Meet n' Greet

As a graphic designer over the years I have had opportunity to meet many interesting people; some of them are even somewhat famous. Here are a few that I was fortunate enough to get a picture with:


Steve Young, the record-holding, past quarterback of the San Francisco 49ers was a very nice and patient guy, even when someone stole his shirt from the tradeshow that we were working at.

Sammy Hagar was the coolest musician that I've been able to meet. He had lots of stories and was very open and friendly. He was very comfortable meeting people and quite personable to each person that he talked to. My wife had shaved her head in support of our friend who had cancer, so she's got a nice buzz-cut going on.

I didn't get a very good photo of/with the Counting Crows. That's Ok though, because they were very uncomfortable in their own skins. They didn't talk much and were actually somewhat uninteresting.

The Goo Goo Dolls were pretty cool. The format to meet them was kinda rushed and there wasn't much time for fun stories or real conversation, but they were very open and fun; all smiles for everyone and just nice guys

My work has given me opportunity to meet with many other big name or semi-famous people that I either wasn't allowed or forgot to get a picture of or I just didn't have a camera available. Among these famous names are: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Joe Weider, Magic Johnson, Mike Ditka, Roger Staubach, The Moody Blues, Howard Jones, and others. I have also been able to meet and /or work with a number of religious and political figures, corporate executives of some of the largest companies in America, and even Penthouse Pets and models. There are times that I really love my work and I count myself lucky in so many ways. There are some jerks and/or strange people among the famous that I have met, but most are just plain, fun-loving people who count themselves among the lucky also. One day when The Karlin is famous I hope that people just think of me as a happy, fun-loving guy.

Sketch Happens

This is amazing! so many entries! Well, I have a breather at work for a moment so I thought that I would catch up a bit. I have been taking the old sketch book with me to alot of meetings and lately I have been kind of preoccupied with what I call "Ubersketches". These are doodles/sketches/drawings that grow on a single page over several weeks of meetings and such, to form a whole. I often have a different pen with me each time that I crack open the book, and the different inks from the various pens give the drawings an interesting tone. Here are a few of the Ubersketches that have developed: ( you can click on the images to see a larger version)






































This is my friend Nick. He is a head-bangin', heavy metal kid that often visits me at my home. I think that he ought to take close look at these drawings and see what too much Megadeath and Twisted Sister can do to your brain.

More Powell Fun!

While at Lake Powell I had a little time to sketch:
Here is a sample page with a Jolly Roger for Randy, Emily the crazy lifejacketed swimmer, James the skeletal fish, and eyes and mouths because I always draw eyes and mouths.

This is a quick sketch that I did of Jamie the crazy mexican kid tossing my wife off of the jet-ski while on his wild ride.

And for the tiny-bopper segment of my fan-club nicknames were all the rage. Can you match the kid with their connected nickname?

Kids Love the Powell

I thought that I would post a few photos of my wonderful children whooping it up at Powell!

Jake and Madi loved the slide off from the back of the houseboat and I love the airborn photos.

Jake has made it his life-long goal to get himself a yacht.

Having a giant lake to swim and play in wasn't enough. The boys decide that they need to create their own lake. Not to be out-done, the girls get to work on their own reservoir.

At the end of the week, all sunburned and worn-out, the kids force themselves to stay up and watch DVDs because they just can't miss one moment of this vacation!

Lake Powell Love

The Fam recently took a most awsome trip to Lake Powell with 5 other families. We all pitched in and rented a 60 foot houseboat for a week. When we finally got settled into a nice llittle cove in Iceberg Canyon we were quite the spectacle. There we 32 people with a pirate yacht, 3 ski boats, 2 jetskis, and a veritable plethora of water toys. When everyone came in for dinner there could be quite a traffic jam.

We were having so much fun that we often forgot to take photos, so I will post what we have, but you should know that the fun went way beyond what I have photos for.

It took us a couple of days to find just the right spot; but when we did Elise discovered hiking and climbing right away. The canyon that we were in was beautiful and the cliffs went up for at least 100 feet around us.

I personally don't water-ski (I prefer Jet-Skis -- I'm a control freak!)but for those who liked skiing, they did plenty of it. Rod shows all how it is done, with the magnificient landscape in the background.

Sharon even tried the sail-board. We were all surprised at how quickly she got up and was gliding (albeit out of control) around the area. I am so proud of my amazing woman and I'm very glad that she didn't impale herself on a submerged tree.

Matt was like King Triton whipping the kids into shape and having them ferry him back and forth to his boat in his mighty chariot.

I was able to spend a few hours doing what I like best; sitting around, listening to the iPod, drinking Pepsi and doodling in the sketchbook. But even way out on a lake in the southern desert I was often hounded by my tiny adoring fans.

And last but not least, we were even able to bring home a full-blown case of ringworm!