High Rises 1998

At the end of the summer in 1998, the atmosphere was still hazy and warm, when I did the "Drawing of the Day." Though the urban scene is densely built up, there are plenty of trees and landscape islands to exude moisture and reflect light. These high rise office - residential buildings are in an area known as "Bailey's Crossroads." The title refers to the Barnum and Bailey circus, which was stationed here when not on tour.

Colored pencils with grey and brown ink, 5" x 3", August 1998.

Persian Musicians 2 1998

 

The concert continued and more people got up to dance. I didn't dance, I sketched. These musicians were so good that I wonder if they were professionals. I was glad to capture these folks in mid-gesture. I also got to draw the drum - I think it was a doumbek. The word on the sign, "ZAMWI," is an acronym which stands for "Zoroastrian Association of Metropolitan Washington, Inc." I was very friendly with them back in the 1990s but now I never see them. That's all right I suppose, I needed to move on.

Black tech pen on sketchbook page, 5" x 8 1/2", October 4, 1998.

Persian Musicians 1 1998

 

After the religious ceremony was over, the people moved to another room for a concert of traditional Persian music. There were three musicians: one on violin, one on the tar, and another on a hand drum. I love Persian music and this was a unique chance for me to hear it live. During the concert when the music got more energetic, an elderly lady from the congregation got up and started dancing. This embarrassed some of the attendees (perhaps her family) but she kept boogeying. You see two images of Persian Disco Granny at the top of the page.

Black tech pen on sketchbook page, 5" x 8 1/2", October 4, 1998.

Fishy Creatures

 

This By-Product entry isn't on the usual schedule but here it is. Somewhere in the watery depths of this Earth are creatures that look like this. Their movement is elegant and they navigate in a world without visible light. Bioluminescence guides them to their prey or to their mates. If these little water-wingers were expanded into giant creatures the size of an airplane, they'd be monsters. Maybe they will be monsters if they grow up. But one man's monster is another man's oceanography.

Ink and markers on sketchbook page, 5" x 5", September 27, 2020.

Maddalena Church Rome 1975

 

I spent a lot of time on the street in Rome, doing what countless other artists have done and continue to do: draw. Fortunately the art deposits of three thousand years gave me and my fellow pencil wielders unlimited subject matter especially if it was architecture. This impressive molding or carving is from the Church of the Maddalena or Mary Magdalene, a perfect example of the Baroque style. You can't get enough of these grand cornices and sculptures, which have their roots in Later Roman Empire architecture and design. And as time went on, immigrant artists and architects brought their memories of this style to other continents and nations, so you could see Ancient Rome in a Victorian portico.

Pencil on sketchbook page, 7 1/2" x 5 1/2", 1975.

More Bubbles

 

And so here's the colored, de-worded, and re-mixed Bubble Border. It's also inspired by vintage pieces of Venetian glass in my collection, or perhaps polished sea-glass fragments that you find on a beach. Think of Venice. Think of how many plagues have come and gone there. I will wait in my

quarantina bubble.

Logo and Colors for 2021

 

Most of us can't wait to get rid of 2020. That  includes me but I need to provide a logo and symbolic colors for the New Year. I have chosen a tomato red fading into coffee brown for the main panel, accented by plant motifs in gold. The theme for 2021's imaginative sketches is "Plants," but not necessarily green ones. 2021 will also be a manifestation of 17-year cicadas, with billions of them making a lot of noise. The Photoshoppery you see here is only at the experimental stage. But oh, do I remember those swarms and screams.

Photoshop, September 24, 2020.