zachary sketches

The beginnings of a snail-mail art operation.

2012-02-08T19:41:00.000-08:00

A sweet old fashioned notion. . . The beginnings of a snail-mail art, Tag team operation with a fellow illustrator. This is my contribution and now it's en route to be manipulated, tampered with, doctored up and hopefully beautified.

Cyan as Superheroine . . .

2012-02-08T19:24:00.000-08:00

There was a period in my young daughter's life, that she loved superheroes. We would often play pretend and create perilous scenarios, fighting a slew of creatures and evil-doers who were up to no good.

Cyan- age 5

2012-02-08T18:34:00.000-08:00

Sketch of my daughter Cyan while she was visiting during the holidays. I wish I could draw her on a daily basis. The days are filled with inspiration when she is around. Yep, I miss my little muse.

It's all glossed over and sugar sweet.

2012-02-08T18:23:00.000-08:00

Eye candy- Bright and bold, high contrast Something that is visually attractive or pleasing to look at.

Eye candy!!

2011-11-22T12:51:00.000-08:00

The goal is to make the image pop off the surface and attract the viewer from the distance. High contrast in value, color and line weight is the process to make this desired effect. I think I am getting the hang out, piece by piece.

Character Assassination finished . .

2011-11-22T11:07:00.000-08:00

I finished up the last of the character assassination pieces. I plan on taking a few of these characters and developing them over time. A number of the characters ignited some interesting narratives that I would like to explore in the near future . . . now on to the next project.

Rose City Revisited . . .

2011-10-25T17:00:00.000-07:00

Missing the Rose city a lil' bit and I decided to visit some of my illustrations from

what could have been the worst year of my life (so far)- 2009.

I agree with the saying- everything looks better from far away.

Is that a wet cat or . . .

2011-10-25T16:41:00.000-07:00

just a dead rat? The second illustration for my upcoming doodle book.

I will be putting together twenty four more of these illustrations.

The art is based off of poems, after thoughts and other self-indulgent artsy crap.

Old skool

2011-10-24T22:25:00.000-07:00

I found this in the vault. I am thinking this is about five or six years old and still as poignant for me as it was when I first created it. Often I stumble across these old drawing with a bit of detachment, but this piece is definitely fun for me as the first day I made it.

Prequel to the Phoenix series . . .

2011-08-17T23:35:00.000-07:00

Hopefully the first of many, I have been inspired to create a series of women like bird, phoenix creatures . . . I'm enjoying how the images have translated from my mind onto the paper.

Illustration from The Road . . .

2011-08-17T23:30:00.000-07:00

I have been obsessed with this story ever since I read the book. I had to add a little of my own creativity to this story, so one late night I created this sketch from a still of the movie. I think I got the obsession out of my system . . . maybe . . .

A little blast from the past . . .

2011-08-17T23:27:00.000-07:00

I'm not one to showcase a dead horse, but this is an oldie but goodie. Visited a close friend in Ca, who still displayed this painting of mine which now dates about ten years plus old. Still looking sharp and clean. I just let the nostalgia wash over me and took it for what its worth.

Zombie PIn-up!

2011-08-17T23:23:00.000-07:00

I think it may be safe to say, that there are few images as sexy as a flesh eating, undead, zombie pin up girl. Tattoo design for an old friend of mine. I really had fun with this piece.

Cut and Past fun time!

2011-07-27T20:41:00.001-07:00

Digital collage has become my new pastime and I am having fun with this new avenue of picture making. Thank you google, I appreciate the wealth of free images. It's obvious that I am no Rauschenberg, but remixing a new world with found images and creating these surreal scenes has been quite enjoyable.

Dead tree head.

2011-07-27T20:34:00.000-07:00

Sauvie Island. Dead tree on the beach and at the trunk of this tree I saw this creature. Sitting on the beach I gave birth to this little character in my daughter's sketch book. I originally set out to draw a landscape.

The Keno slips continue . . .

2011-07-27T20:27:00.000-07:00

Hitting the half way mark on these creations. I am still full of inspiration for this project and I am eagerly awaiting to see these characters amongst their whole family. Unfortunately, I think I maybe a little sad when it is all over. Fearing the separation anxiety.

" We dip our scarves in iron."

2011-06-16T09:30:00.000-07:00

Daydream.

2011-06-16T09:23:00.000-07:00

Sometimes escape is the key to happiness. I excel in this department.

We all bleed green.

2011-05-25T19:41:00.000-07:00

Vote red or blue but it all seems to wash out into a dull and dirty green. I think the system we have created is slowly killing our colors one hue at a time, keeping us numb, useless, dangling like dead limbs.

2011-05-25T19:29:00.000-07:00

A drawing of my five year old daughter working diligently in her sketch book. Apparently my apple didn't fall far from the tree.

Cut it off with a C-clamp.

2011-05-25T19:18:00.000-07:00

It's far from a fairy tale, so keeping that item on your sleeve may not be in your best interest. Best to keep it concealed, some place safe and only share it with someone worthy. Just remember where you hide it, because you wouldn't want to lose this item. It's too important to misplace.

Have you met Charles?

2011-05-04T16:33:00.000-07:00

He had some interesting ideas and a way with words. I never could decided whether he was trying to make me feel better in times of sorrow or he was just telling his hard luck stories to keep me from whining about my life. Either way, I am truly grateful. Thanks Charles.

She told me about this dream . . .

2011-05-04T16:26:00.000-07:00

. . . she had, where I was killed in a building accident. I told her it was only a dream and that there's no reason to be concerned because I will never become a construction worker. She said that as long as I don't get fired from this Art thing, I won't ever become a builder so she won't worry.

2011-05-04T16:18:00.000-07:00

Like Dumbo, I work for peanuts, or so it can feel that way and this three ring circus gets old and monotonous.

2011-05-04T15:54:00.000-07:00

The keno slip creations are gaining momentum and I am producing more every week. My aim is to display about thirty to forty of these creations in August. I hope there will be a nice amount of dark, odd and silly characters to showcase. I am having fun with this.

Dear Cyan,

2011-03-24T18:04:00.000-07:00

. . . . No matter what distance grows between us and how far apart we become, you will always be the lighthouse that guides me out of the darkness and helps me find my way home. Thank you for finding your way into this world, and thank you for being my best friend and daughter.

Pipe Dreams . . .

2011-03-24T17:57:00.000-07:00

Second guessing and having second thoughts about many of my life's goals. Is what I do important? Is what I do important enough to try and make a living from this obsession? Should I kill my most cherished pipe dream in an effort to hold on to hopes of a brighter future?

With friends like these . . .

2011-03-24T17:44:00.000-07:00

I am usually a good judge of character but if you let your guard down one too many times, eventually you are going to get sucker punched. I guess I should have sharpened my knives the moment you opened your mouth to say hello. But you were right when you said " that's life". Oh well, better luck next time. So with friends like you . . . .

Character Assassination . . . .

2011-03-01T11:52:00.000-08:00

I hope to create thirty of these keno slip drawings and possible have a show in the summertime. Fun, odd and somewhat creepy characters spawned from my imagination.

Cute little bear.

2011-01-28T21:56:00.000-08:00

One from a series of four original christmas cards I made for friends and

family over the holidays.

Rata con queso.

2010-12-24T08:36:00.000-08:00

Stuffed rat, eternally guarding his piece of cheese.

" With computers, you never have to leave the house."

2010-12-24T08:27:00.000-08:00

I have never been to a mountain, or a mountain covered in snow, I have not been to a natural body of water in over a year, I haven't been camping since I was a small child. I have never been hiking or skiing or sledding. I rarely partake in anything that has to do with nature. I don't even own a plant.

The Dynamic Duo in action.

2010-11-17T15:28:00.000-08:00

I'm enjoying the Tag Team drawings my daughter and I are creating. She is a huge well of inspiration for me and I love the vitality in how she creates her images.

Your roses smell like shit too.

2010-11-17T14:30:00.000-08:00

Sometimes, I wish I could shout out flowers instead of bitter, angry words.

Exploitation of the Weak Trim.

2010-11-17T12:46:00.000-08:00

An older man who had been listening in on my conversation, voiced his opinion and said " In ten years America will be a great place to live . . . . as long as your rich, otherwise you should get the hell out while you still can."

A little bit of fuel on the fire.

2010-10-16T21:12:00.001-07:00

1. It has been estimated that 185 million gallons of oil has been released into the gulf of Mexico by the BP oil spill

2. BP has used dispersant at a rate of 15,000 gallons per day since May 26 2010. Estimated 1.84 million gallons

3. About 400 miles of beaches in 4 states has been affected by the BP oil spill

4. Hundreds of thousand fish and animals have died

4. The local fishing industry is in ruins

5. The tourist business in the local communities is in ruins

6. The seafood industry is in ruins.

A Father and daughter production

2010-10-16T21:03:00.000-07:00

On occasion, we will argue about who gets to use the sketchbook. She seldom uses crayon and prefers markers and acrylic paint and likes to draw monsters . . . . but not zombies or vampires. She sometimes becomes frustrated because she cannot draw as well as I can, but I just have to remind her that she is only four years old. She has a long time to practice.

Cover for They are Idiots.

2010-09-25T20:06:00.001-07:00

Civilian casualty.

2010-09-07T04:50:00.000-07:00

Ode To Ronnie . . . .

2010-08-19T19:23:00.000-07:00

I remember watching Reagan in televised debates while he campaigned for a second term as president. Although I was very young at the time and very impressionable, his rhetoric scared me. A few years later I saw the Genesis video for Land of Confusion and that video has left quite an impression on me. It wasn't until the last ten years that I realized what an asshole Reagan was and what terrible policies he put into place. I think my father voted for him both times . . . . . .

2010-06-04T09:48:00.001-07:00

" Most scholars up till about twenty years ago interpreted Rembrandt's remarkable series of self-portraits as a sort of visual diary, a forty-year exercise in self-examination. In a 1961 book, art historian Manuel Gasser wrote, "Over the years, Rembrandt's self-portraits increasingly became a means for gaining self-knowledge, and in the end took the form of an interior dialogue: a lonely old man communicating with himself while he painted."

Many of these traditional studies focused particularly on Rembrandt's late self-portraits, as they reveal this rigorous self-reflection most profoundly. In an influential 1948 monograph on the artist, Jacob Rosenberg wrote of the ceaseless and unsparing observation which [Rembrandt's self-portraits] reflect, showing a gradual change from outward description and characterisation to the most penetrating self-analysis and self-contemplation. ... Rembrandt seems to have felt that he had to know himself if he wished to penetrate the problem of man's inner life."

from:
Rembrandt's Self-Portraits
By Susan Fegley Osmond

A few sketches while on the train . .

2010-03-08T11:20:00.000-08:00

I am alright with having a vast amount of "alone time", and being on a train for 16 hours is quite a long time by yourself. Having this escape helped me filter through thoughts and open myself up to creating. Here are a few sketches from my train ride down to California. I wish I could have a 16 hour chunk of time on a regular basis to be alone and create. In the future, I should just make up a vacation that's only purpose will be to sketch and record random images and interactions. Going through the process of image exploration is often educational and therapeutic . There is too much magic at my fingertips when it is just me, my sketchbook and a clear mind to create with.

Cherry Blossom.

2009-10-16T14:52:00.000-07:00

painting entitled Cherry Blossom.

Rose City Blue

2009-10-16T14:30:00.000-07:00

\From November of 2009, until may of 2010, I have kept a visual journal and depict weekly vignettes that capture my attention or that carry a certain amount of significance for me. This is the first time I have attempted to record powerful moments or crucial thoughts that weave themselves into my world and gain some permanence within my mind. This exercise has become very therapeutic. Staring at the reflections in my life has helped me think about who I am, where I have been and where I want to be. Although I feel I have come to the end of this project in its current form, I would still like to continue recorded the things that go on around me and maybe present them in a different manner.

Life in Pitsville - children's book written by Aaron D Busch

2009-06-11T18:36:00.000-07:00

The boy with an apple for a heart. This was my first jaunt in the realm of Children's books and it was quite the learning process. I had a difficult time translating my imagery into something that would cater and compliment the story.

www.jimseedley.com

Straight from the Sketchbook

2009-02-25T11:00:00.001-08:00

A Sketch book always brings out fun imagery and it's strange how these books become cryptic diaries filled with odd images and memories, good and bad times. Let the stories continue . . . .

The many faces of Zachary.

2009-02-25T10:48:00.000-08:00

I am no Rembrandt but making self portraits are often revealing and a great exercise to partake in.

2009-01-11T03:12:00.000-08:00

Portrait of Cyan. I wish she was around me on a constant basis so that I could paint her often. Every drawing or painting I create from her image, seems to work and contain a little bit vitality within the marks.