Strange Tales From My Little Black Book #8

Well, technically this is from my medium~sized black book, the 8.5 x 12 inch folio Moleskine and not the 5 x 8 Moleskine, but I figure that one category is enough.

The drawing size is about 11 x 8, rendered with mechanical pencil:

Waiting for Leonora

Update:

Okay, so maybe it is my monitor or my eyes or both, but when the drawing is reduced to the scale as above it looks fuzzy to me...here are details, approximately to-scale on a normal monitor:

Ah, look at all of those messy and sketchy little lines... so much better...I don't like to look at a drawing without seeing the actual mark-making.

Strange Tales From My Little Black Book #7

Happy New Year!!!

The most recent Moleskine sketch...approximately 7 x 5 inches:

Venus Waning

On the agenda for the new year:  a few great group shows (more details to follow), many more Strange Tales, self-portraits (what a surprise) and the usual commentary, not to mention drawing, drawing, drawing.

...

Currently listening to:  Vic Chesnutt West of Rome

Rest in peace Vic...you were one amazing performer.

Strange Tales From My Little Black Book #6

Another little drawing from the beloved Moleskine...around 5 x 7 inches:

Rowan

It is a personal goal not to find myself in the midst of idle down time without my sketchbook in hand.  It occurred to me (perhaps a little too obsessively) that I spend 20 minutes a day waiting in the car for my pair of first graders to emerge from school and if I spend that 20 minutes a day sketching, by the end of the week I have about an hour and a half of drawing time...and this is the time when all of these little finished sketches are being created.  Measuring out my drawings by the spoonful...

On the studio side of things, the graphite section of my current large scale drawing is nearly complete, and the last step is a small black pearl that will be painted in gouache (subtle bits of opalescent color - fun to paint - hurray!), but I have to wait on the gouache pearl until I finish all of the pencil parts and stabilize the drawing with fixative.  Maybe next week it will be in a post-able state.

Currently listening to: The  Cocteau Twins Victorialand, my winter record, and perhaps the only record that I have listened to at least one thousand times.  Really.

Strange Tales From My Little Black Book #5

Another little drawing from my black Moleskine sketchbook, approximately 5 x 5 inches:

Girl with a Pearl

I ordered an 8.5 x 12 inch folio size Moleskine sketchbook which arrived in the mail last week, and it is as wonderful as I was hoping that it would be: the same plate-bristol-smooth paper, but in a larger size than the Moleskine sketchbooks that are usually stocked at the local art supply stores (the standard is the 5.25 x 8.25 inches "large" sketchbook, though large is relative, of course).

I love the smaller sketchbook because I am forced into simpler compositions and creating a depth of space on the sketches that I refine past the scribbly-idea stage, plus I have to work out very delicate details. But I am happy with this new, larger sketchbook because having more space for the composition is necessary for a few of my sketch ideas that just can't fit within the smaller-sized format.

For drawing in my sketchbook, I use .3mm and .5mm mechanical pencils  with 2H and HB leads (plus the occasional 2B or F).  Staedtler makes a very nice .5mm mechanical pencil that can be found in the drafting section at Staples (which has a surprisingly good selection of drawing supplies), but I have only found the .3mm pencils at art supply stores (which typically have a wide variety of pencil grades for the mechanical pencil, even the hard-to-find 'F' lead).

I do not usually use mechanical pencils for large scale drawings because my mark-making is too aggressive for the leads to hold up under the pressure, but the mechanical pencils offer the convenience of having a perpetually sharpened pencil for stealthy, on-the-go sketchbook drawing...and you don't have to carry a sharpener.

Currently listening to:  New Order Power, Corruption, and Lies (a favorite record from my high school years - 26 years old - I can hardly believe it - how did that happen?)

Strange Tales From My Little Black Book #4

Another selection from my little black Moleskine sketchbook, approximately 5 x 7 inches, pencil on paper:

Play with Fire

Apparently, I am not the only who is enamored with Moleskine sketchbooks - there is a website dedicated to the creativity of those who use Moleskine journals - Moleskiners.com - and they have very kindly featured one of my Strange Tales in their Showcase Gallery on the right side of the web page.