard Pyle copy, graphite stick and green ballpoint pen.
Pyle has been a personal favorite since childhood!

Spike Lee, #4 pencil sketch off TV, probably from The Actor's Studio

Next week: either jury sketches or the Cowgirls page.

Original Art Sundays No. 156: Sketchbook: SF scenes

Jury duty and reduced scanner access continue to hamper the conclusion of the Surrealist Cowgirls story (I anticipate 3 -5 pages for completion of the current story). However, it appears that my commitment to the jury will end this week (though there's no way of knowing for sure).
In the interim, here are some more sketchbook pieces. These are from the same volume as last week's Omaha work, again circa 1992.
Inspired by the recent and largely ignored demise of SF great Jack Vance, whose adaptation of his story The Moon Moth made my Best Comics of 2012 list, these are SF themed sketches. I stubbornly refuse to use the term "sci-fi", though I know it's a losing, if not lost, battle.
In doing these, I was influenced by Kelly Freas and James Pitre (the latter for emotional content more than style- for the sleek stuff I don't mind Vallejo, but prefer Julie Bell). I don't pretend to be in the same league as these folks, but that's where my inspirations lie.
Next week: either more sketches or the next page: the jury is out (literally) on which!

Alien Landscape 1, #4 pencil, marker
and metallic marker

Klingon, #4 pencil and metallic marker

Vulcan Romance, critter looking on,
#4 pencil

Alien Kitty, #4 pencil

Original Art Sundays No. 155: Sketchbooks: Omaha the Cat Dancer, 1993

Next page of Surrealist Cowgirls is still evolving. I may take a day and finish it next weekend.
Always wrestling with the fine line between taking my time to do it right and just dinking around!
Meanwhile, some older sketchbook stuff.
In 1992-1993, I was living with a man who was, ahem, less than pleasant much of the time. I've talked about this in the past and will not rehash, other than to provide context here.
During this time, I found solace in healthy eating and in exercise (I lost over 30 pounds, and when I next saw Reed, he said I was too thin- something nobody else has ever said to me, before or since!) and in my art. I couldn't tell the stories I wanted to tell, since my actions were being closely scrutinized and obsessively criticized, but I filled several sketchbooks. He didn't seem to mind what I sketched too much.
These are all from one sketchbook from that period.
Though these clearly have their flaws, there are many things about them I find pleasing. The anatomy is still lacking in many places, but there's an energy and attitude to them I like to this day.
These were random in the sketchbook. I tried many things artistically during this time, some of which I may post later.
But given that Reed and James Vance recently completed the Omaha storyline, and that Reed may be attending San Diego this year to promote the final volume, this seems as good a time as any to post these.
I'll post a review and final thoughts on Omaha at year's end.
Enjoy!

Marker sketch

Marker and #4 pencil

Metallic marker

Marker and #4 pencil

Marker

Marker (no tail!)

Pencil & marker w/notes