ILLUSTRATION FRIDAY: NEIGHBOR

I'm all excited about the De La Hoya vs Mayweather Jr fight tonight. So much so that I'm listing another boxing themed aceo even though they never sell. The wife and I are going over to a NEIGHBOR's apartment to watch it, as the Pay Per View price-tag is $75.

The full title to this one is PORTRAIT OF A YOUNG ARTIST DOING NECK EXERCISES.

In real life, it looks like this:

The only difference is it's done on the edge of the boxing ring, not the ottoman. And bored-looking dogs aren't in danger of getting a weight dropped on her head.

I predict De La Hoya to take this one by decision.

UPDATE: Mayweather Jr took the decision. I figured De La Hoya would find a way to connect more than he did.

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LOOK! Pretty shiny things to buy @ NUTMEGNINE.COM!

And look here! Art to buy!

Need more wittyness and birdwatching excitement? Click this VERY SENTENCE.

BOXER #4

I don't have much luck selling ACEOs of boxers. And yet I persist. Like this guy. He's been beaten up pretty badly, but won't stay down. Will he beat the odds?

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LOOK! Pretty shiny things to buy @ NUTMEGNINE.COM!

And look here! Art to buy!

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FAT BOXER

UPDATE: The Illustration Friday topic this week is MIGHT, coincidentally. Read on:

Sometimes, no matter how much cardio you do, the gut remains. Sometimes, you have a gut because you don't do cardio. Maybe you don't do cardio because you don't expect the fight to last more than a round or two. Have you given up, and just showing up for a meager payday? You don't need to be in shape to pad some other guy's record.

Or, you MIGHT decide you aren't a tool, and throw the left hook with abandon.

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LOOK! Pretty shiny things to buy @ NUTMEGNINE.COM!

And look here! Art to buy!

Need more wittyness and birdwatching excitement? Click this VERY SENTENCE.

BOXING MATCH

Boxing. It's a messy business. Frankly, what goes on in the ring is the cleanest part of it. Hit, don't get hit. That's pretty much it. It's outside the ring where most of the damage is done.

First, there's making weight, which is just a nice way of saying starving yourself. For kids in the amateurs and golden gloves, that means starvation at a time of major growth.

Then there's the politics of sparring partners. Trainers lie to other trainers about their fighter's abilities, hiding their skills. so when they get in the ring with a supposed equal, their fighter looks really good.

Then there's racism. No explaination needed.

You're also dealing with a lot of kids who have very tough choices in life. Gangs seem like they provide a more secure and fulfilling life structure than other options.

But at the same time, the gym is like a team. If you're in, you're part of a family (like a gang, I guess. Only you can leave without reprocussions). You help eachother out.

And then you step in the ring. All that other stuff doesn't exist anymore. You are alone. You are tested on your own merits, no excuses. Sometimes you're having a good day. Sometimes, not so good. Doesn't matter. Hit and don't get hit.

Bid here.

RAGING SKULL

As you may or may not know, I tried my hand at boxing for a while. I'm a peaceful kind of guy, more of a lover than a fighter. And I'm more of a joker than a lover, so take that for what you will. Anyway, I had never felt a punch let alone been in a fight before I signed up at the boxing gym.

While my defense wasn't too bad, I learned pretty quickly what a punch felt like. You know when you see a bunny hopping across the meadow as you're strolling with a loved one on a sunny day after a tasty picnic bbq? It's nothing like that. Except when you get hit on the nose, you do smell bbq for some reason.

You would be forgiven if you thought this was an image of a boxing skeleton. It's actually a regular boxer, who has dehydrated himself making weight to the point where all you see is bones.

Place your bids here.

THE HEAD WILL FOLLOW

Just so we're all clear - I'm working in real time now. There are no other ACEOs in my collection that I'm sitting on to sell later. I finished this one about ten minutes ago. And I'm pleased as punch (hardy har har) at the results.

If you ever watch boxing on TV, you will undoubtedly hear one of the commentators say something like 'If he goes to the body, the head will follow.' Punching the body wears out an opponent, and in my opinion, hurts much much worse than getting hit on the head. It's also a larger target that doesn't move as much. Some fighters, like the the legendery Julio Cesar Chavez and the crowd-pleasing Micky Ward, specialize in the left hook to the body. The smart fighter always practices this punch.

This ACEO is based on a picture I took at the gym I went to in Brooklyn. The image was actually taken from a sparring match, but I was having too much trouble trying to draw the guy about to be hit. So he was replaced with a heavybag. Usually, being the heavybag was my job.

(No bidders. Crapola. If you would like to purchase this, let me know and I'll relist it on ebay.)

WHUPPED

Here's WHUPPED. Funny story behind this one: I was fighting in an exhibition. My opponent was some new guy from Gleason's. He wasn't supposed to be very good, and my trainer asked me to take it easy on him. Hey, I'm a nice guy. No problem. Well, long story short, I got thoroughly beaten. Embarrassingly thwacked. As the title suggests, whupped. This is a drawing of the phone picture I sent my wife right after the bout, hoping to elicit sympathy.

(Sold!)

BOXING PALS

I bring you: BOXING PALS. This is a doodle from a picture taken of me and a kid at a boxing tournament. I'm the bald looking dude on the right. The kid has crazy talent. I, on the other hand, have a talent for hurting the opponent's hands with my face. So now I'm drawing. (PS neither I nor the kid are really blue.)

I wanted to try out the new color pencils my wife got me to keep me out of her hair, and I think I used every color in the box. I'm not sure if I "get" color pencils yet; We'll see how long I stick with this medium.

(Sold!)