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The Puzzle of Starbuck
Look, I’ve read Melville’s “Moby Dick” three times in my life—I’m not about to read it again. But that doesn’t mean I stop thinking about it. Growing up all I could think about was Queequeg, his coffin, his ability to see what was coming, sort of. Lately I can’t stop thinking about another character: Starbuck. […]
A Little Bit of Collage Can Be Your Friend
You know how I like to paint on drawing paper? Sometimes the paper complains. That happened when I put in the Montana Marker background on this page spread. The marker ink/paint saturated and roughed up the paper at the top of the page. I didn’t want the paper to be weak there because it would […]
More Episodes of WILTY
I’ve been having serious withdrawl symptoms with no new episodes of “Would I Lie To You.” Then a couple weeks ago I saw it jumped to the front of my queue—more episodes. I’ve sped through them, unable to h help myself, and now of course want more episodes of “WILTY” all over again. But I […]
A Look Back at the Early Days of the Pandemic
Journals remind us of things. They provide a look back. They can be a great record of the events of our lives. They provide a look back, in this instance, to the early days of the Pandemic. The Digital Armageddon I’m going through since February 2, 2021 has resulted in some losses of data—I need […]
I’m So Predictable in Subject Selection…
I’ve been downsizing and that means things are going into storage. Sometimes I take a moment a peek in the journals as I box them up. Here’s a page from two years ago (2019). It had been 5 months since I’d been out of the house—this was pre-Covid—I had just had my cataract surgeries […]
In Context—Books I’ve Been Reading
I’ve been downsizing my library, so I have been spending my free-time in the past year rereading books before I give them away. Here’s a character’s take on crime-novel reading. I have my own theories on the popularity of mysteries and crime fiction. And of course on my own readership of those genres. But hey, […]
More on Hair—Some Beards
Beards, I tend to draw them all the time. Towards the end of my live stream while drawing a portrait of Rick in a top hat I mention why beards are so essential a feature to draw. Some crisp white watercolor paper, a pen, some paint, a little bit of winding down at the end […]
Since I Was on the Topic of Hair…
Hair, it’s one of the things that pulls me to draw a portrait. How does that person have his or her hair? I am particularly susceptible to Jane Austen dramatizations—so much wonderful 18th century or 19th century hair depending on how the film decides to go with fashion at the cusp of time. Or anything […]
Television Recommendation—Dead Still
I’ve been meaning to recommend “Dead Still” for over a year. This show popped up on Acorn. It’s about a postmortem photographer working in the late 19th century in Ireland. There are some very interesting characters, a mystery about the man’s past which runs through the whole season, and incredible set decoration, wardrobe, and hairstyles. […]
In Context—Another Peek at Pandemic Life
Pandemic life can’t help but pop up in your journal if you’re working from home. I’ve been sorting my images, all in little folders ready for blog posts. I have had some, like this one from 2020 set to go—but I don’t remember what the topic was to be. Last week (2021) I cooked a […]