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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 […]
In Context—Looking At Details
These are some quick sketches of strong man Eddie Hall from 2019. I used a Pentel Brush pen and ink wash on the verso page. The recto page uses the same brush pen but watercolor. These sketches are in a commercially bound journal with green-lined pages. The smooth paper is something that I enjoy working […]
Another Alun Armstrong Sketch
Here’s another brush pen and ink sketch of Alun Armstrong. A wonderful set of dundrearies. Are they talked about as a set ? What is the related hairstyling vocabulary? Well, something to ponder, along with that wonderful hairdo. #MarchIsSketchAlunArmstrongMonth
Another Peek into “Bleak House”
In February I was sketching a lot of other folks besides Alun Armstrong. Here’s a sketch of Timothy West from “Bleak House.” I really can’t resist dundrearies!
Are You Sketching Alun Armstrong?
At the end of February I wrote about #MarchIsSketchAlunArmstrongMonth. Since then several people have joined in the fun. You can read about this project here. I hope you’ll join in and start posting work. (Patreon subscribers a posting in a private group, but others are posting on instagram and other social media.) Meanwhile, one of […]
A Little Bit of TV for the Pandemic
I’ll have more to say about television for the Pandemic, but today I want to recommend something I watched while recovering from cataract surgery in 2019. If you haven’t watched it now would be a good time: “Godless.” (On Netflix.) Scott Frank who created and wrote “Queen’s Gambit” wrote it. It’s a Western. The acting, […]
It’s Official #MarchIsSketchAlunArmstrongMonth
Yep, #MarchIsSketchAlunArmstrongMonth. It seems the best way to improve the current situation. I woke up this morning to icy rain. By the time I finished cycling (inside of course) there were fat, light flakes of snow falling quickly past the window behind me. The Minnesota State site for Covid vaccination eligibility said it would be […]
Feeling Around A Face
I did this sketch of Bill Bailey in a hand bound journal I’d made with 90 lb. watercolor paper (8 inches square). I was watching one of the several British comedy shows he turns up on—which is the best way for a US-based viewer to catch him. (It was probably an episode of QI which […]
It’s Simply Fun to Sketch Alun Armstrong
Actor Alun Armstong has one of the best noses on the planet. His face is simply fun to sketch. Last year I had just started watching “New Tricks” (a detective series that is available on several streaming platforms), when I sketched this brush pen sketch (Pentel brush pen with ink wash. Sometimes when working working […]