“Arthur” pen and ink drawing completed October 31 after 282 hours — almost 9 miles of ink line and 8 million lines of machine movement instruction. This one used a new (to me) pen with oil based ink and I’m not very fond of this pen at all. Drawn on Rives BFK paper, the paper turned out to be too soft to hold up well under all the drawing, the ink went in somewhat grayish and although I very much like this image of my 83 year old friend with the youthful eyes and hair, Arthur Kase, the drawing itself lacks the crispness of my previous work. The pen eventually abraded the paper surface in the darker areas and then kinda soaked into the rough surface in a way I don’t much appreciate.
"Arthur", Oct 31, 2006, 77 x 42.5 inches pen and ink on Rives BFK paper. Private collection (exhibited September 7–November 4, 2007 Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art)
panorama of Backstage Pass at the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, Kansas City
I’m about to begin another drawing, this time using water-borne pigmented inks and a tiny capillary pen. But first I have to solder up a little circuit to actuate a pen-lift solenoid so that the tiny hollow nib can ‘float’ over the paper without bending and breaking. Should begin this full color drawing middle of next week and I’m very excited to see this one develop!!!!
— Mike