Bird 8: American Crow
Bird 8: American Crow
Many birds very common to New York fall into the recognized nuisance category. These birds, like the pigeon, the sparrow and the gull, are at times nearly invisible to the average person. Many of us only notice these common birds when they are actively in our way or bothering us in some way. Studying and drawing these birds in great detail has given me a greater respect for them - probably the feeling I had when I was younger and didn’t have any bird-stories yet; about how this one did this yucky thing, or wouldn’t move because it’s superdumb. They really are pretty incredible, even the American Crow, the dogged black sheep of the bird world. This marks the half way point for the Common Birds of Brooklyn poster. Phew, more to come.
More Posts from Austineustice and Others
Been working on early stages of an ABC book. All pretty goofy alliteration with some fun animals. Twenty six is a lot of letters...
Hello all! I make music under the moniker Prescription Strength Hugs and have been doing so for a whole lot of years. I've decided to put out a compilation collecting tracks from the first four EPs I made during 2005-2007. There is some good stuff in here, some rougher stuff but it's all the stuff that's made me who I am as a maker today. All instruments played and songs written by me. Hope you enjoy! Take a look at the newly set up Bandcamp page to download this puppy for free (but don't let that stop you from spending copious amounts of digi-cash on it). Thanks.
<a href="http://prescriptionstrengthhugs.bandcamp.com/album/introductory-reader" data-mce-href="http://prescriptionstrengthhugs.bandcamp.com/album/introductory-reader">Introductory Reader by Prescription Strength Hugs</a>
Graphic Booklet: Rough Pages
The comic I’ve been working on is now completely written and roughly drawn/laid out. Here are two rough pages. The paper I used for the rough version is so thin I can erase from the other side of the page. This stems for a long-standing issue with commitment and drawings being worth good paper or not. Suffice to say, I’ll get over it for the final and get some non tissue paper. Expecting the whole thang to be complete by the end of the month!
My sister has this dog named Mabel, she's a real piece of work (the dog). I made this for her (my sister).
My Year In Bicycles
I’d say my cycling enthusiasm level is now “avid.” It’s been about a year of serious riding for me (or since I was convinced to take my roommate’s 80s Schwinn road bike after he left for another coast of America). The bike was impossibly small for me and he’d kept anything related to comfort free of what he called the bi-cycle (top right). I believe the frame was 51cm, with a plastic seat (I have to call them saddles now that I’m avid), and awful, bare drop handlebars. These words may mean little to you - simply put, the bike was a pain in the ass. And hands. And back. But, I speak of the bike in an ungrateful tone, which is completely the opposite tone I’d like to be speaking of it in. The bicycle was my entry into the mania that now permeates my everyday life. I returned the borrowed mountain bike (top left) I’d had for several years (having ridden it a handful of times [which was also far too small for me]) and set out every late-spring day on that little red beast to try to get my confidence up riding in the city. I’m getting ahead of myself however, I had to ride every day just to learn how to deal with something so foreign. The first time on a road bike is extremely unnerving and seems wrong - the way a lot of things you’ve never done and go against your basic human understanding of ‘how the world should work’ feel wrong. Two skinny inline wheels should not stay upright, especially when adding a skittery, lanky 140 pounder on top. Once you’ve given into the magical psuedo-science keeping a paper thin bike upright, you have to deal next with the posture a classic road bike thrusts you into. Riding on the top of drop bars is not comfortable, especially for a person with wide shoulders and lanky arms (me, I’ve already mentioned my lank) - but what’s worse is the leap of faith you must take to enter the lower part of the curved drop handlebar. If flashes of your face grating against the sidewalk don’t instantly pop into your mind, you’re a brave person with a brain problem.
Suffice it to say, I learned to ride the bicycle without too many issues - and through daily riding and an ever increasing interest in how the parts worked, I was well on the way to my present compulsion, need, and desire for all things bi-cycle. After taking the Schwinn to a bike shop and complaining of outrageous back pain, I was told the bicycle was about 4 sizes too small for me. They set me up on a monstrously large bike and it fit and was a revelation to my atrophying back. So I got a new bike (not pictured) and donated the Schwinn to a friend who still rides it lovingly to this day. My new bike was a low-end fixed gear that was promptly stolen after 3 months of use outside a bagel shop. I hope someone is enjoying it (or its various stripped-off parts) - I did, for the short time I rode it as it gave me a brief but thorough look into the world of fixies - a dangerously associative world I may not have escaped if my ride hadn’t gotten jacked. Despite thinking not all that highly of the New York fixed-gear order, I got another fixed-gear bicycle (bottom left) - but a nice, proper one. It was not long before I threw a freewheel on there though, and indulged myself a little coasting. The rest of My Year In Bicycles involves a lot of conversing with my old roommate who bequeathed the Schwinn to me about bicycle parts, trips we’ll take, and bicycles we need to buy. We’ve both begun a small collection at 2 a piece with a 5 bike plan in the works. My latest acquisition is an old French road bike (bottom right) from the mid 70s that I rescued from a Salvation Army and cleaned, painted and rebuilt as a fairly faithful restoration. I’ve begun training on this monster for a long trip myself and the Scwhinn’s original master are planning. I will always think very fondly of that little bicycle and the awfully wonderful time I had riding it.
Continuing the 2015 calendar project, this month is Akira! Again. Just a very important comic (to me and recipient of all these cal pages!). Did lots and lots of texture on this bad boy and bloomy light effects (new to my work stuff). Different styling and very pleased with the outcome. More comin’.
Some watercolor doodles. Bad Boy Stare Down.
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