The Block

Here are a couple new ones I’m working on…

These are 2 remote controlled military robots that are in production and in use today. The top one is a SWORDS and can be weaponized in different configurations. The bottom one is an backpack sized Unmanned Aerial Vehicle by Honeywell. The UAV is remote controlled or programmable eye in the sky that is unarmed.

I’m both fascinated by and terrified of these things. On one hand, they are just really cool - in the same way that a guy might be attracted to action movies, loud motorcycles or the latest technological gadgetry. On the other hand, these are real things that exist and operate today in real war zones. They are also real things that you may find helping out with domestic security jobs - I know of one US city that is using this UAV to keep an eye on crowds at public events.

I’m continuing to pursue these background patterns. I especially enjoy distorting the size and layout to create a sort of undulating plane. I was also interested in working something out in ballpoint pen as a precursor to some possible etchings using the these patterns.

Here is a minotaur sketch. What a tragic beast. It’s all greedy King Minos’ fault. when will we mortals learn?

This weekend I picked up Alexander Calder’s “Sketching Animals.” Definitely one of the best $4 I have spent in a while.

I’ve been trying to learn how to convey the essentials of a space without going into too much detail. I’d say these are 10 minute sketches and they are a lot better than the ones that have taken much longer. I guess it’s the freshenss factor. It seems like there is only a little room to tweak before things start to look pretty stale and life disappears from the sketch.

This weekend I “wasted” a lot of time printing 2 colors on Roly Poly. Feels like a waste but I know these little failures are most instructive. I thought my under-color was good until I printed the black on top. Plus, seeing it printed, I can now see some major changes I want to make to the under-color block. In other words, I’m going to have to redo at least 1/2 the work on this print. Oh well, whatever it takes to get it right. I’ll work on some other things, then come back to it.

I was really happy with the way the hand printing went. I found that wax paper makes a great slip sheet between the paper and baren. That has made a huge difference - no more rubbing through. The slickness helps me print darker and I can see through it to know where I need to rub more. 

Just for fun. I realize that is a pretty stupid look on my face.

I should probably take my time on this drawing. I want to try to avoid having any wide open cut away areas. I also might like to try more small patterning in areas. Lately I’ve been noticing a lot of woodcuts that use intricate patterning instead of more generic ways of building values and defining shapes.