BMM 5 - Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin'

There's a bright golden haze on the meadow
There's a bright golden haze on the meadow
The corn is as high as a elephant's eye
An' it looks like it's climbin' clear up to the sky

Oh, what a beautiful mornin'
Oh, what a beautiful day
I got a beautiful feelin'
Ev'rythin's goin' my way

All the cattle are standin' like statues
All the cattle are standin' like statues
They don't turn their heads as they see me ride by
But a little brown mav'rick is winkin' her eye

Oh, what a beautiful mornin'
Oh, what a beautiful day
I got a beautiful feelin'
Ev'rythin's goin' my way

All the sounds of the earth are like music
All the sounds of the earth are like music
The breeze is so busy it don't miss a tree
And a ol' weepin' willer is laughin' at me

Oh, what a beautiful mornin'
Oh, what a beautiful day
I got a beautiful feelin'
Ev'rythin's goin' my way

Oh, what a beautiful day... 

From Wikipedia: "Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin'" is the opening song from the musical Oklahoma!, which premiered on Broadway in 1943. It was written by composer Richard Rodgers and lyricist/librettist Oscar Hammerstein II. The leading male character in Oklahoma!, Curly McLain, sings the song at the beginning of the first scene of the musical.

This was the first song of Rodgers and Hammerstein's musical collaboration to be heard by theater audiences. It has become one of their most famous numbers and "quickly became one of the most popular American songs to emerge from the wartime era, gaining currency away from Broadway first on the radio and recordings, and then later on numerous television variety shows." Brooks Atkinson, reviewing the original production in The New York Times, wrote that the number changed the history of musical theater: "After a verse like that, sung to a buoyant melody, the banalities of the old musical stage became intolerable."

My own thoughts: While my family has always loved Oklahoma!, I have not. Unlike Les Mis, I get bored pretty quick and I find most of the characters, especially the main characters, rather idiotic.

Of course, I make a big exception for this song. It's one of those nice feel-good songs that really help to perk up your mood.

And it makes for an easy and fun illustration, too.

2023 Inktober 2 - Rain of the Cimarron

It's a safe assumption that I know Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron like the back of my hand. I would know a pose from that movie anywhere, so it aggravates me when people make constant carbon copies of the horses, only changing the color and pattern. Which is fine for those who are just starting out, since I'll be the first to say horses are super tricky to draw.

But after a while, the constant recycling gets old. There's hardly any real creativity, and the artists themselves get so defensive of their work. And that new Spirit movie that's all computer-generated just doesn't cut the mustard. If there was a sequel that was actually drawn by hand, that actually told an engaging story, I'd be sold. At least they could have made better effort with Spirit Junior, like giving him a different name, and they could have been more creative with his design, more than just slapping a white blaze onto his face so you can tell the difference between him and his father.

Oh, well. I still credit this first movie for teaching me a thing or two about horse anatomy, and facial fluidity. I don't think my characters would be nearly as expressive as they are now otherwise. Terence might not have gotten so far off the ground. And I always liked Rain; I don't even need a reference for her anymore.

I never get tired of listening to the soundtrack, either. I'm listening to Rain's official theme right now. Hans Zimmer sure knows how to make music.

Only The Prince of Egypt exceeds this as my most favorite DreamWorks movie. 

My Inktober 2022 - 17 - Ponytail

Very funny, even if the pony begs to differ!

 

My Inktober 2021 #22 - Halloween Horse

Holy smokes, less than 10 days left! Time does indeed fly when you're having fun, no? 

So, we've done a Halloween feline and canine, therefore it's only fitting we do a Halloween equine as well. 

A plain bedsheet ghost sounded boring, so I gave this horse a "Charlie Brown ghost" costume. Simple, yet charming. 

My Inktober 19 - Halloween Horse

A classic costume for a horse, especially a jet-black one! 

It's amazing how creative some people can get with dressing their pets up for Halloween. I even once saw this really adorable "Cerberus" costume for a dog, where the owner attached two artificial heads to either side of their dog. If you didn't pay close attention, you almost couldn't tell which head was which! 

Inktober 2018 - Day 28

Twenty-eight entries down; three to go! I'm as surprised as anybody that I'm still going strong after all this artwork. Then again, drawing the picture by hand is the easy part.

Okay, "Inktober" 28: Gift. Pretty simple. Pretty straightforward.

"Disney Inktober" 28: Horses. For this one, I chose Cyril Proudbottom from The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad. I really like how this turned out!

"Fantasytober" 28: Hippogriff. After drawing several intimidating and vicious creatures, I decided it was time for something more adorable.

"Inktober" Challenge - Day 10

Almost halfway there already. This is not only fun and helps me unwind from work, but it also helps me learn to be a little less uptight about the quality of my artwork.

Sure, it's always great to strive for good quality. But it's also great to learn to not be so hard on yourself, to not be so picky, to just let your imagination flow with your pen.

Okie-dokie, for day 10 of the Disney challenge: "Horses."

I was tempted to do Cyril Proudbottom (I even looked up a few references on Google Images), but then I decided Khan would be easier and more fun to draw. I've always admired Mulan's big black beast; aside from his cool personality, his design is amazing! He must have been a lot of fun (and a lot of work) to animate.

For day 10 of the second Inktober: "Gigantic."

Yeah, I avoided the stereotypical "giant vs. human being" stuff, and just went for a dog sniffing a grasshopper in the grass, and emphasize the difference in the two animals' sizes. I never was a fan of insects but this is rather adorable. And a grasshopper is one of those very few insects I can look at up close without wigging out.