Hi, I'm David Flower, a Canadian artist from Edmonton Alberta. I work completely in ball-point pen, a relatively new medium for artwork. I've been doing this kind of art work seriously since 2002. Now I've decided that with Canada's 150th birthday coming up in 2017, I should work on a special project for it. Also I figured that this would give me a unique opportunity to keep a journal of the project from start to finish, while introducing the intricacies of using ball-point pen to the rest of the world.
The first thing I had to do was to make sure I was using the best paper for the job. So after searching around I decided to use Windpower smooth Bristol from Strathmore. The next step was to decide the dimensions for my project. Not as easy as it might sound. When I do a picture, I completely cover the area I’m working on, all in ball-point pen. So, the bigger the picture and the greater the detail, will greatly affect the amount of time it’s going to take. For this project the dimensions will be 18 inches by 23 inches. The next step is the general planning phase.
Why do I say the general planning phase? Simple, at this point, I’m only going to have a rough idea of what I want to draw. I’ll use the Canadian flag as my starting outline for the picture. By doing this I can break the picture down to more manageable pieces. Now I already know what I’m going to put into the two red pieces, on both sides of the flag. It’ll be two R.C.M.P. on each side, in full formal dress (the fancy red uniform). Then I was thinking of putting in different Canadian historical buildings in the maple leak. For the large white area around the maple leaf, well I’ve got a few ideas bouncing around my head.
This project is going to be a real challenge for me, but an enjoyable one. I hope that you will join me on this journey. I look forward to sharing this with you and hearing your comments.
