On the Drawing Table #3

Here is today's drawing, "The Protectors of the Birds" (brush & ink/wash on paper, 28.5" x 22.5") in an unfinished state on the drawing table this morning, around 7am. The sun's rays made it difficult to see the top right corner of the drawing very well at first, but after it had changed position it was OK. My drawing table is next to a door that faces East. You can see the finished drawing here.

On the Drawing Table #2

The Temptation of St. Anthony, 2016, brush & ink/wash on board. Second in a possible series. This way you can see the artwork in situ, where it was made (although in this case, I took the photo a day or so after the drawing was done). This one is on Illustration Board, just because I wanted to try it out. At 20" x 16", it's smaller than my other recent drawings. You can see the edited drawing (cleaned up in Photoshop perspective- and shadow-wise) here.

Orpheus in the Underworld

I drew this one on illustration board, just out of curiosity mostly. It came out quite well...the board is stiff & has a good drawing surface (with a bit of texture to give needed resistance). It is a bit smaller than the size I've been working at recently, so I will probably go back to the larger scale on Bristol vellum in the very near future.

Orpheus in the Underworld, 2016, brush & ink/wash on illustration board, 20" x 16"

On the Drawing Table

On the drawing table today: The Last Navigator, 28.5" x 22.5", brush & ink/wash on paper. You can see the actual drawing here.

Monsters

Monsters, A Bestiary of the Bizarre, by Christopher Dell / Thames & Hudson

I seem to be accumulating books at a rapid pace these days. Case in point: "Monsters; A Bestiary of the Bizarre" which has just come my way. My daughter was recently in the UK & picked this up at the National Gallery in London, I believe, as a gift for me. Very thoughtful of her. It is a gorgeous book, filled with many color reproductions of monsters & the like, some of them familiar & others completely new to me. I shall spend many hours looking & reading through it. And, who knows where it will lead...

Monsters, 2016, brush & ink/wash on paper, 28.5" x 22.5"

A Ragged Man

Using the new Royal Taklon brushes today for the first time. They worked pretty well...they do need to be broken in a little bit to get the best out of them, I think.

A Ragged Man, 2016, brush & ink/wash on paper, 28.5" x 22.5"

Leonardo & Raphael

The local library was having one of its book sales last weekend, so I picked up a couple of things. These were 2 books that I got for my personal art library. I've been doing a lot of drawings recently, and these 2 artists are among the best ever in the draughtsmanship department, as well as being great painters, obviously. I should be able to find some inspiration within.

Leonardo and Raphael in book form

Royal Taklon

These are the brushes I prefer to use for ink drawings. They're quite cheap (I have tried more expensive brushes), but I find that for me, they hold the right amount of ink & give the best results overall. My local craft store hasn't had them in stock for a long time, so I've been using increasingly worn brushes until now. I looked them up on the Internet & found they were easily available. I ordered up 6 sets of the brushes & they arrived in the mail today. I haven't used them yet, but I'm hoping the quality control is good. The wording on the brushes says "Royal Taklon" but the packet says "Royal Langnickel". Intruiging.

Brushes from Royal Taklon / Royal Langnickel

The Manual

This arrived yesterday, to add fuel to the fire. Highly recommended. A tasty selection of drawings, some of them obvious (Leonardo, Rembrandt, Raphael, etc), & some less so (you should buy a copy & find out). A great resource, in any case.

Drawing Lessons from the Great Masters by Robert Beverly Hale

The Ship of Fools at the Edge of the World

Speaking of larger, more monumental works (see last post), here is a new, large-ish ink drawing of the Ship of Fools, a theme I've explored once in a while over the years. I expect I shall create some more works of this kind of scope.

The Ship of Fools at the Edge of the World, 2016, brush & ink on paper, 28.5" x 22.5".