I only managed to get three books at Comicon, but since things are pretty pricey at Stuart Ng books, this was my limit!

Picked up a book of Henry Yan’s beautiful figure drawings. Henry is an instructor here in SF at the Academy of Art, and his figure work is particularly striking to me because of the energy and dynamic quality he is able to capture, while keeping everything loose and playful. Really gorgeous stuff.

Also finally picked up two books of Toppi’s work. My colleague Brian O’Connell introduced me to Toppi a few years ago, and I was stunned by his linework, composition, use of silhouette, negative space, and looseness. The texture and patterns he incorporates are incredibly appealing and rich. I’ve been salivating over picking up some of his work ever since. There are definite influences of Gustav Klimt, and I see quite a bit of Barron Storey and Bill Sienkiewicz in there as well. The copy in both books is entirely in French, however, and I have a lot of brushing up to do to help me get through it!

I’m starting to run into her more often in the mornings when I’m on my run. This is a super quick sketch when I got home, but her face is just so striking to me, I can’t help it. All that makeup! I wonder where she’s off to every morning? This morning she was all about the lavender jumpsuit, probably to celebrate spring. Stylin’!

A little bit of mirror doodling today.

Just got back from checking out the new exhibition of Annie Leibovitz’s photography over at the Palace of the Legion of Honor. Nice collection of her magazine and corporate work, juxtaposed against her very personal family photos. I sketched a little bit outside, since the weather was so stunningly beautiful.

This little girl was wandering around the bank while her mom was waiting in line in front of me. The cuteness was almost unbearable, she kept walking around and examining everything with her hands quite intently, and her nose was runny the whole time. When she took her hat off, the crazy case of hat-hair caught me off guard, with bits of her scalp peeking through her fine hair. The mom, by the way, was really awesome with her. I overheard her calling her Twyla. Had to try to get her down when I got home.

This beautiful park is just two blocks away from where I live, and a wondrous oasis amidst the hustle and bustle of the Inner Richmond. It’s a wonder there’s a peaceful lake just a stone’s throw away, where you can go and just let your thoughts be for a while. Gulls were abound today, and a few children on the playground. I like the big tree with the sign that greets you when you walk through.