Britney Mania

As I struggle to pick up the pieces following Britney and K-Fed's startling break up, I couldn't help but notice she shockingly made a typo on the front of her webpage. When will this pain end?

New Husky Stadium Plans

See anything missing in this artistic rendering? Where's the F-ing track???

And where the *^&$@ is this soccer stadium where the track will supposedly be moved to? I don't care about college football,but I do care about what this will do to the track program at UW and the (dwindling) number of meets they put on. Granted it was never fun jumping in the cold windtunnel down there, so perhaps putting the track out in the verdant pastures north east of the stadium (?) would be a good thing.

Since the Goodwill Games, the most attendance a track meet has gotten there must be under 5000, and the typical spring meet has spectators numbering in the hundreds so I suppose I see their point.

But I don't want this to be a step towards losing the track program at UW altogether. Although it's already pretty weak, since they only allow a certain caliber of athlete to join, and lose potential "walk-on" and b-class athletes blossoming. But that's another story... >:(

Picture archives continued...

here's a great picture dad took of mom, spring 1965 at Greenlake. The negative was never printed until I found it and did it a few years ago. Unfortunately it has lots of scratches and schmutz from years of not very good care. But still a beautiful shot of a beautiful lady:)

Cartoon for Libby

Oh yes! I remember now! I did a little cartoon for me boss, who is coming back from surgery. And of course I somehow have this rep now that I'm "Mr. Parrot Crazy Guy" so I like to play it up.
The yellow horned fellow is an actual xbox360 icon that Libby created. The x's originally meant they were to be replaced by various eyes and mouth versions I think.

A new post!

yes, I'm still alive. Dad, you guilted me into it:) So...what was I going to post about. Crap.

house paint'n

We're in the home stretch. This weekend was the final push and we performed admirably. I can't say enough about how appreciative and grateful I am for our friends who helped, including Chris, Rich, Angie, Lee and Tara. With Shelly kickin' in with dining and odd job assistance. Add to that our parents and parents-in-law, and that's why we're basically done after only 2 weeks. And we thought we could get it done in a week, HA!
I was a little concerned about the extra white border around our windows, making them look smaller, but in fact they look just fine and newly magnificent.

house painting

In case you're wondering, Suzy hasn't posted a blog post for awhile because she's slaving away at the house. The painting, or should I say prepping, is going moderately well, although we still haven't put a drop of final paint on the house, only some primer. And it's been almost a week! But everything is almost sanded down. Parents and parents-in-law have really stepped up to the plate and saved our bacon, and for that...we worship them, love them, and are grateful.

But oh no! It's going too far! We've decided to rip our porch off:



Tina hired these contractors to rebuild the hot tub deck, so we're using them to rebuild the rotting, sagging mess of a porch. Right now it is terrifying however...Watch that first step, it's a doozy. Must go back to work...

Flaming Turkey

An interesting variation on Flaming Hammer, just in time for thanksgiving:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=ehHOqQBWEz0&search=flaming%20hammer

I'm thinking a flaming turkey on my leg would be a good first tattoo, with flames reaching up my back.

Badger II

I give you...Badger!:

Badger

Here's a Badger illustration I did for a High School mascot (and why am I randomly capitalizing?). It's in the style of a high school artist doing a fighting badger, rah rah rah!
ps Good Egyptian bumper stickers:
"Three cheers for the sun god! Ra! Ra! Ra!"
"Ank if you like Egyptology"

pps Blogger has taken away the ability for mac users to put pictures on their blog posts. So you'll have to imagine what the badger looks like. It's really neat though.

hand farters of the world, unite.

It's apparently called "manualism." I need to practice more. This guy is pretty good, but he needs to work on his pitch control.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8258651219221373365

Even God doesn't like George W. Bush

"Bush met with the Starr family for about twenty minutes at the King County Airport. At about 12:40 p.m., he bypassed a waiting limousine and walked the tarmac to Air Force One, accompanied by a small group of aides and security. Before he got to the plane, rain began to fall in sheets, soaking the president as he continued to wave to well-wishers."

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2003066167_webbush16.html

Getting a little creepy

Checking Zillow.com, they now have planes, helicopter and satellites circling our house, so we can see what we look like from different angles. Mowrers, please bring in your trash can. And yes, I'll take care of the moss problem on the roof.

Pirates of Penzance: The last post

...And finally a couple variations on the theme, now that the project has come to an end. Mostly. Here's the tshirt and an ad for "Where Seattle". This project, as usual, has also included the Libretto cover, program cover, Seattle Times ad, internal magazine cover, XL poster for Barnes and Noble display, and mini 13x19" posters printed on my printer for "grassroots" advertising. I kind of like the logo type treatment on the ad. Mike the producer asked me to do a logo a couple years ago, and I should probably work on that next...

Tshirt:
Y'know, I kinda like the design of the tshirt better than the poster now. I shrunk the border to go inside more and it's a bit more dynamic. Can I start over?



1/3 page ad:


The only thing left really, is the actual decorating of the downtown Barnes and Noble display window. Last year I festooned it in flowers for Patience and put a couple old instruments in the window, along with the requisite jumbo poster. The year before was an historical retrospective of cool posters from plays-past (celebrating 50 years) featuring one of my heroes Art Chantry. This year not sure, but maybe I could be like that guy on Real People that was a professional dummy, and stood stock-still in window displays all day. That would be kind of fun I think. At first anyway.

House Painting

We WILL paint our house this summer, if it kills us. The planning has begun. Witness the glorious bricky-ness that it will be (quick photoshop hack job):

Notice also the new garage. Except there'll be lots of knee braces everywhere. Glorious kneebraces.

Hmmm...or maybe yellow:


And as an extra-added bonus, my new plan as presented to Suzy. She didn't go for it though:

Latest Shot Put News

This will affect my training plans and shot weights going forward, since I'll probably put 'til I die. Suzy can hardly wait until I'm of the age relevant to this notice, resplendant in a little red vest and shorts. 3k is about 6.6 lbs, a comparative feather to the 16 pounder I'm heaving around now. I will blow the 80 y.o. record out of the water at this rate!

"MASTERS ATHLETES: There was a change adopted by the World Masters Association at San Sebastian in the implements to be used by the 80+ Master men for 2006 and beyond. Although the change is not yet show on the WMA website due to the death of their president who controlled the website, the change was approved and therefore is in effect start in WMA on May, 2006 according to Rex Harvey, WMA Stadia Group Vice President. That change should have automatically been approved in Jacksonville. It is the opinion of the Rule Committee Chair, John Blackburn that the rule should therefore be in effect starting on January 1, 2006. Therefore as of 1/1/06 the 80+ men will throw the 3kg shot and discus instead of the listed 4 kg implements as listed in the 2005 and will be listed in the 2006 USATF book."

Pirates Poster12

Closer...Stay on Target...
Still have a couple small nits from the Producer, but this is basically it. I don't like the small text typography as much like this, may change back to the way it was before. I added some shading to the ribbons on top, and fleshed out the pirate's face a bit.

Next up is the postcard back, and the tshirt, all to be delivered Friday...So very tired. Back hurting.

pirates Poster11

In the home stretch...

Pirates Poster10

Center "SGSS" ribbon added. I was originally going to have the printer scan the artwork, but turns out I can scan each of the three major areas in myself, moving the artwork around on the scanner.

Also have started to lay the color in as blocks behind the 1-bit artwork in Illustrator, and dumped in the type. Don't worry, I'll nicefy it all up. Also need to make a rough border around the edges.

Pirates Poster9

A nice shot of my glorious, starting-to-bald head:

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Fritz: "Achtung Pierre! I'm bored. Christian's had us on his shoulder for hours. Watch me distract him and make him mess up."
Pierre: "Ho Ho, you are ze jokester, you are"

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Fritz: "SQUACK"!
Christian: "Bedwuah!" (brushes birds off shoulder)

Pirates Poster8

The pirate, further futzed over.
- Sherry glass enlarged for more impact
- Pierre and Fritz added
- Dagger added in title
- more shading on hat
- sword added
- shading of shoes, more modeling of forms via lots and lots of white triangles
- Eyes put on somewhat the same plane, face smoothed out, chin smaller, radical rhinoplasty
scritch scritch scritch...

Pirates Poster7

The pirate himself added! Unfortunately I'll have to fight with the arch of the artwork now, or basically take a better photo so there's not a big washed out area from the flash...

Hand getting tired. scritch scritch scritch...

pirates Poster6

The head foreman inspects the work thus far.
update: Sorry, Suzy reminds me that it would be forewoman, or foreperson, since this is Persephone, our lovely she-snake.

Pirates Poster5

The "Pirates" part is done, and a shoulder model reference shot, all in one:

Pirates Poster4

The scratching begins! My right ear is excited. The all-important title of the operetta is first on the agenda. Legibility is just as important as style here. We'll see if the producer goes for it, since the legibility is a little poorer than the original sketch.

One challenge that's surfaced already is that once I transfered the sketch's title to the scratchboard and scratched it out, I realized it'll be pretty small relative to the poster. So I used the "Golden Mean" trick to size down the poster area on a diagonal. So now the artwork is around 10x16" (and will be blown up). But the upside is that it'll be easier to scan into the computer for coloring, and I think I can do that rather than have the printer do it.

Pirates Poster3

A close-up of the face change on the sketch, while the superintendant looks on.

Pirates Poster2

a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, grasshopper. Below is the actual scratchboard, cut from the 18x24" parent sheet. Unfortunately it tends to warp at first, before I tame it with a layer of ink. For fun I've squeezed all of our pets under the scratchboard in this shot. But I think one ate another one, oops:





















The finished poster! (except for the art part):

Scratchboard art really needs to have the ink applied by the artist, and the only stuff that comes un-inked is from Esdee in England. Everything else is pre-inked crap: The ink is so old that it flakes off. And don't worry, the strokes show up here from the reflection of the flash, it'll show up as nothing but inky, inky blackness. Like looking back into the infiniteness of the universe, in a world before time. A blackhole of creativity.

Pirates Poster1

I'm doing a poster for "Pirates of Penzance" for the Seattle Gilbert and Sullivan Society this year and am going to attempt to post a running update of the creation of the poster, like I want to every year but then lame out.

I've already created the initial comp with colored pencils that the client signed off on, and here I'm tracing the outlines onto tracing paper so I can transfer it to the scratchboard. (no this photo is not sideways, I create most hand-drawn artwork at a 90 degree angle.)

Scratchboard is basically heavy paper covered with a thick layer of white clay, then painted with a layer of black ink, so you can "scratch" off the ink revealing the white clay underneath. You get cool "negative" artwork this way and get lots of cool little scratchy lines for a nice grungy look that we in Seattle love.

This year's artwork is inspired by the little pirate portraits in the queue at Pirates of the Caribbean Ride in Disneyland.

I went to the University Bookstore to buy a big sheet as I do every year, only to find that they recently discontinued it! In shock, I staggered over to the "clearance" table, and found that they put their whole kitty on the table, for half off! So I scored something like 7 giant 18"x24" sheets for only $7 a sheet! So I can do seven more posters before I retire.

Below: My art director (and future shoulder decoration of the pirate) inspects the work thus far. You'll also notice the pirate's face has been modified a bit. I'm using a certain next-door-neighbor's likeness, especially his waxen moustache.

Aspartame

It's pronounced "Ass-part-ah-may" people!

Geez.

A new post

My boss is reading my blog, so I figger I better start posting again!
Here's a funny headline from Yahoo yesterday. Can't believe they got away with it!

My pet bug, Sigfried

This is my first car, Sigfried, named after West German decathlete star Sigfried Wentz (AKA "Siggie"). He, as you recall, was the bronze medalist in Rome '87, behind East German winner Thorston Voss.

Anywayz, I inherited it from my Grandparents. Herbert (grandpa) had driven it in its early days in 1973, then my cousins Stan and Steve took over and drove it around the area and down to the river. It sat in it's little garage for a decade or so, rusting away in dispair. Then I saved it and drove it down, and...lots more.

Later it tried to kill me, so I sold it. Back to work, people.

Getting hoarse...

...from all these horses. here's another in mom's parade of horses, apparently named "Snoop." This picture shows mom atop Snoop, 5 months pregnant with yours truly. I can't say enough about photoshop's ability to equalize these old pink photos and make them look like they were taken last week. Well, ok this one is still faded around the edges, but pretty amazing, I think. Mom, do you know where this picture was taken?

Cats from the past

I'm not sure who these guys are, but I love the line of the kitten's back and tail. It's the essence of cat, I think, the way he's arching up to look bigger, and looks slightly annoyed. Little cat acting like big cat.

I think one of them is named "Charlie." These are dated 11/66. The top picture is one of those "cute overload" type pictures of the same kitten, obviously rarin' to go hikin' in the backpack. The old kind before they had those padded straps and other luxuries we wimps have today. And the pack was made of heavy canvas and steel and weighed 20 lbs. just by itself.

Suzy and I not compatible!

Before Suzy and I started dating, we decided to hash out once and for all if we'd work together. So we went to Disneyland and got this printout. (That's also the trip where Chris and Angie got married) I forget if it was based on our birthdays, or our aura (say that 5x fast) or what. Alas, our relationship was apparently not meant to be. But we stuck it out anyway despite fate decreeing that we were riding the doombuggy to splitsville. Does anybody know what Cheryl Ladd is up to nowadays?

Chubby Cheeks

Here's a picture of our faithful dog, Fletcher. He was a border collie "mix", (yea I know, just a mutt) and this was taken about 1982. I just had my molars pulled, to kick off the joy of years of braces/headgear wearing. It's apropo that Fletcher is young and full-faced as well.

When I would run around the next-door-neighbor's fields, he would, purely on instinct, chase after all the sheep and round them up and herd them into their barn. Impressive, but the owner didn't like it.

Another Horse

Yet another horse! Ye old photo box is full of them! Is that Jackson Pollack holding him? Or perhaps Grandpa Herbert? And is that a cigarette I see, hmmm? He (mr. horse) looks a bit like Frankie. Arabian? It looks like Salmon Arm, I recognize that steep hill in the background. No on second thought I don't. And is that a UFO hovering in the background? Ok back to work.

ps check out another new post a couple posts down, didn't make it to the top for some reason.

This Old House

In the spirit of old B&W photos, here's an old photo of our house, taken about 1935 or so, in the depths of the Great Depression. People were getting nervous about Hitler's antics across the sea, Benny Goodman was the big thing in dance music, (about to do his Carnegie Hall concert) and cars fit in garages built for them.

Also, white picket fences and lacy curtains were all the rage. Gutters hadn't been invented yet and window technology hadn't progressed to the point where they could make panes more than a few feet across. Good thing someone later took those eyesores out and put in big picture windows...(yes, I'm being sarcastic). And check out those crazy M.C. Escher roof tiles.

Chik-chik-chik-chik-chick-ENS!!

When we moved to Bellingham in 1980, we inherited 4 hens and a rooster. Mighty Meat Makers was the name of their strain. The Rooster was named, for lack of a better name, or any name at all, #1. The strongest and biggest hen was #2, and so on down to poor #5, who was always hen-pecked.

My fondest memory of them is bringing out the pieces of bread soaked in vegetable oil, which was their daily treat. One of us would call "Chik-chik-chik-chik-chick-ENS!!" and where ever they were, they'd stop what they were doing and start an all-out sprint to the front porch where we were. You should've seen how they "leaned into the curve" as they barrelled around the house at full speed.

They were good, if messy pets. The property was always splattered with chicken poop. Then we slaughtered and ate them. They did live up to their name. (One can't get too sentimental living in the sometimes harsh world of the country.)

This old house II

Why we took out the carpeting:

Mom's collie?

here's a picture of Mum as a child (I think?) with an unidentified pooch. Is he wearing a mask of somesort? And are those...ice cream cones on the dog's head? Mum must be 10 years old or so. And why so sullen? It looks like it's at Grandma & Grandpa's house in Tappen...?

Late breaking News! Mom emailed me the rest of the story. Thanks Mom!:
"Lassie, the dog in the pictures, was given to us, and had been trained to bring in a herd of cattle. Saying "go get the cow" set her in motion, and she would dash around looking for something to herd. Since we only had one cow, Lassie would bring her in, usually at a run, with her bag swinging wildly. Soon the cow figured out that she didn't have to run from the dog, so the dog had the cow chase her, and brought her in that way. Smart dog. But running is bad for milk production, so the whole scenario came to an end."

The Schwinn family

Continuing the theme, this is me and me first um, pet bicycle, circa 1977 or so. Note the protective plaid pants to guard against falls. It was actually a convertable bike for boys or girls. Just unbolt the top cross bar and attach it down by the pedals and boom! Instant chick ride. I wanted a bmx bike, but the kind young man behind me acquiesced a few years later and got me the bike of my dreams: The Schwinn SX 1000! Still have it in the garage. Great bike. Thanks dad!

Also, check out the fine physical specimen that is William I. Salas! I think that's when he swam 60 laps a night or something. But he was a male chauvinist pig. At least that's what it says on his Tshirt.

Cyclo & Ace II

We interupt this blog to bring you this special post. I found another Cyclo and Ace cartoon! You'll have to excuse my French bashing though, I think they were just another country besides the U.S., and therefore as good an enemy as any. Yiiiiiy!

(Jackie?), Chan and Mom 1955

Wow, thanks "Mille" for that illuminating coverage of the last photo!

I'm now a little scared to post this next one (while putting off doing a freelance job as long as possible) of mom herself on "Chan" from that same year. Chan was a quarter horse? No, he was a "Saddle bred Hackney Cross" according to the back of the photo. What's that? Did mom own him? And who's the handsome collie? Where was this? My mind wants to place it as Grandma's and Grandpa's in Salmon Arm, but I think this pre-dates that...?

And love the jaunty cowgirl hat!

Horse and Buggy

Here's an interesting photo dated September, 1957. It features an handsome horse in the foreground, held by someone I don't recognize (a young Grandma Gladys maybe?) and a cherry '55 bug in the background! Also beautiful beautiful brick tudor! (The bug is also a tudor of course) This also showcases the power of photoshop; This was all shades of pink and red when I scanned it, and I was able to coax out what is at least close to the original colors. Parents, if you want to fill in any details, I'm all ears.

Pets: Past, Present and Future

Since we seem to be getting a rep. for being crazy pet owners, I thought I'd start posting some of the animals of various sorts from the Salas fambly past. Here's a fun group from August 1983. From left to right: Sugar, Eleanor Roosevelt Smudge, and ChaCho. We trained them to all sit up at the same time for their dinner. It was quite impressive. Note our rockin', recently departed linoleum floor. Kind of gives me a headache looking at it like this.

House from a plane

Wee! This is a more recent follow up to my very first post. Thank you Mowrers for buying a unique car!

My scary face

I had some fun with facial hair last week. Grew it all out, then shaved bits of it off throughout the week. This was the final triumphant flourish before it all came off again. I'm taking off the sideburns too, and going back to mini-LukePerry's.













This next one may be even scarier looking: My silly grin looking at the boidy on me shoulder.