Tags: ballpoint pen, black and white, colour, men, sketches, women
January 18, 2010
1
KirDok
By Jack Ruttan in sketches
Today seems to be a superhero comics type of day, at least on the blog. I was flailing around, writing stuff, mainly messing around on the web, and twittering. I tend to do this, then focus down on something worthwhile. But for the time being, it’s often all up in the air.
Anyhow, a twitter exchange between myself and cartoonist Michael Kupperman led me to slap together this impression of Jack Kirby as his creation Modok . Probably not the first person in the world ever to have this idea, but it’s fun, and I felt the urge.
Tags: black and white, comics, sketches
January 18, 2010
0
That’s Super, Supergirl.
By Jack Ruttan in sketches, women
Not drawing a lot right now. Well, a little bit. Working on stuff, honest! Not just creepy pictures of superheroines.
Tags: black and white, sketches, women
January 15, 2010
0
Going Graphic
By Jack Ruttan in cats, sketches
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.
Tags: Animals, black and white, cats, Nora the cat, sketches
January 13, 2010
0
Watercolour Crowd
By Jack Ruttan in men, sketches, watercolour, women
Working on stuff. Depressed over the earthquake in Haiti. Found time to do some watercolours. But they’re hard, still no system of how to do them.
Actually, though they don’t always turn out the way I want them too (part of my brilliant system of not thinking before I start anything), I really enjoy doing them. Drawing in general, too. But there’s something very soothing in handling the brush, and watching the colours bloom. That’s what the old Asian painters knew.
Tags: colour, men, sketches, watercolour, women
January 10, 2010
0
More Faces
By Jack Ruttan in men, sketches, women
Tags: ballpoint pen, colour, men, sketches, women
January 9, 2010
0
More coloured pen faces
By Jack Ruttan in men, sketches
The scanner seems to like the coloured pen colours better than the more usually respectable watercolours I do. Except there’s not a good yellow in coloured pen ink. So, I used a yellow pencil.
Tags: ballpoint pen, colour, men, sketches
January 7, 2010
0
Friendly Nazi
By Jack Ruttan in men, sketches
It’s the friendly Nazis you have to watch out for. I’m wondering, if they invaded this town tomorrow, which people I know would be collaborators, would hide people under floorboards, or would be on the trains themselves? And what would I do? Afraid I’d just muddle through, presenting papers when asked. Probably get into trouble just trying to be nice. Who knows?
Tags: ballpoint pen, men, sketches
January 6, 2010
0
Ball Point Pen Girl
By Jack Ruttan in sketches
This is kind of cool, if deranged. Drawn with a set of colour ball point pens. Reminds me a little of Louis Wain’s cats, but I haven’t completely gone around the bend yet. Writing an odd script for a science fiction comic story. It would be nice to finish that, and actually do something of it. I feel like starting to draw it right away. But I want to get further along in the story, to see if there is a story there. Already, it’s going places I wouldn’t have thought. But, they’re interesting places.
I’ve really had trouble getting work going that isn’t just for a paycheck. But I don’t just want to be a freelance drone, working on other people’s projects. I want to get out some stories of my own. In whatever form. Some of those forms might be surprising, in the future, if I can get certain projects off the ground.
At the moment, they’re just in my head. But it’s a new year, and I have no idea what i’ll be doing for most of it. That’s the kind of life this is.
Tags: ballpoint pen, colour, sketches, visual art, writing
January 4, 2010
1
Lhasa de Sela
By Jack Ruttan in montreal, sketches, watercolour, women
Going to miss Lhasa de Sela. Not that I played her music a lot around here, but I always paused when La Lorona or one of her other haunting numbers came on the radio, or played at a friend’s place. Kind of a female version of Leonard Cohen, at least in the sultry romantic aspect of her music. She was the only person I met and chatted with in Montreal who later became famous. Trying to remember now, but we had drinks in the Cheval Blanc, and maybe one other place. She was a friend of a friend’s girlfriend, and had interesting stories to tell.
Her family was with “the circus,” maybe something to do with the military also, so her early life was spent travelling from place to place. She was an American/Mexican, so was worried about being able to stay in Montreal. She went to school in California with Alice Walker’s daughter, who, it seemed was a little snooty. We talked about books and things. She really didn’t talk about her singing.
I’d see her around town sometimes, because she was like me, one of those rootless Montreal artsy types. Then she got well-known. I’d still see her once in a while, when she popped into Welch’s, the used bookstore where I worked for 5 years in the early 90s. She’d say “hi,” don’t know if she really remembered me. Very shy and soft spoken.
When I had met her, she had shaved her head. I don’t think that had anything to do with the cancer that killed her, so early in life with such a great career. She just had a new album out this season, so I was thinking about her again. Now she joins that pantheon, in one’s memory. The good thing about being an artist is that you affect a lot of people, and can leave something behind. Though it’s a shame she didn’t have many years in which to sing and record more of her music.
Tags: black and white, montreal, obits, sketches, watercolour, women
