Buttnekkiddoodles

 
Got in a few hours in the magnificent Cleveland Museum of Art. Fantastic buildings, superb collection.
Drawing #1 one of the Biglin brothers from Thomas Eakins’ The Biglin Brothers Turning The Stake.

#2 two views of a bas relief marble head and a quickie of a Adolph Mengs portrait of Infante Don Luis de Borbón one of King Philip V of Spain’s nere do well trust funded brats. The side label/comment mentioned how characters like him were the subjects of interest when rational skepticism in the Age of Enlightenment began to confront absolutist hereditary power. Kind of brings to mind the spoiled brats like D Trump and his offspring.

#3 gored and dying dogs from a hunting scene by Lucas Cranach the Elder. A little bronze of a dog scratching itself. And a wooden carving of St. Andrew

#4 rt to lft the backside of some dude in a print, the still clenched hand of a dead Christ in a wooden Pietá. Many times the hands of the dead Christ are depicted relaxed, but the graphic realism of this one grabbed me. And a difficult to see sketch of a polished bronze figure with a Fu Manchu that resembled Kenny Rogers after he got plastic surgery “face lift”

Drwg #5 the last drawing before leaving the CMA a sketch of a Civil War Union soldier carving a pipe. Dressed in red cap, blue jacket and billowing red breeches the units known as Zouaves were comfortable and looked great but were compelling targets of Confederate sharp shooting snipers. This small painting by Homer is a gem! Well known for his Maine seascapes and his watercolors, he was a monster draftsman who was a war correspondent and combat artist. He’s knocked me dizzy with a number of his drawings and watercolors. I adore this figure and his hands carving the pipe were so accurately dexterous with brilliant brushwork.

Drawn with a Warm Grey IV Pitt Artist Pen Chisel nib and Brush nib because they appear to be pencil drawings, especially on paper that allows you to smudge ‘em, BECAUSE… museums don’t want you to draw with ink.

p.s. the dog scratching itself was drawn with ink from a fountain pen.

Got DaYumm!! Two months ago, meybe more, I banged the ever lovin’ Sweet Jeeziss outta the toe next to my big toe on my right foot. I guess that’d make it my right pointer toe. Drove it right into the sofa post. Well that nail turned black as the devil’s pupil and over the weeks started raisin’ up onna count a all that dried blood that’d built up under there. Not only that, it started looking like the rear of the nail was raisin’ up and the left side was like, maybe beginning to de-tach itself. Now I’m no doctor but I’m a curious fellow and I took some science classes back in school. Way back. Cut up some nematoads and a few frogs at that. So I thought, “What the hell, Darwin, let’s investigate.” Got a magnifying glass, pair of tweezers, put the foot up on the bathroom sink and leaned over as far as my back and my gut would allow. Now Giamila, you remember her, the science lady I live with, she cautioned,”Leave it alone, it’ll fall off when it’s ready.” Yeah and Leif Erickson coulda waited for continental drift to bring Newfoundland within a day’s sail.
Down close, well sorta close, that nail was looking like the hood on an old rusted-up beater in a junkyard. I gingerly tugged at the front rim of the nail and it lifted up a tiny bit. When I did that, the top of the tweezers nudged loose some of the grit under there and what appeared to be teeny tiny beads of crystallized blood crumbled free. When that happened, the scientist in me said,”Cool!” The other half of my persona felt his member shrivel. But I couldn’t stop now! So I gently, gently wiggled the nail until it lifted up but remained attached at the inside corner of the side opposite the big toe. When I did that? I got a glimpse of the new little toenail destined to replace my former toe hood. Hallelujah! As an old geezer in his 8th decade who’s lost half a head of hair, mosta my eyebrows, a noticeable degree of my once exquisite eyesight, the ability to dunk a ping pong ball in a basketball net or drop into James Brown splits, this was a restorative moment! I felt interspecial kinship with the lizard community. My body was giving me a second lease on life. Well sir, at that point I figured, just give ‘er a quick twist and begin the next chapter. Buuuut, the sissy in me reminded John Wayne of the times I tried that with a split fingernail fragment and ripped that sucker clean up into tender nail bed. I decided to take Giamila’s sage council and give the remaining flap of skin chance to dry and fall off. So I grabbed a good book and beverage and figured I’d wait it out with a couple hours of literary distraction. A couple hours later and I’d lost track of the whole episode. I went to replenish my beverage and standing in the light of the refrigerator I glimpsed my newborn nail sans the beat up car hood. Arrrgh! The devil’s pupil has fled and awaits like a piece of shrapnel to be trod barefoot upon. Down on hands and knees I retraced my path and did indeed recover the once transparent protector of my toe. Too small to be fashioned into a guitar pick, it was thence flung unsentimentally into the garbage. There’s a new sheriff in town.

Fountain pen with DeAtramentis Document Brown and Faber-Castell Pitt Artist Pens on Clairefontaine Goldline Watercolour sketchbook.

had to watch the trial from afar. All drawings done via online sources.
 
Drawn with Faber-Castell Pitt Artist Pens and fountain pens on Clairefontaine Goldline Watercolour sketchbook.

 
well, the old geezer completed the 2Nd shot of the COVID-19 inoculation fulfilling my small role to stymie the pandemic. No ruff symptoms other than a very mild soreness in my shoulder an a day at half speed after the second shot. Hung out both times after the shot as requested to see if I’d have any adverse reaction to the shot and to draw the environment. The University of Illinois at Chicago Health System, UI Health, set up the clinic in the sports in the hallways under the stands.

I informed the staff I’d be drawing them the second time and they were so excited about that they had me sit right where I could watch the vaccinations. I signed a permission for them to use my sketches.

 
The top sketch done after my first shot was on a #clairefontaine Goldline Watercolour sketchbook using a Faber-Castell Essentio fountain pen with DeAtramentis Document Brown Ink which was tinted with A little DeAtramentis Document Black, and, #fabercastellusa Pitt Artist Pens. The bottom drawing was done while waiting out my reaction period with a Faber-Castell Essentio Black Leather fountain pen and Pitt Artist Pens on a #stillmanandbirn Gamma Series sketchbook.

 
A sketch from last Tuesday at a favorite haunt of mine in Evanston. They are allowed to have a limited number of customers in now. Some places in Evanston have recently given up and closed. One is the Davis Cinema which has about 15 screens and will be sorely missed. People are exhausted from observing the restrictions and masks requirements, that of course excludes the idiots fighting these preventative measures, but the longer this is dragged out, the more chances new variants have to mutate, i.e. evolve for those numbskulls still resisting that overwhelming evidence. Drawn with fountain pen and Faber-Castell Pitt Artist Pens on Clairefontaine Goldline Watercolour sketchbook. #draw #urbansketching #puttartistpens #fabercastellusa #clairefontaine #goldlinesketchbook