Drawing America

The View from Mont Blanc

thecakeater — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 10:42:54 +0000

After dishing out more money than I ever would have thought for a pen on Ebay, I struggled to get what the fuss was about. The pen was no ordinary one. I am referring to the Mont Blanc 149 piston fountain pen. It is regarded by many as the best fountain pen in the world and according to some artists, it is a fine machine capable of keeping up with the hand and mind of the artist. After receiving it, I tested it on several sketch book pages. It was unremarkable. It felt sluggish and the line wasn’t as varied or as interesting as I had hoped. A big fat waste of cash. Then, I had a brainstorm. Perhaps a pen like this needed a surface that was firm enough to let it glide. Like a skater on freshly surfaced ice. I also imagined that bright white paper may be the best option as black ink would look most crisp. So, I purchased bright white illustration board and unscrewed the fine torpedo cap of the big (some call it a man’s pen but that is grossly narrow in my view) torpedo shape. Wow! It handled like the Porsche it really is. With no idea of what I was going to make other than a vague exploration of Portsmouth characters, the drawings flowed with the ideas and the pen was tremendously exciting to use. My reason for buying the pen in the first place was to have a new tool. More than that, to have a tool that combined what I love about etching and drawing and was more expedient to use in upcoming explorations into graphic novels and personal projects. Much more to come.

Walking the dog

thecakeater — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 15:27:02 +0000

These drawings have been eagerly awaiting the warm glow of the computer screen for months. I have been meaning to get them up here but it has not happened. Finally, the dog gets walked. From the Isle of Wight Zoo and streets to Brighton and Bath, these drawings have little in common other than they were produced for pure enjoyment and, in regards to the colour pieces, as a kind of controlled experiment. I am starting to tap into the English frame of mind and I am constantly being surprised. Like any people of any nation, complexities abound especially when you move beyond the surface. My students are also inspiring me. As much of an old dog as I am, (an old dog that needs several walks) there is always a desire to push my image making capabilities to even greater heights. The shape of that is being formed in my head as we speak and may represent a further departure from realist subjects. For now, these drawings have their walk on the cyber stage. Enjoy.

Indian Summer

thecakeater — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 19:15:21 +0000

These drawings are from last weekend’s heat wave. Well, it was actually the crest of a weeklong wave that had the UK bathed in sunshine and a temporary, if not illusionary sense that summer had not left us. For those here in August (I was in NY) it sounds like it was the summer weather that was poorly missing. Southsea beach in Portsmouth was more crowded than I have ever seen it and it was clear that many outsiders made a b-line for the beach, eager to savour every minute of the precious warm sun and air. So, beach goers were predictably in their swimming costumes and lying out like seals on rocks, limiting movements to occasional dips into the water (which for my unadventurous and feeble body was absurdly chilly). The human display was fantastic. It is too bad really that we only get to witness that parade of flesh on warm days. It is both a visual and intellectual treat (intellectual in that the informed viewer can see the display with some distance, a look at a species at play. Never mind we are one of them). The drawings largely drew themselves. Characters leapt into the sketchbook, demanding a rendering and asserting their existence. Tenderness is creeping more and more into my drawings. Times are tough and the pain is spread all around. While art is never beholden to societal expectation, I can’t help but feel more camaraderie with my fellow man as we all feel the tug of some impending crash or maybe flush, like a toilet. And with the value and relevance of art and art education being debated in society, it is ever more important to shout its contribution. Even when it is as simple as holding up a mirror to our own wonderful strangeness.

Summer

thecakeater — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 08:55:59 +0000

These drawings are from Southsea, the Isle of Wight and New York City. As diverse as these places are, there is the common thread of summer pastimes. For many, especially New Yorkers, the idea of free time is foreign so every moment of vacation/holiday is precious. Still, the ultimate goal of time off is to relax and when people let their hair down, I like to be there with pencil in hand. There is also something apolitical in my drawings this summer. Instead of my typical posture of ridicule and sneering cynicism, I feel real sympathy for my subjects, especially the Americans who have had a rough 3 years with economic doom at every corner. I realized as well that Americans are big hearted and kind people. It is a shame that the political face of the nation and our foreign policy has put the ugly american forward, resulting in its true nature going unseen by much of the world. True there are still the nutcase right wingers and people with old hate in their hearts but much of that can be written off to pure ignorance and people pushed to the edges of society. The recent anniversary of 9/11 reminded me of course of the heartbreaking tragedy of the day but also, how proud I felt to be in a country that, when pushed to the brink, would take care of its own. It was a brief moment when America restored it’s moral place in the world, not by political action, but by honest to goodness citizenship. With so much petty political turmoil today, Americans forget that the country was founded on the principal that the people are running the show. 9/11 showed that when push comes to shove, our better instincts, our bravery, and big hearts rule the day.

Berlin and some Pompey characters for fun

thecakeater — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 14:21:24 +0000

These Berlin drawings have been in my sketchbook since January when we took some students over. It was an amazing city that exceeded my expectations. The city was large, even American in a sense with a kind of grand ideal that felt like home. It also has that same nostalgic ambition that cities like Detroit and Pittsburgh have. A kind of rusting ambition. You can still imagine George Grosz scurrying around drawing prostitutes entering the park at night, and fat bankers slobbering as they stuff food into their mouths. The Weimar city of contrasts between rich and poor, healthy and wounded, still feels alive. More than any other city besides perhaps Paris, Berlin has a palpable connection to a dynamic, creative, and violent history. They all seem to be wrapped up in one sensation and walking the streets can feel quite oppressive. Still, the city is full of people who love art and love life and it is one of the last truly affordable European cities. I had a wonderful time and next time promise to plant myself in the middle of it all and truly channel the spirit and courage of the great Grosz.

Pompey Delight

thecakeater — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 12:51:35 +0000

The following drawings are from Portsmouth (Pompey) and surrounding areas. Portsmouth is a complicated city. It is really several distinct neighborhoods knitted together but not blended. The city has a multitude of textures from a seaside destination which is a favorite of locals and tourists alike, to a super mall (maze) in Gunwharf Quays, and a large council estate in the centre and north of the city. Within all of that are neighborhoods that draw sharp lines between rich and poor, student and non student and middle and working classes. With a strong naval history, Portsmouth has not shed the rough and tumble lifestyle of the sailor and in at least a few parts of the city, there is a menace and wildness that always feels like the dangerous hours of the early morning. Enjoy the ride.

More sand in the sketchbook

thecakeater — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 15:10:18 +0000

This years beach drawings come from the upscale beach of Rehoboth Delaware. Unlike the unbridled un-girdled girth of Ocean Isle Beach, Rehoboth was filled with mostly attractive, well to do (at least better than most) people with enough money to pay for the overpriced beach side hotels and condos. Still, if you are looking closely, a kind of wildness is still bubbling under the surface. The elephantine bodies are still pounding the boardwalk and people are still staring off into the great ocean baking their bodies brown and leathered.

The beach still fascinates me. People are literally putting it out there, hanging their sins on their burdened frames like permanent luggage. Bathing suits just exacerbate the impression that they are bursting at the seams. Flesh is stuffed in colorful beachwear almost always failing at the goal of distraction.

Enjoy.

New Work

thecakeater — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 19:09:34 +0000

This has been a long time coming. This is but a sample of the new work that I have on the burner at the moment. Some of this is complete, some I am still thinking about. I am also planning on returning to the comics which I am enjoying because they feel like elaborated political cartoons. Perhaps more akin to comic editorials. Also, I am developing a narrative approach which for me is about retaining the weird and personal in the conventions of the comic (or traditional narrative). I am working on a new book which I hope will be ready by early next year. I would love to hear what you think. Thanks for looking!

Elizabethan Drawings

thecakeater — Fri, 28 May 2010 14:58:38 +0000

Every Thursday at the Society of Illustrators in NYC they have a costumed drawing session. This wonderful event in the magnificent society building is packed with seasoned and beginning artists. The tone was serious but breaks were relaxed with drinks and great conversation. The models were in Elizabethan garb. I couldn’t help but wonder how this decadence with it’s over the top dress and ornaments, was some flamboyant alarm for the impending collapse of the aristocracy (at least as an open institutional power). The same hubris of Wall Street (without the fancy dress) pointed to a collapse but again, we refused to see it. It seems denial is more seductive than reckoning. After the drawing session, I was walking the streets and noted another celebration of decadence, the opening of the latest Sex and the City movie. Like the wealth parade of the Elizabethan era, the Sex and the City girls flaunt excess and even shallow self involvement. Although all of this may seem out of sync with the times, in a city like New York, there are still plenty of people with plenty of money. You can bet when things get a little better, they will be back on the streets with their fancy dress and decadent displays, the scale of which we can only imagine. Well, minus the wigs of course.

This is what I drew. Enjoy.

Promo Video for Exhibit in Japan

thecakeater — Tue, 25 May 2010 16:44:55 +0000