From 2009. I have mentioned this before, but I have mentioned most things before: every time I look at my artwork from recent years, I cringe at how blah it appears, because it is from the period I was using felt-tip pens. Felt-tip pens are convenient. They greatly speed up the drawing process, a big plus in my book, and they are very portable. One of the best things about my job is, I can do it anywhere. However, as many times as I’ve done it, traveling with India ink and accouterment is always problematic. Felt-tip pens eliminate that concern nicely. However, the resulting drawing just isn’t the same. Not for me, anyway. About a year or so ago, I went back to the old dip pen method, and I am much happier with the finished product, although I’m always trying to do better.
157 responses to “Inking Aloud”
Steve: ‘I bought bird seed once, but all I got were a bunch of squirrels.’
Don’t sell squirrel-watching short. Got my ‘working papers’ doing that [more than 1 species, interacting and not] and writing about it.
W.H. Burt, my grad advisor and author [e.g., Mammals of the Great Lakes Region; Bacula of N. American Mammals; Burt & Grossenheider, A Field Guide to the Mammals [Peterson F.G. Series] told me to write about mammals for T.C.Mits. He was pleased when The Mammals of Minn. came out.
Peace,
Just loaded up with groceries.
Good thing Mark picked another Cowboys horse..who can name all the horses and side kicks. And if they had a girlfriend.
Home with the groceries. It will be so cold I can leave meat in car until morning but must take in salad stuff and fruit.
Having salmon, asparagus, cauliflower and quinoa tonight. That’s my fast food.
P.S. So were Elaine and my students. Several yr. of inefficiently burning the candle at both ends. OTH, the experience enhanced my efforts in ‘The Lit. of Biology,’ a Strunkian course mostly on expository writing for biol. majors. Still get strokes from former students for that one. [Prev. post and this one garnered 4 more terms / my A&J dictionary.]
emb, professors may be proud of successful students, but students are proud of successful professors, too.
emb:
I’m not knocking squirrels at all. With my spacious back yard, I used to love watching them, as did the cats. Growing up in Indiana, all I saw were brown or gray squirrels. Moving up to Michigan, I basically just saw the same, but eventually I noticed more black squirrels. I would say now, a majority of the squirrels that I see are black.
I miss my squirrels I used to feed. One would lay on top the feeder houses and nap, a perfect target for cat hawks. That is a Garrison Keillor name from Cat You Better Get on Home.
Neighbor across street is really old and native American so he sits out in yard in a folding lawn chairs and shoots the squirrels.
Illinois or Indiana has white squirrels. I have seen them.
Jerry, I wouldn’t trust a self driving car of today any further than I could throw one. Even if it can stop inside an even shorter distance. I might even pull over and park if I recognize one on the road.
Advancements will come, my grandchildren will be shocked by the autonomous freedom we had. I just don’t want to be a statistic noted along the way.
I had a very similar discussion, in real life, following the third railway accident earlier this year. Those things don’t even have a steering wheel, just a throttle. They can only move in two predetermined directions. But apparently that can be too difficult at times.
Hope you did not have a near miss, to mention it.
Darn it, earlier this year was last year.
I encountered a probable new personal record today, though I am not keeping track: In a single crossword puzzle, there were nine different languages in the various answers! In effect, all said “Merry Christmas”. The nine were English (duh), Italian, Spanish, French, Norwegian, Gaelic/Irish, Hawaiian, Greek, and Korean.
I knew the first four and had heard of the Hawaiian from an old Bing Crosby hit of the ’40s or ’50s…recalled it, too. Knew the ending of the Norwegian, but had to get the rest of the Norwegian as well as the Greek, Gaelic, and Korean from working out the crossing words.
In the words of the late Arte Johnson, “Verrry interesting.”
I’m surprised the writer didn’t work in German, too.
Autonomous automobiles sound great, but how will they cope with parking lots without lines? Or when we go up to a cabin in the woods several miles from the pavement?
And when autonomous vehicles are mandated, I’m sure the Gubermint will not be interested in collecting and keeping records of the routes, stops, and destinations of all of them, will they?
At a previous office location, a couple of staff members liked to open the mini blinds of a rear window while on break and watch the squirrels frolicking around in a tree just outside. One day they looked out and got an unexpected close-up view of a pair of them on the window ledge busily trying to make baby squirrels.
Hilarity ensued.
I actually even don’t like the name. I know it may be a small thing, and they are auto-mobiles after all. But really Autonomy as a concept is such an important part of human realization, I do not like extending the privilege to machines. In my view all machines should have an OFF switch. And a human willing to use it.
Were the squirrel couple disturbed in the least?
As a collector and appreciator of comic art, I feel the pen/brush/India ink combo can’t be beat. As an archivist, marker makes me sad!
I agree with you Ken. Pen and ink along with copper plate etchings are my favorite art medium. I include comic art in that category.
I don’t even like to mark my laundry with a felt tip.
Jimmy you are right to do it right.
Here is my usual Valentines public service message. The holiday is coming up in a little over a month, about five weeks.
Why not do something for the one you love like eating healthfully and exercising. If you start now you can engage them to help you with the program and reap benefits of the togetherness and improved health.
Me, I am the most solitary person here no doubt but ever hopeful. So I work alone on me and my body and health and know that if you don’t do it for yourself and love your self you won’t do it.
I don’t mind the admiration and looks, I appreciate that I am being admired but that isn’t why I do it. If you are in a relationship try to get your partner to be part but if you can’t, do it anyway.
Having said that, I will go put some more things into my hope chest. No intention of marrying, just hoping!
Jackie, a wonderful message of improvement and forward looking optimism. I hope it is not petty to object to the descriptive solitary. You are, for an unknown period, unpaired. But I have met few people more busy, more traveled, more interactive. The crews you cook for, and adventures I have read here. If any had asked me about Jackie Monies, solitary, recluse, hermit would not appear any where in the story i could relate, 2nd hand. If you are solitary, you posses an incredibly descriptive mind.
“Were the squirrel couple disturbed in the least?”
Not until they noticed my snorking staff members, which was after they had finished their business and were attempting light tiny cigarettes. Then they flipped off my SSMs with their tails and departed the area posthaste, with as much squirrely dignity as they could muster.
Galliglo posted a link on Facebook to an interesting challenge sponsored by her local library. If you feel like you’re in a rut, this might be a good way to get out. (Just change the local references to your own state, etc.) http://bossardlibrary.org/content/join-bossard-library-2017-reading-challenge Click on the link at the bottom.
Jackie: Concur. It’s a battle that never ends but one that is worth prosecuting.
Non deficere. And keep hoping.
Have any of you Facebookers seen anything from Miz Charlotte lately?
Oh yeah, you know who I hope to look like right? Only slightly trashy, not totally.
My mama was truly beautiful woman, I lived in her shadow forever. But I become more like her every day except in looks. Just the personality and habits.
I’ll have a gun in that snake skin purse next thing you know. You know it doesn’t matter what you actually do for a living Ghost, that has nothing to do with what the Village loves about you. It is your character they love. You could be anything.
GR6, that was laugh out loud, and I only say it if I mean it. Thank you. I can see twitching tails vividly as single digits saluting.