VIGNALI STUDIO

Journey To Bethlehem

Hey, that guy looks familiar!

My church, Journey Of Faith, put together a wonderful Christmas event this December. You can check them out at Journey To Bethlehem to find out more about the event.

In a nutshell, my church built a mini version of Bethlehem in their parking lot and opened the event to the public for four days -- and my oldest daughter and I were flower peddlers during the entire four days. (Note: We were going to be shepherds, but my daughter broke her ankle a month before the event so we had to find a more sedentary role. Flower peddlers turned out to be the logical choice.)

The event was a wonderful way for our church to remind Christians what Christmas is all about, and a fun way for families of any denomination to spend their December evening. When guests entered the event, the Three Wise Kings (complete with camel) gave them five shekels. When they entered the gates of Bethlehem they had to pay one of those shekels to the Roman tax collectors conducting the census. (The Roman guards were a hoot, they looked like a couple of linebackers -- and the guy played the part of Governor Quirinius was probably 150 pounds soaking wet.)

Once inside, the guests could spend their shekels on any of the many activities. For one shekel, guests could buy baklava, hot cider, fruit, bread and cheese, or a flower. The kids could also use the shekels to buy a leather strap and some beads to make a bracelet, make mud bricks, make a clay pot, or to enter the petting farm.

Also, during the course of the event, Joseph and a very pregnant Mary would weave their way through the crowds on a real donkey -- asking if they could stay the night somewhere. Our job as citizens of Bethlehem were to direct them to the inn, but when they got there they would be told there was no room, but instead were offered the stable.

Once Mary and Joseph were safely inside the stable, angels would appear and announce the birth of Jesus Christ using the verse straight out of the Bible. Guests would then line up at the stable to see the Baby Jesus. We even had a couple real babies play the role!

Happy Holidays to all my fellow blogger friends, Merry Christmas to my Christian friends, and a Happy New Year to one and all!

I kinda like this not-shavin'-deal!

Hawaiian Cafe

Here's one I did back in 1999 for Lilo & Stitch.

I wanted to create a soft ambient glow, so I drew this one with vellum and black Prisma pencil. You can compare this one with the graphite drawing a couple installments below.

I have posted at Sketchclub

Here's my memory sketch that I have posted at SKETCHCLUB , have a look at what everyone else did...when they post.

J.C. LEYENDECKER SHOW

I thought this image appropriate for the anniversary date. A friend of mine just went to the Joseph Christian Leyendecker show and said it was well worth the trip to see it. The show is going to be traveling around, so it would be a shame to miss if it comes by your town.

For those of you that don't know who is he is, J.C. Leyendecker was the premiere illustrator for the first half of the last century. Essencially, the most emulated and respected illustrator of the golden era of illustration. Check out his biography at: http://www.bpib.com/illustrat/leyendec.htm

Here are some blogs with photos!

http://www.louisgonzales.com/blog/?p=33

http://www.louisgonzales.com/blog/?p=36

http://www.louisgonzales.com/blog/?p=37

A Varied Approach

I thought I would go ahead and post some of my old Disney stuff again. I did these drawings while doing some exploration for one of their projects back in 2000 (wow, can you believe it's going to be seven years ago!). Mind you, these two images were for the same project.


I varied my style so that the directors would have more to choose from: from the stylized, to the idealized.





Both of these were done in graphite on ledger paper. Since these were loose sketches, there was no need to polish the drawings with Prismapencil and vellum.

Burglar Girl

I thought this girl had a striking look when she entered the restaurant during Sketchclub. After sketching her, I realized that she looked like a cartoon burglar -- with her knit cap and striped shirt.


Hello everyone, It's been a little while since I posted anything...forgive me. So, I thought I would go ahead and post a sketch from my sketchbook. This isn't a memory drawing like the ones I post on Sketchclub, this drawing was done while seated in the restaurant. This is the fun part of Sketchclub where we all sit, eat, draw, and make merriment! It's a rollicking good time and the highight of my week. As a matter of fact, I refilled my ink pens on Tuesday in anticipation for Friday's Sketchclub!!!