Figure Drawing

Katharine has been attending figure drawing sessions at Gearbox, and has been having a great time.

Here she is with Seung ("Mr. Kim") who used to work as a Disney animator. He has given her a lot of great feedback.

This is her third session, and she has been getting better and better.  

She is only 14. Yikes!

I usually just scribble in ball point pen during these sessions. I need to get some paper and charcoal and start on some proper drawings..

Here is Katharine showing off her art to Iria (and Sherman).

Warning Sign

I noticed that Keira's door sign is getting more crowded.

I think I'm the snorer..

The Kids of Summer

First trip to Little Elm Beach with soccer bro Fox.

Happy Birthday, Erik!

I turned 49 today.

I'm not there yet..

Don't rush me!

The kids wrote up some questions for the "Birthday Facts" section:

Kassidy

What is your favorite Doescher?

All of them

What is your favorite color?

Grey

What is the best dancer and soccer player?

Katharine, Keira, and Kassidy for dance, Lukas and Lennon for soccer

Do you like Sherman or Pepper?

Pepper is a great cat, but I like dogs a little bit more

Keira

When did you start to have an interest in art?

When I was old enough to pick up a crayon

How long have you been working at Gearbox?

16 years

How long have you been doing art?

I was around 22 years old when I did my first professional art job- coloring in a Superman card from DC Comics to Shaquille Oneal

What do you think is easier to draw, a girl or a boy?

Girls

What was your elementary school called?

Cameron School

Lennon

What do you like best about me?

Your intelligence and humor

Where would you rather go- to Hell or Trump Tower?

Trump Tower

What is your favorite app for the iPhone?

Desert Golf and Soduko

Who is your best friend?

Iria

What was your favorite birthday present?

The Father book that all the kids filled out for me

What profile name is your favorite of mine?

'SpacemanLennon'- I use it on my ebay account

One a scale from 1 to 10, how much do you like shed?

As in cat hair? Maybe a 2..

Lukas

What did you do as a kid?

Drew, played baseball, ran around forests pretending I was Robin Hood or Luke Skywalker

Which of your dogs did you like the most?

Timmy

What was your first job?

Working at McDonalds

Did you ever smoke?

For a week or two in Rome when I was dating some Italian girl

Who was your first girlfriend?

Therese

Who was your best friend?

John

Katharine

If you weren't an artist, what would you be?

I always joke about wanting to become a crab fisherman, but in reality probably more of a Producer

Star Wars or Star Trek?

Star Wars

Favorite Lego set?

Death Star

What has been your favorite project at Gearbox?

The first game I worked on, Counterstrike: Condition Zero, and the latest game that I have been working on

Least favorite book?

Still trying to get into the Dark Tower series..

What would your superpower be?

Speed and Organization

Nintendo or Blizzard?

Nintendo

Favorite Artist?

Cezanne, Glen Keane, Charles Schlultz, Bill Watterson, Degas, Bruegel, Dr. Seuss, Chuck Jones

If you could be on a reality TV show, what would it be?

The Amazing Race

Least favorite superhero?

Superman, because he is too powerful

If you could create your own video game, what would it be?

A game with cartoony characters in an edgy universe

Father's Day Favors

I had a good Father's Day with the family.

Kassidy drew me a cute card that was very intricately folded and taped up.

Keira performed a dance show for me.

Lennon scored a goal in his soccer tournament.

I got this cool card from Lukas.

Katharine sneaked in a message over her Instagram account.

I got some cool new threads from Iria.

And then the chiggers gave me 35 itchy bites :(

Thanks everyone.. except for the bugs!

Off The Grid

The Mason's invited me and the boys up to spend a few days at their cabin with them last week. We all had a lot of fun, and they were great hosts.

The cabin's name is "Electric Avenue", but with no cell service I put the phone and the iPad away for most of the trip.

I still had my Nintendo Switch, Kindle. and camera.. so I didn't get too outdoorsy. 

Just a little :)

Lukas, Fox, and Lennon

Our hostess, Lola

Mini-golfing

Smores'ing

Choreography!

Keira is choreographing a new dance for her friend Striker (from school).

She is taking lots of notes- so no pressure, Striker :)

All's fair

Kassidy got an unpleasant edit yesterday, so here is a pic showing that she can also look all pretty and peaceful at sleep.

Sweet and Sour Dreams

Keira always looks so peaceful when sleeping.

Kassidy, on the other hand..

Last Day of School

Yesterday was the last day of school for the girls.

The principal, Mr "I", posed with them- and told us for the millionth time how much he was going to miss them. They will miss him as well- he is awesome.

Here is Keira with her teacher, Mrs. Noll.

And Kassidy with her teacher, Mrs. Ratliffe.

And of course, the final school lunch visit had to be something special :)

Girl Power

Kassidy and Keira both had a great year at school.

Kassidy came into 1st grade behind the other kids in most subjects, and is now at level and exceeding in some cases.

Keira got on the honor roll (all A's in every subject for the whole year), and was also awarded for her creative writing.

Great job, girls!