At that time I was using the KohiNoor RapidOGraph, a finicky technical pen with a needle-like nib, a forerunner of the ubiquitous fine-line pens found in so many art and office supply stores today. Like today's fine-liners it came in a variety of line widths but unlike those it was a real pain to use and to keep in working order. It needed constant refilling as you worked and those nibs were always clogging!
The one below right, is another drawing from the "Bomber" series that appeared in that DC Franz Bader show. The 22 x 30" original is now in a Colorado collection.
Here left, is a part of a different drawing - less than 1/4 of the original. Below that is an original size detail to give you a real sense of the hatching technique I used. It is on the same handmade Arches Cover Weight, a wonderful surface which works beautifully with ink!
Even though these are 30 to 50 hour drawings done with a temperamental pen, I loved the time spent building tone, texture and form. I enjoyed the repetitive strokes, making marks add up to strong subject matter, images consistent with my oft-stated goal of work interesting from across the room and just as interesting up close.
Form is an extension of content. (Anonymous)
Style is as much the soul as is the flesh of a work. (Gustave Flaubert)
There is no such a thing as fantasy unrelated to reality. (Maurice Sendak)
