Bob Dylan Drawings

Brussels 2007

House of Union Street, 2007

Tabletop

View from 2 Windows, 2007

"Art is the perpetual motion of illusion. The highest purpose of art is to inspire. What else can you do? What else can you do for anyone but to inspire them?" -Bob Dylan

I just love the view points and perspectives Bob Dylan chooses when drawing interior and exterior scenes. It figures he would be good at art too! Some people have so many gifts!

Matthew the Evangelist

Matthew from the Book of Durrow. Late 7th century. Dublin, Trinity College.

In the Book of Durrow, the most important insular manuscript of its time, the ornamental repertory includes the interlaced frames that were typical of the northern islands. The chromatic palette is limited but well distributed in the magnificently executed designs. (Riccardo Belcari, Giulia Marrucchi)

This figure's clothing reminds me of Klimt's paintings and love of pattern and design. Maybe he was inspired by ancient manuscripts?

Addorsed

Lion capital of column erected by Emperor Asoka (272-232 B.C.) from Patna, (ancient Pataliputra), India. Polished sandstone, 7' high. Archaeological Museum, Sarnath.

Set back-to-back, especially as in heraldic design. (Gardner)

Pounce Wheel

A small wheel with a handle and spikes, for pricking holes along the outline of a design. The pricked-through paper is then set on top of the surface to be lettered, and is dusted with fine powder (chalk, charcoal, etc.) which settles through the holes to outline the design on the final surface. A pricker, also called a runner, was a similar device run up the margins of a page against a straightedge by 19th century scriveners to prick markings for guidelines into the parchment writing surface. (Rose Folsom)

Alizarin

Aside from the ochers, which are mined, today's pigments, lakes and dyes are produced by specialized chemical industries. The first synthetic dyes appeared on the market in the middle of the 19th century. Among them was alizarin, isolated as one of the main coloring agents found in madder. (Francois Delamare and Bernard Guineau)

Natalie Goldberg

Santa Fe Chair, 1989.

A lovely book - where the images came from.

Her latest book... it's a great read and provides inspiration for me as an artist. I exchange the word 'write' for 'paint' and it really has given me motivation!!

Janet's Living Room, 1984

Dog, 1984

My Fair Lady, 1984.

She's a great writer and most famous for her books about the craft of writing ie- 'Writing Down the Bones'. She's also an artist... her watercolors and super-colorful, loaded with pattern and have a funky viewpoint. They seem a bit off kilter which is why they appeal to me.

A Little Color History - Alum

Alum miners at work in miniature. Bibliotheque Nationale de France, Paris.

Alum is a vitriolic clay composed of sulfuric acid, aluminum,and potassium. It comes in many variants, including rock alum, Yemenite alum, Roman alum, and shale alum. It was used as a mordant for dyeing throughout the ancient world, including India. Until the 15th century, it was processed mainly in Constantinople, Aleppo, and a site near Smyrna (modern Izmir) called Rocca. In the mid-15th century, a Genoese merchant who had travled to the East and spent some time in Rocca founded the first alum factory in Europe on the island of Ischia. (Francois Delamare and Bernard Guineau)