Blobby Pen Drawings

Sketches drawn with a leaky dollar store pen, which nonetheless uses waterproof ink.

A Yank at McGill Illustration

Okay, the illustration's out now. You can read the article here.

Black Cat Comic

I've been trying to get back into comics and stories. This is my latest effort in that area, that's not a collaboration, or for money. Telling bizarre stories in my sketchbook about the people and animals outside my door. I don't hate children, honest!



The black cat's song is a rememberance of "Black Fly:"

"Always the black fly no matter where you go
I'll die with the black fly a-pickin' my bones
In North Ontar-i-o-i-o, In North Ontar-i-o"

American Frog

Had to do a frog picture for a friend's wedding. Plus an American flag for a McGill illustration you'll see later this week. So, if they're on the same page, it becomes an American Frog.

Oh, okay, I think I can do this. Here's the black and white version of a McGill Reporter (Frosh Week!) illustration, which they later asked for in colour. That was actually fun to do, but had to replace the flag, as you'll see when the final version is posted. (Also made it more accurate, which is nice, since it is for a university. I wonder if anyone notices, or cares?)

Collaboration Fridays

Could call Friday afternoons "Collaboration Fridays," or worse, "Gagnon Fridays," because I often have a beer with illustrator/translator Rick Gagnon, and he likes to embellish my sketches.It's a pleasure working with him, but I'm also trying to expand my own work, and get more comfortable with it. Above is sort of a scene from the Montreal International Film Festival, where filmmakers get together, and make fun of each other's work.

The drawings below are mine, from Saturday. More airplanes, faces, and people in the street, from my balcony.





From the picture, you can tell it's always endless excitement on my street (and I like it that way! Want more people to walk by, however, when I'm drawing.)

Still Life

Watercolour guy faces, again from a band ad in a magazine.

Mirabehn

This is sort of from my watching of the motion picture Gandhi on DVD this week. Should try to be entertaining, or at least post the best images, but I'm just putting up most of whatever I draw that day.

Another Sketch Page

More Sketchy Stuff

The top three better-drawn ones are copied from photographs in an ad for a rock group. (Okay, Bedouin Soundclash)

Girl, Tree, Dog

The Inner Sanctum

Not Much Happening

Kind of depressed, lately.

More Collaboration

This is a painting Richard Gagnon did over my drawing, with my watercolours, when we met for a drink yesterday afternoon. Below, is a photo of him accomplishing the deed. I'm jealous of his colour sense. At bottom, another collaboration. We're working on a strip, which I have to get done.

Faces

Just some faces. I'm saturating colours more, but the scanner coarsens the washes. Still, I'm trying to work within that, to give snazzy illustrations even within the constraints. A nice scanner, even an older one (I did a big watercolour poster for schools in the 1980s) will work wonders. But here, I'm strictly a home operation, with my little $75 Canon N340P scanner with a parallel port. Gee, that sounds technical, but what it does is drop out some of the blues and reds, and heightens the yellows. So, I'm trying to adjust for that. It also could be the screen of this laptop has something to do with it.




I figured out that what Wilford was holding were Lotto tickets, of course. And that's his wife in the background.

Shock Robbers

Mishearing rap lyrics while drawing and eating lunch in the park. I like the sound of it, though. Kind of like how I came up with "Utopia Moment."

This lady is looking askance at me, because I was shooing away the squirrels who were after my sandwich. The squirrels are way too predatory and bold in this town. They sneak up behind you and steal your stuff. They're the true "shock robbers."



This is a new sketchbook. Here's a rap star, plus the new kitten who lives next door. Below is something I drew at the old port, again on the thin crinkly paper. I don't know why I like drawing on lousy paper, which doesn't even let you saturate the colours that much. (I boosted them in Photoshop, I'm ashamed to admit) Still, it makes me feel more free in what to draw.

Thin Paper

Watercolour drawings done in this book which isn't really supposed to have watercolour in it.

Wilford

It's an old guy holding things! Who does he look like? Wilford Brimley? I guess so! What's he holding? Letters of transit? No, old love letters! Yeah, that's it.

Crow

I like their hunchbacked nastiness. One of these outside actually dived on a sparrow, and left the little thing stunned on the sidewalk. She picked herself up afterwards. Nasty crows.