Sketch Portfolio
Here is a sketch from my notebook of an idea I’ve been working on. Would like to render this in ink sometime. The text does not seem to fit as I had imagined it…so there is still work to be done.
RAC Whale Child in Pencil
Oh My Child
Come Hither
Weep No More
Inside this
Mouth And Door…
Behold, my first ever comic strip. This comic page story is about small UFOnauts pumping water to power their craft.
My inspiration for this comes from a Close Encounter incident that took place in 1960 at a river near Syracuse, NY. A man was fishing at the river when he heard a shrill whirling sound and saw a round object descend and two dwarf-sized occupants getting out wearing multi-colored suits. They seemed to pump water out of the nearby river into their craft and then began to play like children. Later, they got back into their craft and took off.
As you may well see, this is my subtle intrepretation of the event. This rendering was done with ink on vellum, using a crowquill pen.
Pen, ink illustration accompanied by a short poem. I may combine the poem with the image at some point.
HD x M
What is eating at me?
Holding, tearing me down?
I no longer see
The earth below me
The stones on the ground
Help me to find my way
Through this blackest of black
Inside, dragging me by the Mouth
The entire project is about suddenly finding oneself a long way from home, but even more than that, trying to find one’s way home. It is a project I feel I must involve myself in, even though countless stories, such as The Odyssey revolve around this theme. It is personal. It is also the only way I feel I can express my own story.
Lately, I have been focusing on wood engraving and learning to use the spitsticker and scorper tools. I’ve lacerated my hands twice now, although I feel like I am mastering more and more control over the tools and the wood. My forefinger, which assists in holding the tools, feels raw, tender, and tingly. I am still nervous that my engravings won’t amount to much. I’ve been reading Simon Brett and Barry Moser, which, I highly recommend for those who are interested in wood engravings. Such engravers as Brett and Moser make engraving look so easy.
So for those who are wondering where I am, I am in my studio working at my workbench engraving lines, lines, lines, and more lines into blocks of wood. The project still looms overhead, like a thundercloud, always present wherever I am all that I do.
This is who I am.
Currently listening to: Nine Inch Nails Ghosts
Here is the latest…only a partial view of something I’ve been working on. It’s not the greatest image, but so far I kind of want the finished piece to be a surprise. ;o)
a work in progress
And below some practice using pen and ink…
face sketch
I’ve been working on one project, but many forms and aspects of it. Two of which involve illustration: In addition to my practice of drawing and sketching, I am learning 1) how to render images in ink and learning also 2) to engrave an image on wood for printmaking.
I’ve just started, and am quite excited about it, but recently I’ve been frustrated with my own efforts.
Rendering images with a crow quill pen and having the majority of ink release of what I was working on is disheartening, especially since I’ve worked all evening on a particular image. Gaah! Then on top of that while practicing with the tint tool on a woodblock, my hand slipped and…my index finger (the one holding the block in place) got the worst of it!
Becoming an artist, an illustrator, and even a storyteller takes a lot of patience, practice, blood and guts.
