This is a series of illustrations of moments from my life that stand out to me. Snippets of the past the float into my consciousness from time to time. All of these drawings were done out of my head, trying to capture the place and the mood as best I could, from memory.
Late Summer, 2010
"We had climbed the ladder to the top of this old, empty water tower adjacent to our campsite outside of Richmond, VA. We went down there to check out some apartments, and we found a good one on W. Main street in the Fan. But before we had all that figured out, the three of us sat up there in the dark blue air, staring out into the humid canopy."
“I don't think I've told anyone about this before. In college I had a secret spot in a pocket of forest, bordered by some little-used parking lots and a back entrance road into campus. I had three large extruded aluminum letters I'd found while exploring outside an abandoned hospital with friends. I put them at the spot, and thought of it as The RER. It doesn't stand for anything. It was a good place to go and and think things over.
Maybe this isn't terribly interesting. But you'll never find The RER! “
“Picking Blackberries on Lunch Break at the Overgrown Ross Park Amphitheater, Circa 2006 .”
About 2:30 a.m. on the sloping, rubbery black roof of the abandoned
Masonic Temple, downtown Binghamton NY. Late summer, 2010.
A. laid back with his arms crossed behind his head. He was twenty one this night, had just finished his second FourLoko. He had led us up the ladder and we'd climbed through broken second story window. He'd showed us the crumbling theater where a huge chunk of concrete had fallen from the ceiling, and the room with all the tangled electrical guts spilling out of bare wall studs. On our way up the stairs to the roof access, an injured pigeon burst up from a pile of dusty rubble, startling us as it took off. A. cursed violently and kicked a glass bottle. Now he leaned back against the ridge of the roof and closed his eyes.
D. motioned toward the distant hills. “You can see all the radio towers from here. When we were teenagers, me and my friends had nothing to do, we’d take Adderall and drive around all night, trying to see if we could find all of them. They’re easy to spot from this far away, but as you get closer it’s hard to know where they actually meet the ground.”
This one is sort of a crossover between my memories project and my music zine.
This was the band's last show before their singer moved to Chicago. Pretty sure this one is weirdly accurate, down to the band's clothing and instruments, the details of the room. It was a few years ago, but I had solid sketches and a clear memory. There’s nothing like a good gritty greasy basement full of people and loud music.
Waiting for our ride at sunset after fencing class. In late summer the dandelions had grown long and thick. More like whips than swords, when we popped the flower heads off with thumb and index finger, the hollow tubes leaked clear sap. They swished through the air with blurred speed as we laughed and jumped around eachother, trying to avoid more bright red welts on our forearms.
Not a lake really, just a pond on private property. Not where we said we’d be camping. Mud, reeds, a dry flat spot for the tent, peeper frogs & crickets, a well used firepit with some old beer cans, crushed and charred.
Fall Fund Drive T-Shirt 2018
’We asked Jamie Douglas to explain his illustration. “The design was inspired by punk show flyers made with collage and photocopying; though my image is much less wild. I scanned a wristband from some show for use as a design element. The type was created with Lettraset, the rub-on letters that graphic designers used back before Photoshop! My inexperience with this media lent a sort of authentic analog wonkiness that I could never replicate with just a computer. The lizard I drew in my sketchbook with a pen. Why three eyes and five legs? I like to imagine that it’s form is being jiggled and distorted by the force of radio goodness blasted through the airwaves from the Tower of Low Power.”’
When multitasking, some rare individuals perform better—but 98% percent of us fail horribly.
Personal project, ink & digital.
Somewhere in the distant oceans of time and space, amongst nebulous fronds and bubbling rays of light, the space gator plays!
Personal project, acrytlic & oil.
Seemed like a good idea!
Sketchbook, ink.
Pen/digital
Spot for an article about the most popular places to drink in Richmond, VA. 1st place: on the banks of the James River.
Client: Gay RVA Magazine, graphite & digital.
A compilation of sketchbook drawings from local shows.
Sketchbook pages, drawings from life & memory in bars, restaurants, public & private places.
Sketchbook, ink.
