The First Time

Orange skies - Arthur Lee and Love

4B pencil on paper

Calbalog City 2024

Sometimes, there is a moment when the drawing comes alive..

Like magic. Like life itself. Fragile magic.

Sometimes just one more line and the drawing dies.

A young woman with bangs

8B pencil and finger rubbing

Calbayog City 2024

Bangs make me weak at the knees.

I keep tinkering with this drawing. This is where its at now.

Here's the initial sketch

So very lonely

Black sharpie on paper

Los Angeles 2016

De Kooning once said, "In order for art to work the finished piece needs to at least look better than the original blank canvas."

I think de Kooning said that.

Maybe I imagined it.

In that case I said it.

I don't know.

The Rolling Stones- 2000 Lightyears from home

"Space is where you let go, not where you hold on" - Alan Watts

Yesterday, Sean, my 8 yo son, asked me:

"Dad, what's more believable, a jellyfish or a unicorn?"

I love it when he asks me things like that.

Space time and jellyfish

Pen drawing

Chicago 2004

Simple life

pencil drawing on paper

Calbayog City 2024

Everywhere I look in the Philippines there are women holding young children. It's so beautiful.

Some thoughts:

I had an art teacher once who told me to work fast. So I work fast. When I draw it's a battle between the pencil and the eraser. I draw and erase and draw and erase. What's left on the page is "the drawing." I had another art teacher once who said "I like to draw a lot of lines because I know at least one of them will be right." I think about that when I draw.

pencil drawing on paper

Calbayog City 2024

Mommy outside the store yesterday

pencil drawing on paper

Calbayog City 2024

Day to day living

pencil drawing on paper

Calbayog City 2024

pencil drawing Calbayog City 2024

Pencil drawing Calbayog City 2024

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Nothing else matters - Metallica

Pencil drawing

Calbayog City 2024

I know I used this song just two posts ago but seriously folks, this song talks to me.

About this drawing.

I tinkered with this drawing all day today and it's not finished, but I am, so here's where it ends.

Not unlike a couple of relationships I've had.

once ago

black sharpie in my moleskine

Hollywood, 2017

I drew this at work between clients.

Kendrick Lamar - LOVE (feat. Zacari)

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Early mornings

black sharpie and water color

Westwood 1986

Let me try to explain myself.

When I was a young man I loved illustration.

Perhaps the two illustrators who had the greatest influence on me were Aubrey Beardsley and Jean Giraud aka Moebius. Both artist drew with a fine line and I tried to emulate that.

Here's an old drawing of mine.

pencil drawing

Venice CA 1978

So back then I saw myself as an illustrator.

Then sometime around 1980 I was introduced to Abstract Expressionism and I had an epiphany...

Could I approach Abstract Expressionism with an illustrator's line?

A new world opened up to me and I started having fun with my drawing.

And then, for about 35 years I never drew an identifiable object.

No joke.

Still Life

black sharpie

Westwood 1985

Attitude Adjustment

pen, colored pencil and watercolor

Duarte CA 1996

Time never began

black sharpie on bond paper

San Francisco 2003

Dan's drawing

black sharpie

Rosemead 2011

i did a lot of these drawings. And I really enjoyed making them. For over thirty years I completely liberated myself from the rigors of drawing something that had to look like something. And I loved it. But then...

Sometime around 2015 I returned to illustration. Why? I'll be honest with you, I started to miss it.

Call it full circle but that's where I'm at now.

I still treasure my line though.

little boxes

black sharpie on paper

Los Angeles 2019

Thank you Aubrey and Jean.

Aubrey Beardsley

Jean Giraud aka Moebius

Meanwhile, far away

Checking out the piggery

Mano Chao - Minha Galera

My life has been a random path governed by a combination of occational planning, frequent accidents, and unexpected surprise parties.

My life has been a random path that has ultimately lead me to the deep provinces of the Philippines. Here I live, with my family, an unknown artist, gone native.

pen & colored pencil, calbayog, 2024

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love hate

colored pencil & pen, calbayog, 2025

I gave up on this drawing, and then I liked it.

Well, I liked the blue part. To me, the entire drawing is there just to make the blue part look good.

And it does.

Then again, the red and yellow parts are nice too..

Everything in life comes down to red, yellow and blue. And browns.

It was my brother who pointed out to me that browns bring out color.

Which is true, on several levels.

I love this song by the way.

Manenberg Revisited - David Williams

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