Herman Melville (1819–1891)
"I rise at eight—thereabouts—& go to my barn—say good-morning to the horse, & give him his breakfast. (It goes to my heart to give him a cold one, but it can’t be helped.) Then, pay a visit to my cow—cut up a pumpkin or two for her, & stand by to see her eat it—for it’s a pleasant sight to see a cow move her jaws—she does it so mildly & with such a sanctity."
- From Daily Rituals: How Artists Work by Mason Currey
“I would prefer not to.”
― Herman Melville, Bartleby the Scrivener
“A smile is the chosen vehicle of all ambiguities.”
― Herman Melville, Pierre; or, The Ambiguities
#dailyrituals #inktober #HermanMelville @masoncurrey
Charles Darwin (1809–1882)
From the time he arrived at Down House until 1859, when he finally published On the Origin of Species, Darwin led a double life, keeping his thoughts on evolution and natural selection to himself while bolstering his credentials in the scientific community.
Meanwhile, he divulged his secret theory to a very few confidants; he told one fellow scientist it was “like confessing a murder.”
- From Daily Rituals: How Artists Work by Mason Currey
“Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge: it is those who know little, not those who know much, who so positively assert that this or that problem will never be solved by science.”
― Charles Darwin, The Descent of Man
#dailyrituals #inktober #CharlesDarwin @masoncurrey
Turns out, leprechauns don’t need rainbows to find pot (of gold) in Amsterdam—just a solid set of wheels. This guy’s off to chase some lucky breaks, one tiny pedal at a time.
Illustration by me, because St. Patrick’s Day needed more bikes.
the wounded soldier is no longer just a man begging for mercy - he is infected with something dangerous, which makes him aggressive and possibly uncontrollable. His outstretched hand may now mean not a plea, but an attempt to grab the protagonist, which increases the sense of threat.
The soldier's eyes, wide open and seemingly filled with fear or madness, now look like a sign of loss of humanity. The blood stains on his clothes are no longer just traces of battle, but perhaps the result of his own aggression.
The chains in the background can be interpreted as a symbol of restriction or control over the infected - perhaps he was captured or locked up, but was able to break free.
William Styron (1925–2006)
“Let’s face it, writing is hell,” Styron told The Paris Review in 1954.
- From Daily Rituals: How Artists Work by Mason Currey
“We’re all in this game together.”
― William Styron
#dailyrituals #inktober #WilliamStyron @masoncurrey
Louise Bourgeois (1911–2010)
“My life has been regulated by insomnia,” Bourgeois told an interviewer in 1993. “It’s something that I have never been able to understand, but I accept it.” Bourgeois learned to use these sleepless hours productively, propped up in bed with her “drawing diary,” listening to music or the hum of traffic on the streets.
“Each day is new, so each drawing—with words written on the back—lets me know how I’m doing,” she said. “I now have 110 drawing-diary pages, but I’ll probably destroy some.
- From Daily Rituals: How Artists Work by Mason Currey
“I am not what I am, I am what I do with my hands...”
― Louise Bourgeois
“Every day you have to abandon your past or accept it, and then, if you cannot accept it, you become a sculptor.”
― Louise Bourgeois
#dailyrituals #inktober #LouiseBourgeois @masoncurrey
After drawing a poison bottle I wanted to create an unconventional witch: young instead of old, red instead of violet, pharmacist instead of... well... By the way, I believe that most witches were pharmacists of their time.
A whimsical hand-drawn sketch features a hand holding a phone, with the message "This is so much fun" prominently displayed on the screen. The drawing is done in a simple, childlike style with colored pencils, conveying a sense of lightheartedness and joy.
In celebration of the Lunar New Year, hoping this year will be as fun as a game of snakes and ladder! Symbolism: ladder (progression), coin (prosperity), flower (unfolding/bloom of new adventures), oranges (a fruitful year).
Umberto Eco (b. 1932)
Eco says that he is able to be productive during the brief “interstices” in the day. He told The Paris Review’s interviewer: “This morning you rang, but then you had to wait for the elevator, and several seconds elapsed before you showed up at the door. During those seconds, waiting for you, I was thinking of this new piece I’m writing. I can work in the water closet, in the train. While swimming I produce a lot of things, especially in the sea. Less so in the bathtub, but there too.”
- From Daily Rituals: How Artists Work by Mason Currey
“When men stop believing in God, it isn’t that they then believe in nothing: they believe in everything.” ― Umberto Eco
#dailyrituals #inktober #UmbertoEco @masoncurrey
Another vampire I created for my world, a few years ago I created Mademe. But she wasn't created as a vampire originally, but since shes mine I can do what I want. She is sexy, powerful, intelligent and she would kill you in cold blood. She stands alongside Aledric (he is still in development), not as a wife but his ally. She is also known as the mother of the clan.
