SketchCrazed – surreal, lurid, unzipped

SketchCrazed is an opportunity for me to share the very strange drawings I do. The common thread is in the attempt to explore new relationships of form, contrast, and pattern, and to see where they take me.

16 Men on a Deadman’s Chest

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This drawing was inspired by a lyric from the Tom Waits’ song Jockey Full of Bourbon. The reference to 16 men on a deadman’s chest always reminds me of a pirate scene, though I think Tom had something else in mind. It is apparently part childrens rhyme and part story of a cabbie driving someone around for nefarious activities. Lyrics by Tom Waits

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Haunting urban nursery rhyme interpretation by Bill Janovitz

Whatever the meaning, I did include lots of dark areas in this image, along with the patterning in them. Although drawings like this one have no recognizable things in them, they do explore form, contrast, cadence, conficts, and hopefully some resolution.

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I drew this with a Bic Intensity Fine pen, then scanned my original drawing and added the grays to the background. I do that just to add more of a dynamic range to the image.

surreal, lurid, unzipped

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