O’Betty’s in Athens, OH

Posted on January 6, 2025 by portfoliolongo.com

According to O’Betty’s website, the eatery is located in the Cameron building, the smallest building in Uptown Athens. Originally built as a barber shop, the venue has been the home of other restaurants, such as Seven Sauces, The Strawberry Patch, The Korean Restaurant, DV8, The Redbud Cafe, and finally and lastly, O’Betty’s. I fondly remember Redbud Cafe; but, whenever I bite into one of O’Betty’s delicious hot dogs, I’m overcome with amnesia, euphoria, and dejavú.

O’Betty’s in Uptown Athens, OH

Technical: I used my own reference photo to make this quirky iPad painting in Sketch Club with an Apple Pencil. The composition took me about 3 hours over the span of several days and consists of 6,486 brush strokes on 3 layers. I then tweaked the image in iColorama.

Our Annual Christmas Letter: A

Posted on December 13, 2024 by portfoliolongo.com

As you well know, we here at portfoliolongo.com have a holiday tradition that goes back all the way to 2013, yes, our Annual Christmas Letter! (Please continue reading below.)

At our annual retreat in early December the Board of Directors and Senior Management – both of us – meet and, after a self-facilitated process that incorporated large sheets of adhesive, butcher-block paper and color-coded stickies, decided ultimately that the 2024 letter would be A, mainly because of our new facility in Canaan Township, Athens County, Ohio. Please click here to view posts previous years’ letters.

Steve Zarate, lyricist, vocalist, and instrumentalist (Athens, OH)

Posted on November 21, 2024 by portfoliolongo.com

Back on September 7, 2024 I took a photo of Steve Zarate performing live at the Athens Farmers Market. Over the last few days I’ve been rendering a freehand, digital image of that reference photo on my iPad Pro using an Apple Pencil and the Sketch Club app with a tweak or two in iColorama. Steve’s music complements the fresh and funky feel of the Market.

Emaline at the Cannabis Museum

Posted on November 10, 2024 by portfoliolongo.com

Emaline

That’s Emaline Duquette, and what a pleasure it was to hear her soulful voice at a Tiny Museum Concert at the Cannabis Museum the other night.

Sketch Club Stats

Graham Nash in Athens, OH

Posted on October 21, 2024 by portfoliolongo.com

“We’re going to take a 20 minute break so I can take a pee. You try doing this at 82.”
An Intimate Evening of Songs and Stories with Graham Nash at the Templeton-Blackburn Alumni Memorial Auditorium on the campus of Ohio University.

What an absolutely wonderful and energetic performance! See tour dates right here. Band members include: Todd Caldwell: Plays keyboards and sings; Shane Fontayne: Plays guitar and sings; Zak Djanikian: Plays guitar, sax, mandolin, and drums; and Adam Minkoff: Plays bass, guitar, and sometimes drums.

Image details: iPad painting in Sketch Club using an Apple Pencil and with a sharpening tweak in iColorama.

Night Time at Hidden Drive Hollow

Posted on October 1, 2024 by portfoliolongo.com

Annyth took a nighttime photo of our new place at “Hidden Drive Hollow” that I loved so much that I thought I’d sketch it out on my iPad. Why that name? Well, as you approach our place on this county road from both directions, there are yellow signs that say, “Hidden Drive.” So, Hidden Drive Hollow, all 1.83 acres of it.

I don’t want to boast, but we had a bidet installed in the primary bath.

No Idea…(but does Guzzell’s Hardware ring a bell?)

Posted on September 27, 2024 by portfoliolongo.com

a bird flying while carrying a suitcase with a Blue Eagle Guitars sticker on it

I have no idea what this image means, a bird flying while carrying a suitcase with a Blue Eagle Guitars sticker on it? But I do know this, that some people of a certain age from Canonsburg, PA would easily “get” the Blue Eagle Guitar Shop based on their experience at Guzzell’s Hardware Store. If Stanley Guzzell catered to Western Pennsylvanian musicians, his shop would be like Blue Eagle Guitars. Everybody knows places like this. They’re not neat. If it’s not there, you really didn’t need it.

Encircled by Yerba Mate

Posted on September 13, 2024 by portfoliolongo.com

Mike and Don E explaining the customs and rituals of drinking mate at the Cannabis Museum just outside Athens, OH.

Mike and Don E

Freehand iPad painting in Sketch Club.

Artwork by Joe Brumfield

John Horne, Guitarist (Athens, OH)

Posted on July 30, 2024 by portfoliolongo.com

Here’s John playing at Jackie O’s in Athens, OH. He said it was ok for me to use the photo reference from FaceBook that this quick, freehand, digital (iPad) painting is based on. Check‘em out (here and here) and in person to partner with his countless fans, colleagues, collaborators, and clients. He’s one of the big reasons why I’m so glad to be back in Athens.

John Horne – rendered on an iPad Pro in Sketch Club using an Apple Pencil

Tail End at the End of the Day

Posted on June 4, 2024 by portfoliolongo.com

Yesterday evening Annyth and I, each of us with a glass of wine, sat out on the deck of our rental listening to the birds as they sang the day to a close. I had my iPad. Before night fell and lightning bugs began appearing, this is what I could see through the deck’s railings: