Death gets a lot of Idea-Help

http://www.tomsarmo.com

Death might run out of ideas from time to time, but people always manage to assist him with new and effective ways of killing their brothers and sisters. Poison gas? Sure! Automatic weapons aimed at concert-goers? Why not?

http://www.tomsarmo.com

Couldn't keep reading the repetitious news full of lame politician's "thoughts and prayers", so I drew instead.

This one, like most of my sketches, began with a red Verithin pencil on toned paper. (I like Kona Classic best because I can use wet media on it if I choose.) Beginning a drawing with red pencil rather than graphite seems to keep my initial gestures looser, and I like the original red lines still visible in the finished art.

http://www.tomsarmo.com

The red gestural sketch is then tightened up with either a Pentel brushpen or a brush and India ink. Then, most often, I add the white highlights, before the shading begins--in this case, a fine-point white Signo pen was used for the white. The cross-hatching follows; I like Maica brand Hi-Tek-C pens if a crow quill and ink bottle isn't handy.

http://www.tomsarmo.com

This drawing is small--4" x 6". It's the third work of October--or "Inktober". The previous two were sort of humorous. Who knows what the news will bring in the coming days.

Thanks for the visit--I wish you peace.

Inktober Landscapes

http://tomsarmo.com/

I very much like landscapes. Someday hope to visit Europe--not just in this lifetime, but also in the next--when I'm hoping time means nothing, and that accessing 18th and 19th century views will be easier (and much more interesting) than strumming a harp on a cloud.

http://tomsarmo.com/

 I also like buildings, preferably very old ones. These three sketches were done for Jake Parker's Inktober Initiative http://mrjakeparker.com/inktober They are all tiny--approximately 2.5" x 2.5", and were lots of fun to draw. I used ballpoint pen and micron pen, with watercolor and white ink added.

http://tomsarmo.com/

I like to mess about with black outlines, experimental perspective, and especially, proportion. A fellow recently complimented my works by saying that they "have a timeless quality, as if they came out of the pages of a fairy tale or legend." If that is true, it makes me one happy person.

Thanks for reading!

Inktober: One Through Five

http://tomsarmo.blogspot.com/

October 1

Finally decided to commit to Inktober this year. Because I've been using a lot of ink lately, it dovetails nicely with an upcoming show I'm working to fill. The goblin above--and his antagonist-- may end up in a larger, finished work.

http://tomsarmo.blogspot.com/

October 2

Dragged a beautiful old chair-back carving out from under a pile of neckties in a shite-store one day. (It really has both sides, but I was too lazy to sketch symmetry that day.) I'm using it for an above-door carving in a small painting.

http://tomsarmo.blogspot.com/

October 3

This little guy--a mug with a mug with a mug with a mug--will be finished in watercolor. Was working on that before I took a break to blog.

http://tomsarmo.blogspot.com/

October 4

Random--sorry. But that morning I was sick of figures. And all I had with me was a ballpoint pen.  Added the watercolor wash and white prismacolor later.

http://tomsarmo.blogspot.com/

October 5

A clockwork, steam-punky sketch. He came out of nowhere, while I was drinking my morning cup of coffee. When a character just develops on the paper without any thought from me, well that is one of the best feelings!

Jake Parker came up with Inktober back in '09. He comes up with many creative things. 

He must be a character. 

Here's the site: http://mrjakeparker.com/inktober

Got a few more days to go before November. Maybe some Halloweenie stuff will be next.

Thanks for reading!