19Spin
I scouted this location three times this week but today the clouds finally came in and I knew it would be a good session. I wanted to get out of the studio for this word and I was going for a majestic landscape. I was thinking about the late great photographer Bill Brandt. Nobody was better than he was in creating an amazing B&W contrasty landscape. —cc
I couldn’t resist riffing on Craig’s spinning top in his ‘balance’ photo. After drawing the little graphic top, I realized that it felt static—not spinning. So I made it into a diagram by adding a little cut paper arrow. —cf
18Coffee
One of my favorite books showcases the commercial work of the great Czech photographer Josef Sudek. He created this work between 1920 - 1930 and was inspirational for this week’s word. It was important for me to create this image in one shot. —cc
It wouldn’t be honest if I didn’t explore the cup. I love drawing a cup. But what says coffee first thing in the morning is our Bialetti coffee maker—and the smell. It’s a gorgeous object and gorgeous to draw. I first did a very graphic, almost Lichtenstein version, then a colored pencil line drawing—both left too much information and nuance unexplained. So I settled on a simple graphite rendering—done quickly. —cf
17Chair
The only thing that could make a Hans Wegner Papa Bear chair look even better would be a Vizsla.
Backyard shoot. Had to do it early before the sun popped. Hauled the chair out of our living room. They aren’t light. —cc
You can draw a chair with three lines—the challenge is making the lines interesting. —cf
16Light
No two matches create the same flame pattern when ignited. I thought a four panel grid would be a great way to show just how unique each flame really was. I used the frame burst mode on my Leica SL2 to capture that split second moment.
—cc
I chose two meanings of the word: the reference to weight, or lack of, and with light, you always have shadow.
—cf
15Stretch
I could not help myself. I had a childhood flashback on this word. I like Gumby damn it! I received a few disturbing stares from passengers on my plane while retouching the image.
—cc
A lot of things stretch but a rubber band is the perfect object of stretch—that is when it’s stretched. I set up a still life with objects on my desk and drew it.
—cf
14Layered
My first idea went back to my childhood creating layered spin art. I had fun doing it but it was not good enough for the diptych.
The layered onion was my second idea which to me was the perfect solution without trying too hard. Keep it simple.
—cc
I was planning on drawing the layers of a perfect hamburger until I came across a treasure of a beach stone—presenting the layers of time. The split drawing creates a certain technical quality that I find interesting.
—cf
13Fork
I was trying not to take each word too seriously when I came up with this one. The key was to find a three prong fork and not a four.
—cc
I’m drawn to seeing things in an alternative view. In profile, a fork is virtually unrecognizable—unless it casts a shadow.
—cf
12Glass
I went with my first idea which was to create a backlit glass sculpture. I probably constructed it 10 different ways before finally landing on this one.
—cc
I knew I had to stay away from trying to accurately portray glass, knowing what Craig would likely do. This idea came to me watching the Brian Eno documentary. I didn’t sketch it, went right to the finished drawing.
—cf
11Paper
This one could have gone many different directions for me but I always visualized in my head a crumbled up piece of paper. The pencil became the podium.
—cc
How do you make paper interesting? The answer is what the paper makes. The crane was so much fun to draw!
—cf
10Wavy
I drive along the northern coast of California all the time and therefore thought it would be a crime not to photograph its waves for “wavy”.
—cc
Adjectives are the hardest! I had to resist the ocean though I pondered it. it occurred to me that the familiar wavy line must be drawn with a wavy pencil. —cf
9Contain
My first idea was to photograph a goldfish in a bag but I couldn’t figure out what to do with the fish after the shoot. This lead me to my second idea of pool balls. Contained typography…what’s not to like. —cc
I liked a goldfish bowl but it felt like a daunting drawing to take on. I placed newly harvested tomato in a bowl that was sitting on the counter. Contained tomato! It was so graphically pleasing—perfect for cutting out of paper. Homage to the Marimeko designed bowl. —cf
8Round
I could only think about Irving Penn’s amazing caviar photographs for Vogue Magazine. —cc
Everything’s round, this was hard. 25 rotations with a compass holding a blue Micron 01, add a little colored pencil and done. It’s a beautiful object. I left the compass holes for proof. —cf
7Fly
Our workspaces for ‘fly’.
Fly was the perfect challenge. Craig C. did the verb and I did the noun. I eliminated the glove and added the cloud—thank god.
—cf
There is a little island between traffic that lines up perfectly with landing jets at LAX. You couldn’t ask for a better location to shoot airplanes. I rewarded myself with a In & Out burger walking distance from the location which made for a very good day. —cc
6Balance
Yes, that was a real spinning top. This set came crashing down more times than it balanced. The real balancing act was spinning the top and pulling the shutter before it collapsed.—cc
Balance afforded a lot of possibilities. I landed on this little graphic figure using a multi-color balance pole. He’s symmetrical and in balance, his outfit isn’t. —cf
5Green
I could not resist shooting something natural. I visited my favorite florist just a block from my studio who happened to cut one stem too short on a beautiful leaf. I knew then I had found my shot. —cc
Couldn’t resist nature’s green. Abandoned a green serrano pepper because it was too limiting. I decided to make a green composition—a testament to the possibilities. Drew the lime and the pencil and stuck down a real PMS chip. —cf
4Pattern
I made 30 waffles to get the right color and texture for this shot. My hat’s off to all the great food stylist…it’s not easy at all.
—cc
I had initially thought of drawing a wheat chex after I observed the pattern at breakfast. After drawing a boring perfect repeating pattern I thought of the imperfect patterns in nature, thus the feather.
—cf
3String
I love the contrast of a line and an object. Craig’s egg in 1Screw was the perfect inspiration. A fun graphite drawing. —cf
2Liquid
Capturing liquid in motion never gets old when you can freeze it at 1/80,000 of a second. It allows for endless surprises that the human eye cannot see. —cc
Really tough one to draw. Water is hard to see, it’s what we see through it that defines it. I put drop of water on a red Bodoni A and challenged myself to draw it with prismacolor pencils. —cf
1Screw
More often than not, I find the concept and sketching process much more fun than taking the photograph. —cc
Our first word—a noun or a verb? No need to be clever here, just try to faithfully draw a wood screw. Graphite is perfect for rendering metal. —cf
