Bruce Gerlach

@brucegerlach

Freelance illustration, sometimes sculptor and a bit cartoony.

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I just finished this drawing that I had started some time ago... tattooed-sky.blogspot.com/2026/08/enta... #InkDrawing #DeepSeaDiver #Mangroves

An ink drawing of a deep sea diver snared up in a dense area of mangroves.

Bruce Gerlach@brucegerlach· 5d

Yesterday morning, we had a golf cart tour of the Detroit Zoo in the early hours. It was hot out, but the animals were active. I even had the opportunity to play with the rays and sharks again. Always fun. #DetroitZoo

Hailey, one of the polar bears swimming above the tunnel walkway.

A couple of bamboo sharks in an underwater pic.

Bruce Gerlach@brucegerlach· 7d

Bike riding today through Palmer Park and Woodlawn Cemetery. #Detroit #PalmerPark #WoodlawnCemetery

One of the wooded trails in Palmer Park.

On of the eight deer that we saw in Palmer Park.

A bridge over a pond in Woodlawn cemetery.

A stone sphinx sculpture at the Dodge family mausoleum.

Bruce Gerlach@brucegerlach· 10d

Here are some pics from yesterday's Emerge! 2026 show at the Hannan Center in Detroit. A couple of pieces by @captainpurple.bsky.social and a couple by moi.

A colored pencil piece by Dug Rusin depicting a woman, scissors, a rhino and pencils.

A colored pencil piece by Dug Rusin depicting a woman in a toy tug boat, a blender, a birdhouse, razor blades, a shark, all adrift at sea.

My soapstone sculpture of a man emerging from the stone.

My woodblock print of a hammerhead shark.

Bruce Gerlach@brucegerlach· 12d

My latest Substack is up and is all about sketchbooks and... stickers: open.substack.com/pub/bruceger...

Bruce Gerlach@brucegerlach· 12d

Starting tomorrow, I will have two pieces in the Emerge! 2026 exhibit at the Hannan center in Detroit. I will be exhibiting alongside a few friends, as well. @captainpurple.bsky.social, Mary Stebbins Taitt, and Laura Reed. tattooed-sky.blogspot.com/2026/07/emer...

A soapstone sculpture of a figure emerging from the stone.

A woodblock print of a hammerhead shark.

Bruce Gerlach@brucegerlach· 14d

A few backyard visitors from the past few weeks. A little black spider wasp dragging a spider, what became a cicada and a bumblebee jumping spider. The jumping spider was all over me as I was reading.

A little black spider wasp dragging a spider across the patio.

The casing of a cicada after it emerged, hanging upside down from a tree.

A bumblebee jumping spider on the arm of my patio chair.

Bruce Gerlach@brucegerlach· 15d

Saturday found me kayaking at my friend's cabin on the Seven Ponds Nature Preserve.

The tip of my kayak heading out on the first lake.

A pic through the reeds of a northern water snake.

An underwater pic of the remains of a sunken dock and the underside of my kayak.

A common water snake, I believe slithering through the shallows.

Bruce Gerlach@brucegerlach· 16d

A sketch of a broomstick bee... tattooed-sky.blogspot.com/2026/07/broo... #BroomstickBee #Witch #Sketches

A pencil sketch of a broomstick bee riding a broomstick, with witches hat blowing in the wind.

Bruce Gerlach@brucegerlach· 17d

Here's a few pics from last week's Renaissance Circle picnic night at the Detroit Zoo. It was fun to play with the rays and sharks again. #DetroitZoo #SouthernRays #StingRays #Penguins #Dinosaurs

A king penguin soaring over the tunnel in the penguin house.

A parasaurolophus animatronic along the Trail of Dinosaurs.

An underwater pic of a couple of southern rays.

An underwater pic of a sting ray and a southern ray in the foreground.

Bruce Gerlach@brucegerlach· 24d

Yesterday was a kayaking day on Belle Isle. And of course, we aquarium volunteers also collected some trash along the way. #BelleIsle #Detroit #Kayaking

The kayakers launching from behind the aquarium and heading towards the Inselruhe Ave bridge.

One of the many turtles seen on the canals.

A lucky underwater shot of a lily pad (?).

We kayakers on Lake Muskoday. Sam won the Best Trash prize as he found a trash can submerged.

Bruce Gerlach@brucegerlach· 27d

An Elroy sketch. tattooed-sky.blogspot.com/2026/07/elro... #Sketches #ColoredPencil #AGoodBoy

A red colored pencil sketch of our dog Elroy wearing a reindeer hoodie.

Bruce Gerlach@brucegerlach· 28d

I wasn't sure that I would get around to getting this out today, considering what we've been dealing with at home here, but I found it to be a good distraction. My latest newsletter is about the cartoonist Bill Mauldin. brucegerlach.substack.com/publish/post... #Substack #BillMauldin #Cartoonists

Bruce Gerlach@brucegerlach· Jul 6

We rode our bikes along the Detroit Riverwalk this morning from MexicanTown to the Belle Isle Bridge. We also hit up the Dequindre Cut. This was a first time for me since they connected everything. A good ride!

A new mural along the Riverwalk depicting a sculpture by Marshall Fredericks. And fellow rider Steven going the wrong way.

Fellow rider Zac, taking a break with the Detroit river in the background.

The Detroit River and the Belle isle Bridge.

One of the overpasses along the Dequindre Cut, a biking and walking path.

Bruce Gerlach@brucegerlach· Jun 30

My latest newsletter is about sketching with a quill pen. open.substack.com/pub/bruceger... #Substack #GooseFeather #Sketching

Bruce Gerlach@brucegerlach· Jun 25

Yesterday, we had our first Safari Sketch night at the Detroit Zoo. I hope that these catch on, as I do enjoy sketching the critters. tattooed-sky.blogspot.com/2026/06/sket... #Sketches #ColoredPencils #DetroitZoo

A red colored pencil sketch of a water slide in the otter enclosure.

An incomplete pencil sketch of an otter and a green colored pencil sketch of a rhino head.

Bruce Gerlach@brucegerlach· Jun 21

We kayaked the canals of Belle Isle in Detroit yesterday. It was an island clean-up day, so trash was collected. My childhood friend was in from out of state and joined us, so a good day.

The kayakers heading out on the canal going under a bridge.

The first turtle of the day, a red-eared slider.

My buddy Rob, in his kayak heading down the canal.

An underwater pic of a crayfish claw amongst the vegetation.

Bruce Gerlach@brucegerlach· Jun 19

Last night was the Sunset at the Zoo event at the Detroit Zoo. Food, drinks and plenty of fun with friends.

A penguin pooped and then went to sleep upon leaving the water.

The Rackham Fountain lit up with purple lighting.

Wearing a flashing pin of manta rays. You can't tell...

Bruce Gerlach@brucegerlach· Jun 17

Last Friday was the opening reception for the Blue & White Invitational at the Holland Museum. Here's a few pics. #HollandMuseum #HollandMI #Blue&WhiteInvitational

The main room of the opening reception, complete with people and pieces.

My favorite piece of the show. A resin based piece, titled Rampjaar Rebirth by Silas Moralez.

My buddy John Stempien and me standing amongst the museum's Dutch collection.

Bruce Gerlach@brucegerlach· Jun 16

My latest Substack post is up and about the process of creating my scratchboard piece, Oceanic Tendrils. open.substack.com/pub/bruceger... #Scratchboard #Clayboard #Tentacles #Sharks #GulperEels

Bruce Gerlach@brucegerlach· Jun 11

Today's backyard visitor. A Bold Jumping Spider came by to check me out, as do all the jumping spiders. Shy at first, but then hopped on me to investigate further.

A black Bold Jumping Spider on a plastic wicker patio chair.

A Bold Jumping Spider on the arm of the plastic wicker patio chair.

Bruce Gerlach@brucegerlach· Jun 8

I will have a piece in this exhibition that starts this Friday and runs through October. tattooed-sky.blogspot.com/2026/06/blue... #HollandMuseum #Scratchboard

A scratchboard piece that is blue and white and features tentacles, shark heads and gulper eels.

The official postcard for the Blue & White Invitational at the Holland Museum.

Bruce Gerlach@brucegerlach· Jun 6

A couple of backyard visitors from the past few days. The moth was super fast when flying.

A tiny moth sunning itself on a blue tarp.

A swallowtail butterfly sunning itself in a tree.

Bruce Gerlach@brucegerlach· Jun 5

Here is the second illustration that I did for the book of poetry by Mary Stebbins Taitt. The book is called When time Stumbled. tattooed-sky.blogspot.com/2026/06/a-tr... #Illustrations #BookIllustrations

Bruce Gerlach@brucegerlach· Jun 4

I have neglected to post some goat pics from our Discovery Trail preview night at the Detroit Zoo. Here are the goats!

A black goat taking a break from chewing on my hand. I liked this one.

A brownish goat getting up close and personal.

Four goats on a raised wooden platform, with two of them in the act of head butting each other.

A brownish goat rearing up to head butt another.

Bruce Gerlach@brucegerlach· May 31

My latest Substack is up and has some watercolor pop culture stuff in it. open.substack.com/pub/bruceger... #Watercolor #ComicBookCharacters #MovieCharacters

Bruce Gerlach@brucegerlach· May 29

Here are some sketches from this past Wednesday's Belleville Drink Night Draw at Egan's Pub. tattooed-sky.blogspot.com/2026/05/bell... #Sketches #ColoredPencils #DrinkNDraw

Bruce Gerlach@brucegerlach· May 28

A drawing that I did for the Cherry Capital Comic Con's charity auction last weekend. tattooed-sky.blogspot.com/2026/05/antl... #DarthMaul #InkDrawing

An ink drawing of the character Darth Maul with antlered horns.

Bruce Gerlach@brucegerlach· May 28

Last week, we were fortunate to attend a preview night for the new Discovery Trails at the Detroit Zoo. You can reach out and touch rays and bamboo sharks, then go outside and hang out with the goats. I even had permission to take some underwater pics.

The Discovery Trails sign at the Detroit Zoo.

A pic of the tank where the rays and sharks are.

An underwater pic of a bamboo shark zooming by.

An underwater pic of a bamboo shark and a couple rays.

Bruce Gerlach@brucegerlach· May 26

From last week's Bark at the Park at UWM Field.