THE PILOTS in Postcards 4

Two WWII Flyers on break between sorties: Charcoal on rolled paper, 3x3. Owned by BDMK.

One of the first classes I took when I went back to college was an upper level drawing class. One of the first things I learned out there in the real world was to crop the image so it made more sense and pushed the image into drama.

The photograph I worked from showed two men dozing under a wing of their aircraft. It was a wide and all-encompassing image showing the plane and the landscape all around the plane. I remember getting the image tighter then tighter until only the men were left. Looking at the drawing today, I’m pleased. I might even know who those men were. I think we can all clearly see how tired they are.

It was about this time, I bought a giant roll of paper. It was eight feet wide, and years long. Instead of the small intimate pen and ink doodles I had been doing for years, my work began to grow colorful and very large. Layers of acrylic wash lived under pastel marks and gestures. Most of those were a little simple but they weren’t boring.
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• Himself: Work is lighter and he isn’t taking it too seriously. He also slept an hour more than usual and skipped the gym.


• Myself: Still very happy with the MRI results, and the blood test results. My fasting blood sugar is well within the normal range. I’m also trying to find a simple beach sketch that’s not damaged to show you, but can’t find one anywhere.


• Reading: Finished that DE Stevenson which fell apart in my hands.


• Gratitude’s: Filled with it for both of us.