Wishes and Surprises

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Oliver Twist on the road to London; a thumbnail sketch, approx 3" x 4"

I wish that, along with drawing from life and other necessities for artists, doing thumbnail sketches had always been a favorite occupation. But it hasn't been, probably because I am a terribly undisciplined, lazy man.

But I'm doing them. In part because I must (for an upcoming project not related to Charles Dickens); but mostly because they have suddenly become entertaining. A nice surprise.

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The Artful Dodger finds Oliver Twist; another thumbnail sketch, approx. 2.5" x 3"

Thumbnails are supposed to be for working out--and I mean Working out--compositional ideas. Wish I could say I did that, but no--just sat on the couch like a schlub and drew these, nearly without being conscious. Suppose it shows, but a very good time was had nonetheless.

Where'd they come from and why? I was looking through a book about Harry Clarke--an illustrator-god--and saw this...

...very weird illustration. (Um, find me an  illustration by Harry Clarke that isn't weird.)
It caught my eye--the yellow and black a surprise--and it's been on my mind all week.

Wish I could tell you why Oliver Twist ended up the subject of my yellow, (er orange--another surprise) thumbnails. Oliver Twist was not on my mind at all, but it is a favorite book (Charles Dickens being an author-god).

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Fagin, Sikes, and Nancy; yet another thumbnail, approx. 4" x 5"

Wish I did more life drawing, worked harder at composition, and made millions of thumbnails. And probably would if I was goal-oriented, immortal, or something else that I'll never be. Unless I get surprised someday.

 And last, thanks very much to all of you who read my blog. The follows and comments are great too but mostly I appreciate that you take the time to come by.

A Victorian Ghost Sketch

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Ghost in the Bath sketch

My studio work-life is occupied with preparing art for a show coming early December. Thus, practice-sketch time has to be grabbed on the fly. I have my travel sketchbook and drawing box with me most times, or a book at least--just in case I get stuck waiting somewhere. This time I had both. The book is a collection of Victorian ghost stories by the great M.R. James. The story, Lost Hearts concerns a boy who's treated to a vision of a spectre, seen through a glazed bathroom door in the middle of the night.

The scene, in which the corpse-like ghost is laying in the tub (and surely must have influenced Stephen King for The Shining) raised the hairs on the back of my neck! This quick sketch, with the spirit out of the tub, was drawn with pencil and Rapidograph. Later in the studio I washed it with white ink.

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Ghost in the Bath sketch (detail)

For me, ghosts aren't relegated to Halloween. In fact, they are a year-round preoccupation that reaches peak intensity during the winter holidays. Continuous experimentation with transparency techniques using ink is also a preoccupation. If you are a regular visitor here (thanks, by the way!) you've seen a bunch of posts concerning ghosts. If you haven't though, here's one of them:  http://tomsarmo.blogspot.com/2014/05/phantom-fixation.html

And if you love ghost stories, don't skip the chance to read M.R. James.

Thanks for the visit!

More #inktober: Shadows and Hatters

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Inktober's been good to me--been working with pen and ink and throwing in some cast shadows, too.

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Inktober has put on some pressure too, so I sketched this fellow while I was waiting to get an oil-change for my car--a time-waster that kept me from other pressing projects.

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And then there are the (so far) unfinished ones. But the incentive has provided this drawing and others that I will use down the road.

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 I've always been enamored with pen and ink, a love born from looking at nineteenth century illustration engravings as a kid. I still study them, as well as the elegant pen-lines of those great Irishmen, Joseph Clement Coll and Harry Clarke. Just because I study them, doesn't mean I come close to their refinement, but my temperament leans toward rough and quick crosshatching--can't really help that.

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I'm leaving you with a mummy-scribe and a wish for a Happy Halloween--Thanks for the visit!