Old Original Hand-carved Rubber Stamps #2

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More of my old Rubber Stamps from those bygone years of Mail Art and just plain fun packaging if you happen to send me a $1 or two for my comix.
From the top left:
1. Ordered from a rubber stamp company this with the words and the font as seen.  Still a good stamp!
2.  For $5 I sent to an address on the back of  Cheerios box.  "Send a picture of yourself and we will make a rubber stamp of your moniker for only $5!" or something like that.  It actually was pretty cool and well done and I used it thousands of times!  Of course the stamp is on a yellow plastic stamp block with the Cheerios logo.  (I should take a pic of that)
3. a carved rubber stamp by an unknown person.  very well done and I do not remember how I aquired it.
4. Ditto for this skull stamp also....
5. I stamped this Aardvark thousands of times but it is now on it's last bits.... tail, snout,ears and legs have been compromised by bad storage... oh well...
6. Larry the Leper.  I carved this into an eraser.
7.dinky Doo:  I carved this into wood.  He is featured on the last panel of this comix page!
8 & 10  Psychedelic Experience carved into an eraser for Mail art Project called .. . um... just  .. guess!
9 & 11 Hands with Envelope -- Hand carved by me.

Check out the previous rubber stamp for mail art post here!

Spring Waves

(c)2015 Ralf Schulze

Gearing up to Grow!
Just finished this last night.  I went with the flow, Let the "face" shapes happen.  Color pencil and ink marker on 4 x 5.5 inch kraft card stock (acid free)

Third drawing from Saturday's Meetup

(c)2015 Ralf Schulze

This one came out nicely.  I like it, very abstract.

Small and Epic Ink Drawing

(c)2015 Ralf Schulze

 Did this at the meetup and really like it.  I did it on the 6 x 6 bristol board but the actual image maxes out at 4.25 x 4.75.  A nice quaint size.  There is a little bit of  pencil in there too.

I love how different it looks when it is flipped 90 degrees!

I have finally caught up to actually posting every other day, with works to spare!!!!

(c)2015 Ralf Schulze

New drawing at Aspiring Artist Meetup

(c)2015 Ralf Schulze

Did this while at the Meetup at Taza Coffee and Creme (near Stories) on Forest Hill Ave, Richmond. Today!
Ink on 6 x 6 smooth bristol. Cropped on the pc to approx. 5 x5.

I'm not very impressed with it.but I liked the experimental elements enough to post it.

I'll post more from the Meetup later.

Spring is Coming

(c)2015 Ralf Schulze

Another little color study on the kraft colored card stock 5.25 in. x 4 in. Ink and 3 color pencils; white, beige and brown.

Keep on Going!

(c)2015 Ralf Schulze

I am not down-and-out.  These are my current works in progress.

Old Original Hand-carved Rubber Stamps

(c)Ralf Schulze

Here is a first sample of some of the rubber stamps I carved and created back in my hard-core Mail-art period of 1986-1990. 
From top left to bottom right:
The address stamp was a drawing i sent to a company to create the rubber stamp.  The gaps on this stamping is basically rubber rot due to it being 25+years old..
The Little Aardvark popping thru the page, waving and smiling is a store bought find I couldn't resist and have used it hundreds of times!
the envelope stamp I carved from an eraser.
And I also carved the "AARDVARK MAIL"  Stamp.
The special Delivery stamp is just cool...

So I am milking it.... I have a few more hand carved rubber stamps to post in the near future.

Ointment Service

(c)2015 Ralf Schulze

Found some new kraft color paper and did up this study.
its is 5 x 7

Abstract Ink Sketch

(c)2015 Ralf Schulze

Finally got some creative juices flowing.

Yellow Computer Doodle

Ralf 2013

I played with computer  art.  I used a Bamboo tablet with a Corel program and found it interesting.
The Bamboo tablet was kinda cool because it conveyed the pressure of your stylus to the strength of the line / brush-strock.

But in the end, Since I work on a computer every day - 12-days a week.  I figure that I need a break from perfection and have to keep making art using those occasionally unerasable media called ink and paint.
  Currently I am in a Artist's equililent of a writer's Block.

Unstart of cool owl watercolor and ink

I made this a decade and a half ago based on a piece I saw at the VMA here in Richmond at the time

Lost My Horn - Album cover - Mr. Suburbia

Even though I made this 4 years ago and we made various other covers for the potential CD by Mr. Suburbia.
It still has not been " Released"

Dinky Doo Finisher - New Bit

(c)1986 Ralf Schulze

Another Dinky stories page.   I love how nearly spontaneous this looks, yet I am sure I stressed a little over some of the details.

All good.  I've got new ideas in mind,
So don't think I'm just filling this blog up with old minicomix pages - day-by-day.

They are good filler - since I can only post my art.

had some hardish times lately  that kept me away from art; with power out on Sunday the 15th and work stress during most of the week and then frozen pipes recently...

Dinky the "doo"

(c)1986 Ralf Schulze

Back cover of "Dinky Stories #2"
I did some playful "blind" drawings of my characters back then in 1986.
This i did with my eyes closed and then added the circle and outlining and cross-hatching.
Purely for fun.

The World of Dinky Doo is Nuts

(c) 1986 Ralf Schulze

Another page from my sophomore effort at a mini-comic back in 1986 - DINKY STORIES #2.

This page is so silly.  I noticed that I forgot Dinky's arms in the bottom left image!  OOPS!

I must have been high on Dinking.

Happy Friday the Thirteenth to everyone.

Stupid Stamp Strip

(c) 1986 Ralf Schulze

This is from my minicomic, Dinky Stories #2.  Three carved rubber-stamps and some word balloons! (with subtle embellishments)
I was 26 years old and this was my sense of humor then. 
I still think it is funny.
The last panel is a rubber stamp of Dinky Doo, the "poortagonist" of the minicomic.

Sketchy Train Ride

(c)2012 Ralf Schulze

this was a sketchbook page from 3 years ago, when I was taking the train up to Long island to get my current vehicle from my brother.  It was mostly created on the LIRR and sometimes when the ride got bumpy , it also created creative accidents on the page!

Life Drawing - Cool odd colors

(c)1983 Ralf Schulze

Found an old big sketch pad from College days.
 This one was a keeper.
18 x 24 made with a marker and dry color pastels (white, green and  red)
The pad is a Aquabee Fashion pad using thickish gray Newsprint-style paper.

Bowl Man Cast Bronze

(c)1991 Ralf Schulze

Made this little guy many years ago!  While I worked at a small Bronze art Foundry shop in Brewster NY, they had a Christmas Holiday contest most every year to make a small edition (the size of the # of employees).  The only rule was to keep it within approx 3" cubed.   I won the contest in 1991 and about 15 people got one of these tiny little three legged bowl guys. 
The bowl is about 2.25" diameter, but with the added  "Hand"les, he is about 4.25" wide.  He is only 2" tall.  I created him originally in wax (not my favorite media - since i worked in the metal end of the bronze sculpture process) and he turned out fine! In the last pic you might see my name "RALF" on the back leg.
This is my only cast bronze sculpture!  All my others are welded or brazed together by me.

In the Beginning there were Fools

(c)2000Ralf Schulze

great old comic panel that never saw the light of day.
Starring Mr. Suburbia and Dinky Doo, aka "The Fools"

"Bug Eye Guy" Welded Bronze Sculpture

(c)1988 Ralf Schulze

Made this sculpture in 1988 from bronze casting scraps and an old Baush & Lomb eye testing machine part.
He's about 12 inches tall, 10 inches wide and 14 inches long.
His right "eye" is adjustable... it can rotate (see last three pics)
I just took these photographs today.

Another shot.

Studio Shot - Dec. 2013

A picture of my work space from a little more than a year ago.

Title: REGRET

I originally started this almost 3 years ago, but it sat it a pile of " what about these cool paint starters" for nearly 2.5 years.  I started playing with it a bunch of months ago and finally finished it last night! 
The Title has absolutely nothing to do with the process.  The red is so intense, it was hard to fathom, let alone make it work with the rest of the image.
Same old 8.5 x 11acid-free card stock with acrylic paint and ink and color pencil.  see the paint-only scan below.

(c)2015 Ralf Schulze

No Ears

(c)2011RalfSchulze

A doodle / sketch page of aliens and monsters that do not have ears.  Done a few years ago.  Just off the top of my head and quite fast.  I think I was a Meetup of Aspiring cartoonists at the time.  I still keep in touch with them via facebook.

Underground Hideout

(c)2015 Ralf Schulze

Another 5.5" x 4.0" Kraft paper sketch.  I like working with the limited pallet.

Why I Have No Ears - Stinky Poo 1989

(c)1989 Ralf Schulze

Back in 1989 I did a lot of comix and had a character named Dinky Doo.
I also used speedball or crow quill tips on a dip pen to ink the comix.  I am a lefty and push my drawing utensil and sometimes when I used a ink pen, it would splat and mess everything up.
I did a bunch of Stinky poo comix and let the splats happen for the fun of it!
This one has never been published (Ha, published! Like my printing out 50 copies of a minicomic was a publication).
If you look close at the 2nd panel, I used an "oops!" rubberstamp I have!

Old Ink & Watercolor that really never jelled

(c) Ralf Schulze

This 4" x 6" piece has been kicking around for 20 years and every once in a while I would do a little something to it and never be be quite satisfied with the results. 
 I think I added a little color pencil a couple of years ago.

I used real India Ink with a dip / quill type pen for the initial outlines.

it is on very thick watercolor paper.

Maybe I'll send it to a friend as an actual postcard Soon!

Mr.Suburbia 3D Model Solidworks

About 4 years ago when we started using Solidworks at my job, I played with it to create a Mr. Suburbia Head.
Took a few lunch hours to get it right.
I featured a video of it in a video back then. 

Click Here to Check out the video

Great In-process art from September 2014

Made new "paint"on paper to work on for the future back in September 2014.
cool stuff and fun times.
Thanks Dave!

Versions of Variables

(c)2015 Ralf Schulze

This is on kraft-colored acid free card stock.  Only 5.5" x 4" and I worked on this last night and this evening! 
Ink and color pencil.
Essentially a study in Black, white and sepia tones.
I had fun and let things just flow!

My First ACEO / Art Card / Sketch Card Revisited - kind of...

(c)2010 Ralf Schulze

This is a digitally colored image of my very first Art Card (baseball card sized [2.5" x 3.5"])

Please check out the post of the actual card that I hand colored with watercolor back in 2010, here.

Please check it out! click this now!

I manipulated it back in 2010 and  didn't have any fancy digital image manipulation software then and I still refuse to buy anything like that.  I use Gimp (open source) and  Corel Painter Essentials 4 if I really need to do some semi-high-tech stuff. 
I'm old-school and prefer to hand color stuff!
What i do like about the generally recent technology is the ability to scan or photograph so cheaply and have the "process" available to view!

Dark-Lite

(c)2015Ralf Schulze

New art
Only 4" x 6" (postcard-size)
ink and color pencil.
 some "spots' are part of the paper...

Another Video: The C Words

Another Video from the same day as the previous post!
So this post makes me even on the every-other day art post (I prefer odd # days)

Video: The C-word

Shot this video while walking around Stony Brook University this past summer.  Some videos ended up on youtube but this one is so short and weird...
I actually put this up on a little "Art-share" site I like FeedForward.  You should check it out.
Don't forget to turn on the sound. This is kid-friendly, really.

more original Christmas cards to fill the posts until I FINISH some new art.

 Three more original Christmas cards that I made a few years ago.
Tomorrow I'll be caught up!

 gave this one "Cheers!" to Amy at work.

Gave the Shopper with the green hat - "christmas" to Brooke at work!

Playing Ketchup in the "post-every-other-day" Game -Merry Christmas Past

 Using 1940's magazine cut outs on black card stock with some acrylic paint, color pencils, ink and stickers, I made a batch of fun Christmas card "Originals" a few years back.
Here are three in the set of semi-pin-up adverts. WITH SILLY LONG SANTA HATS!

Okay!  Keeping up with the posts.

I've joined a Meetup for Aspiring Artists of Richmond  and hope this helps get my creativity going!  Also plan to do more Mail Art!  

Post: Every-Other-Day 2015

Happy New year to all and welcome to my new-years-resolution-style-posting-rules:

Okay, On a whim I decided to post something every other day this year in response to my pal, Hal Weaver's vow to post an Image-a-Day!  there is a slight difference and I think I have a disadvantage, but that;s okay.
Hal will post an image a day.
My blog was started and continues to be only My art (old and New).  But now with a slightly new challenge of posting something every other day!  This is really good to get my creative juices going, so I sat down and started and continued some works in progress for a couple of hours.  But I did not finish anything. not to worry.

  So I will post some of my Illustrated Christmas Cards of the past to fill this initial void.

My apologies to anyone who is sick of Christmas stuff.... I don't care . . .  I don't have may folks looking at this blog.  It is mostly to get me to make more art and get it out there!


So, here is a rubber stamp I carved of Frosty the Snowman gone Fishing.  I did it on one of those silly "BigMistake" erasers you could buy for $1 in the 1990's.   It's about 4.5" tall and I added some fish on the sides using a rolling stamp I bought!  I sent a bunch of these out to friends, back in 1995 (+/-2 years) as postcards for Christmas!

approx (c)1995 Ralf Schulze

My Illustrated Christmas Cards!