A little while back, probably through one of my poorer periods (one of my even more poorer periods), I decided that I would not buy any more pens until I'd used some of the many thousands that I already have. Well, okay, so yes, I have bought more - but just the black, brown and blue fine liners I use a lot of - but for the most part I have kept to that self imposed challenge.
The best thing about it is that it's making me use things I wouldn't normally choose to use. You know, the stuff that isn't the black, brown and blue fine liners. I've used lots more colour felt pens, markers and other stuff I can't think of right now. Things, when bought, I thought I'd use all the time. They'd push me in new directions, etc. Then they sat in pencil cases and pots and on shelves and I never touched again.
Many moons ago, way before I'd taken up drawing, I got these fountain pens. I went to the
Artist & Illustrators fair in London and was talked into spending a huge amount of money on these
Pilot Parallel pens and a load of coloured inks. I thought I'd use them for calligraphy. Then I put them in a pencil case and didn't even look at them for a decade.
Now, I've always been a big fountain pen fan. Somewhere in this house I have a box full of old-school fountain pens, inks and nibs. I have always loved playing around with my handwriting and there's nothing better than a fountain pen for that. So rediscovering these modern fountain pens and the variety of lines they make has been a joy.
And, what's more, it has pushed me. Next time you have a craving for a new pen why not have a dig around in your drawers (!!!) and see what you can find. I really love the results and the marks I've been making with these. Next stop is those scratchy old fountain pens that are lurking around just waiting for me to dig them out.
So, hands up, who's gone and ordered the Pilot Parallel pen now? That wasn't the point of this post, remember?!
And, by the way, these little
Toulouse Lautrec inspired drawings are up for sale dirt cheap. Yes, I'm going through one of my even more poorer periods again. get them
HERE.
Here's just a little (it's all relative) something I knocked up in my sketchbook.
The story of the drawing goes a bit like this...
Sometime back in May I went to my friend, and
Dr Sketchy partner,
Lara Gothique's fabulous vaudeville extravaganza (I do love that word, extravaganza. In fact, I love both of those words; vaudeville and extravaganza) called Cupid Stunts. I sketched the whole show that evening. I came away with a load of drawings. Over twenty quick sketches.
One of the fabulous artistes that night was a Victorian strong man called
Sir Leopold Aleksander. I got a good handful of sketches of him. They were pretty much all as below - simple line drawings.
Over the last couple of weeks, as I have been living a life of sobriety, I seem to have a bit more time on my hands in the evenings. Time to do the things I've wanted to do for ages but not got around to because wine got in the way. Time to go back through my sketchbooks and rework some of those quick sketches that needed a bit of the AJ treatment. So that's what I did with the, now, tattooed gentleman above, and, at some point, will do with the sketch below. Sure, they don't exactly look like the Victorian gent, but that's what happens when you a) sketch in the dark and b) complete the illustration using only your memory and a lot of imagination. And, that's what I love about drawing.
Thanks to Sir Leopold for the use of his body(?!)
Thanks to Lara for her fabulous show.
And thanks to Go Sober For October for giving me the headspace to draw instead of drink wine!
If you can spare a bob or two please donate to my sobriety challenge. I am raising money for MacMillan Cancer Support. The most worthiest of causes. You can do that
HERE.
And if you'd like to see a vaudeville extravaganza, and are in Sheffield next weekend (a long shot, perhaps), Lara is putting on another. Check it out
HERE. Take your sketchbook!
Photography by Rod Walton
Now, if you visit this blog regularly, you'll be aware that I do bang on about Dr Sketchy every now and again. Well, not only am I hooked on the whole concept of these alternative life-drawing events, but, I also co-run the
Dr Sketchy Sheffield branch, with my partner in crime,
Lara Gothique, so, you know, a little banging on is allowed, right? And, to be honest, when we create these kind of amazing events I think we have every right to bang on. They're great!
Drawing by me
The photo, at the top of this post, is of me in action - or, more to the point, is of Tallulah in action. The drawing, above, is the end result. We are so lucky to have a couple of great venues to hold our shows. This one, the
Old Clubhouse, Buxton, is a former Victorian genlteman's club. To say that it worked beautifully, as the saloon bar, in our Wild West themed evening last Wednesday, would be an understatement.
I have to say that seeing these images makes me hugely proud of what we achieve; the whole Dr Sketchy Sheffield team, that is. The models, the guys who volunteer their services - in the way of music and photography - just everyone. So, we don't make a penny out of it. But who cares? Success can't always be measured by money, right again??
Drawing by me
Which brings me on to our sketchers. Not only are the photos stunning, but the artwork produced on our evenings is insanely good and so varied too. You can see what I mean in our
Facebook Group HERE. Plus, when all the sketchers leave saying they had a great time then that's how you measure success, I reckon.
Photography by Rod Walton
Oh, and making scenes like this, above, happen to.
.jpg?picon=572)
