"Tracker"

"Tracker" / 9 x 12" / acrylic & ink on paper

I'm closing out this week's drawings with a Dangerous Woman & Creepy Monster combo piece! As I've said before, I'm an absolute sucker for drawing a well-armed woman, stalking through the woods after some ungodly creature. Of course, who's to say that the beast is stalking her, and not the other way around?

Have a great weekend, everyone. And join me on Monday for the start of the last full week of Alphabet Attack! Series 4.

- Dave C.

"Sensei"

"Sensei" / 8.5 x 11" / acrylic & ink on paper

Who doesn't appreciate a mild-mannered, buff, old guy who can disarm & subdue an enemy using only his pinkie?! Maybe there was too much Karate Kid in my childhood diet. But the mysteriously dangerous teacher character gets me EVERY time!

Today's drawing literally grew outward, from the central figure. I drew out the martial arts master in mid-kata, without any of the surrounding elements... no background or anything! Of course, I couldn't skimp on creating a scene/telling a story. Hence, the bewildered students in the background and magical butterflies were born!

- Dave c.

"Rampage"

"Rampage" / 5.5 x 8.5" / acrylic & ink on paper

And, just like that, I'm back to drawing monsters! This one was a lot of fun to create. It's actually a rough sketch, seen through to completion (hence the smaller size of the drawing).

Once I realized how much movement & gesture I'd already captured in the loose sketch stage, I didn't want to waste time trying to redraw it on a whole new sheet of paper. Some days, you could draw for hours, and still never recapture the raw energy that you stumbled upon in a 30 second sketch.

- Dave C.

"Quickie"

"Quickie" / 9 x 12" / acrylic & ink on paper

I decided to take a turn away from the beastly, today -- in exchange for the carnal! As many of you may have noticed, summer is already in full swing. And with it, comes an undeniable, sweat-tinged flow of pheromones and animal attraction. How appropriate that it's the hot season that gets our blood boiling.

- Dave C.

"Prostration"

"Prostration" / 8.5 x 11" / acrylic & ink on paper

Nothing says, "Monday," quite like a drawing of a lone warrior being attacked by a portal-hopping demon!

As bad as I feel for our frightfully exhausted (and now shield-less) hero, they may still make it out of this. Who knows what the scent of death-from-another-dimension will inspire them to do?

- Dave C.

"Outnumbered"

"Outnumbered" / 9 x 12" / acrylic & ink on paper

I'm closing out this week with a man fending off a couple foul beasts (instead of my usual Warrior Women). Our protagonist looks worse for the wear, but he's obviously drawn blood. Perhaps from one of the creatures who has fallen, and isn't viewed here.

But even if he defeats these two before him, what other dangers remain unseen? What else could be lurking in the woods, or in that tall grass?

- Dave C.

"Nimble"

"Nimble" / 14 x 17" / acrylic & ink on paper

No time for a proper write-up, today. I'm on the go! But I do hope you enjoy the piece.

- Dave C.

"Mortal"

"Mortal" / 9 x 12" / acrylic & ink on paper

I think today's illustration was inspired by all the news I've been reading, lately. There's so much war & devastation in the world. Not just now, but all throughout human history. It never ceases to fascinate me, how bent we are on the path of violence. Especially considering how precious & fragile our lives really are.

- Dave C.

"Liftoff"

"Liftoff" / 8.5 x 11" / acrylic & ink on paper

Today's drawing is another stream of consciousness piece. Something sprung to mind and brought with it images of children taking flight and transforming into strange birds.

But who is this horn-headed stranger, stepping out of the water. Is he dangerous? Or a benevolent creature, encouraging -- or even causing -- the children's metamorphosis. I suppose that remains to be seen....

- Dave C.

"Kindred"

"Kindred" / 11 x 17 / acrylic & ink on paper

Hope everyone had a swell weekend, and a peaceful start to this week. I'm kicking off this Monday through Friday run with some of my patented creepiness. It all spawned from a handful of questions that popped into my head -- don't monsters have relatives? If so, how do they keep in touch? What's a demon family reunion like?

And the image of this strange ritual came together from there.

- Dave C.

"Jetty"

"Jetty" / 9 x 12" / acrylic & ink on paper

Today's illustration is dedicated to all the lovers out there, both young and old. If you've ever fallen prey to Cupid's unerring aim, then you'll surely agree -- there is nothing quite like kissing someone you care deeply for, next to a surging body of water.

I was well into adulthood before I ever visited an ocean or experienced true love. But there's something beautifully hypnotic about both. If you haven't tried either sensation, I highly recommend them. In unison, if possible.

- Dave C.

"Incantation"

"Incantation" / 9 x 12" / ink on paper

How appropriate that on the 13th day of June, I throw some witchcraft into the mix! What surrealistic spell is this young woman casting? What's that maw-faced, knife-wielding creature lurking behind her? And is that silhouetted man in the foreground approaching for good or for ill??

This piece was created purely by stream of consciousness. It's fun to do that, sometimes... letting go so the image can draw itself... so it can tell its own story.

Dave C.

"Headless"

"Headless" / 9 x 12" / acrylic & ink on paper

Today's illustration features yet another Dangerous Woman. And much like the heroine of "Cestus," this deadly dame is dealing buckets full of pain to a much larger opponent. What can I say? I'm a sucker for an underdog. Even when said underdog is armed with razor-sharp blades capable of removing a man's noggin in one powerful slash!

- Dave C.

"Gridiron"

"Gridiron" / 11 x 17" / acrylic & ink on paper

Believe it or not, I've been a football fan since childhood. I was raised in a football household, in a football neighborhood, in a football town. I even played for a season in high school. That is, if you consider sitting on the bench for all but one play at the end of a blow-out game "playing."

So it's no surprise that my love of American "Gridiron" Football has found further expression in my illustrations. I've had a lot of fun with this subject matter. Especially during the 2011-2012 NFL season, which found me doing color drawings & rough sketches in friends' homes & sports bars around the Greater Los Angeles area. With today's piece, I wanted to delve back into that world... to sink the viewers into the mud & torn up turf, the noise & spectacle... the relative calm before the storm of 22 men in pads stomping the living snot out of each other, all in an attempt to get 15oz of inflated leather across their opponent's goal line.

- Dave C.

"Fang"

"Fang" / 14 x 17" / acrylic & ink on bristol board

This week's set of drawings kicks off with one of my Dangerous Women and her savage beastie friend. I may never tire of drawing and painting these deadly darlings. Nothing gives me quite the same kick that I get from scribbling out this kind of subject matter.

Today's illustration actually began as a super rough sketch -- done with a highlighter, of all things. But something about it captured my imagination, instantly bringing the word "fang" to mind. One light table session and several ounces of ink later, the above image was complete, dry & ready for the scanner!

- Dave C.

"Eclipsed"

"Eclipsed" / 12 x 17" / acrylic & ink on bristol board 

Today's piece includes several of my favorite subjects to draw -- strange travelers, wild nature & a harbinger of doom! And what says "doom" quite like a tentacled, smoke-spewing behemoth, that's big enough to block out the sun?!

At the start of this one, I was taken by the idea of two voyagers meeting on the coast. One, somewhat human. The other, monstrous & otherworldly. Something about this drawing harkens back to "Wayfarer" for me (from the previous series). But who knows? Maybe the human traveler in this illustration is here to stop this gigantic evil. I guess we'll just have to wait and see....

This marks the end of the first week of Series 4. I hope you've enjoyed the art I've posted so far. Have a fantastic weekend, wherever you are. And be sure to tune in Monday for the next installment of Alphabet Attack!

- Dave C.

"Dissuasion"

"Dissuasion" / 9 x 12" / acrylic & ink on paper 

Today's illustration is dedicated to "the better angels of our nature." Those forces whom aim to turn us away from our own self destruction, whether we realize it or not. As with the previous pieces in this series, the whole noir bar scene popped into my head, as soon as I knew what word I'd be illustrating. 

I'm having fun shooting from the hip, so to speak, in Series 4. Going back to the Monday through Friday format makes for an interesting time challenge. But I dig how it's inspiring me to make faster decisions, both in choosing my subject matter and my actual mark-making.

- Dave C.

"Cestus"

"Cestus" / 9 x 12" / acrylic & ink on paper

The cestus (kes-tuss) is an ancient ancestor of the modern day boxing glove. Used by The Greeks & The Romans, it was battle glove, typically tricked out with such brutal accoutrements as metal plates, spikes & blades. Yeesh... and you thought MMA fights were rough. Imagine Kimbo Slice coming down on somebody with one of these!

When I knew I was doing "Cestus" for The Letter C, this image immediately sprung to mind. I'm always stoked to illustrate a strong female going ballistic on a larger, monstrous opponent. Especially, when the chump is getting a bit too grabby for her taste.

- Dave C.

"Balustrade"

"Balustrade" / 9 x 12" / acrylic & ink on paper 

I don't know what it is about it, but I'm especially fond of the word "balustrade." And I'm even more fond of swashbuckling sword fights, where heroes leap atop a balustrade & deal razor-sharp vengeance upon their enemies!

- Dave C.