"His hands were quick,his fingers strong.....

....it stung a little, but not for long. And those who thought him a simple clod were soon reconsidering under the sod. Confined there with a friendly prod, from Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street."

Sweeney Redesigned

I have to be honest , I was not truly happy with my Sweeney design. As a character on his own he was scary and skeletal, but I think I overshot. I decided to set the story further back in time (the early 19th century) and to make him more of a man than a monster. He relates better now to my Mrs. Lovett and will be much more fun due to his wig and fancier clothes. Feel free to share your thoughts.

"He kept a shop in London town...

...of fancy clients and good renown. And what if none of their souls were saved? They went to their maker impeccably shaved.

" His skin was pale, and his eye was odd....

...He shaved the faces of gentlemen who never thereafter were heard of again. He trod a path that few have trod, did Sweeney Todd, the demon barber of Fleet street."

Mrs. Lovett

Here she is in color. I hope you all like it.

Don't eat the Meat Pies!!!!

I have always wanted to illustrate a version of "Sweeney Todd, The Demon Barber of Fleet Street". With the hiatus from school and my newest set of stamps for Disney finished, I gave it a go.

Here is one of my character designs for his partner in crime, Mrs. Lovett. By the way...If you don't know what's in her lovely pies.....You will have to find out!

I will be doing these in color as well.

Further drawings from Florence

The wonderful part about being there this year was I knew where to go and how to get around real easily. I also knew where the best material would be.

Italy once more

The guy on the bottom was flipping through postcards.

The woman with the purple tank top was sitting in the Rivoire cafe with her husband. He noticed me painting her and came over to see it. He started to scream to his wife, "Cest tois! Cest tois! Cest tois!" It was very funny .

She was not amused.

More from Italy

Here are some more.

I would either sit in a cafe or in a square and just observe. One of my favorite places is the Piazza Della Signoria. I would sit below the famous Cellini statue of Perseus holding the head of Medusa and draw the people looking up . More to come.

Back from Italy!

I just got back from Italy the other day (I was there for a month- hence no postings!) and here are some of the drawings I did while I was there. I have lots more and they will be posted soon, just thought I would get some up now. Glad to be back home.

Jarrod Gecek....

....is a very talented student of mine. Please check out his new website:

http://www.jgecek.com/

An angry lady

Don't know why she was so bitter.....she just was .

Waiting for a Parade....

...in Walt Disney World.

A Lady

After all the naked people it was time for something a bit more refined. I was just doodling a face and she had a sweet quality to her. So this is my Sunday night homage to Gibson.

More Naked People!

I have no idea why everyone is naked these days, just makes me laugh.

More Boobs!

saggy, it happens.

"Outsourcing"

Happy Spring to Everyone!

The Art of Disney: Romance

On Friday April 21, 2006 the newest set of stamps that I have illustrated for The Walt Disney Company and The US Postal Service will be issued. This year the ceremony will be held in Walt Disney World (the past ceremonies have been held in Disneyland). As far as I know, it will be at 9:30 AM at Epcot Center and will kick off the International Flower and Garden show there. Large topiaries of my the art will be sculpted for the event.

The characters were all cropped for the stamps, but they were painted full figure. Alas, some of the nicest parts of the images have wound up on the cutting room floor. I will post the full images on here later so you can see what they looked like. I have a feeling these will be pretty popular come wedding season!

Hope you like them, and better yet I hope you buy them!

Patrick Costa

Patrick Costa is a wonderful animator and Arist. Please check out his great work!

http://woodclinched.blogspot.com/

Some new color sketches

Boobs!

Those crazy kids just LOVE to draw!

"Tattoo", sort of....

While on my recent trip to SF, I did these color roughs for Illustration Friday (during the five and a half hours of time that it takes to get there). Usually it is time lost that you never get back, but I try to make the most of it. It usually makes the time fly....so to speak.

I have no time to finish this one by Friday, so.............I think I am going to take my time with it and do a finished piece. The idea is an old proper looking woman sitting next to this really big, nasty looking guy, both waiting to get tattooed. I just loved that silly expression on her face. I will get to soon and post it right here for your amusement (hopefully!).

Chubby Little Lady

This lady is from a previous post. I was looking at it and decided to add some color. You can see the original sketch in the December archive.

Hope you like it.

"TEA!"

For illustration Friday.

These are two very dumb snowmen.