Vancouver was quite resplendent in my five sun dazzled days. Down by the dock near Gastown is the Bronze Angel memorial to the Canadian rail workers who served and lost their lives in World Wars I and II. On the other side of Gastown, exhausted and struggling souls are scattered along Hastings Ave for a number of blocks.
Upon leaving the city by train, minutes out of Pacific Central Station, I saw the man below, beside the tracks and on the edge of brambles, wrapped in a blanket, a bike in the brush beside him. Can’t know for sure his circumstances, but far too many are in conditions to the extreme of those garnering immense wealth and comfort truly way beyond need and security.
At this point, I can’t be swayed by an argument that would put the fault of the downtrodden, indigent, and failing souls upon their own shoulders. The imbalances of the day are so out of whack, that the system as a whole appears to me to be staggering from pathology.
Some wait and wish for a spirit of supernatural dimension to lift us up. Others wish for a spirited whisking away of the inconveniences about them.
To a spirited awakening for us all.
both drawn using Faber-Castell Pitt Artist Brush Pens in various nib sizes and grays, plus the Basic Black Leather fountain pen with Platinum Carbon ink. Top drawing in a Tomoe River Paper sketchbook. Bottom drawing in an unlined Rhodia sketchbook.
After 17 years of living in Chicago, I finally sketched the Alcala’s Western Wear life size sign on Chicago Ave just west of Ashland. The weather was a bit cool but, I stood against a building in full sun so Between the warmth of the sun and the bricks that were radiating a little heat I wasn’t uncomfortable. You can note the neon tubes that trace the sculpture’s form. Pitt Pens in a Rhodia sketchbook.
We’re just not getting enough sleep. Folks are conkin’ out in public. On the trains, in bookstores, on benches, cafes, parks, libraries, malls, movie theaters. I’ll concede the narcotic at work could be a drab plot in a movie, not sufficient action packed gore, sex, or violence in the cinema, too much turkey for lunch, terminally long waits for partners to try on every shoe with a sole. Whatever the cause, they’re dropping like flies for 40 winks till pot holes, ushers, or asphyxia jars them back to the realm of the hustle.
 
 
 
 
For the record, the drawings in this post were executed in several stocks of books, Rhodia, Stillman & Birn, Utrecht, Tomoe River Pad, Lakota, and various ledger books. Tools used included ballpoint, gel pens, various fountain pens, and Pitt Artist Pens of severa nib sizes, and some watercolor pencils.
The challenge is to grab what you can till the moment passes. There are times when I can feel the pose and see the angles clearly; where my focus isn’t too tight and my field of vision is such that the connections and relationships of major structural parts and key details are apparent. Then, a relaxed but progressive pace that doesn’t overwork nor overthink the draughtinging and makes use of at least a few tools so that broad areas are developed quickly and details have clarity. The emphasis is on efficiency and fluidity rather than speed.
In the above drawings you can see several tools at work on different paper. Both papers have sufficient sizing so the ink stays moist long enough to be wiped or smeared or dabbed brining the finger into play and adding finger prints and a hazed or brushed look. With a broad brush nib, strips are done in one stroke passing the need of predawn outlines. A range of tones, even if it is only a couple, help distinguish separate elements making features pop and giving the lighting more character.
 
I like to work in ink which once it sets up, prevents further smudging, has tonal strength, forces my hand to limit over drawing contours, and can have cool and warm hues to aid in distinguishing different elements, i.e. a scarf from a shirt, and holds the same edge not requiring constant sharpening.
