After the rush...

...inevitably comes the crash. That's where I am. Whenever there is a busy season of shows, open studios, grant applications, end of the semester stuff, etc., there is always the extreme quiet that follows. And a massive head cold. I'm not good at admitting that I'm sick. I'll try to do as much as I do when I'm well. Like biking 50+ miles last week... in the rain... while sweating, feverish, and dizzy from congestion. It finally caught up to me today. When I woke up I realized I wasn't going to be able to go anywhere, at least not fast. So I took the day to try and be a normal sick person. Probably a good idea since it took me 2 hrs to move from my bed to the couch. Of course then once I was sitting up I realized I was really really bored.

But because I can't just watch movies all day and be unproductive like a normal sick person I'm going to catch up on posting some art. So here is another batch of cafe sketches. I admit I have been loosing steam on the cafe sketches and will probably have to change it up again soon and find some new inspiration. Maybe I will go back to sketching at concerts or join in on some life drawing sessions now that I have a little more time. Or landscapes when it stops raining already. Aaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrgh.



This is a self portrait I drew at LA Burdick. I used to go there more when I was in between jobs and could visit at times where there was seating. I decided to break my Biscuit habit and go again except there weren't many people to draw. But there were some mirrors so I tried a self portrait. It doesn't look exactly like me but I still like the overall composition.



Now that the weather is a little better (at least some days) I can get some different angles of people on the patio at the Biscuit. But it's harder to be discreet when drawing people since all the seating faces inward. I like this sketch (above) and was enjoying pencil for a bit. However the next few drawings are a bit uninspired to me. I'm starting to feel like they're all looking the same. People talking. People eating. People typing. I feel like there's something missing but I'm not sure what....







I think this very old sketch is a hint to what is missing:



It's a sketch of my friend Guillermo in Los Angeles (2006?) which I should probably re-scan for a better representative image.The text reads "I am ready to work I am so bored every day..." which is what he was saying as I drew him. I think I want to draw portraits of people that are less voyeuristic, less from the outside. Perhaps of friends. Perhaps over serious conversations like we had that evening.