Mexican Menu Elric

The albino sorceror prince Elric, a character created by British author Michael Moorcock, has always been one of my favorite fantasy heroes. And so I wanted to put Elric on a Mexican menu. I usually dashed these off in a couple of hours, but this one had real production values and I spent a lot of time on it. It saw action a few times in the restaurant, but then I decided I didn't want to get taco sauce all over it and I withdrew it from the stack, keeping it in my own collection. Believe it or not, I still have this one in my archives somewhere. It is one of only three Paco's Tacos signs that I saved. My armor for Elric is based on 16th century parade armor and the typeface is from an Art Nouveau collection. 

Markers on posterboard, 22" x 13", winter 1979-1980. Colors restored in Photoshop.

Vernacular Porch

Vernacular architecture is the building style of a region or era, that just sort of got built the way local builders (not usually architects) usually build something. Nothing fancy, just useful for that region's use. This porch is a good example. It's semi-enclosed by that front panel, which replaces the usual rail with balusters (those vertical spindles which hold up the rail on a porch). The ladder inside shows that the porch is used to store construction and maintenance equipment rather than leisurely chairs and plant containers. What I find notable in this vernacular structure is the decorative wood panel square on its point in the center of the front rail-wall. They didn't have to put that in, but they did. 

This is another of my work break-time drawings of houses and sights in the neighborhood behind my work place. There are lots of these details as every house in that area is different. People have customized their cottages. Sometimes they have torn down the original house and replaced it with an oversized, ugly edifice that uses almost the whole lot. This neighborhood was built in the late 40s and early 50s for GI's returning from the war. Now every one of these sites and small customized cottages is worth a fortune due to its location near the city of Tysons Corner. It's a form of American building that originally catered not to the affluent but to the middle class. They don't build like this any more, at least here; new developments in my area feature monster houses or townhouses which are well out of the price range of any veteran, or anyone else who is still modestly middle-class.

Staedtler technical pen on sketchbook page, 6" x 6". This drawing took about 20 minutes to draw.

Mexican Menu White Cat

Cat-loving me couldn't resist doing another cat sign for the Allston series. This one is the Great White Cat of the Cosmos, with the Christmas Star (I must have done this in the holiday season) in the background. Or perhaps it is the Star of Redemption. Or the Star of Enlightenment through Chili. There's something metaphysical going on here, but I have forgotten just what it was. 

Markers on posterboard, 21" x 13", winter 1979. Colors and whiteness restored in Photoshop.

Neglected Cottage Next Door

This cottage is right next to the shopping center where my workplace is located. It has been neglected and overgrown for a long while, though not abandoned. Someone owns it, but as far as I can see no one lives there. Some years ago it had a "for sale" sign on it, and then a "for rent" sign. At one point I did see people living there, in a sort of grubby way with broken down furniture on the lawn. Now I see no one there. I would have liked to live here, since it is next door to work, but the location on a noisy main highway isn't very restful. Still, it would be nice to live in a house with a back yard rather than an apartment. It would probably take a lot of money to make this place habitable again. I don't think "Architectural Digest" would feature it.

Staedtler technical pen on sketchbook page, 6" x 6", June 25, 2012.

Puccio's Deli Leesburg

This is the second of the street sketches I did on my recent visit to Leesburg. Many of the businesses in the old town are built into old residences, which gives the place a homelike feeling. "Puccio's New York Deli" is one of these, and this is the porch of that house, complete with wrought iron seating bench in front and hanging ferns. By the time I drew this, Puccio's had closed for the day so I didn't get to eat there, but maybe I will next time I visit the town. I drew this porch detail out the window of my parked car as a major thunderstorm was approaching the area. I drew fast and left just before the deluge.

Pitt pen on sketchbook page, about 6" x 6", June 22, 2012.

Mexican Menu Green God

I used my Mayan resources to create another "Pre-Columbian" menu board. This was a green snaky god with a humanoid head and the sacred green quetzal plumes. The humanoid head with its exaggerated features caused some controversy when I showed it back then, as it was regarded as an ugly caricature of a Native Mesoamerican face. But it wasn't far removed from the faces that were actually carved by the Mayans themselves. I did enjoy working with the Art Nouveau typeface, with each letter carefully built (and corrected) by hand. The little guy in the lower right hand corner is copied from a Mayan depiction of an owl.

Markers on posterboard, 21" x 13", winter 1979.

Leesburg Porch with Resident

I brought the Big Painting to Leesburg on Friday, to have it photographed at the gallery I frequent. I will pick it up next Friday and I'll have a high-resolution file that I can present here and on other internet venues. Of course I also did some drawing in the town, because it is filled with old architecture that I love to draw. This is part of a row of houses just a few blocks away from the town center. I decided to include the utility lines on this one. The hedges in front had engulfed some of the chainlink fence in front of them. If you look closely in the lower center of the image you can see the tiny figure of one of the residents of this house, who came out to sit on the porch and have a smoke while I was drawing.

Pitt technical pen on sketchbook paper, about 7" x 6", June 22, 2012. Some corrections were made in Photoshop.