Once Upon a Sketchbook

10 years ago I realized that I had to do something with my artistic ability. The press of kids and work had left me with no room or desire to pursue art. But I couldn't leave it lying fallow any longer - I was not only short-changing myself but I was depriving my family as well. It is one thing to know that a possibility exists. It is something else to begin the long process of realizing the possibility. So I decided to start drawing. Drawing is the basic artistic skill that I wanted to develop as a first step to being able to express my artistic visions.

I bought a little 8x10 black hardcover sketchbook. The majority of work I'd done in years gone by was pen work, so I got a technical ink pen and a couple of fine line marker pens and started doing a drawing a day. I filled that little book. 3 drawings were removed before I realized I could scan pages without cutting them free. The rest of the drawings are still in the book, which I gave to my #2 son on his 16th birthday.

I am going to post a few of the drawings that were in that book as a sort of 10 year anniversary consideration. The first 3 here are the 3 that I cut out of the book. Fish I gave to my daughter on her 18th birthday. Tree Snake I gave to my #1 son on his 21st birthday. And Possum & Grasshopper I gave to my sister-in-law for her 40th.

Fish



Tree Snake


Possum & Grasshopper

 

Absolutely beautiful, kramus! And, very generous gifts, I might add (I think I just did!)

 

These are lovely, kramus. I particularly like the last one.

 

gnarly tree!
/shameless pun

 

I've always been impressed with the pieces you have posted and these are no different. The tree snake is my favourite of these three.

 

Just so beautifully intricate, kramus. As with spindles, i've always admired your work.

 

Stunning. I really like this style.

 

Thanks grumpyolddude I know my brother & SIL have a room where my art is featured, as does one of my sisters. My kids & my parents seem to like having the art on the walls of their rooms as well. I guess that makes up for what seems like a lack of interest on the part of my other sibs. I know my work isn't to everyones taste.

Thanks CinnamonGirl, that drawing was a step on the learning process curve - working with the fur and the way the legs changed to a scaly skin, not to mention the intricacies of the grasshopper.

Glad you like Tree Snake spindles - I did that as the first drawing in the book, thinking it was the sort of thing I used to draw back when I last drew many years before. It was like putting on a comfortable pair of shoes, actually, doing that drawing.

Thanks for the kind words over the years paddyjoe. I remember you taking some really nice photos of my sketchbook in Rochester back in the day

Glad you like it Canthook. I'm not sure what my style is, actually, but folks do seem to know a drawing or painting is mine when they see one so whatever my style is it must be fairly consistent eh?

The rest of these drawings stayed in the book.

Fluffs and Coons


Toad and Fish


Turtles and Longneck

 

That was a fun weekend, bro! Well except for when you and steve almost got locked up....


--- merged: Dec 7, 2011 11:46 PM ---

 

I thought that little border incident was forgotten

Yup, those are the pics PJ

An owl that sits in the sketchbook.

 

I figure this thread is due for a couple of more images from that old sketchbook.

Frog


Octopus (I did a mish-mash of my name built into the poor beast - a learning experience that told me to pre-plan such attempts in the future)

 

It's great you keep dropping in to see what else has been posted GOD

Here are a few drawings that never were finished. It gives you a sense of how I was going about doing these things.

unfinished piece


unfinished landscape


garden


bear and fish


As you can see from these images, I was (and still am!) trying to figure this drawing thing out.

 

I've been meaning to drop in to see your work kramus.
Wanted to be able to take the time to appreciate your efforts.
It looks to me that you are doing a superb job of 'figuring this thing out.'
I can't say that I have a favourite (how to pick?!) though that octopus is really quite arresting.

 

I can imagine a career of illustrating fantasy novels for you, kramus. Your work is as good or better than the published stuff. Ever considered album covers?

 

Thanks for taking a look Snowy. I remember being concerned about that octopus. The head seemed to develop it's shape all on it's own, but I do like the end result. And the eye - I left that till near the end and was almost holding my breath hoping it would go ok.

Illustration could be interesting GOD. A couple of years ago I put together a package and mailed it out to different publishers, and submitted online portfolios to a couple more that accepted such things. No joy. Album covers would be cool, but the 3 or 4 folks who've mentioned they want me to do theirs never carried through with it. With luck I still have a few years of doing this stuff, so maybe down the road . . .

A couple more from the book. I would do a free-association series of interconnected beasts and plants and such just to keep things moving. The time I was spending per drawing was climbing from a couple of hours to 4, 5, 6. The ex bitched about me drawing all the time. But hey, I was home, watching the kids or at work during breaks or sitting during a kids practice. I was sober, didn't buy drugs, remained completely faithful, I was caring, attentive and was always working around the house and taking care of the kids. She spent a lot of time in bed watching soap operas and eating donuts. So I started drawing again. But she did bitch about the time I spent.

Shrews in the Shrubbery


Snapshot

 

YES!!!

glad to see your awesome work up again kramus.........always have tripped on your style.

love it.

 

I would gladly buy a coffee table book of these, kramus. These are definitely professional quality sketches.
I really enjoy them. Thank you for posting more.

 

Thanks for those lovely comments Fremen! I am very aware of the limitations of the work, but just to know someone has such a positive response to it is very cool.

Here is a drawing I did of some bushes that were in the back yard of a house I once lived in. They were covered in snow, and as I drew them there was a transformation to a place where a dragon slept. The scale shifted in my mind to a place of forest and hill where passers-by could be unaware of what they were in proximity to. And as a second shift I saw this from the near yet distant vantage of toadstools and busy insects.

The Sleeping Dragon


I had an image of pre-human North America form in my mind one day when I was thinking about the country north of Lake Simcoe. Envisioning an Ontario Shield Dragon on a rise of rock that has spied something in the distance - probably a woods deer, a moose or a bear - and the dragon is ready to leap into the air and go fetch itself some supper.

Preflight Dragon

 

Your sketches are really cool. Love the details and sharpness of your subjects.

I get the seem grief when go up to my studio, but it doesn't stop me from what I'm "drawn" to.

Ink brings out great details in a drawing, one of my favorite past times and when I paint, it is downtime for the working mind, but awakens the unconscious.

 

Thanks Freetofly Ink really does lend itself to details in drawings. Unfortunately I have found that I can lose the drawing by overwhelming it with detail. A critique I got about these pieces is that they looked like a tapestry. That is, there was no focal point, no real flow or direction or dynamic structure in the work. The piece I'm posting is representative of that. It also is representative of how a drawing creates it's own story as the piece unfolds. By the time I was done I had an entire world running in the background of my thoughts.

Pause for Thought