Doodles

I sometimes have spontaneous moments of inspiration to sketch, and sometimes I really like what comes out, even though it's usually not complete. To me, sketching is the only thing I can do with the expectation that I'm going to succeed every time, and it's very personal to me. There is never a moment when I'm not learning how to be a better visual artist. I discovered this after several years without sketching at all and then when I picked it up again, I realized that my sketching was better and more mature than before. I decided that this is because I am always studying with my eyes. A good visual artist is simply a good seer. Now if only I could apply this to music...Music can be frustrating because it's there, and then it's gone. You can't take it back and touch up. In that respect, I think music is the most difficult and elusive art form...Maybe someday I will do some real visual artwork, like this painting by Abraham Janssens called "Jupiter Rebuked by Venus."

I sketched this when I visited the Chicago Arts Museum last spring break. I was there for a week attending seminars by Cliff Colnot's mentor Cliff Madsen. The hotel was provided for by Cliff as well as the fees for the seminar. He's awesome.

This is a result of being bored in theory review for grads. We were learning about phrygian half cadences. WillI ever be a true music geek? It seems my passions are divided...
This was done during a class on Latin American music. Extremely interesting class -- guess I was just inspired.