Friday, February 26, 2016

Written Notes

It was too dark to sketch during the opera workshop, which was called "Drag me to Hell." So I sketched this guy during the intermission. 


The other quote was something I overheard at the diner. It's fun to surround a drawing with random words pulled out of the air. Sometimes weird sparks fly between the notes and the sketch because of the way our brains make associations.

I always carry a fountain pen (link to Amazon) in my shirt pocket. I refill it with brown fountain pen ink using a hypodermic syringe. I did the sketch in a watercolor sketchbook with a pocket watercolor set

One person who inspires me on how to use written notes is the San-Francisco-based artist Paul Madonna, whose drawings are published in the newspaper and collected in the books All Over Coffeeand Everything Is Its Own Reward. He sometimes incorporates intriguing written notes into signs in the scene. His notes are often narrative fragments that don't relate directly to anything in the scene.  


Other times, he combines a sketch of an unpeopled view with a longer text that describes human moments unrelated to the scene, inviting the reader to form their own images beyond the picture presented on that page.
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4 comments:

HNK said...

This sketch is wonderful, James, and thank you for introducing this artist.
And I again have an off-topic question for you: i remember that you had a post with some of your favorite Gouache masters. Will there be - or were there a post like that, but about watercolour artist? I try to get to know as many artists as possible. Thank you, and forgive me if this comment annoys you.

m said...

Lovely post. Love the idea of surrounding a sketch with words pulled out of the air around you. Fantastic way to capture the moment too.

Steve said...

Evocative word/sketch pairing. Glad to see Paul Madonna's amazing work highlighted. Another person who has created engaging, provocative work joining images and words is Nick Bantock, the creator of the Griffin and Sabine trilogy. He concludes his autobiographical book, The Artful Dodger, with these words: "When word and picture marry, the left and right sides of the brain operate simultaneously, and a means of expression is available that offers far more than the limited view of existence we have become used to. The union provides a meeting ground where our two primary methods of observing reality can coexist."

Unknown said...

nice wonderful sketch , i love your idea , lots of meaningfull :) keep it up james
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