View facing west as we await the ferry On an Easter Monday back in early May, Z, J, and I went on a cycling wander with our friends in Amsterdam. Though it was chill and overcast, we had a fantastic day exploring Amsterdam Noord. Two of our bikes on the deck of the ferry A… Continue reading A crossing to the farther shore
Two weekends ago, I spent some days in a fantastic waterside lodge for a wedding in south Georgia. Above, a view of the little lake. Mossed-draped trees trace menacing silhouettes across the water. This was late at night, and the frogs were singing— an orchestra louder than the nighttime city. The lake, seen Saturday afternoon,… Continue reading Of a moody lodge beset by light and weather
It's a fine Sunday, breezy and overcast; not bad qualities for a lazy morning at a window-side desk. A long time ago I used to use crow quill dip pens for drawing and lettering. Though it can be a chore keeping those nibs clean enough to flow nicely, their character cannot be matched by the… Continue reading Sunday morning, looking through old sketchbooks
These candles, clad in two layers of glass, reflect and shimmer beautifully in the dim interior and caught my eye. I didn't spend as much time truly observing them as I may have; rather did a sort of lazy caricature or symbolized portrait of them.My scanner has a really tough time with these new cadmium… Continue reading Candles emitting a cadmium glow
This is a sketch from a couple weekends ago. My friends Sarah & Tara were performing at Freddy's Bar & Backroom, and the band that followed them was Elijah Shiffer And The Robber Crabs. The sax player had a sort of steam punk-looking alto sax— it had a machine-like patina not generally associated with such an… Continue reading This is a drawing about a saxophone
Last week I posted some gentle little watercolors, and briefly described the process. Here, as promised, is a more detailed view of that process. Step one: Draw your shapes in pencil. Step two: scan the drawings, and import to Adobe Illustrator. Trace the shapes using the pen tool, refining as you go, to create your… Continue reading A recipe for crisp-edged watercolors
Here are some illustrations I'm working on for a project. The process involves first doing a pencil drawing of the shape, which I then scan and trace in Adobe Illustrator so I have a clean-lined vector shape. Then I print it out as just a black outline, and tape to the back of a piece… Continue reading Some gentle little watercolor illustrations
It's time for some updating and new colors. I've been thinking about some new colors for awhile, and went to browse the chips this afternoon. When I got home, I checked them all out in the rooms and against the light and existing paint, then gave them a quick run-through in Photoshop, as I can't… Continue reading Cheerful, cooled, and brittlebush
Some recent spreads from my sketchbook. It is not a Moleskine— I chose a knock-off for this trip, which was a little wider, and had white paper instead of the cream color of moleskines. Unfortunately, though the paper is nice and heavy, this paper lacks the clay coating or whatever it is that makes a… Continue reading Materials don’t make the artist, but they can hinder the art
Montmartre— dans la lumière et l'obscuritĂ© These are photos from our first afternoon in Paris. It stayed light til 8:30. Now, you know, I've been dreaming of the trip— now that it's over. As I did before it was born. Friday was two weeks since we left for farther shores. It went by fast and… Continue reading Montmartre— in light and dark
e daggar art: THE MUSEUM 