The Sketchbook 2011 Project

Well It's been a while since my last post, to say the least, but thankfully not for lack of postables. There was the Movies and Makers Show and the night before that there was a group show I was in at 1254 Art called A Hidden Place, a gallery beneath where Amarina and I first lived together. Both were a joy and I learned quite a lot. And now it's a whole new year and momentum is in our favour most certainly.

A lot of momentum came from The Sketchbook Project, one of Art House Co-op's many amazing projects. Arthouse Co-op is like if Amazon.com sold participation in international art projects. Anyway, you get a sketchbook that you fill with artwork based loosely on a theme chosen from a list. You send it back. Simple. But there are sketchbooks from 94 countries and over 28,000 artists so you get an overwhelming number of interpretations on the themes and what a sketchbook actually is. They then go on tour through:

Brooklyn, NY Austin, TX San Francisco, CA Portland, ME Atlanta, GA Chicago, IL Washington, DC Winter Park, FL

After the tour, all sketchbooks will enter into the permanent collection of The Brooklyn Art Library, where they will be barcoded and available for the public to view. When anyone checks out your book you receive a notification of your choosing. Text message, email, etc. Neat!

It was a fantastic project and I managed to finish it between Dec 20th, 2010 and Jan 12th, 2011 which really got the creativity churning. I'd been so accustomed to drawing meticulous illustrations over the past year that it was nice to unleash and do some drawings that were a bit less strict.

I chose the theme of Dirigibles and Submersibles, which ended up being more like Things Seen From Dirigibles and Submersibles and the majority of the drawings were from the latter. They will be scanned and put on the Art House Co-op site (assuming that the book didn't get lost in the mail which I'll be fearful of until further notice) but I did my own scanning for the time being.

ENJOY!

Mickey Rourke

So here's the first of what I'm hoping will be many celebrity portraits with the Parallel Pen. Mickey Rourke, the actor turned boxer turned actor playing brutes, savages and other ne'er-do-wells, is kind of enigmatic. In the past he has been described as a nightmare to work with but in recent years he has forged a street cred that is almost impenetrable. Going through his wikipedia page makes for some interesting "what ifs?" when you look at some of the massive roles he apparently turned down. Tom Cruise's role in Rain Man, Eliot Ness in the Untouchables, Axel Foley in Beverly Hills Cop (WTF?!?!) and Christopher Lambert's role in The Highlander.

The portrait is drawn on Bienfang Graphics 360 Translucent Marker Paper. Love it! No Bleeding! Not even bleeding through to the next page.

New Toy!

Well I'd been eying this thing for a while at Job #2. It's Pilot's Parallel Pen, in particular the broadest one, 6.0 mm. The parallel bit refers to the nib which unlike most fountain pen/calligraphy nibs has no top or bottom and is instead made up of 2 identical plates which sandwich the ink. The drawing above was my first crack at using it. I am head over heels in love with this pen. The colours are vivid and it allows me to work a lot looser which is a welcomed change from the meticulous line work I usually employ. The ink is begging to get out but it never really gushes or pools. It is very versatile. You can use the full width for broad traditional calligraphy strokes or you can use the just the corners of the blunt square tip to get the thinnest of strokes.

My aim at present is to do celebrity portraits in this style...the first of which is already completed...stay tuned.

This is drawn on 100 lb. bristol paper with vellum finish (Strathmore).