Category: For Sale

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For Sale Framed Pen and Ink

737 MAX

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737 MAX. Rapidograph pen and ink on Strathmore 400 Series Bristol paper. 15″ x 15″ framed. $600

The two accidents arising from the original design flaw in the Boeing 737 MAX are worth remembering for the terrible impact they had on the victims and surviving friends and family, and this piece is meant to honor their loss. Ongoing issues with production of this particular aircraft suggest it’s still not out of the woods.

Candidly, I’m not especially happy with the technical aspects of this piece, particularly the plane itself (which is not true to the proportions of the actual aircraft.) The victim’s family on the ground of one of the crash sites and the engine wreckage both have a bit too much ink on the page as well, and I wish I’d gone a bit lighter there. All that said, the overall look is decent, and there are some bright spots (like the duck/toucan, and the hidden moth) that are very redemptive and ameliorate my mild dissatisfaction.

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For Sale Pen and Ink

Hands Across America

Hands Across America. Rapidograph pen and ink on Strathmore 400 Series Bristol paper. 12″ x 12″ framed. $500

This piece was created as part of my preparation for my exhibit with Michelle Carlson at the 20 North Gallery. It’s part of a set (along with Giant Sucking Sound) that’s designed to draw attention to the crushing long-term effects that free trade has had on blue-collar workers in the US: manufacturing work moving overseas has led to chronic underemployment and unemployment in the rust belt, which in turn has led to despair, disability, and drug abuse. This is reflected in the working hand, the idle hands, and the handful of pills.

As far as the technical aspects go, I’m thrilled that my ability to draw hands (which are notoriously difficult) seems to be getting better: I can see there’s plenty of room for improvement, but I’m happy with how these came out. The other elements in this piece also turned out reasonably well, and I like how the more whimsical elements, such as the distorted face and the striped-vs-spotted monsters facing off around the clawed leg, bring a bit of balance to the heavy subject matter.

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Art For Sale Pen and Ink

Brush With Art

Brush With Art. Platinum Preppy fountain pen with Platinum Carbon ink on Strathmore 300 Series Bristol paper. 8″ x 8″ framed. $320

This is an unusual piece for me, in that I deviated from my usual approach of first subdividing the page into sections suitable for individual micro-drawings. I instead opted to ‘go with the flow’ of the patterns and elements that evolved in the piece, and I think the results are handsome; I will likely repeat this approach in a future piece. It was also created over an extended period of time: I found it in my unfinished-works pile earlier this year, and decided it was worth pursuing. The earliest portions probably date back over a year.

There are a lot of fun aspects to this piece that came out well. I’m particularly pleased with the tree and droplet, which was non-trivial to do at such as small scale. The title comes from the brush at the bottom and to the right of center, which turned out to be serendipitous (I was struggling with how to title this one until I saw it and realized the potential.) There are a couple of stray marks I might clean up down the road, but I’ve received enough marvelous compliments on this one that I’m calling it a winner.