Rock Kyndl-Creative Pursuits

EDM #15: Draw a Tree

2011-03-20T14:48:00.002-04:00

This was an experiment...drawn on tissue paper: a tree study using Chartpak markers.

Another pencil sketch: coffee table

2011-01-26T11:54:00.004-05:00

A sketched view of our living room coffee table on a typical Sunday afternoon. Trying to keep my hand in drawing but being pulled in work/business directions that are taking my creative energy elsewhere. Looking forward to getting back into it soon. (I still dream of colors.)

These last two drawing show me the importance of using both hard and soft leaded pencils. I attribute the lack of depth and contrast to the fact that they were drawn with a 6H pencil only: my pencil of choice on the job-site and the implement closest at hand-in my pocket always. (Yes, I see that I am as guilty as the next person in blaming my tools.)

Wetlands Sketch

2010-11-25T15:38:00.003-05:00

Dense sketch of the edge of the wetlands as they enter a small lake behind my house (drawn while floating in my kayak). It is a lazy Thanksgiving Day here in the southeastern United States.

Virtual Paintout: Prince Edward Island

2010-08-29T15:42:00.007-04:00

A quick pencil sketch-washed with color-of a sylvan scene of Canada.

(Scanner let me down on this one.)

Virtual Paintout: Hong Kong

2010-07-24T09:00:00.013-04:00

I am utterly fascinated by the plethora of A/C units, drain lines, electrical wires, plumbing supply pipes, support cables, cantilevering signage, steel bracing, clothing, and the rest of it that is so clearly visible all over the facades of almost all of the older downtown buildings and so much a part of the exterior urban street scene of this exotic location.
I chose a view that had a high concentration of these visual shapes. This is my impression of Hong Kong.
To me-as a person in the building business-this speaks volumes about the decades-long introduction of "modern-day conveniences" into the lives and homes of more and more people and reveals the inherent dilemma of where to put the layers of new infrastructure needed to accommodate the increasing demands for comfort.
I thought this kind of vision was only found in movies like Brazil and Blade Runner; but now I see it is more common than I realized. And not only is the visual plane a cacophony, I can only imagine the ambient din on the street itself.

Reference photo from Google Street View here.

Virtual Paintout: Czech Republic

2010-05-31T21:05:00.008-04:00

Here is yet another submission to the monthly challenge for The Virtual Paintout: a street scene in Prague. I picked this shot as an exercise to try and capture a sense of glass and reflection; but I am also drawn to the electric tram buses which typify the vibrancy of the European cityscape.
Reference here

EDM #100-Draw a Landscape (Canary Islands-VPO)

2010-05-02T17:41:00.027-04:00

Well...missed the end of the month deadline for the VPO again. It isn't like I had started this and didn't finish, I just needed the weekend to work on it and the monthly cut-off fell on Friday. Anyway, since I spent a lot of time during the month wandering for a location, then thinking/planning about it, I wanted to 'do something' after all that; so I didn't let the momentum die but rather come to fruition irrespective of an arbitrary deadline...not to say I won't be trying to bring it in under the wire in the future!
Luckily, I can very easily catalog this piece as EDM Challenge #100: Draw a Landscape. (EDM is the first online challenge group that drew me out of a lifetime of not drawing/painting: thanks to everyone in EDM).

Google Map Street View reference here.

Virtual Paintout: Stavanger, Norway

2010-04-18T13:00:00.017-04:00

This is a Stavanger, Norway sketch painting that didn't make the time cut-off for the Virtual Paintout. I still wanted to do it since the shapes and colors were so interesting, not to mention the towering perspective from the street. Reference here.
This is the first painting I've done using only watercolor tube paints instead of watercolor markers and pencils. I see the wisdom of mixing paint on a palette. The next evolution will be to use different brushes beyond the Niji waterbrush.

EDM Challenge #15: Draw a Tree

2010-04-12T20:01:00.005-04:00

A quick pencil sketch view of a nice shady spot under a beautiful tree from a porch/deck I was working on at a friend/client's home. Stopping for a break, I drew this...which is unusual for me because I don't tend to sketch during working hours.
Maybe this fine spring day heralds a refreshing change of habit.

Virtual Paintout: San Francisco

2010-02-28T16:13:00.011-05:00

Yet another quick, (not totally realized) last minute sketch for the Virtual Paintout. This is a drawing of a now closed, art deco ice palace in the heart of Berkeley, CA., recently designated an historical landmark-much to the chagrin of the owners who would rather keep their options open to the possibility of tearing it down. Efforts to save the structure are still in process. I was drawn to the elegant signage and rounded corners so beautifully typical of that era.
Reference here.

Virtual Paintout: Corsica, France

2010-01-10T19:05:00.013-05:00

Like alot of other participants in the Virtual Paintout this month-I am also very impressed with the diversity of landscape on Corsica. Tooling around via Google Street View, one can go from mountainous snowscapes to quaint seaside enclaves, from blazing autumnal forests to rural, barren farmsteads...all beautiful, all beckoning to be visually captured.
Reference view here.

VP Challenge: Mexico City

2009-12-20T23:15:00.009-05:00

Finally...a Virtual Paintout entry finished before the last day of the month. Having more time because of the Christmas holiday, I was able to work on this longer than usual; and I also was able to 'borrow' my wife's set of pastel, water-soluble pencils-which I really like-to compliment my watercolor pencils. They allow for a certain opacity that is hard to get from pencils alone.
Finding this hillside neighborhood makes me want to visit it in person.
Reference link here.
Happy Holidays and thanks to Bill Guffey for the interesting and challenging idea of The Virtual Paintout.

VP Location: Nova Scotia

2009-11-30T21:16:00.006-05:00

Another quick last-minute sketch for the Virtual Paintout: Nova Scotia, Canada. A street view of the smoke stacks of a power plant outside Halifax...like a trio of coral snakes standing unnaturally in stiff vigilance. Reference link here.

Virtual Paintout Challenge: Belfast, Northern Ireland

2009-10-31T21:39:00.025-04:00

Virtual Paintout challenge sketch: Kiln Rd. Newtownabbey, Northern Ireland. This was a last-minute (10pm) submission as the monthly challenge changes over on the last day of each month...just wanted to get in that VP archive! The actual Google Maps view that acted as the basis for this color sketch is here.

This is the skeleton of another, abandoned Belfast sketch started earlier in the month:

...maybe salvageable with the help of a calmer hand, a keener sense of perspective and relational proportion, and a big eraser.

Entrance Ramp to R. Infante Santo, Lisbon Portugal

2009-09-27T15:39:00.012-04:00

Continuing with the Virtual Paintout monthly challenges, this stop Lisbon. I thought this unusual view might be interesting to draw since it would give me a chance to use a lot of the colors that I don't usually gravitate to. Even though I did do that, the internal jury is still out as to whether this piece is a success and/or finished.
Here is the link to the Google Map view, so you can see for yourself this colorful urban street canyon.
Where to next, Bill?

Crosswalk-Abbey Rd. London

2009-08-23T22:18:00.019-04:00

Another sketched painting for The Virtual Paintout: London. In this view, the white building behind the trees on the left is 3 Abbey Road NW8-home of Apple Records and Abbey Rd. Studio: drawn in the fortieth year after that famous crossing. (BBC video story of the crosswalk today.)
Reference link here .

Barcelona: Scenic Vintage Monorail Ride...and a Miracle

2009-07-12T23:24:00.043-04:00

This is a painted, 'street view' sketch of a vintage monorail ride at a turn-of-the-20th century amusement park on top of Tibidabo Mountain overlooking Barcelona, Spain. I did this drawing as a submission to an on-going project called The Virtual Paintout: a monthly artistic challenge in which participants are given a city to explore and paint using the incredibly cool street view feature of Google Maps.
After much searching and wandering, I honed in on this amusement park with its atypical structures and interesting views. With an artist's eye I circled, looking high and low and back and forth, for a suitable angle from which to base my composition. Little did I know that-through these actions-I was to be the recipient of a random glimpse of auspicious coincidence, revealed to me in the most capricious manner: a million to one chance discovery of a bonafide Christian 'miracle', more obvious than twelve pizza Jesuses, IMHO and with all due respect.

Click on my drawing and you will 'see' what I am referring to:
the figure of Christ descending from the heavens!

Grant you, I have drawn this figure in the sky myself; but those that know me will tell you that I am not prone to chicanery or religious make-believe. When I do a drawing from a photograph, I usually go to great lengths to portray the scene with a modicum of accuracy-at least as much as my skill level will allow.
So...here is the Google Maps image in which this 'miracle' has manifested itself and upon which my rendering is based:

If you would like to see this in Google Maps for yourself, the address is 48 Cami de Vallvidrera al Tibidabo, Barcelona, Espana. In the boundless realm of possibility, there is this one street, one spot, and one direction where this phenomenon exhibits itself and even though I suspect that any miracle begins and ends on this side of the boundless veil...what can I say: I was impressed.
Long live serendipity.

Everyday Matters Challenge #18: Draw the View from the Window of...

2009-07-05T19:05:00.019-04:00

This drawing is inspired by a photograph I took out the window of our hotel room in Lucca, Italy when we traveled there in 2005. It continually seems like just yesterday.
Using a set of woodless graphite pencils which are smooth as silk, I transported myself back to that exquisite traveler's moment when one wakes up in yet another new place and gazes out at the crisp scene so full of promise, wondering what's down that path and around that far bend.

Everyday Matters Challenge #83: Draw a Nearby Body of Water-A Pond

2009-03-15T20:02:00.008-04:00

This is a beautiful, intown neighborhood duck pond near a project I am currently working on in an area of town called Buckhead. I did the pencil sketch drawing half 'plein air' while waiting to meet with some clients/friends who want a couple of porches built on their house. I drove around for the best vantage point and with pad over steering wheel, I drew what I could in one hour.
I am starting to see the limitations of my beloved Tombow markers and may have to branch out and learn to use true watercolors...maybe. I am also grateful that the work in the renovation business-for me anyway-keeps coming in.

2009-01-22T09:36:00.000-05:00

This space is reserved for a sketch of our feral feline forest creature "Annie-bug" who passed away yesterday, after being a beloved presence on our porch for 12 years.
R.I.P. 'Bug.
Originally posted: 4-22-10

Everyday Matters Challenge #193: Draw a Close-up Part of Something (the inside of a TV)

2009-01-04T19:57:00.011-05:00

Several months ago, my wife and I were sitting in the kitchen getting ready for dinner. It was raining pretty hard. A bolt of lightning hit something right outside our house. The bowl of peanuts I was so calmly eating flew into the air as I involuntarily catapulted out of my chair.
After we got over the shock (and relief that our house wasn't on fire), we assessed the actual damage. Among the casualties was this small TV.

I took the back of it off hoping to see something obvious to fix, but there was nothing. After it sat around for awhile, I got intrigued by all the spots of color and form, so...I pulled one last picture from this dead TV before it was taken to the recycling center.

Everyday Matters Challenge #69: Draw a Beverage

2008-08-31T21:05:00.010-04:00

This is a drawing based on a photo that I took as we were waiting at this famous place in Venice, in a well worn leather upholstered booth, for this bartender to mix and the waiter to serve our anticipated famous beverage. It is one of those places whose history and legend far out-class its current state of overpriced drinks and tourist overrun-(all of whom are apparently seeking the same brush with the ghosts of bygone greatness as we are).
The whole bar area is paneled in a beautiful, deep orange-toned wood, including the art-deco clock. The single room is not very large and the low white-washed beamed ceiling adds to the period ambiance. Hemingway and others passed the time here in expatriate glory back in its heyday.
If you have had the good fortune of visiting the incredibly beautiful city in which this place resides, you might have stumbled across it like we did. The name of this bar is in the drawing itself.

Everyday Matters Challenge #187: Draw a Fan

2008-08-24T19:54:00.001-04:00

This is a drawing of a fan we have in our attic loft, the proportions of which are so "off" that if someone had the ability to turn it on...they would mostly likely be maimed for life.

Everyday Matters Challenge #85: The Inside of a Store in Your Area

2008-07-20T21:31:00.006-04:00

This is a favorite haunt. I managed to find one of the few remaining chairs. As the figures started to go down on the page, I felt like I recognized the guy on the left.
Sure enough, if you go back into my blog to EDM #133: Draw a Peach...I swear it's the same kid standing in line on the left.

EDM Challenge #9: Organized Chaos

2008-07-06T14:47:00.004-04:00

This is my tool bag that I use to renovate houses, some of the contents of which change weekly. Its main function is to be a 'catch-all' for the tools, etc. that invariably 'float' around the shop and the job-site(s). I don't generally carry this around...and most of the time, it stays in my truck.

I decided to include the scan of the drawing before I colored it because, well, I liked it in its black and white state, too (and once it gets color, there is no going back!). In the finished, colored version, I used Tombow markers, Pitt pen (S, #175), graphite pencil-for the preliminary sketch, and some watercolor pencils (because I like the red better, for instance.)

EDM #167: Draw Something That Needs Fixing

2008-07-04T14:48:00.007-04:00

...the building and zoning permit office, yes! And I know I'm not alone in this one: ask these two people depicted. I'm sure they have been here a lot longer than I have. Perfect subjects for a quick sketch in that-like me-they ain't movin'! Why do I know they aren't going to move? Because if their name is called and they aren't around, the plan reviewer will immediately skip to the next person. When they come back and realize that they missed their turn, they have to sign the call list again.
The potential for this happening is multiplied by the 5 different departments they are required to clear: plan intake, zoning, site development, arborist, and structural. But it doesn't end there, the permit typist and the cashier lines await. God forbid if you have to change something...or it's lunchtime.

EDM #165: The Front of My House

2008-06-29T18:37:00.014-04:00

This is the front of my house from the one-lane street I live on. As you might be able to tell, it sits slightly down from the street. My wife and I designed and built it back in 2000, a life experience and result for which I am grateful on a daily basis.

I used Tombow markers, graphite pencils, and some watercolor pencils. I tried to use my trusty Pitt pens, but they wouldn't work because of the nature of the paper (architectural tissue paper) and the color pencil build-up. I think the disconcerting lack of dimension in the foliage is due to this. In hindsight, I would have done all the ink work and shadowing first, but I was experimenting with laying down colors first (after a pencil sketch). Two interesting things I learned tho' were 1) the Tombow 'blender' pen also blends the watercolor pencil marks, and 2) by using drawing tissue paper I was able to color some things (like the roof) on the backside of the paper. By doing this, the lines on the front side remained unclouded.

So...anyway, I am thinking that I might back off on the more concentrated pieces and try to just 'draw' a few of the EDM challenges without alot of complexity...and possibly more frequently. There are plenty of people whose work I admire doing exactly that...with great personal success.

EDM Challenge #141: Something with Bristles

2008-04-02T23:13:00.008-04:00

It has been awhile since last I posted...continuing with the color exploration.
In Georgia, pine trees are ubiquitous; so, to draw pine bristles with a couple of pine cones amidst them is to capture the everyday of this part of the world.

EDM Challenge #153: Something in a Plastic Bag

2008-01-21T01:12:00.003-05:00

Mark this day...something new is afoot: color...my first blog drawing in color. (...entering Oz.)

EDM #197: Draw a Remote

2008-01-20T11:43:00.001-05:00

There has been some discussion about growing artistically through participation in the Everyday Matters Group. I can wholeheartedly attest to this phenomenon.
One of the latest challenge is to draw a remote. Just to illustrate the artistic progress that I personally see that I have made since joining in on the EDM challenges, I am posting this drawing of a TV remote that I did back in May 2007-the month and year I started this blog. (I didn't post it earlier because-in my naivete-I didn't think it was much of anything.)
It is one of the first drawings I did after reading Danny Gregory book: Creative License. Even though I had always thought of myself as a creative person, I hadn't really deliberately drawn much of anything prior to this. So, I guess I'm saying that-to me-there has been a rewarding progression in my own work-looking at this drawing and what I have drawn since, spurred on by my participation in EDM...so, thanks to all.

Now a year and a half later, however, I am in the equivalent of "writer's block". I look at the recent drawings I have completed (which I am very happy with) and I think to myself: "who did these?..."I don't have any recollection of doing any of these strokes or choosing those colors". It is an odd paradox to be experiencing, to be looking at my own drawings and feeling like they are the vestiges of some kind of 'creative wave' I caught at particular times but that-now-the 'wind' has subsided and the shoreline has receded...and how can one conjure or pursue something that seems to originate outside of oneself to begin with?
Don't get me wrong. I realize the potency of conundrums like this...and so be it if my drawing production level is on a slow burn. I know the key is to put oneself on the path through practice and to be willing to relearn everything with a beginner's mind...and to just outright claim one's talent; but...damn.
...just waxing about the artistic process, fellow artist.

(Originally posted Nov. 08, 2008)

Nonetheless, it hasn't been a total desert. I did do this 2 minute blind contour drawing of EDM #14: Draw the First Thing You See When You Wake Up in the Morning!
...yeah, right.

EDM #151: Free Choice

2008-01-06T14:29:00.002-05:00

This is a still-life of a corner place in our living room.
I was experimenting with a water-soluble graphite pencil. It is obviously difficult to control the clarity of things with this particular art supply; but, I can definitely see the potential for some interesting effects.

EDM #110: Something with flames

2008-01-01T19:59:00.002-05:00

I remember very vividly when this exhibition hall burned-in 1976. Back before I really knew anything about Buckminster Fuller, I was genuinely impressed by this geodesic structure when I walked through it during Expo '67 in Montreal. So later, when I saw the footage of this archetypal form on fire, I was mesmerized. (What a visual!)
Just the other day, I happened to be looking through an old publication from the seventies when I came across this news photo from that time. Through the act of freehand drawing it from that historical photograph, I was mesmerized again...such is the power of art.
(Apologies to fellow EDM'rs: this is not really an 'everyday' fire!)

EDM #148: Soothing

2008-01-01T17:27:00.003-05:00

There is something very soothing about anticipating and then walking out to the end of a very long wooden pier, into the heart of a vast marsh with absolutely no one around...the sound of sea-birds and waves crashing onto a wild, sandy beach way off to the east. This is one such pier I traversed while visiting the beautiful coastal islands of South Carolina-during the cold Christmas holiday.

This drawing is very similar to another one I did several months ago. An unintentional series seems to be developing.

EDM #155 : Something with Steps

2007-11-30T20:15:00.001-05:00

I really liked the look of this foyer and gently curving staircase in a home on the island of Nantucket in Massachusetts. (Inspired by a photo...not me: visiting, observing, and drawing in Nantucket itself...personally...which is a shame because...I like Nantucket.)

EDM Challenge #36: Draw Out In Public

2007-10-15T22:40:00.001-04:00

I had to speak into this thing tonight; but, the meeting went on forever. I had my notes ready. To pass the time, I began this drawing. By the time it was my turn, the drawing had obscured part of what I had intended to say! Since there was a very small audience (most of whom I know!), it was more privately comical than publicly tragic. (I can't wait 'til Jan. when I will be free of this commitment!)
I really enjoyed working the pencil's eraser for blending. I was happy with this one...and it opens another medium for exploration.

EDM Challenge #133: Peach

2007-10-14T22:44:00.001-04:00

I wasn't even looking for it; but, this 'peach' stand fell in my lap when I was looking at a wonderful portfolio of photographs on Flickr by Stephanie Fysh (Lu) from Toronto. Being right up my alley and the perfect subject for this EDM challenge, I couldn't resist the attempt to draw it.

EDM #35: Draw a bicycle

2007-10-13T11:42:00.000-04:00

I was waiting for someone at the subway station. This quick sketch is what I was looking at across the parking lot. (Not much drawing happening lately. Truth be told...I did this drawing months ago.)
I am anxious to get back into the drawing mode; but-as a renovation contractor-it's the projects that have to be completed for Christmas that get my energy for now.
I picked up DG's book again. It really does wonders for the inspiration and rekindling of creative desires. If you are in a similar slump...open it to any page.

EDM #129: People Doing Something

2007-10-07T22:22:00.001-04:00

I pencil-sketched this at a local take-out joint, the proverbial "greasy spoon", while I sat at the counter waiting for my order. Before I left, I took a snapshot with my camera phone for reference. When I got home, I finished my lunch...and this drawing.
If you notice, this is the first drawing on my blog that has people in it...such as they are.

EDM #137: Something You Turn Off and On

2007-09-23T23:06:00.001-04:00

This is a view of the major state highway on which I commute most days to the intown neighborhoods where I work. This is the last approach before the road bends right to Exit 7 where I will turn off to go to my home.
Then, on the weekday morning when I return to Exit 7, I turn on the right entrance ramp onto this same artery, becoming a blood cell once again as I flow with all my fellow corpuscles into the heart of the city. This circulatory image is further enhanced when I make this trip in the very early morning or the late evening and all the vehicles are lit up: 'white' headlights going in...'red' taillights going out.
This particular drive home was downright lonely...way past the bloody mess of rush hour.

EDM #135: Salad

2007-09-17T00:06:00.002-04:00

We have a friend in town who lived in New Orleans and returns there frequently, esp. for Mardi Gras. Sometimes-without notice-she'll brings us a jar of this wonderful stuff, spontaneously appearing as it does in the deep recesses of our mailbox.

EDM #109: Clock around the house

2007-09-16T19:17:00.001-04:00

This Art Deco clock used to chime on the hour and half hour throughout my childhood. Even tho' it still tells time...the bells are silent. It now sits atop a similarly ailing TV set up in our attic loft-in a niche next to the chimney chase.
I have every intention of getting it ringing again. Its chimes are lovely and clear, and worthy of rebirth; a beautiful piece that will never be out-dated. (The same cannot be said about the temperamental TV-circa 1985.)

EDM #56: Self-Portrait and #216: Inner Critic

2007-09-14T20:21:00.000-04:00

"This doesn't look like you...at all", he said.

"Yeah...well, whatever."

"How do you feel putting a drawing of yourself on the internet?", he chided.

"When I actually do that, I'll let you know."

(Originally posted on Sept. 14, 2008)

EDM Challenge #132: Chain

2007-08-19T18:07:00.003-04:00

This is a 'look' up at the copper rain chain that hangs from the gutter that is attached to the fascia of the deep overhang outside our kitchen porch, under which are situated our herb planting boxes. When the clouds pour, it is a genuine pleasure to watch the water dance down this chain...and if-like now-it is hot and dry, they look beautiful even when not animated by the coursing rain.

EDM Challenge #131: Spray Bottle

2007-08-06T10:31:00.000-04:00

This is a local product. It was manufactured by someone who rented a storage space near one I once rented. He produced the stuff right there...and was very enthusiastic about its effectiveness. He gave me several samples to try, this being one of them. He was convinced that it would sweep the country once people learned of its powers.

"P-Eliminator"...can you guess what its miraculous properties 'eliminate'? Yes..."P". As a test, I applied it to the following sentence, to see if it actually does what its name implies:
"The quick brown fox jum s over the lazy dog"...it worked.

(If you also happen to have an errant pet who thinks the whole of his domain is under continual threat, thereby warranting the use of the occasional 'squeeze play' at key transition points-to ward off real and imagined interlopers, this product might also help to minimize the aftermath of such machismo. Beware of getting drawn into 'spraying contests' using this product in that way!)

EDM #17: Musical Instrument

2007-07-29T20:05:00.003-04:00

A couple of penny whistles, with a close-up of the fipple. In the hands of a real player: one of the happiest and most poignant sounds ever heard on God's green Earth.

EDM Challenge #17: Musical Instrument

2007-07-29T13:24:00.001-04:00

A close-up of the fipples of a couple of penny whistles.
In the hands of a real player, one of the happiest, and yet most poignant, sounds ever heard on God's green Earth.

EDM Challenge #128: Doorway View from One Room to Another

2007-07-29T11:22:00.003-04:00

This is the view from our living room into the kitchen area. I was sitting on the couch after having gone through the rest of the house-looking for a doorway view to draw that corresponded to my mood and time-frame. I gave up, sat down, and...this view presented itself.
It is two steps up into our kitchen from the living room. The first step is also a landing-with the stairs to the lower level feeding left, down to where the bedrooms are. (We live on a very steep slope!) The next opening-also left-is to the entrance room and the front door. Beyond is a captured, built-in daybed in a nook with an interior 'window' that filters light from the front door space into the kitchen sitting area.

EDM Challenge #126: Sponge

2007-07-28T14:22:00.001-04:00

All the sponges we have are predictable rectangles. So...I went to the source: sure to find some interest there.
The above drawing is the result of my little bit of research on 'sponges'. This is a "Barrel " sponge. I don't know if this type of sponge will end up helping me wash my car; but, I did learn that natural sponges-as we know them-are the 'skeletons' of the living variety...and fish love to go inside them because the water in there is always moving and rich with nutrients. (FYI: sponges don't eat fish!)
I also considered drawing a loofah...until I learned that a 'loofah sponge' isn't a 'sponge' at all, but rather, a gourd.

Random things

2007-07-23T09:57:00.000-04:00

Seven random, possibly interesting things about my life (in response to being called out by Casey Touissant):
1. I once met a guy who shared the following things with me: same nickname since birth (Rock); same real, first name (George); same military draft number; same birthday in the same year; lived on the same street in the same city; attended the same university; had the same color hair and eyes. The biggest coincidence of all, tho', was that we actually met and put it all together. (At the end of that school year, I never saw him again.)
2. Speaking of 'discovered' synchronicity(!): if you are familiar with a pseudo-science called biorhythms, you will know that there are three 'waves'-which begin the hour you were born: intellectual, physical, and emotional; and-supposedly-everyone has their own unique pattern-made up of these three waves. When I did a 'compatibility chart' for my wife and me (25+ years ago!)...only five waves showed up, when there should have been six: three each. After re-entering the info several times, it turned out that our 'emotional waves' matched so precisely that they overlaid each other and appeared as 'one' wave. (This makes for some interesting times-which I wouldn't trade for the world.)
3. I was one of the happy fools who actually bought advanced tickets to Woodstock. I still have them(!) because-by the time I got to Yasgur's farm-the festival had been declared a "free concert".
To this day-given what went on(!), I still marvel that we found our vehicle again, which we had to park on the side of a country road-8 miles away from the site!
4. I have 'cross dominance': referring to the hemispheres of the brain. I have equal dexterity in both hands. (I am left-handed but do lots of other stuff like a righty.) The real benefit, however, is that I can write backwards (mirror-writing) faster and more legibly than the 'normal' direction-which I enjoy doing immensely.
5. The most profound piece of theater I even saw was the debut performance of Not I: a short play written and directed by Samuel Beckett at Lincoln Center in NYC.
6. I once worked as a laborer on a road crew in the Azores, at a military base there (as a civilian). When the project was over, I 'hitched' a ride to Rome on an Iranian military cargo plane that had stopped there to refuel. It cost me $10 because I had to buy my own life-jacket. I sat in the back of the plane (loud!) with all the weapons...and 'crass', American consumer goods-purchased by the crew.
7. When I got my driver's license at age 16, I perfected a way to 'drive' while sitting on the opposite side...stretching my left leg and arm. I did it so I could see people's reactions as I 'drove' by them, waving from the passenger seat window.
Tagging list forthcoming...or you, gentle reader/artist, can contribute your own random things...here! Please do.

Everyday Matters Challenge #125: Bird(s)

2007-07-04T20:02:00.002-04:00

These hood ornaments are archetypal 'birds' to me, cutting through the literal and figurative atmosphere that was a rare time in automotive design...evoking a brief, triumphal age when the audacity of style was perfectly matched with the bravado of invention. Let's hope...in a beautiful, energy-conscious future, such synchronicity (of a different sort) may again be reached.

The inspiration for the drawing of these ornaments came from a client/designer/friend, David H. The top figure is the 'Cormorant' figurehead of the mid-20th Century Packard. The bottom one is...I don't know yet. Do you?

EDM Challenge #33: Eye

2007-07-03T20:24:00.000-04:00

I drew this from a magazine. I was drawn into and drew out of the incredibly subtle variations of light, reflection, and shadow found within the iris itself.

EDM Challenge #30: Chair

2007-07-02T12:16:00.000-04:00

This ladder-back chair reminds me of two such chairs that stood as sentinels behind the couch where my mother stationed herself. She also stood guard-in a way...over those two chairs. They were antiques and of such fragility, she forbad anyone from putting them to the use for which they were first created.

Everyday Matters Challenge #123: Bell

2007-06-17T14:09:00.002-04:00

This is a view looking out from our side deck-which is covered by an arbor from which this bell hangs. The large leaves to the left belong to a tree that is native (and revered) in our little ecosystem: a 'bigleaf magnolia'.
This beautiful, custom-made bell was given to my wife and me by her mother when we moved into our new house. Besides looking very pleasing, the bell is rung occasionally to call the cats: the three of whom use this deck to enter and exit the porch.

EDM #127: Skyscape

2007-06-17T14:00:00.001-04:00

When driving across the Great Plains at dusk, the domed canopy of the sky slowly engulfs you and becomes your world. You can see the beginnings and endings of rain-hundreds of miles away...and the lightning competes with the rays of the sun.

EDM Challenge #121: Coin

2007-06-02T20:24:00.000-04:00

This is a 1942 Liberty half-dollar that my father had in a worn, black leather box in the back of his drawer when he past away. The reason it has meaning to me is that he used to have a huge piggy bank full of them. It was very heavy. When we were young, my sister and I would beg him to let us count them. We thought Dad was some kind of Midas.
Years later, I learned that the movers stole that piggy bank when he and my mom had to move out of the house that we grew up in. Undaunted and in spite of his advancing age, he obviously had started collecting them again. There were 14 coins in the box.

Kitchen Counter Scene

2007-05-30T15:41:00.002-04:00

I have a real love for interior details of houses, esp. cabinetry and architectural detailing. I drew this kitchen counter vignette, using a photo out of a book called: The Way We Live as inspiration. There's something about a well-utilized work area: where frequent use over a long period of time naturally dictates the organization of the space. In the reference photo, the shelves are a patinated mustard yellow and the china pieces are stark white. (To me, the well-placed shallots on the stainless steel counter are a dead giveaway that it's out of a design book!)

EDM #116: Something Green (Two Green Peppers)

2007-05-28T21:01:00.004-04:00

These two peppers are the result of a quick exercise I got out of Keys to Drawing: "draw a vegetable from memory; then, find the same one out of your refrigerator and draw it from observation". I have to say, this was a revelation.
When I would attempt to draw in the past, I would end up with drawings like the pepper on the right-which is borderline okay...but not a real enthusiasm producer. Consequently, I would quickly lose interest and another ten years would pass by.
Very recently, I picked up Danny Gregory's book: The Creative License (after happening across his blog on the 'net). The pepper on the left I attribute to what I 'got' from his book; and, all the drawings I have publish here in this blog are also after this spontaneous discovery.
For some reason, I have apparently given myself permission to stop working from preconceptions and to penetrate to something richer. As the EDM group can attest (and as I have witnessed), the mundane holds treasures.

EDM #120: Flashlight

2007-05-28T20:43:00.000-04:00

This is a very nice flashlight. It has a heavy-duty rubber 'skin' that protects it from everything except my inability to keep fresh batteries in it. I didn't buy this flashlight. I end up possessing alot of things because they get left on my jobsites and never reclaimed. (The reverse is also true!) If this is your flashlight...call me.

I drew it twice and was surprised by how similar they turned out to be...can you tell which one was first?

EDM #1: Shoe(s)

2007-05-28T18:45:00.001-04:00

This is a pair of work shoes from a familiar view. So far, I have drawn all of my sketches using a Faber-Castell Pitt Pen (Superfine)-in dark brown or black and a F-C Pitt Pen (Brush) in cool grey. I really like being able to do shadowing with the 'brush' pen. I am going to try to stick with the monotones for awhile to get my skill level up...altho', I do own a 24 set of water-soluble colored pencils that I have never actually used.

EDM Challenge #55: Doorknob

2007-05-28T17:15:00.000-04:00

I drew this doorknob and deadbolt while sitting on my porch. It is the door into my living room: one half of a set of french doors. I was kinda happy with this one; maybe because I have installed so many of these things, I have a certain knowledge about them.
As a carpenter-cum-contractor, I have always used the proper installation of a door as a metaphor for the way I try to conduct all of my work. If the door is hung correctly, then everyone will use it as intended and pass through it without notice.

EDM Challenge #37: Keys

2007-05-28T16:51:00.000-04:00

I have two sets of keys: the ones on the top are my personal set. I know what every key is for and use them all the time. The set on the bottom is my job-related ring. (I have renovated houses for over 25 years!) Half these keys probably don't open anything anymore; but, I'm reluctant to just toss them. Heck, alot of my friends (former clients!) know I have 'an extra key' and they may have some odd situation where they might need it...or I might find that old padlock again...or maybe I just have a fondness for unlocking the memories that these little pieces of metal open up for me everytime I handle them.

EDM Challenge #16: Favorite Tool

2007-05-28T16:44:00.001-04:00

This is a quick sketch of my absolute-no question-favorite tool (and a stapler, too...which I drew on the same page in an otherwise vastly empty sketchbook...don't ask me why I did this.) Anyway, I used to carry a Swiss Army knife; but once I discovered this jewel, I never looked back. If I misplace this one, I have a back-up always ready. If I should-god forbid-lose the back-up, I would drop everything and go buy two more (REI). The elements of it that I find so indispensable are...well...all of 'em.

Oh yeah...it's a Leatherman Juice XE-6. It comes in a brilliant purple...but will age to a beautiful, burnished stainless through constant use (...not a good enough sketcher yet to represent this low-luster, polished quality).

EDM Challenge #2: Lamp

2007-05-28T15:43:00.000-04:00

This is a very nice lamp we inherited from my wife's grandparents. I started the lampshade first; but-once I got into the carved stone lion-it became obvious that the shade was too small...an all-too-familiar turn of events in my new drawing life.

EDM #18: Draw a view from your 'office'

2007-05-28T14:46:00.000-04:00

I spend alot of time waiting for people to show up! I did this drawing on one such day. To my surprise, and contrary to their past history (!), these flooring guys showed up relatively 'on time'...so I wasn't able to really finish the view outside the windshield.
As you can see, I have a calendar book that sits on a custom-bent piece of sheet-metal that 'sits' over the top of the dashboard. By the slant of the writing, you might also be able to tell that I use my left hand-(when I draw, too). This notebook arrangement would probably be unworkable for non-lefties; but-on the other hand (no pun intended)-if I was right handed, I probably wouldn't need this contraption.
Whatever.

Clamp

2007-05-28T09:10:00.000-04:00

When you have a shop, you can't have enough clamps. Every time I see them on sale, I grab them. I like the substantial handle on this one. They are also handy for holding the other end of something when working alone out in the field.
(Now that I am starting to draw some of these tools I have used all my working life and writing about them, I tend to want to wax poetic...draw parallels...philosophically reflect; but, well...there's not much getting around the fact that this is just a clamp.)
Luckily, there is the 'edit' tool in case something strikes me later!

EDM Challenge #27: Book(s)

2007-05-28T06:12:00.000-04:00

What could be better than finally being able to relax on vacation with a stack of great books from which to choose the evening's literary diversion...that is-after the drawing of said books is completed.

photo of steel gate (Assisi, Italy)

2007-05-27T12:42:00.000-04:00

I enjoy taking photos too, esp. when they are somewhere beautiful like Italy. I took this photo while walking the back streets of Assisi. It was a gate into a private parking area...or a vehicle repair place...couldn't tell. It was on the upper edge of the old town. We stayed within the walls and it was magical. (Click on the image for stimulating close-up view and see why I love 'found textures'.)