Geometrika Works

Working with shape templates is an interesting by-road for pen and ink doodles. It's not something I often see in other people's art. But when you want to fill one of those spaces in the sketchbook journal and you don't want to draw another chariot, this will fill the square. Over the years I've collected quite a lot of graphic design templates, from simple circles and ovals to squares, hexagons, and other engineering-oriented geometric forms. Now that drafting and design are done on computer, that leaves the old templates for the artist to play with. This one has a bit of Steampunk influence in it, and it's also inspired by fantastic watches now sold to overly rich collectors. I'll call this template-driven mechanical style "Geometrika" and you might see more of it if I get ideas.

Black tech pen ink on sketchbook page, 3 1/2" x 3 1/2", October 5, 2016.

A note to Tristan and other readers: I have often thought of doing a book of my Darkover illustrations. If I get to "Chessiecon," the successor to DarkoverCon, I might ask to see if there would be any market for it after all these years. There would also need to be copyright work done with the Bradley estate.

Another note. So you want to know what "F.S.P." stands for on the diagonal bar. Well, one of my art professors, the late David Ratner of the Boston University art school, used to draw these hilarious little cartoons where the three letters "F.S.P." showed up, as in a word balloon or a shirt or a sign, etc. I finally asked him what "F.S.P." stood for. So...just choose three common rude 4-letter words that those letters stand for and you've got it. I carry on the tradition.