Drawing on paper... and other futile gestures
Well, here we are again, fair viewer.
Sometimes when I feel like I have not been productive with my work I will meander through an art supply store and occasionally I will buy myself something new; in the hopes of inspiring myself to produce with the dual thoughts of Gee, this is a nice new thing, perhaps it will inspire me to actually use it and Gee, I've spent so much damned money on art-supplies over the years I might as well frickin' use em!
So it was and so it went the other day, a lovely sunny Saturday, that I found myself perusing the aisles of my preferred Magasin d'approvisionnement d'art. Now, usually I have a specific idea of what I am going for, sometimes I am just "window shopping" and perhaps might find something I had not thought of... Saturday, on the other hand, I only had the most vague of ideas, and the item I desired did not exist, at least I had no reason to think that it did since I had previously sought for it to find that it did not exist.
Now, I realize that the last bit there is a bit vague, so let me fill in the gaps. I have a preferred type of sketchbook:
This is Strathmore's "Dry Media" pad. I like these for a few reasons; first off, the paper is much heavier (100lb) than a normal sketchbook, and that can translate to a really successful sketch turning into a finished piece without having to redraw the whole thing! Second; they are only 30 pages in them, which means I can actually fill one and have some sense of accomplishment! (I used to only get about 50-60 pages at most into an old 100 page sketchbook before moving on to a new one... all that blank space...) and Finally; ... I guess I have no 3rd reason at the moment! ;)
These pads came in 2 sizes (so I had thought), 9½"×12" and 11½"×14". I have 4 of the 11/14 ones and one of the smaller... but honestly; it's too small to use normally and not small enough to be something I would carry around with me all the time.
I have recently been thinking that I want to increase the scale of some of my work, so I was lamenting that I had never seen a larger size of these pads... WELL... when I was at the Kunst-Versorgungsmaterial-Speicher I actually came across a 18" × 24½" sized pad! I was thrilled!
(I realize it's pretty sad that I got thrilled over a pad of paper... but whatever; some people go crazy over Nascar, others obsess over memorabilia depicting Prince Charles and Princess Dianna, and still others get all doe-eyed over a new type of cross-stitch. It just goes to show you that they are not all locked up! Seriously though, and perhaps more importantly, it shows that we all have different things that get us going. ;)
Wow... I've said a lot about nothing... oh wait...
SO!! I did actually sit down and do some work in this new large "sketch"book, and here are the results thus-far...
It is, which you may recognize, a portrait of the multi-talented illustrator, Edward Gorey; who was a long time resident (though not native) of the town I grew up in... you might know some of his work, such as, the Gashleycrumb Tinies or the Doubtful Guest.
I have actually wanted to do a portrait of him for a while and have been sitting on the image I used for reference until the mood struck. I guess it struck!
More after the break... but don't ask me how long the break is going to be! ;)
Sometimes when I feel like I have not been productive with my work I will meander through an art supply store and occasionally I will buy myself something new; in the hopes of inspiring myself to produce with the dual thoughts of Gee, this is a nice new thing, perhaps it will inspire me to actually use it and Gee, I've spent so much damned money on art-supplies over the years I might as well frickin' use em!
So it was and so it went the other day, a lovely sunny Saturday, that I found myself perusing the aisles of my preferred Magasin d'approvisionnement d'art. Now, usually I have a specific idea of what I am going for, sometimes I am just "window shopping" and perhaps might find something I had not thought of... Saturday, on the other hand, I only had the most vague of ideas, and the item I desired did not exist, at least I had no reason to think that it did since I had previously sought for it to find that it did not exist.
Now, I realize that the last bit there is a bit vague, so let me fill in the gaps. I have a preferred type of sketchbook:
This is Strathmore's "Dry Media" pad. I like these for a few reasons; first off, the paper is much heavier (100lb) than a normal sketchbook, and that can translate to a really successful sketch turning into a finished piece without having to redraw the whole thing! Second; they are only 30 pages in them, which means I can actually fill one and have some sense of accomplishment! (I used to only get about 50-60 pages at most into an old 100 page sketchbook before moving on to a new one... all that blank space...) and Finally; ... I guess I have no 3rd reason at the moment! ;)
These pads came in 2 sizes (so I had thought), 9½"×12" and 11½"×14". I have 4 of the 11/14 ones and one of the smaller... but honestly; it's too small to use normally and not small enough to be something I would carry around with me all the time.
I have recently been thinking that I want to increase the scale of some of my work, so I was lamenting that I had never seen a larger size of these pads... WELL... when I was at the Kunst-Versorgungsmaterial-Speicher I actually came across a 18" × 24½" sized pad! I was thrilled!
(I realize it's pretty sad that I got thrilled over a pad of paper... but whatever; some people go crazy over Nascar, others obsess over memorabilia depicting Prince Charles and Princess Dianna, and still others get all doe-eyed over a new type of cross-stitch. It just goes to show you that they are not all locked up! Seriously though, and perhaps more importantly, it shows that we all have different things that get us going. ;)
Wow... I've said a lot about nothing... oh wait...
SO!! I did actually sit down and do some work in this new large "sketch"book, and here are the results thus-far...
It is, which you may recognize, a portrait of the multi-talented illustrator, Edward Gorey; who was a long time resident (though not native) of the town I grew up in... you might know some of his work, such as, the Gashleycrumb Tinies or the Doubtful Guest.
I have actually wanted to do a portrait of him for a while and have been sitting on the image I used for reference until the mood struck. I guess it struck!
More after the break... but don't ask me how long the break is going to be! ;)
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