Saturday Night Doodles

I'm gonna keep it short tonight because I'm feeling a little more sleepy than usual. The doodles this evening are brought to you in "living color" and include the red alien from Lost In Space, a Romulan centurion and the four major villains from the 1966 Batman movie which was the Svengoulie's choice for this evening's entertainment. I have to say that Frank Gorshin makes a great Riddler. That period of television had so much color in it which I truly enjoy and haven't grown tired of watching. It was afun night but now it's time to hit the hay. Hasta manana.

October Sky #1

From the Sketchbook- Morlocks

Taking Chances in Life

Pammy doing a voiceover.

Last summer I took some advantage of some down time to fix and make new props for the Doc Edwards shows I present for the Edwards Aquifer Authority.  Among other things I made a fossil shell prop, a magic prop and freshened up a couple of large limestone rock props. 

The limestone props had originally been one large rock made of styrofoam that I cut and sculpted and painted into two. The reason I made it into two separate pieces is that it was just too big to fit in my teeny car. It was messy work cutting it too. 

I used a bread knife to split it and then a hot knife to re-sculpt the cut sides. I didn't have a large enough hot knife to cut the large holes in the rock so I had to use the bread knife again causing foam to fly and and stick to just about everything. Messy, messy, messy!

Once the sculpting was complete I repainted it using a real limestone rock to match the colors just right.You might think a rock as one color like grey, but it's really made up of a  variety of colors. You start off off with a middle tone and add colors in washes until the desired effect is achieved. Tedious but necessary. It helps to have some tunes playing to keep you motivated.

The ability to do these things came over time; the result of necessity and also opportunities that came along.

  Some of the prop building skills are basic carpentry skills I learned from my father.  Others I learned on my own when I was a company member of the Children's Fairytale Theatre at the San Antonio Fine Arts Center way back in the early nineties. 

Making puppets.

I've been drawing and painting most if my life. I learned a great as a student at RBBBC Clown College and on the road with the circus sculpting and painting soft foam. Thank you Ivan Saxby!  It didn't hurt working for a marionette theater either. Sculpting wood is a whole different experience.

Pammy's amazing pastries.

One should always be learning something new. If for no other reason, do it for survival's sake. In my line of work I've found it best to diversify in order to make a living. I imagine that applies to other careers as well. When one side of the business slows you can shift to the other.

Steve Smith, the director for the RBBBC Clown College (and multi-talented fellow) told us to always have a plan "B" ready to implement. We've taken that advice. Pammy and I have got a plan "B" and "C".

 In 1988, when I graduated from college, I had my painting and drawing skills. I saw myself only as an illustrator and a painter. Twenty four years later I've managed to add a few more skills to my repertoire. Pammy has too.  I now call myself a freelance artist to cover all things I can do to make a living. 


   

Painting murals

Learning never ends if your lucky! If you happen to have an opportunity to learn something new take it! Take a chance.  You never know where it will lead.

Running away with the circus!

From the Sketchbook- Midnight Snack

ArtSlam Time!

ArtSlam is on for me this month and I am psyched!! It's a Halloween theme this month. Heaven! It's gonna be a fun one and I hope you can stop by the White Rabbit on October 20th to say "hola". For more info click on the links below to the ArtSlam website and Facebook page.

http://artslamsa.com/

http://www.facebook.com/artslamsa

Love Them Props!

The prop letters for the Snow Queen are almost finished. I was this close to finishing when I ran out of foam, so off to the craft store we go today! Once the last bit of foam is added I can paint the letters and add sparkly paper to their surface for accents. I'm really pleased with the way they're looking. They should be done before the end of the week.

Slapstick Theatre- Betty Boop in "Ha Ha Ha"

Sunday Morning Matinee- Closed Mondays

Saturday Night Doodles

How I love our big t.v. night every Saturday. I really look forward to it all week long as do my kids. We had stir fry to dine on as we watched our classic t.v. shows and movies I enjoyed as a kid. Plus, Svengoolie showed one of my favorite giant-bug-on a rampage movies: The Deadly Mantis. It was produced by William Alland who also brought us such classics as Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954) and It Came from Outer Space (1954). Fun stuff. We didn't get a preview for what he's got lined up for next weekend but I'm sure it will be fun. My daughter is in the process of drawing a picture that we'll be mailing to Svengoolie himself. I hope your weekend ( a three day one) is fun-filled. Take care. 

Friday Roundup- A Wee Bit Late

Had some camera and computer issues that set my blogging back a few days which was frustrating.  Time to set things right so here goes.

.This week ended on a very positive when we finally got paid for some work we completed almost three months ago. It was a bit of a fight but it's over and we can move on. Victory is sweet. 



I'm still fixing those letters for the San Antonio Metropolitan's production of "The Snow Queen" which opens the first weekend of November. I was offered a comedic role in the show. It's been a while since I've been on a stage in a nice theater but given our nutty schedule I had to turn down. Oh, well.  But it goes to show you life is indeed full of surprises!