Tools: Brushes

Rembrandt

As I was looking for people I would like to draw a portrait of, I thought to myself: "why not make a drawing of people I admire?". One of them is, for me, the great painter Rembrandt van Rijn. I made a drawing of him based on a self-portrait he made in 1669 at the age of 63. The original painting can be seen in the Tate Gallery in London or, to save you the trip, on this website .

I made my drawing with pen and watercolor, adding dry brush in the final stage.

Tools: Pencils

Although I make my drawings in pen with watercolor, I allways make sketches upfront. I mainly use Derwent and occasionally I make sketches with ballpoint (when I'm in a hurry and afraid to lose the idea during the process of finding my pencils).
I'm used to draw in this style for quite a while now, with mostly the same subjects. Perhaps it's time to make a change in subjects, for instance: urban scenery, landscapes, portraits, animals, etc, etc.
But for now I drew my sketching tools: pencils, cutting knife and sandpaper and eraser. In pen with watercolor. Of course.

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.