Buttnekkiddoodles

Practice. It must be done. I was a weekly regular at area venues for drawing from life. For various reasons, I haven’t pursued the practice of drawing nude figures from life and it shows in some recent sketches. This 25 minute ink drawing in one of my many ledger books, was executed at a time when I was as relaxed while drawing as the model was during the pose. When figures are bundled in clothes the challenge is to indicate a figure beneath the cloth, and I always feel a little leeway in proportions so I tend to attack the page with more abandon. When the clothes come off, if I haven’t been drawing regularly I typically fret the proportions and contour accuracy and the drawings sometimes suffer from self consciousness with evident stiffness. I thought this would be a winter where I would concentrate on life drawing but……..things don’t always work out as planed.

Drawn with fountain pen filled with Iroshizuku ink and Faber-Castell Pitt Artist Pen.

I accidentally trashed this entry so I’ll attempt to reinstall it.

When I originally put this post up the Illinois legislature put a rider into  Senate Bill SB1342 that made it a felony to record on duty officers of the law without their permission. This bill had majority support in both houses from both parties. I still haven’t obtained an understanding of how broadly the term “record” will be interpreted. My personal belief is the recording of police or law officials is not a threat to their effective performance of their duties and actually serves to enhance the public and court’s understanding of conditions on the ground during police actions. This rider serves to restrain the roll of the press, the freedom of speech and the nature of informed consent necessary to have an enlightened citizenry whose job it is to elect officials, judges, representatives.

                  

    

Some of the medium used in the above drawings were:

old ledger books and diaries, Utrecht toned sketchbooks, Stillmann & Birn sketchbooks both the Alpha and Epsilon series, Seven Seas Tomoe River Paper, Moleskine watercolor sketchbooks.

a variety of fountain pens, Lamy Studio, Pelikan M215(fine, medium, and broad nibs), several Faber-Castell fps, – Ambition, Ondoro, and Graf von Faber-Castell Classic and Guilloche, Sailor 1911, Sailor brush nib! Namiki’s Vanishing Point and Falcon, and Pelikano Juniors. I fill these pens with Platinum Carbon ink, Noodler’s Ottoman Blue and Electric Eel, and several Iroshizuku inks.

White china Markers aka grease pencils, and Faber-Castell Pitt Artist Pens

                              

While I love drawing out in public and capturing spontaneous events, a practice that helped me when I went into court and drew the proceedings for a local media company, The environment is dynamic and shit don’t hold still. But, if you happen upon someone overcome by exhaustion or boredom, their catnap becomes your opportunity to record a very natural moment where the subject isn’t posing, self aware, tense, or twitching, given to nervous movement or distractions. They may still be restless in sleep and adjust them selves automatically for comfort sake, or stirred by dream anxiety, but, you can get several minutes of fascinating pose or expression. My usual custom applies where I take advantage of the several pens I carry so that I can go from detail to broad areas and back to specific features. Given how the paper is reacting I may use Faber-Castell Pitt Artist Brush Pens, fountain pens of which I like, Pelikan M215, Pelikano Juniors, Sailor 1911, Lamy Studio,Graf von Faber-Castell Guilloche and Classics, Namiki Vanishing Point, Namiki Falcon, Saior Brush Nib fountain pen, any of which could have a fine, medium, or broad nib, the broad being my preferred. I also make use in toned paper of grease pencils aka White China Markers.

The sketch books I enjoy vary considerably and while I tend to prefer smooth or hot pressed surfaced paper I occasionally will turn to more textured pare such as water colored paper for the attributes it brings in surface and absorbency. Some of those books and pads are, Strathmore tan and grey toned hard bound sketchbooks, ledger books – those lines don’t bother me, Moleskine watercolor sketchbooks – the only Moleskines I bother with, Seven Seas River paper – great pad, lousy binding, StillmN & Birn Epsilon Series – the bound, not a fan of spirals, and A sketchbook, name unknown, that uses a renewable source called Lakota from Nepal.

Rarely if ever have I used graphite in sketchbooks for some forty years now, I have used Faber-Castell Aquarelle graphite and do like the intensity you can get in the washes of this very beautiful water soluble medium. Mostly, primarily, preferably, I use ink. Ballpoint pens were the go-to tool for years by in the last decade and a half I use brush pens or fountain pens and in those the inks I like are Platinum Carbon which sets up so you can apply washes over you line work. I also like some of the Noodlers Bulletproof inks though they release a bit depending on the paper being cellulose or not. I also like Irishuzuku inks tho they are not water proof they are gorgeous inks with lovely flow.

Portraiture is tuff enuff and admittedly, I struggle with catching a likeness of the subject at hand. Even when I pose someone, who can hold still, and I have loads of time, I just as often run right into the ditch. I find it amusing that given an unaware subject (save the nudes scattered throughout) who may fidget, and leave at any moment, I have just as much a chance of capturing something essential about that person as I might were I to set up ideal conditions for portraying that sitter  as others might recognize them. So here is a wall of attempts to see what’s recognizable from rear and oblique views, when the person gives me little to work with. Clothing and posture may at times hinder or help convey the personality of the subject.

                                                                                   

These sketches, done in public, often in transit, where drawn on a variety of papers – Utrecht and Cachet toned papers, Clairefontaine, and a preponderance of various ledger books. Michael Kalman has turned me onto the new series of sketchbooks by Stillman & Birn.  Drawn with a variety of inks from several fountain pen inks – Iroshizuku, Platinum Carbon, Noodler’s, Diamine,  Calli, to ballpoint (especially the Bic Bold 1.6mm, also like the Pilot Ageless), gel (Uniball Impact RT)  and rollerball pens. I make heavy use of  Pitt Artist Pens. The fountain pens I enjoy working with are – Pelikan 115, Pelikano Junior, Pelikan M205 Duo, Namiki Vanishing Point, Lamy Studio, Lamy Safari, Graf vov Faber Guilloche, Graf von Faber Classic, Faber-Castell Coconut Ambition. Occasionally I like using a bristle brush pen such as the Pentel and a couple made by Kuretake and Kaimei. Not to be forgotten is my darling little Ugly Duckling, the grease pencil.

Drawn in one of my preferred hanging spots with my dear friend, a red medium nib Visconti Rembrandt, which is currently missing. The black ink is Platinum Carbon. I spilled hot chocolate on the page and while the blue gel ink and Iroshizuku fp ink ran, the PC held it’s ground beautifully.

      

In addition to some of my favorites, I’ve been playing with a couple new inks lately. A Levenger Purple and  Diamine Red that really looks like blood when it first hits the page. I procured a few new pens lately but the two I’m having the most fun with are a see-thru yellow Duo-Highlighter with a BB nib by Pelikan. Plus a second hand, and well used at that, Graf Von Faber-Castell ebony wood Classic that I bought a new B replacement nib for. Both pens are Champs. The Graf Von Faber-Castell is a serious investment but one that delivers the goods. A gorgeous pen that writes and feels like a no bullshit tool. It’s taken me a while to climb past a certain $$ barrier but having done so with the GvFC, a Pelikan M800, and a Sailor Naginata-Togi I can only say the way these pens deliver and how great they feel in my hand has evaporated all symptoms of sticker shock.

                                                       Now that I’ve raved about the battleships of my pen arsenal, I want to talk about the trusty and much worthy pen responsible for the Prussian Blue drawings immediately above. The drawing on the left and the 2 on the right were drawn in large measure with an $11.50 Pelikano Jr. A medium stainless steel nib with a cartridge that I keep refilling with the help of a syringe. The primary drawback to this pen is the plastic used for the cap. It does not stand up to much wear and tear before splitting or cracking. Barring that, the Pelikano Jr. is a swell pen for the money. Comfortable to use, it not only is a great starter fp for youngsters and first time uses of fountain pens, it is a cheap pen that writes wet, that you can use ant of the inks for fps without fretting that you’ll destroy the feed of a costly investment. The dark blue is Noodler’s Bad Blue Heron. The female nude drawing second from left was done with a broad gel pen. The line is bold and flows nice but has a very short life.