Have you seen the mysterious lately?

The mysterious, a little sense of it anyway. Have I been searching all my days for this? Not the image, or perhaps so, but the mysterious, the quest that will shock and leave me in a state of wild eye awe. I haven't found it on YouTube yet, but the 8 year old guitar virtuoso gave me considerable pause, time to reflect on my own playing. Yes, I agree with you if you say all of life is mysterious. I know quite often I wonder how we manage to navigate the daily mystery, so maybe it is the understated contemplation of all that is, or appears to be...

Two things that have persistently appeared on my mental horizon today:

1. The past is a dream, the future is a dream, only the present is real.

2. The response of Emily Dickinson to Thomas Wentworth Higginson in 1862.

What do you consider mysterious? Please send a response, doesn't matter if you reach this post in two years from now, I will still be curious what mystifies you.

How does one communicate the mysterious? Should it be a painting, a sculpture, a drawing or a video? tongue-in-cheek.

"From These Hills" Hosts Leslie Rogers and Joel Brashear

Portrait completed for the episode of "From These Hills" that was filmed last Friday. The style of this portrait utilizes a full range of tones to give the illusion of solidity and weight. I love the energy and fragile nature of linear drawings but it's also nice to lay down bold marks.

I guess for the future I'll be contemplating the line between representation and artistic expression. Questions that many portrait artists have pondered with pencil and brush, with various results. I wonder where I'll arrive?

What would Whistler, Sargent, or Da Vinci have created digitally? Do you think they would have ignored the digital tools available?

Do you interview well?

I don't think I've ever been too good at figuring myself out. As you pursue artistic endeavors it seems important to have a general understanding of what makes you tick, what you care about, and why you choose to do what you do. So, I don't know how I've made it this far.

One thing I have been able to decipher regarding my mental creative process is that I consistently lie to myself as a means of obfuscating my creative process and intent. Oops, my secret is out. This idiosyncrasy causes interviews to be problematic for me. So when the local station came to my studio to conduct an interview I did my best to stay on task. You know for me that's kind of tough, hopefully any avenue I might have wandered down was at least interesting. I guess we'll find out. The photos above show the set-up for the interview.

Below is the list I reviewed minutes before the questions started.

10 Interviewing Tips to Avoid

Or things I tried not to do during the interview but probably did anyway.

1. mumbling

2. making crazy eyes

3. staring into the camera

4. licking lips constantly

5. referring to yourself in the third person

6. impersonating Dali

7. practicing obfuscation

8. lying

9. impersonating Warhol

10. saying, "do you see what I mean" at the end of every sentence

-CPB Studios Update-

Here's a little peak of a portrait in progress. Giving glimpses of my work is new for me. Usually my creative process has been closed, excluding graduate school of course. So, slowly I'm approaching the impression of resembling an approximation of openness.

Looks like a double portrait? I'm not quite finished yet but I sense the end is near. Why is it so important? And just who could these two be?

I can say that the portrait is part of a larger event that will be revealed later, on a larger scale. Ummmmm.

"SOMETIMES SECRETS"

I created this 30 sec PSA as part of a grant from

the Office of Violence Against Women.

This post contains my hand drawn animation which is

currently airing in the area covered by the grant. Response

to the station has been extremely positive. Commercials are

still so saturated with voices that the viewer is caught off card

when only music is playing.

Capturing the crowd these days can be tough, and my usual

approach is over the top, so I guess this shows maturity. Maturity

in my "craft," not my ....

Spunky Jack Russell

I just completed this digital portrait of an energetic puppy in a rare

inquisitive moment. She is usually burning a trail in the backyard.

This image is painstakingly drawn/painted digitally with no photo manipulation.

It is essential to me that the process mimic traditional drawing and painting techniques.

I am currently using a Intuos 3 Wacom tablet with Corel Painter X.

Who knows, maybe I'll post a tutorial one of these days.

Everyone should have at least four portraits in their collection. If your collection is missing a few check out www.cpbstudios.com

The Vault of Misfit Sketches Volume 1

"Head Puppet Show at the Pizza Hut"

From the vault of misfit sketches volume 1. Don't you love cleaning up your hard drive? Random unnamed folders, floating images and misplaced ideas. I found this odd fellow hidden near some perfectly housed business documents. No doubt trying to spread some propaganda. Although I'm not clear on his point of view. I also haven't any clue as to why this image came to exist. My work rarely contains emblazoned emblems of popular culture. For your viewing pleasure, my first misfit offering. There will be others, even if I shouldn't bring them to light.

Clean Air on the Appalachian Trail

Solitude. My lonely companion.

Where have you hidden yourself? Lately the noise of life has crowded you out, sent you scurrying to the dark recesses. Thankfully, we met again on the Appalachian Trail. My father-in-law and I atop McAfee Knob, Virginia. Nothing clears my head quicker than hiking.

I hope you've had the experience of brilliant unexpected views.

What was I thinking as buzzards flew beneath me?

So, why am I finally here?

A valid question, especially for one who simultaneously reveals and veils what he is attempting to reveal.

Given that info, coupled with the ever prevailing question of who cares what I think or create, this is a moment for me, the artist. Yes, I will attempt to unlock my motel of the mysteries. And I am consciously choosing not to separate my creative ventures. I know for a few this might be unsettling, but this will honestly be my creative reality.

Let's see if I can kick in a few doors.