Buttnekkiddoodles

This may appear as a quiet moment, in which a gentleman enjoys a beverage in a reflective manner. He, we, sat in the largest coffee cafe,  four stories of previously mentioned but unnamed corporate chain cafe, worldwide. Long lines of caffeine hounds queued for their turn a one of several baristas on each floor. A similar wait ensued for their order and the possibility of a place where they might sit to enjoy same. I hurried to capture him, and let go an attempt at including his friends that I may yield my much desired chair to a person hoping to join his friends.
Drawn with a fountain pen and Pitt Artist Pens on a Clairefontaine Goldline Watercolour sketchbook. Once I got home I added the text with a new ink. The appropriately named Antietam by Noodlers. Antietam of course being the day September 17, 2862, during our Civil War, when the largest loss of American lives in a single day occurred, 22,717 killed, wounded or missing.

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.

Taking a a break from thinking too hard. Channelling fabulous comic book artist, actually the Sunday Funnies, George Wunder. Drawings done in an old ledger book with ink, mostly Faber-Castell Pitt Artist Brush Pens. I also made use of  a number of fountain pens, in particular -Pelikan M215, Graf Von Faber-Castell Classic, Faber-Castell Basic Black Leather, Sailor Bent Nib Calligraphy fp, and a Pelikan M400 Tortoise fp. All fountain pens were filled with Platinum Carbon ink except the Pelikan M400 Tortoise which was filled with Noodler’s Ottoman Blue.

   

Some details.

          

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.