Reading on My Bench

Our side yard is a little wild, and I enjoy sitting and reading in the shade of the Chinese Elm. I'm reaching the end of my time off from work. I have to return to my classroom come Monday, but I'm not at the end of my recovery. For example, for the next six weeks I can't pick up anything that weighs more than fifteen pounds. My surgeon doesn't want me to pull my internal stitches.

Storing Old Typewriters

Most of my typewriters are stored in the garage. I don't have the space for them in the house, nor any place to properly display them.

Post Surgery

Not a pretty sight. Sandy took this snapshot of me in PostOp. My hernia repair surgery went fine. I'm home now, but managing quite a bit of post-surgical pain. A few takeaways from the experience: I had no idea how many people are involved in surgery, all the nurses before, during, and after; I also was surprised by how fast the anesthesia kicked in. One minute I was staring at the lights above the operating table, and then suddenly I'm waking up in the recovery room. There was no sense of time or duration. Boom! It was all over with.

Planning for Surgery

Whiteboard #1

Whiteboard #2

I'm having surgery this Wednesday, and as a teacher what I've learned is that planning to be out for two weeks is not easy. Here on the whiteboards I've laid out plans for three different classes (preps). But this is just an outline. This weekend I'll post on Google Classroom most of the materials—worksheets, quizzes, and multimedia, etc.—to which my students will need access. In addition, I'll type up day-to-day lesson plans for the subs scheduled to be in my room. Yes, it's a lot of work planning to be out.

Office Rearrangement

Browsing at Huntley Bookstore

Huntley Bookstore is one of my favorite places to spend some time on a Saturday afternoon, especially when the new books are out at the start of the semester. This is the sort of footage I plan to use for a documentary film I'm working on.

4k video shot with an iPhone 8

Lyndon Hayes

A short film tracking a day in the life of the artist & illustrator Lyndon Hayes. His thoughts & inspirations as he travels around London finding a suitable area to sketch.

Augie the Dachshund

Our neighbor recently moved to Idaho, and we're going to miss both her and her dachshund, Augie. My wife sometimes acted as the dog's nanny.

Some Recent Video

Clock Tower, Pomona College

Adobe Illustrator drawing

Watergate - the Graphic Novel

Richard Nixon

Ink, Acrylic, and Photoshop

The graphic novel I've been working on for the past two years has grown to be a nonfiction work about Watergate. The drawing of Nixon above is a good example of the style of art to be found in the book.

William Styron - High School Photo

William Styron is third from the right, top row.

Yearbook Photo 1940, French Club

I snagged this yearbook photo of William Styron from archive.org. I graduated from Warwick High School in Newport News, Virginia, in 1975, and while attending there I heard that William Styron was an alumnus from decades before, but I never saw any proof of it — until now.

Finding Art Anywhere

I'm trying to find art in the everyday. For example, today I got a cup of coffee at Starbucks and then went for a walk, ending up at the public library, where I spotted a guy reading the newspaper — two drawings without even thinking about it.

Drawings about Town

A couple scenes about town today, college students in and around the campus of Pomona College.

Claremont Library

Checking out at the public library

Sketched on my iPad with the Graphic app

I'm on Spring Break this week and this afternoon found myself at the Claremont Library. I often drop by to look at their art books, today settling on a book featuring portraits by Paul Cézanne, an endless source of inspiration. As for what I'm doing with my own creative life, I'm determined more than ever to find art in the day-to-day, so today I did a quick sketch of checking out at the front counter. I love the new self-service check-out, just scan your card and the books, and you're on your merry way.

Paintings from the 1980s

A friend from Florida sent me five paintings I left behind in her mother's house back in the late 1980s. These are very early efforts from when I first became interested in painting. Sadly for me I quit painting for thirty years in response to someone's callous comments about my lack of ability.

In imitation of a painting by Vincent Van Gogh

In imitation of a painting by Vincent Van Gogh

These were painted from a model.

Vito's was my favorite Italian restaurant in Lakeland, Florida.

Comic Strip - Trump Talk

This is the first issue of a comic strip I call "Trump Talk."

Created using Procreate on an iPad and a little Photoshop magic.

Progress on Graphic Novel

I'm writing and drawing a graphic novel set in 1973 and in present time.

Ballpoint pen drawing, Girls Choir

Karl Ove Knausgård

Karl Ove Knausgård, Norwegian novelist, one of the world's great writers

Photoshop drawing using Astropad and an Apple Pencil

Twin Brothers

My Twin Brother and I, about a year and a half old

Photoshop drawing using Astropad and an Apple Pencil