Though my lodging accommodations in Cedar Falls may have lacked grace and refinement, downtown had plenty of charm. As I enjoyed a hot chocolate and baked goods made on the premises at Cup of Joe, I took much delight in the stylish quartet in the balcony. Pitt pens on Strathmore and three different whites, a Pitt Big Brush White, a white grease pencil, and an Uni Ball Signo.
Truth in advertising. The bedroom ceiling light in the AirBnB, in a small College town, somewhere in Iowa.
Passengers on the Fall Trek. Above, a very nice gentleman gets his first look at the Rockies.
Amtrak, Metra, CTA, Megabus, Trailways, Uber….as long as my hands aren’t glued to a steering wheel, I’ll make my way around the country and fill my sketchbooks. Fountain pens, juiced up with Platinum Carbon, Pitt Artist Pens, grease pencils, aka the white China markers, ballpoint, the rare color pencil, gel pens, whatever, in ledger books, watercolor pads, Stillman & Birn, Strathmore, Clairefontaine, Tomoe River Paper and then some. Drawing from life, from nudes, landscapes, urban environments, transit passengers, dead animals, cemeteries, laundromats, drawing out of my head and out of my mind….just answering the calling and feeding the obsession.
Still obsessing about the Nebraska State Capitol and richly decorated interior with architectural and decorative references to Byzantine forms, Attic figures, and the Persepolis double bull capitals. Pitt Artist Brush Pens in Stratmore toned sketchbook.
The slice of German Chocolate Cake at Back Alley Bakery in Hastings, Nebraska. Looked like some downtown developments aimed at creating a hubbub to the town of 25,000, Hastings College, and birthplace of Kool Aid. Additional excitement was a brand new art department building that professor and former chair of the department, Turner McGehee, played a role in creating an beautiful and inspiring facility.
