Monday, December 29, 2008

Harriet Beecher Stowe


Perhaps it is impossible for a person
who does no good to do no harm.

Thursday, December 25, 2008

McKissick Home


The McKissick home was built in the McDaniel Avenue area of Greenville, S.C. Two large magnolia trees stand tall in front of this beautiful southern brick home.
The home is located just three blocks up the street from Cleveland Park.

Monday, December 22, 2008

Wings like Eagles


"Those who wait for the LORD
Will gain new strength;
They will mount up with wings like eagles,
They will run and not get tired,
They will walk and not become weary."
– Isaiah 40:31

Sunday, December 21, 2008

The Wolf


Fear makes the wolf bigger than he is.
~German Proverb

Saturday, December 20, 2008

Tiger


“Do not blame God for having created the tiger,
but thank him for not having given it wings”

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

12-18-08 - Lilly


"Who loves me will love my dog" -Proverb quotes

12-19-08 - Weems Family Crest

The Weems family crest was re-created from a poor ink rendering.
This digital work was created in Adobe Illustrator.

12-21-08 - Shannon's Gymnastics


A friend of mine has a grand daughter who is very active in gymnastics. Here's a drawing of her I created in pencil.

12-15-08 - 300 McDaniel Ave



300 McDaniel Ave - Greenville, SC. Commissioned Pen and Ink Home

12-17-08 - Holy Trinity Church


This was a commission for an anniversary gift.
The bride and groom were married in this church.

12-16-08 - Sophie



Shane's dog, Sophie.
I took pictures of Sophie at a local pet store and returned home to create the portrait.

12-14-08 - First Commissioned Pen and Ink


I was just 18 years old when I did my first commissioned work. This was the home of Mae Williams who was an artist in our neighborhood. She was kind enough to hire me to do this Bic pen drawing of her home which I sat and drew right in front of her home.

12-13-08 - Boyd




Colby's Brother Boyd - Part of a collage

12-12-08 - Knight and Dragon



I created this knight and Dragon to go on a bounce ride for FunTec, Inc of Simpsonville, SC. I first drew the dragon out with pencil roughly. Then refined it using a light table and a mechnical pencil. I scanned in the pencil drawing as line art then used Adobe Streamline to convert the line scan into a vector based drawing. I then colorized the vector line drawing in Adobe Illustrator. The final product was printed life size!

12-11-08 - Mrs. Stone's Home



Mrs. Stone's home is one of many homes that I have drawn in the McDaniel Ave
area of Greenville, SC

12-10-08 - TC Alexander Store





TC Alexander Store - Mauldin, SC Here's a 1983 sketch I did from an old photograph. I was commissioned to do this by the grandson of the original owner of this business.
The building no longer exists.

12-09-08 - Richmond Home


This drawing was done in 1985 in Richmond, VA.
I was a student at Virginia Commonwealth University

McBee Chapel - Conastee, SC


Was built in 1841 at the request of Alexander
McBee son of Vardry McBee founder of Conestee, S.C.
This building was designed and laidout by John Adams, Vardry McBee's millwright.
Mr. Adams designed the church in an octagonal shape so as to accommodate more seating space. The church seats 150 people. There are only two other octagonal brick churches of this type in the United States.

Thursday, December 4, 2008

Save Your Doodles

I have been an obsessive doodler ever since I was a kid. I would have never thought that my doodles would sell as artwork, but now it has. Here is a pencil doodle I did in an evenings worth of TV watching. Add a little scripture to it and convert it to a vector-based color graphic and it is ready to hang on the wall. We just got an order to produce a series of these.. works of art! - Greg

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

There are no seven wonders...


There are no seven wonders
of the world in the eyes of a child.
There are seven million.
~Walt Streightiff

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Eric's Dog Dittle


Color pencil sketch of my cousin Eric's dog, Dittle

Sunday, November 30, 2008

Cathy's Christmas


Cathy receives a clean sock for Christmas.

Yes Virgina, there is a Santa Claus

"Is There a Santa Claus?" was the headline that appeared over an editorial in the September 21, 1897 edition of The New York Sun.

Dear Editor: I am 8 years old.
"Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus.
"Papa says 'If you see it in The Sun it's so.'
"Please tell me the truth: is there a Santa Claus?
"Virginia O'Hanlon.
"115 West Ninety-fifth street."

Virginia
, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except they see. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds. All minds, Virginia, whether they be men's or children's, are little. In this great universe of ours man is a mere insect, an ant, in his intellect, as compared with the boundless world about him, as measured by the intelligence capable of grasping the whole of truth and knowledge.
Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! how dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus. It would be as dreary as if there were no Virginias. There would be no childlike faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable this existence. We should have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight. The eternal light with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished.
Not believe in Santa Claus! You might as well not believe in fairies! You might get your papa to hire men to watch in all the chimneys on Christmas Eve to catch Santa Claus, but even if they did not see Santa Claus coming down, what would that prove? Nobody sees Santa Claus, but that is no sign that there is no Santa Claus. The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see. Did you ever see fairies dancing on the lawn? Of course not, but that's no proof that they are not there. Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the world.
You may tear apart the baby's rattle and see what makes the noise inside, but there is a veil covering the unseen world which not the strongest man, nor even the united strength of all the strongest men that ever lived, could tear apart. Only faith, fancy, poetry, love, romance, can push aside that curtain and view and picture the supernal beauty and glory beyond. Is it all real? Ah, Virginia, in all this world there is nothing else real and abiding.
No Santa Claus! Thank God! he lives, and he lives forever. A thousand years from now, Virginia, nay, ten times ten thousand years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood.

Friday, November 28, 2008

Bea at the Graduation Party

This drawing was based on a reference photo I took at my niece's graduation party. It was amazingly hot that day. I thought Bea had a wonderful candid expression!

George Scofield - The Flag Man

Founder of the Flag Museum in Columbus, NC
George Scofield passed away Nov 25, 2008
http://www.houseofflags.org/


Thursday, November 27, 2008

Black Hawk Creek - Hudson, Iowa

I drew this 27 years ago while in commercial art school at Hawkeye Institute of Technology in Waterloo, IA.

Monday, November 24, 2008

Michelangelo's David


Every block of stone has a statue inside it
and it is the task of the sculptor to discover it.
—Michelangelo

Friday, November 21, 2008

Buffalo Nickel


The Buffalo Nickel - America's Most Handsome Coin
(Click Here) Buffalo Nickel History

Pencil Drawing by Greg Joens

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Cat


Dogs have Owners, Cats have Staff.

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Alan Greenspan II


I guess I should warn you,
if I turn out to be particularly clear,
you've probably misunderstood
what I've said.

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Alan Greenspan


"The US has lost control of the deficit"
—Alan Greenspan

Monday, November 17, 2008

Grover Cleveland


“Though the people
support the government,
the government should
not support the people”

—Grover Cleveland

Grover Cleveland was president of the U.S.
during the 1893 depression.

Abraham Lincoln

He has a right to criticize,
who has a heart to help.

— Abraham Lincoln