Facing facts
To see a world in a grain of sand, And a heaven in a wild flower, Hold infinity in the palm of your hand, And eternity in an hour. William Blake - Auguries of Innocence I have been reading...
No models?
(click on video to see it larger on YouTube) I stumbled upon this video on YouTube. The creator, a young Brazilian named Marcos, draws other people who appear on YouTube or send him online videos. His drawing style is...
Moleskine skinned
Ever wish Moleskines had the paper of your choice rather than the rather odd stuff they stuff them with? Martha at Trumpetvine Travels has posted a great guide to remixing a Moleskine with the paper of your choice. Clear,...
Slo-Mo
Ways of adding a deep breath to your day from drawing to putting away your iPod.
On drawing from photos
An exploration of the effect photographs have on my brain and eyeballs.
Painting in need of a pedicure
In a tribute to Bob Ross and William Alexander, I shot and narrated a little time-lapsed film of me drawing the view from my balcony. The ultimate drawing isn't very good � I found it quite hard to get...
My perspective on perspective
School's back on and NYU students wander through my neighborhood, clutching new books and pencils. Quite often, I see some of them set up in the park, preparing to draw Washington Square arch. It's a beautiful landmark, and I've...
45 in 45 by 45
Jack and I did a fun exercise this morning. We drew 45 minute-long drawings in 45 minutes, pounding through reams of recycled paper....
Slow=Know
Basic advice to someone who draws but wants to do it better.
Step-by-Step comics
Doing a 180
My pal, Jim, is directing our commercials out here in LA. After reading Everyday Matters, he's become increasingly intrigued with learning to draw. He told me he knew he couldn't draw, didn't think he ever could, but still always...
Just shoot me
For many reasons, I am a big advocate of drawing in one's journal. It is a meditative practice. It helps one to deepen one's appreciation and count one's blessings. It is a good impetus to draw often. It looks...
Ten thousand things to draw
Content of kitchen cabinet, fridge, bedside table, medicine cabinet All my shoes, clothes Covers of ten favorite CDs, books Every significant front door of every place I've lived or worked Everything I eat today Contents of my bag, of...
Grid
The members of Everyday Matters, the Yahoo!group, have been working on an interesting project. Take a page, divide it into thirty squares (pipaudstudio created a Word template you can download here), then do a drawing each day in one of...
Re-learning to draw
My boy, Jack, 9, has always loved to draw. He draws in the symbolic away kids do, inventing characters in his mind, drawings scenes and battles and maps and worlds. Recently though we have been talking about drawing realistically...
Booking a vacation
I dream very intensely on the first few days of a vacation, as my brain reorganizes its hard drive. Weird hallucinogenic dreams feather into each other, dredging up dramas, ancient and new. Old bosses, old addresses, old mistakes, reappear in...
The Way
Julia Cameron's classic, "The Artist's Way" , why I think you must read it and why I sometimes take issue with it.
Notes on notes
Doing my homework for color theory class this week, I discovered I had made the sort of thing I had always admired. It's a great feeling , to look at your own work, and say, "Hey, that's how you...
Jammin' good with Weird and Gilly
So I've mentioned here before that Jack, my boy, 9, good, handsome, smart, got into his skull that he just had to become a rock 'n' roll drummer and, despite my attempts to dissuade him, has been taking lessons...
Thinking on paper
My mum taught me to appreciate paper early. To riffle through blank journals and pinch the sheets between my finger pads. To consider pulp and fiber. To notice how a pen flows smoothly here while it bucks and protests...
Cataloging Colors
What does it take to name a color? Manufacturers do it every day for their own convenience. It helps them keep track of what they're making and how it's selling and distinguishes one season from another. Apparently, it also makes...
The rhythm is gonna get you
I’ve always enjoyed drawing series of things. It’s so interesting to see variations on a theme, to explore connections between things, and to expand specifics into generalities and vice versa. I learn a lot by doing drawings of similar things,...
Anatomy of anatomy
The profound pleasures of drawing nekkid people.
The Old Bamboo
My passion for my Rotring rapidoliner deepens. Unlike any other technical pen I've used, it is always on the ready, never clogs or sticks or leaks and I've never even had to shake it one time to force ink...
Electron Fast
I have not posted or visited this site for a week. I have been on an "electron fast", forsaking all activity on the computer and television (except for those things absolutely essential to my business). The rest has been liberating....
Leave some of the details up to God
It is nice to curb my yen to draw every bit of minutiae. This morning I am letting my mind fill in some of the hyacinths to give my pen a rest. More neurons, less ink....
"But I don't have time to draw"
Draw lunch as you eat it : 1 drawing Draw the news as you watch it: 4 drawings Skip 1 sitcom: 3 drawings Skip 1 basketball game: 11 drawings Overtime: 2 drawings...
The Open Book
I am a member of a wonderful community called "Artist Journals 2" which is currently conducting a discussion on whether or not one should share the contents of one's illustrated journals with others. I had to chime in: I'm a...
Unplugged
I got my first mouse in 1983. It was attached to an Apple IIC, the grooviest PC to come along, a 9" monitor, a carrying handle, white like the current Apple design standard. There was a program called Macpaint...
My Name is Mud
Alfred Hitchcock meticulously planned out every shot in his films long before he set foot on the set. Then he waddled on with precise storyboards, his angles, lenses, lighting directions all completely worked out. Most artists aren’t so controlled....
Midpoints
Here is a fun and challenging creative exercise sent to me by Lori in San Francisco: Above are several pairs of objects. The trick is to determine what the midpoint is, whether physically, ideologically, conceptually, or ridiculously,...
Marching to the beat of your own drummer
Jack's been fairly adamant about it since last summer. He wants to learn the drums. I suggested the harmonica, the ukulele, the Jew's harp, but he won't yield. I point out that we have an apartment and neighbors, that...
Dear Danny:
I've been lucky enough to get lots of email from visitors to this journal. These are some of the interesting questions I received over the past month: When did you start to draw? I mean, did you ever draw when...
Bookbinding 101
I have bound many of my journals myself. I learned how at a fantastic place called The Center for Book Arts, here in Manhattan. It was a lifelong dream come true, learning to make my own hard cover books. I...
Patti's problem
Patti and I were discussing her journals and scrapbooks a few days ago and, for once, I was able to give her some useful advice. Her dilemma: she collects all sorts of clippings and pictures and cards and souvenirs and...
It's not easy being chartreuse
I start most days by choosing a palette. It's often a fairly subconscious process as I flip through my pants, shirts, sweaters, etc in the semi-darkness of my closet. I have a lot of drab, typically male colors: khaki,...
Mother Nature
Flowers, leaves, and ferns can be beautiful reminders on your journal page. I'm not too fussy about how I preserve and mount them — I press them between my journal pages, folded in a paper towel if they're very...
Write on!
A minor question to ask your self on this Martin Luther King's Day: are you having enough fun with the lettering in your journal? Study magazines, old books, the fonts on your computer for inspiration. Try brush pens, calligraphy...
A record of my exploration into all aspects of drawing, illustrated journaling, creativity, and the inspiring aspects of art. By the author of "Everyday Matters," "The Creative License", and "An Illustrated Life" and other books.