A variation of an illustration from the back of a graham cracker box.
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Friday, January 20, 2012
From the Sketchbook- Orion Slave Girl
Yvonne Craig as Marta from Star Trek original series, season three, "Whom Gods Destroy".
January Sky #1
Don't ask me why but my camera seems to be taking pictures again. Darn, digital gizmo!! Here's a nice shot of a late afternoon sky. That's what I'm talkin' about!
Friday Roundup
Good ol' Doc in his original costume.
This month has been busy with rehearsals and meetings at the Edwards Aquifer Authority to see how the Doc Ed shows can be improved. So far, so good. I've also got to shop around for a new costume for good ol' Doc. The costumes I've been using for the last three years still look good but it wouldn't hurt to add a twist to the look.
On top of that I'm in the middle of making new props for the new Doc Ed show geared for the kindergarten audiences. Since the audience is pretty young I've got a little more leeway to be playful with the kids as I talk about the Edwards Aquifer in the simplest terms possible. My next kindergarten show is next week so I have to finish all the props no later than mid-week. Very exciting.
One of many beautiful murals painted by the San Anto Cultural Arts mural crews.
Beyond that I've been looking to get back into the visual arts world a little more. Earlier in the week I stopped by the offices of San Anto Cultural Arts. They do a lot of different things for the community on the west side of San Antonio including mural painting. In late 2002 I worked as part of a mural crew for them. I missed painting outdoors on huge walls so it was nice to get back into it. Other opportunities presented themselves soon after and I lost touch with them. Happily, they're still around a going strong. I'm hoping to get a chance to paint for them again this spring if possible. For more info go their site here .
Last year's winning entry for the Tejano Conjunto Festival poster contest.
I'm also going to submit an entry to the Tejano Conjunto Poster contest. The winner receives a cash prize of $1,000. That's good motivation for a father of two. The last time I participated was ten years ago and it's time to try again. I'm just looking to shake things up a bit to see what develops and if anything does I'll be very happy and if nothing happens at least I tried. I've got to be positive, though.
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Puppet Theater Memories
The series of photos in this post show the backstage area of the Le Theatre de Marionette at The North Park Center Mall in Dallas, Texas. I spent a lot of time there. Those two marionettes hanging at my workbench are for a spring variety show at the mall. Those marionettes were beautifully made by a puppeteer whose name I recall right now. The tin man was actually made mostly of tin so when he walked he made a clanking noise. That's an Elvis marionette to the far right of the picture. He performed to "Blue Suede Shoes" and actually had swiveling hip action. It was cool. They were very old and needed a little touching up before we could use them.
Here are some more of the marionettes for the show. There was Judy Garland and Gene Kelly and a couple of Fred Astaire marionettes. The tall puppet on the left was a mouse puppet Tina Gromova owned and wanted to use for the show but I don't think that happened. She would go home to Russia a least once a year always returning with some very cool puppets like the giant mouse. 
(left to right) Eliza Doolittle, The Wicked Witch, The Cowardly Lion and the Scarecrow. Of those four we used the Scarecrow for the show.
That's the one and only Tina Gromova doing repair work on what appears to be a very intricate inner workings for a marionette.
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Night of the Comet Fan Site
If you are a fan of the film Night of the Comet there's a website you should check out that is dedicated to it. It's called Night of the Comet.Info: The Ultimate Night of the Comet Fan Site. I recently sent some sketches to be posted in their fan art section. The link to the site is here .
