1927 study

1927 study
ink and graphite, 7 x 10

Not much for casual chit chat at this time. Enjoy my developing visuals while the text is sparse.

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1895

1895
Ink, watercolor crayon, watercolor
on hot pressed Lana, 7 x 10 inches

1895 study

1895 study
Ink and graphite, 7 x 10 inches

1811

1811
Ink and watercolor crayon on hot pressed Fabriano
7 x 10 inches

Love this!

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1811 (paper test)

1811 (paper test)
Ink and watercolor pencil on cold pressed Strathmore Windpower 
6 x 9 inches

Over the past four years, I've been using Fabriano's 140 lbs cold pressed spiral bound Watercolor Studio for beginning watercolor students. It's a fine beginning paper, very workable and rightly priced. I couldn't find any in town for my current group so picked up some of the new Strathmore Windpower Watercolor paper.

I use the Strathmore Windpower drawing paper for drawing students and love its color, texture, weight and binding but have always steered way clear of any Strathmore watercolor paper. During some quiet time during the morning drawing class, I made a quick sketch of my current motif on the Windpower Watercolor paper and am happy to report that it's quite nice. Workable, easy to lift color, a few more sheets and slightly larger size than the Fabriano equivalent.

It's always fun to find a good, new product, especially when it's relatively environmentally sound.

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1811 study

1811 (study)
ink and graphite, 7 x 10 inches

It may as well be 1811. My cable went out on Wednesday in a storm and the provider who shall remain unnamed offered to reconnect on the 28th. My phone, internet and tv are all kaput and there are wires strung in trees and all over the next door neighbor's lawn.

After 4 - 6 hours on the phone and chat line with unnamed "service provider" I managed to get them to commit to come out for repairs on Monday. You would never know that I live in a major metropolitan area.

Anyway, I've been getting cosy with my local baristas and paying attention to how much I rely on this fragile connection. Also, what an addiction connection to the internet can be.

Tv? Who cares. Phone? Definitely need one of those and I've been paying through the nose for cell use.

I could not need to be connected more right now as I'm at the height of a busy work schedule. Oh, well. It's not the end of the world.

As for the drawing, I liked the naked ink but am working out with ink and graphite so added some value with that. Stay tuned for the next version.

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Ginger Naps

Tallulah usually hogs the photo ops on this blog. She's on time out to make way for her mates.

Ginger Alexander hails from Charleston, South Carolina. I adopted him from what was then the John Ancrum SPCA on Halloween, 1997. By recent calculations, Ginger Ale is over 80 years old in human years. He is our venerable, resident rooster and crows at the crack of dawn, every dawn, every day.

Although Gin-gin has become a bit cranky in recent years, he is patient with his many admirers

and allows them plenty of adoration time.

Tuscan Vestige, 1931

Tuscan Vestige, 1931
Watercolor on Fabriano cold pressed
7 x 10 inches

Another iteration in the development of this new series.

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The Roswell Incident

Last Sunday, the Los Angeles Times recommended my song, The Roswell Incident in their Los Angeles history column The Daily Mirror: Flying Saucers Over L.A.

Click here to read about the song and how to download.

A perfect little post for Video Friday the 13th.

1931

1931
Ink and watercolor pencil on hot pressed Lana
7 x 10 inches

Continuing with my medium experiments, I've mixed my Lamy ink with watercolor pencil to see how the bleed works. The binder in the watercolor pencil gives a particular resistance that's a little unpredictable. The stain from the bleeding ink has a mind of its own so is also unpredictable. Those qualities of the binder and bleeding, though, are what make this coloration workable.

While it was fun to copy oils with watercolor pencil, I am already longing for the sophisticated personality of my M. Graham and Daniel Smith tube paints.

Still, this little piece is so much like the crayon stuff I made as a child, I recognize familiar territory that's definitely worth pursuing.

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1931 study

1931 study
Ink and pencil
6 1/2 x 10 inches

Oh, hell. I miss making landscapes.

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August 6, 1945

DATE WITH HISTORY: Hiroshima - reel 1 & 2

A week or so ago, the Chicago Tribune named me as one of the Top 50 Folkies of the last 50 years. I'm not much for "best of" lists or flavor of the month clubs but it's an honor and I certainly appreciate the recognition.

The song that put me on that list is The 3 Dreams of J. Robert Oppenheimer.

The 3 Dreams of J. Robert Oppenheimer


Download your own copy at iTunes.
or buy the full CD — Souvenir.

I thought, I really should mention this Trib article on my blog... but how? As I was wondering what to post for Video Friday this week, I realized that it would be the 6th of August, the day most folk djs play my Oppenheimer song.

I found the posted Pathé film which you may or may not be in the mood to watch. If you've never seen it, at least watch the set up. It's certainly worth remembering the citizens of Hiroshima. (Of Nagasaki, too.)

DATE WITH HISTORY - Hiroshima - reel 3

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