One Little Christmas Tree.

This is a photo I bought at a local library for 40 cents. It's from 1940. I like it a lot. I'm taking it easy tonight. I don't feel really well so enjoy this little Christmas tree from the past. The thing I love about Christmas Trees is that people treat a Christmas Tree like it's part of the family. They take in a tree, decorate it, and it becomes part of that house for the time being. Christmas Trees are so iconic and differ from each household to the next. I love the idea that the Christmas Tree is constantly reinvented from family to family and each family's tree contains lights, love, time, and tradition that will be passed down from year to year. Unfortunately we stopped putting our Christmas Tree up at home and a little bit of my heart dies each year because without one in our house I feel like a scrooge, but I love seeing them in people's windows. They make me smile and they give me hope.

Ode To Jason Curtis!

I recently became blog friends with Jason Curtis and let me tell you, he is one of the nicest and coolest guys around! I emailed Jason and asked about his doodles and whether he makes a living as a freelance cartoonist/illustrator, but to my surprise, I found out he's a photographer. His reasons for his doodles is both interesting and inspiring. I would love it if you would read why by clicking HERE. I think each of us can take something from the aforementioned entry. I know I have. So, in honor of my new friend, Jason Curtis, here are some fun illustrations I recently did.

Nosferatu & Things.

I got bored earlier and decided to google myself. The results were interesting. First of all, someone that loves Lord of the Rings tweeted about my LOTR illustration I did the other day and second of all, I came across this guy named Aion Masterson and he blogs about other people's blogs and I was really flattered to find that I was one of the blogs he came across and blogged about. You can read what he wrote by clicking HERE. I keep watching Lord of the Rings...still...I will probably draw all of the characters within the next week and post them. I am working on some fun things that I'm looking forward to posting, but I am not too excited about the end of the year coming because WHEN DID THAT HAPPEN!? Here are some characters I drew at Ram's Horn. Nosferatu is there because he's always there. Which is your favorite?

You're Only As Strong As Your Foundation.

The internet has been broken for 12 hours and that is why I am only just now posting. This is just a little thing I put together. I've been thinking about priorities, our beliefs, and the basic understanding of a person's foundation. How strong is yours? Blogger killed the colors, but I also played around with the vanishing point filter on photoshop because I never have before. That was interesting.

Lord of the Rings.

I can't stop watching all three Lord of the Rings in a row. Sometimes I wish I could go on an adventure as epic as Frodo's, but instead I live vicariously through him via the movies. My little sister, Shelby, keeps watching them with me. Yesterday I came up with this game, but we didn't really test it out until a few hours ago. I thought it would be funny to get two 2-liters of Mountain Dew and every time "ring" was spoken, you had to take a drink of your dew. Well, we barreled through about 1 1/2 2-liters and 30 minutes worth of The Fellowship of the Ring before I lost by throwing up. I honestly can't believe how often they say "ring" in all three movies. I'm convinced you would go through twenty 2-liters and probably end up having a heart attack if you were to endure the entire 9 1/2 hour run through of the three. Here's a quick cartoon Shelby did of me wearing a bandana. She wasn't taking it seriously at all, but you can check out her blog and see the things she DOES take seriously by clicking HERE. So in spite of this game, here is an illustration of us watching LOTR with some Dew.

Christmas Lights Extravaganza 2009.

It took me three days, eight cities, and well over 300 houses to comprise this omega post of houses decorated in Christmas splendor. That entire sentence sounded pretentious and that could very well be due to the fact that I am now a Christmas House snob. I don't mean to be, but through this endeavor I've become one. There are some houses that have the brightest blue lights I have ever seen. They are extremely saturated and I'm sure that staring at these particular blues for any length of time is comparable to staring at the sun; my retinas burn just thinking about it, but I'm getting off topic. One of the things I love the most about the holidays is when people decorate their houses. A decorated house is like a Gingerbread House and it makes me happy. So, in light of the holidays, these are some of the best houses around Michigan and tonight (Dec 5th) is Noel Night down in Detroit from 5:00-9:30!

Steve Buscemi!

This week's pick for The Hallway Show is Steve Buscemi. I blind contoured his face, cut outs for the head and neck, and that's his body from Ghost World as Seymour.And here's a blind contour I did entirely. I looked when I added the stripes on the shirt, but everything else was done without looking.

Ricky Gervais.

I saw The Invention of Lying for the second time recently. It's at the dollar show so it's not really breaking the bank. I really liked Ricky Gervais before this movie, but this movie made me absolutely adore him. He gave such an amazing performance. He cries in this film and it's SO GREAT. I'm not a sadist, I don't enjoy seeing grown men cry, but his performance is so real and convincing and that's what does it for me. So, in honor of the movie, I did a few Ricky Gervais blind contours.I also did this cut out of Ricky Gervais and with this particular cut out, I wanted to limit the paper/textures I used and I wanted it to be minimal and I didn't want to spend a lot of time on it; quickness was key. I ended up using one piece of paper for everything on him with the exception of the background and his mouth (which is his real mouth), I didn't use much detail, and it took me between 45 minutese and an hour to finish. He's a hard one to get a likeness of too. He gets added to the list.

Eurich's Clock World.

There's this place not too far from my house called Eurich's Clock World and I stumbled upon it last year when I was taking my friend's dog around the neighborhood. I found Clock World in the middle of the night and now that's the only time I'll stop by to visit it. Clock World is a special place; it has a lot of magical powers. I would bet that there's an older gentleman named Eurich working back there with really thick glasses, disheveled hair, and a vest with a pocket watch. It's like a scene right out of the old 90's Nickelodeon show "Are You Afraid of the Dark?" (one of my all time favorites). I get inspired and my imagination runs wild when I go by this place. I like it when I get inspired by the unexpected. A lot of other people look at it and think it's just a clock store, but I see way more than that when I look at it.

LANDO CALRISSIAN!

This is Lando Calrissian from Star Wars. Lando is such an underrated character. This is my illustration for The Hallway Show. For the record, I asked my mother if she knew who this was to which she replied: "It's Billy Dee Williams. What do you think, I'm retarded?" I replied with a triumphant Napoleon Dynamite style "YUHSS"! Not because I think she's retarded, but because she knew who it was.

Construction Paper Portraits.

At my friend Sarah's, everyone that comes in the house gets their portrait done on a sheet of construction paper and it's then placed on the door or walls. I contributed this drawing of Shelby one morning while we were both over there. I hadn't drawn in a while so I had some fun with this. Sarah drew me (which you can see in the first picture; I'm the bottom right) and her roommate, Alex, also helps draw the pictures. Sarah hopes to cover all visible wall/door space. I'm going to go over to her place for her birthday party and help make the dream a reality. It should be a real riot.

Time Travel Town.

My friend Zack has this closet and I dare say it is the best closet I have ever seen. It's like a human sized box and it's modest. I like to think that this particular closet has magic powers and can transport you somewhere great like this little town. If I owned this closet, I would just go to Time Travel Town all the time. In Time Travel Town, there would be: pizza places, people would actually listen, all conversations would be stimulating, everyone would be really spontaneous, and the Jonas Brothers would hang out there. Another great thing about Time Travel Town is that no one sleeps at night because they all know that night time is where it's at. Oh and I would also go to the movies with Nosferatu and there would be a robot party every other day. Sometimes I would get bored though and I would come back, but one day will come when I finally decide I don't want to. What would be in YOUR town?

After Hours.

I really enjoy drawing on the paper menus they give you at Coney Island style restaurants like Ram's Horn and Denny's. I like drawing on them better than drawing in my sketchbook because with my sketchbook, I feel like everything has to be perfect and I can't make mistakes. With the paper menus, if it sucks, I can just throw it away, but if it's good, I can tape it into my sketchbook. I'm under no pressure with paper menus and that's the way I like it. These sketches are from Denny's last night.

Thanksgiving!

THIS popped up on my gmail and I laughed and also slightly threw up in my mouth.Thanksgiving didn't go as I expected at all. I thought it would be a giant fight and things would be terrible, but they weren't. My mom made a bunch of things, but, as evidenced by the first picture, I didn't eat very many things. That dark colored saucy thing is a sliver of turkey covered in BBQ sauce, corn and mashed potatoes, rolls with no butter, and cranberry relish (which is both cranberries, oranges, and some other stuff that tastes really good together). Then I got to pull the wish bone with my sister, Alison, and I GOT THE BIGGER HALF which I was really excited about. I made a great wish and I hope it come true. Then, I spent the eve of Thanksgiving having a Lord of the Rings marathon while enjoying popcorn and some soda out of my Jonas Brothers cup. It was a good day. I hope everyone had as good of a time as I did. Hey, it's almost Christmas. I don't know whether to laugh or cry.

Hair & Sandwiches.

I've been HIDING. Hiding is my favorite thing to do. While in hiding, my dear friend Sarah bleached my roots so now my hair looks pretty much even and it's back to being the way it was. Sarah also fed me pizza and that was great. Here is a picture:Subway is the worst. In fact, sandwiches and subs in general, are the worst. I hate sandwiches. If you have to put something in between 2 slices of bread, it's gross. I hate the idea of cold meat and soggy bread. Ugghhh. I'm getting ill just thinking about it. I've never met another sandwich/sub hater; in fact I'll probably get a lot of backlash for this, but I stand by it. Hey can I take the baby sandwich with a little wah wah wah on the side? Oh and don't worry, he's wearing protective gloves even though he probably picked his nose while wearing them.Happy Thanksgiving everyone. Thanksgiving is a particularly colorful holiday at the Kirchoff residence. It's more like a war really. I'll explain all the details tomorrow along with my illustration. Take it easy, stuff your faces, and keep it real.

RIP Noah.

As some of you may remember from a previous post, I asked each of you to make Noah Biorkman a Christmas card because that's all he wanted from his friends and family. I regret to inform you all that Noah passed away on Monday after his life-long battle with cancer. Noah didn't make it to Thanksgiving, but he received more than 50,000 Christmas cards and they continue to pour in. I'd like to dedicate this day to Noah. Rest in peace, Noah Biorkman. Your story touched thousands of people and will continue to do so. My sympathies go out to his family.

Art Battle.

Hello friends. I regret to inform everyone that I have nothing to display on this day because I am not at home, but I promise I will have something tomorrow. Last night I got into an ART BATTLE with my dear friend Jeremiah Walton. He is going to scan it and I will post it along with a narration. We performed this battle at a very classy martini bar where he enjoyed margaritas and I enjoyed cokes and the battle got out of hand, but it was so much fun. He's an architect so the drawings were FUN.

Here's a joke to tide everyone over:
Q: Why was the mushroom invited to the party?
A: Because he was a FUNGI! (fun guy. get it?)

Abe. I Need You.

I wish I had about 100 of these. Being broke sucks.

ONE MONTH!

I've done it! This post makes for an entire month's worth of posts. Rhiannon told me I couldn't do it. Well, I DID IT! Alright, but all of that aside, I decided to spice up my plain blue hoodie with these buttons. I found the hoodie to begin with in the common room at an art camp I worked over the summer. The buttons are as follows (from top, going clockwise): I Am Loved; Halloween Edition, Butch Walker, Charlie Slick, Andy Warhol, Glassjaw, Zelda, I love Detroit, and a 1984 Detroit Tigers World Champions pin. I think I've got enough pieces of flair.

I LOVE Ram's Horn.

Ram's Horn is this restaurant that's a step up from a Coney Island right by my house and I'm a REGULAR which means when I walk in, they know what I want to drink. I often go up there to enjoy a Mountain Dew with 5 ice cubes and some fine conversation. I also enjoy people watching/drawing/and eavesdropping. So, this is a compilation of sketches from my last visit, some overheard conversations, and a picture of me from 2nd grade with curly hair (thanks mom) and a ridiculous sweater. My friend posted this awhile ago and it still cracks me up. I would totally go time traveling with that guy because I want to time travel SO BAD!

THE FONZ!

I've been working on this nonstop for the past 3 days for THE HALLWAY SHOW. I'm finally throwing in the towel. It's SUPPOSED to be The Fonz from Happy Days, but trying to capture Henry Winkler's likeness is near impossible. My favorite part is the zipper. Head over to the blog to check out everyone else's submissions so far!

Dedication Post.

I've been following one of my best friends, Micaela Ruiz, via her blog "No Longer Semesters" which inspired me to create the top 2 pieces below. We were joking about one of her entries and I just imagined her as a sad sloth. The bigger portrait is a blind contour of her. Mickey is one of the most motivating and inspiring people I've ever met and she sees hope in everyone and everything. This entry is for Micaela. Thanks for being a great friend and always encouraging me.

Teeth Away!

Imagine if your teeth ran loose when you fell asleep. You're sleeping, everything is fine, but your teeth uproot from your gums and just take off into the night. The only catch is that they have to be back in your mouth by the time you get up, but they always are. My question is, do the teeth have teeth? I think they do, but it's definitely a question open to discussion. If my teeth have teeth, they have teeth like Nosferatu!

Party Supplies.

I'm pretty sure all of the following are required for a good time at a party. My friend Micaela Ruiz suggested #5 and #6 (but supposedly Matt DeBeul had something to do with 6). Drinks are open to interpretation. It's more of a "pick your poison" sort of thing. I myself would fancy a coke or a dew with light ice (preferably 5 ice cubes if we're getting into specifics), but to each their own. Party on, party people.

R08075 (or robots).

I really didn't think I would ever be able to draw another group of robots ever again because I tried, trust me I TRIED, but it happened again; this excites me. So here's a crew of robots that I created on this special 3D paper. It requires special 3D glasses, but I mean, it just looks 2D without the 3D glasses so if you have 3D glasses, it's like a little something extra. Which robot is YOUR favorite?! P.S. I am a mere SEVEN DAYS from having posted everyday for a solid month!!

My FIRST Tattoo/Robot Forever.

I found out my sister was going to get a tattoo today and she said, "I told Dad I wanted you to come and get one too" and I got really nervous. Everyone was like, "You won't do it!" and "You'll cry like a little baby!" Well, I had to prove them wrong. Alison said this was my Christmas present so we roll up to New Skool Tattoos on Telegraph in Brownstown (GREAT PLACE; shout outs to Mike, Pat, and Phil) where I had gone with my friend previously to get her tattoo. My tattoo of choice was one of my robots. What better to have on me than one of my own? I chose this bot. It's one of my favorites (it's also my user picture on here). I did not scream or cry once. Everyone always asks, "What does getting a tattoo feel like?" and I can now say it feels like getting a shot in your mouth nonstop (except you don't feel the pain in your mouth). It took Pat 20 minutes, but I finished at the same time that Phil finished and in the time that it took Pat to do my tattoo, Alison had managed to get 2 full color tattoos of Paper Mario and Boo. They turned out really great. So, this is my first tattoo. It's 2 1/2 inches tall. I feel like I've accomplished something really great and in a way I did because I am a HUGE BABY and this proves I am fearless and I mean fearless in the "I could ride around on a motorcycle" way. Yeah!

This Little Piggy Had Swine Flu.

Is it just me or is everyone claiming to have "swine flu" these days? I checked out the symptoms and I'm pretty sure they could apply to any illness or, let's be honest here, the FLU since that's what swine flu really is. My friend told me you can get a vaccination for $25. Why the hell would I waste $25 on a vaccination? Nice try, America, but you're not getting my money. So this little piggy has swine flu and I have to credit my little sister, Shelby, for the title line because she came up with that.

Lady Gaga!

This week for the Hallway Show, it was my turn to pick and I chose Lady Gaga. I've been trying to work on this illustration for the past 3 days and I almost gave up. I finally decided, HEY! I'M GONNA DO IT TONIGHT! and I DID! What a CHALLENGE. The cool thing about Lady Gaga is that you have a lot of reference to choose from so I combined a lot of her looks into one. What do you think? I posted it on The Hallway Show with a funny link that you might want to check out. Everyone's Gaga's are GREAT so head over there and check em out! Happy Friday the 13th.

Please, Pass The Salt.

According to my user profile, I've been on blogger since November 2007 which means it's my blogger anniversary. In lieu of this marvelous event/relationship, I decided to create this illustration that was originally me having a nice dinner with the computer that had my blog on the screen, but now it's just me having dinner with this monster. This was me messing around on photoshop so it's EXPERIMENTAL. Happy anniversary blog. I can't wait to see what the future holds for us.

Hell Has A New Name.

A couple days ago, a friend of mine asked me if I'd mind going to IKEA with her. I had to decline. Unfortunately I cannot share her, nor anyone else's, enthusiasm for that store. Ikea is the devil's playground. I believe deep in the bowels of the store, the devil waits and he will not be dancing with me. No siree. In fact, I think it's the fourth circle of hell. I know what many of you must be thinking: CHELSEA! How can you possibly hate IKEA? With its affordable home furnishings and variety of cheaply made products, it's the best store EVER in this terrible economy! Aside from disliking both of the aforementioned, I absolutely HATE ikea's infrastructure. Once you go in, there's no getting out until you go through the ENTIRE STORE. I remember the one time I did go, my mom wanted to stop halfway through to try out the "swedish meatballs" in their cafeteria. I did not try them, but I did get a pop and the total with the meatballs and the pop was $6.66. The cashier smiled at me with a crooked grin and it confirmed my suspicions. Have a nice day? No, I won't, THANK YOU. Sorry Ikea. You can pull the wool over everyone else's eyes, but you're not fooling me.

It's NEVER Too Early.

100.3 WNIC is playing Christmas music nonstop. I am as happy as a kid on Christmas. Right now, it's almost 6:30 in the morning and I am legit jamming with sister Shelby. Everyone complains about how it's too early or too depressing or how it's not even Thanksgiving, but honestly, it's NEVER too early. It fills me with joy and I feel like a 12 year old just singing as loud as I can. All I want to do is listen to Christmas music and never stop. A few of my favorite Christmas songs include:
1. Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree - Brenda Lee.
2. I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus - Jackson 5.
3. Believe - Josh Groban.
4. Baby It's Cold Outside - Zooey Deschanel & Leon Redbone.Everyone has a favorite Christmas song. What's yours?!

British Television Ad Awards.

Two great things happened to me yesterday: 1) I was invited by my dear friend Micaela Ruiz to go to the DFT with her to see the 2009 British Television Ad Awards and 2) I catalogued my day through photographs.

It was a real treat to go to the DFT because I hadn't been since summer for Big Man Japan and I was blown away by these commercials. The difference between our commercials and the British commercials is that they really cater to the viewer and try to make it more than just a commercial. As Micaela pointed out; they really make the commercial an art form. So needless to say, I left the DFT incredibly inspired and really moved. Some commercials were about the concept, some were about the imagery and had nothing to do with the product or message, and some were incredibly moving or hilarious. I only watch the Super Bowl for the commercials and I bet that's exactly what a normal day in England is like with their commercials. A few of my favorites included:
1. The Shining.
2. Whodunit?
3. Water Slide.
4. Rewind City.
Please watch them. They're great and interesting. I think my favorite might be Rewind City and I was completely biased with The Shining because I love that movie, but each of these commercials is really great in their own way.I also wanted to say thanks to all of my art friends that have told me that my frequent updates are inspiring and I wanted to thank everyone that made a card for Noah. My heart swells up with happiness at the thought of it.

Chocolate Rain.

I've been going strong for TWO WEEKS now. I slightly altered my colors on my blog, included a new header, & a new picture. Here's a little sketch I did in my notebook that was originally a blind contour of my sister, but then I turned it into a hunchback ghost. Also, here's a picture of my cat, Chocolate Rain and here's some more advice from Inside the Business of Illustration. Party on, Wayne.The various pieces of advice are from interviews conducted with illustrators.
1. Steven Brodner: I think that your own point of view must be the very first thing you come to grips with. It's through that filter that you can then process everything else. Your work is then personal, regardless of the subject matter. As the content of what you do makes it illustration, as opposed to any other kind of visual art, I feel that there's nothing more important than point of view.
2. Brad Holland: Style is what comes naturally when you're trying to do something else, like draw a nose or paint a hand. Everything else isn't style. It's mannerism, fashion, tricks of the trade.
3. Anita Kunz: I think that everyone has her own point of view. The truer one can remain to one's unique vision, the more likely one is to be successful.

Party Jars & Ghosts.

I slept in today which is why I'm posting so late. This post is dedicated to Domenic Tucci. He's Shelby's friend. When I started my twitter a week or two ago, I found him and one of his tweets said "Party Jar." I don't know what a Party Jar is, but I decided to make one. So Dom, this one's for you. I also decided to put some ghosts in jars, wrote out of my favorite quotes from Little Miss Sunshine, included what was going to originally be my Danny Devito from a few days ago (huge difference), some sketches, and Nosferatu versus Edward Cullen (Nos wins. Hands down. SUCK IT. Pun intended). I only have 4 pages left in my notebook. YES!

Noah Biorkman.

I found out about Noah via my friend's mom on Facebook and when I found out, I was touched. Please watch THIS VIDEO , Noah is the child about 5 minutes in with the curly blonde hair that's cute as a button. I've included my card here. I want everyone to take the time to make Noah a card or at least pass the message along.

Noah was diagnosed with Stage IV Neuroblastoma in Feb 07. He went into remission in August 07. In Sept 08, Noah relapsed with lesions in his right arm and right leg. After going through six different trials, the cancer continues to spread...

At this time, they are celebrating Christmas this weekend because they do not think he will make it through the season. He asked his mom if she could have his friends send him Christmas cards or ornaments for Christmas. All he wanted was to see how many people love him. If we could send this out to our staff, I feel that many of them could help make Noah's last Christmas amazing.

His address is:
Noah Biorkman
1141 Fountain View Circle
South Lyon, Michigan 48178