I haven’t been sketching on the El much recently, but I’m hoping to get back into the game.  Who needs a sketchbook when I always seem to have random scraps of paper in my pockets?

This is via Nick Campbell, who runs the blog Greyscalegorilla.com.  Nick has been on a tear lately and consistently has awesome photography, motion graphics, videocasts, and tutorials up on his site.  This is one of a few slow motion videos he and his coworkers at Digital Kitchen shot with a camera that captures 1000 frames per second.  Check out the others that he posted on his blog as well.  Great stuff.

Hold on to that snow hat with the awesome ear flaps just a little bit longer.  The end is just around the corner.  Right?

It can be frustrating when your subject suddenly shifts their position or heads for the door of the train.  I’ve begun to view this as a kind of cool opportunity to see whether I can salvage the sketch and give it some new direction.  I like this new challenge as it adds something interesting to the game and forces me to deal with what I have in a way I wasn’t anticipating.

We’ve all been there.

One of the reasons I love Andrew Bird’ performances is that he lets you follow along as he layers together his complex sound, piece-by-piece.   He just posted a video for his tune Anonanimal on his website, letting you deconstruct his process and witness the song’s evolution.

I’m also really looking forward to grabbing the limited edition Noble Beast Deluxe Edition, which comes with the instrumental album, Useless Creatures–recorded with Todd Sickafoose and Wilco’s Glenn Kotche–as well as illustrations by the awesome Chicago artist, Diana Sudyka.

My apologies for the inconsistent posting lately.  I’m trying my best to get a handle on a new job and a great–but intense–tshirt design gig.  I’ll follow up with a look at some of these recent designs soon, but for now I hope you enjoy this sketch of a late night EL rider in the Chicago underground.

Thanks for checking out my art as I’m really enjoying this new venue and especially value your feedback.  Enjoy the weekend.

This totem pole towers over most of the others in the North West Coast Native American exhibit.  The raven is the animal I spent time sketching, but a pretty cool “sea bear” sits below him.  This spectacular host post greeted you at the entrance of Charles Edenshaw’s residence before it made its way to the The Field Museum.