"Dat Peyton Manning, man"...

I like this pose, but...

I can't say this is indeed what this person looks like because it really doesn't. It's one of those kind of situations where the pose changes constantly and you have to decide on one and stick with it. Once again, Jerry's thick eyebrows and deep set eyes makes him look angry. He was not. He was just commenting on Peyton Manning's performance the night before when the Denver Broncos came back from an twenty-four point deficit to defeat the San Diego Chargers.

New Orleanians love the Mannings almost as much as they love 'da Saints!

"Did ya see 'da game last night?""Dat Peyton Manning, man... 'dat kid can play!"

Copyright 2012-2013/Ben Bensen III

"A Cocky Flower Pot Sketch!"

Chicken Parmigiana?

It has been a really crazy week, doing things for my mom that need to be taken care of... Sometimes, with her and sometimes without her in tow. It is a 60 mile jaunt from our home in Folsom to New Orleans. On this night, I met my wife at a funeral home to explore the ridiculous cost of dying. No need to expatiate further on that subject. My brother watched our mom for a couple of hours as we took care of business and then seized the opportunity to share a wonderful dinner together at a restaurant called, "Sandro's Trattoria' somewhere between Metairie and Kenner, LA.

I highly recommend the daube!

Eventually, Therese took off early for home to correct papers while I would return to my brother's to pick up mom. But after she left, I decided to stay longer and put off the inevitable by having desert and coffee. I sketched, on the paper table cloth, this ceramic rooster flower pot which was sitting on the shelf a few tables away.

It went well with my third cup of coffee.

Copyright 2012-2013/Ben Bensen III

"It Just Occurred To Me on Veteran's Day!"

Twenty minute sketch... while I waited my turn!

It just occurred to me that this would make a nice Veteran's Day comment!  I did this sketch while listening to two African American Vets, one rather elderly who fought in the Korean War, and the other, a "young whippersnapper" who fought in the Operation Desert Storm, talk about their experiences. It wasn't too crowded on that day, but I had to wait my turn, which took me about forty minutes.

They inquired about my status and I told them I was here on behalf of my mom's service record with the Marine Corps during World War II. They both nodded in affirmation and continued on with their stories about the military. The Korean War vet didn't care to talk too much about his experiences in Korea except to hang his head down, shake it and say, "Korea is cold. I've never ever been that cold in all my life!"

I pretty much kept my mouth shut and sketched... and listened!

To all those who served or are still serving to preserve our freedoms, Happy Veteran's Day!

Copyright 2012-2013/Ben Bensen III

"Somewhere Else"...

Worried or just somewhere else?

Like a pebble in his boot, are his worries ever gonna leave him be? Can he ever take that shoe off and rid himself of the aggravatingly unending pokes. Or is the Greek omelet that he just inhaled, revisiting him in a different way?

Or maybe, it's the fiery valentine of his youth. You know, the what if's... how did it go so blue, so fast?
It's not like just 'cuz he's elderly or retired that his mind can't drift to the ones that somehow got away... or never really had.

Maybe, it is about that week long trip to the lakes of Minnesota. The one that got away, nah!

"Hotter than a peppered sprout," he thinks. "Baton Rouge, back then, seemed so far away,"

"Hell, it was my fault... I never should've have been so cool, so distant. I came off aloof 'cuz somehow I thought that's what she wanted. Damn plowboy, that's all... a damn plowboy!"

"Damn and I had so many too choose from. Yeh, that's your problem... or was!"

"And you were so close. So close you could taste it. The things I could have done... Ah, just the thought of it and...

"Honey, you gonna finish those hash browns? 'Cuz if you're not, I'll take 'em!"

Then he moved and the moments lost in the blink of an eye and I continue to wonder as I continue to now draw from memory, "Just what was he thinking about?"

But, it was all gone and it was just a sketch!

Copyright 2012-2013/ Ben Bensen III