Buttnekkiddoodles

1.  Had a fun time out with the Every Other Sunday drawing group today. We went to the Chicago Cultural Center and focused on The newly restored hall and rotunda, originally designed by Shepley Rutan and Coolidge; the 15.4 million dollar renovation was lead by Gunny Harboe
   WHY: A prime example of superior architectural ornament, the space is loaded with meaning. Additionally, some of the work was restored using photos of the original and creating 3-d printed copies!
   I’ve often preferred to hang in the fabulous South Hall so today I was fired up to give the north hall it’s due.

 
Fountain pen, DeAtramentis Document Brown ink, Faber-Castell Pitt Artist Pens on Tomoe River Paper.

Just got back from LA wherein I seent a gob more than on previous visits. Had the pleasure or runnin’ around with my grand niece Ariel and her beau. Ariel and I hit the Huntington Library in Pasadena on a gorgeous day and took in only part of the eye poppin’ gardens and the truely stellar collection of rare books and first editions of many of the high water marks of Western learning. Also spent Sunday at the Blue Rooster Art Supplies where Ariel and some of her pals from Center Arts School of A & D set up on the sidewalk and drew with the super gracious Nick Gallo and his store manager.

Setting off today to draw from a model with students at Rockford College.

Working in a spiral sketchbook of fairly heavyweight paper, with a plate surface, from the Stillman & Birn epsilon series with some fountain pen inks and gel pens but primarily Pitt Artist Pens. A wee bit of the grease pencil as well. Like the stiff cover and scale for sketching on buses when things got a tad crowded.

Toiling away at the old mill. Fall’s upon us and once again I rise early to make the life drawing marathon at The Palette & Chisel. Nearing completion of the current ledger book I’m drawing in. I’ve really enjoyed this one: a 500 page 1959 Veterinarian’s Daily Record published by the Kersten Publishing Co. A real beauty that takes a serious soaking with fountain pen ink without bleeding. Try this in your Moleskines.

     

 

     

     

OK, here’s a new development. As a 57 year old citizen I am entitled to register for Seniors Life Drawing sessions at the Chicago Cultural Center, a beautiful old former central library in downtown Chicago. Located in “The Loop” at the northeast corner of Millenium Park, I have often gone there to work catering events, see exhibits, and to just hang about and draw folks in the first floor reading room. So….the two drawings above to the right, the page of several quicker poses and the half hour study on toned paper done with Pitt Artist Pens and a white China marker were executed at my first “seniors” event. I’ve acted like an old geezer for years so I guess I just made it official.

     

      I’m making use of a Prussian type blue in my sketchbooks these days. I like it’s dark slightly dirty nature. By combining it with lighter value and more distinctly cleaner blues I get a range that makes otherwise monochromatic drawings richer. And by having varied hues of blue it’s not just a matter of darkening the tone but of changing the character or temperature of the color. When using fountain pens the 2 blue inks I like which have this Prussian sort of hue are Noodler’s Bad Blue Heron and Iroshizuku tsukio-yo. I make the choice depending on which fountain pens I’m using. The Bad Blue Heron is from Noodler’s “Warden” Series and is water resistant when used on cellulose paper and I have found that it can and will create build up on the nibs and in the feed if not flushed out quite frequently. Therefore, even thought I dig it’s color and coverage, I don’t use it in pens that cost more than $65 – $75. For those pens I switch to Iroshizuku inks. The principle fountain pens that see a lot of Noodler’s are my Pelicano Juniors. Less than $15 they are a scream. Just love ’em. Stainless steel nibs that have a slight give when pressed, they use ink cartridges ( which I refill using a hypodermic) that hold more ink than converters. I even find their clunky bodies comfortable. The only drawback is that the plastic caps split and crack quite easily. Everything else seems pretty durable to me. I intend to have a toymaker friend of mine cast a couple caps in a more durable material.

A drawing done from a photo of a wind mill in Illinois that I intend to visit, the clouds were drawn one morning by watching formations out my front window. I’m no Clive Powsey when it comes to clouds and luminous skies. That’s some work for this coming year.