Currently Browsing: Commercially Bound Journals 319 articles
Lines: Achieving a Likeness with Different Approaches
I love working in a series just in an evening—sketching the same subject over and over to see how I can approach it with different tools, media, or even just something like line which is infinitely variable. I’ve posted three sketches of British actor Robert Morley in this post. I became a fan of his […]
I Knew Very Little About Prue Leith Until…
Last December, already a fan of “The Great British Baking Show” I knew very little about the host Prue Leith except her love of wonderfully colorful glasses, wacky jewelry, and her kindness to the bakers. While poking about on Amazon Prime one evening I found, “My Greatest Dishes.” Each episode features a famous chef going […]
Series Television’s Response To The Pandemic
There have been numerous ways that series television has responded to the constraints and realities imposed on production by the Pandemic. This is one of my favorites: Comedians sitting on couches watching episodes of “House Hunters.”
In Context: Bridge Jokes
I collect bridge jokes. Or bridge anecdotes. Why is a little more obscure and not found on this journal page spread. Background: My parents are excellent bridge players—competition level in their heyday. In their 90s they are still talking, card for card, about hands they played in 1960! I don’t enjoy playing cards with my […]
In Context: The Beginning of One of Those Emotional Entanglements…
Another Delano Ames quotation. (Hahnemühle Travel Journal.) “He gulped sentimentally.” Ah to have written that, what a perceptive way to see a dog.
In Context—Quotations from Revisited Books
The one highlight of going through my books and culling things out is that I’ve been able to re-read books out-of-sight for 20 or more years. It’s like saying hello to old friends. With Delano Ames it’s a very insightful friend.
Different Drawing Approaches for the Same Subject
Just this week I was asked by nine people how I start my drawings. I use different approaches to start my drawings depending on what pen I’m using, the paper size, and even just how I feel my eyes are doing on any given day. For a more detailed response I explain that I have […]
In Context: Ever Wonder What Happens to All Those Beard Portraits I Paint?
Here’s a quick sketch I made almost exactly a year ago. I was standing in the bedroom looking out through the next room into the studio at the wall of portraits I had hanging in the studio. The beard portraits I do in my journals for fun can’t be cut out and framed. But I […]
Now Use Even Fewer Strokes…
Did you spend your weekend working with your brush pen like I suggested on Friday? If so you’re ready to use even fewer strokes. Draw your subject with as as few strokes as possible. Think before you draw a contour line or make texture marks. Do you really need ink marks for that contour? For […]
As Few Strokes as Possible…
Pick up a brush pen. Get something down on the page in as few strokes as possible. Make each stroke count and enjoy the movement of the pen across the page. Repeat throughout the day as necessary. (Once an hour is great.) Have a fantastic weekend.