I love the way Michael integrated this piece.

Hey friends! The last month or so has been rather crazy with client work.  I’m very happy to tell you that I am busy with two children’s stories and some educational work.  My wife Christina’s brother was married yesterday and I thought it would be fun to create a pen and ink as a celebratory gift. They are quite the handsome couple and I truly wish them the very best.

I recently had the opportunity of creating a portrait for my friend and previous LearningChange colleague, Mike Slocombe. He recently launched a personal marking website showing off his stellar web design and development skills.  Mike was really a fun guy to work with during my time at LearningChange.  Even though he was thousands of miles away in the Chico office, we still got on well.  I highly recommend him for not only his fantastic abilities, but you will also enjoy working with him.

Mike’s style is sleek and clean, so my typical organic pencils and watercolor were not in order for this job.  Thus, Adobe Illustrator became my friend an enemy. Vector style illustration is completely different, as it is shaped based, and not my typical line based drawing.  It was fun to have a change of pace, however, it fought with me the entire way.

Sketching

As with any project, no matter if it will be entirely digital or straight traditional, we start with sketching.  This helps flush out ideas quickly and efficiently.

We finally arrived at this sketch.

Inking And Flats

I then scanned the image into the computer and with Illustrator began digitally inking and laying down flat colors.

And then I laid down the flats.

Final

Once I tweaked a few things and added some manly stubble, I passed the illustration off to Mike, who now uses it in his website.

Big thanks to Mike for letting me be a part of this project.  Best wishes to you sir!

For the last couple years I have painted my Mom a picture for Mother’s Day.  As I grow older and hopefully wiser, I am beginning to see how much my mother has done for me.  This piece shows the bliss of a child, and the patience of a mother.  So here is to you Mom.  Thank you for who you are and for all you have done. Love you.

I thought it would be fun to sketch King Josiah again to sell at the recent Craft and Bake sale Christina and I attended. The other reason I wanted a crack at it was to see some progress in drawing since I drew him last.  Below is the drawing from two years ago.  It is fun to revisit ideas.

My friend Sebastien Mesnard is curating and running a blog called Scissorhands 20th, which is celebrating Edward Scissorhands.  In addition to the blog, Gallery Nucleus is hosting the gallery show.  Thanks so much to Sebastien for making this all happen.

This is my second piece for the show, due to the gallery wanting original paintings, and not prints.  Therefore, I had to create a new piece.  One of my favorite characteristics of Edward is his artistic ability when trimming the hedges.  Out of this concept came the painting above. Enjoy.

Here is the illustration for the Summer & Fall edition of the Bemidji community events brochure “Collaborating For Success.”  This is my third cover for the brochure and I’m very excited to be on a part of it. You can have a look at the previous covers; Fall 2010 and Winter 2010

Here I am following my usual pattern of sketching, drawing, and watercolor.  I recently had the privileged of studying under Jane Freeman, who has become quite the friend and mentor. The class was 3 days of 6 hours of intense watercoloring and watching a master paint.  I’m very thankful for Jane, and I look forward to learning more from her.

I live in Bemidji, Minnesota, and we are surrounded by Paul and Babe.  All sorts of business’ and organization’s claim his namesake in proud shining smiles. And when visitors come to Bemidji, they want Paul!  Thus, I have created a fine postcard to send to all their friends and family and spread Paul Bunyan cheer.  The cards will be available in various shops around town.  If you want to purchase some in bulk please let me know.

One thing that I really like about this new piece is that it has reminded me of my artistic journey in the last year. I worked on a Paul and Babe about a year ago (posted below).  It is posted here only to show that I’m excited about my artistic improvement.  Hard work really does pay off.

Ben Stable Spot – Weaver Gas from Fuzz Studios on Vimeo.

Hey friends, check out the latest animation work from Fuzz Studios. I was fortunate to work with them again on the background matte painting.  For this particular piece you can barely see my work, it is actually the sky out the windows.  I’m posting this to show you how illustration can play both a large roll and a very small roll in animation.  Each member of the team puts there talent together to make the animation work as a whole. Great work from Fuzz Studios as usual.