Equilateral in pen & ink

This week's Illustration Friday prompt is equality.

Ok, this one threw me. I knew what the obvious current route was (at least amongst American participants who follow the news), but I deal mostly in nature subjects.

You know what? There's no such thing as equality in nature. Things eat other things, and in turn are eaten by other things. Things are outcompeted by other things. Even the classic examples of commensalism and mutualism, upon reexamination, are often being found to be more like parasitism than any kind of equality.

I don't think there is or ever will be such a thing as equality in human society either. All men are not created equal, as much as that sounds good on paper. Beyond the simple fact that some people are born with talents in certain areas that others don't have, we're always going to have inequality. Some are rich, some are poor. One sex (and the sex differs in different cultures) will always lord it over the other. Some people are always going to be seen as leaders -- sometimes simply because of birth -- and some are always going to be seen as followers. And as far as the US's recent steps to marriage equality go (which, to paraphrase The Daily Show, welcome to the 20th Century, folks...), it doesn't matter what the court says, moralistically speaking. There are always, always going to be people out there who refuse to recognise that sort of equal right, just as there are always going to be people who can't figure out why women think that they should get equal pay for equal work.

Sigh. Obviously I'm a bit pessimistic on the whole subject of equality. What to do, then?

Geometry, I guess.

No one can deny the equality of the angles in an equilateral triangle, right? So there you go. Three nested equilateral triangles.Well, actually more than that, but I'll leave you to do the counting. At any rate, that's a fair amount of equality for someone who doesn't really believe that equality's possible.

It's also boring, so I decided to doodle on it a little.

And what should you read into it other than the fact that my injured wrist is still too shaky for me to manage any real drawing? One or two things in my mind, actually, but all things being equal I think I'll leave it to you to decide for yourself.



Oh, and in case anyone wondered, yes. Yes, I did scan this crookedly entirely on purpose. It's not that way on the page.

Old Hat in pen & ink

This week's Illustration Friday prompt is worn. This is an extremely quick doodle of my father's old, worn, and to be honest somewhat grungy Tilley hat.

Oh, wait. Tilley hat, for the non-Canadians out there.

This doodle was quick (and yes, shaky) because my wrist still isn't in any shape to be doing this. Maybe in a couple of weeks, if I don't muck it up again.

When this week's IF word came up it nagged at me a bit since I could have sworn I'd done something for worn before. Sure enough, I had. It was a few years ago now, but if anyone would like to see a much better drawing for the prompt (and a little silliness), check out my original version from June 2009 right here.



Hmm. It's been quite a while since I brought out the little modelling clay men. Maybe it's time for a revival...

Yellow Warbler in Derwent Metallics

This week's Illustration Friday prompt is sweet.

This fellow looks about as shaky as my sprained wrist could make it, but I'm tired of babying the wrist and not drawing so there you go.

The tie-in to the prompt? The song of the Yellow Warbler is usually transliterated as sweet sweet sweet oh so sweet or some variation of that. The song really doesn't sound much like that since it's more of a whistle, but I have to admit that the mnemonic does help me remember the number of  "syllables" in the usual song.

I guess that's the point of having the mnemonic at all, though, isn't it?

Mountain Ash Buds in Art Stix

This week's Illustration Friday prompt is future.

I'd kind of wanted to do something more detailed this time around, but my recovering wrist doesn't like to be out of the brace long enough for pen & ink or anything like that. Macro it is, then, and I got out the Art Stix for a quick doodle of a Mountain Ash (some might know it better as Rowan) flower bud.

It's a scribble, but ah well. It's something, anyway, and I've been busy enough lately that not many other somethings have happened.

And if proto-flowers aren't the ultimate hint of the future this time of year (late spring and all), I don't know what is.

Stripped Down in tinted charcoal

This week's Illustration Friday prompt is farewell.

Goodbye, winter gear. Too bad, so sad. Don't come out again until next November.



Of course, since this is Alberta it'll probably be out again next week.

Sigh.

Sunflower Scaffold in tinted charcoal and Derwent Metallics

This week's Illustration Friday prompt is train.

I like to train morning glories up my sunflowers. I like the way it looks, and since I'm container-gardening on a balcony the two-for-one in the same space is a nice bonus.

Now, if only spring would make a slight thought about appearing...

A couple of work things

What you're seeing here is Early Blue Violet (Viola adunca) above, and Prairie Crocus or Pasqueflower (Pulsatilla patens) below.

These doodles aren't terribly exciting since they were designed more or less as clip art for in-house publications. With any luck there may be a few more of them if I get focused (or at least more focused than I've been managing lately) this weekend.

This weekend.

Which I'll be spending at home rather than at my father's place.

Because the impending SNOWSTORM means that the roads may be absolute crap.

Yep. This is the closest I'm going to get to any sort of spring flower for the next while, I'm afraid.

Both of these artistic wonders are Inktense base with Graphitint details. I didn't bother to wash the Graphitint, so I guess I could have just said coloured graphite and saved myself the extra typing...

Ah well.

Incidentally, I really need to get myself a more purplish Inktense pencil if I'm going to keep doing spring flowers. This fuchsia isn't really cutting it, but I figured that it would do for what I want to use it for. They're mostly recognisable at any rate, and I guess that's what counts.