Zambonis are awesome

No joke, my childhood dream was to be a zamboni driver. When I was a kid my Dad played hockey with a little rec league and I'd always go with him, and be transfixed when they cleaned the ice. They didn't actually have a zamboni at that arena, it was a modified tractor, but it was still pretty awesome.

I wanted to be ...

I remember that I wanted to become a baker when I was a child.
But I decided not to, because I thought I would eat all the bread and cookies.
Since then I have studied forestry and nature conservation, got trained to work in prison.
Done a lot of whacky jobs, moved to another country twice.
Now, illustration and graphic design is my job. And my cakes turn out real fine.

Blog

Playing Pirates!

I'm fascinated with pirates!

Looooong before ol' Johnny Depp came to town I was spouting off about the necessity of a new pirate movie and dominating pirate themed miniature golf courses (complete with pirate fun facts at each hole).

I suppose it all started when I was a wee lad. My dad would tuck me into bed and read a chapter from Treasure Island before I fell asleep. Top that off with those mind blowing illustrations by N.C. Wyeth and I guess a love affair with the romanticized ideal of swashbuckling villains was inevitable.

Hand drawn and vector colored in Adobe Illustrator.

Nathanael Lark Blog

Dr. Sketchy's

Last night I went to an event called Dr. Sketchy's (here's the website thingy), located at 111 Minna, a pretty cool gallery that shows lots of local artists, mainly those of the "low-brow" sector. Once every month or so they host a drawing night equipped with a fully costumed model, music, good lighting, and.....a bar. How could it get any better?

When I arrived a few minutes before the opening, the life-drawing part of the gallery was packed. There wasn't a single seat left in the joint, so I found a place in the back- leaning my sketchbook against the back of booth a couple of lady's were sitting in. I was actually outside of the ticketing area, but I still had to pay. I had to stand the entire time, and sometimes my pens and pencils feel in the lap of the couple in front of me. Whatever, I had a beer and the model was a hot super hero.

The best bet is to get there early, bring some friends, some binoculars, maybe your own beer. The next opening is Sat. Feb 26th. and I think the tickets are super limited or something.

Flight - and my insane childhood risk taking

No matter how old you are - tie a blanket around your neck and you're guaranteed the ability to fly!

We all know that parents are terrified of their kids taking this idea too far and climbing up onto the roof to test out their new cape. Of course we all think: "What kid would REALLY do that, though?"

I'm here to tell you that as a youngster I gave my parents legitimate reason for concern. One summer (being a tremendous Spiderman fan) I decided to put on my Spidey Halloween costume and scale the exterior of our apartment building. The architectural design incorporated stones which jutted out like an athlete's rock wall does nowadays.

There I was, nine years old, climbing the outside of an apartment building above an asphalt parking lot with no protection. I guess I'm living proof that not all kids are smart enough to know better. Lol.

Nathanael Lark Blog

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