The Official Graduation Photo.

San Diego Graduation Ceremony in Pictures.

Final Huckleberries.

The client's happy, I'm happy and these guys look REAL happy.

Boy, are our faces red.

We're getting closer now to the finished mascots. Turns out Huckelberries come in red as well as blue/purple.

The clients also requested a few alterations to their looks. IMO, they're looking better and better.

Finished inks.

Here's the completed inks of the sketch below.

Feeling Sketchy.

This afternoon I'm working on an illustration for a friend of a friend. These are the pencils. Inks will be done later this evening.

Just a couple of berries, never meaning no harm.

Here's a second pass at the mascots I'm creating for a new bakery coming to a town near you (that is, if you live near Mitchell, IN). We're getting closer to the finished characters, but still not quite there yet.

My son, the Marine.

All the motivational sketches below were sent to the guy above. My son, the newly minted Marine!

Kids 'n donuts.

I'm doing some work for a bakery. Trying to come up with some branding characters or mascots for them (Think Dennis the Menace to DQ or Ronald McDonald to McD's). This is an unused preliminary sketch. My initial idea was to make them slightly resemble the donuts they enjoy. Huck as a long john, and Berry as a round glazed. But as it's turned out we've decided to go in a different (I think better) direction with the characters. So if anyone really digs these guys and wants to buy them, they're for sale :)

From the son of Nun, to the son of mine.

Tonight's illustrated quote was suggested a while back by mom. It was hard coming up with the photographic reference for Joshua. Powerful passage, full of eternally relevant meaning and encouragement.

A sweet gift from heaven above.

Tonight's sketch/song celebrates the birth of my brother and sister-in-law's new baby girl.

Bring it.

Fell asleep earlier, so tonight's sketch/quote is a bit of quickie. It was fun, though, because Iron Chef Bobby Flay's got an interesting Irish face and the lighting and pose was rather dramatic. The Food Network is essential viewing in the Wiist household. We're talking about doing our own throwdown. Stay tuned.

Matt the Champ.

Felt like illustrating We Are The Champions, but couldn't decide how. Then it hit me that I couldn't do better than draw my son, who is now in his 10th week of Basic Training and is making it like a champ. Just a three more weeks and we'll all be out in San Diego celebrating his graduation! (This  sketch is drawn from his senior picture, can't wait to see how he's changed.)

It's a Dirty Job and We Like It a Lot!

The TV show, Dirty Jobs, is a staple at my folks' house. I personally find Mike Rowe to be half inspirational and half nuts. I noticed today that Matt had its theme song by FNM on iTunes and since it mentions the Marines, it all adds up to be a perfect song/sketch.

THE TICK! offers words of encouragement.

If you don't know the Tick, get to know the Tick. Google it, YouTube it or -even better- go out and buy the cartoon series on DVD. It's the funniest, most well written cartoon ever. Yeah, I said it. EVER.

A Parting Glass Before I Go To Sleep

Evelyn is a great little movie starring Pierce Brosnan and based on a real life story of an Irish man trying to keep custody of his children. Tonight, I felt like drawing the pub scene where Brosnan's character and his dad are performing. So here we are. The scene and one of the songs. There's another song I may do from it tomorrow night. We'll see.

The Heart of Life (or something like it).

My buddy, Carlin Trammel requested this song. Not sure what comes to his mind while listening to it, but his is the image that came to me. Wish I had time to develop this sketch more, but the deal with these is I do them, send them to Matt and move on.

Stand By Me.

This is one of my favorite songs. I was a bit surprised yesterday when I stumbled upon the lyrics and realized I hadn't illustrated it yet. Took care of that oversight tonight. Thanks to the movie, whenever I hear the song I think of railroad tracks. 

Lending a Hand.

Today's song/sketch was suggested by a friend of mine, Lucas Hardwick. Rather dark, but the message is strangely same as the one from yesterday. In this case, "If it seems to good to be true, run away."

Fi Advice.

My mom actually suggested this one:

Fiona from the USA television show, Burn Notice.

Seems like pretty good advice.

Cake and Cheesecake.

Matt and I are big fans of the TV show, Chuck, as well as its theme song, Short Skirt/Long Jacket. Sarah Walker (Yvonne Strahovski) perfectly illustrates the song.

Not Superman.

Well, last night I crashed on the couch and didn't get a sketch done for Matt. So he'll be getting this in the mail instead.

Tonight? Kryptonite!

Superman's Song led to Kryptonite getting stuck in my head. Thus we have this image for tonight's song/sketch.

Superman's Song

Superman has probably been mentioned in more songs than any other superhero. However, this Crash Test Dummies song has always struck a special chord with me. I think it's because in its own quirky way it honors hard, honest work and perseverance. It's also one of my son's favorite Superman songs.

Early Edition (posted early at 1am)

Tonight's lyrics served as the theme song to Early Edition - my son's favorite childhood tv show. The thing, BTW, that struck me the most as I drew this sketch was how big the paper is. Oh, how I wish we could turn back the clock!