Country Blues

I've been experimenting lately with different compression codecs. Now that blogger lets you upload video, I'm trying out different graphic styles and compression settings. Since "Illustration Friday's" weekly topic is "the Blues", I figured I'd upload a little 19 second clip. The preview doesn't look all that hot, so I'll be editing this post pretty often. The illo above is a still image from the original file. I started out with a black frame (oops), so ya need to scroll down a scoche to see the clip. Thanks again, for stopping in!

Hey Waitress!!

Well Well, this weeks topic for Illustration Friday is "Juggle". No, the server in the illustration is not trying to juggle her tray, she's trying to balance her tray. What she is juggling, however, is the overwhelming amount of tasks she must do "RIGHT NOW!". She's got a hot order sitting in the window, with a blood thirsty chef banging on the bell with blood in his eye. Table six is having a meltdown because they want to order "NOW!". Table eight is pissed because they are late for a movie and want her to cash them out "NOW!". The creep on table seven just reached for her cheeks (no not the ones next to her nose) . She's scrambling around the floor trying to dodge table twelves children who are running amok like a pack of Hyena pups. Her restaurant was just bought out by a huge conglomerate, and her new boss is a snot nosed brat who just sent all of the rest of the floor staff home so they could cut costs. The corporation has decided to add a snazzy new dessert to the menu called a "Flaming Spasm", this of course takes about ten minutes of table side preparation (with a blow torch). Table sixteen just happens to be impatiently waiting for their Flaming Spasm. Now she's trying to juggle all this and so so very much more. Her kids are home with the flu, and the babysitter is threatening to run off to become a groupie for the Rolling Stones. Rent is late, and that snot nosed brat boss of hers is about to give one of her best shifts away to the new busty blond. All in a days work. Tip that server, and tip her well. This post goes out to all of you servers out there who have the grits and the guts to make it through one crazy shift after another. I've been there, and done that, got the varicose veins hollering out their testimony. Don't ever let anyone lead you to believe that you are in anyway mentally inferior. Because it is you that can juggle a hundred tasks, and execute them all one by one in an order that is swift and efficient. The song below is dedicated to you. And if your not a server, yet you may know or love one...... send them a link to this page. It just might brighten up their day.

Here is a shot I snapped yesterday of a Dragonfly high atop my Ocotillo.

Momentum Take two

Last weeks Illustration Friday topic was "momentum". I uploaded this illustration above, which I designed from a frame take from the video below, and uploaded some cool video clips of thunder and lightning. I posted the clips in the Quicktime format. Unfortunately not everyone has a Qt plugin, and it was causing my page to load slower than Molasess in January. I decided to upload it from an AVI using bloggers video uploading tools. Too bad the quality cannot compare to the high quality and resolution of Quicktime video's. Anyhow here is the re-post.

I do

This week's Illustration Friday topic is "Wedding". Sorry I just couldn't help myself.

Century Bloom

I was in the mood to do a digital sketch tonight and decided to do an illustration of an agave blossom. They seem to be one of the most interesting blooms in the desert.

Peekaboo!

I think this Stick bug is on the lookout for hungry Wolf Spiders.

Autumn Colors

I'm in a uploading mood I guess. Thought I'd throw up this piece that is almost finished. This one is also a smaller version of the one that I posted, which is even smaller than the poster sized original. You can click on this one too, to see a bigger view.

Cactus Sculpture

This could mean the birth of a new hobby. I bought some cacti yesterday, because I wanted to create a nice center piece for the patio table. I added a little Buddha sculpture, some rocks, shells, and a piece of petrified wood. After shooting the photo I was pleased with a close up version of the shot, so I figured I'd post it here on my blog. I uploaded larger versions of these photo's. So if you want a closer look you can click on the images. This could become a rather addicting pastime.

Yeee Gads!

Yikes! What a huge Wolf Spider! There really isn't much in this top shot to give a sense of scale on this guy, but he's probably over four inches in length. I went out on the patio this morning to enjoy the cooler temperatures and rainfall. A little something grabbed my attention from the corner of my eye. At first I thought it was a Tarantula, but at closer inspection I discovered that its A Wolf Spider. The shot above was taken from out on the patio.

This shot was taken from inside the house looking out. I wrestled him down and escorted him to a safer location, as the neighbor birds were all looking lustfully at him like a lobster on display in a four star restaurant's tank.

Bad day to be a Butterfly

I saw a butterfly sitting still on a flower in my yard. When I got a closer look I discovered why he didn't flutter off. OK, now I really like butterflies, but you have to admit it.... that is one cool looking spider.