Windsor and Newton Cotman pan set.
Baratunde Thurston
May 7, 2017
A man with something to say. This drawing was inspired by Baratunde Thurston‘s searching interview with Sarah Jones on her podcast, Play Date.
Why did I start drawing again?
April 20, 2017
It’s simple. I started drawing again because I needed a reason to look up that felt more powerful than the urge to look down at my phone.
Drawing from life forces you to feel edges, to see light, and to experience life.
It’s been clear to me, for quite some time, that mobile newsfeeds have eroded my ability to notice the world around me.
I’ve zoned out.
Even when I’m phoneless, I still feel trapped in the memory of refreshing my news feed and constantly waiting for notifications.
By replacing my phone with a sketchbook, I’m giving the world a chance to flood my senses again.
Manly Man
April 12, 2017
I called this one, Manly Man. As soon as I put my brush down, I heard the expression: “I’m not a doctor. I just play one on TV.”
My friend Nichola asked how I made this drawing. It came about thusly: I went to a cafe (Tampered Press) with my cheap watercolour notebook and a Uniball Gel Pen (black, waterproof), looked around for subjects, saw this guy mid-think and quickly laid down the form. I don’t carry a pencil because working in ink forces me to look and commit. A few days later, in a colouring mood, I mixed some yellow ochre and quinacridone rose and dropped in some puddles of flesh tone. Finally, I mixed red, blue and yellow to get his black hair and greyed it up with a white gel pen. The key to getting his expression was to resist looking at my page when I was drawing him. No judgement. No editing. Just doing.
