Action line with Jimmy Jay trying to rescue Buddy Butterfly

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I’ve take drawing classes that emphasize that a character needs an “action line” in order to be dynamic and interesting. Unfortunately, it seems that my characters usually don’t have anything like a gesture or action line. Today’s drawing reverses that trend. I intentionally drew Jimmy with what I hoped was an action line as he’s leaping to try to keep his friend from being sucked down a chimney.

Why did I put Aeolus up in the left hand corner? Because everyone know that he’s in charge of making the wind blow. Besides, I like the antique versions of Aeolus with puffy cheeks blowing those gusty winds at poor Buddy. I think he looks mean, but there has to be a villain in the story. He’s a good one.

I’m still going with grisaille for this painting.

A Jaybird and a Butterfly Play Poker

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Another grisaille. This time Jimmy and Buddy are playing poker, it seems. I’m not much of a card player, but I do know that four queens is a good hand. Too bad for Jimmy, but Buddy has four aces. I know because that’s the story I wrote in my head.

One thing wrong with this picture that I’m thinking of: I forgot to add Jimmy nose. Even at this year 3/4 view his honker would be prominent. This drawing, painting, and processing, and writing this post, took about 1 1/2 hours. I was hustling.

More turn-arounds for my imaginary character, Jimmy Jay

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I’m learning how to apply ink washes and glaze them with watercolor. Today, it being Sunday, I thought I’d have oodles of time to do turnarounds for all of the characters in my children’s book; Jimmy Jay, Momma Jay, Jenny Jay (I keep changing her name), and Buddy Butterfly. It didn’t happen. As usual I grossly underestimated how much time I have and how speedily I can draw and paint.

I did get Jimmy’s turnaround done. The front view is the least pleasing because his beak/nose is completely flattened, and the back view doesn’t say much. I don’t think I’ll ever use that view.

I’m converting my sketchbook to a journal/diary. Since I’m learning something new everyday, I need to write notes and comments so I’ll remember what color I used when I painted a picture. These days my drawings and paintings 100% for for practice. Finished pieces seem to be on the distant horizon.

As for my supplies, they’re the same as yesterday. I see that semi-opaque Cerulean Blue Chrome covers the line work. I’m leaning toward Phthalo Blue GS for the bird characters.

A grisaille version of the chimney house

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Grisaille: In fine art, the term grisaille most commonly refers to a monochrome painting technique by which a painting or drawing is executed exclusively in shades of grey. For a contemporary example, see Picasso’s Guernica.

I’ve drawn the house with the chimney that birds get trapped in dozens of times, and here it is again. I followed the grisaille process that Steven Reddy teaches in his book “Everyday Sketching & Drawing”. I sketched from a reference photo, inked it with a Uni-ball Vision pen, gave it 3 washes of watered-down black ink, then watercolored it. I like this friendly style, and I like that the picture looks finished when it’s in it’s grisaille black and white state. Adding watercolor is the icing on the cake. As Steven Terry mantra goes, “Black and white does the work; color gets the credit.”

My materials for the drawing: Uni-Ball Vision pen with black ink, Canson Montval All-Media sketchbook (best price at DickBlick.com), Daniel Smith Ultimate Mixing Palette, and a Robert Simmons 1/4 inch flat brush.

The grisaille version.

The grisaille version.

Book impression: “Everyday Sketching and Drawing” by Steven Reddy

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I bought up this book at Barnes and Noble yesterday — even though I’ve exceeded my book budget for the month. When I opened Everyday Sketching and Drawing It was love at first sight…every drawing in pen and ink. Pen and ink is my native style, the style I’m eternally ignoring while I search for my “real style”, which mostly means trying to draw/paint/sketch like someone else. My wife keeps telling me that pen and ink is really me and I keep thinking that I should be painting digitally and traditionally like the “real” artists I see on Youtube. That’s a real problem. I must look like I’m eternally falling down rabbit holes.

Then I find this book, and it talks to me. Steven Reddy’s style is pen-and-ink with grisaille and watercolor wash. Wow! I love it. One of the treasures in the book is a sketch of R Crumb, one of my pen-and-ink idol ever since I went into a comic book store on Haight street in 196? and bought my first stunning Zap comics. My other big idol is Wally Wood in his Mad Magazine days. Black and white, pen and ink…it doesn’t get any better.

My favorite quote from the book comes when Reddy is writing about drawing his partner. It’s easy to see that she looks obviously different in every drawing:

Creating a faithful likeness would take much longer than I want to spend on any drawing. (p. 138)

I admire the sentiment, and I’m inspired by it.

There you see the thumbnail of an ink-stained dip pen wretch.