This is the first piece of art in my collection. Begun as an adult, it was not a school assignment, but an answer to a little home sickness I felt at the time. I completed it on May 29, 1981. The drawing time was about 10-15 hours from pencil sketch, to ink, to signature. Perhaps it is my best work.
This Thunderbird is my second piece and I began it in June 1981, but never finished it until May 6, 1982. It took about 25 hours, or thereabouts, and didn't turn out as perfectly as I had envisioned, but I like it very much anyway.
I finished this whale on Feb 17, 1986. It was the first time I used red ink in combination with the black.
September 1987 marked the completion of this piece. It was the first drawing I made on regular, plain piece of paper. Because of its less intricate interior design, it took a relatively short time to finish. This whale is one of only two pieces that does not include a certain minor design that is akin to all my other works.
I began this incredibly diverse piece of art many years before I actually completed it in 1999. I worked on it in stages. If memory serves, I completed my Feb 1986 & Sept 1987 whales before I finally finished this one. I have no idea how long this piece took, but would guess well over thirty hours. It was very satisfying to make the final pen stroke. My only regret is that the original is only 9x12 inches. One almost needs a magnifier to really enjoy it. When I print it , I will probably push its size to 1.5x or 2x the original.
The Axe and Arrow. I also began this project several years prior to its completion. In fact, it remained only a pencil outline until I finally finished the intricate rectangular piece. This is the second piece where I used red ink in combination with black.
In 2001, I spent a lot of time waiting at the hospital for my son to recover from a kidney transplant, so I drew. This is the only rendition of kelp, in a West Coast Art motif, that I have ever seen. This drawing was a lot of fun to create.
After I finished the Kelp, my imagination jumped out into left field and I created Circles. My original intention was to fill in all the shapes, but when I had all the ink down, I liked it so well that I just signed it. Now that a friend pointed it out, the piece does remind me of our dusty collection of glass balls (that floated to Canada from Japan in the 1950's & 60's) - except for the dust. Another 2001 piece.
My son recovered from his transplant and I mostly felt too busy to draw for a while. I think I began this piece in 2001, but eventually completed it in 2004. It kind of reminds me of the artwork of the old "Spiratop" (A drawing toy from the early 1970's - I think.)
