Kallitechnia Complex Spaces

Kallitechnia's villages, set in mildly mountainous territory around their garden domes, provided a multitude of levels and interesting spaces to inhabit. The architecture was based on Mediterranean hill and coastal towns, with their many rooftop areas and elevated gardens and interlocking domestic and public spaces. None of the residences were exclusively private, though. Ownership was in common and all residential and commercial properties were distributed through negotiation and sharing, rather than private holdings and rentals. I am not sure whether Kallitechnians had a money economy. It's possible that they used a debit system rather like the early days of "Club Mediterranee" where you exchanged your money for beads that you wore as decoration, which were only worth something within the locale of the club. I'm also unsure whether people were allowed to amass fortunes in this system, as village capitalists. I never thought to ask the client about the economics of his Utopia.

Depicted here is a small square on the hilly built-up slope of a Kallitechnian village, complete with restaurant, residences, and the dome higher up the hill. The dome is based on the New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx.

Black ink on illustration board, 9" x 11", September 1996. Click for larger view.

Passing Storm over Vineyard

I have wanted to do this picture for years. Many years ago I visited Pearmund Cellars, yet another excellent winery in Northern Virginia, and during my visit a thunderstorm gathered with dark clouds over the hills, and then instead of raining on me, it moved away and dissipated. I took some reference photos of the natural event and put them into my files, hoping that if I ever had the time I would paint that passing moment from memory. As you know summer is the only season I like and thunderstorms are one of my favorite moments during summer. I wanted to paint a picture where you could see patches of sunlight on the intense green of vines and lawns, and hear rumbles of thunder in the distance.

Well I finally got the time, and created the painting this month. I just finished it. The little brick-textured garden shed appealed to me as if it were a tiny cabin I might be able to use as a studio or retreat refuge. Pearmund Cellars has lots of these interesting places which I would like to see again. The title, "Passing Storm, Pearmund Cellars" or perhaps "Distant Storm, Pearmund Vineyard" is meant to echo the atmospheric quality of the "Luminist" painters of the 19th century, who also wanted to paint momentary weather and natural light events. 

Watercolor and ink on thick watercolor paper, 14" x 10", April 2016. Click for larger view.

Benevolent Government Online

Warning: This posting contains political and social commentary.

In 1993, at the dawning of the Internet era, the makers of the Net and the "Cloud" were well aware that this invention would change the world, the way people related to government and authorities, and the way people related to each other. No longer would you have to wait days or even months to hear from your relatives and friends. Communication was faster than even a phone call or fax because data could be transmitted instantaneously. Now that bandwidth technology has evolved to handle high-speed high-volume transmissions, that vision of the early 90s has come true. 

I did this illustration for "Internet World" magazine in 1993. It was for an article about U.S. Government resources online. "Uncle Sam" is using the state of the art now 23 year old big clunky computer and monitor. He looks like a benevolent person, who actually wants to help you. And in 1993, you might be OK with that.

The idea of a government that helps rather than plunders and which is honest rather than corrupt is actually a modern idea, no more than a few centuries old. In the past, governments ruthlessly exploited their subjects and waged war or perpetrated atrocities without the people's consent, and often on the people themselves. A government that collects resources from a consenting populace and then uses them to help that populace rather than enrich corrupt and brutal leaders is rare even now.

One government catastrophe after another in those last 23 years (let alone the almost-forgotten "Watergate" scandal and impeachment trial 42 years ago) has lowered our trust in government to such an extent that we don't trust anything the government offers us (except tax refunds, how about that check in the U.S. Postal Service?) or anything the government can do for us. Everything about government nowadays seems to be flawed, wrong, corrupt, incompetent, and sometimes just evil. Really? Our mistrust and anger is multiplied by the very Internet that had such promise 23-odd years ago. Government now can do no right. If government as a social service to help people is gone, and government can do no right, then taxation is theft and society becomes a collection of tribal groups and techno-warlords, which sounds cool if you can shoot straight and stay healthy. 

I am old fashioned in the social services way. I am willing to pay some of my precious dollars to maintain a civilized society that organizes activities that benefit people, including myself. I am a consenting person. I know that for many of the people I encounter, they have been so mistreated by government incompetency or bigotry that they have no faith in government help. What is their alternative, if they have no church or private charity association that will help them? Well, they can always go online and find help, from a government they declare they hate, and which used its resources to develop the Internet information in the first place. 

"Uncle Sam" is ink and watercolor on illustration board, original size 5" x 7", August 1993.

Kallitechnia Ornamentation

I'm only doing what Mr. Client asked for. Kallitechnia has literally an "over-the-top" attitude when it comes to ornamentation. This corner features a carved angel with wings outstretched, as well as borders and friezes in Spanish-Mayan style. I never got to do any of these in color but I imagine the sculptural details would be brightly painted as well. 

I would have liked to do some sequential art (comic book style) about the Kallitechnia world, but the client had no plans to assign (or pay for) anything like that.

Black ink on illustration board, about 6" x 9", September 1996.

Aspen Dale in Springtime

It's finally Springtime and the golden-green new leaves are emerging. I made another "Wine Saturday" visit to Aspen Dale Winery at the Barn, one of my all-time favorites in Northern Virginia. I sampled their fare and bought myself a treat: a bottle of their delicious red blend colorfully titled "Rockawalkin'", and one of their summer sausages made with pheasant meat. The weather was just right and I was able to draw outdoors. Like most wineries in Virginia, Aspen Dale is family-run and I always enjoy their warm hospitality. 

Brown tech pen ink and colored pencil on sketchbook page, 8" x 8", April 16, 2016. Finished in the studio due to time limits at the site.

Kallitechnia Ogre Doorway

My "Kallitechnia" client encouraged me to adorn the buildings with not only florid Art Nouveau stylings but with grotesque molded ornament and carvings reminiscent of native Mexican colonial art. This doorway, an "Ogre Doorway," is a good example of the grotesqueries. Not only does it have "eyes" and a "mouth" (in which a girl is standing) but over the doorway is a carving of a grinning brute humanoid monster. As you will see, these "ogres" are a part of Kallitechnian customs, one of the more bizarre features of that world that Mr. Client created.

Those who know my own imaginary world may ask why the Noantri don't build their buildings like this. My answer is simple: they have better taste and a more minimalist aesthetic.

Black ink on illustration board, 6" x 9", September 1996.

Wheel-i-pede

The process of merged digital and hand-done graphics continues. I find inspiration in an industrial cable transport vehicle where the thick cables are bound onto a wheel train platform. It looks like a centipede, no, it's a wheel-i-pede. I design and draw with real ink the front end and run out of space in my sketchbook. I scan the unfinished drawing, save it, and place it on a memory stick to be transferred to the Cintiq. I suppose I could just send it to myself by e-mail, which would re-direct my little drawing from Metro DC to Sydney to Tokyo to planet Mars and then back through Halifax, Nova Scotia. This done, I add the drawing to a larger blank panel thus giving it room to complete in digital inking. I complete the drawing, save it, place the finished item back on the memory and re-import it to my main system hoping that it won't seize up again when I use Photoshop. A lot of the hardware in my studio (not the brand-new Cintiq) is either failing or has already failed. I hate it when the red light goes on. I don't know if any of what I just wrote makes sense. 

Black tech pen inking and digital inking on sketchbook and virtual page, about 3 3/4" x 4", April 15, 2016. Taxes are done and e-filed to planet Mars.