movin' fast

Quick doodle of a quick guy,

Tech pen and w/c dabs on lined paper (duh).

hanging around

The dining room light, but it's not blue and green. It's a canvas for my imagination.

Tech pen and w/c in the Moleskine sketchbook.

all the folds and hollows

So hard to "see" in soft black nylon. But it's practice.

Fountain pen and w/c on Aquabee Superdeluxe.

Love that Fiskars orange

Keeping my left hand so still while I'm holding an object, drawing and holding the paper with one hand, makes any simple drawing more of a challenge.

Pencil and w/c on Aquabee Superdeluxe.

and again

Do you know the game of drawing loops around a pattern of 4x4 dots? Drawing this knot pattern from memory reminds me of that game.

Figuring out how to draw this from memory gives me a doodling activity when stuck for a subject.

Tech pen and w/c on Aquabee Superdeluxe.

ancient knot

I saw this knot in an ad in the Daniel Smith catalog, so had to draw it to figure out the crossovers. Would have been better if I'd used a ruler, but then it wouldn't look wonky (my personal art goal)

Then when I added paint to the background, I tried mixing a random "yellow deep" and an ultramarine blue--which became such mud that I blotted it off.

The result looks like aged metal of some sort. Now I like it.

Water-soluble ink, wash, and w/c

a sheep with attitude

A mounted head in a local restaurant, painted later.

Alvin Penstix tech pen (very juicy) on Canson 90# w/c paper.

taking a walk

A statue of Mary from a distance. Couldn't see her really clearly, but it looked like she was walking out of her niche.

After I put my normal blue in the background, I realized there's a blue associated with the Virgin Mary, and this is pretty close.

Pencil and w/c on Aqua-Super (you know).

stones and pathways

Abstraction.

Water-soluble Noodlers in a fountain pen, and w/c in the Moleskine sketchbook

that Moleskine effect

Sometimes I enjoy the resistance.

Tech pen and w/c on Moleskine sketchbook paper.

joints and limbs

This little guy is great for idle practice on limbs and joints. A portable model.

Micron brush pen on scrap paper.

Making an easy kind of sketchbook

Accordian, concertina, or zig-zag are names given to one type of sketchbook that's easy to make. I've tried the method of cutting long strips of paper and accordion-folding them, but to get larger pages out of the source paper, pieces have to be glued together at the edges of the folds.

I'd done that by folding a tab under and gluing it to the next strip--my own idea of how it could be done, but difficult and not really satisfactory. Vivien has posted a link to Lindsay's method that is so much easier!























I painted these covers (7 inches by 11 inches) on 140# paper, folded 90# paper for the pages, and used lighter sketchbook paper for the vertical binding strips.

Glueing didn't work for my first attempt--lots of mess, juggling, and leakage onto the painting area.

Then I tried double-sticky tape--placing pieces along each edge of the two pages to be joined together, then setting down a binder strip to straddle the seam, over the two tape strips. Soooo easy and fast, with no gluey mess!

Thanks to Vivien and Lindsay for great posts on this construction method. Visit their blogs and enjoy their art!

subdueing the Moleskine's resistance

The interaction of fluid with paper is a constant fascination for me. After avoiding it for a long time, I went back to sketch in the water-resistant Moleskine sketchbook.

The line of bubbles worked perfectly for fabric texture.

I've discovered that if I use 180-weight sandpaper and lightly stroke the paper, w/c will flow on MUCH better. I plan to use this sketchbook more often now. I'd tried changing the surface by spraying or adding things to the paper--then suddenly realized I needed to sand *off* the resistance. Eureka!

Pelikan Tech pen, my other new favorite art tool, after the sanding block.

(P.S. --Armand at Moleskinerie.com has linked me, spreading the word of this sanding idea. Thanks, Armand! I just want to point out that this particular shoe drawing was NOT on sanded paper. Those posts are yet to come.)

Richard Stine's pencil

I love the 1978 book of drawings by Richard Stine, the "Non-pointless Pencil Book."

I can't find an image of the cover online, but it was a collection of fantasy-style pencils or, like this one I copied, a stub.

Stine was a master hatcher. Imagine how many drawings this pencil produced. And though the graphite is used up, there's still plenty of eraser left.

Ballpoint ink, washed with water on thin graph paper.

Pathway to the Light

Without these, it would be very dark around here.

When I look at a plug, I always notice the faces, including this one with Mickey Mouse ears.

Pencil and w/c on Strathmore drawing paper.

abstract rain

Making marks, turning them into a bigger picture. Turning the picture orientation until something appears.

In this case, a rain scene over piles of . . . bloody laundry? Given the news lately, that's what comes to mind.

simple big leaves

This plant, which I've forgotten the name of, seldom needs watering. One of my favorites.

W/c on Aquabee superdeluxe.

the luxury of time

To sit and draw slowly is a rare event, but the book was so magnetic, it held my model long enough for this pencilled recording. And the cat was pretty patient, too.

California Republic HB--which draws like a 2B, on Aquabee Superdeluxe.

color study

Just playing with paint, on Moleskine w/c paper.

reminders and memories

I did this sketch standing, holding the sketchbook and drawing fast, so I kept the forms really simple.

These are odd things I've collected over the years: a clay pig from South America, a wood carving by my father, other bits that carry stories only I know.

In adding color, I left the objects in tones of gray to show the things are shadows of actual events.

Tech pen and w/c on Cachet drawing paper.

rainbow man

Playing with color mixes on a convenient form.

Red eyebrows and a green nose--not a popular makeup trend.

W/c on 140# Arches paper

one-handed drawing

Time to add some variation to the left hand's role.

My little finger really does bend in like that, since I broke it 6 years ago. (Reality in posting.)

W/c on Moleskine w/c paper.

smudges included

Pencil is so smudgy, I feel like the drawing carries its own fog.

Pencil on thin Cachet drawing paper, some of the backside image showing through.

Spring cleanup

Finally it's above 50 degrees and not raining. Raking should be happening, but drawing comes first.

Pelikan tech pen (love it!) and w/c on Moleskine w/c paper.

muzzle study

The structure of a cat muzzle fascinates me--and it's a fun word, too.

Pencil on card stock.

getting the grill out

Finally, the snow is gone, the rain has stopped, and we can come outside to cook in the sun.

Tech pen and w/c on Moleskine w/c paper.

before the leaves

A sketch of the pre-leaf look at a local park. The birds were swooping low over the water.

Tech pen and w/c (painted at the park, for once) on Raffine paper.

bubbling up

Idle doodling brings out the bubble and fire theme . . . that I only see now in multiple scattered drawings after I look back at what has been emerging.

I'm drawn to orange/green color blends right now. Those colors call up fire and the season of (finally!) Spring, or fruit and green vegetables to come. A release from the lo-ong winter of snowy white and bare-branch gray.

Sharpie and w/c on Handbook artist paper.

imagining flowers

After a day in the 40s, I can only imagine the sunny colorful days we hope are coming.

W/c on Superaquabee deluxe

random blotches

I dabbed a bunch of odd colors to see how they looked, then decided to draw over them just to use the paper better.

W/c and Derwent black aquacrayon (then stroked with water) on SuperAquabee Deluxe.

rattan chair with pink

After doing this chair multiple times, I'm finally, like the cats, able to catch the image much faster than before.

Happy May Day!

Pen and colored pencil for the chair; w/c background then some digital playing.