I’ve not been playing with the blog for a while, and something got broken. I’ve fixed that, and backed everything up, I think, so here’s another post! If this makes it to Instagram, I will be very happy.
February 5, 2020
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Digital Cattery
By Jack Ruttan in cats, color, digital, sketches
I’m getting more cosy with the digital tools; painting on the computer. Still, I want to be more disciplined, and paint things that would look good in a portfolio. That means doing things with an eye towards pleasing people, rather than whatever strangeness comes out of my head.
It’s difficult to explain. I can draw whatever inside the sketchbook and it looks like a sketchbook, but what I do on the computer seems more like individual paintings rather than pages.
If something pleases me, or feels like it’s destined for general consumption rather than being strange, somewhat wobbly images from inside my head, I’ll put it up.
Maybe do some more 3D things. Or, maybe, comics….
January 23, 2020
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Spiky Hair
By Jack Ruttan in color, digital, men
I’m afraid I’m avoiding watercolours by drawing things such as this. He’s sort of true to this drawing software, which started life out as “Manga Studio.”
January 23, 2020
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Moose
By Jack Ruttan in watercolor, watercolour
Back into watercolours. They’ll get better, I promise! Will use reference next time. Gee, there seems to be no shortcuts when it comes to stretching paper. I tried a lot of them, and no thanks. Paper tape and staples do the job.
January 21, 2020
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New Coloured Pencils
By Jack Ruttan in color, Coloured Pencils, men, pencil, Portraits, ruttan's place, sketches, womenA generous friend sent me a set of 168 wooden coloured pencils. (Is it “coloured” or “colour”? The last one sounds slightly illiterate.) I’ve taken them out of their packaging, where they were inaccessible, and put them into yogurt containers, where I can reach them and see what I’m drawing with.
Some of the pencils crumbled inside the twisty sharpener, so I’m sharpening them with the razor blade, as shown. It’s more like gentle stroking rather than a twisty reaching motion, and easier on the cores.
Here’s an example of something I drew. The pencils are called “blendable,” but they are only just. Maybe some sort of solvent will work. 
There’s a list of colours you can fill out with the accompanying numbers in case you need to buy a new pencil, but I wish they had come up with even dumb names for the colours, because I like those.
January 18, 2020
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Hot Lemonade
By Jack Ruttan in paintings, sketches, watercolor, watercolour
This is kind of cute, and seasonal. I’ve forgotten where it appeared, or what things were supposed to have gone wrong.
December 25, 2019
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Metro Sketches
By Jack Ruttan in ballpoint pen, black and white, pen and ink, sketchesSketches done on the Montreal Metro, trips over and back to Verdun. I waved at a baby, and he waved back! 
December 16, 2019
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Even More Pages. In Watercolour and Watercolour Pencil this time.
By Jack Ruttan in sketchesI think I’ve solved the “what to title the post” problem for the moment. Even my tools seem to be working better now. Still little strange things, such as how to make the pencil line bigger and smaller in something called InkScape. Who figured out that interface?
At least watercolours and pencils don’t have little numbers you have to enter in….
December 13, 2019
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Various Pages
By Jack Ruttan in ballpoint pen, black and white, color, Coloured Pencils, heads, machines, paintings, pencil, sketches, watercolor, watercolour
It’s hard thinking of witty titles for these things. I’m putting up more pages. Not the stuff I did the other night when I couldn’t sleep. That was weird and also messy.
December 10, 2019
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Neon Gel Pens
By Jack Ruttan in ballpoint pen, color, paintings, pencil, sketches, watercolor, watercolour
Over the past couple of summers, a depanneur (convenience store, for you non-Montrealers) had a jar of gel pens for sale. When I was buying beer or cat food, if I was feeling flush, I’d pick one up. They are fun to play with, and I had a set of kid’s fluorescent paints to play with as well, but the scanner and putting it up on the internet takes away some of the vividness.
Ah well, I guess it’s like William Blake’s handcoloured poem prints. I’ve seen them for real, 200 years old, and reproductions don’t do them justice. Not that I’m comparing myself to Blake, but he’s one of my heroes.
Sadly, the neon pens aren’t very lightfast, and will probably fade to white in a few years. We will see.
Ha, I just noticed the oddness that this ancient scanner introduced up top. But this is the first time I’ve got the scanner working with the new computer (thanks to some old software), so I’m still thrilled.
December 7, 2019
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The Wind in the Willows Update
By Jack Ruttan in sketchesI’ve finished the Project Gutenburg edition of The Wind in the Willows on my Kindle. I can relate to it, because I used animals dressed as people to tell stories, in my Books in Canada cartoons. Still, the characters here are perfect English gentlemen, even if they take breaks to snap up flies once in a while. How does Mr. Toad have hair, if he’s a toad, and not wearing a toupée?
It scarcely matters, because reading about the book on the web after finishing it, I find the novel was based on stories the author made up to entertain his son at bedtime. That son committed suicide at school aged 20, which makes these stories more moving to me. Stories, at least of that era, had to have a happy ending.
They’re in the mold of Robert Louis Stevenson or Walter Scott high adventure, also with a love of nature. So, the actual events are hard to believe, but the general effect is charming. Very happy to catch up with this, another piece of my early childhood.
December 5, 2019
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Blatant Sketchbookery
By Jack Ruttan in cats, color, Coloured Pencils, Gouache, Jack's House of Cats, paintings, sketches, watercolor, watercolour
For some reason I’m back into the blog. I don’t think anyone goes here, and the “Blogoshphere” has become a little like one of those abandoned theme parks adventurers like to seek out. Anyhow, I’m baaaaaakk. Not posting as much as I used to, just cool stuff out of the sketchbooks, which are taking too much space around here.
Above…. Looks like Same Face Syndrome! I’ll just pretend that it’s the same imaginary actor playing all the parts.
Still the usual inability to draw those Barbie-like women who are so popular among internet artists. Oh well. Better watch a dozen more Youtubes about the topic.