My Own Attempts at Art: Upper Section of an Elven Man’s Face (lead pencil and colored pencils on paper)

I’m not ready to show the rest of this drawing, as I have not yet drawn his mouth. I (mostly) sketched this image out sometime in 1992 or ’93 and only recently started to color him in.

Drawing ears and mouths is so damn challenging for me. Someday, I really should take a human figure drawing class, or at least watch some tutorials on YouTube, as someone suggested I do. It’s the process that counts, I tell myself. At least I’m trying.

My Own Attempts at Art: “Open Mind” (silk screen print on construction paper)

Pictured is the second print of four I completed in 1984, in a silk screen art class I took during my senior year of high school. I like the idea better than its execution here.

My Own Attempts at Art: Varied Flowers on a Plant With Spider, More of a Doodle (pencil and felt tip pens on paper)

Here’s a quick little drawing (more of a doodle) I did in 1989 or ’90. I was having fun playing with shapes for flowers, especially the paisley pattern, which I have always found interesting.

My Own Attempts at Art: Phoenix and Other Imagery (felt tip pens on paper)

I drew this picture in 1989 or ‘90. The only part I like about it is the phoenix, though the flower is okay. At the time, I was thinking about chakras and energy moving through them to a higher place of consciousness.

My Own Attempts at Art: Fire and Other Imagery (felt tip pens on paper)

Here’s a drawing I completed in late 1988, but more likely sometime in 1989. I remember feeling quite disturbed after watching on video the movie DEAD RINGERS (1988), starring Jeremy Irons. So, I got out my big sketch pad and felt tip pens and created this.

My Own Attempts at Art: An Intricate Design and Some Added Colors (ballpoint pen and felt tip pens on paper)

I drew this in stages, the main, intricate design in about 1987 or ‘88 while I was in college, then the colors in the lower part of the picture around 1989.

My Own Attempts at Art: A Fiery Image with a Self Affirmation (felt tip pens on paper)

I drew this fiery image and wrote out the self affirming statement back in 1989, possibly 1990. I vaguely remember the psychotherapist I was working with at the time suggesting I draw something as an exercise in creativity and affirmation. This was the result. These days, I actually do visualize my inner power more, which is my higher Self, connected with the great light source of the universe.

My Own Attempts at Art: A Fiery, Fantastical Bird (ballpoint pen and felt pens on note paper)

I drew this fiery bird creature with a ballpoint pen and felt tip pens around 1990, within a few years out of college. I only wish I’d not chosen to create it on lined note paper.

My Own Attempts at Art: “Alive” (abstract watercolor painting)

I painted this piece with watercolors while an undergraduate student at UC Santa Cruz in 1986 or ’87. I promptly titled it “Alive.” I felt it expressed an enthusiasm for life pushing, shining through.

I vaguely remember arriving in my dorm room one evening where my roommate at the time and a friend of his were hanging out and painting. They invited me to join them in making some art. This was the result.

My Own Attempts at Art: “Zucretza Bird” (pencil and felt tip pens on paper)

I completed this drawing in 1987-’88 while a senior in college at UC Santa Cruz.

The written description in pencil says the following: “Zucretza bird (from planet Niobakkus) holding egg in protective pouch. (Picture drawn to actual scale.)”

Since childhood, I’ve had an imagination filled with the fantastical. I continue to be someone who creates characters and creatures in search of stories to live within. Thinking up plot lines has always been difficult for me.

By posting this old illustration of mine, my intention and hope is to return to drawing on at least a semi-regular basis. Historically, my inner muse(s) come(s) and go(es), seemingly fading off for long periods of time.