Drawing a Perfect Circle – Free Hand

I am in utter awe of this man’s ability:

Some of you are thinking, ‘So what?’, right?

If you are, it’s only because you fail to understand just how bloody difficult it truly is to draw, free hand yet, a perfect circle. Not just some roundish, ovoid, elliptical ‘thing’ — but a genuine geometrically perfect circle.

Try it sometime and measure your results, and you’ll see what I mean.

Further internet presence

After receiving the invitation via e-mail nearly a year ago, I finally got up the beginnings of my freebie page on the UK Saatchi site. [Thanks, Siobhan!]

Again, the issue of how to speak — in this case, write — about one’s art comes up. So I copped out and used third person instead of first person this time. I confess, that felt weird,… very, very weird.

More works will be going up, both there and on my site at Voluta, as soon as I get them camera-ready. Watch this space for updates.

A Flash of Brilliance

Caught this one in today’s NYTimes, in an article by novelist Doris Lessing, winner of the 2007 Nobel Prize in Literature:

“Art — the arts generally — are always unpredictable, maverick, and tend to be, at their best, uncomfortable.”

[Thank you, Ms. Lessing. From time to time I need to be reminded of that.]

She continues with this:

“Literature, in particular, has always inspired the House committees, the Zhdanovs, the fits of moralizing, but, at worst, persecution. It troubles me that political correctness does not seem to know what its exemplars and predecessors are; it troubles me more that it may know and does not care.

“Does political correctness have a good side? Yes, it does, for it makes us re-examine attitudes, and that is always useful. The trouble is that, with all popular movements, the lunatic fringe so quickly ceases to be a fringe; the tail begins to wag the dog. For every woman or man who is quietly and sensibly using the idea to examine our assumptions, there are 20 rabble-rousers whose real motive is desire for power over others, no less rabble-rousers because they see themselves as anti-racists or feminists or whatever.”

It’s an excellent article, and I strongly recommend that you read it.

- Ryl

Over the Edge — A Drawing

While cleaning clutter out the studio I discovered a heavy packet of some of my *older originals — I’d forgot I still had these. There are a few full-color paintings done for CCG’s and covers, but mostly they’re black and white illos of varying sizes I did for Over The Edge by Atlas Games.

I don’t know what AG’s editors called this illustration when they used it in print, but I’ve titled it “Peace Officer”.

Graphite pencil is the medium, and the image area of this original is 12 1/2 by 8 inches, on heavy coldpress paper that measures 10 by 13 inches. It’s mounted on black core mounting stock.

This, and others original illos I did for Atlas, are for sale. If you’re interested in acquiring this or any of my other OTE originals, let me know.

- Ryl

*done way back, when I still signed my work ‘CSM’ (whereas now I sign ‘Ryl’).

And Now for Something Completely Different

Those who know me know that I’m a rabid Monty Python fan, particularly of the minds [geniuses, the lot of them!] that conceived the whole thing.

I’ve seen this bit of brilliance by John Cleese a few times on the ‘net, and just to make sure more folks have a chance to also witness the aforementioned genius, I’m presenting it here as well, for your amusement and edification:

John Cleese’s Letter to America

To the citizens of the United States of America

In light of your failure to elect a competent President of the USA and thus to govern yourselves, we hereby give notice of the revocation of your independence, effective immediately.

Her Sovereign Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, will resume monarchical duties over all states, commonwealths and other territories (except Kansas, which she does not fancy).

Your new prime minister, Tony Blair, will appoint a governor for America without the need for further elections. Congress and the Senate will be disbanded. A questionnaire may be circulated next year to determine whether any of you noticed.

To aid in the transition to a British Crown Dependency, the following rules are introduced with immediate effect:

1. You should look up “revocation” in the Oxford English Dictionary. Then look up “aluminium,” and check the pronunciation guide. You will be amazed at just how wrongly you have been pronouncing it.

2. The letter ‘U’ will be reinstated in words such as ‘colour’, ‘favour’ and ‘neighbour.’ Likewise, you will learn to spell ‘doughnut’ without skipping half the letters, and the suffix “ize” will be replaced by the suffix “ise.”

3. You will learn that the suffix ‘burgh’ is pronounced ‘burra’; you may elect to respell Pittsburgh as ‘Pittsberg’ if you find you simply can’t cope with correct pronunciation.

4. Generally, you will be expected to raise your vocabulary to acceptable levels (look up “vocabulary”). Using the same twenty-seven words interspersed with filler noises such as “like” and “you know” is unacceptable and inefficient form of communication.

5.There is no such thing as “US English.” We will let Microsoft know on your behalf. The Microsoft spell-checker will be adjusted to take account of the reinstated letter ‘u’ and the elimination of “-ize.”

6. You will relearn your original national anthem, “God Save The Queen”, but only after fully carrying out Task #1 (see above).

7. July 4th will no longer be celebrated as a holiday. November 2nd will be a new national holiday, but to be celebrated only inEngland. It will be called “Come-Uppance Day.”

8. You will learn to resolve personal issues without using guns, lawyers or therapists. The fact that you need so many lawyers and therapists shows that you’re not adult enough to be independent. Guns should only be handled by adults. If you’re not adult enough to sort things out without suing someone or speaking to a therapist then you’re not grown up enough to handle a gun.

9. Therefore, you will no longer be allowed to own or carry anything more dangerous than a vegetable peeler. A permit will be required if you wish to carry a vegetable peeler in public.

10. All American cars are hereby banned. They are crap and this is for your own good. When we show you German cars, you will understand what we mean.

11. All intersections will be replaced with roundabouts, and you will start driving on the left with immediate effect. At the same time, you will go metric immediately and without the benefit of conversion tables. Both roundabouts and metrication will help you understand the British sense of humour.

12. The Former USA will adopt UK prices on petrol (which you have been calling “gasoline”) -roughly $6/US gallon. Get used to it.

13. You will learn to make real chips. Those things you call French fries are not real chips, and those things you insist on calling potato chips are properly called “crisps.” Real chips are thick cut, fried in animal fat, and dressed not with mayonnaise but with vinegar.

14. Waiters and waitresses will be trained to be more aggressive with customers.

15. The cold tasteless stuff you insist on calling beer is not actually beer at all. Henceforth, only proper British Bitter will be referred to as “beer,” and European brews of known and accepted provenance will be referred to as “Lager.” American brands will be referred to as “Near-Frozen Gnat’s Urine,” so that all can be sold without risk of further confusion.

16. Hollywood will be required occasionally to cast English actors as good guys. Hollywood will also be required to cast English actors to play English characters. Watching Andie MacDowell attempt English dialogue in “Four Weddings and a Funeral” was an experience akin to having one’s ears removed with a cheese grater.

17. You will cease playing American “football.” There is only one kind of proper football; you call it “soccer”. Those of you brave enough will, in time, will be allowed to play rugby (which has some similarities to American “football”, but does not involve stopping for a rest every twenty seconds or wearing full kevlar body armour like a bunch of nancies).

18. Further, you will stop playing baseball. It is not reasonable to host an event called the “World Series” for a game which is not played outside of America. Since only 2.1% of you are aware that there is a world beyond your borders, your error is understandable.

19. You must tell us who killed JFK. It’s been driving us mad.

20. An internal revenue agent (i.e. tax collector) from Her Majesty’s Government will be with you shortly to ensure the acquisition of all monies due backdated to 1776.

Thank you for your co-operation.

John Cleese

—

I partilcularly like the bits regarding spelling and grammar, and the metric system.

- Ryl