December 10, 2012 0

Digital Doodling

By in color, digital, paintings, sketches

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I’ve been doing a lot of work with my digital art, in Photoshop, with a stylus. Not as much control over the lines and strokes yet, as with more traditional media. But it’s coming along.

Still, I’m shy of putting them up, because not many of them are “ready for Prime time,” at least in my estimation. Of course, that never stopped me before. It’s fun pulling switches and trying filters.

I’m not trying to be terribly realistic, but I want to make a pleasing image. Here’s one little image. Maybe I’ll flip through my library, and see if there are any more. In the meantime, I’m always dicking around like usual.

December 5, 2012 0

Cross-Hatchery

By in ballpoint pen, black and white, cats, color, digital, pen and ink, pencil, women

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These are almost automatic drawings I do, while watching movies on the DVD machine, or petting cats. Cross-hatching is fun for me, but there’s almost no end to it. You simply have to stop, rather than declare something finished.

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The bonus this time is a little coloured cat picture:

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December 5, 2012 0

Watercolour Women

By in black and white, color, heads, paintings, pencil, watercolour, women

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Been painting sometimes strange watercolour portraits of women. Going for pretty more than scary, but they’re all interesting, at least.

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Plus, a bonus pencil drawing of a little boy, from the front cover of VOIR newsweekly:

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November 27, 2012 1

Steve Luxton at the Atwater Library

By in ballpoint pen, black and white, men, montreal, pen and ink, ruttan's place, sketches, women, writing

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Years ago, I had the notion that I would make a drawing of every author or poet I heard read, and make some sort of collection. That pledge went by the boards years ago, but I still enjoy drawing people at readings. Not even necessarily the reader. Also the people listening, if I can sit near the front, and steal looks without the subject noticing. People look very good at readings, because they are paying attention (or are amusingly bored), and they sit still for a long time.

This event was a celebration for poet Steve Luxton, at the Atwater Library in Montreal, last Sunday the 25th of November, 2012. Pleasant stories mixed with poems, then hobnobbing, with home-made wine in the library. Earlier this year I had attended another event featuring many of the same people, but didn’t include a sketch of Steve, who is in the background here — the smallest figure.

November 24, 2012 0

Vet Bill Blues

By in cats, ruttan's place

I’ve set up a contribution page to help me deal with a big vet bill rescuing a sick orphan kitten.

Link to page about Gaston the kitten. Or, is he now called “Jack Bauer?”

Not something I’d normally do, but friends expressed interest in contributing when I told the story, so I thought I may as well open it up. Making a new card (The cost of doing which does NOT come out of contributions!)


November 22, 2012 0

Sketches of Dancers, Cars, and more heads.

By in black and white, heads, pencil, sketches, women

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November 20, 2012 0

Printemps d’Erable

By in black and white, comics, pencil

I hope this doesn’t make me seem too right wing. I was listening to the news on the radio this morning, just waking up, and this is what one item sounded like. To tell the truth, I support the protests!

November 19, 2012 0

This is still fun.

By in ballpoint pen, black and white, digital, heads, men, sketches

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Some more sketchbook items, digitally enhanced. I like the texture in the one above, which comes from the back of my work chair Nora the cat enjoys savaging. Textures make digital things more interesting. Above was drawn with a ball point pen.

Below is from a photo of Yours Truly, with a black pencil. The textures didn’t work as well (so I didn’t use them), but it has some sort of a quality….

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November 16, 2012 0

Small Sketchbook Scenes

By in black and white, men, pencil, sketches, women

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Well, these are fun to draw!

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November 15, 2012 0

Further Pencil Outpourings

By in black and white, heads, men, pencil, sketches, women

I have lots of little drawings but putting them all up in one post would be overkill. So today here are pages from my big, long sketchbook (well, 9″x12″ — but that’s pretty long).

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Usually when I scan something I slide a piece of blank paper underneath, but this time I wanted to see the “pentimenti” of the previous pages.

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Pencil, like usual. I’m enjoying these “woodless pencils” which are basically sticks of graphite with a plastic coating. Nice and dark, and you can use the sides to fill in areas.

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November 9, 2012 0

Pencil-lations.

By in black and white, men, pencil, sketches, women

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Been drawing a lot in pencil since I’ve started working on digital painting. Unfortunately, not much of the digital is ready for Prime Time (even here, where I often publish imperfect work!). But it is improving mightily, so I might be showing you some less than totally misbegotten images in the future. Part of the problem is that I’m not interested so much in photorealism, or even using photos in the work. But digital likes the mechanical and smooth. A lot of it’s about processing.

But I do like modelling things with light, and also working on proportions (even perspective, though that’s a challenge!) Hence these pencil drawings. Below are a few faces of famous directors, plus some women. That begs the question — where are all the famous directors who are women?

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November 7, 2012 0

Hospital Waiting

By in ballpoint pen, black and white, cats, heads, horses, men, pen and ink, sketches, women

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Sketches done at the Hôtel Dieu Hospital, in the tiny waiting room in the endoscopy ward. My friend checked out OK, but it was a tough few hours waiting. Happyily, I had my book, (TOO MUCH HAPPINESS by Alice Munro), and my sketchbook. No one asked me what I was doing, thank goodness.

Not all of the faces here were actually in the room. The horse and cat, at least. I just like drawing those.

November 4, 2012 0

No One Visits the Blog on Sunday

By in ballpoint pen, black and white, men, pencil, sketches, women

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This is true. But I am moved to put up some silly ballpoint pen and pencil drawings I’ve done. Enjoying the more complex scenes these days, and will do a few of these in colour, and digital, which I am fooling around with.

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November 3, 2012 0

Little Pictures

By in color, machines, sketches, watercolour, women

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I enjoy painting these little pictures. May do some larger ones later, but don’t want to get all that complicated.

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