The Naked Silo

More from sketchbook #25. Boba Fett! Bounty hunter extraordinaire, or just a really cool costume? Or both? Whatever, he's cool. Peter Cushing as Grand Moff Tarkin. The likeness here is terrible. Alec Guinnes as Ben "Obi-Wan" Kenobi. The likeness here also is terrible. The bottom drawing is a two-page spread in my sketchbook and, if I remember correctly, was mostly done on a bench on Bloor St. while waiting for my laundry one summer day. The top sketch done afterwards to redeem the terrible likeness in the big picture was a failure. But Ben is cool and is one of my favourite Star Wars characters (and I don't even mind Ewan McGregor's portrayal, either).

More from sketchbook #25.

More from sketchbook #25.

More from sketchbook #25.

More from sketchbook #25. I was quite taken with this photo from 1907 because he kind of looks like he's protesting the fact that his hat kind of looks like a juicer (or he's telling me off for thinking so). I'm not sure of the exact date of the the photo this sketch was based on, but it was probably the early 20th Century, judging by his looks (and the fact it's grouped with other drawings based on pictures from that era).

More from sketchbook #25.

More from sketchbook #25. Clearly, the intent here was to do a pun-inspired take on Grant Wood's super famous painting  American Gothic . I'm sure I'm not the first (or last) person to think of this.

More from sketchbook #25. Grain elevator in Alberta, drawn during a road trip from Calgary to Vancouver I went on with Krista and her youngest sister, Caitlin, back in 2005. These old beauties are slowly being taken down and replaced with more modern-looking structures, so I thought it'd be a good idea to photograph as many as I could whenever we came upon them on our trip. I subsequently did a few ink paintings using my photos. I drew Krista while we were waiting in Terminal 3 at Pearson Airport in Toronto for our flight that would take us to Calgary, Alberta to begin our awesome road trip. In Calgary, we rented a car and drove to Vancouver, having wild adventures along the way (McClary!). Many photos were taken, much artwork ensued.

More from sketchbook #25. I like the Starfleet uniforms (of various eras) and give them to people in my sketchbooks from time to time. That's Bono from U2 in the cowboy hat.

More from sketchbook #25.

More from sketchbook #25.

More from sketchbook #25. The Dalai Lama is at the very front of this sketchbook. That's an umbrella over his shoulder. He's cool. This is a blacksmith from the late 19 Century. That's a big anvil.

More from sketchbook #25. Yeah, so I guess I did this; a whole page of squares. Why? Not likely boredom, because there seems to be a deliberate nature to the squares rather than it being a lackadaisical mess. Maybe it was a test of patience, endurance, discipline. Maybe I lost my mind for a little bit.

More from sketchbook #25. This damn poodle is straight outta the 1980s, if you ask me. I didn't even exaggerate anything. This was an ornamental dragon thingy on a building in Mexico I photographed. It was smallish but awesome.

More from sketchbook #25. That's a pretty neat hoodie, but I bet her arms are cold. This is Harriet Quimby , the first woman to qualify for a pilot's licence.

More from sketchbook #25. Done possibly just for fun and practice, but also possibly as a preliminary study for Plymouth . I have no idea what kind of car this is, but the midsection turned out quite nicely.

This next round of sketches is from book #25 dated 14 May 2005 to 10 May 2006. One of my earliest memories is being at my aunt's house (across from Greenwood Park in Toronto) while my parents were at work. I don't know how old I was, but I was probably three or four years old. This memory deals with the amazingly bizarre children's show from 1971 (incidentally, my own vintage) called The Hilarious House of Frightenstein (here's the opening featuring the formidable Vincent Price). Now, this likely wasn't the first time I watched this show, but this particular memory is of me realizing I could watch the show (reversed) by watching it reflected in the plastic that wrapped the couch. The show normally played in the early mornings around 6am and I would catch it (along with a couple other beloved childhood shows, Tales of the Wizard of Oz and The New Adventures of Pinocchio ) before going to the babysitter's across the street while my parents got ready for

The last two sketches (that I'm willing to post) from sketchbook #24: Just a cat. This cow was a double page spread(!) and a study for an ink painting I did soon afterward. I did a number of inky cows, actually, and will post them here eventually. September Sketch Fest continues tomorrow with selected doodles from sketchbook #25.

More from sketchbook #24. Profiles can be tricky: I have a tendency to make the face either too long (usually because of a miscalculation with the nose) or too short (miscalculation of everything). So, as always, practice is important. Years ago I found a book that had a great assortment of faces (apparently all Caucasian, however) and hair styles that provided good practice material and demonstrated how every face is unique (if you think a face (including your own face) is boring or without much distinguishing character, you haven't looked closely enough).