Sketchy Thoughts | August 12, 2026

August 19, 2026

We deep dive into color and digital graphics this week with commissions, loss, recovery, and personal identity. Daily art, sketch challenges, and one very deceased recliner.

Substack: https://monumentsinruin.substack.com

Sketchy Thoughts | August 12, 2026
Documenting the week of August 5-11

This week our adventure takes us deep into the cosmos of color and a clumsy jaunt into the world of digital graphics. We discuss our adventure into the realm of commissions, loss and recovery, personal identity and process and continue to define our path in the infinite creative universe.

Daily Art | Aug 5-11

Sketch and Catch! Sometimes it feels like this stuff floats away or catches fire. Either way, this pretty much looks exactly how I felt at the moment it was sketched. We’ve all been there though, right? Drawing it was fun and got me through the mental slump of dealing with it.

What is the point here? That dog sure does look happy!

Well, all good things must come to an end. Looks like our trusty ol’ foldout recliner that we’ve been using for our summertime sketch and catch sessions has claimed its last sitting. Turns out, an 80 pound dog sitting on top of a full grown human may be a bit too much for such a weathered device. Who knew? RIP

Not having our recliner was a bit awkward. I tried to carry on with our sketch and catch session while sitting on the ground. It resulted in a short set filled with the dog panting in my face the entire time. Heavy, summertime breathing and elbows getting bumped equaled not a good combo. Still, we had a good time and find that the artwork represents exactly what was going on.

So the digital apocalypse landed last week. I was able to finish up this piece for my friend Joop at the Stoner HiVe. He was happy with the end result and I was very excited and honored to get to work on this project. I was presented with no rules or boundaries. This was not my original idea, but it was the thing that got me motivated to work on it. The total shift of gears to sketch the shelf sparked the engine and we are both happy with the end result.

Now that we’ve entered the age of color, I decided to continue working on a little bit of random play. Something to get more familiar with using the digital work surface. Pen, ink, pencil and paper are still my favorite mediums, but having all of this color at my fingertips is kind of irresistible.

Continuing on. Getting more familiar by working with the different brush techniques. I kind of like sticking to one brush but want to explore. At this point, the game plan is, introduce a little more color and overall commit the time to learning the medium. This was a fun piece.

Sketch and catch! At first, I wasn’t sure where this was going. It slowly started to take shape. Either a wizard or a woman with a cane started to appear. Some of the previous scratches also reminded me of a watery landscape so I went with that vibe. Again, it started with no idea in mind. Improvised pen scratches on paper . Fun end result.

Oh, we have a new chair!

We are back into the world of color! Something about this weird shape has always been a go to “comfort sketch” for me. We will discuss more about that later but right now, this is, once again, me getting used to the digital format and trying to find a color palette that feels comfortable.

Sketch and Catch! Sometimes it feels like we’re all hypnotized by these digital products. Not that I’m avoiding using them, by the way. Clearly we would not be sharing this blog if I was not involved with them. Yet, it feels like I do not belong in the digital world. To know that we can not escape being brainwashed, sold to, influenced by algorithms in one way or another, or blinded by digital billboards is creepy. Even if we are not living in a simulation, we are somehow finding ourselves in a simulated world. Most of what we see is fake and most of those who see it want to accept it as reality.

Turn off the machine and look around for a day. See how often you reach for your digital device. It’s a real eye-opening experience. When I was a child I would often hear the older generation say that television would rot your brain. The irony is, they are equally consumed in our digital landscape and I do not hear that as much anymore. It may leak through on occasion in reference to computers. No one is unplugging from them though. Possibly because we are all so consumed with them that it would hurt to admit how far along our addiction has gotten.

More familiar shapes, and more color! Now we are starting to work on backgrounds. Slowly getting more and more exciting. I plan to keep going down this path and see where it takes me. I’ll be back to pen and ink soon enough. For now, this has been a fun change of pace and I am enjoying the process. Hopefully, you are too!

LearnToDrawTogether Sunday Challenge | August 2 and 9

August 2nd - Design the Mask You Would Wear Forever

Perhaps we all make small sacrifices of our true self in order to make others comfortable, happy or due to situational awareness. That is a mask we keep in our back pockets with hopes of never having to wear it.

There is no mask that I would want to wear forever. That made for a difficult challenge. It brought to mind my watching an episode of the Twilight Zone titled The Masks in which the family children, who were all consumed with greed, wore these ugly masks so they could please their father. In exchange, he would pass along his wealth to them after his death. In the end, the masks consumed them and changed their features.

The Masks originally aired on March 20, 1964

I’ve never wanted to hide behind a mask. Perhaps we all do it in some way or another. My goal has always been to be honest with myself and those who I encounter. That does not mean my life is an open book. Very often my thoughts are kept to myself.

In the process of finding my way in the challenge, I worked on two options. The second was my official submission but decided to share them both here.

Aug 2 - **Design the Mask You Would Wear Forever**

August 9th - If You Were Born With a Symbol, What Would Yours Be?

This takes us back into the earlier discussion of familiar shapes. The symbol challenge itself is another that was strange for me to answer. Similar to the previous challenge, I’ve never wanted any symbols to represent me.

Instead, I focused on something that often repeats in my artwork. I have drawn this symbol for the entirety of time that my daily art projects have been part of my routine. Actually, long before then. It has been lurking long before committing myself to be a daily art practitioner.

So this is it. A symbol that must represent something about me. Some type of alien shape or mound that’s searching for or connecting to an astrological point in the heavens. Wherever or whatever that may be.