Pop Art, Parks and Recreation, and Audrey Hepburn

     Heynow. Things have not been busy with work since my boss has something personal going on so he told me yesterday that I will be slowly transferring to Vaughn & Melton which is a walk away from the office. So hopefully I can get full time there with a higher pay raise. Anyway, since it has been slow I have done some more pop art designs, so lets get started:

Audrey Hepburn

Chuck Norris

Ernest Hemingway

Han Solo

James Bond (Sean Connery)

Ron Swanson

Ron Swanson

Ron Swanson

Rocky

Super Mario Bros. 3

John Wayne

Walter Sobchak from The Big Lebowski 

Walter White from Breaking Bad

The Beatles

Slash of Guns N Roses

Iron Man

Iron Man

Iron Man

Captain America

Captain America

     I have been watching a lot of Parks and Recreation and I love the Ron Swanson character so I've been thinking about doing a wood burning on a piece of wood. The third Ron Swanson image will probably be the image I will burn, so when that happens I will post pictures. I will be doing the Audrey Hepburn design for my girlfriend but it will only be black and white. I liked the Tiffany Blue color so that's what I posted it. Well I guess that's all for now. Later peeps.

Damask Union Jack and Big Ds Redneck Minute

     Heynow! I've been getting into painting and designing graphics. Here are some designs that I've come up with this month, so far:

Damask Union Jack

FOR SALE!

https://www.etsy.com/listing/122830475/damask-union-jack-uk-flag-painting

http://eastky.craigslist.org/art/3597607861.html

Big D's Redneck Minute

A friend of mine knows this guy that is a YouTube personality and he was asking artists to design some t-shirt designs and my friend thought it would be good for me to do a design for him, so here's what I sketched.

Here's his YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/dled11

Gretsch Hollowbody (Unfinished)

Indiana Jones

Harrison Ford

Han Solo

Harrison Ford

Huddie "Leadbelly" Ledbetter

Freddie Mercury

Queen

     That's all I've got for today. I'm not sure what design I'll be putting on canvas yet but I'm sure I'll do the Gretsch Hollowbody. Originally the color was red but I've noticed that painting red doesn't come out great the first time. I don't want to repaint parts, I just wanna do it once and it looks great. 

     Personal Rant: This week has been a hard one for me. Bills coming at the same time such as: rent, utilities, Angel's car insurance, and Angel's car payment (all together about $1000 in one day, this Friday). Along with Angel's car repair and me having an asthma attack and going to the hospital. I hate Angel's car. That thing has caused nothing but troubles. First, when Angel bought the car in Lexington, the car dealership did her a "favor" by letting her take it for the night and then come back in the morning to see if she wanted to buy it. Of course, she compared it to her previous car and liked it. She bought the car and that was it. Later on Angel didn't like it anymore (with high MPG and it being too big) she wanted to trade it for a different vehicle. Apparently, the car had frame damage. The car dealership had "no knowledge of it" because it wan't on the Carfax. There was another company that has a more detailed Carfax and it clearly showed that it had frame damage and that the dealership covered it up. Fast forward to this week, Angel noticed the Rack n Pinion was messing up again so she took it to the mechanic that "fixed it" the first time. The mechanic is located in Lexington (I think the dealership and the mechanic work together), so they arranged a tow truck to pick up Angel and her car and take it to the shop. They said that the car was not suitable to drive there. The mechanic said "We will tow it up, free of change and take a look at it." Apparently there was "nothing wrong with it" and we were charged $343 for the tow since nothing was wrong. ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME!? You said you would look at it, told us it was unsuitable to drive, and you find out NOTHINGS WRONG WITH IT?! and she has to drive it back home! A sixteen year old could tell somethings wrong with it just by taking it for a test drive. So Angel is looking into getting a lawyer and settling this thing once and for all. I just want this thing to go away and have this vehicle blocked out of my mind forever. So with the car and bills, I end up coughing my head off so bad that I had to drive to the hospital where Angel works. I get admitted, get a breathing treatment, get shots, get chest x-ray, and get prescriptions. After all that, I don't have enough money to get $80 worth of prescriptions. I've felt so low this week. Being sick, busting my ass at work, going home and designing and painting, stressing about money, stressing about Angel being okay to drive to work. Angel and I are just trying to make a living and this week is/was a perfect storm of shit. I don't know what gets me by, maybe it's just distractions that keep me busy like designing and painting, but I know that Angel keeps me sane in times like these. She takes on the stress even though I don't want her to. She's my safe house, my security blanket. I'm so glad I have her in my life. I always thought there was no one in the world that would get me and my quirks. I always thought I was gonna be alone for the rest of my life. I am so lucky to have her. We just have different work schedules and we never get to see each other anymore. Luckily, she has every Saturday off this month which is ultra rare and I can't wait for Valentine's Day and the Saturdays we'll have together. I know this rant turned into love thing but that's how life goes really. At rock bottom you appreciate the things you have and that helps you climb to the top. Be appreciative of the loved ones you have. There are some people that don't have those people and they sink lower and lower into the abyss. I think those people are the murderers and criminals that never made that kind of love in their soul. I don't know. I just know that this week has been hard, financially. I've felt like the low man on the totem pole, not being able to afford medicine to make me better. I try to phase it out of my mind and think of the loved ones I have and not take them for granted. I've got a few things planned for Angel on Valentines Day, a scavenger hunt perhaps. I just hope she likes it so that I can see the smile on her face and in her eyes, in the end that is want will make me happy again. Cheers mate, later peeps.

This Year in Designs Review

     Heynow! Okay, a few things has happened since I least left off but here are some pictures of events that has happened.

My fantasy football helmet

Okay I know it's a bit much but at the time I wanted to do something cool and my team name is the "Middlesboro Mudskippers". Of course, Muddy Mudskipper from "Ren and Stimpy" as the mascot in my chosen team colors (New Orleans Saints brown with a darkish, grayish blue) and the spiked circle came from the Miami Dolphins helmet.

Muddy Mudskipper

     Next are some designs that are highly related to the Star Wars symbols that I did a while ago:

Rebel and Jedi Symbol

Rebel and Jedi Symbol with borders

Jedi Symbol inside Rebel Symbol

(I'm thinking of getting a tattoo of this or the original red Rebel symbol)

     Now, I got an email some a guy in Canada that saw my tracings of guitars and wondered if he could use them. I said "Sure" and he also requested a Stratocaster. I did so and emailed it to him. As a gift he laser cut these planks of wood and mailed them to me. These conversations were so light and easy, that I forgot I was getting this but one day they showed up and I've put them on display.

Guitar Planks: (L to R) Above - Fender Stratocaster, Fender Telecaster, Fender Mustang, Fender Jaguar, Gibson Explorer. Below - Gibson Les Paul, Gibson SG, Gibson ES-335, Gibson Firebird.

I framed the guitars on a custom print out design of signature guitar players and their color. I do need to put in glass for the frame since the clear plastic whorps with the wooden planks.

Here is the template background that is framed minus the wooden guitar planks.

     Now on with the paintings. I got back into painting and since I did one and posted it on Facebook, I got a lot of requests again. I'll show you the templates and the story behind it.

John Lennon

John Lennon

I wanted to do the black part red but the paint did not look good so I painted over it in black.

(This painting is still for sale here: https://post.craigslist.org/manage/3459810526)

Bob Dylan

Darkish Blue

Sold to Brittany Avery

Hank Williams

Sold to Brittany Avery

Loretta Lynn

Sold to Brittany Avery

Courtney Love

Sold to Heather Hatfield

Dave Grohl

I tried to get the color "Pelham Blue" because it's the color of Dave's signature guitar.

(This painting is still for sale here: https://post.craigslist.org/manage/3459808703)

     Here are some templates that have yet to be painted, someday:

The Beatles

The Beatles

Nirvana

Nirvana

With the Lights Out Box set cover

     Wow, I've done quite a bit this past year with paintings and designs. Anyway, here are some more links to paintings and other items that I'm selling, if anyone is interested: The Bealtes - Sgt. Peppers Painting, The Bealtes - HELP! Painting, Star Wars - Boba Fett Painting, Star Wars - Darth Vader Painting, Johnny Depp Painting, Drum Dial (Drum Tuner), The Beatles Rock Band Bundle Pack for Wii, PT Cruiser Leather Boot Cover.

     On my personal life, here's the short story: Angel and I are still together and we moved to Barbourville and got a poodle named Sophie. I'm pretty happy when it comes to things but I still need to get over the anxiety of meeting and talking to strangers that later maybe become friends. Oh well, I'll learn somehow. Later peeps.

Old Drawings, now in Techi-Color

     Heynow, it's now 4:11PM and it's been an uneventful day at work. When I found these old drawing I scanned, I figured I would re-draw them and put color to them. Here's the three that I have done.

(New Colored)

I added a base to the heads like if it where a statue.

(Old Drawing from high school)

(New Colored)

(Old Drawing from high school)

(New Colored) This is my favorite one. I like how the colors go together. 

(Old Drawing from college) I remember drawing this one in college. I was in history class and there were two different pictures in the book so I combined them into this picture. I don't remember why they were in the book, it might have been from someones shirt or something.

     I remember drawing a lot when I was in high school and college and now I don't do it that often. I need to draw more. I think that as people age, we learn more than we did in school. That if you really wanted to learn something, you did the research yourself. If I wanted to become an artist using the computer as my paper, I would learn how to do so. I would learn, if there was any kind of problem, I could fix it myself. Sometimes the world can be a tricky place, dealing with paperwork no one understands but it gets the job done (somehow). I don't know. I just keep thinking about college and see that I can do more but the green pieces of paper called money, doesn't allow me to do so. I'm now 26 and I thought to myself while coloring within the lines, that I am getting older and that I don't see those opportunities that I once did see starting out of college. Anyone can go back to college but they have to accept you first and then take your money for services of learning or unlearning. Anyway, I'm just tired of the same old routine. Going to work, working, and going home from work. I don't know what to do. I'll apply to some colleges to see if I can get in and then figure out if I can go. And it's not just me, it's Angel too. We're in this together and I have to look out for her too. So after coloring this, I thought I would post it and not really get into an inner-dialogue about college. Well, there it is. Later, peeps.

I'm With Ralph

     Heynow. I saw an article that Mitt Romney's app mis-spelled "America" and thought it was funny so I made this simple graphic. If the picture has only three words and the most important one is "America" the country you're running for President, you should probably get the word right. Enjoy

Ralph Wiggum - Mitt Romney's Amercia

The Avengers!

     Heynow, it's been a slow work week so today I figured I would do something. Lastnight, Angel and I watched The Avengers. I've been waiting for that movie since Iron Man 1. Anyway, I got an idea to put the faces together with there symbols. Here's a few attempts:

Captain America / Iron Man / Thor / The Incredible Hulk Symbols

Captain America / Iron Man / Thor / The Incredible Hulk Symbols with Faces

Classic comic book

Captain America / Iron Man / Thor / The Incredible Hulk Symbols with Faces

     It's not the best but I'm going to work on it some more and make it into a good graphic and possible tattoo design. I tried to get the heads to scale and to find good straight head on pictures. 

     As a recommendation, you need to see the previous Marvel movies to get the whole story but if you read comics like I do, you'll know the story before the movie. I think it's great but then again I'm a Marvel comic guy and not really into DC. I like Batman, but that's pretty much it. Anyway, loved the movie, I'll keep working on this design and if it's really good and I love it, I'll get it tattooed on me. I love all the characters. Iron man is still probably my favorite one. Well, I guess that's it for now. Later peeps.