Utopia Moment sketches and writing by Jack Ruttan and friends

New stuff. I guess kind of the same, but I like it like that. I’m also enjoying some of the new gadgets on the blog. Don’t want to make it too busy.

I tried a couple of new themes, but didn’t like them as much as this one. This one was pretty old, and didn’t have a lot of devices I could use in it, but seems to be working.

I’ll fool with some other stuff, and see how it works. Unfortunately, I’m not a genius with CSS or any kind of computer programming, though I hazard to tinker.

This quick sketch I think really captured an aspect of Nora, the new cat. As spring comes in, she’s sort of lording it over the other two cats. Or, at least they’re nervous of her, but seem to hold their own. It’s a house of happy cats, still. Which is great.

I Photoshop coloured the woman I drew yesterday. Not that great at it, but that’s how you learn and get better.

It was such, yesterday when I drew these, and it’s another such today. Happy to draw real animals, etc, from my balcony.

Other people are TV and DVD-inspired faces. Not so bad, but I’m waiting for people to start walking by looking less frozen and bundled up.

Or just some random black and white cat. Nora, my new cat’s been getting bigger. She’s still the smallest of the gang, but it’s often hard to judge. There were some other drawings today, but this is the only one I could find to scan and post.

Also, I’m not intending to slight the other cats, who are beautiful, but the symmetrical black and white is easy to draw.

Busy again, which is good. I’m doing some logo, graphic design things, which is new for me. I sketched this little version of my black and white cat, Nora which I like.

Those seem to be my two modes of drawing (get your mind out of the gutter!)

Further hindering me during these cold December days is Nora the cat, who thinks she owns my chair. If I’m sitting here, she’s sometimes below, looking up anxiously. I get up, and she takes over.

i’m seriously thinking of retiring this chair, and calling it a “cat tree.” But she’ll probably want to take over the new chair, too. Not a lot of space in this little work room!

Was drawing a lot, late at night, in my tiny book. The tinyness helps me finish the drawings more quickly.

These are black ballpoint drawings in my moderately small sketchbook. Mainly drawn in bed, actually. I wonder if anyone else does this?

Wild people. Drawing by me, inks by Rick.

Don’t get me wrong. I love my blog. I can express stuff here and gas on about things, and look at my funny sketches. Who cares that only about 30 people a day visit the thing.

But busy computer-related work (websites and writing) takes its toll of how long I want to stay in front of this glowing screen. And twitter has taken a bite, too. Oh blog, don’t get upset!

So, I’ve got some funny drawings, and a couple of posts to write. I’m going to try and spread them out a little, just to enhance the bloggy goodness. Or, put them out all at once. These usually just happen. I’m not big on planning.

Right now, these are drawings from my most recent Friday afternoon bar session with Rick Gagnon. Not too many, because I had only brought one book for the both of us to draw in. I was looking on forlornly as he was inking the pic that goes up on the head of this piece. Then I got my book back, and drew various cats (one suffering from the heat, as my guys are at the moment), plus a polar bear from a beer ad (a few of those on the walls, no surprise).

Then a loud bachelors party moved in next to us. They were taking whacks at the groom to be with a paddle, and offering the paddle to pretty girls passing by. Surprisingly, there were few takers. But what these passers-by probably saw was a bunch of guys waving their arms, yelling incoherently. Of course, that was just Rick and I having a political discussion. The wedding party was loud, too!

I’m hoping that Rick sends me a couple of the shots he took of this. Good, if somewhat loutish times!

Like the title says. I’ve started a new contract, and have been a little distracted. Also some sad news, which I’ll blog later, when I’m ready. Still, hope you like crazy sketches of cats and whatnot.

Yarg

Sounds kind of bluesy, and I am out of sorts. But I put the living-room “tree” outside to rinse off the dust in the rain. Sure, like I want it to get bigger, and overwhelm the apartment, like Washington at the end of Logan’s Run.

Don’t worry, the cats don’t nibble on it.

Thought I hadn’t done sketches this weekend, but I had. I don’t know what the clenched fists are about, except I like to draw clenched fists, plus cross-hatching. The first one is big-ish (9″x12″) and drawn with blue ballpoint.

The second is tiny (about 3″x5″) and done with crowquill and roller pens. (if anyone cares out there. I’m not too choosy about my media, but not as sloppy as some artists I know).

In the morning I get this view often of Nora, the black and white cat, and her adorable white foots.

Nora Small Cat ™ has her own filing system, of which she is very proud. Actually, she was unhappy when I sealed away my own files, because she had a habit of shredding them to make a little hideaway. So I made her a decoy box of scrap paper, and she’s happy with that, because she can’t read.

I’m happy, because I also dealt with the piles of paper that were spread everywhere around here threatening to overwhelm. Putting them into one big pile, and then sorting that into easy-to-remember (I hope) categories, which then go into their own folders inside the cabinet.

A dramatic sketch of Nora the kitty. None of the cats are very dramatic at the moment. They’re lying around like plague victims, and it’s not even all that hot. A harbinger of things to come this summer?

Below, another drawing. Kind of an office scene: