SKETCH=germination?

Ah...sketching is such sweet fun. Whether it has a purpose or is just free-based thought. It can be creative bliss. Frequently when I sketch I have an objective. It could be designing a painting or creating a color combination for a painting to get the color harmony I seek. These are merely steps in the creative process. It is like magic to look at a blank sheet of paper and then have your vision materialize in front of you. I once worked in black and white in my books but then discovered what a watercolor wash could do to a line drawing. I once sketched in pencil, a.k.a. graphite, but found it messy and as a male member of the species rarely had some hair spray to use as fixative. There is no doubt that graphite and charcoal give infinite variation in value. But I find the use of a ballpoint pen with black ink the most convenient for me. It doesn't smudge or smear and is waterproof and by theuse of such techniques as cross-hatching I can create a reasonable amount of variation in value. My favorite pens are procured gratis from motel rooms.

In the above sketchbook page on the left I am working of designs for paintings. The page on the right depicts seasonal activity on a sharecropper farm of my youth.

Studio Listening Matter

• Mason Williams
• Bob Marley
• Zachary Richard
• Boots Randolf