This heat wave is serious business. The PATH train is catching fire, the G train is suspending service. The breeze feels like sticking your head in an oven to check on the pizza. Basically, I’ve been coping by sitting around in my underwear all morning. Somehow, around noon I feel the urge to work on something. Wellll, that something is quite often a little frog with a beautiful rainbow.

Yes, loyal bloggers, the famous frog is reaching a point of completion. I’m just not sure if I’m going to go with the gray fill that appeared previously or not. Probably yes.

I’m moving this blog to WordPress sometime this month [By month I meant year, OK? -Procrastinator Pat], and I’m excited for it. I hope you are too, dear reader.

This came out a little bit caricature-y, and I guess that has something to do with sticking his head on another body. But, the man is a Buddhist, and he has taken on some of the physical characteristics of that great Zen monk Budai, the Laughing Buddha. What can I say?

The portraits project is forging ahead, and I realized I missed a pretty good moment to do an Obama piece this week, but oh well, such is life. Harold Ramis will soon be gracing this blog, despite his not being in the news, or having a new project coming soon, or anything. I just like him, okay?

Here’s what else, cold-brewed coffee is really good. I read about it in a Times article last summer, and now I’ve done it twice. My coffee pot couldn’t have cracked at a more opportune time than this very summery early June.

Following are some pretty recent on-the-street and in-the-cafe sketches.

Alright, alright, I know, I know. This week’s over, and I didn’t start the Portrait Project. I had a feeling I shouldn’t write about it until it actually started, but oh well. I did. As my mom has always said “Deal,” or “Tough nuggies,” or “Well, life isn’t fair.”

Still, there are some exciting things going down in the studio. Among them, I’m trying to figure out WordPress. This, and a promotional flipbook I’m working on, are also leading me to do a little “rebranding!!” No more picture frames and gold and velvet for my public image, cause now I’m all about frogs and rainbows!! Does this have more to do with me? Does it define me better? Who knows, not me!!!! Also, the right shift key on this keyboard is busted, so my left pinky’s getting a serious workout.

If only I lived in Canada, and I could pull down a sweet salary, health benefits, and pension for sitting at my drafting table, you know? I mean, I’ve been a good boy and done my work! Doesn’t that mean I should be making so much money?

I couldn’t resist posting this one last Met drawing. The museum closed before I “finished,” but I think it actually helped me not take the detail bidness too far. As they always said in foundation, work the whole page, so the drawing can be complete at any moment. I guess I’m not paying those student loans for nothing. OK, now I’ll shut up about money and post a picture:

I’m starting a new blogject, folks! One portrait weekly on these pages. If I make any decent drawings in the series, they might even make into my actual portfolio. Isn’t that just so exciting?

Now, we can’t all expect this blog-drawing gain without some sort of blog-drawing loss, can we? Faithful readers may be relieved to know the images below represent the last of the weekday drawing adventures while the other half of the expeditionary team returns to work animating kids’ shows. However, there is some talk in certain circles about forming a weekend adventure committee.

The Central Park Zoo:

Last Friday, McCool called me up and said we should go to Philly for our drawing adventure this week. It was fun, but after we took the Chinatown bus, got Tastykakes at Wawa, stopped for seriously beyond-street food falafel from a man in a Gypsy cart, walked by the awesome Philadelphia City Hall in the rain, and paid the $500 entrance fee at the Mutter Museum of Medical Oddities, it was already, like, 3:30. Weird, right? So, I only drew these two pages before they closed.

I don’t what to tell youse, the Internets, except that The Office finale was awesome, and so is River City Ransom.

Here’s another drawing from last week’s Met trip. These two statues are on either side of a wide entranceway of the European Sculpture courtyard where the Academy students make those really carefully rendered drawings of the statuary. I cheated them into some close interaction, changed the angles – you know. For kicks. For narrative. For love? Everyone who sees this says it’s a drawing of Girlf Caitlin and me.

Last week’s adventure was to the Met. It’s not as easy to just run around and find something you want to draw there as at Natural History, ’cause you really want to look. at. everything. We started in Egyptian and then we headed through Christian, so…

here’s St. Matthew, flanked by a lion for Mark and a bull [Ox! No balls! -Parsin' Pat] for Luke. I don’t know Christianity nearly as well as, say, someone who grew up Catholic, and I had no idea about the animal symbols for the Evangelists. They’re pretty cool. I redrew Mark and Luke from their fronts because I really liked how their animal hands were depicted clutching Bibles – the split hoof becoming a thumb and fingers is awesome. Yo! Art school! I just wrote “flanked” and “depicted!”

This week, oh buddy, ol’ pal o’ mine Dan and I went to the Museum of Natural History. We looked at Teddy Roosevelt’s horse’s balls, and drew cartoony animals. We both felt very proud of ourselves when the day ended, and we’re intent on going on more drawing adventures. It’s like art school again, but without the stress! Also, I finished my sketchbook, so look out for a different page shape popping up soon. Very exciting, I know.

Here’s my best page: