Inktober Day 10 "Flowing"

Day 10 of Inktober, prompt word "Flowing." I previously wrote about Inktober here. This is an edited version, but I'm posting these daily on my Instagram, @St.Rhinoceros:

Day 10 of Inktober 2018, prompt word "Flowing." by Ciana Pullen / St. Rhinocéros. Dip pen and ink. [Image description: a black and white line drawing of a bathtub in the middle of some ocean waves, with a person in the bathtub looking out. The waves are medium-large, made up of flowing black lines that are loosely drawn. The bathtub is full of soap foam, with a dollop of foam on the bather's head. Only her head and shoulders are visible as she clutches the bathtub. Her facial expression is dismayed and confused. The bathtub and bather are also somewhat loosely and simply drawn. Above the flat waterline at the horizon near the upper edge of the image are little puffy clouds and a flock of birds.]

Inktober 2018 Day 6, "Drooling"

Day 6 of Inktober, prompt word "Drooling." I previously wrote about Inktober here. This is an edited version, but I'm posting these daily on my Instagram, @St.Rhinoceros:

Day 6 of Inktober 2018, prompt word "Drooling." Dip pen and ink. [Image description: black and white realistic line drawing of a woman in a striped shirt dragging a much larger version of herself. The small woman is straining. The large woman is limp and drooling profusely; her slack face is visible in the foreground.]

Inktober Day 4 "Spell"

Day 4 of Inktober, prompt word "Spell." I previously wrote about Inktober here. This is an edited version, but I'm posting these daily on my Instagram, @St.Rhinoceros:

Day 4 of Inktober 2018, prompt word "Spell," by Ciana Pullen / St. Rhinocéros. Dip pen and ink wash. I'm happy with the image, it's basically what I envisioned; but I realized at this point in the challenge that drawing in this style is the biggest time investment with the least amount of visual payoff for me. I always think cartooning will make me draw looser, but in fact it's the opposite. My style is loosest, simplest and most honest when I'm aiming at realism. Good to know, and just one reason I'm glad I participated in Inktober this year. [Image description: a cartoonish black and white drawing with ink wash in the style of The New Yorker cartoons (that was an accident). It's a view straight down the hallway of a bland modern hospital, from slightly above eye level. A bored nurse in scrubs walks along the ground pushing a cart. Meanwhile patients float near the ceiling. In the close foreground only a man's belly, feet, and one hand holding a cup of tea are visible. In the middle-ground a woman in a wheelchair floats with the top of her head pointed toward the viewer. Just behind her a man floats with his back to the viewer looking at the ground, like a pathetic version of a famous heavenly figure in the Sistine Chapel. They float just under fluorescent lights and are in shadow; they also cast shadows on the shiny floor that stretch toward the viewer. Extra shadows hint that there are more floating patients behind the wheelchair lady, out of view.]

Inktober, day 3 "Roasted"

Day 3 of the Inktober challenge which I previously wrote about here. The prompt word is, "roasted."

Day 3 of Inktober 2018, prompt word "Roasted." Sadly my scanner struggles to reproduce the color of the highlighters I used; the original is black & white ink with neon orange (pink and yellow) highlighter ink. [Image description: realistic-cartoonish drawing with ink wash of a man and woman walking down a street. The man has his head down, the woman looks at him worried, they're holding hands. They walk in front of a wrought iron fence and residence with a window. It's black and white with a grid-like appearance because of the architecture. Superimposed and offset at a -30 degree angle is an orange line drawing of a nuclear bomb exploding and the man covering his face. The drawing extends beyond the borders of the black & white image.]

Knight in a Hungarian Restaurant

A suit of armor in the foyer of a restaurant in Budapest, by Ciana Pullen / St. Rhinocéros

Everyone in Marie Claire magazine

Some good practice! I flipped through Marie Claire (the French one) and drew everyone who appeared in its pages. French Marie Claire, btw, is way way better than the American one.

Mermaid

Mermaid, signed -St. Rhinocéros

Berlin, July 2016

I couldn't make out what her tattoos were when I saw her on the street, so I gave her a full sleeve of my favorite junk foods.

FKK in the Tiergarten

A field in the Berlin Tiergarten (rather like NY's Central Park, but calmer) unofficially dedicated to gay male nudists. There are other fields in the Tiergarten where any nudists may congregate when the weather is nice enough, as well as various lakes and parks around Berlin. FKK stands for Freikörperkultur ("free body culture") and is a holdover from former East Germany, where frequent casual nudism was the norm before reunification. Signed St. Rhinocéros

Buster Gets Out!

I'm excited to announce I've illustrated a children's book called Buster Gets Out! now for sale in my Etsy store and on the BookPatch online bookstore. Lucienne Stec and Thomas L. Stec, my husband's parents, wrote the story and it was a fun collaboration!

"Violet and her cat Buster are the best of friends. But one Fall day when Buster escapes into the yard, Violet must search high and low to find him!" Here are a few of the illustrations from the book:

An illustration by Ciana Pullen from Buster Gets Out! by Lucienne Stec and Thomas L. Stec.

An illustration by Ciana Pullen from Buster Gets Out! by Lucienne Stec and Thomas L. Stec.

An illustration by Ciana Pullen from Buster Gets Out! by Lucienne Stec and Thomas L. Stec.

An illustration by Ciana Pullen from Buster Gets Out! by Lucienne Stec and Thomas L. Stec.

An illustration by Ciana Pullen from Buster Gets Out! by Lucienne Stec and Thomas L. Stec.

Quentin Blake, illustration for The Witches

Quentin Blake, illustration for Rhoald Dahl's The Witches. In the film the central figure-- the witch leader-- was played by Angelica Houston. [Image description: Black line cartoon, probably with fountain pen, filled in with watercolors, of a woman standing akimbo with her arms thown up spread-eagled and five skulking bald witches in daydresses with matching handbags and gloves crouched around her.]

What is art?

I cannot believe I'm asking this-- or writing the answer voluntarily-- as I was sick to death of this question by the first year of art school (and sicker by graduation). But unlike years past I'm not b.s.-ing my way through an answer (not consciously anyway) and I'm finally satisfied that I have an answer that exists outside the untenable binary of genius / loser, art / craft, transcendent / kitsch that is particular to post-Renaissance modernity. [Image: Lisa Simpson holding her sax in front of clouds shaped like Bleeding Gums Murphy, an obvious spoof of Simba's dad-cloud apparition from The Lion King]

***

Art is the notation or commentary that you make on life, similar to the notes you take in class. [Image: Lisa, Marge and Homer Simpson watch a meteor shower]

***

Some things you copy down because you need to know them. Or because it is interesting enough as-is that it's worth remembering. You usually parse what you believe is the most important or salient fact and make a note of only that, particularly when it is representative of a bulkier portion of the learning material. This selectivity reflects a combination of your personal values or intellectual system, and what the teacher (i.e. cultural authority) says is important.... [Image: Lisa and Homer Simpson watch TV in awe]

... I'm alluding to classical Academic art, cave paintings, scientific illustration.... [Image: Homer as da Vinci paints Lisa as the Mona Lisa]

... most portraiture.... [Image: storage room full of statues and paintings of Mr. Burns in many styles]

... and historic monuments. [Image: Homer Simpson imagines himself playing Foosball with Michelangelo's David]

***

Other times you may jot your own abstract theories of the material in the margins of a novel or history book: leading questions to remind you later of your thoughts, or your theories pertaining to the text which usually reflect your larger cultural and intellectual environment, such as parallels with material you're learning in another class.... [Image: Lisa Simpson dressed like Sherlock Holmes, i.e. a detective]

... Here I'm alluding to Abstract Expressionism... [Image: 3-D Homer Simpson paints crazy lines like Pollock]

... art which advances a theory such as Futurism and Cubism... [Image: spoof of Duchamp's Nude Descending a Staircase featuring Homer Simpson stumbling cubistically down a staircase]

 and mystical or religious art. [Image: Lisa Simpson reads Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass]

***

Or maybe the class doesn't interest you and you're doodling unicorns in your notebook and making escapist fantasies. I'd say these "notes" are still reflective of the class because 1) they were produced because you were in class and 2) they are often subconsciously related to the material or are a reaction to it, such as a cartoon of your teacher with a Hitler mustache. Here I'm thinking of escapist art, fantasy, sci fi, satire, mindless entertainment, psychadelia, decorative art and art for the sake of pure beauty. [Lisa Simpson dances while Chief Wiggam eats a donut in a spoof of David Lynch's Twin Peaks where Agent Cooper dreams of the Black Lodge]

***

In this analogy community happenings or collaborations might be a sort of group study session... [Andy Warhol holds a giant soup can above a cowering Homer Simpson in a Dali dreamscape]

 ... or lab class where you learn through pre-designed experimentation. [Image: Lisa Simpson plays the sax in band with other kids]

***

You mostly make the notes for yourself but you might share them if they are outstanding, or if note-taking resources are scarce, or if someone else needs to use them. [Image: Lisa Simpson stands heroically in front of a sunset]

***

And while many of us were forced to take notes in class because we wanted to pass the tests or because our teachers made us, "notes on life," i.e. art, are usually voluntary.... [Image: Bart Simpson does write-offs reading, "I WILL NOT EXPOSE THE IGNORANCE OF THE FACULTY"]

... Maybe we have never come across an adequate representation of life quite as we've experienced it, and we want to make note of our version of events-- for the pursuit of a Higher Truth, in order to help others going through the same thing, because we think our thoughts could entertain others, because we think our experience is super important, or because we think we have something better to offer than what already exists (plans for the future, proposals, fantasies, utopias).... [Image: Lisa Simpson reading Sylvia Plath's The Bell Jar]

... Maybe we aren't allowed to express certain thoughts or do certain things in real life, so we express them in abstract ways.... [Image: Lisa and Bart Simpson peruse a copy of Public Nudity: Codes and Statutes]

  ... Maybe we're taking notes on behalf of a huge group of people: carving our tribal history onto a vessel, or making something to entertain every child in an orphanage, or documenting a disappearing culture, or inspiring social justice.... [Image: Lisa Simpson points an accusatory finger with the caption, "The whole damn system is wrong!"]

... Or maybe we feel compelled to take notes and we never really understand why. [Image: Lisa Simpson holds her sax and looks up as Bleeding Gums Murphy sits alone on a bridge in front of the moon playing his sax]

***

And just as the division between the material being taught and the notation of it (or between teaching and learning) exists only because we say it does-- because we are conscious of ourselves versus others and the linear flow of time, because modern large industrial and / or capitalist societies value the division of labor (teacher/student), because we are a society of domination that values a hierarchy of information based on class markers-- so the division between art and life exists only because we say it does, and for the same reasons. [Image: Lisa Simpson plays her sax while Homer chills out on her bed and listens with a bag of chips]

Lord Byron, by Quentin Blake

Lord Byron as portrayed by Quentin Blake in his "Informal Panorama" of famous figures-- sort of a quixotic Bayoux Tapestry-- for the 2009 octocentenary (i.e. 800th anniversary) of Cambridge University. Whoever orchestrated the project is a genius. You may recognize Quentin Blake's style from his work illustrating Roald Dahl's books such as The Witches, Matilda and The BFG. [Image: Simple pen drawing-- or cartoon, really-- colored in with fresh bright, loose watercolors, depicting Lord Byron leaning cavalierly against a dog (or bear?) while he pats its head and reads some papers. Admiring male scholars look on from the left and adoring busty ladies swoon on the right. Behind them all are a large body of water, purple mountains and billowing clouds, with the words, "Byron 1805" scrawled across the top. The dashing figure of Byron appears unaware of the stir he causes, his unruly locks of wind-tossed hair and conspicuously tight pants completing the image.]

Portrait, Jan. 18

Tuppence, from Agatha Christie's Tommy & Tuppence. I'm actually pretty proud of this one. Caricatures are way harder than realistic portraits, IMO. I pressed "play" preparing to draw twenty or so cartoons till one looked passable, but shockingly I was happy with the first try. Of course, as soon as I realized I liked the face I overworked it. The other thing that made me happy is that her entire head and upper body fit comfortably on the page. I have a major problem with fitting everything I want onto the page, even if the page is five feet tall. I have to constantly remind myself, "keep it small." I have a drawer full of figure drawings where the head is cut off by the top of the page because I didn't leave room. Lessons learned: 1. When you've got a good cartoon line, leave it alone! Opposite of painting, where if you fall in love with something you've made, you must destroy it and re-work it. 2. Booze is an excellent preparation for loose drawing. [Image: black & white pen drawing of a white woman in a flowery dress, net lace gloves and a Sunday hat looking demure with her hands clasped and neck craned. The lines are quickly drawn and simple. Not very realistic.]

And to the tiger in the zoo, Madeline just said, "pooh, pooh!"

Illustration from Madeline's Chrismas, by Ludwig Bemelmans. Text reads, "To the tiger in the zoo, Madeline just said, "Pooh-pooh." Illustration is cartoony and loose with simple black lines filled in by loose lush watercolor.

I ran across a copy of "Madeline's Christmas," by Ludwig Bemelmans, at Goodwill (the source of Everything). I remember my mom reading this to me when I was little (and we had a record where some lady read it, too), and I vaguely remember the illustrations. At the time I thought they were irritating because they were unrealistic and the colors left white spots and didn't stop precisely at the edge of an object. Now, though, I think these drawings are incredible! It's so hard to describe "humor" in something purely visual when there's no punchline and the content isn't funny, but this describes it perfectly. Look at those leaves!

Illustration from Madeline's Christmas, by Ludwig Bemelmans. Madeline and a carpet salesman/magician peer at something magical. White swirls abound.

And it's so loose! The cool patterns, interesting layering, swooshy brushstrokes... *sigh* So I bought it but I don't know what to do with it. I want to open it up to a certain page and frame it and hang it on my wall, but a framed children's book seems a little macabre. So it's sitting on top of my record player along with the other big score from Goodwill, Roberta Flack's "Quiet Fire."

Cool Graffiti Animation

http://www.blublu.org/sito/video/muto.htm

Wow, this is so cool! I don't want to think about how much work this took.