Early Sketchbooks vol.4 (Not Remotely Early at All)

Fordam cliffs

In celebration of the October meme “Inktober” – a recognition for the art of inking or inkers, falling within the illustration and comics crowd – I thought I would share some sketchbook stuff. I have always had a preference for ink and have thought that Inktober is a nice idea.

Part 4 covers 2012 through 2016. A period of consistent pursuit of landscape artwork and plein air studies. I’ve made the northeastern corner of Central Park and sort of second home: Harlem Meer.  Addressing classical genre studies of both still life and landscape, the content can often appear to be repetitious but in that familiarity comes a greater opportunity to develop difference in tone and aspect.  A major shift for me here is that you are designing and resolving an image of multiple objects.  Solving a thing in harmony to an environment rather than solving it for itself.

I’ve always sketched in ink. The present set-up requires: a Uniball micro black, Kuratake 40 penbrush with Carbon ink adaptor, Pentel waterbrush, and a number of different flat and round watercolor brushes and black well inks.

The examples here are in chronological order. Some detailed notes about the drawings when you mouseover the thumbnail images.

Chardin studies. Perhaps the most important of modern still life masters.

Chardin studies. Perhaps the most important of modern still life masters.

More Chardin. I learned to love Chardin from my old friend, the painter Lennart Anderson.

More Chardin. I learned to love Chardin from my old friend, the painter Lennart Anderson.

The island at the Harlem Meer.

The island at the Harlem Meer.

The Meer island became my muse for the better part of a year.

The Meer island became my muse for the better part of a year.

Trees along the southern shore of the meer.

Trees along the southern shore of the meer.

View up the canyon from my mother's home in SLC.

View up the canyon from my mother's home in SLC.

e.tage.larsen

A willow on the shore at the meer.

At the meer, working on reflections

At the meer, working on reflections

e.tage.larsen

Working in more complexity with patterns and density.

Small sketch moving away from representation.

Small sketch moving away from representation.

A different vista from the meer.

A different vista from the meer.

Copse, abstraction. Nolde calling.

Copse, abstraction. Nolde calling.

Winter on the Fordham Cliffs, wider

Winter on the Fordham Cliffs, wider

Winter on the Fordham cliffs

Winter on the Fordham cliffs

small shrub at Corlear's Hook Park, NY.

small shrub at Corlear's Hook Park, NY.

view of a 19th C. plant along the Brooklyn shore.

view of a 19th C. plant along the Brooklyn shore.

Moving to brush and wash.

Moving to brush and wash.

Blocking in as symphony.

Blocking in as symphony.

More brush work less pen work.

More brush work less pen work.

Tree on a hillside at Jackie Robinson park, in Harlem

Tree on a hillside at Jackie Robinson park, in Harlem

Copse at the meer in grays.

Copse at the meer in grays.

Copse, pattern and desnity

Copse, pattern and desnity

A little set-back on the southern shore that I refer to as The Copse.

A little set-back on the southern shore that I refer to as The Copse.

E. Tage Larsen

E. Tage Larsen is an artist, designer and dog robber. You may encounter him as an art gallery director, branding designer or illustrator. His work has received awards from "Society of Illustrators", "American Illustration", 'Print' magazine annual as well as the LogoLounge and LogoLounge 'Master Series' annuals. Essays on design and fine art have appeared in numerous magazines and web sites.

Among his less savory qualities, he's a poor sport, a sore loser and ill fitted for honest labor. He makes bad friends and worse decisions. Animals avoid him and children despise him. He's been known to drink to excess, carry on with seditious talk and leer at women. He's a coward, a card cheat and a known liar.

Mrs. Call's second grade class said perhaps all that needed to be said about Larsen.In a moment of vindication and possibly clarity, Call would add to Larsen's permanent record that he was a bit of a dreamer and that Larsen was "an excellent student but his grades trailed off in the final semester."True, Larsen was filled with promise and saddled as starry-eyed but one can't help but notice that Call's inability to chisel this raffish diamond-in-rough wasn't also a clerical trick to distance herself from the responsibility of the 'Nurture' debate.She also said he was "prompt".She wasn't wrong.

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