Sad but true, it is starting to be cold, and dark when I take off for work. It is the time of the year when I think about the things I should have done better or different this summer, and chalk those thoughts up to planning for next year. I start thinking about how on the one hand I will miss wearing shorts (and thus forcing the world to look at my shins, easily the palest legs connected to a living human being) but I also get a bit excited about sweaters, hats, scarves and fall. I will miss seeing the girls in their summer dresses and all for sure but on the other hand you wouldn't appreciate it as much if it was around you year round (Yong, trust me by spring we will be pumped to see an ankle in Seattle).

I mean don't get me wrong, it is still August and it is certainly not over yet, I mean we will have a few nice days yet. Today even turned out to be a nice day, but it started with rain and grey skies. My point is this, Friday I have a wedding to attend and in essence I have to be prepared with two outfits, depending on which September weather shows up.

One thing I always think I should have done more of during the summer is bonfires. Had a good run a few years ago with my cousin Joe, but have not kept up the tradition. Was going to go to one tonight, but it got postponed and I am optimistic. Should have hit the liquor store but I will make do (always bring smores stuff, believe it or not people are impressed). So this will be the first official bonfire of the year for me, and likely the last. So I have no idea what possessed me to ramble like this other than the fact that Chris is gone and I wanted to write something since I have some responsibilities around here. So I will leave you with a picture that shows what can go wrong at a bonfire so you can all be careful.

...im heading out to a buddy's property in "north central" Washington.

40 acres and 3 days of drinking, smoking, and shooting guns.

This is the first pic that popped up when i googled "omak washington". Not sure what to think about that, but im sure it'll be fun.

www.MUNKONE.com

MunkOne is one of my favorite artists in a long time. I dont really know what to say, or how to describe his style, seeing as how its so diverse. Do yourself a favor and go browse his site for a few minutes.

Chances are hes done an album cover or a t-shirt youve seen, and you didnt even know it.

Below are a couple of my favorite things hes done recently.

I guess the glass half full way of looking at it is at least we learn the lesson.

Found the link to this project over at Publikhair and thought it was kind of cool so I am sharing it. With the death of the Poloroid Camera and the apparent birth of the zinc printer thingamabob, this photo project was put together to ask what people want to do before they die. Some of the answers were pretty cool ( I think someone should introduce the man who wants to sail around the world to the lady who wants to live on a sail boat, I am also curious about the woman who wants to "start a tink tank" and then punctuated her thoughts with what appears to be a drawing of a vagina.). It also got me thinking about what I want to do before I die. So what do YOU want to do before you die? Check it out and leave a comment, or take a lesson from Chris and go DO something. If you want to ride a horse (No Enumclaw) go do it. Hell I am preparing for Scuba diving lessons, and was planning a trip to the Philipines which has now been cancelled so now I need something new for the end of the year. What would you do?

CHECK IT OUT!

...and refreshing. Im back to the city, and back to work. I made some good progress today on a couple projects ive been working on, and it feels good.


This is the view from one of the roads we drove on near where we stayed.









This is the town of Granite. ALL of it. The 2 pics below, thats about all there is to the town, other than a few scattered homes here and there. Granite was the closest city to where we stayed and is 6 miles of one lane gravel roads, down a mountain, and with no guardrails away. (I looked it up online today and Grant County (where Umatilla and Granite are located) has less than 8,000 residents....in the WHOLE COUNTY.





Olive Lake. Another drive up the gravel mountain roads brought us to this beauty.






So like i said last time, go DO something. Im back to work and feeling refreshed (at least for 4 more days til i leave for the middle of nowhere in eastern Washington)

been super busy and have been falling asleep on my watch around here. Not that I have anything of any value to add today BUT I am here with a few funny pics so you all won't hate me. I am going to a bachelor party tomorrow night and hope to have some pics to share afterwards, until then enjoy. That is all, carry on.

...Im gonna be deep into the wilderness of the Umatilla National Forest for the next 4 days.

Ill be back blogging, probably with pics, on Monday.

Do yourselves a favor and go somewhere this weekend. Do SOMETHING. We're all busy, but life's short, enjoy it while you can.

Wittyunpredictable supports TWC. So go support him, link to his blog is on the left.

Okay so I thought I'd dump some old sketchbook stuff on you since I have been contributing very little lately. Have had very little free time of late and Chris is out here on an island as the only one making an effort. So here goes, all but the John Kerry sketch (I'm sure you can guess its age), the Raven which is new, the fashion sketch which is recent, and the knight (thats right, 1984, I was eight) are 10-12 years old. So here goes...

...a bunch of old work id thrown into a makeshift portfolio case years ago. I mean OLD. It was kind of interesting to see the progression through the years. It was like a trip back in time to when i really sucked at drawing and painting. Although, of course at the time, i thought i was on the top of my game.

This is a pencil drawing of some Nike Air Max 96s. I did this in high school, so i mustve been about 16,17 at the time.



This is a quick painting exercise from a painting course i had to take in college. I was 18 at the time i believe. It was a live model and we had to pick out an interesting feature to focus on. The wierd part being that i hate feet, so who knows why i chose the foot/ankle area.


This was a drawing exercise in college, also a live model. Same thing as above basically, but with pencil. I guess i chose the arm to focus on.



And THIS is the grand-daddy of them all. Im thinking about framing this.


I actually remember lying on my bedroom floor drawing this. At the time i was 8 years old and of course what 8 year old on the planet at the time didnt love Michael Jordan.














I actually used to draw a lot of these types of charicatures at the time. I wish id kept more of them but i think this is the only one i have. Im gonna have to ask my folks if they kept any of them. (i know youre reading this pops, so feel free to chime in with a comment)

Anyway, i thought id share this stuff, its pretty funny to me and i thought some of you loyal readers might enjoy them.

ps - look at the foresight i had as an 8 year old to draw jordan with a v-neck jersey on. Who knew NBA teams would actually be playing in v-necks in 2008? I amaze myself sometimes.

pps - after showing these things i may have to post some more recent drawings etc to redeem myself.