Shredder

I just got this awesomesauce commission to make a metal-inspired poster and this is what I came up with. So much fun!

Since I've Never Drawn Enough Trees...

Sometimes it really feels like this is the only thing I'm good at. I'm about to try and sell a bunch of these. If anybody wants one, hit me up!

Determined to Succeed

Second screen print is finally finished! And I'm immeasurably proud to say that there were no such registration issues this go-around. I successfully printed about 24 solid copies of this lounging cat. This print is also a bunch bigger than the last (which I cut down to 8x10), on the full 12.5x 19 sheet. Almost like a bonafide poster. annnnd it was my first experience with printing with halftone, which actually came out looking pretty nice. Overall, it went well!

Adventures in Screenprinting!

I successfully made my first screen print tonight! Of course, I decided to go with Abe Lincoln, doing a weird Michael-Jackson-esque move. Why the hell not. This one above here is the best one I did. I had a lot of registration problems...
Here's the worst one




And also here's my bag, in the studio!

Fox Hunt

Digital coloring quests aside, here's a painting I've been working on in some spare time, finally finished! Just in time for the leaves to turn here. Horses and hounds, my favorite animals to draw, stodgy english fellows (my favorite folks), bouncing around a fall countryside. Basically this is the stuff of my dreams.

Why I Otter....

My forays into digital coloring continue. So here's an otter I made. He is grumpy and mustachioed, like all my favorite people.

In an Alternate Universe Where I'm a Designer...

So a little while back my fantastic friend Laura hired me to create a new blog logo/header for a blog that's run by her work. It's the Annenberg Center for Global Communication Studies' Media Wire blog. And it was a real adventure for me, since design has never been my wheelhouse. But these are my favorites of the many mockups I worked out. The last one, the Atlas one, is the one they went with!


You can see it live in action here!

I think I can, I think I can

So I've been experimenting, trying to achieve a similar effect with digital coloring as I might be able to with my paintbrushes. I think it'll be a long road to get it to where I actually want it to be. But this is the first time I'm not looking at it and thinking "just gag me with a spoon now." I don't love it. It doesn't feel as rich and thick and happy as anything I paint. But it might be a step in the right direction. Keep pushing it, Dougherty. You might just get there.

Overrun? Overwhelmed?

I've been watching a lot of Confessions: Animal Hoarding lately (thanks Netflix...) and came up with this gem. Sorry to Marissa Lanterman, who this accidentally turned out looking like.

Hard As Nails

I've been thinking about the dust bowl a lot and listening to a lot of Gillian Welch lately. I guess once you swill all that around in your head for a while, something like this comes out. Having said that, I've learned I'm still not any better at painting sad things without having them bum me out. I guess I'll have to paint someone falling down soon.

Treachery

"Our greatest warrior is a traitor. Can anyone be trusted?" George Washington
My high school history book describes Benedict Arnold's feelings that he was under-appreciated as "petulant." Like he was a little boy. Not to say that I'm a huge fan of Arnold, or that I'd high-five him on his infamous decision to sell out West Point...but, on the other hand, he's a really sad character. I saw a documentary recently that made the case that he outlived his glory. That if he had died at the battle of Saratoga, he would have been a great war hero. I'm inclined to agree. Instead, he lived, got more and more warped by internalizing everybody's bullshit, and his life turned out to be a huge bummer.

These Are The Times That Try Men's Souls

Happy Independence Day, folks! May your Wednesday be full of barbeque, beer, and things that go boom!!

Not to be Forgotten

Stop trying to make Sketch happen.

Sketchbook strong. View from Ardmore Starbucks.

George at the Forge

I'm not exactly sure why, but this is how I spent today. I recently went out to the Brandywine Battlefield and also Valley Forge for the first time since I was like 7, and it was a super delightful day. My new history-era crush is suddenly the revolution.
I am certain this would make my father very proud.
I've always thought about Valley Forge the way that Washington Irving described it in his Life of George Washington:
"Hungry and cold were the poor fellows who had so long been keeping the field; for provisions were scant, clothing worn out, and so badly off were they for shoes, that the footsteps of many might be tracked in blood."
Even though apparently the winter of 1779 in New Jersey was much rougher.
But whatever, that's kind of where this odd painting came from. Expect to see more in this vein.

Tardy & Foolhardy

I've been totally terrible about uploading scans of anything I've been doing. It's shameful, truly. BUT! Here's a pile of what's shakin in my sketchbook!

Limping Along

Trees and John Prine make me happy. As does this spring-y weather we've been having. And just everything, I think.

AND ALSO I HAVE A NEW WEBSITE. CHECK IT OUT!

Fell By the Wayside