Dear Hilde

As a part of my 2011 Sketchbook Project research for Dirigibles and Submersibles, I've come across a number of WWII era letters that I find both charming and heroic.  As I read these letters, a story began forming in my head - one that seems intent on accompany my drawings.

The story, soon to come, will present itself in a number of letters addressed to Miss Hildegard Stenson of California who has (we assume) hired a scout to search for her brother, a scientist and inventor who has gone missing in WWII Europe.

Two-man Submersible

Jet Pack sans Plans

Sketchbook Project: Submersible #1

Sketchbook Project: Submersible #1 [n. deyton]

Sketchbook Project: Dirigible #7

Sketchbook Project: Dirigible #7 [n. deyton]

Sketchbook Project: Dirigible #6

Sketchbook Project: Dirigible #6 [n. deyton]

New Drawing Competition

Illustration by Lauren Nassef

Print Magazine is holding a Hand Drawn competition stating:

What is illustration today? Is it pen-and-ink on paper? Vectors on pixels? A cut-paper scene captured in a photograph? A hand-stitched portrait with a touch of Photoshop? We think it's all of the above. And now, we want to see what illustration is to you.

 

Submit your work to our first-ever illustration competition! 

 

Guidelines

This competition is open to all participants and all illustrations styles. There are no restrictions and all entries will be judged equally.All files must be submitted electronically and be 2MB in size or smaller.

 

Entry fees

$40/entry

$60/campaign or series

$20/students

 

Deadline

October 1, 2010

 

Prizes!

$500 for best in show

$250 for two runner ups

Placement in the magazine and on printmag.com

 

Questions?

Email us at printcomp@fwmedia.com

Or call 715-445-4612 x13430

Read more at PrintMag.com: Hand Drawn

Sketchbook Project: Dirigible #5

Sketchbook Project: Dirigibles & Submersibles. [n. deyton]

Sketchbook Project: Dirigible #4

Sketchbook Project: Dirigibles & Submersibles [n. deyton]

Sketchbook Project: Dirigible #3

Hospital Airship Takes Patients Above the Clouds for Healing Sunlight.

Sketchbook Project: Dirigible, continued...

Dirigible: Stilt Cycle. Pencil, pen and ink, marker.

I particularly like the ghosting that is happening on the opposite page & will most likely play with that.

Sketchbook Project: Dirigibles

I opted for using the lesser definition of dirigible as 'something that is capable of being steered,' so the whole thing won't be all zephyrs & subs. I thought I'd recreate a few vintage newspaper and magazine articles from the late 1800s, early 1900s to intersperse throughout the sketchbook.  I'm thinking it will end up having a vintage inventor/adventurer scrap-book sort of theme.  I will probably scrawl notes in the margins, draw in some yellowing scotch tape, etc. 

Work in progress #1:

One Man Helicopter. Pencil, marker, pen & Ink.

The Sketchbook Project

So, I received my sketchbook from The Sketchbook Project last week, and while pondering circles around it, I have yet to actually make a single mark in it. It seems I have been affected by the blank page syndrome, and while most might advise me to just dive right in - I have found the consequences of that to, more often than not, be perilous. 

No, I find it best to ponder the page, allowing it to dictate - much as Michelangelo's quarried stones dictated to him. Not suggesting, by any means, that I am a Michelangelo - merely that a substrate is more than just an object or material. It is the container/holder of ideas. It can be your nemesis (as it is mine when I "dive right in"), or it can be your ally. I am hoping for the latter.

My subject, I am thrilled to report, is Dirigibles and Submersibles. A world rich with imagery, history, and wonder.  Of course, the very first thing I did, when I received my sketchbook, was to look up the definitions of dirigible and submersible. (Those who know me, know that this is just what I do.) Whether or not I may think I already know the definition, I always find some nugget of wisdom (usually hearkening back to an archaic version of the word).

From Merriam Webster's mouth to my ears:

¹di·ri·gi·ble adj \ˈdir-ə-jə-bəl, də-ˈri-jə-\ : capable of being steered

Origin of DIRIGIBLE: Latin dirigere; (First Known Use: 1581)

²di·ri·gi·ble noun : airship

Origin of DIRIGIBLE: 

dirigible (balloon); (

First Known Use: 1885)

¹sub·mers·ible adj \səb-ˈmər-sə-bəl\ : capable of being submerged

First Known Use of SUBMERSIBLE: 1866

²sub·mers·ible noun: something that is submersible; especially : a usually small underwater craft used especially for deep-sea research

First Known Use of SUBMERSIBLE: 1900

And so, it begins... As I finish the sketches, I will post the drawings here.


Best to all,
.n

L.A. Images: El Capitan

Several times, on my days off, I would walk down to the El Capitan, just blocks from my apartment, for their Disney afternoon matinee. It was such a swank interior, with velvet seats (and non-sticky floors).

L.A. Images: The Broadway

I always loved The Broadway's sign - but very rarely did I get to see it from the front.

Memories of L.A.

4 years of living in L.A. and I never did see the Randy's Donut sign. *sigh* I did see someone throwing up in front of Pink's Hotdog stand though.

You win some, you lose some.

Capitol Records

Capitol Records, Hollywood, CA

When it was Mann's Chinese Theater

Mann's Chinese Theater, Hollywood, CA

L.A. Drawings

First four in the series of my L.A. picture book

Mel's Drive In

Mel's Drive-In, WeHo, CA

Rahr...

Ripley's Believe It or Not Odditorium, Hollywood, CA

Falling Into the Ocean, memories of L.A.

Fluffy Bunnies Theater, Hollywood, CA

For memoir: Falling Into the Ocean, memories of L.A.

Lola, the Showgirl

Infatuated with vintage fishing lures

Button-eyed tree frog from Coraline

A few of my sketches are ideas for objects I want to make. This one, inspired by the tree frog popping out of a lily in the movie Coraline, ended up being a sock creature that I sold on Etsy.

Jury Duty