And that’s a wrap from this current sketchbook! Closing things with some Peter Falk wisdom I’ve shared before, I think…
“My idea of Heaven is to wake up, have a good breakfast, and spend the rest of the day drawing.”
Reflecting on the current pandemic, only to realise things this time last year gave plenty of us something to gripe about too...
How times seemed simpler then.
Even if it is (in my case at the least) just doodling away to the point of allsorts in the hopes it’ll make at least one person a) happy b) perked or c) amused, do good and be good in wake of the current shitstorms in the making.
More for another day...
This was part of a bigger study I'm currently in the midst of, with landscapes, water reflections and pinetrees for miles. Any and all feedback is very much appreciated.
Maia, one of two current German Shepherds was born here at our house ten years ago. She is a grand old lady with a big ears, a big ruff and a sweet personality. This drawing was done from a photo reference AND her sleeping at my feet. I used Pigma Micron Pens in black and brown with a little graphite smudging to add a bit of shadow.
Currently exploring image making with fountain pens: immediate mark making, no pencil, no eraser. I'm enjoying the discovery process and embracing the stray mark made with semi-blind contour and continuous line drawings.
Street Style Helsinki. Living in the Nordic levels, like Finland, requires special attitude against cold winter weather. From a distance the sight felt like a giant rectangle on two thin sticks approaching scurry towards me.
It's been an interesting week, one of which had events I didn't expect to affect me as much as they did. I'd like to say something that occurred was surprising, but quite frankly, it wasn't. It's concerning how far things have gone and how some seem to feel indifferent to or even support them. We'll see what will happen, 11 days can't pass soon enough... besides that, time ticks on. A bit too fast in my opinion, but it is what it is. I know this drawing isn't my usual style, but something about drawing like this feels mindless for me, it lets me zone out and disconnect.
A colored pencil drawing of a turban squash. We made a curried squash, pear, and onion soup with it today! It was pretty while it lasted....now it's tasty!
Joseph Cornell (1903–1972)
Cornell worked nights at the kitchen table, sorting and assembling materials for his boxes. It was not easy going. Some nights he felt too fatigued from his day job to concentrate on his art and would sit up reading instead, switching on the oven for warmth. In the mornings, his quarrelsome mother would scold him about the mess he’d left at the kitchen table; without a proper workroom, Cornell was forced to store his growing collection of magazine clippings and dime-store baubles out in the garage.
In 1940 Cornell finally mustered the courage to quit his job and pursue his art full-time—and even then his habits changed little. He still worked nights at the kitchen table, while his mother and brother slept upstairs. In the late morning he would head downtown for breakfast at his local Bickford’s restaurant, often satisfying his sweet tooth with a Danish or a slice of pie (and lovingly cataloging these indulgences in his diary).
- From Daily Rituals: How Artists Work by Mason Currey
#dailyrituals #inktober #JosephCornell @masoncurrey
Samuel Beckett (1906–1989)
On a late-night walk near Dublin harbor, Beckett found himself standing on the end of a pier in the midst of a winter storm. Amid the howling wind and churning water, he suddenly realized that the “dark he had struggled to keep under” in his life—and in his writing, which had until then failed to find an audience or meet his own aspirations—should, in fact, be the source of his creative inspiration.
“I shall always be depressed,” Beckett concluded, “but what comforts me is the realization that I can now accept this dark side as the commanding side of my personality. In accepting it, I will make it work for me.”
- From Daily Rituals: How Artists Work by Mason Currey
#dailyrituals #inktober #samuelbeckett @masoncurrey
Captured spirits in bottles are typically used when summoning demons. The type of spirit captured depends on the demon you wish to conjure and is used as currency or an "exchange" for the demons services. This spirit is an average "lost soul" and can be used to summon Balaam, the demon of greed. {Work of Fiction!} ♡♡♡
A Civics class arm doodle, a fitting place for a tattoo design. Today was the wrong day to wear a white long sleeve though. This weekend was interesting...good, bad, and very personal. It's currently 8th period though, and here's to the fact that I get to end my day in art.
"Make finger puppets that look like your family but aren't such dicks" | It's Nice That is currently doing a weekly Instagram brief, and the current task is to illustrate a fun activity that you can do alone.
Essentially what this "Secret Sketchbook" project is, is a sketchbook that I use for my Patreon, that I make doodles in for my patrons, then once I have enough pages, I make it into a zine! I'm currently in the process of getting the very first secret sketchbook printed now, and starting on the second one which will be more exclusive until it's complete!
This sketch is of my favourite junk art yard in Porthleven (where I currently live)- called Wreckers Studio. Not often you get to see a mermaid riding a horse...
Graham Greene (1904–1991)
In 1968, an interviewer asked if he was “a nine-till-five man.” “No,” Greene replied. “Good heavens, I would say I was a nine-till-a-quarter-past-ten man.”
- From Daily Rituals: How Artists Work by Mason Currey
#dailyrituals #inktober #GrahamGreene #goals @masoncurrey
#27 Plants vs Zombies fanart - This was an old piece I drew during a live stream on magma.com a few years ago. I got around to finishing it last night in ibisPaint and then made some color adjustments in Photoshop. I stink at coloring in my opinion and I usually don't color my line drawings because I get a little bit antsy staying in the lines. The following characters I drew are: The Tree is named Mourning Wood - which is a mini-boss from the game Terraria, the sunflower is from Conker's Bad Fur Day, The Piranha Plant is a recurring enemy in the Super Mario franchise, Peashooter and Puff-shroom are from Plants vs. Zombies, Ivysaur from Pokemon, Water Lily Siren from Shantae, the toon witch Samantha from the tv show Bewitched (intro), and Godzilla.
This is my current project! A coloring book! It will be released through Amazon this November. If you'd like to stay apprised of progress follow me on instagram: @fyre.heart
The past two days have been interesting, to say the least. My anxiety kicked up again, yielding two more panic attacks...oh joy. There's an increasingly chaotic external environment: COVID-19 positivity rates rising, looting, SAT nonsense (thank you College Board for not giving anyone information and for being very uncooperative). Am I angry at people in the world? Yes, and I know that's a generic, over-used phrase, but I truly am. I'm tired of all of this. I'm aggravated with the current state of the U.S. There's moments where things feel fine, and others when it feels like things are closing in. No one knows what the next few months will bring and tensions are high. Will things work out? They will eventually; they better. But, at the same time, what the heck is even going on anymore?