tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-238299172024-02-19T04:34:56.421-05:00Robert J. CoeI'm a product manager designer, illustrator, and painter from Harford County, Maryland.Robert J. Coehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06363659409903192504noreply@blogger.comBlogger147125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23829917.post-84404819417445114432022-01-24T20:10:00.001-05:002022-01-24T20:10:51.864-05:00The Wrong Color
Even with the most thorough planning, things don't go completely as expected. But plan, then do stuff anyway. Like choosing a color, it probably won't be perfect, but as somebody wise said, perfection is the enemy of done.Robert J. Coehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06363659409903192504noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23829917.post-61482307198786428072021-12-08T21:41:00.002-05:002021-12-08T21:41:54.982-05:00We All Need Taxis
We all need to use taxis, the cars that carry us around, and metaphorical taxis, the people and tools that help us do things and go places. Do you need a ride to the airport? Call a taxi. Do you need to fly from the airport to San Francisco? Buy a ticket and get on a plane (unless you are already there). Do you need to get warm in the winter? Buy a coat.
Left to ourselves, most of us aren't Robert J. Coehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06363659409903192504noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23829917.post-13643222801238533552021-11-26T17:16:00.000-05:002021-11-26T17:16:02.881-05:00Warm Places When My Feet Are Cold
I am not a fan of cold weather. When I'm cold, I like to think of warm things. Like maybe the desert. (Although I think it can get pretty cold at night in the desert.)The desert is a place where you can learn about interesting wild things, like cactus. You may notice I have included some words in this picture that have to do with cactus. I found them when I looked up cactus in a dictionary. For Robert J. Coehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06363659409903192504noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23829917.post-66793416213887746822021-11-22T20:27:00.000-05:002021-11-22T20:27:14.835-05:00Doing a Little Thinking
I spend a lot of time every day thinking about things. How about you?
Sometimes I think about my work. Sometimes I think about the people around me. Sometimes I think about the craziness in the world.
Sometimes I think about what I could be doing if I wasn't just sitting here thinking.Robert J. Coehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06363659409903192504noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23829917.post-34221615243827756372021-07-31T14:48:00.000-04:002021-07-31T14:48:06.891-04:00Onion Anyone?
I drew this! With a marker on newsprint. After that, I scanned it, then painted the background with an Affinity application, either Designer or Photo. (The original is on a different computer, otherwise I would check.)
I planted onion seeds in our little garden this year. They are growing very well, but no purple skin, like this one. Still not very big, but I'm patient, I can wait.
Robert J. Coehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06363659409903192504noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23829917.post-46242955300926761132021-07-26T20:31:00.003-04:002021-07-26T22:17:37.158-04:00The Doctor Isn't Really In
Long ago, while a grade-schooler in Kokomo, Indiana, I recall drawing a picture of a doctor, possibly a surgeon, operating on someone. At the time, I thought it would be fun to be a doctor. Later I realized I didn't want to be a doctor, I just liked to draw doctors operating on people! (I grew out of that.) I also went through a phase where I thought it would be cool to be a botanist. ButRobert J. Coehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06363659409903192504noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23829917.post-73104199890473573392021-07-07T21:35:00.001-04:002021-07-07T21:35:31.970-04:00Shoe House: A Seller's Market
If you really wanted to live in a shoe, several questions come to mind.Where would you get one to fit?Are they available in new and used?Are they available in various widths?How do you prevent dampness, odor, and athlete's foot?Do they come in pairs? Or are they randomly available like mystery shoes on the side of the road? Robert J. Coehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06363659409903192504noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23829917.post-48696888115474805032021-06-01T22:20:00.000-04:002021-06-01T22:20:08.643-04:00(A)pple (b)ird: A Little Bit of Nonsense, All in One Drawing
A good definition of creativity is the combining of unrelated things to make something new. Sometimes those combinations can lead to amazing inventions, like airplanes, space ships, the internet, or heart transplants. Other times they can result in a picture of a blackbird sitting on an apple. (Some inventions are not as amazing as others.)Robert J. Coehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06363659409903192504noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23829917.post-3012074954904050202021-04-22T20:10:00.000-04:002021-04-22T20:10:26.438-04:00Multilingual Chicken
In high school I took two years of French. You may not be surprised to know that I don't remember any of it. I'm not sure if the class was too difficult, I was slacker, or my friend Eric was making me laugh (I think he was there). I do recall the French word for egg: oeuf. It was easy to remember, because I imagine that's the sound a chicken makes when laying an egg. Apparently chickens speak Robert J. Coehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06363659409903192504noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23829917.post-1467913725666693702021-03-24T20:51:00.001-04:002021-03-24T20:51:43.920-04:00A Ferocious Bear
As you can see, this is a ferocious bear. You can can tell by the long, terrible toenails on his feet. Ignore for a moment his slight smile, his jolly roundness, and his alarmingly bulging eyes. Be afraid!Robert J. Coehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06363659409903192504noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23829917.post-10197312953917266492021-03-16T19:48:00.001-04:002021-03-16T19:48:12.913-04:00Out for a Drive
I have never owned a convertible. I have never even had a car with a sunroof. I view my car as my spaceship. Every weekday morning I seal myself in, strap on my seat belt, and take off for work. I like to be encased in steel, with some sound-proofing to cut road noise because I spend my commute listening to books or music.
I think driving a convertible would be noisy. I could get a Robert J. Coehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06363659409903192504noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23829917.post-91716515889976488562021-03-06T07:31:00.001-05:002021-03-06T12:49:08.746-05:00How to Name a Dog
In the summer of 1970 or so, our family moved into a house on a corner in Chillicothe, Ohio*. One day we visited the house of a friend who had a spare doghouse, with no dog in residence. I don't remember anything about the house we were visiting, but I clearly remember the doghouse. It was a well-built, small house, clad with white quality aluminum siding. Above the front doorway was the Robert J. Coehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06363659409903192504noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23829917.post-31851478906331817762021-02-26T18:49:00.000-05:002021-02-26T18:49:48.163-05:00Ukulele for the Serious Musician
A ukulele is a nice instrument to play. Some people like to strum it, some like to use a flat pick. Some like to pose with one and sing silly songs. (Anybody remember Tiny Tim?)I often sit in the evening and finger-pick old-time tunes on mine, or maybe some blues. It is easy on the fingers, not too loud, and whatever I learn on my ukulele is easy to transfer to my guitar. There are some Robert J. Coehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06363659409903192504noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23829917.post-11116085574229612392021-02-22T20:51:00.001-05:002021-02-23T21:05:04.975-05:00Mechanical Pictures
My grandboys love to play Minecraft and build things with Legos. When I was a boy we had Lincoln Logs and Tinkertoys. I really enjoyed Tinkertoys. My brothers and I could build different contraptions, and if my brothers messed with me, I could make a sword and give them a poke in the ribs. Creativity for humans isn't about making something from nothing. Creativity is making something new Robert J. Coehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06363659409903192504noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23829917.post-60769800751015940012021-02-19T19:41:00.000-05:002021-02-19T19:41:36.121-05:00Out of Sight, Out of Mind
It's nice to be tidy, but tidiness is temporary. Eventually a rug can only cover so much. After a while, it's time to roll up the rug, take it outside and thoroughly clean it.My brain is the same, dust accumulates. I'm not sure of the best way to knock the dust out of my head. There is plenty in there. Sometimes the dust in my head takes on a life of its own, like dust bunnies under the Robert J. Coehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06363659409903192504noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23829917.post-10555564773003038232021-02-14T14:11:00.001-05:002021-02-14T14:11:28.167-05:00Sight Seeing From Space
In my art school days, our teachers encouraged us to squint our eyes when we looked at our work, blurring our vision to check for overall compositional balance, contrast, that sort of thing. My good friend and room mate Bill wore glasses. He would wear them on the end of his nose, so he could quickly switch from blurry to sharp when he looked at his work. Later, my friend and teacher, Morrie Robert J. Coehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06363659409903192504noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23829917.post-7586428568181743712021-02-07T13:52:00.001-05:002021-02-07T13:52:31.885-05:00My Career in Football When I was in the seventh grade I joined the football team. I was not a large person, but the coach thought it would be a good idea for me to play in an offensive tackle position. I was run over on nearly every play, and that was just in practice sessions. I learned then what my formulating teenage mind had already suspected, coaches can be clueless and mean, sometimes nothing more Robert J. Coehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06363659409903192504noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23829917.post-33678392124293749882021-01-30T16:45:00.003-05:002021-01-30T21:18:21.656-05:00Mechanically Minded
When I was very young, I sometimes daydreamed about the magic of the internal combustion engine. As I got older and learned how it worked, I was even more impressed. Imagine, harnessing the power of controlled explosions!
I am usually happy with a theoretical understanding of things. I have zero interest in actually working on car engines. I don't actually like to get my hands dirty with real Robert J. Coehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06363659409903192504noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23829917.post-71416747795162892172021-01-25T19:59:00.002-05:002021-01-25T19:59:41.475-05:00Something's On My Mind...
I think a lot of things, one thing after another. Sometimes I make myself laugh. Nonsense is one of my favorite topics. Fortunately, as you can see, I have a mind for it.Robert J. Coehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06363659409903192504noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23829917.post-50727234723759834112021-01-16T20:35:00.001-05:002021-01-16T20:36:07.362-05:00Mechanical Fish and CardboardI was thinking about fish, and machines. I cut up some cardboard, tore one of the edges, and scanned it. I made a drawing of a fish with a Sharpie on paper. I scanned my drawing. I put them all together, added some color, and text. Now I have a picture of a mechanical fish.Feel free to think about fish, machines, and cardboard. Something good may come from it.Robert J. Coehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06363659409903192504noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23829917.post-52900948627511474962021-01-12T19:04:00.003-05:002021-01-12T19:04:55.214-05:00YoYo PhilosophyIn a debate, there are typically two sides to an argument. In daily life, there is waking and sleeping. On our planet, we have day and night. In yoyoing, there is up and down. As it is better stated in the book of Ecclesiastes, ...a time to break down, and a time to build up.Maybe if I practiced with a yoyo, I would grow in philosophical insight. Maybe not, but time spent with a yoyo would keep Robert J. Coehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06363659409903192504noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23829917.post-17346711698629519792021-01-09T16:12:00.000-05:002021-01-09T16:12:08.315-05:00Big-Eyed BluebirdA specimen of a bluebird with a big eye.
Does this bluebird seem alarmed to you? In fact, there is nothing at all to be alarmed about, he was drawn that way.Unless maybe he has been watching the news lately...Robert J. Coehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06363659409903192504noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23829917.post-20164914465554293522020-12-06T16:32:00.001-05:002020-12-06T16:32:49.259-05:00Looking Ahead Ahoy! Keep looking ahead! There is usually something hopeful on the horizon, even if it is just the dawn of a new day. Maybe there is a red sky tonight, the sun behind the clouds, but that means the storm is moving on!Robert J. Coehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06363659409903192504noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23829917.post-86164721512716957192020-12-02T21:18:00.002-05:002020-12-02T21:18:58.319-05:00Strawberry Season SomewhereIn our region, strawberry season is long gone. But we have some strawberry preserves in the refrigerator. Not quite as healthy as fresh picked, but still great!When I was young, our family would visit our grandparent's farm. Grandma oversaw a big strawberry patch. If we grandkids were careful, and sneaky, we could wander out there and pick a few berries for a stealthy snack. Excuse me while Robert J. Coehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06363659409903192504noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23829917.post-63446068111449322702020-11-23T20:17:00.003-05:002020-11-23T20:17:46.115-05:00Have Nothing to Say? Here we have a nice guy that doesn't know what to say, but knows he needs to say something... In our social media era, it seems that having nothing to say is no longer a reason to say nothing. Does anybody else remember when we were told, "if you don't have anything nice to say, then don't say anything?"One thing we have learned, words can hurt!Robert J. Coehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06363659409903192504noreply@blogger.com0