love ya ma!

wool over your eyes

next time you think somethings is to good to be true, well,, it is.

While I was traveling two huge storms hit Seaside back to back. The rain soaked everything and then the wind knocked down tons of trees, We lost power for a week and had much damage all around. Our illustrious president even declared the Oregon coast in a state of emergency. The largest Sitka Spruce in North America was ripped in half and fell. The spruce was less than 10 miles from our home and had already sustained lots of damage over the years. Al and I went and saw it a couple months back. Above is a picture I took of it. You can see a huge gash that the tree received after getting struck by lighting a few years ago. I guess the tree was on its way out, but its still a shame to see it go.

I just got back from a trip half way cross country. I was helping my friends Joe and Rachel, move from Portland to Ashville, NC. The plan was to ride with them all the way but we hit everything possible to slow us down. I ended up ditching them in Denver and flying back to PDX for a job. It was a crazy adventure and I sure wish I could have stayed with them all the way. Their still on the road now and last I heard they were in Oklahoma. We took a couple days off in Colorado to go skiing. On our last day driving to the mountain we came across cattle being herded down the highway. It must have been 500 cows at least, what a sight.

AbstractLand




I realize I can apply my methodology used for the Woodland Creatures to just about anything. Above I've used an Abstract Art Book as inspiration for these characters.

So, I've had a few days at the house with not much work and figured I'd start up on the woodland creatures again. Although this is technically not one of my best I like the subject matter and wanted to assure all one of my trusted viewers that I have not given up on my newest theme. This here is, in my eyes, a squid versus a monkey. It's all in the eye of the beholder though.

To prove that even my mother doesn't read this blog, I've decided to post her christmas present on it. Well, it's the first sketch of what I plan to paint, her dog sophie. I only did this one drawing before I started painting. I thought it came out so well I went ahead and started paint'in. I'll post a pic of the painting soon, I'm very pleased with the results thus far.

I created this test movie for the project I just finished with Wieden + Kennedy. This piece wasn't used, but I was testing out methods to show developing drawings. This process involved scanning the drawing in intervals and then sequencing the scans in after effects. This process was ruled out, because the time it took to produce the movie was far to long. In the end we set up a digital camera above a light box and shot photos of the drawings in progress. I'm really happy with the way the project turned out and will be submitting it to the blog very soon.

Stillin pdx for another week er so. Then its off to San Fran, for my B-day. Not much personal drawin these days. Lots of work and work related draws. Cool stuff, I'll post when the deal is done.

GO TRIBE!

I am the Kenny Lofton of Broadcast Design.

Wolf Land



I've been back in portland for the las few days, working. Crazy busy this week, not much time for woodland creatures. Here's one though, I did last week. I was sitting at Vita Cafe (which has amazing raw wood booths) and I saw this gem sitting across the table from me. One of the best yet.

Woodland Creature 3



I'm still getting inspiration from that table. This one, I've sketched several times, but don't think I've quite got it. Above is the best example so far. I'm starting to experiment with color and line quality techniques. The more of them I draw, the further distorted and foreign they are becoming. Still, more to come.

Tillamook Head Trail






Earlier this week Al and I went on a hike over Tillamook Head Trail. It's a huge oceanfront promontory that separates Seaside and Cannon Beach. Absolutely one of the most beautiful hikes I've ever been on. Super green lush rain forest and right next to you, the Pacific Ocean. The trail takes you over the mount and next to cliffs a thousand feet above the water. About half way there's this sweet camp ground with little hut type cabins, a huge covered picnic table and a really nice fire pit. I really wanna stay a night up there once it starts to warm up again. Just a quater mile or so from the campsite you get a great view of the Tillamook Rock Lighthouse. The lighthouse has an amazing history and seems surreal. How anybody managed to build it let alone live in the thing is unimaginable.

From there its another 3.5 miles to Indian Beach. Another beautiful spot with ocean rock and huge waves covering the landscape. The beach is a haven for surfers and we sat at a bench for quite some time just to view them catching the waves. We underestimated the distance to Cannon Beach where we planned to catch the bus back to Seaside. It was another mile to crescent beach and then another mile and a half of road to Cannon Beach. By the end we were exhausted but it was well worth it.

doing a couple dawg paint'ins for the holiday season. Sketch of Lula Bear. Doubt I'll use this pose but I was really trying to nail his expression. It's all about the eyes with him, I've realized.



Another woodland creature. I think it looks like a cat, allie thinks its a pig. Guess it's open to interpretation. That table was the best 15 bucks we've ever spent. I've still got many more creatures to pull from it.

continuing with the wood inspired theme, three more woodland creatures. This time I grabbed a piece of drift wood from the beach and sketched it several times. These three show very different observations of the same piece of drift wood.

Woodland Creature 2

I really love these drawings, especially this one. I'm gonna go right out and do a few more.

side note: next time I'm in portland I've got to get me some new sketch pads. This paper from walgreen's is one step up from toilet paper.

Woodland Creature 1



We bought a wood table at a garage sale last week. It has the best grain running across the top. I've started a couple drawings based on the shapes made by the woodgrain. Here's the first. I've always wanted to start a series like this and hope that it will inspire a few more studies of this sort.

A couple of recent drawings. The first was inspired by a slice of lemon floating on water in a glass. The lemon looked like upper jaw teeth while the seeds at the bottom reminded me of a couple scraggly lower jaw teeth. After I did it, I realized how much it looks like master shake. I guess all that time at radical is starting to spew through my subconscious.

The second is another concept sketch for an up coming animation. It started out as a dog on a bike but kinda evolved into this strange creature standing on a bike crank. It's a unusual drawing but I really like it.

In my never ending quest to own every bike ever made, I've purchased yet another bicycle. This little number is an American Flyer with a body style very reminiscent of the classic Schwinn Stingray. I saw it for $20 at a garage sale last weekend and couldn't pass it up. Now comes the long process of cleaning off all the rust and coming up with a name for it.

life at the beach

Filmed by Bike revisited


This year I'm getting a head start on my Filmed by Bike entry. I've got some really good ideas for the next animation. I don't want to give away to much, but I will say that I'll be animating this one in 2d, on paper, as crudely as possible. Its gonna be great! Above are two concept drawings I did to get the creative juices flowing.

I also have another animation in the works, but that one is so top secret I don't even want to share any sketches yet. Stay tuned.

I'm turning into a goonie. That's right, I'm moving to the coast of oregon to pursue my life long dream of finding buried treasure with a bunch of preteen miscreants. Really, my girlfriend allie got a job down in cannon beach, and we're renting a beach house down there. I'll be commuting a bit for work (its 80ish miles west of portland), but this is definitely a welcome change. I love pdx but sometimes it can be overwhelming. There is so many fun things to do and great people to meet, but it's been tough getting steady work. I'm doing a thorough review of all my options. I've also been sketching a lot and have some good ideas for two new animation shorts I'll be working on this coming year.

if you only check out one new blog this week make sure its Dizmal's. He's the heir to the craziest bicycling clowns that ever lived. They have an amazing story, with an undecided end. Check them out.

Da Dingo Dizmal Digest

My buddy Joe and I put together a ride to the midnight premiere of the simpsons movie. The ride was great and we actually convinced a few people to go. I liked the movie, I laughed a lot but don't remember any points that really struck me as outstanding. I'll have to watch it again when I'm a little more sober. Anybody else see it?

viva le TOUR!




I love this race, and if it takes extreme measures, as the tour has suffered this year, to return this sport to a respectable place then so be it. We should not be calling for the death of this beloved institution rather, embracing all those who still ride on and are proud to say they are dope free. My hats of to those riders. Lets keep riding.
-C

Do you see what happens, Larry?



When the tooth of a chain ring goes into your ankle. This is the second time in a month that I've suffered from this injury. The first time the chain ring dug into my shin. This time was a little deeper and very bloody. Heed my warning, when trying to stop a bicycle weighed down with a heavy load, don't expect you foot to stop you.

Vinokourov's Astana team manager Marc Biver. "He'll go to his limit and will die on the bike if he has to. He'll do everything to stay in the Tour."

I Love This Guy!-C

Pedalpalooza 2007
I introduced The Black Bomber, my newest bike, during the festivities. Unbelievably fun! Below I've posted pictures from the Multnomah County Bike Fair, the finally of two weeks of bike rides, workshops, and madness.

black bomber pictured to the right

amazing Triplane bike

I thought about trying the figure 8 derby but knew the competition was fierce.

Tall bike jousting was awesome. I don't know how they stay on the bikes.

Team Green. Joe won gold in the Pie Joust Competition.