Graphic Pen & Inks
These are probably my personal favorites, mostly because they are really enjoyable to work through. One of these will start, usually with something near the center. For the most part, I have no idea of where the work is taking me. There is no master plan; they unfold over the hours, with ideas often coming to me while asleep.
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Graphic 1
I sometimes call this “waiting”. My wife was hospitalized in ICU for an extended time. Visitation was limited to certain times and was brief when allowed. I drew this entirely while passing time, often alone in the ICU waiting room. It sometimes makes me recall unpleasant times, but there is healing within it as Marilyn survived the crisis in spite of odds against her.
Graphic 3
This was my first experiment with symmetry. I originally named it “Symmetry” but as time went on I came up with several other works that were symmetrical, so I began to number them as they came into being. Now I’m lost for renames but I always enjoy revisiting these works.
Graphic 5
Mary Poppins sang of a few of her favorite things:
When I'm feeling sad...
I simply remember my favorite things
And then I don't feel so bad
A few of my favorite things are present in this drawing with a butterfly, a jack-in-the-pulpit, a rainbow trout, an owl, a mischievous little wren, and a sprinkling of flowers with other odds and ends. I’m reminded of the song: “A Few of My Favorite Things”.
Graphic 8
I sometimes call this one “Duke”. Our family spent several months in and around Durham, NC working through the challenges of a medical procedure. I drew this in part during, and in part following that time. Imbedded into this drawing are initials of numerous couples who were part of this journey with us at Duke. This drawing is a testament to their collective strength and perseverance.
Graphic 10
Maybe this should be called “doodling”. Nothing special aside from the symmetry, but it gifted me some good therapy from the process of producing it with no particular objective.
Graphic 12
Another work of symmetry that features feathers and Cardinals, my bride’s “spirit bird” (although she calls them redbirds). Redbirds have become a part of our lives, especially in times of trouble when we call on them to speak to us and bring us strength and faith.
Graphic 14
Favorite things again … I really wanted to draw a butterfly, so that’s where it started. After that whatever got added ….
Graphic 16
Most people call this “dreamcatcher”. I honestly didn’t intend for it to be a dreamcatcher when I started, but like so many of these mindless works, it goes wherever it goes. I like “Dreamcatcher”.
Graphic 2
I worked with this drawing for about two years before I decided it was finished. I took so long that I can’t really recall where it started, but it was somewhere near the center. Like many of my drawings, feathers are present, but overall this is just a collection of thoughts and objects, moods and dreams and visions. It is one of my personal favorites.
Graphic 4
Like many of the graphics, this one had no particular purpose. Maybe the objective is to learn to draw (or to learn how not to try to draw) something.
Graphic 6
This graphic is one of my favorites, for no reason other than I can get immersed in the detail. Some it seems to have simplicity in the objects but nice balance and detail that I find pleasing to the eye and even a bit striking. The border is broken by a circular form which also adds something I find pleasing.
Graphic 7
This symmetrical work speaks to me through the brown trout featured top and bottom. I have always found peace and calm when I’m around water. Fly fishing was a passion for many years, and remains a pastime, although I have grown to understand that fly fishing for trout is more about the places one gets to visit than it is about catching a fish. Besides, being repeatedly outsmarted by a creature with a brain the size of a pea can be very humbling.
Graphic 9
My day job travels sometimes took me to places far from home. On long international flights, usually in and out of Europe I would pass the time drawing. This particular one started with flowers and stayed with flowers, mostly drawing with a standard ballpoint pen, thus the softer tones of this drawing. Many of the “models” from these flowers were found in the flower garden outside the small “gasthaus” (guest house) I stayed in near Germany’s Black Forest region.
Graphic 11
Another random doodle - this one I carried around with me for months, just passing time working on it when the opportunity was there.
Graphic 13
I wanted to feature redbirds in this, but I’ve never been especially pleased with the redbirds in each corner, but otherwise I find it pleasing. Like some other, this drawing was mostly completed while in hospital waiting areas.
Graphic 15
My dad was quite a talented woodworker. One of his favorite things to carve was mushrooms. He would carve them by the dozens and arrange them on hanging strings that would sometimes reach from floor to ceiling. This is a simple work, but I really like it because it reminds me of him.
Graphic 17
While I’ve lost the “burn” for fly fishing I once had, I still have many fond memories of the fun, challenges, and time with friends that it brought me. I must have been in a nostalgic mood - who knows.
Native shilouette