Inky Visions

Remembering Warmer Days

2009-12-19T20:28:00.005-05:00

Today we have had more snow than any December. It is cold and windy. So I thought I would think of a warmer time. I was sitting on the deck and began sketching my grill. As I progressed I realized I had managed to capture another image within the grill. I realized that the reflections that captured in the grill was actually a picture of my house.

What do you unintentionally capture in your drawings?
Another warmer day at the beach.

Back to Work I Go

2009-12-05T10:47:00.004-05:00

I rejoined the workforce this week after 10 months of semi-retirement. You would think that I should have lots of time to sketch and post, but alas the to-do list seems to get in the way.

I have managed a few sketches from time to time, just not found the time to get them posted. This morning was a good opportunity for me to get something posted. I found a new pencil the other day and finally ordered one. It is the MLP2 Zebra, a 9mm 2B flat lead mechanical pencil. This morning I made a quick sketch while I was at the coffee shop.

Better detail of the sketch.

More Waiting Room Art

2009-08-31T09:47:00.003-04:00

The other day I made a trek to the doctors office for my annual poke and prod session and did some sketching while I did the obligatory wait. I spied the lights over the reception desk and decided to sketch them.

When I went to one of my sketching classes I showed some of my sketches done during the week between classes to the other folks in the class. Someone mentioned that they looked like wine glasses from their viewing angle (upside down).

Dabbling in Color

2009-08-27T11:15:00.003-04:00

Well, I have finally scanned another sketch class effort. I first sketched the flower with pen and then added the watercolor. It was fun, but I can really see that I need some help and practice with the colors.

Hopefully I will get more opportunities to work with this approach.

Last Class of Summer

2009-08-07T11:13:00.005-04:00

The last class of the summer we went to the National Botanical Garden and did our sketching. I started with a charcoal pencil for a while.

Then I switched back to Pen for these.

I used white charcoal pencil for highlites.

Getting Nudged Back Into Sketching Again

2009-07-30T14:23:00.004-04:00

Well, I promised to be more consistent with my posts and to do more sketching. Guess I didn't count on all the interruptions that come with selling a house and moving.

The house is sold, we are moved and life is slowly finding a new pattern for normalcy.

I decided to give myself another nudge and signed up for another class at the Smithsonian. This is a sketching class on Saturday mornings with Max Karl-Winkler. It is sort of like a sketch crawl on the National Mall every week.

Here are a few of the sketches I have made in the last couple of weeks...

More to come ... you'l just have to take my word for it this time.

99 Things

2009-04-24T08:32:00.001-04:00

Saw this here, and thought I'd try it ...

Here are the rules: Bold the things you’ve done and post on your blog!

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band – high school band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo.- can’t even sing in a crowd
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea.
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill – called a mental health day
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise – a Navy cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language – do computer languages count?
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied -- I'm satisfied right now.
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted – does a caricature count?
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business –Consulting Software Engineer
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving -- why do people jump out of perfectly good planes?
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book.
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Kissed a stranger at midnight on New Year’s Eve
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

Nudge Me!

2009-03-29T20:57:00.003-04:00

Bosses of a publishing firm are trying to work out why no one noticed that one of their employees had been sitting dead at his desk for FIVE DAYS before anyone asked if he was feeling okay.

George, 51, who had been employed as a proof-reader at a New York firm for 30 years, had a heart attack in the open-plan office he shared with 23 other workers. He quietly passed away on Monday, but nobody noticed until Saturday morning when an office cleaner asked why he was still working during the weekend.

His boss Elliot said "George was always the first guy in each morning and the last to leave at night, so no one found it unusual that he was in the same position all that time and didn't say anything. He was always absorbed in his work and kept much to himself."

A post mortem examination revealed that he had been dead for five days after suffering a coronary. Ironically, George was proofreading manuscripts of medical textbooks when he died.

You may want to give your co-workers a nudge occasionally.

Thankfully I got a nudge from Anna (See.Be.Draw) and decided to wake up. We all go through our dormant periods and some times it takes a nudge from a friend to get us back in the groove. I might not be completely back in the grove but I think this nudge from Anna might help me get started.

While I Was Away...

2008-10-30T10:11:00.003-04:00

On my last visit to India I stayed in the Ellaa Suites Hotel in Hyderabad. During my stay the hotel hosted the Hyderabadi Food Festival. There were all kinds of food dishes representing many food preparations from all over India and especially from Hyderabad. One of the features were Hookah pipes with a variety of herbal fruits. The pipes were a variety of shapes and colors.
Some very interesting sketch material.

Now, where was I?

2008-10-28T14:40:00.003-04:00

My last post was all too long ago. I have been whirling about in a daze it seems. Between work and taking care of two houses 100 miles apart, I have not taken time to post any new sketches.

Since my last posting of images, back in May I have been to India twice and to New Mexico again. My stays in India were mostly work and little play, but I did manage a couple of sketches.

My trips took me to Hyderabad, in the southern part of India. Hyderabad is known for a lot of things but the one that most people notice first off is the rocks. Yes, rocks. There are these very unusual rock formations all over the place. Most of them look as if they are man made. I noticed one formation not far from the hotel I stayed in and took time to sketch it.

Blog Award! Me?

2008-08-12T08:52:00.006-04:00

Thank you Mike for my nomination for the Blog Award! I am honored to be a mentor. Although, I could take some lessons from you as well. This is a heck of a way to get me to update my much neglected blog.

I now have to select 7 blogs which I feel should be nominated. This is not so easy because there are so many blogs which demonstrate the sketching/paintings style and skill which I draw inspiration from. Most of the following blogs are already on my ‘Amazing’ list:

Not in any special order
Jeanette Jobson - Illustrated Life
Karen Blados - Sketch Blog
France Bellville - Wagonized
Juj. – Everything Is Contextual
Terry Banderas – Ink and Watercolor
Susan Buchanan - an Open [sketch]Book
Miguel Herranz – free[k]hand

To accept:
Right click on the award to save it to your computer. Then you can insert it into your blog.
The rules of acceptance are:
Put the logo on your blog.
Add a link to the person who awarded you.
Nominate 7 other blogs.
Add links to those blogs on yours.
Leave a message for you nominees on their blogs.

Watchfull Eyes

2008-05-17T07:22:00.005-04:00

I thought I would sneak in another post before I head for the airport - off to India.

It seemed as though everywhere I looked I saw surveillance cameras while I was in England. The were on street posts in London, they were on lamp posts in towns along the railroad, and they were on all sides of the Six Bells Pub.

This is sketch is of cameras I saw in London. Done with the Pilot Hi-Tec-C pen and washed with a waterbrush.
This sketch of cameras in a town along the railroad is also done with the Pilot Hi-Tec-C pens, but without the wash.

New Pens Put to the Test

2008-05-16T21:12:00.004-04:00

For Christmas last year my son gave me a set of Pilot Hi-Tec-C .3 mm gel pens. The set has 10 different colors. When I learned of these pens I thought they were waterproof. But on experimentation I found that they were not. At first I was disappointed but later I decided it was a good thing. Here is a photo of some of the pens. These are not easily found in the U.S. of A.This is a simple color chart I made and used a waterbrush to create a wash effect. I found that the Blue and Yellow did not wash as well as the other colors.This is a drawing I made of some chimney pots while I was in England. I used the Black pen and a waterbrush to create the wash effect.

Back Home for a Short Visit

2008-05-13T07:13:00.003-04:00

Well, I am back home for a short visit before I dash off to another part of the world. My London trip was mostly business and I seemed to get very little time to myself. But I did take time over the weekend to tour London and do a little sketching.

This sketch is a tree in the church yard next to the Six Bells Pub, where we had dinner several times. The tree had been cut back reveling very gnarled limbs. There were tufts of leaves indicating new growth here an there.

Just Some Doodles Before I Go

2008-04-25T14:05:00.003-04:00

I thought I might get in one more post before I zip off to London. The other day I was waiting for my bride so I decided to work on some pen techniques. This first is the result of a scribble that morphed into the start of a face.This next is a preliminary drawing of a breast stroke swimmer - a project that has been bouncing about my mind of late. It needs work . . . but the concept is getting clearer.

Artomatic Preview

2008-04-24T14:40:00.005-04:00

These are previews of the five drawings I will be putting up at the Artorama this weekend.
A drawing of my Dad as he posed on his adobe brick making machine in Albuquerque, NM.
Arthur's Shoe Repair. Arthur retired last November and I have a feeling that this sign is not long for this world.

This is a crane (Duh..) it seems to be a dominant sight on the landscape these days.
This is a re-do of my RFK Camera Guy in my sketch book. Just before I went to Albuquerque I was at a Nationals baseball game and he caught me on camera and put my mug on the big screen - I made fan of the game!
This fountain in Albuquerque always intrigued me so I had to draw it. The big 'pots' are actually made of copper and I tried to find out what they are called - nobody knows! The best I could find was Bahri - so the title of this one is "Los Bahri" until I learn better.

Busy Making Art?

2008-04-23T07:45:00.003-04:00

The last day of the figure drawing class one of the other students declared that she was going to participate in Artomatic (see the link in sidebar) and wanted someone to share her space with her. Trinka (our enthusiastic instructor) talked me into participating with Ami. Soooo. I have been trying to get stuff ready while traveling to New Mexico and now having to dash off to London. So I will be trying to get some posts in before I leave and provide a preview of the work I will be putting up at Artomatic.

This drawing was the last one I did for the figure drawing class using the Nexus art pens and oatmeal speckletone paper.

A Figure Drawing Experiment

2008-04-08T08:24:00.003-04:00

I came across Cachet Earthbound sketch books from Daler-Rowney and am fascinated with the paper - oatmeal colored Speckletone. It really has an interesting feel and enhances figure drawing. I want to try some other things with it as well. Here I am using Nexus Art Pens (yellow-ocher, and light-sepia) from Koh-l-Noor and Conte pastel pencil for highlighting.

Back to Figure Drawing Class

2008-04-05T08:21:00.007-04:00

I tried something different in figure drawing class this time. I wanted something loose and maybe a little color. These were done with watercolor.

Small Works

2008-04-04T16:12:00.004-04:00

Every day before I would go to the hospital to visit my Dad I would stop by the local Cyber Cafe to check my email and catch up on work related stuff. One day I was inspired to make a quick sketch and all I had handy was a business card...so I did a quick sketch on the back side of the card.
That night I was at one of my favorite restaurants in Albuquerque and was inspired by the line of Tequila bottles on the bar back in front of me. So, once again I grabbed a business card and sketched a small drawing.

Hospital Equipment

2008-04-03T13:29:00.002-04:00

This sketch is done on a piece of parchment paper - you know, the paper you make certificates and diplomas on. I was using some new pens I cam across - the Nexus Art pen from Koh-l-Noor. They are pretty interesting... This was a CPAP machine in my Dads hospital room.

My How Time Slips By

2008-04-02T09:12:00.002-04:00

Just after my last post I rushed off to Albuquerque to visit my Dad. Somehow time has escaped me and I haven't posted in almost two months - I have been worse.

I do have some sketches I made on my trip to post today and some more drawings from my figure drawing class that I will post later.

This is an entry in my sketch journal on the flight to Albuquerque.

Figure Drawing - Second Week

2008-02-08T16:26:00.000-05:00

This weeks subject was more fun. We worked on foreshortening. Trinka had us exaggerating proportions to really get a feel for it.

Getting ready to go off to Albuquerque for a couple of weeks. If I get a chance to copy my class work this weekend I'll try to get it posted next week.

My First Life Drawing Course

2008-02-04T15:10:00.000-05:00

Day one was the basic sort of stuff trying to capture gestures and proportions. These are some sketchbook entries that I made before going to the first class. I was using photographs of baseball players as a reference. These type of sketches are described it the book "How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way."
The first day of class we did some really loose gestures and then tried to actually draw our live model.

I think our instructor has her work cut out for her in my case.

A Light in the Night

2008-01-31T07:41:00.000-05:00

Many of the Chesapeake Lighthouses are being renovated by private individuals and organizations. This is a sketch of one - only accessible by boat.

From My Travels a Standard Sketch

2008-01-29T16:53:00.001-05:00

Isn't this the same picture that every one sitting in an airline terminal draws?

Traveling Watercolor Moleskine

2008-01-28T08:13:00.001-05:00

I was traveling with my new watercolor moleskine and as many of us I had waiting time in the terminal. So out came the moleskine and this is what happened. I was struck by the bright yellow handsets on the telephone kiosk. They seemed to jump out at me - so I tried to capture some of that.

The style of my moleskine entries has been, I must confess, highly influenced by the marvelous posts on Karen Blados' Sketch Blog. Karen is a very talented and imaginative artist. Stop by and take a look at her site.

A Day Remembered in my Moleskine

2008-01-27T08:47:00.001-05:00

It was just a clogged drain...easy to fix..right? Well it turned into an all day project. One of those where each step you take you find two more thinks to fix.

Moleskine Records the Forgotten

2008-01-26T08:22:00.001-05:00

As we headed up the road from Florida we suddenly became aware that we had forgotten a couple of items. We keep saying that we should make a checklist for departure - who makes checklist!!

From my Old Molskine

2008-01-25T22:09:00.000-05:00

Visiting my relatives in Boca Raton, FL I sketched the view from the patio. I was amazed at the number of Cable lines radiating from this one pole.

More From My Molskine

2008-01-24T07:18:00.001-05:00

This was an entry after my external hard drive crashed. I was able to salvage most of the data but not all. It goes to show that even external backups to magnetic media are also subject to the same problems of internal hard drives.
The other page is another limp attempt at starting to be more active in journaling. That was a while back and it didn't last long.

What's in My Moleskine Cont'd

2008-01-23T07:51:00.001-05:00

This entry in my moleskine was an experiment with some colored pens. I didn't get the result I wanted but I had fun trying.

What's in My Moleskine

2008-01-22T08:23:00.000-05:00

Once again life had intervened in my postings. I have decided to put some posts up that recap 2007 and prove that I have still been sketching - even if I haven't posted much. Often I would just doodle in a spiral bound sketch book - and I do mean doodle meaningless scribbles. The next few posts will chronicle some entries into my moleskine.

These were some interesting bookcases - the stackable lawyer bookcases - I saw at a big antique flea market.

Wating Room Art

2007-08-22T08:42:00.002-04:00

I am getting ready to fly off to Albuquerque tomorrow and thought I might post a few waiting room sketches - I am sure I will have more waiting room art to add when I get back. This first sketch is one I did waiting for my bride at the doctors office. The plant is a small thing sitting on a plant stand table - and it is plastic!

This next one is done while waiting for my Jeep to be inspected at the Tire Shop. I think the next time I will try the tire rack - that should be interesting.

This drawing was done while waiting for my turn in the imaging machine during my last semi-annual stress test.

Back in a couple of weeks.

RFK Camera Guy WIP

2007-08-10T08:20:00.000-04:00

This is a drawing in progress of our favorite camera guy at RFK stadium. When we go to the Washington Nationals baseball games one of his assignments is to wander around the stadium and get the fans on camera. He does quite a job of getting the fans excited and cheering - especially if they think they will be on the big screen for a few seconds.

I said this is a work in progress because I got to this point and didn't know where to go next so I stopped. I might try printing out a few copies on watercolor paper and experiment with some color. Comments and suggestions appreciated.

Something Old and Something New

2007-08-04T08:39:00.000-04:00

The other day I was cleaning out some stuff in my office and came across this scratchboard project I did in high school. I thought I would post it for those interested in that media. As you can see it has aged - yellowed a bit and has cracked in a few places - need to take better care of it from now on.

Below is a drawing of Richard Serra, done from his photo in the Washington Post last week. They had an article on an exhibition at MoMA of his sculptures.

Cars Again

2007-08-02T13:22:00.000-04:00

As I mentioned in the beginning of my blog – eons ago – I used to like to draw cars. Most of these were from my imagination at the time. The other day I stumbled upon France Belleville's site 'Wagonized' via the Moleskinerie site. She has done some drawings of cars that I found really fascinating. Most are pen and ink with some watercolor or colored pencil added. I really like France’s technique so I thought I would give cars another try…and I can see that I will need to practice a lot!

We had a classic car show in town one Saturday night so I walked down to have a look. There were cars of all kinds . Restored classics and supped up hot-rods and customized cars. Here is a drawing of one of the many Cobras on display by the Cobra club.

Here is one you don't expect to see - a Studebaker with a supper charged engine!

Some detail studies of the Studebaker engine.
These were fun and as I said I need to do a lot more before I will be half as good as France. But the fun is in getting there.

Wow! How Long Has It Been?!?!

2007-08-01T14:25:00.000-04:00

It has been far to long since I last posted!! I have been floundering about and not really doing anything more than a few doodles and experiments. I have been trying to find my way in different media and have not really made any progress. Got more frustrated and confused the more I tried. So…I have decided to get back to the simple approach and use what I have the most experience with and maybe, in the future, add some experimentation.

Pen and ink have been my favorite media for many years and even that has caused some angst. I used to use rapidograph pens and have a good set of those today. I have tried the Pigma Micron pens as well as the new Prismacolor fine line markers and find them a little lacking in what ever it is I am seeking. They don’t always leave a constant line – sometimes looks faded. However, I have a tough time getting the values I want with the rapidograph pens – a great deal more practice needed I am sure.

In any case I have decided to post some of my doodling and noodling here in hopes that some helpful souls might have some suggestions or helpful ideas.

The next is a flower doodle that was just an experiment with the Prismacolor fine line markers in brown, sepia and black.

More Loudoun Landscapes

2007-01-31T09:37:00.000-05:00

Yet more landscapes from what used to be beautiful rolling hills and farmland. This land is soon to be covered with McMansions and concrete. Below is a serious jackhammer. I did this in pen and ink using a Rapidograph. I then added watercolor - not my best effort - I think I should have stuck with the pen and ink.

This is a study I did in pen and ink before the sketch above.

If You Build It They Will Come - In Droves

2007-01-25T14:10:00.000-05:00

These are a very familiar sight around my county, thanks to the corrupt county politicians. I think I will try to do a series of the construction equipment in use around our once sparsely populated county. This one was sort of fun as I am experimenting with watercolor on ink. So this was done with black India ink using a 00 Koh-i-Noor Rapidograph and colored with water colors from my home made water color set.

Traffic Lights

2007-01-24T08:33:00.000-05:00

Traffic lights - traffic lights! They're every where - they're everywhere! So I drew one.

When you really look at these they are quite interesting.

More Moleskine Suff

2007-01-14T08:12:00.000-05:00

Here are a few pages from my mole. Over the past year I have tried lots of different things to draw with and on. One of the tools I found was the Lamy Safari fountain pen. Several other folks have raved about this pen and I decided to give one a try (since they are not expensive). I really like the feel of the pen. It is light and comfortable - it also comes in several colors and nib sizes. I tend to like an extra fine nib but wanted to try a medium and broad as well. So I got one of each. I found that the EF nib was not as fine as my Rotring EF pens (Artpen and fountain) and that all the pens EF, M, and B tended to scratch or drag on the paper. With my Rotring the writing and drawing is very smooth no mater how I hold the pen. I can even use the nib upside down and get a really fine line. With the Lamy if I try that the pen skips or doesn't have any ink flow at all. I do use the Lamy a lot though so I tried to hone the nib a little using the stone and leather strop that came with the Rotring caligraphy set I got my wife for Christmas a year ago. It helped some - will give it another go to see if I can get rid of some more of the drag because it is a pretty reliable and comfortable pen.

Pretty soon it will be time start my chili pepper seedlings for this years crop of peppers. This mole entry is a sketch of last years batch.

I saw a couple of plan perspective drawings done in a molekine a couple of months ago and thought I might try a Danny Gregory exercise and draw the floor plan of the appartment I lived in in Key West many years ago.

Last June our 19 year old cat, Emma, passed away. In September we found two new kittens at the local shelter and brought them home. This is one of their faovirite play grounds - the rest of the house is also their playground.

I got interested in watercolor pencils and picked up a few to experiment with. I did a couple test patches in my mole to see what they looked like. These pages had been pre-treated with a thin coat of white absorbent ground. I am waiting on a copy of Cathy Johnson's book 'Watercolor Pencil Magic' to see what nifty things she can teach me about these.

Traveling Moleskine

2006-12-29T09:12:00.000-05:00

My Moleskine is always with me - even if I don't often make an entry. I thought I might add a couple of the pages from my old and tattered Mole. This was at one of last seasons Nationals games.I am on the road a lot and I thought I would include this on of my breakfast. I also made a promise to make more marks in my Mole - something I have yet to follow through with.

This is another road trip. I usually wake up to Robin & Company on CNN Headline News. Must appologize for the likeness of Robin - it doesn't do her justice.

I have been experimenting with watercolor in my Mole and have found that I get the best results when I prepare the page with an absorbent ground. I use a thin coating and it seems to allow the watercolor to brush on evenly instead of beading up the way it does on plain Mole sketchbook pages. I will be trying out the new watercolor moleskine next.

Freehand Sketching Book Review

2006-12-27T08:18:00.000-05:00

One of the books that I have recently found very usefull and would highly recomnend to anyone interested in learning freehand pen and ink drawing. The book is Freehand Sketching: An Introduction by Paul Lasaeu. He has a very good step by step approach.

I did some of the exercises in his book and tried soem of them in my small sketch book to see if I could mimic his style a little.

This is one of the first, using a still life arangement. I copied this from his book.

Next he did a simple landskape example step by step and this is my mini attempt at that exercise.

Those were followed by a slightly more complex landscape in the same fashion.

These are some of my own attempts with a little bit of color added.

A house I have always thought would be great...Overlooking the ocean with a wrap around porch.

I am amazed at how well this little Strathmore sketch book holds up to watercolor - maybe I have figured out the right amount of water to use and have become a bit more patient.

Small Steps

2006-12-24T09:27:00.000-05:00

I usually carry a small (3.5”x5”) sketchbook with me most of the time (either my Moleskine or a Strathmore). Some times I manage a presentable sketch, but most times I end up just doodling a bunch of thoughts. I am on the road a lot so my sketches/doodles tend to be of my hotel room or if I have time to get out and about some of the things in the area. Usually I am beat by the end of the day and don’t do much but crash in my room. I can relate to the “Block Problem” many of us experience and that often prevents me from doing any drawing.

These are some of the sketches from my little sketchbook.

<- Cafe Umbrellas

Window and Bird Doodle ->

One of my goals is to learn to use watercolor with my pen and ink sketches. In search of helpful examplesand guidance I came across the book “Work Small, Learn Big!” that showcases 17 different artists and their sketching and painting techniques. Great book! I really enjoyed the articles about each of the artists especially Don Getz, Tony Couch, Janice Donelson, Dave Beckett, and Gerald Brommer - and all the rest really.

A lighthouse sketch of a Tony Couch illustration. ->

I have not had the opportunity to take any classes in watercolor so I have been experimenting a lot and reading books. The first and one of the most helpful has been Kate’s (Cathy Johnson) First Step Series book “Painting Watercolors”. Kate’s book helped me understand some of the little details about watercolors and how to use them – I still keep coming back to her book a lot.

Another book I really enjoy and find it really inspires me is John Lovett's book “Watercolor For The Fun Of It: Getting Started”. He has a very exciting palette and an interesting approach to watercolor. A couple of my small attempts at his examples:

My How Time Flies

2006-12-22T08:26:00.000-05:00

It has been far too long since my last post. I have been busy, as usual, but also lazy. I have also been sort of searching for what it is I am looking for in my sketching. I first thought I wanted to recapture the passion for drawing of my youth. However that was a different time and in some ways a different person. So I floundered about, reading books, exploring the art of many others and even looking back into my photography past. I tried getting interested in fast sketching with pencil and it was fun – sort of. I tried to work with water colors but I need serious help there. I was going to take a course in nature studies using colored pencils through the Smithsonian – but the class canceled at the last minute because there weren’t enough participants. I keep coming back to my pen and ink as a foundation. My biggest problem is that I seem to get really mired in details. My drawings get overloaded with detail. Maybe I should try a fatter pen to keep me from getting to much detail. Even though I have waded around in the sea of uncertain direction I have managed to sketch from time to time. It would seem that the urge to draw would never coincide with the time needed – life gets in the way.
During a visit to our home in CB last summer I managed to get out a couple of sketches. This one a quick ink sketch of a coffee shop and the other of a small tugboat in the marina.
The first sketch of the tugboat was a quick pencil sketch.
I liked the boat enough that I did an ink version.

I am looking forward to the holidays as time to catch up on this past year and maybe get back into the routine of posting more of my thoughts and sketches.

More Pen Brush Play

2006-06-09T16:05:00.000-04:00

Playing w ith my brush pens again. I tried some experiments to see what I could do with them. I can see that brush pens can give lines lots of expression. The more I play the more I discover.

The first is the old apple core study...

then I tried my keys...

and then a face.

It still reminds me of comic book drawings. But there is something interesting about the process and the finished product.

Exploring Body Parts

2006-05-29T08:55:00.000-04:00

Life, once again, gets in the way. I have had little time to draw of late and what time I had was short. So, if you don’t have time to draw the whole figure, then draw an interesting part of it. I was doodling around and was experimenting with various body parts.

Mostly in graphite but I also experimented with my Pitt Artist Pens – I bought a set of the Gray shades a while back and hadn't really done much with them.

The reference for some of these was Bridgmans Complete Guide to Drawing from Life - hence the muscular appearance.

Ladybug, Ladybug Fly Away Home

2006-05-23T21:25:00.000-04:00

I am not a real fan of digital cameras, at least not for serious photographic work. There are serious archival problems with digital that have not been addressed by any of the technologies in place to date. That's not to say that digital cameras are not useful - I do have one that I use a lot for quick reference photos. But for real serious photos I still rely on my film cameras. But, I digress from my intended purpose for this post.

The other day I was waiting for my lovely bride, enjoying the sunny afternoon when a tiny ladybug landed on the knee of my blue jeans. I decided to experiment with the macro mode of my little digital camera. It was touch and go, there, because the sun was quite bright and it was difficult to see the image on the view screen. The macro mode also requires a very steady hand or a tripod – since I didn’t have a tripod handy and if I did it would have been awkward to try and set it up to take a picture of my knee. So, it was to be a hand held operation. Several tries later and coaxing the poor ladybug to stay put I managed to get one sharp image.

For those interested the camera is a Canon PowerShot SD400 5mega pixel model. It has a macro mode and a 3x optical zoom and 12x digital zoom. It is a very small and compact camera – probably the main reason I bought it. I am happy with it for what I use it for.

Playing in the Pitt

2006-04-25T11:35:00.000-04:00

The other day I picked up a Pitt Aritst Pen (brush nib) and played with it a little. I also picked up a Pigma Brush as well. I had fun with them both and can see it will take a little practice to get the results I want all the time. The Pigma is a little narower than the Pitt but the flexibility is about the same. The Pigma comes in lots of colors as does the Pitt. I had a hard time finding individual pens - instead of sets - of the Pitt pens in art stores. I finally found the black ones at Office Depot! After you get used to them they really provide a lot of expression in pen and ink line. They remind me of comic book illustrations.

Some Metro Art and More From the Margins

2006-04-13T09:39:00.000-04:00

Last week was a very intense week. I attended a seminar on Simulation Modeling and Analysis – read heavy on statistics. To avoid the traffic and parking I rode the Metro (subway) to and from the sessions. I decided to take advantage of the opportunity to do a little sketching. The ride is not very long so I decided to try sketching heads to start with. I did a couple on each trip in. On the trip out it was to crowded to try and draw – there are lots of stops so trying to draw standing up is near impossible – need an extra hand to hold on to a support.

The seminar was really good – but even a good seminar will have some slow moments. So, as the math began to get deeper than I needed I doodled in the margins of my notes. Well, there was five days of this and I tend to doodle a lot. I used my fountain pen for almost all of these doodles.

My first couple of days I tried heads, as I mentioned, a couple were good and others dismal. I still find myself noodling with the image and trying to put more detail than I need, in my opinion. I am trying to improve my sketching speed! But, as Dave Rankin would say I tend to draw rather than sketch.

I thought I would try my hand at hands one morning and that was not so good. I really got wrapped around the details and lost the image I was after. The fact that some people move their hands around a lot made it difficult as well. So, I need to really concentrate on speed – to capture the shape that caught my eye and worry about the detail later.

After my questionable effort to capture hands I thought I would try one of the EDM challenges – to draw a mouth. This was particularly interesting and I really had fun with this. It is extremely enlightening when you begin studying the mouths of those around you. The amazing range of subtle and dramatic differences could fuel drawings for a very long time.

In spite of all the marginal art I really did get a great deal out of the seminar. I expect that I will be applying many of the concepts presented in the very near future.

On the Fourth Day of Class...

2006-03-29T16:50:00.000-05:00

On our fourth day of Beginning Drawing our instructor had us playing with watercolors. I made some valiant efforts to follow instructions and just throw some paint on the paper and see what happens to it – when it is wet and when it is dry. When I did all that I ended up with what looked like a gray mess with puddles of watercolor all over. So I used a wad of paper towel to lot some of it up. Wow! The gray went away and I had some really bright colors left. I let it dry for a while and added some more colors using another wad of paper towel to dab it around . Fascinating! And Fun.

Then I experimented with some masking fluid. Sort of drew a tree shape with it. Then I put down a wash that didn’t really go down as planned but I left it to dry. Then I peeled of the mask and added some color to my tree. It is a bit…uh…different but interesting.

Barstool Doodles

2006-03-25T07:53:00.000-05:00

On my last trip to the North I decided to stay at a Holiday Inn that has a Pub. Of course I went to the Pub for dinner and decided to sit at the bar. While I waited for my meal to arrive I decided to doodle away at the bottles on the bar back counter. So, I whipped out my little 3”x5” sketch book and began. First, using pencil on a couple and then one in pen and ink.

Of course this is drawing in a very public place and since I was sitting next to the waitress station I was observed during my efforts. Even though I only had one person comment on my doodling. It was fun and I think if I practice some of Dave Rankin's techniques I could really develop a collection of people. As always - practice - practice - practice.

I used a 9B pencil for the pencil sketches and did not erase anything. When my drawing instructor saw them she said I should just use pen and ink since I don't erase anything.

I used a brown Pigma Micron 005 pen for the sketch below. It was an experiment with the scribble style of crosshatching.

I even made an attempt at capturing the likeness of one of the waitresses as she made trips to the service bar for here orders. Not as quick a sketch as I would have liked but it was a step in the direction of improvement.

"Fast Sketching Techniques" Reviewed

2006-03-22T19:53:00.000-05:00

“Fast Sketching Techniques” David Rankin has clearly mastered the art of fast sketching and he presents his approach to this skill in a very easy to follow and interesting book. In his book he describes very affective ways to increase sketching speed as well as improving observation and recognition skills. He presents an approach and provides exercises to hone these skills, describing the tools and techniques required. I, a novice, found the book enlightening and inspiring. I felt the book provided an approach using pencil sketching that I could also apply to other media, like pen and ink or charcoal. Improving recognition skills using David’s exercises would improve sketching, drawing and painting techniques. It is a book well worth having.

Tribute to Emma

2006-03-20T21:44:00.000-05:00

I thought I should post a tribute to Emma, our cat. She will be 19 in a couple of months, if she survives. Three years ago she was diagnosed with kidney failure and the our veterinarian said that she would only live 3 months unless we hydrated her subcutaneously each day, in which case she might last 6 months. We tried the hydration but it only made her life miserable. We decided to forgo the hydration for more quality time with Emma. We began mixing pumpkin pie filling with her canned cat food – a suggestion by our vet. It has made a difference – she is still here. About a month ago our vet came by the house and examined Emma and decided that she had suffered a minor stroke and was rendered blind. The vet said that she felt that Emma was on her last leg and would probably pass within the next four months. Of course the vet did qualify that by saying that this was Emma and she didn’t always do what was expected. Well, Emma is still here and aside from bumping into things from time to time she is getting along quite well. She will leave a very large hole in our lives when she finally does pass, so we intend to enjoy her as long as we have her. Below are a few sketches and experiments of Emma’s likeness.

A little watercolor and pen and ink experiments. More to come, if Emma will sit still long enough!

Getting a Little Class

2006-03-17T07:41:00.000-05:00

As I mentioned I am taking a beginning drawing class at the Smithsonian. My instructor is Trinka Margua Simon, and she is excellent. The class is 8 weeks, meeting once a week, and each week deals with some aspect of drawing and each week uses a different medium. Week one was learning to see flat and place objects on our work surface in the same relative location and size that we see them. The medium was pencil. The technique was to place three of the still life objects at the most extreme positions of our vision at the very edges of our paper – did I say this is a large piece of paper? – and then add additional objects in between. We were told to measure and take care in placement and sizing of the objects. This is my result.

After the exercise Trinka told us that we would never use those techniques again. These were very technical approaches to puting objects in our drawings that would probably never fit our vision.

The next week, day 2, of the class we worked with Charcoal. I have not worked with Charcoal before so this was going to be new and wondrous. This weeks topic was volume. Learning to give shapes in our drawings a three dimensional appearance. I learned a great deal about Charcoal in the short 2 and a half hours we had. I definitely have a greater understanding and appreciation for the medium. I found out that you can only put so much Charcoal on the paper and then it will just fall off. I also found out that the harder Charcoals will produce richer blacks but is more permanent – can’t be erased. I had always envisioned working with Charcoal as being very messy. It is, sort of. It is a lot easier to clean up than I would have thought. Anyway, this is my first Charcoal effort.

As you can see I managed to leave a lot of finger prints - I'll have to clean that up.

Back to the Waterfront

2006-03-16T07:48:00.000-05:00

I really like the waterfront, no matter where it is. It could be in a small coastal village or a large thriving metropolis on a river – on a lake – on the ocean. Must be all those years I spent in the Navy. So, this small town of Colonial Beach on the Potomac River has several interesting marinas, including some boat repair facilities that I find fascinating. This drawing is of one of the towns fire boats. It is another of my detail riddled pen and ink drawings that I intend to add color to eventually. Hopefully the color will hide the ink smear.

I have begun experimenting with some fast sketching based upon some of David Rankin's exercises from his book "Fast Sketching Techniques." I will be posting those as I get them scanned and time to get on the web.

Where am I? Where have I been? Where am I going?

2006-03-15T17:03:00.000-05:00

I have been very lazy about getting new posts up - it has been, what, more than two months since my last post! I have no good excuse for this absence. But, I'm here and I'm going to be posting a bunch of stuff over the next couple of days.

I have been trying to keep up with most of my favorite EDM Blogs but there are getting to be so many that I like!!

I started a beginning drawing class at the Smithsonian and its been really fun. I have played with charcoal, soft pastels, watercolor and the usual pencil/graphite mediums. I have had to work on some really large paper – 18”x24” – that I haven’t done in a long time. That can be really scary trying to fill up a blank space that big. I still have about three more classes – the class meets once a week and that doesn’t seem like often enough. I think I might look into some local classes – the Smithsonian is about 45mi. away and the parking can be a real bear and the metro takes twice as long to get there ( I should consider that an opportunity to sketch in public – huh).

Anyway, this post is to say that I am still alive and promise to be more active in my Blog postings.

For now I will sign off and get busy with my scanner and see you all tomorrow.

Sigh. . . Time to Take Down the Decorations

2006-01-08T13:28:00.000-05:00

It's that time again. Time to take down the Christmas decorations and put them away for another year. I sat having my coffee and realized that I had not skecthed any of the decorations for EDM # 46 so I grabbed my moleskine and my artpen and went to work.

After I finished taking all the decorations down and sat recovering from the effort I started to add in some color. I am pleased with the result because it brings back the beauty of our Christmas each time I look at it.

Quick Sketch . . .

2006-01-08T13:23:00.000-05:00

Well, depending on the size of your gas tank you might have time to whip out the ol' moleskine and skecth the gas pump while it pumps away. I tried and got this far.

Would like to have put in a little more detail but didn't have time. Should do this more often and maybe draw someone pumping gas the next time.

Key West Daydreamin’

2006-01-03T08:40:00.000-05:00

One of my favorite towns to live in is Key West, FL. I lived there for a few years in the late ‘70s. I lived in an old house on Duvall St. and used to sit in my hammock on my balcony and watch the tourists walk by. I decided to sketch one of the buildings I used to see on my daily bicycle rides around the town. I used a photograph from a book by a friend of mine - 'Portraits: Wooden Houses of Key West' by Sharon Wells & Lawson Little. Lawson taught me a great deal about photography in those days.

This building is sort of off the beaten path on what is called Solaris Hill – hills are a joke in KW because the highest point in KW is about 21’ above sea level – down near the shrimp boat docs. It is a bar, when it is open for business. It changes ownership almost as often as the weather changes.

Colors, Colors, more Colors

2005-12-30T14:08:00.000-05:00

Well, I have been playing with my new watercolors. My wife gave me a set of Dr. Ph Martin's liquid watercolors so I have been experimenting.
Here is a colorization of two of my previous posts. I colorized my books sketch and the one of our rockingchair.
While these were fun I can tell I really need a lot of practice. Hmmm...guess I had better get busy and draw more sketches.

Cracking the books EMC #27

2005-12-30T08:34:00.000-05:00

Well, taking a break from work I decided to skecth the pile of books on my other desk.Pen and ink over a pencil reference. I haven't had much oportunity to sketch much the last couple of weeks. I guess I'll have to learn some fast skecting techniques to take advantage of the 2 or 3 minute oportunities that pop up from time to time.

EMC #30

2005-12-21T14:35:00.000-05:00

Well, Danny said draw a chair. EMC challenge #30 is to draw a chair. So, I did. It started out as a BC but my dog (yeah, I know) got in the way so I peeked to finish it off. I used my fountain pen with black Noodlers ink. This one I will color. I have printed a couple of scanned sketches on watercolor paper to experiment with.

Stop and Shoot the Cadillacs

2005-12-21T08:50:00.000-05:00

I just received my copy of Danny’s new book and, of course, immediately began reading it. As I read I recalled an experience from my youth that seemed quite relevant .

Years ago while I was a young lad in the Navy, I used to travel home to visit my parents from time to time. I would usually drive even though it was quite a distance – about 1400 miles across the southern states on interstate highways 10 and 40. I would head west from my duty station in whatever car I owned at the time and drive straight through to my parents’ home in Albuquerque. This trip usually took about 23 – 24 hours (I was young, what can I say?). I was quite interested in photography at the time and had picked up a copy of Zoom magazine before one particular trip. I was perusing this issue during my visit and came across an article with photos of the infamous Cadillacs, forged between 1949 and 1963, half buried in a pasture in Texas (check out Cadillac Ranch for the rest of the story). I showed the photos to my Dad and mentioned that I would like to see them one day. He chuckled and told me that I drive right past them every time I come out for a visit. It seems that they are in a pasture right beside I-40 just outside of Amarillo. I was, needless to say, astounded that I had not noticed them before. I kept a sharp eye out for them on my way back and drove a bit slower as well. Sure enough there they were – 10 Cadillacs buried nose down in a row in the pasture on the south side of I-40. Since there wasn’t a fence or a ditch between I-40 and the frontage road I pulled right off without waiting for the next exit. I took my own pictures of these icons and vowed to pay more attention to the world as I passed through. I do pretty well now and then but as often as not I find myself concentrating on the destination and not really noticing the passing scenery.

One of the photos I took of the Cadillacs of Cadillac Ranch.

Finally some challenges to post!

2005-12-08T08:38:00.000-05:00

EMC #13

I found a few moments at my desk to make a sketch and spied my cell phone. So I sketched away. As I sketched I thought the phone looked lonely so I added my Ipod, Rotring Art Pen, an eraser, and the cap to my fountain pen. I added some watercolor crayon to the pen and ink sketch and background added in Paint Shop Pro.

EMC #44

As I relaxed in our family room I was inspired by one of our dogs, Gabby, lounging on her bed. Gabby is a black standard poodle and she is laying on a dark blue pillow-bed. I really wanted this to be a very loose sketch just to catch her relaxed pose.
EMC #1

A shoe! It's a shoe! Really it is!

Marginal Art

2005-12-07T08:07:00.000-05:00

I have been neglectful of late and haven’t posted in quite a while. I have managed to get in some sketches and will try to get them posted soon.

It seems that life has a way of getting in the way – and before you realize what is happening it has taken control. I do a lot of traveling by car – can’t sketch then - and spend a lot of time in meetings or pounding away at the keyboard of my computer trying to meet some last minute requirement or fix some glitch – can’t sketch then either. I have managed to do some doodling during some of the meetings. My doodles started as a couple of scratches in the margins of my notes, and then became recognizable objects. Since this seems to be a potentially rich opportunity for drawing time I think I will try to take advantage of it every chance I get. Here is my first installment of ‘Marginal Art’ and I will periodically post new stuff.

A Waterfront Sketch

2005-11-14T16:17:00.000-05:00

An early morning skecth of a local charter boat down at the beach. Pen and ink on water color paper...thinking about adding some color to this but am a bit hesitant. Need more practice with colors so I guess I'll give it a try later this week.

Land of Enchantment

2005-11-11T16:00:00.000-05:00

I have just returned from a week in New Mexico. I was out visiting my Dad for his birthday getting a little time away from work at the same time.

I hoped to get some time to sketch and was rewarded. I did manage a few sketches, including on the plane on the way out. I was doodling in my moleskine using a .03mm mechanical pencil. I used it much like a technical pen, trying not to erase anything.

I was doodling eyes – animal eyes (EDM #33), cartoon eyes and human eyes then started doodling hands and then sort of launched into a drawing of my hand (EDM #10) holding the pencil.

This hand I drew when I was in high school – many years ago.

While I was in Albuquerque I drew a couple of sketches at my Dad’s place – on of his fireplace. . .
And one of the exterior. These were done with pen and ink and I played with some watercolor crayons on the exterior sketch.

Then I went back to doodling some pencil and pen and ink of motorcycle parts. . .
In a younger lifetime I had several motorcycles and I still enjoy the mechanical details of all that power crammed into such a small package (relatively speaking). Some of the new “Choppers” are quite creative. I will have to see if I can capture some of the ones parked out side “Paynes Biker Bar” down town.

Practice! More Practice!

2005-10-31T08:19:00.000-05:00

Try as I may I cannot seem to get enough practice but I have managed a few sketches this last week. But first I will put up one from last month that I didn't get scanned until last week.

While I was in florida I walked past a building that cought my eye. The thought of a 24 hour dentist was intreaging enough but the sign below made it laughable.

As I sit in my office in the morning I am watched by a small wooden sculpture that my son gave me upon his return from vacation in Mexico. I quickly drew this sketch of it in my Moleskine.

the sketch on the other side is one of those portable backgrounds used for taking ID photos. As I waited to get yet another ID card I decided to sketch it. I experimented with using Prismacolor Art Markers. I was surprised to see how much it blead through the page...won't us them in my Moleskine again. I originally got the Prismacolor markers for coloring some of my wood turnings because they do penetrate..guess I should have expected the penetration of the Molskine page.

This weekend I went down town to try my hand at sketching some of the old buildings in town. I'm not really satisfied with my results. The sketch might have been better left uncolored. I put to much detail in for a wash - I need to work on that alot. I also need to work on my color mixing - cannot seem to get the colors I want.

I still seem to be trying to put lots of details into a drawing - I need to try to simplify the sketching. I guess the need for detail is a carry over from past times, for example:

EDM #32. This is a sketch of a race car engine - made from a photograph as reference. Does this count as something metal?

Catching up a little

2005-10-21T16:03:00.000-04:00

I have finally scanned some of the sketches I did last month on a trip to Orlando, FL. These were my first sketches in many years...so I will also include a couple flash backs as well. The first is a quick ink sketch I drew while waiting for a colleague to join me for breakfast. I was sitting in the atrium of the hotel and I looked up to see 14 floors of balconies that facinated me...

I drew this in my Moleskine sketch book and added some watercolor afterwards. I was trying to capture a wash like affect sort of like this sketch I did in highschool...

Another sketch here of the stopwatch on the table in the restaurant where we had lunch...

Again this was done in my Moleskine adding watercolor afterwards...

Right now I have just returned from a few days down at the Folly (what we affectionately call our weekend/retirement place). It is located in a small town on the Potomac River. It has been pretty well forgotten for the last 50 years. I had a little time to sketch and decided to try one of the EDM(#3) chalenges to draw a wallet, purse, or bag.

Later this weekend I will try to get some of the other sketches posted as well.

In the beginning. . .

2005-10-06T20:17:00.000-04:00

It all began in highschool...being a student with more potential than motivation I became bored with many of my classes and began doodling to pass the time. Doodling became drawing. I can't say my subject matter was especially significant, it had adolecent leanings. It was the 60's and many young boys were enamored with the creations of Big Daddy Ross and others, and I guess I was no different. I liked to draw car caracatures and strange looking characters. After some time I decided to take some art classes and learn to draw for real.

Here are a few examples of my earliest works:

Hot rods were a favorite of mine...

Then there were some strange creatures and hot rods...

Then came art class and I left those adolecent sketches behind...

Many of the earlier drawings were pencil and ball point pen... and later I discovered Rapidograph pens.

By the end of highschool I had aspirations of becoming a commercial artist. But these are images from my distant past and I have not drawn much since. Alas, I followed a different path and did not continue to draw, instead I turned to photography (as a hobby).

In future posts I will be posting new attempts to return to drawing and sketching. With ocassional flash backs to the distant past.