Recently I posted the huge drawing I did of my street here in LA. It was the culmination of a new drawing experiment I began a few weeks ago with the drawing above of the chaos on my worktable.
Over the years, I have played around with bamboo pens, the favored drawing tool of my old pal Vinny Van Gogh. The marks this pen makes are instantly recognizable — they have a certain roundedness to them and can be made in many thickness and degrees of blackness. My own attempts with bamboo have heretofore been disappointing; one has to redip thepen so often that it can be quite frustrating to fill a page. But recently, a chance perusal of an art manual revealed the error of my ways. Soak the pen in water for half an hour or so, it suggested, and bamboo becomes thirsty as a diabetic camel, absorbing a huge reserve of ink that can fuel half a drawing or more.
Once I had that sorted, I drew a bold outline, complete with minor variations in thickness, and was quite please with the result. Then, I decided to eschew all shading and fill in my shapes with solid gouache shapes to make a painting that was as bold as my drawing. Here and there I added a little detail and texture, but not too heavy handed. It was the sort of direct and confident drawing I have been wanting to make for ages but never quite knew what I was looking for.
One of the wonderful things about my time in the garage so far has been that I can really experiment and learn new things. I am reading more of the many art books that gathered dust on my shelves in New York. I am trying to understand the media I have been using blindly for years, improving my color mixing, understanding the limitations I often bump in to and using them to my advantage. And I am studying the work of the artists I admire most, not just for inspiration and new direction, but to see if I can figure out what they were doing and why.
I’m also taking more pleasure in my mistakes. I can afford to take a risk and then watch it go down in flames. A few days ago, I realize that the epic 15 foot drawing of the Venice canal I ‘d been working on for days was in fact a disaster. At first, I got quite depressed by it but then started to analyze what had gone wrong. By dissecting the composition, the line quality, the color range, I eventually figured out the errors I had made and how to avoid them in the future. I’m leaving the big panel up as a reminder.
God, drawing is so endlessly interesting and complex. Just when I think I have it figured out, I turn a corner into a whole new set of lessons. My garage is a lab, a school, a graveyard, a gallery, and a great place to eat a sandwich.
Danny Gregory 
As always…entertaining and informative!
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Great tip with the bamboo pen! Love to read your ideas!
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Loved your article here…especially the last paragraph. It hit home.
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I really like the excitement of bold colors and lines in this painting! I wish we could see what you consider a “disaster”! I absolutely love and appreciate what and how you write too! Thank you!
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After our visit a few weeks ago I started toying with the idea of using dip pens. Last week I was working in collage and drew back into the surface with the Bamboo pen, OH MY GOSH! What fun I had watching the line dance and play on the surface. Now, I will soak the pen in water before I try my next experiment. Thanks for the great tip, Danny.
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enjoyed the post and the drawing – love that wine bottle – looks just like Vinny would have painted it!
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great post! Love the tip on the bamboo too! I’ve been doing it wrong too!
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I really like your thoughts on experimenting and trying new things, that you view your garage as a lab (among other things). It’s something I love about drawing and writing: there are always new things to learn, to try, to screw up, to surprise yourself with.
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I am noticing that the light, or something?! there in So Cal has been transcribing itself into your pictures. Having lived there for 30 years, it stirs me. I now live in Narnia: a temperate rainforest on an island in the Pacific NW, but sometimes I feel the pull, as when I see your new stuff.
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… and isn’t it wonderful that you have the time, ability, and desire to experiment? YIPPIE! Not only do I thank you for letting us all in on the ‘tip’ about soaking the bamboo pens first… but also for your insight to allowing a piece to fail… and make it a learning experience. Too often I try to save a work… and instead make a bigger mess than if I had just left it alone. In frustration I toss it out; however I think in the future I will put it away somewhere and wait until the disappointment subsides… then haul it out and critique. I am a writer… and am able to re-write, and re-write until I am happy with the project. I’m always amazed I can’t do that with my paintings 🙂
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Danny, “disaster or not”, I see your paintings become more “sunny” with warmer colors. I guess the reason is the california sun, like the transformation of your pal VINNY VAN GOGH (it’s MY pal too!:-) ) when he moved from Netherlands to ARLES (South France)… and he suddenly painted a lot of SUNflowers and his palette became more yellow……:-)
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A great garage . . . and it has dogs! Have you found where the bamboo is growing in your neighbourhood so you can make pens as and when you need them?
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No, but I have found several obliging art supply stores.
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I’m following your progress with interest as I have charted a similar course over the years but have yet to reach any shore. The endless voyage continues, presumably to the grave.
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Okay, now that you are on the same side of the country as me now, you need to have a workshop and sketch crawl in your garage. Take us on tour of venice beach. We can draw and then have a lovely vegan lunch at your house. LOL! I’d pay for that, especially since I am such a recluse and would only come out if I can visit someone I trust in CA!
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By the way, I am not the best sketcher. I’m sure most of the people you know and hang out with are pros. I am pretty good at photography though. I’d do the photos for the event to help pay my way, and also draw for the workshop like everyone else. Like how I just invited myself? Oh, invite Dan Price too. I want to meet him as well. We can talk Tiny Homes.
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Oh, one more thing, even though you call your drawing a disaster, it is still awesome. I liked it, as I am sure others did as well. Sometimes mistakes can be beautiful.
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Really!? Soak it in water!? Sheesh.
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Well, this explains a lot! I’ve been doing it wrong too. Thanks for reading the manual for me!
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Nice post, gorgeous drawing. I bought a bamboo pen today because of it. One thing I’m unsure about though. What kind of ink do bamboo pens work best with? Is indian ink OK.?
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I use sumi or India ink.
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So that’s what I have been doing wrong. Thanks Danny.
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Hell Yeah! I like that – graveyard, gallery, lab and school. What more do you need? The bamboo is bold, I’m sticking with the old Pitts & Sakura Microns so far. I’m still pretty new to this drawing thing, but it’s great already.
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I do love your sketching and art explorations, but I first learned about you via your mini movies. Will we see any videos in the future?
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Soaking the bamboo pen makes sense…just like soaking bamboo chopsticks in a glass of water before using them. The water causes the wood to be smoother, to swell and not absorb liquid, but keep it on the surface.
I am so enjoying your posts and sensing how much you are enjoying your time.
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You know I think there is much to be said for eschewing all the fiddling with shading and going with flat bold colors. I actually love this style here!
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Gorgeous drawing & writing: diabetic camels, Vinny van Gogh, sunny lemons & San Pellegrino. I like Matthias’ comparison between Vincent’s moving to the SOuth of France & your own move to California. I love the bold style. Helemaal geweldig, Meneer Gregory!
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I hope you drew that sandwich before you ate it . . . hmmmm now where did I learn that?
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