Illustration Friday: Star Gazing

He's a star. Get it?

Illustration Friday: Artificial

Here's one of my favorite gag cartoons matching this week's word. Have a good week everyone.

Illustration Friday: Breakfast

Here's something I put together a couple of years back that fits nicely with week's word. I can just hear the big guy saying to the little guy: "Misser, eat up! Just mix the milk up with this here so you can grow up big and strong like me."

Illustration Friday: Diary

I like to take walks once in a while to the top of the hill to refresh my mind. Great views. That's what inspired me to put this together along with the song made famous from the musical group "Bread" about Finding a Diary Underneath a Tree. If you know about that song, it's going to date you!

Illustration Friday: Giant

When I heard the word, this image just seemed to pop into my head. I'm having fun drawing with graphite again as most of my work lately has been drawn digital. Have a good week everyone.

4th of July Parade Sketches, Clayton, California

It was a great day to just sketch around town today as I sat on a brick wall under a shady oak tree to keep out of the sun. Here's a couple of sketches I drew as I watched the 4th of July parade go down Main Street in Clayton, CA. It's still a small town parade with lots of enthusiasm and civic pride. So many people involved! Happy Birthday America!

Happy Birtday USA!!!!!

Something I brought out of my archives but thought appropriate to post today. It's great to be an American!

Illustration Friday: Satellite

Illustration Friday: Slither

I've been working on some storyboards for a class I've been taking "online". If you stretch your imagination, it kinda relates to "slither" as Charlie finds the golden ticket. To seem more, here's the link to my online blog that I've been uploading my assignments: click here.

Illustration Friday: Early

Breakfast for the champions.

Illustration Friday: Equipment

This post is dedicated all you hard working students studying for their finals this week. Wouldn't it be great if we could all have a machine like this - an apparatus that could record everything that you read? Good luck to you all and remember, it's just a lousy test. It's not going to be the end of the world. You've got everything to gain, and nothing to lose!

Illustration Friday: Cocoon

Something I painted in watercolors by picking out images from a nature magazine and making a collage. Kinda creepy, huh?

Illustration Friday: Ahead

Here's a quick sketch for today's word.

Illustration Friday: Detective

Something I drew a while back for an employee newsletter. I think it matches the word pretty well. Have a good week everyone!

Illustration Friday: Linked

Partners in crime.

Charles M. Schultz Museum Cartoonist-in-Residence

Here's something from the Charles M. Schultz Museum in Santa Rosa. Click here to go there.

Illustration Friday: Dip2

Here's a zany picture I drew in my sketchbook and painted in Photoshop. It was inspired by this week's word. I drew it in a coffee shop while sipping on some coffee. What is that green stuff anyways? Could it be guacamole?

Illustration Friday: Dip

Here's my image for this week's IF word: Dip. Now who's ever taken a class at Arthur Murray? Tango anyone?

Illustration Friday: Rescue Two

I just couldn't resist. Here's a second submission for this week's word "Rescue". It was so perfect for the word! It was a poster I did for Unicef's 50th Anniversary. It was selected to be posted on all the B.A.R.T. (Bay Area Rapid Transit) subway trains throughout the San Francisco Bay Area for a month or so. Enjoy!

Illustration Friday: Rescue

Here's my submission for this week's word "Rescue".

Illustration Friday: Expired

Here's a good one for this week's word. Don't forget the "expired" milk with that!

Illustration Friday: Subterranean

Here's my image for this week. This is the first creature that came out of my head when the word "subterranean" came up. I thought of that movie where that creature comes out of the ground.

Illustration Friday: Brave

Perfect!! This week's word is great for me because I am the proud graduate of Terry Parker HS 1979 - "Home of the Braves"! Here's something I drew for our 30 year class reunion which was held in July of last year. It was a blast. Go Braves!!!

Illustration Friday: Perspective

I don't just draw cartoons. Here's a couple of "perspective" drawings I drew either using Adobe Illustrator or my good old fashioned pencil graphite. Check out my other architectural sketches by clicking here: www.vernmercado.blogspot.com.

Illustration Friday: Propagate

Illustration Friday: Adrift

Here's my submission for this week's word: Adrift. "Yo ho thar maties! Is that land that I see?"

Illustration Friday: Focused

Illustration Friday: Clumbsy

Here's a clown that is not clumsy at all! I've heard riding a unicycle is a really tough thing to do. It looks like he's having a fun time doing it.

Two Postcards for Self Promo

Illustration Friday: Wilderness

Beware of the "Urban Hunter". He leaps from rooftop to rooftop searching for 'gators that have grown too big for the sewers . He may be on a rooftop near you!

Illustration Friday: Confined

Howdy art lovers. I've been visiting the museums and it's inspired me to put this image together. I've combined the rigid artwork of the computer with the free-flowing lines of my hand drawn line art. The colors used are the basic primaries of red, blue and yellow. I also played around with the geometry of the cage by making the interior a bit larger then the exterior and distorting the perspective for a more intriguing effect. Have a good week everyone.

Illustration Friday: Pioneer & Trail

I'm on a roll now. That's two posts in two days. (Of course, it is the beginning of the year! Let's see how long this lasts. hee hee.) This is something I never got around to posting for last week's word. IF did inspire me to draw it as I had it in my sketchbook and thought maybe someone out there would enjoy it. Oh well, better late then never as they say. Notice how the lady rider discovers the cityscape in the background while the pioneer driver concentrates on the 'ol dusty trail. Somethings never change, like driving on the freeways nowadays days as we notice strip malls popping up all over the place. Enjoy all!

Illustration Friday: Renewal

Hello F0lks. It's been a while since I've posted ... about four months. But, it's a new year and I'm ready to start another with lots of resolutions (including more drawing!). This week's word is renewal. With my twentieth wedding anniversary coming up and taking a nice stroll in the park today, I came up with this image. Although, Lucille and I are a lot happier then this couple - Thank God for that! Hope to post again soon. Have a great decade everyone!