"We shape our tools. And then our tools shape us."

That's from Marshall McLuhan, my man for saying things that make my brain go fizzy. I thought it was an appropriate title for the theme of today's post: tools! The things we make are always a wonder to me. Giant buildings and bridges, huge interstates, our creations cover (too much of?) the Earth. How did we make them? How did we go from these soft, pink, fairly useless creatures to Masters of the Universe? Our machines and tools explain a lot about that, and how we think, and then how our thinking is shaped in turn (thanks Marshall!).




I did two of these. Somehow when I finish a drawing, I want to draw the same thing again, but different.


And here's the man with the hammer!

Fairy Mural

This past week I did a private commission, a nursery mural. Painting on the walls feels so forbidden and fun! The client wanted fairies, butterflies and dragonflies, as well as mushrooms and flowers and animals, and I was happy to oblige her. As a big fan of Arthur Rackham, Edmund Dulac, and other classic fairy tale illustrators, I've been drawing fairies and elves since I was a kid, so this was kind of the dream job!
Since the mural was to include so many elements, I started out with a pretty detailed thumbnail

as well as a color sketch

By the end of day one:

Day two:

Day three:

And by day four, it was done!

A few details:



It was rewarding to see my client get teary-eyed looking at it!

iDrawing Guest Blogger

Go check out my post on my friend Julia's blog iDrawing where I am guest blogger today. Is it cheating, or at least double-dipping to post this here? It's cool, on my blog, I'm the boss!

Life Drawing

A new batch of life drawings!

St. Patrick's Day Parade

I went to the St. Paddy's Day parade last Wednesday in midtown to do some drawing. It's been awhile since I've been to the parade, but it hasn't really changed, except that it was warm for once! My favorite people to draw are the bagpipers because of their plaid kilts and knee socks and, oh yeah, their bagpipes!





The leaders of the pipe bands always have a swagger in their step.


But there are plenty of marchers that are just wearing suits and sashes, grandees from County Clare and County Wicklow, like this fellow,


as well as Ancient Hibernians, and their ladies. If the ones I drew don't look very happy, it's easy to understand. I was at the end of the parade route and by the end of the day, they'd walked a far piece and I'm sure were pretty footsore. Soldier on, Ladies of the AOH!

Paradegoers are fun to draw as well. Everyone was wearing green, even the dogs!


In addition to our little canine fashion plate there, we had lots of tweeds, Aran sweaters, and football (by which I mean soccer) jerseys.

Paris Redux

Sorry for the long hiatus, I'm not sure what happened! I think I was art-hibernating for the last month or so. But the spring weather has awakened my art blog impulses again!

My class is planning a trip to Paris in the summer, so I've been looking back through my sketchbooks at my last trip in 2006. I thought I would share a few drawings I made there.

The Louvre was definitely a highlight of the trip. I love the Metropolitan Museum of Art here in New York, but the Louvre is like the Met on steriods. It's probably three or four times the size—like art-heaven! It can be intimidating, though, I won't lie. But I did calm down enough to make a few drawings in the European sculpture section. These lovely ladies were gracing tombs, and they seem to take the opposite approach to presenting themselves to posterity. The first was all piety, raising her eyes heavenward in humble supplication, dressed in rich looking clothes, but with an austere design sense. The other lay on one elbow, with an open book, smiling like the cat that ate the canary. I had to draw her because she seemed so modern.




I can't wait to see the Louvre and these two ladies again!

January Drawings

Here are some drawings from earlier in the month to ring in the New Year. Happy 2010!!