Back Again

I know it's been a while, but I am finally back with a new picture or three. This first one is a picture of Sponge Bob, the original Goofy Goober, rocking out. My youngest still loves the Goofy Goober song so I drew this for her:

She smiled real big when she saw it and screamed "I'm a Goofy Goober! ROCK!!". I think that meant she liked it.


This next one my oldest asked for. He has the new Injustice game and wanted me to draw the Shazam character from that. this is what is looks like:

I like it. I wish I hadn't tried to do all of the extra shading in the back ground, but he said he liked it and that is what's important.

The last one is a type of drawing I usually don't do. I don't care too much for still life drawing. It's always been a little too hard for me to get the curves and shading just right. I am attempting to start my own business and I needed a logo. Since it is a maintenance based business I decided tools were the best thing. This is what I came up with:

I am really pleased with it. I started to draw a cartoonish figure holding a hand full of tools heading out to work but, once I started researching, I found that almost everybody had that same idea. This is something different and original, or at least I think it is. I'm happy with the way it turned out. It looks good on a business card too.

Hawk-Man

 My oldest son gave me this piece of paper one day and asked me if I could come up with a picture of Hawkman from the the designs he had come up with.  I took a look at his pictures and sat down to try to make it work. We sat down together a couple of times and made some agreed upon changes to the helmet and knee pads, as well as a couple other things. I got started and after about a month I came up with the picture you see below.

I think it turned out pretty good. I came up with this from the action figure he has and from the way the character looks on DC Comic's Superman/Batman: Public Enemies. He hasn't had a chance to see it yet so I hope he likes it.

Call of Duty

I received yet another letter today from my oldest asking me to post a couple more of his amazing drawings on this blog. A request that I am more than happy to fulfill. He has started playing the New Call of Duty: MW 3 game and he has modeled the following pictures from there. The first one is the 'Tactical Knife' and the second is the 'MP14'.

In his letter he stated that the Tactical Knife doesn't look that good but I believe that it does. I think they both turned out very good.

Keep up the good work Big Man. I love you and I miss you. Now I'd better get to work drawing something or I just might have to rename this blog from 'Gary's Greetings' to 'The Big Man's Works of Art'. Hmmm. That has a nice ring to it.

Tarzan

When we open the mailbox today I was happy to see that there was an envelope addressed to me, written in pencil. I knew right away from the handwriting that it was from my oldest. He had sent me a letter requesting that we put another of his masterpieces on the blog. In the letter he explained that he was reading 'The Beast of Tarzan' and this picture is what he thought the author was describing:

I think it looks great. He definitely has talent.

Red Cobra

I drew this one for my oldest son. He asked me to color it, which is something I don't normally do, but I thought I would try it. I wish I hadn't, but he says he likes it so that is all that matters.

Japanese Demon

Madusa Skull

I worked on this one for a few days. I think it turned out pretty good.

Lover Not A Fighter

This drawing was done by my youngest son. He finished it last night and wanted to add his contribution to the blog. He said that this was originally a broken heart that has been mended over and over but then decided that the designs down the the middle were just diamonds. He took his time with this one. He even drew out reference points first. I like it. I think he did a great job.

A Veteran's Day 'Thank You'

This past weekend my youngest son walked up to me and said "Here, Daddy. This is for protecting our country and keeping us safe." Along with a big hug he gave me this wonderful drawing:

He went on to explain the finer points of the drawing such as the grenade in my left had and the rifle in my right. He made sure I noticed the army boots and assured me that I actually do have hair. It's just under my hat. I told him thank you and I would put it here for the world to see just as soon as I could. I think it's perfect. I will always treasure those moments.

I served a little over 4 years in the Army. It was a wonderful, eye opening and learning experience. I am glad that our troops are finally coming home and I am thankful for all of the men and women that serve in our Armed Forces to keep us safe and keep this the best country in the world. They are true heroes in my book.

Pizza Party

Well, here it is. I finally finished it today. I was asked by my oldest daughter to draw a picture of Wonder Woman, Batgirl and Supergirl eating pizza. I have to admit that this request threw me for a bit of a loop. I had 15 failed attempts before coming up with this one. I did create this from a blank piece of paper, no tracing, but I can't take credit for the original creation. The original art work was created by Tom Bancroft an excellent artist with enormous talent.

I think it turned out just pretty good. Everyone is enjoying a slice of pepperoni pizza. I hope she likes it. Sometimes it takes me forever to get a picture going. I have to actually be in the mood to draw. If I'm not 100% ready then I can't draw a straight line with a ruler.

Either way, I am finally done with it and I can get on to two other requests that have been made. One being from my oldest son to deliver a picture of Nightwing and Robin fighting. I already have an idea in mind and I do believe I am ready to start it next.

For Someone?

I just wanted to do this one. No one asked for it but I figured if there was a certain little girl out there that may love SpongeBob then this could be for her. Right now I have to get started on my next one. I have yet another request. This time it is for a picture of me and my oldest daughter sitting on a park bench watching Wonder Woman fly by. Oh yeah. This is going to take a while.

Batman

I just got this one done this morning and wanted to hurry and put it on the blog. I've been working on this once ever since I completed the first Wonder Woman picture. I've never really shaded in the entire paper before and now I have learned something. Lead loves fingerprints, duh. I guess I am going to have to be more careful the next time I try to do that. Either way, I think this one turned out quit nice. I thought since I drew Superman and Wonder Woman I should finish out DC's 'Holy Trinity' by adding Batman.

Wonder Woman

After seeing the picture of Superman I had drawn for my oldest son, my oldest daughter requested a picture of Wonder Woman. Well, here she is. I think it turned out quit nice. I hope she likes it. I enjoyed drawing this one. Hoepfully its good enough for my little Wonder Woman.

Superman

Earlier this week my oldest son asked me to draw him a picture of his favorite superhero. It just so happens that his favorite superhero is none other than Superman. I got started on it right away and actually finished it this morning. I enjoy drawing this way. Thick, heavy border lines, shading everything in so that it all fits together. I have to admit that I messed up on the actual logo. If you look close enough you can see that I put too much pressure on the pencil when I first did my out line. That caused the pencil lines to show when I was shading in parts of Superman's foot and cape. Hopefully my Superman will like it.

Lonesome Loser

This guy is pretty cool. The entire time I was working on this I had the song 'Lonesome Loser' running through my head. Once I find some blendable color pencils I might try this one again in color.

Hero or Zero

Today at the park I ran into a guy I know. I guess you could say we're firends. I know him to be a decent and caring person that will give you the shirt off of his back. I didn't get his permission to use his name in this post so we will call him 'Cheech'. That was his nickname when I first met him. I had ran askew of the law a while back and that's where we met. We worked in the laundry together and I learned very quickly why he was there. You see, Cheech loves to smoke the refer. Weed, Ganja, Maui Wowie, Pot, Marijuana, you know the stuff. He would talk about it all the time. To ANYBODY. He would talk openly about it to the guards, who would confess to him that they smoke it. I always thought that was a little bit weird but I digress.

He sat down and joined the rest of our little group. As we talked, Cheech explained to me that he was getting ready to head back to jail for the 7th time. He violated his probation (AGAIN) when he failed the court ordered drug test. He says that he will not go a day without his bud. In his own words, "I will not NOT smoke it". He believes that it his constitutional right to smoke it and 'To Hell' with anyone that says different. He believes that it should be legalized all around the world and sold in packs of ten in every drug and convenience store in America.

Now I know that Cheech is not the only person in the world that thinks this way. I know that this has been an on going argument for some time now. I am neither for nor against it. I choose not to use drugs. That is my choice and I stand by it, but who am I to pass judgement on someone that does? My only issue is, that right now, marijuana is an illegal substance. There is no getting around that. It's the law. And no matter how many times you get arrested for it, it's still the law.

Cheech says that every time he goes before a judge he tells them how he believes that marijuana should be legalized. He lets the court know that if the U.S. government would just legalize pot it would cure all of our countries ills. New jobs would be opened up and unemployment would go down. The crime rate would drop because of the fact that marijuana would be so accessible that no one would need to commit a crime to get it. Because our government would most definitely levy a tax on the sale of marijuana, money would just come pouring in and The United States would be the richest country in the world.

Maybe he's right, I don't know. But I don't think he is going to get his point across while standing in front of a county judge as a repeat offender. I don't think that some judge is going to look down from his or her bench and say, "You know what Mr. Cheech? You are right. To hell with the law. It should be legalized. WE were wrong all along and now you are free to go". So, my question is: After being arrested 7 times and spending most of your adult life behind bars, when do you stop being an activist and start being an idiot? Cheech is 54 years old, and out of those 54 years he has spent 32 of them either in jail or prison. He has two sons and both of them are in jail right now. One will get out NEXT August, the other is scheduled to start a 5 year prison term on the next bus run. Both of them were arrested for possession of a controlled substance. So, he's passed this on to his children.

When I tried to explain to him that maybe he is going about things the wrong way, he told me that he was in the same league as George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and even Abraham Lincoln. He says that they were enemies of the state once too. They were considered to be traitors and criminals, just like him. As far as Cheech is concerned, he is a hero. He then took the time to explain to me that there are some very 'important' and 'famous' people that are proponents of the legalization of marijuana. I did some research and He was right. Here is a link to a list of the 15 Greatest Proponents of Marijuana Legalization. Check it out, you might be surprised who's on this list.

I wanted to talk with him a little more about the fact that the people he mentioned didn't go around getting arrested every few months just to get their point across, but Cheech pulled a 'smoke' from his pocket and fired it up. I decided it was time for me to go. Besides, I promised SC I would vacuum the house today and that seemed to be my cue. As I gathered my things and got ready to leave, I showed him this picture that I had actually done while we were locked up. He said that it was perfect and it fit him to a T. "You should frame it", he said. I shook his hand and wished him the best of luck and left.

The Blues

Have you ever been so down that you didn't think you could come back up? Just so sad that nothing can keep you smiling for very long? Have you ever felt like you could just walk off the face of the earth and no one would really notice?

I think it's safe to say that things have not been going my way lately and they don't seem like they are going to improve anytime soon. I just feel stuck. Like I am sunk down in the mud and there is no way to get out.

Nothing compares to earning your own money. Making your own way. Taking care of myself and those around me is a feeling that I miss dearly.

But, I know that nothing is truly hopeless and, eventually, things are going to get better.I know that I have a great friend and four beautiful children that love me and need me around so I will draw strength from that until my day in the sun comes back around. I know it's coming, I just think it needs to hurry up and get here.

My little Dumplin (Take Four)

And here she is. Making her Gary's Greetings debut, My little dumpie Dumplin. My third oldest child and my oldest girl. I have called her my Dumplin ever since her first day in this world. When she was born, she was tiny and white and all wrinkled up, just like a dumpling.

She is a true Daddy's girl and that is just fine with me. In fact, if she wants to be a Daddy's girl for the rest of my life that would be perfect.(Hint, hint)

When Dumpie was still a little baby she would love to get up at 3:00 in the morning and come see me. She had a 'system' that her mother and me HAD to follow. Her mother was to get up and get her and then bring her to me. If we deviated from this plan in anyway, she would not be a happy baby. I would wrap her up in a blanket and we go and sit in a rocking chair on the porch and watch the sun come up together almost every morning. I can still see those big green eyes staring up at me, so trusting and so full of love. Those big green eyes have turned brown now to match her mother's, but she is still just a pretty. I could fill this entire post on just how beautiful she is, but she is much more than that. She is so much more.

She is a very strong, smart, funny and caring young woman. She has enough love in that heart of hers to fill the Grand Canyon and it over flow. She can take me down with a shoestring tackle that would rival any NFL player, and she finds it absolutely hilarious that stepping on the back of my shoe, while running, will not only cause me to go down in a game of 'kill the daddy with the ball', it will also tear the sole right off of my shoe. She makes straight A's and thinks it is funny as hell every time Cindy Lauper pins her father up against the wall in the 'Girls Just Want To Have Fun" video.

She has tickle spots all over and doesn't mind asking to get them tickled. She has a laugh that is loud and infectious. If you hear her laugh and don't laugh yourself it is because you heart quit beating and you need to see a doctor. She has some of the best ear and neck sugar ever, and it is my responsibility to get as much of that sugar as the law will allow every time we are together.

She loves to throw tea parties and she loves the Jonas Brothers. She loves to color and to talk on her toy cell phone to Nick and let him know that she is going to marry him immediately. She loves her Barbies and her bath fizzies. She loves to climb up into my lap and curl up into a tight little ball and tuck her head under my chin and sit and snuggle for hours.

She said she wants to be a doctor when she grows up and she has the ability and the potential to do just that, and more if she wants to. She is going to be challenged though. She has to grow up in a world where the TV is covered with the images of women that only care about how big their boobs are or if they have too much arm hair. Music videos where the women are only there to see how fast they can bounce their butts, and men that just think a woman is here for their pleasure or that she is here to be lied to and made fun of. I know she can learn to see past all of that and become the beautiful, caring, strong young woman that I know she can be. I hope she learns to see her potential is unending. I hope she is always the knockout champion. I hope that she learns that the only reason she needs a man in her life is because he completes her and not because 'she can't fix her car because she's a girl'. I hope that one day she knows how proud of her I am, but she'll never really know how much I love her.

One fast Hotrod!!!

Here is the second installment of 5 portraits that I plan to put on here. This one is of my second oldest child. He is my Hotrod and has been since birth.

He is almost always full of energy. A friend once discribed him as..."A combination of Dennis the Menace, Calvin from Calvin and Hobes, and the Energizer Bunny on speed..." and I must admit she is dead on the money.

With a never ending imagination, he is quick to come up with his explaination on how the world works and it is usually something no one else would even come close to coming up with. He can come up with a 'poot joke' faster than anyone I've ever known. And while we are on the subject of poots, He is a world reknown armpit farter. Definetly one of the best, if not the best, armpit musicians.

He has a heart big enough to match his imagination. Quick to give a hug and a smooch and tell you that he loves you. He eagerly opens his heart to the people around him, and once you are in, you're in for life. The picture I drew this portrait from was taken while he was on his way to me to give me a hug. Arms wide open and his lips just starting to pucker up to give me a kiss wet enough to sink a battleship.

He usually goes through the day thinking that if anything is worth doing, then it's worth getting into trouble for. I find myself sitting back and smiling when I think of some of the things he's done. I wasn't smiling at the time, but I am now. I've learned to make sure that if he gets too quiet to stop and just check in to see what he may be planning to do next. That way the world goes un-cracked for one more day.

He has been described as a class clown, but he is a smart and clever young man, getting straight A's on his last report card. He loves to run and to be chased. He loves to see if his voice can actually reach the people in the house two streets over. And it just comes naturally. That's what makes him who he is. None of this is ever done just to be mean or with malice in his heart. He is just wide open. That's the way he was made, and I love him with all of my heart for it.

He loves to laugh and to make others laugh. He infects everyone around him with his carefree, love life attitude. I hope he never looses that. I hope he will always be the kind of son that is ready to climb into my lap for a tickle or just to sit and snuggle. I hope I can help him nurture his imagination so that it takes him as high as he wants to go. I hope he knows just how much I love him and how proud I am of him.

Skull and Snake Tattoo Design

I really love this one. It seemed to take up a life of its own once I started it. Every time I thought I was done, I would think of something else to put in it.

My scanner isn't big enough to scan the picture so I had to take a picture of it and then upload it to the computer. The camera did it more justice than the scanner would have. It shows a lot more of the details and shading of the picture. I also think the barbed wire and the roses make it a little more original.

I don't really have a story to go along with this one except to say that there are three little ones that are anxiously awaiting their debut on to 'Gary's Greetings'. To them I will say to be patient and I will get your pictures done as soon as possible. It takes me a while to do the portraits. I like them to be perfect. I promise that I am working on them and I will have them finished in no time.