Monochromatic Outlook

I wasn't able to spend much time in the studio today, but I'm forcing myself to keep adding to this, even if it's a small portion at a time and the drawing really isn't yet taking shape in my head. I can't afford to sit around waiting for the muse to throw a brick at my head; the name of this game is just to keep moving forward.

I have a lot to do over the next few months, so failing to make progress is just not an option. No matter how small or unsatisfactory it may seem right now, it will add up to something. I actually do have a number of new ideas for projects coming to me now, so that's where I have to keep jotting notes in my notebook so that when the time comes I'll have solid steps to take.

I don't know where this is heading. I'm running right up against the limits of my rendering vocabulary here and I feel like I'm fumbling around in the dark. I'm finding myself wishing I was working larger so that I'd have more room. At this scale I don't have much room to use texture without muddying it up and making it too dark. That leads me to rely on outline, and that way there be monsters.... Go ahead, keep reading

Like many Americans these days, I'm hunting for positive cashflow and investigating ways in which I can trade my time and effort for paper I can turn around and trade for food and lodging and art supplies. And in this day and age, the way to do that is through a variety of websites that connect job seekers with employers.... Go ahead, keep reading

Looking at this scan I'm having a lot of trouble seeing the good in here, so I offer this in my defense: the image to the right is a section of the drawing in progress about two inches wide. So all the sloppiness is exaggerated by the amount larger the image is shown on screen than on the drawing table.

I do think I'll have to touch this up after I finish the rest of the drawing but for now I'm going to leave it as it is. When I get farther along I'll want to create contrasts and if I do more now I'll limit my choices later.

In other news, I had a few new ideas about my printmaking process. I'm going to have to start looking for a light table. That's all I'm saying for now.

I struggle against clutter. I don't like it, but it is all around me. I have to confess my envy of those who have placid Zen-like open homes and workspaces. I generally do a pretty good job with my living room, but even now I see a few piles of unopened mail, boxes, and assorted miscellany waiting to be shoved away somewhere out of sight and out of mind.... Go ahead, keep reading

The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court

Author: Jeffrey Toobin

Publisher: Anchor (2008)

Binding: Paperback, 480 pages

My interest in the Supreme Court was rekindled recently when I learned just prior to his retirement announcement that Justice David Souter writes his opinions with a fountain pen, just as I'm presently writing this review (the first draft, anyhow.) It's a trivial detail, but it motivated me to seek more information about the Justice.

I browsed Books Ink, the store occupied by the space where A Clean Well-Lighted Place For Books used to be. They did not have the book I was looking for, David Hackett Souter: Traditional Republican on the Rehnquist Court by Tinsley E Yarbrough, but I kept poking around until I stumbled across Jeffrey Toobin's The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court.... Go ahead, keep reading

Once upon a time, I could pull a small computer from my pocket while sitting in a cafe and use it to check my email, write blog posts and short stories, update my resume, and create invoices for clients. I'm not even talking about my Newton, which stretched credibility to call pocketable. No, all these things could be done and done well by my old Palm Tungsten|T3, which I bought in 2003. If truth be told, most of those tasks could be done almost as well as the Palm IIIxe I had a decade ago.

Today I have an iPhone, which excels for reading email. Writing email? Not so much. It is worlds better than the Palm for looking things up on the Web and the iPhone's music player is fantastic. There is a much wider array of applications that make fart noises or which display the picture of a cigarette lighter for holding up at metal concerts without violating fire codes.... Go ahead, keep reading

In the long-standing tradition of launching ecommerce websites with incomplete features, minimal consideration to user experience and inadequate testing, I bring you the new incarnation of the old Paroxysm.com.

Sadly, you won't find the adventures of 'Zoop' Dubin, Private Eye there any longer, but maybe that can be added at some later date. What you will find is a collection of my pen & ink drawings, photographs, and luxographic prints, and a shopping cart for purchasing prints of various sizes.... Go ahead, keep reading

Last night I was reading The Glorious Cause: The American Revolution, 1763-1789 when I came across this word, in a sentence referring to the prorogue of Parliament in (I think) 1766. Usually when I come across a word that is new to me I have some idea what it might mean from the context or familiar roots, but this one was entirely new to me.

A recent debate/poll in The Economist ended with a tally of 71% to 29% declaring that copyright laws do more harm than good. While I'm the first to admit that there are serious problems with the existing handling of intellectual property, I'm appalled at the seemingly widespread notion that creativity should not be legally protected and encouraged.... Go ahead, keep reading