It’s OK to Draw Houses on Fire

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Last week, I did an internet search for photos of houses on fire, and drew them in colored pencil. One of my new drawing habits is to think of a word or phrase, like “giant skeleton” or “kangaroo resting” or “emotional bird”, do an online image search, and draw from the photos for about twenty minutes. Sometimes I put them on instagram. Sometimes it’s an enjoyable break, a way to fuel my curiosity and get new ideas. This time, I was feeling emotional about some anti-LGBTQ legislation in the Kentucky state legislature. I scribbled really hard with the pencils.

New Stuff in the Color Illustration Portfolio

sketchbook

If you click on PORTFOLIO and then COLOR ILLUSTRATION, you’ll find some new work! These are all mixed media pieces. There’s a little bit of correction going on in Photoshop, but most of what you see is true to the original illustration on paper.

The Great Heron.

Watercolor, colored pencil, and brushmarker with pigment-based ink on watercolor paper.

Snow Shovelling

Watercolor, colored pencil. brushmarker with pigment-based ink on watercolor paper.

Zeb and Bel

Watercolor, colored pencil, alcohol marker, brushmarker with pigment-based ink on watercolor paper.

Dip Pens

sketchbook

Photos of famous cartoonists always show them holding a dip pen. Alison Bechdel uses dip pens. Charles Schulz loved a particular dip pen nib so much, when the company was shutting down, he bought up the remaining nibs (or so the story goes) and now the nibs he stockpiled get auctioned off on Ebay.

When it comes to dip pens, I’m less like Charles Schulz and more like Charlie Brown.

strip shared via the charles schulz museum account on twitter: https://twitter.com/schulzmuseum/status/1165625000864428034?lang=fr