One of my brothers got me a bag of delicious whole bean coffee from Honduras, roasted by a local outfit - Stumptown Coffee. Stumptown is great - their roasting machine is right out there for you to see, and they don't burn the beans like Starbucks does!
I wanted to try out my new watercolor pencils, so I sketched the coffee before it got cold and tried to add a few more elements as an experiment in composition.
My color vision is a bit lacking, but good enough that I can manage simple tinting of a pen drawing. I still plan to work hard on black and white drawings in pen and pencil, but these diversions into color are really fun too.
Thursday, December 25, 2008
20081225 - Derwent Watercolor Pencils
I got lots of art supplies for Christmas this year - now I just need to actually spend time using them!
I got a set of 12 Derwent Watercolor Pencils. They're really nice - you just roughly color in the areas you want to color, then go over them lightly with a wet brush and it comes out looking like a watercolor. You can do blending as well, although I haven't tried that out yet.
I did this in a Moleskine Watercolor notebook - another Christmas present. It takes a wash well, which apparently a regular Moleskine sketchbook won't.
Anyway, I think I'll still be working in black and white, with pen and pencil, but I'll do some color pieces in this notebook as well. Fun stuff!
I got a set of 12 Derwent Watercolor Pencils. They're really nice - you just roughly color in the areas you want to color, then go over them lightly with a wet brush and it comes out looking like a watercolor. You can do blending as well, although I haven't tried that out yet.
I did this in a Moleskine Watercolor notebook - another Christmas present. It takes a wash well, which apparently a regular Moleskine sketchbook won't.
Anyway, I think I'll still be working in black and white, with pen and pencil, but I'll do some color pieces in this notebook as well. Fun stuff!
Saturday, December 20, 2008
20081120 - Vacuum Tube
I was sorting out a lot of old junk I've accumulated over the years and I found this vacuum tube I picked up in Akihabara.
The store that sold them was in a narrow side alley along with a bunch of other odd shops. They sold nothing but vacuum tubes and the old bakelite radios that required them.
The store that sold them was in a narrow side alley along with a bunch of other odd shops. They sold nothing but vacuum tubes and the old bakelite radios that required them.
Thursday, December 18, 2008
20081217 - Dum Dum Dummies
I find myself drawing the oddest things of late. Much of my weekdays are divided between work and home, with little time for trips to the museum or historic buildings. I'm still making a point to draw something every day, or close to it, even if it's only for 15 minutes. This leads to some rather odd subject matter, hence today's subject.
I don't eat a lot of candy, Dum Dum lollipops included, but every time I see one of these I remember buying these at the store when I was a kid. There were a bunch of flavors, but the one that stuck out at me - and the one I only managed to find once - was "Dum Dum Dummy". Instead of little pictures of fruit or root beer barrels or something the wrapper had a little guy with a dunce cap on.
I think I got one once and thought it was the most awesome thing in the world. Of course, I was a kid. Actually, it says something that I would probably still think it was the awesomest thing in the world if I got one today.
That is not going to happen any time soon, though. I always pick furtively through the jar at the restaurant, but I've never managed to find one. I suspect the "Dummy" was discontinued, changed to the "Mystery Flavor" in the interests of political correctness. At least that's the story I'll tell myself for now.
The wierdest thing is, although I can remember what the wrapper looked like, I can't remember how it tasted. Memory is a funny thing.
I don't eat a lot of candy, Dum Dum lollipops included, but every time I see one of these I remember buying these at the store when I was a kid. There were a bunch of flavors, but the one that stuck out at me - and the one I only managed to find once - was "Dum Dum Dummy". Instead of little pictures of fruit or root beer barrels or something the wrapper had a little guy with a dunce cap on.
I think I got one once and thought it was the most awesome thing in the world. Of course, I was a kid. Actually, it says something that I would probably still think it was the awesomest thing in the world if I got one today.
That is not going to happen any time soon, though. I always pick furtively through the jar at the restaurant, but I've never managed to find one. I suspect the "Dummy" was discontinued, changed to the "Mystery Flavor" in the interests of political correctness. At least that's the story I'll tell myself for now.
The wierdest thing is, although I can remember what the wrapper looked like, I can't remember how it tasted. Memory is a funny thing.
Sunday, December 14, 2008
20081214 - Missive from Arctica
We were snowed in today with nothing to do and nowhere to go. My daughter and I started making collages, and I got a little overenthusiastic with the materials at hand.
I'm a big fan of Nick Bantock, who manufactures postcards, maps, and travel documents from totally fictional places, and I definitely had him in mind when I made this.
I'm going to stay focused on actually drawing things going forward, but this was a fun diversion on a cold and snowy day.
I'm a big fan of Nick Bantock, who manufactures postcards, maps, and travel documents from totally fictional places, and I definitely had him in mind when I made this.
I'm going to stay focused on actually drawing things going forward, but this was a fun diversion on a cold and snowy day.
20081214 - The Proof is in the Pudding
A friend gave me this for Christmas last year. The expiration date was only a month away, so we had it for desert tonight.
This particular one came in a can, which you dump without opening into boiling water for half an hour.
Despite the name - a source of endless amusement for Americans - it's quite good. It's basically a dense sponge cake with raisins in it - a classic English pudding.
This particular one came in a can, which you dump without opening into boiling water for half an hour.
Despite the name - a source of endless amusement for Americans - it's quite good. It's basically a dense sponge cake with raisins in it - a classic English pudding.
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Oriflamme of Doodles
I seem to have caught the doodle bug. I was trying to read a book but my mind kept wandering and dwelling on textures. Finally I gave up on reading and played around with my Parker fountain pen for a bit, trying out different textures on this oriflamme banner thingie.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
20081210 - Figure Drawing
Last figure drawing studio of the year, and quite possibly the last one for me for a while assuming my free weeknight gets devoted to a formal drawing course from January on.
Over 4 sessions we did four really different models - curvy and reubenesque, thin to the point of being birdlike, an older woman, and now a very conventionally beautiful (what does that mean, anyway?) woman.
She did some very dynamic poses for the gesture drawing portion - everyone was really impressed. The drawing above is from a more conventional long standing pose, though.
I'd like my lines to be cleaner, and more accurate from the get-go, but I'm trying to work without an underdrawing, and practicing restating lines. I guess it has a kind of rough charm (to me anyway), although I'd like to move into more finished stuff. Hopefully the drawing class will help with that.
Over 4 sessions we did four really different models - curvy and reubenesque, thin to the point of being birdlike, an older woman, and now a very conventionally beautiful (what does that mean, anyway?) woman.
She did some very dynamic poses for the gesture drawing portion - everyone was really impressed. The drawing above is from a more conventional long standing pose, though.
I'd like my lines to be cleaner, and more accurate from the get-go, but I'm trying to work without an underdrawing, and practicing restating lines. I guess it has a kind of rough charm (to me anyway), although I'd like to move into more finished stuff. Hopefully the drawing class will help with that.
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Community in Flickr
Before I started drawing I never really got much out of Flickr. Mostly I just used it to post vacation photos. I'd occasionally comment on a friend's photo, add a couple of my photos to different groups when invited, and left it at that.
Now, though, I'm really enjoying the Web 2.0 aspects of it a lot more. I've joined a few sketchbook and journal related groups, I submit stuff fairly regularly, and I comment on drawings that jump out at me. Sometimes I'm curious how the artist did the drawing they did and I ask, other times I'll just give a shout out when I see something I like. Twice now I've had artists answer back on the techniques they used for their pieces, which has been really informational.
People have started to fave and tag some of my stuff too, which is nice. I'm mostly doing this for myself, but part of art is getting things out there and letting other people see it. So, even if I'm doing this for myself, knowing that people are watching with interest is an added bonus.
Anyway, I'm really liking this new dimension Flickr has taken on for me lately.
Now, though, I'm really enjoying the Web 2.0 aspects of it a lot more. I've joined a few sketchbook and journal related groups, I submit stuff fairly regularly, and I comment on drawings that jump out at me. Sometimes I'm curious how the artist did the drawing they did and I ask, other times I'll just give a shout out when I see something I like. Twice now I've had artists answer back on the techniques they used for their pieces, which has been really informational.
People have started to fave and tag some of my stuff too, which is nice. I'm mostly doing this for myself, but part of art is getting things out there and letting other people see it. So, even if I'm doing this for myself, knowing that people are watching with interest is an added bonus.
Anyway, I'm really liking this new dimension Flickr has taken on for me lately.
20081209 - Air Mail
Playing with perspective and hatching today and drawing my newest acquisition, an Air Mail stamp. Woohoo!
I bought it because I send a fair amount of mail overseas - to friends, for Postcrossing, and hopefully someday for mail art - and because I like stamps :P
It's odd - it's just a stamp, but it suggests almost as many possibilities as an airline ticket...
Almost ;)
I bought it because I send a fair amount of mail overseas - to friends, for Postcrossing, and hopefully someday for mail art - and because I like stamps :P
It's odd - it's just a stamp, but it suggests almost as many possibilities as an airline ticket...
Almost ;)
Friday, December 5, 2008
The Six Phrases Every Traveller Should Know
The Six Phrases Every Traveller Should Know: (from a thread on Story Games)
1. I would like a room for the night.
2. A feral cat has bitten my penis.
3. You gangsters are all stupid weaklings!
4. My primary interest is hard drugs but what have you got?
5. I need an axe handle, three bibles and a Fabergé egg.
6. I am a United States senator; your rules don’t apply.
Number 5 sounds like a movie plot in the making. I love it!
Jason Morningstar is making a book of lists to give his friends for Christmas, and he's having these translated into as many languages as he can.
Any SCAdians out there want to try translating these into Middle English or Latin?
1. I would like a room for the night.
2. A feral cat has bitten my penis.
3. You gangsters are all stupid weaklings!
4. My primary interest is hard drugs but what have you got?
5. I need an axe handle, three bibles and a Fabergé egg.
6. I am a United States senator; your rules don’t apply.
Number 5 sounds like a movie plot in the making. I love it!
Jason Morningstar is making a book of lists to give his friends for Christmas, and he's having these translated into as many languages as he can.
Any SCAdians out there want to try translating these into Middle English or Latin?
Monday, December 1, 2008
Shadow Stamp
I took a day off drawing today, but I really wanted to make something so I tried something I've been wanting to do - I carved my own rubber stamp.
The art supply store was giving away rubber erasers for free so I had one laying around. I just followed the instructions here using tracing paper, a 6B pencil, a ballpoint pen, and a boxknife.
The character is one of the Japanese characters for 'kage' - a shadow or reflection. I really like this character because it points up how differently Japanese language deals with light and color. You cast a 'kage' on the ground, but you can also see your 'kage' reflected in a mirror or a pool. This was really mind-blowing for me the first time I heard it, and made Japanese all the more mysterious and beautiful for me.
It's also the 'shadow' from the Japanese translation of 'Shadowminister', which is probably part of the reason I've kept that handle name for as long as I have despite it sounding like a handle from Unreal Tournament. I learn and create primarily through imitation, and I'm inspired to either follow the actions of others, or to take a completely opposite approach. Like a 'kage'.
Funnily enough, the impression made by a stamp, seal, or chop, is called an 印影, which contains the 'kage' character. I find this appropriately self-referential as well. A shadow of a shadow stamp impressed by Shadowminister.
The art supply store was giving away rubber erasers for free so I had one laying around. I just followed the instructions here using tracing paper, a 6B pencil, a ballpoint pen, and a boxknife.
The character is one of the Japanese characters for 'kage' - a shadow or reflection. I really like this character because it points up how differently Japanese language deals with light and color. You cast a 'kage' on the ground, but you can also see your 'kage' reflected in a mirror or a pool. This was really mind-blowing for me the first time I heard it, and made Japanese all the more mysterious and beautiful for me.
It's also the 'shadow' from the Japanese translation of 'Shadowminister', which is probably part of the reason I've kept that handle name for as long as I have despite it sounding like a handle from Unreal Tournament. I learn and create primarily through imitation, and I'm inspired to either follow the actions of others, or to take a completely opposite approach. Like a 'kage'.
Funnily enough, the impression made by a stamp, seal, or chop, is called an 印影, which contains the 'kage' character. I find this appropriately self-referential as well. A shadow of a shadow stamp impressed by Shadowminister.
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