One of my favorite artists on DA is , or “Lyle, Lyle, the Crocodile,” as he calls himself. When i think of Lyle’s work, the words “ Precision Artist” come to mind. Take one look at his “2009 Bo Zolland Challenger” and you will see what i mean. His composition fills the page, and the car is placed at an interest grabbing angle. All of his proportions are spot on, and his handling of the foreshortening in the front end is sterling.

Looking across the car, one sees a beautiful rhythm of rich, dark values that starts with the air dam and runs all the way back to the spoiler. This rhythm of dark values punctuates the visual appeal of the drawing, keeping the eye interested and moving across the page. Even though there is no background to the car, notice how the dark shadow running under it gives the drawing a stable foundation. Look closer and you will see that the shadow is not just one dark value. The shadow gains and looses intensity as it moves from the front to the back...as under the front wheel well where there is a bit of clearance to allow for a lighter shade of shadow.

You will find that Lyle takes great pains to nail the logos and signage that appears on all of his works...illustrated here with Mobil Oil’s flying Pegasus logo on the front quarter panel.

This car drawing is full of value changes that give the viewer visual information on every plane and contour in the body. Look at the center piece of the grill and you see how the leading edge is a light value, followed by a dark one that pales out and then grows a tad darker as it heads back into the grill area. Note how the horizontal trim in the grill area has a light leading edge that flows into a darker value until it is overtaken by the reflection of the black grill.

Lyle utilizes value change throughout the drawing, with smooth transitions and sharp edges where needed. This is why it looks like you could stick your hand into the grill, or wrap it up into one of those wheel wells. That air dam, with the leading edges in light value and a surface that looks polished is a tour de force all by itself.

Stop by Lyle’s gallery and you will find a variety of land and air machines, along with some great ‘Toons. You will find that each is drawn in his own impeccable style, and you will find out why “ Precision Artist” comes to mind!


Have started working on the oil painting of the 1965 Corvette Graphite drawing in my gallery.

How to make DA work for YOU! by ^kkart
"How can I get my images seen on DA?", "How come no one ever comments on my work?", "Why doesn't anyone like my work", "How come no one fav's my work or watches me?". These are the questions =kkart answers in his journal at this link... [link] . Great ideas and information from a guy who knows what he is talking about and who has been around the block a couple’a times. If you are new here or have been here a while and feel like you are going nowhere fast...then you need to read his article!

Found a great quote by “A candle loses nothing by lighting another candle.” Ain’t that cool?

Here’s a warning i got on Facebook from everyone and their brother some time ago...

“FACEBOOK has agreed to let third party advertisers use your posted pictures WITHOUT your permission. Click on SETTINGS up at the top where you see the Log out link. Select Privacy. Then select NEWSFEEDS and WALL. Next select the tab that reads FACEBOOK ADS. There is a drop down box, select NO ONE. Then SAVE your changes. (REPOST to let your friends know).”

I changed the privacy settings, but i am still afraid to post anything large enough to steal there. It really bothers me that Facebook would allow something like that to happen.

Hey! My wife is on DA! Nancy has her own DA account now! She is Storm52, and you can visit her by hitting this link... [link]

I belong to this club... butterflys-forever. If you are into butterflies, then you might want to check them out.

Here is a Club devoted to Realism that i recently joined. You might want to check it out! They have a lot of great work in there!

Has some great art work in his gallery, and some great tutorials on the internet as well. Here is a link to his tutorials and tips! [link] Here is a good tutorial for drawing a car! [link]