Sketchbook

I recently updated the "Sketchbook" section of my website with some new drawings. Well, new to the site, that is. Over the past year I started making quick (usually 30 minute long) conceptual mini-illustrations. These pieces are not quite sketches, but not quite complete illustrations either. They are spontaneous personal reactions to a topic or concept, done in ballpoint pen.

I really enjoy the loose, expressive lines, and the high contrast of the pen & ink. Call me simple, but I love ballpoint pens. Nothing fancy. Unlike true black in pens, I can actually get a truly lighter shade of ink by letting up on the pressure, creating deep shades of black, and very light grays.

Basically, I really like the look of these pieces, and feel that they represent some sort of emerging development in my black & white illustration technique, or at least a potential alternative to graphite. Unfortunately, most of these do not have backgrounds, so I have no idea what a finished illustration would look like using this scribbly ink approach, but I hope to have some time to experiment and refine this method so that it can potential translate well in to more finished pieces. Something about this look just really speaks to me....now if only I could figure out what it is saying! In the meanwhile, I am trying to apply this more expressive, high-contrast look into my graphite pieces, to give them more depth and energy.