Curious images for curious minds

I wasn’t thinking much about meaning when I drew this, but looking at it now, there is a kind of discomfort that feels familiar. I had been in this scene many times before, and by that point I was already a little removed from it. I wasn’t necessarily trying to critique it, but I probably wasn’t completely neutral either. There is a bit of tension in the drawing that came through whether I meant it to or not.

This drawing is called The President’s Car. I made it in 2014 using a mechanical pen and a lot of stippling. That’s a technique I use in nearly all of my drawings to some degree. It’s not the fastest way to work, but I like the texture it creates and the steady rhythm of building up tone with small marks. There’s something about it that feels calm and methodical, even when the subject matter isn’t.

I drew this sometime around 2020, though I didn’t record the exact date. It’s based on a photograph of Buster Keaton that I came across by chance. I wasn’t looking for anything in particular, but the image caught my attention. His face had a kind of suspended stillness that seemed suited to drawing—neutral, tired, expressive in a way that didn’t push too hard.