So here we are in the year 2009 of the Common Era, looking out at a world still pock-marked with violence and straining under the load of too many human beings all scurrying around to grab for some more of earth's dwindling resources. Things like clean water, clean air and a bit of land not touched by toxic chemicals.
I spent New Year's eve working on a rather large drawing. I have quite a pile of unfinished work that I'd like to complete and show to others this year. That's the goal for 2009 -- get enough finished and framed to have an art show.
The drawing above is a view of religious oppression from one who isn't. I did the sketch a number of years ago, but only finished the coloring this year. My typical way of working is to do the drawing in ink and then color with colored pencils. Prismacolor is my pencil of choice. No other brand has the feel, density and hue of a well-sharpened Prismacolor pencil. And they keep adding new colors too!
I have a long-standing tradition of doing a New Year's drawing. It's my own way of clearing out the mental detritus and looking ahead at what needs to be done. It seemed more appropriate to finish one from the pile rather than start something new, so I spent long hours last night and into the dawn of January 1st coloring the old piece. But I did take an hour or so to do something new in a very small journal I picked up in NYC at a farmers' market last fall. It is a journal made out of native to Bali materials including bamboo, pakis, waru and banana trees. The paper has a very interesting texture. I plan on using it to experiment with pencils, ink and water color.
The new sketch book looks like this:
Here's a peak inside:
