Old Sketches: A Year of Little Inspiration

` Note: These sketches start here.

` In anticipation that the traffic will pick up on this blog, I'll continue my sketchbook story for all to see:

` After that almost-exciting (and very non-relaxing) trip to Vegas, my drive to put pencil to sketchbook suffered horribly. Until October of the next year, there were only three points of inspiration:

` On 28 July 1999, we Ohioans had a bit of a windstorm: The front of the house where my childhood playmates had once lived had had a bit of a run-in with the tree out front.
` (It's easier to view once you've clicked on it....)

` One can tell how bored I'd become with drawing, however, as evidenced by my very next sketch: It wasn't for an entire month later until I went to West Virginia and attempted to draw the view from my Aunt Joyce's front bay window.
` It's supposed to be my Uncle Dusty's house and the farm, though I quickly became bored and let my whims determine the rest of the picture. (Notice the Canada goose from the airplane window sketch.)

` In fact, this lack of enthusiasm was so pronounced that between my very next drawings, one can see the span of time from page to page - they're dated almost a year apart!


` On the 8 November, 1999 page, I had attempted a kind of 'perception of another universe', which had my brain swimming in spatial axes that didn't exist. Not able to draw what I was thinking of, I put down my sketchbook until 8 October, 2000!
` It was apparently after my first stay at Phil's dorm, which was nice because I hadn't seen him for some time.
` This was when I was trying to distract myself from the fact that my dad had stolen every personal work I possessed - though curiously, he had forgotten my sketchbook. I watched a lot of television, starting with Duckman. Why, I don't know. It was a screwy show.
` As usual, I tried to get into whatever I saw on TV by drawing it, though this was the first time I'd ever used my sketchbook for this purpose, plus I had never before drawn cartoon characters from the screen.
` This was soon to become a habit, actually....

` First, though, want to know something weird? I'd actually known about Duckman for years because my dad had allowed me to watch it with him when I was only twelve years old! The thing is, in the year before that, he screamed at me if I tried to watch kids' shows like Salute Your Shorts, and he also didn't like children's cartoons like Rugrats.
` I'm serious! Gosh, what's so bad about Rugrats? (Besides the fact that they used the same crappy artwork as in Duckman?)

` I guess the reason for Jerry's attitudes is that anything's okay with him if it's his idea...

` Meh, sorry for ranting. Weird, though, huh? Well, I'd better go. I'll have more sketches up when I get back to Rainhomish County, fix my computer, and get it on the internet.
` Oh, and before I forget: My friend Rhonda bought me a 'crummy little' digital camera for the sole purpose of taking pictures of things and posting them on the web. Expect some so-so photographs in the future!