Another festive video...

Hi all! Thought you might like to see another musical doodle fest here at the holidays...


I've realized that in addition to these little projects being heartfelt holiday "howdies", the scribbling allows me to blow off a little steam and shake off some of the tension that inevitably comes when focused on the detail all my wonderful commissions require. I hope you like them. Merry and happy, y'all!!

Delinquent at the holidays...

Sorry I've not posted in forever. I'm swamped. I'm juggling a few commissions as well as my own ongoing projects and some other nifty possibilities in the works. And Christmas is creeping up quickly.



First off, here are a couple pieces I've done over at Squigs Knows His Lines: David Mamet's Race starring James Spader, Richard Thomas, and David Allan Grier; and the revival of Sondheim's A Little Night Music starring Cathering Zeta Jones and Angela Lansbury. Still hoping this exercise is paying off. I think it is, and I look forward to the possibilities and the potential.

Oh... as y'all know, my art still hangs on the walls at Signature Theatre in Arlington, VA, and they've put up a page of my work on their website. See it by clicking here. And I'm happy to say that slivers of my work were seen on the Today Show the other day in a photo of Kathie Lee Gifford and Signature's artistic director Eric Schaeffer. Nifty, huh?


The next week will find me mostly at my desk hitting these commissions out of the park. Here and there, I've planned a few visits with friends and a little holiday entertainment. By the end of the week I hope to take a trip down San Diego way which I will disguise as a work trip. The weekend will find me enjoying more holiday entertainment and my (as of this writing) one and only caroling gig of the season. The following week I'll be scooting off to the great Pacific Northwest for Christmas. It will be great to see the folks and family.

So, I hope y'all are enjoying the holiday time. It's yet one more chance to reflect on what we have to be grateful for. Wishes of peace and love are coming your way.

The holidays are a funny thing.

In an anomaly of scheduling, I don't have a steady performing gig at the holidays this year and it's just plain weird. I've gotta admit that although I have plenty of work to do from home (and a show booked in the new year), I've been going a little nuts without having the chance to spread holiday cheer for pay this year. I'm subbing with the ol' caroling group (and have one evening on the books), but for the most part, I'm doing a one man show that few people will see. However, I'm blessed with a heap o' chances to catch friends in their holiday shows and caroling gigs, and that's definitely a great thing.



In addition to some commissioned pieces I've got on the schedule, I'm still pumping out the showbiz art on the Facebook page. Here are a couple pieces representing shows of the current Broadway season. There's Jude Law in Hamlet and The Royal Family with Rosemary Harris and many more stellar folks. I'm confident these pieces are leading to something amazing. Once I hear some definites, I'll let you know.

Finally, I just wanted to express some relief regarding a medical thing. A few weeks ago I became aware of something that might or might not have meant I had a serious medical issue. To be forthright, I've gone through various levels of being incredibly freaked out. I got good news today though. I'm not dying. Okay... I'm possibly being dramatic, but when things are off, your mind does all sorts of wacky things. At times I was seeing life through a filter of hyper-gratitude, imagining that I was experiencing moments in a series of "lasts." I'm taking this experience as a reminder that each moment should be treated with care, with wonder, and with gratitude.

Blessings and best wishes to you all in this holiday season. Be curious. Be grateful. Peace & love. I leave you with a little video I made for my nieces and nephews in anticipation of Christmas (and it's various meanings). Enjoy...

The holiday rush...

Hey all! Well, the post-Thanksgiving turkey haze has made way for the rush of getting some holiday sketching done. I have a few commissions to do, and my own projects need to be taken off the back burner. Here are some recent pieces I've done for the Facebook page including illustrations of Broadway shows: Superior Donuts (starring Michael McKean), Wishful Drinking (starring Carrie Fisher), and Irving Berlin's White Christmas. Also, here's a "special edition" piece I posted on Thanksgiving Day featuring the Macy's Parade. I'm really enjoying working in color AND improving in my line work at the same time. This artful life is pretty great.



And if y'all are looking for any gifts for that theatre lover or illustration enthusiast in your life, I keep posting items over on my Etsy website. Check 'em out here. There's prints of some of my latest sketches as well as sets of cards. And the biggest news is that I'm offering some original artwork as well... 9 to 5, Bye Bye Birdie, Finian's Rainbow, Next to Normal, A Steady Rain, Sweeney Todd, and Stephen Sondheim. Click HERE to see 'em.

Best wishes to you all in this holiday season! Peace and love.

Gratitude (and more Broadway art).

Just a quick posting to show off some recent Broadway illustrations. I'm doing these as a continuation of the postings over at Squigs Knows His Lines and even more as a regular exercise and investment in future possibilities. From top to bottom, here is Fela!, Burn the Floor, and A Steady Rain (starring Hugh Jackman and Daniel Craig).


I am stacking up the holiday commissions which are shaping up to be a fun and varied group of projects. There are a couple musicals, a TV show, and a few pieces of some fancy individuals. I have some work to do over the next few weeks. I'm like a one man elfin workshop. Well... I am short.

Things are busy but I am looking forward to taking a break for Thanksgiving. Can't wait to watch the Macy's parade. And then there's a dinner or two with dear friends. Turkey coma here I come! And with all sincerity, I'm so incredibly grateful for friends and family and for the blessings of health and vocation(s) that I absolutely love. So much to be thankful for!

So, Happy happy Thanksgiving, y'all. Peace and love.

The end. For now.

Hey all! I've had quite the fun and varied and rewarding month. I dwarfed it up at the Disney Concert Hall, took a couple of voyages on the Ark with a lot of fun and fancy (and lovely) folks, helped shape a musical based on a nineties movie, visited my brother and his family, and curated an exhibit of my art in Arlington, VA. It's been quite a ride. And now, I'm calling an end to this chapter. I need a break. I've kept a hand in the art biz and auditions this week (and will likely continue no matter what), but I'm heading a bit out of town tomorrow and don't plan to return until Saturday.

I'm going to visit with good friends, meet a new baby, see a new musical, visit beer Disneyland, and try to take a metaphorical chill pill. I'll be back to the grind on Saturday evening (caricature gig in Beverly Hills), and before Thanksgiving I hope to get a lot more art-type stuff done.



And amidst the craziness lately, some of my recent work has included a caricature commission for the amazingly talented Michael Berresse as he completed the LA run of Parade. I've also faithfully kept up the efforts over at Squigs Knows His Lines. Among the weekly posts, I heralded the opening of the current revival of Ragtime on Broadway.


I've also stepped up the efforts over at my Etsy.com site, selling prints of my recent art and some greeting cards (originally created for the MetroStage art exhibit). You can check out all the bounty HERE.

Well, that's all for now. Take care, all! Get ready to highlight an attitude of gratitude next week. Thanksgiving isn't just a really spiffy parade and tons of turkey. There really is SO much to be thankful for. Life, breath, and possibilities. Peace and love!

DC: Art and skull fragments.

Okay, I'll explain that title. But I've got to keep this brief. I've got lines to study and people to draw. Or maybe lines to draw and people to study. That's funny! It works both ways.


Got back last night from a quick trip to DC. I was in town to curate my exhibit at Signature Theatre in Arlington, VA. I'm really excited about it. Signature is a happenin' regional theatre (in fact Tony-winning), and I worked with the gang there to sketch shows over their 20 years in existence. My art will be hanging on their gallery walls through at least January 17 in the new year.


While in town, I was also able to see a couple sights I had to miss on the last trip. The National Museum of Health and Medicine was tough to get to (on the Walter Reed Army Medical Center campus) but was well worth the visit... even if the visit included breaking out in a cold sweat on a couple occasions. I saw the bullet that killed Lincoln (see photo) and fragments of his skull. I saw severed limbs and a lot of accounts of battlefield medicine. I saw a hairball that was extracted from a 12 year old girl's stomach (after she'd eaten her hair for six years). Altogether ookey! But interesting.


I also visited the amazingly epically beautiful National Cathedral. Huge and full of art... scuplture, mosaics, needlework, masonry, stained glass aplenty. And for being as imposing as it was, it was surprisingly intimate. And the gardens were stunning!


And I just had to return to the National Portrait Gallery. I just love that place... representations of folks over these many years. Of course I was incredibly drawn to the Hirschfelds. I just stare at his work and feel inspired. Wow!


My host(s) during my trip were my friend Garrett/Elise Long's mother Cindy and brother Ash. I'm so grateful to them for opening their home... and for spoiling me with all the food. They live in beautiful Alexandria, VA. I slept just blocks from Robert E. Lee's boyhood home and George Washington's church. That's the front of Cindy's place in the photo. Very cool! Thanks, Longs!!

And now, I've jumped into a maelstrom of auditions (four in the next week) and rehearsals for a workshop reading of a stage musical version of Romy & Michelle's High School Reunion. Our first day was great. The material is really fun and I can't wait to see what the rest of the week holds.

Anyway... so much for "brief." I get chatty on this blog. Oh well. But now I've got to get back to work. Take care, all! Peace and love.