English Breakfast

This is a project that my wife (The Amazing Anna) and I started clear back in August and finished about a week ago. I only got around to photographing it today.

I  came up with the concept and the original sketch. Anna did the the lines, colors, printing, cutting and gluing. I'll take most of the credit for it though. 

Haunted Halloween Tree

Another spooky Halloween related illustration to add to my seasonal collection.

Yay! It's my favorite time of year!

Senator Ted Cruz

Considering the ocean of shit on capital hill nowadays, and Senator Ted Cruz's very large role in it, I couldn't help but draw this quick caricature last night.

To say I am angry at Cruz is a bit of an understatement. I was so pissed last night, this was the most eloquent caricature that I could think of. All of the brinksmanship with the US budget is borderline blackmail and bullying. This treat of a government shut-down will accomplish nothing except harm the US economy and impact a lot of hard working federal employees. For anyone who thinks that federal employees are lazy, I invite you to talk to one of the people who actually work on the ground. Most of them work their asses off. And they are the exact people who would be impacted by the partial shut-down. Not the politicians who waste millions of dollars a year posturing and grandstanding.

Fuck you Ted Cruz! (That has a nice chanty ring to it. haha)

Grim Raven

Pastel on cardstock.

I have hereby started my yearly barrage of Halloween art.

For this one I was trying to do something different with my cut-out style, using pastels to shade the individual parts, and give it more of a traditional feel.

I attempted this using a few different media, including soft pencils and India ink. The ink was a miserable failure, and I threw away the pieces after only putting together one of the wings. I was relatively pleased with how the pencils turned out though. It didn't have quite enough contrast, but I thought it still looked interesting. I will definitely be trying something else with pencil in the future.

What do you all think?

Rough draft. Pencil on watercolor paper.

Presidential Portraits

Done!

Here they all are collected in one large poster for easy reference.

This project has been long and trying, but I am feeling really proud of myself for finishing it.

As an added bonus, there will be no more presidential portraits for at least another two years (I hope!!).

Please click on the image for a larger version.

#44 Barack Obama (2008-2016)

The 44th president of the United States - Barack Obama.

Barack was the third president to win a Nobel Peace Prize while in office. He also won a Grammy. I wonder which he is more proud of?

Obama was the first black president of the Harvard Law Review. He was also the first black president of something else...

#43 George W. Bush (2001-2009)

The 43rd president of the United States - George W. Bush Jr.

The first president to be appointed by the Supreme Court.

George W. Bush took more vacation days than any other president in history: over 900 days in eight years.

#42 Bill Clinton (1993-2001)

The 42nd president of the United States - Bill Clinton. 

During Clinton's run at the presidency the United States experienced its greatest period of peace and prosperity.

The US experienced its lowest levels of unemployment in modern times, the lowest inflation in three decades, the highest home ownership, dropping crime rates, and reductions in welfare collection.

Unfortunately he will only be remembered for one thing though...

... wailing on the sax.

#41 George H.W. Bush (1989-1993)

The 41st president of the United States - George H.W. Bush Sr.

Prior to becoming vice president under Reagan, George was a congressman, the representative to the United Nations and China, and the director of the CIA. His father was also a congressman from Connecticut. Apparently the Bush family just gets more and more powerful with each subsequent generation. I guess it's inevitable that the Bush twins will be empresses of the Milky Way.

You heard it first here folks.

#40 Ronald Reagan (1981-1989)

The 40th president of the United States - Ronald Reagan.

An actor.

He was also the man who thought that trees pollute more than cars.

#39 Jimmy Carter (1977-1981)

The 39th president of the United States - James Carter.

Jimmy Carter's presidency was quite the quagmire, and he lost his re-election bid due to the poor economy and the Iran hostage crisis.

Carter created the Department of Energy and had solar panels installed on the roof of the White House. They were quickly removed by Reagan when he took office.

#38 Gerald Ford (1974-1977)

The 38th president of the United States - Gerald Ford.

The first man to fill the role of a resigning president.

He also modeled to pay his way through law school, and was on the cover of Cosmopolitan. I kid you not.

#37 Richard Nixon (1969-1974)

The 37th president of the United States - Richard Nixon.

The crook.

...Who also proposed the EPA. I'm so conflicted.