Happy Boxing Day! I don't really know what Boxing Day is. I have various friends from Down Under, and I never really got a satisfactory answer out of them when I asked. Some say it has to do with the (?) Boxer Rebellion. Some say it's when you box up all the things you got for Christmas that don't fit and take them back. I don't know. They do love to wish it to you though.

Today the Cub Scouts had a fishing derby. Actually, it was kind of a trial run to see if they knew how to cast before we got really serious. No actual fish were caught, so by default we honored the kid who caught the biggest tree. If you want to stock up on hooks and bobbers and things, find out where cub scouts are practicing casting, and then scale the trees. We all had a great time, though, except for the worms, which Cubmaster John made sure to name before they were sacrificed. Enjoy some watercolor and pen and ink sketches from the trip.

Merry Almost Christmas! I talked to my great aunt in Massachusetts, who was expecting a snowstorm. I'm so lucky to live in Southern California, where I spent the day not waiting for a snowstorm, but sketching at the zoo with my illustrator group! I got very caught up watching the monkeys, with their cute little hands. I realized that while the largest bone in a human's body is the femur, and thus the largest muscles all involve the upper leg and pelvis, in a monkey those areas are almost afterthoughts! The big bones and big muscle tie-ins are all in the shoulder girdle. It was great to watch them hang and swing. Enjoy the sketches...

Ho ho. One day to go in this semester, I've finished the last project, and it's not midnight! I guess I get to watch House after all...

This is for digital illustration class. I think it's my most successful digital illustration yet, because I did most of it traditionally. I photographed the little tin guys (so cute! Thanks Millie and Jeff!,) then drew it, inked it, and colored it in photoshop. My friend Erin introduced me to the work of Tomer Hanuka, who has the most awesome sense of color. Inspirational! Anyway, it's called "Wind Up" and it's all of the little robot caffeine junkies waiting for their morning cuppa jo. Just looking at their psycho painted eyes gave me the idea. Incidentally, I am (once again) trying to give up caffeine. You should see my eyes...