One of favorite subjects to draw is the Tomten.  A Tomten or Nisse is a scandinavian house elf that lives unseen by the residents of the house.  Tomtens can be good or bad depending on the demeanor of the residents of the house.  Author, Astrid Lindgren's two books about the Tomten are deeply peaceful books about the tomten and the Scandinavian winter.  Those two sources influenced my ideas of the Tomten more than anything else.  I love winter more than anyone else I know, especially once I took up nordic skiing, and I think that is part of the reason I love drawing the Tomten.  This drawing was part of a series I did for for Paul, my old roommates eldest son.  The rest of the drawings from that series will make their way up here sooner or later.

Self Portrait

This blog is meant to be a place where I add pieces of art that I have worked on.  It is an attempt to be proactive in getting my art out into the wide world.  Hopefully it will spur more creative effort from me as I attempt to have material to add to the blog.  I thought it would be fitting to start with a self portrait that I did a long time ago during college.  It was done in the style of an artist of my choosing and I chose the German artist Egon Schiele.  It has been damaged in my movings since college and I actually prefer it all scuffed up and ratty.