How a scribble becomes more than a scribble

    The other day I took the opportunity to actually stylishly handwrite a witty thank you letter to an editor-in-chief of a magazine. I had a bit of blank space on the bottom parchment and that bothered me. It needed some doodle or scribble.
   That of course meant I needed to pause and reflect and to idly scribble- which is really an excuse to have a cigar.

Of course! It hit me! What I wanted to create was a young woman with some ethnic gypsy features. (The Devil is in the details).

And there it was...
(click to see)

A new watercolor

I have finished this watercolor last night of a pen & ink illustration. The illustration is for a writing project that is in progress. Manager/spouse does not like when I post images that are for publication. Nor am I to speak of the writing projects either.

I never fall into the vices of the mumbo-jumbo logic and this so-called common sense that Manager/spouse continues to throw at me. I am way above that, like in the clouds. But, I'm not here to talk about Manager/spouse or murder or even how I just now ate a whole can of Creme de Pirouline chocolate hazelnut wafers that was hid from me. I am here to talk about my art.

here it is

Doodle by Demand

Well, after being asked to see my "Doodles". I will let you peek into a window of my creative process.

This is a doodle. This an inherit part of my idea process and more importantly it is a way of continuing my "practice". Years ago, when newspapers employed illustrators on staff, long before the advent of computer artists, all art was done in house.

We had to illustrate everything. So, at a moments call, deadline, I had to render something without any time for referrence or research. I would therefore "doodle", more correctly, practice illustrating things; Everything from carrots, butter dishs, sparkplugs, facial expressions, folds of clothing, material textures all sketched and tucked in stacked folders ubiquitously named the "morgue". At a moments notice, I could quickly rummage through my morgue for something that I needed as deadlines loomed within minutes.
It was not unusual to get a call in the Art Department and hear- advertising needs a black and white illustratiom of a carburator and the editorial chief needs a color layout for a radish and I would have 10 minutes before print.

Now, I still maintain that old habit, but many of the "doddles" are "teaching" my pens. By continuing sketching with my pens I practice line quality. I can chisel the pen tip to the angles I want. More importantly, each papers surface is never the same so I work the pen on the paper to get a feel how to work with the grain of the paper surface and if there is any bleeding of the paper fibers.

With all that said, the doodling is first and foremost a compulsion.

The Imp's Delight - New Illustration

Title: The Imp's Delight
Media: Watercolor, Pen & Ink, Acrylic
Dimensions: 8" X 10" SFA (Small Art Format)
Date of Work: November 2009

The illustrations you find here are part of the means of my story creation, the manner in which I work. I welcome you aboard as I navigate through the maelstrom of fits and flashes of inspiration and the doldrums of staring at a blank, white paper with the accompanying realization you’ve got nothing and it’s time for a cigar.

K.W. King