Sketch Crawl

A few months back I went to an art show for Ronnie Del Carmen and Enrico Casarosa. There I learned about the sketch crawl they have. It is like a pub crawl, only drawing: ALL DAY.

The Second World Wide Sketch Crawl was the next day. I met them in Union Square then spent the day wandering with somewhere around 30 artists drawing everything in sight. Wee whooo!

I've meant to post some results for awhile. They are now below.

Since last session:

* Drinks: 3-ish. Just with dinners.

* Read: Cecil Beaton's Diaries, 1922-1933 The Wandering Years: hhhh
First hand account of the life of one of 20th Centuries most celebrated fashion Photographers. A likeable snob's journey of success and a fascinating caricature of the artists and socialites of the twenties and thirties. Beaton spends days with crowds as diverse as Greta Garbo and Fred Astaire to Picasso and Gertrude Stein, to the King and Queen of England. All the while more concerned with what flowers he has purchased for his flat and how fashionably dressed he is.
The only fault of the The Wanderings Years is the lack of any romances of the protagonist. Heartache is mentioned once or twice but never elaborated upon. Perhaps one did not admit to being quite so gay in the 1930's.

* Watched: Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy hh Eh. I recall these books being extremely witty. They either dumbed them down for the screen, or it's cause I was 12 when I read them.

* Listened to: The Unicorns, Who will cut our hair when we are gone? hhhh Just like a pudding pop, this record is sloppy and sweet. The best use of a penny whistle ever.

* Cockney Slang of the day: Oliver Twist= Pissed (drunk)

Far East Gifts

FarEastGift
Originally uploaded by claviger.

Sketch Crawl, drawing five.
Far East Gifts-Chinatown, San Francisco
(3/26/05)

Coppola's

Coppalas
Originally uploaded by claviger.

Sketch Crawl, drawing four.
Coppala's-North Beach, San Francisco
(3/26/05)

citylights

citylights
Originally uploaded by claviger.

Sketch Crawl, drawing three.
Citylights bookstore-Poetry Room, San Francisco
(3/26/05)

Chinatown

chinatown
Originally uploaded by claviger.

Sketch Crawl, drawing two.
Chinatown, San Francisco
(3/26/05)

Union-bridge

Union-bridge
Originally uploaded by claviger.

Sketch Crawl, drawing one.
Overpass-near Union Square, San Francisco

APE

Alternative Press Expo was splendid.
Met all kinds of cool people, and got to spend some quality time with Demo, Reman Mythology, and Wasted Minds who visited for four days. I miss those ladies the second they left. Such a good bunch. It is fun to talk comics and romance.
Reman, and Demo were part of this Flight anthology (see below) affording me the wonderful opportunity to meet many of the creators over dinner and then a game of Cranium. I am awful @ anagrams I realize.

Since last session:

* Drinks: 2, beers. Last night with Workgirl. I fear there are some Workgirl stories coming.

* Read: Flight, Book two. The best APE find. 450-full color pages of comics. The stories are moslty sci-fi and supernatrual but there are some more mundane adventures. It's great blah blah, go the Flight website.
* Watched: Sin City. hhhh not genius, but good. They tried really hard to do something different and I appreciated that.
* Listened to: Roykosopp, Melody A.M. hhh Lately I have been trying to find less agressive sounds to fill the studio. When trying to draw I find most music distracting. This little piece of candy fit the bill nicely. Mellow catchy electronica from some Norwegians. It's got that song that plays when you first turn on a new i-computer.
* Cockney Slang of the day: Red 'n' Yella = Umbrella.

RATING SCALE h Utter shite hh Don't bother hhh all right hhhh nicely done hhhhh farking brilliant

Save a secret for the moon

Work has been crazy. I had been trying to finish designing the first issue of the Shojo magazine (approvals need to go to Japan this week) and complete the comic for APE.
I would go to work at 8:00-9:00 stay there until around 8:00. Get dinner on the way home and then work on Claviger until 2:00-3:00. That was pretty much all week.
I finished it though. Stapled it 1:00 Friday night, plenty of time to spare.

The book is a reworking of the first issue. It is now 32 pages (instead of 12), the text has been changed and many panels redone. I am much more pleased with it.

Here is the new first chapter page:

Since last session:

* Drinks: 1, a bottle of hot Sake shared with workgirl over some sushi.
* Read: Dress your family in Corduroy. Sedaris hhhh
As good as Naked (which I preferred to Me Talk Pretty One Day). David Sedaris is an unapologetic jerk and paranoid as hell. It is why I love Seinfeld too.
* Watched: Million-Dollar Baby. hhhh I had no desire to see this, but I am glad I did. The acting was spot on. I am glad Morgan Freeman finally one an Oscar for his super-smart Janitor guy he always plays. Sure it’s the same every time; but he does it so well, and makes me want to hug him.
I felt worse after watching Requiem for a Dream, but only a little, take that as a warning.
* Listened to: The Two Ep's, Smoky and Miho hhhh
Spicy salsa Jazz feautring Miho Hitori (of Cibbo Matto/Gorillaz) and Smokey Hormel (Beck/Tom Waits). This record makes me want to make out with someone on a beach. I shake my hips when I am not careful.
* Cockney Slang of the day: Oxford Scholar = Dollar.

An awful phone call

A former acquaintance called me yesterday and told me that someone I had dated briefly a few summers ago has committed suicide.

She had moved to France to escape her father. It seems he was unable to make it on his own, and followed her out there. My understanding was they did not get on all that well, and I have always suspected some form of abuse when she was younger.
One day her father is waiting for her to meet him for lunch. When she does not show, he returns to "their" apartment to find she has hung herself.

Those were all the details I received as those were all my friend had been told. The girl certainly had issues, but she was a very sweet woman. Unsettling and tragic.

There is so much death in this world.

Since last session:
* Drinks: 3, but I have a nasty hangover. 2 beers and 1 glass of champagne. Perhaps it is mixing the grape and the grain.
* Read: The Gunslinger. hhh The first of King's enormous fantasy epic, as he put is: his version of LOTR. I used to love King when I was younger (didn't everyone?) but I feel I have outgrown much of his work. This (and by' this' I mean all of the Dark Tower books) will be the last of his I will read. All that being said, it was a rad book in a pulp-western kind of way.
* Watched: Aviator. h Awful. Worse even than Gangs of New York. Why do all big directors begin to suck when they get old? The pacing was terrible, almost nothing was resolved and I think characters only interacted with each other in one scene.
* Listened to: Bright Eyes, I'm wide awake it's morning. hhh Fine, but I expected a lot more.
* Cockney Slang of the day: Perry Como =Homosexual. "Everyone knows he's a bit of a Perry"

RATING SCALE h Utter shite hh Don't bother hhh Average hhhh nicely done hhhhh farking brilliant