Sketchy Thoughts | July 15, 2026

July 22, 2026

This week's sketchbook documents one cosmic catastrophe completed and the birth of another. Alien octopi, cosmic turtle overlord, eclipse studies, and the looming question of what lies within our astrological subconscious. Tune in for the full week of daily process, SketchDaily challenges, and the slow burn of something big taking shape.

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Sketchy Thoughts | July 15, 2026
Documenting the week of July 8-14

Looks like we have unearthed an obsession with cities under alien siege! While we wrap up one catastrophic event, we seem to have opened the vortex into another. Mankind may be its own downfall in the end, but in this sketchbook it is cosmic destruction coursing through the pages.

Let’s put the cap on the pen for a moment and reflect back on last week's daily process and progress!

Daily Art | July 8-14

Welcome back! I can not remember where exactly we paused our last discussion. Either way, this piece has moved right along. Since then we have developed a little bit more in the background. There was a point that I considered stopping here. Essentially happy with the way it looks, but decided to dip in a little bit further anyway.

Sometimes you just need to stop and enjoy the morning. I know this is not art related, but yard work burns a ton of energy. I hit it early. Afterwards, got to relax in some early morning, not so hot weather. It was a great recharge. Yardwork with the dogs was a welcome reprieve to my normal routine. Let’s just sit for a second and soak this in.

OK back to it. Having considered more about this, it was decided to add a little bit more before I strike a finish line underneath this one. Pretty happy with the way it turned out. Adding more to the space theme behind the city or I should say being able to see the two merge really made this item pop a little bit further and feels completed.

So now we’ve started a new piece! I was not totally sure where this piece was gonna start so I relied on a traditional, random few lines to get me started. Somehow I wound up in alien octopus territory. Clearly, this is a reoccurring issue in our society, right? It seems to be where my thoughts naturally go.

So now that I have committed to more alien/astrological concepts, I decided to put in a couple of little planets and a UFO in here. At this point, I really was not certain on what the piece was calling for. How was I going to move forward? After this little touch up I set the piece aside instead of continuing the blind sketch. Hoping to find something more inspirational that will guide me into the next phase.

The next day I woke with an image of a large turtle skull coming out of the cosmos. At first, I did not connect it to this work. It was filed away in the slight dreamscape index as an interest and my day moved forward. As I sat down to commit to the daily practice it all made sense. It quickly became the focal point of what I wanted to do at this phase. Our astrological overlord has arrived.

Sketch and catch! I have to admit this piece really felt good. It may seem simple, but sometimes that’s all this experience requires. Something very somber and morose about this fit very well with the overcast skies. Perhaps it was nature's influence seeping in while we spent our time sketching and tossing the lobster. 🦞

It actually occurs to me now that we have not been introduced to the lobster. We’ll correct that soon.

Against the wall of Judgement

I was really excited to work on this turtle. It’s a lot more in depth than I had envisioned in my first thoughts. Now that I’ve committed to it I can’t wait to see the end result. It’s gonna take a lot of time and I’m OK with that. At this point, I’m not worried about resolving the piece as much as I’m focused on making sure the turtle looks rad.

Turtle complete! There’s always more that could be done, but we also have to tell ourselves that this is where we feel satisfied. There are a couple of things I debated trying and held back. It was decided to hold those out for another day. There are some things that one can see and want to attempt, but may not be certain it is the right time. Perhaps the skills are not fully equipped with the ability at this given moment. It’s ok. We can do this over and over. This is not the end, right? For today, I decided to reserve it for another time and let this piece stand as is.

Little bit more of a close-up of the mighty astrological turtle overlord.

Another sketch and catch! As noted above, there were some ideas. One of those things in consideration was an eclipse in the open spacing of the main background. Decided to fulfill that urge by working on an eclipse style piece during our sketch and catch.

Total eclipse of the… catch…

This is the part I have been somewhat apprehensive about. Since starting the turtle my thoughts have been on a city below. Everything in my mind wants to tie this in and yet everything in my nerves keeps telling me that it is a big chunk to tackle in the main section of the work.

If we have no city to take over, what purpose does our alien turtle overlord serve in this sequence? Tune in next week to see!