Harley Charlie

Charlie has been a good friend of mine.  He's a big guy, but a gentle-gaint—as I refer to him. On more than one occasion He, and his sweet wife Lydia have treated my wife and I with kindness and generosity. For a couple of years now I've been wanted to try and repay his kindness by drawing a caricature of him on his bike. Last week I took the opportunity to create one for him. There was a motorcycle rally a couple of years ago at our church. During the event I snuck out to the parking lot and took some photos of his Harley—and '02 Deuce. It's a long machine—has to be to accommodate a big guy like Charlie.  

Last night, at church, I told Charlie that I wanted to show him some- thing after- wards.  He said, "Does it have something to do with motorcycles?" "Yes."  "Alright I'll look forward to that," He said.  So afterwards I gave him a paper sack with his doodle in it.  I LOVED the smile on his face when he saw it.  He was totally surprised.  It was a three-hugger response.

This is a photo of the illustration, so the quality is not the best.  But I really love how this one turned out.  I took great care in getting it done.  I wanted it just right.  It's always a challenge to get the arms and legs to fit on the bike just right.  I like the doodle, but more importantly I really loved enjoying surprising a good friend.

A Bridge Called Grace

A friend sent me this set of illustrations depicting the concept of following Jesus' directive to "carry your cross."  I've seen it before, perhaps you have too. The problem that I have with it is that it is wrong. It's hard to see but in the images we see a man carrying his cross.  He complains that the cross is too heavy so he whittles it down a couple of times to make his burden lighter.  In the end we see that it is the person that dutifully carries the full weight of their cross to the end that is able to cross the gap. The one man's cross is now too short to cross it. The problem is that's bad theology. The Bible tells us that we can't do anything to earn our salvation.  We are able to gain access to the Father only by His grace—which is appropriated for us by placing our faith in him.  I responded to my friend's e-mail by sending back to him this Bible doodle I drew sometime ago. In the background you see a bridge that the man tried to build himself. In the trash can are the plans for his bridge that he discarded because his efforts are turning into a disaster.  With hammer still in hand he contemplates the idea of crossing the bridge of grace already provide for him.  I don't a lot of "preaching" on this blog, but it is my recommendation that you cross that bridge for yourself. I did and have never regretted doing so.

Copy & Share If You Dare

Heart of Brookings Update

To tell you the truth, I really didn't want to post this one.  I drew it so large that the only way I could get a copy of it was to photograph it.  The photo didn't turn out that great, but I wanted to post it anyway because I like closure.  So, this is the final outcome of the image I shared on March 18th.  This one took a lot of time. There are a lot of little details that

On Saturday there is a monthly art walk that is put on in our community.  The owners of the thrift store have asked me to display some of my doodles in their store for the occasion.  I've participated in this a couple of times before in two other locations.  I've never had an success in selling any pieces.  Maybe I'll have to reduce my prices just to make some kind of change.  Supposedly, the owners of the store are going to have the original of this piece framed and on display.

Photos of an Unveiling

Stefani sent me these photos taken at the unveiling of the doodle I did of her parents with the grandchildren.  I really enjoy seeing these kind of pictures.  Generally my only feedback comes through e-mail text.  I try to measure reaction by the number of exclamation marks and words used to describe my client's reaction.  But, As the saying goes: "A picture is worth..."  It would appear that their doodle was well appreciated—there even what appears to be clapping at one point.  An ovation!  Wow!  Could even Rembrandt ask for more?  Hardly!  Thanks Stefani for sending the pics to me.  They're great!!! (Note: three exclamation marks.)

It's a funny thing, these caricatures that I do.  I take a piece of paper, work with it a little while, and then turn it into something that people end up prizing.  I always feel honored, and amazed that they put them in places of importance in their homes—over a desk, by a collection of family photos, near the toilet, wherever. It does my heart good to see people enjoying something that I had the chance to create for them.  I guess that I'm kind of like Santa with a pencil.

Dragon Encounter Fini?

I don't mean to draaaag this out, (Pun in- tended)  but after looking at my En- counter With a Dragon doodle I knew that it needed just a bit more work.  You can scroll down to make a comparison.  The main thing I did was darken the sky.  So, maybe, I'm done with it.  At least it feels like it's done.

Anyone interested in purchasing an original bit of art?  It's drawn on an13.5x11 piece of paper—pen and ink.  For a mere $30, plus $5 shipping, this bit of doodlery can be yours.  Why so cheap?  Two reasons:  1. My doodles don't seem to sell when I charge more, and 2. I can be bought.  At least my doodles can.

Contact me at green_rick@juno.com and we'll get this dragon in the mail.

The Sting is Gone

Tomorrow is Good Friday—a very special day for many people.  For those who follow Jesus, it is a time which commemorates the day when He destroyed the sting of death.

My wife thought this doodle was a bit strange.  Maybe a should take that as a compliment.  I like to create images which provoke thought.

You are welcomed to Copy & Share If You Dare this doodle.  I hope that it provokes some thought from the readers of your blog as well.


(And BTW, it's suppose to be a wasp and not a bee.  Wasp are a lot meaner than bees.  At least in my opinion.  It was three wasps that hit me the first time I got stung.  So, I've had it out for them ever since.)

Spark

I've been pretty busy lately but I didn't want to ignore this blog too long without posting something else.  I know that you've got to try and keep things fresh so that you, my blogging audience, will stay in the habit of checking up on me.  We artist live for the attention of their adoring public.

Here's a quick one.  I drew this for a friend that is a children's pastor in Bend, OR.  She calls her ministry "Spark."  This doodle really didn't take me long.  Often, the good ones, don't require a lot of time.  Simplicity is often the best.

I never heard if she actually put the illustration to use.  I guess I'll have to ask her the next time I see her.

Dragon On

I hope that you're not getting bored with dragon updates.  At one point I thought that this was finished, but as I look at it this morning I think that I could fiddle with in a bit more.  The problem is that sometimes I fiddle with things too much and end up hurting the illustration more than helping it.  I think every artist faces that challenge.  Anyway, for you view pleasure, here is an update on my Dragon Encounter doodle.  This is a photograph so some of the details (especially one particular detail—you regulars to my blog know, perhaps, of whom I am referring) my be difficult to pick out.

AND... Just so I can throw something in a little different on this post—here is a photo of the youngest and I getting ready to go for a ride on the Harley.  It's also my current Facebook profile pic.  The weather looks good today.  I may have to break out the bike for a quick spin.

Dragon Doodle Update

I've had to lay this aside for the past few days, but not before I got some more doodle time in on this dragon encounter illustration.  The trick for me is to not make the background so busy that I end up losing the two characters.  Yet, I want the forrest and so forth to be busy enough to make it interesting.

So, what do you think?

Scroll down to March 12 to make the comparison from when I previously posted this illustration and!!  ...stay "tooned" for more.

Boatin' With the Grands

Stefani wrote me and said...
Hi, My name is Stefani and I have seen your work both on Because I Said So blog and a fellow twin mom friend here in San Diego, Tonya From a Day In My Life blog. I have been thinking about having a caricature done (and was just gonna contact Tonya for your name and info when I saw your contest post on Because blog tonight).
I love your work and was thinking it would make a great gift for my dad who has everything for his 68th birthday. I was thinking I would like it to include the whole family which is mom and dad, my husband and I plus 2 kids and twin babies and Brother, sister in law, young niece and new baby (due the end of march). Is this too many people? what would you charge for something like this? I look forward to hearing from you and discussing possible options. Thanks, Stefani

After sharing my (very reason- able) prices with Stefani she decided to go with a doodle of her parents with the six grandkids.  Together we came up with the idea of making it a boating scene.  


I had a lot of fun putting this together for her.  Large group illustrations can be a challenge to bring all the portraits together to make an interesting layout.  I'm happy with the way this one came together.


When I sent Stefani of photo of her piece she wrote back and said, Oh Rick, it's great.  So, love it, love it, love it.  Wow!  a three "love it" response.  That's pretty good.  

A Dragon Work In Progress

I started this little doodle during the recent mini-family reunion we had a few weeks ago.  I had forgotten about it, and then rediscovered it while flipping through my sketch pad.  All that I had done was a quick pencil sketch, but it still had an appeal to me.  I've drawn plenty of dragons before, and even posted some on this blog.  I liked how this one was turning out enough to make me want to develop the illustration further.  The scribbles you see on the illustration are the outlines of a forrest that I am setting the two characters in.

There's no real purpose for this illustration; other than my the entertainment factor for me.  I have a couple of other paying jobs I need to be working on, but once I get going on something like this it's hard for me to put it away.

Stay "tooned" for dragon updates.

New Blog Header

After three years of just using the standard blog header for this space on the internet I finally took some time to create a new customized header for myself.  I started on it early Monday morning and could hardly put the project down all day.  I'm happy with it—quite happy as a matter of fact.  I wanted something colorful, something fun, something doodly...  My one fear is that the title, "Organized Doodles," get's lost in the mix.  What do you think?

An Evil Dust Bunny Has Hit

I woke up yes- terday morning to find that there were 444 new com- ments on my blog!  "Wow!," I thought, "somebody out there really likes my work."  It didn't take long to find out that my blog had been "spammed."  Of course I don't know who the evil dust bunny is. All I know is that the culprit is Asian because the "comments" involved a loooong like list of links in some kind of Asian script.  It turned out that he/she left one of their annoying spam comments on EVERY SINGLE ONE OF MY POST!!  Grrr.....!!!  I am guessing that they have some kind of program which seeks and finds blogs to target and then will automatically place the links there.

What likely took them seconds to do is taking me days to erase.  I have been slowly going through each of my post and permanently deleting the links.  I'm a little over half way through.

To delete one of the comments involves seven clicks with scrolls on my computer.  Do the math.  To rid my blog of this "dust" I have to click 3,108 times.  That doesn't include the "miss-clicks" and the times I click on the post again by mistake.  So now I've had to change my setting to give approval to a comment before it will be seen on my blog.  I don't like that.  When I visit a blog I just like seeing that my comment in place before I move on.

Any of you have your blog attack in the same way?  What steps did you take to prevent it?  I did follow the link on his name back to his "blog" and told him that he was a pain in the butt.  That probably didn't help me any.  Also, I reported it to Blogger.  Who knows if they'll do anything.

At least going back through each one of my post has been a trip down memory lane for me.  So many doodles, so many kind people making nice comments.  I've been at this blog thing for over three years now.  I guess I will keep on going—despite the evil dust bunnies that are lurking out there.

Copy & Share If You Dare

Your Name Here

This doodle may seem more appropriate for Halloween, but really all it is was an attempt to fill a tall slender piece of paper that I had laying around.  As with most of my doodles, one thing led to another, and the next thing you know, I've sketched out some kind of macabre graveyard scene.

Do you know where you'll find your final rest?  If not, then Copy & Share If You Dare, and prepare to met they Maker.  (No forwarding address will be necessary.)

Inspired by the Olympics

Here's a little doodle that I drew while my family was sitting around the TV in the cabin in Hood River, OR.  (Refer to my February 23rd post)  My one regret is that the right hand seems to be a bit bigger than the left one.  Oh well, otherwise I think not bad for just sitting down at the table with a sketch pad and doodling away some time.

Copy & Share If You Dare

He Wraps Himself in Light

There is a song that we sing in church that uses a line from Psalms 104:2 - "He wraps Himself in light as with a garement; He stetches out the heavens like a tent." One Sunday we were singing the song and the concept for this doodle hit me.  I started on it as soon as I got home.  To tell you the truth, I'm not totally happy with it.  On top of that, I'm not happy with how my scan of the illustration turned out.  So, I've been holding on to this for sometime.  Here it is for your viewing pleasure.

Having said all that, if you would be interested in purchasing this original bit of doodlery, then I would be happy wrap it up and ship it your way for the mere price of $49.99 (Plus $3.01 shipping and handling).  It's an 11x14 piece, drawn a card stock paper, in pen and color pencil.  So Purchase and Share (your money) If You Dare. (And yes, Eggy is included.)

Otherwise, feel free to express an opinion.  We artist types live on the comments from the larger public out there.

P.S. I'm kind of stoked about reaching 200 followers.  I'm always amazed that anyone would want to follow my madness. Thank you all.

It's Not Nice to Fool With Mother Lisa

Lisa has been a visitor to my blog, and a Facebook friend, for sometime now.  The other day she finally worked up the courage to ask me how much I charge for a caricature drawing.  I gave her the information and, apparently, she liked what she read and ordered up an illustration right away.

Lisa has a particular love for raccoons, but when I checked out her photos I saw that she has a love for all kinds of God's creatures.  So, instead of illustrating her with just raccoons I decided to turn her into the mother of all nature... (You got it.) Mother Nature herself.

I really like how this one turned out.  In fact, I am adding it to my Favorite Doodles list.  I had fun doing research on various attempts at illustrating Mother Nature.  My version incorporates some aspects of several different images—with a lot of Lisa put into the mix, of course.  Lisa apparently liked what she saw.  She's using it as her Facebook profile pic.

In other news...

Some of my family got together to celebrate my mother's 80th birthday.  We met in a four bedroom cabin in Hood River, OR.  Since sometimes members of the family visit this blog here are a few photos that I took during our weekend together.  Non-family types are allowed to view the photos as well.

The cabin we stayed in.

View of the Columbia Gorge from our cabin.

The family gathered for breakfast.

A sign in a store window, downtown Hood River, OR

(I thought you would enjoy seeing it.)

Mom and Dad

Our youngest - Marla

(Ain't she purty?)

Mom blowing out the candles.

Mom crocheting.

She's trying to make a tablecloth for all of her granddaughters.

Marla and me walking.

My oldest keeps me exercising by making me do 30 minutes before she will give me a phone call.  I hate exercising, but I love talking to my girls.

A view of Mt. Hood shot through a grove of pear trees.  I thought it made an interesting photo.

Mt. Hood on a rare clear day - minus the pear trees

The family - all that was there, at least

Just Hanging With Jesus

Jon saw the doodle that I created for my sister, Becky. He is a youth pastor in Yreka, CA.  Jon contacted me about an illustration he has wanted for sometime.  He said that he wanted an illustration depicting Jesus just hanging out with teens.  While, to me, drawing Jesus as a cartoon seems less than worthy of such an honored  subject, I'm not one to turn down a paying job.  (In other words: I can be bought.)

After looking for various photos of teens just hanging out, this is what I came up with.  Jon liked what he saw.  He said that he was going to frame it and hang it in his new office that his church is building.

I assume Jon, that you'll have the illustration hanging under proper lighting—give it a heavenly glow.

Chief Thunder Bolt

This is the last of the doodles I created during my meeting two weeks ago in Salem.  I guess I like this one the least from that series.  The story behind the doodle is that we were at the time conducting an interview with a friend I've worked with during a few of the children's summer camps I attended.  For whatever reason, her nickname at those camps has always been "Princes Thunder Bolt."  I'm sure that there is a story behind the name somewhere. One time I even gave her a "Princes Thunder Bolt" doodle.  So, this time I thought I would create the male counter part.  But, I haven't shown it to her.  Maybe that's because I'm not too crazy about the illustration.  But here it is for your viewing pleasure.

This is a Copy & Share If You Dare doodle.  Remember that if the illustration is NOT labeled Copy & Share... then that particular drawing is (as you might guess) not to be copied.  Just so you know.

Banner Update

Back in September I posted a design I created for a banner that some of the ladies in my church asked me to put together.  The ladies finished it and it has been hanging in the front of the sanctuary of our church the last few Sundays.  They did a pretty good job, I thought.

Here's a photo of it.  What do you think?

Hilary's Holiday Hoorah

Sometime last year I was contacted by Hilary from way over in England.  She found a doodle of mine that I created for a children's camp here in Oregon.  Hilary wanted to use it as a logo for "Holiday Bible Club" they conduct each year.  (Over here in America we call them Vacation Bible Schools.)  I like kids and I sure want to do want ever I could to promote their Bible education, so I gave her my "blessing", of course.  The one condition would be the payment of photos from the event sent to me.  I've been saving these photos for some time, waiting for the chance to share them with you...

Included in the photos that she sent me was a picture of a "sculpture" they created based upon my doodle.  That was a first for me.  To my knowledge, no one has ever turned my art into a 3D image.  Pretty cool, huh!?!

This year, Hilary contacted me again about creating a brand new image for her.  I told her that I would have to charge her this time, but (I modestly add) it wasn't much—certainly not in today's Pounds to Dollars exchange rate.  Hilary wanted an image of a child, that could be seen as either male or female, riding a flying bike.  If you've been around my blog you know that I don't like to draw mechanical items, but for the kids I was going to give it the "Organized Doodles try."  

After playing with the colors to suit her taste, this is what I sent Hilary.  I hope to get some photos, yet again, of this year's event.
What do you think?

Update:  This note from Hilary...
Hi Rick,

Many thanks for that.  I thought your page was very interesting.  I’m so glad you liked our 3D model, it did cause quite a stir.  We are hoping to make a model of this year’s logo as well, but I haven’t mentioned that to our designer yet …

Thanks and God Bless,

Hilary

Gonna' Get You...

I keep posting these "meeting doodles."  I have other works to share, but posting and writing out the text for them is always more involved.  So, on a lazy Superbowl Sunday, I offer another tidbit to you.  It's much the same kind of stuff, only this one I took the time to color.

I'm not sure if, or where you can use this one.  It's a little "Halloweeny", but go ahead and Copy & Share If You Dare.  In the mean time—keep looking back over your shoulder.

Mosey On Out of Here

The birthday is over.  I had a great day, but it's time to get back to some cartoon series posting.  Here's another meeting doodle from the day long one I was in last week.

Besides the fact that his pointy finger looks like a carrot, I like my conception of Moses.  I think his beard turned out especially well.  And, don't you figure that a guy named "Moses" might tell 'o Pharaoh  to let them "mosey?"


Copy & Share If You Dare

Give Me Some Birthday Love

Well, it's my birthday—I don't mind tell you.  And I don't mind telling you that I turn 53 today.  Is it just me, or does everyone have a hard time remembering how old they are when they get to be my age.  I'm not talking about pretending you forget how old you are.  I seriously have a hard time remembering.  One time I was 46 for almost two years before my brother informed me that I was turning 48.  Wow!  That 47th year went by really fast.

This is a doodle that I originally created as a birthday greeting for my sister Becky a couple of years ago.  You can see the original using the link (if you like).  You'll have to scroll down to the bottom of the post.  I just changed the text and gave it some color.  I wanted something to post as my profile pic on my Facebook account, so I made the changes.  But I didn't want to miss the opportunity to share it with you too, so enjoy.

Make my day complete.  Give me some blog comment love.  I'll turn 53 a happy man.