illustration: blue crab

I’ve painted this crab species before, though the creative process feels fresh because it’s been over a year ago and I use a different crabbie for reference. Plus, this particular Blue Crab is displaying a wonderful spectrum of colors which is a pleasure for me to do in watercolor.

sketch: sculling boat

The sport of Sculling is all about speed, in addition to power, aerodynamics and synchrocity. It involves oars that propel the shell, in unison, on both sides of the boat – port and starboard. (There is such thing as single-oar sculling as well.) Boaters are seated opposite the direction the craft is headed toward. This is because there is more strength developed from the motion of pushing back with the legs and arms.

Single, double, quadruple or even more rowers can occupy the watercraft, depending on the length, from about 26 to 65 feet. The width is so narrow that the boat only becomes stable when the oars are counterbalancing like outriggers. So maintain your center of gravity or you may take a spill!

My drawing, here, is of a single-person sculling boat.

illustration: vw beetle

The Volkswagen Beetle has come a long way from being a concept of Hitler’s in the 1930’s. Originally called the Volkswagen Type 1, it was born from the need of a cheap and simplistic car design, yet powerful enough to travel on the Autobahn.

From out of the darkness of WWII, however, the Bug is adopted as a symbol of Peace. And now, a fun way to get to your favorite activity destination. Am I starting to sound like a car commercial?

My drawing is based on the new Beetle that was re-introduced to the world in 1998 (including a cool mountain bike).