A backlog of posts. Trying to coordinate across multiple platforms is proving well beyond my powers.

Halloween is in the air. A grotesquerie from today's waiting room wait.

Beth bought a Brushpen Breakfast Sketchbook and asked to be drawn as an alien...I went Mamie Van Doren style. When I put her in the warhead brazier, she cackled with delight.

Phew. You never know how that's gonna go over.

OK, so I'm trying to follow the lead of those more tech-savvy than me and post these on the vaunted tumblr.

CLICK HERE FOR BRUSHPEN TUMBLR

And Ranjo has been inveighing me to get on Instagram.

But these new image outlets leaves me feeling nostalgic about my Blogger platform. So I want to keep this one going. This format better lends itself to a "curated" scroll, I think. With that in mind, I think I will back fill a few days to show what I did over the weekend at the 2nd Annual San Diego Comic Fest.

So sue me!

Here's Scott Benefiel's copy of the Brushpen Breakfast Book. An Ellis pop-up book "surprize."

There's only ONE copy left of the initial print run--so order yours today!

I just had to include this one. Crayola of my buddy, Jimmy "Maurice" Gorham.

 Had a great time drawing this for Tyler. Had no idea who Adam Strange was, but he filled me in. Tyler's homemade costume was great--and he got a real kick out of the drawing. Thanks, dude!

My shingle at the San Diego Comic Fest. Heading is nonsensical, but I liked the caricatures too much to redo it.

Guy on the right was seated to my right at San Diego Comic Fest: Dennis Neal Smith. A nice guy who really dug my Paris ink of the Closerie des Lilas. Thanks, Dennis!

Drew this with a bright pink Pentel brushpen. Put it in Pho-Sho and hit "AUTO TONE" and it came out like this. Looks like I did a blue-line underdrawing (I di'n't!).

Inktober ink of the Gorgon "painting." Using an old Pentel brushpen.

 Sadly, I think there's more life and action in this little ink than the whole elaborate Gorgon final!

The felt-tip marker "painting" redo of this year's "Monsters & Dames" entry.

Yes, felt-tip marker...with a lot of Photo Shop enhancement. But none of that "digital drawing." I'm doing all this on a laptop!

A prelim study for a comic project. Notice the skater sneakers done up as a "saddle shoe" tribute.

Drawing with...Joe Sanabria! (Check him out--he's good!)

Taking the brushpens on the road again (from the run down to San Diego to deliver the Yogi busts).

Drawn at LACMA in the dark on a fine Friday night. They were doing this summer evening live jazz thing every Friday...don't know if it's still on.

The dancing fella at right was a giant. The only people dancing. The band was a quintet I think; Luther Hughes & The Cannonball/Coltrane Project. A ton of people. Shocking to see an actual outdoor cultural thing in LA come off. Well, it was free!

Delivered two portrait busts to San Diego yesterday. On the way down I snuck into the Carlsbad Outlets and grabbed a photo on their faux Renaissance staircase. (Subject is the guru Paramahansa Yogananda, founder of Swami's in Encinitas.)

UPDATE: Posted because, y'know, I sculpted it.

Forgot this one. From E.C.C.C.

Overheard: "I thought they'd have more talent here...."

A trip to the DMV. The little girl's second question was if I spoke Arabic. She was in a tooth-transition period, with just a couple of them visible. I tried to get that in, but the result looked awful--like I was deliberately trying to make her look ugly (I wasn't!). So I blacked 'em out, and instead gave her...gum smile.

p.s. both kids markedly underwhelmed by their portraits. And I agree--I always fold under that kind of pressure. Never make it as a SeaWorld/Disneyland caricaturist.

Aprés la guerre....

   Victory!

...and IT'S ON!!

Someone to fight that Barbarian....

I got into doing this series of "The Barbarian's Life..." for the back of these sketchbooks. I think barbarians are funny--esp'ly when with high foreheads and short bangs!

Stuart Ng just informed me that they sold out of their allotment of "Brushpen Breakfast" at Comic Con (hooray!).

Better still, they've asked for another ten copies. I sold 'em eleven. This is one of the "bonus" drawings I did in the back of each one (and Stuart's fave).

Another in our series of ECCC 2013 drawings.

She was a lady of a certain age, shall we say. German, I think, and dressed in this fun get-up.

Very friendly, didn't buy anything but asked if I had a biz card; when I produced one, she asked me to sign it. "You know--goot to have--just in case!"

The large fox tails made the costume, but they left me a bit...unsettled.

San Diego Comic Con is coming...I'll honor it with this sketch from Seattle's Emerald City Comic Con back in March...from the "opening minutes" (can you sense the excitement?).

For childhood pal David Sharpe. He was an Iron Man fan (Bob Layton era). I was more for Black Panther and Captain America. But who can resist a little T'Challa love?

The amazing Bobbo!

Doodles on my blotter.

For Blair's Aunt. Had to use a little white-out to try and bring the big guy to the left's eye back. He was supposed to be my version of a Victor Mature-style "hunk."

The internets: "Y'now, if you're not gonna update every day, why bother updating at all??"

Gulp.

Here's the study for Blair and Carole. This is a lot better than the final, but, y'know, pencil underdrawing...(can't have that in a real brushpen sketch!)

Blair's dissertation advisers got a book! If you look at Bob's eyes, they can be read as both looking at the statue (small and concentrated), or looking at me (big and skeptical). Do you see it? It's an optical illusion!

A different kind of brushpen piece.

More Brushpen Breakfast The Book sketches...this one for the estimable Jeff Ranjo. A Giant Robot citation, and a Pacific Rim teaser.

Ellis!

A drawing for Beata's bro Peter. He's a big Disney fan--and I'm a big Blaine Gibson fan (the guy who sculpted so many of the Disneyland audio-animatronic figures).

For my sister-in-law. The nieces (and nephew)!

My buddy Bry got a flat tire today on his way to work...at 4 a.m.

Beata's Brushpen Breakfast drawing. She loves the Magyar Stomp!

Did I show y'all the marker drawing I did for the Family Schmitz?

I've been beaver-busy making drawings--either commissioned ones like the above, or brushpen dedicatory sketches for each Brushpen Breakfast book I sell (and they have been selling--thank you!). But I have trouble managing the timing for the blog--I finish a drawing, scan it, and send it off to its new home--but I don't want to post it until the recipient gets a first look. So images like this one linger unseen while my backlog grows...until I remember to post them, that is.

p.s. I have lost all ability to draw myself.

My man Carlo bought a copy of BPB at House of Secrets, (Burbank's finest comics establishment)...

...and duly found himself (and baby Sofia!) subject of a dedicatory drawing!

I bought this card about four years ago...I knew I could do something fun with it, but wasn't sure what.

Then along came my cousin Mimi's 20th birthday...my 6'2" cousin who plays rugby for Long Beach State. And I had my punchline! When she opens the card, she'll see....