Tools: Speculaas Plank

An old Dutch habit during the last months of the year is eating brown spiced biscuits, or speculaas. My father used to bake them a lot during the years he was a baker. Of course, we as his kids didn't let the moments pass we were able to taste the first ones which came out of the oven. Especially the ones which were too dark to be sold in the shop. They tasted the best!
I drew the plank to make a man and woman biscuit as a symbol of the marriage, representing the hope it becomes a fertile and happy commitment.
Pen and watercolor (with the smell of brown spiced biscuits).

Tools: Airbrush

During my 'career' as an assistant for a graphic designer I learned how to use the airbrush. I mainly had to use it to tighten up black and white product pictures before rasterize them with a large reproduction camera.
How things have changed since then! We now use Photoshop to make pictures look better, all digital. Reproduction camera's are complete history. Nowadays you scan your drawings with your own affordable all-in-one printer, make them look sharper and more colourful using Photoshop and publish them on your own weblog for all the world to see.

Tools: Money

Some people use money as a tool. They try to get some things done or purchased for money. Other people let money work for them. For other people money turns into an obsession.
In the older days bankers were true craftsmen with money. They were solid institutions and took good care of their customers money. Nowadays they speculate with your money and almost ruin our economy, but they all say it isn't their fault. As Oliver Hardy would say to Stan Laurel: "Now that's another fine mess you've put us into!"

Pen and watercolor.

Tools: pen and ink

People in different jobs use all different kind of tools to do their job. Drawing, for instance, can be done with a pencil, but my favourites tools are pen and ink. Mostly added with a splash of watercolor, using different colors or only black. As you can see in the drawing above.
I am a great admirer of craftsmen in general and I strongly believe that they must be more appreciated in what they do and stand for.

Mountainbike

Another fun thing to do when you're not at work or school: riding the mountainbike. Our kids cycled for the first time on a mountainbike during our holiday in the Alps. They had a lot of fun playing with the gears and developed quite an impressive speed! They can't wait to go back, but I'm afraid they have to be a little patience.
Pen and watercolor in black and white.

Klettersteig

We had planned a little vacation in the Alps. Mainly for paragliding reasons. However the weather turned out to be not suitable for free flights the whole week, so plans had to be changed. Luckily we found out that the kids loved doing the Klettersteig, or Via Ferrata, so the vacation turned into a big plus.
Pen and ink in black and white.

Illustration Friday - Remedy

A well-functioning lock is allways a good remedy against burglary. Sadly enough it is only prevention, not a cure.

This drawing is made with pen and watercolor in black and white, together with some fantasy about the looks of the lock. I haven't seen such a lock before, but when I was sketching it suddenly appeared.