Excellent Illustration Image

A wealth of tactile emotions in this deceptively simple drawing...it would be easy to get drawn in and lost amongst the molecules that make up the brushes! Well done, Mark!

a journey thru your gallery is always an emotion for me: look at the texture of those brushes, so rough and matt, the opposite of a photograph, and yet luminous in their own way ... great to have you back Mark!

Ah, your avatar and its whole family!!! Now I can see the resemblance. Of course I saw this eons ago, and probably commented on it then. But now I see it differently and understand exactly how you could spend so much time on it. That's how it works. A paintbrush becomes something more, and you found it. A paintbrush--whew--who knew??

fabulous artwork!!!

Great day in the mornin', I remember this art! Charcoal on charcoal paper. Just as beautiful as ever in this seemingly rudimentary motif, Mark! Da Vinci couldn't have done better.

A super paintbrush study you have drawn here and it is no wonder that you wanted to reinstall it as it is beautifully created. The lovely softness of the tip of the middle brush is especially well done, and I see you have even done the writing on the left hand one too. The texture of them too is so very interesting too. Excellent work.

Mark, your brush avatar featuring a brush similar to the one on the right was the first thing that caught my eye as a newbie in 2008. Then the quality of your comments. I said to myself, this guy knows art! Now I hear that you spent days on each of these meditative drawings. And you became close with each...wow! I have just nudged tk and said, "Hey, we know this guy. How fortunate we are." Superb art my friend. I can only imagine spending days pencil drawing, rubbing, erasing, smearing & drawing more, and adding a little red in the end. I wish I had 25% of your art knowledge and experience. I thank my lucky stars they did still teach art and music when I was in grade school... I understand these subjects have taken a powder in public school systems trying to save money.

I just spent about twelve hours over the past two days painting trim for the new shed. When I was done (22 boards, two coats each), I thought I never wanted to see another paintbrush as long as I lived! Wrong again, TK. These beautiful brushes of yours are an exception, and they're exceptional. I remember them from before, of course. It's so easy to see the love in them. I know how you are about people changing their avatars all the damned time, but if you ever decided to change yours, you could use one of these brushes as a new one. You know ... every three or four years or so you could spring for a new avatar. The one you've been using, plus these three, would carry you for twelve years. (Just want you to see my math skills are intact, even though I've retired.) I know how traumatic the very thought might be for you ... changing your avatar is a big step ... ... ... I'm just sayin'. You could think about it. Maybe not now. Maybe next near. I try to change mine every year or so, just so my "look" is current. I don't want to change it one day after many years and have people be shocked at how old I've suddenly become! (It's coming up soon, btw. I'll have to get Bill to take a new picture of me, maybe even this month. The one I've got now is almost a year old. Thought I'd warn you, since I know how you are about these things.) Okay. It's a serious picture, these brushes, and here I am going off as if they're some fancy pasta fork or something. (That was really a nice pasta fork. You shame me. Did I tell you I don't even own one? Can we still be friends?) Ahhhhh ... I'll stop. I love these brushes. I believe you showed me the original ... you must have ... I remember that paper, all furred and beautiful. As wonderful as they are here, your original artwork is a million times more gorgeous. The textures are to die for. Beautiful work, my friend, and worth every second you spent on them. I'm glad you posted them again.

First of all this is one of those images that is not easily forgotten Mark. I remember it well as the fine detailing here is breathtaking. Truly these are a labor of love, and after hearing your describe the time involved it makes me glad you posted them again as beauty like this should be revisited from time to time.

I remember this so well! It was one of the first works of yours I saw and I was wowed! Nothing has changed..I'm still just as wowed. Wonderful!

Envy do I Auntie's moment to see the original. The brush is only as exceptional as the one who guides it. Enjoy your day dearheart-suppose to be having a cool front move in no sweat!

Mark I am so glad to see your beautiful drawing of these brushes coming back to RR, where it belongs. How nice it is to see these little masterpieces again. I knew it took days to draw them. No wonder, when looking at the result. I love the grainy look and I want to touch it and feel the grain. This it done with great accuracy and care. Thats why it is such a special piece of art.

Great you have this draw here again, Mark!!! I remember them, yes!They are very special.I understand the meaning of this kind of pencil work: is always a great journey and surely, an inner trip too. You explained it very, very well in your text ! Your draw speak about tranquility and simplicity, i agree ,but i feel emotion too...was done with love, no doubt ! The pose of the brushes are sober but show much strenght too. Is a master piece!!

great patience you have!!!

great to have post it again ! une petite merveille !

I am glad you decided to repost. I have come back to it several times over the past couple of days, trying to give a meaningful comment, but the words elude me. I love the overall simplicity of the image. I can see the work that went into this though.. superbly textured.

The one on the left is a calligraphy brush, isn't it? That's the one I'd name Mako, simply because I like that particular name (and I've just learned that it's a female name, despite the existence of a dangerously cute guy with that name. But I think it's a regional thing, since there was also an actor (male) with the exact same name, so maybe Mako is the Japanese version of Robin. Anyway...what does this have to do with these gorgeous brushes? Nothing. But there you have it. I love the wonderful details in this and the way that this is more an impression of brushes rather than literal depictions. I love it when art does that, especially in a kind of Zen-by-way-of-Shinto sort of a way. The images are representational to a degree, but there's so much more. I think that's what art and art production is all about: spending time with something and eventually getting to feel it and to hear what it has to say about itself, and then interpreting what it says into an image, into lines, dots, smears, smudges, and in the end, a wee bit of red. These are superb! I'm glad they're reposted! Super!

Three perfect brushes .. one to add bold big splashes of color .. one to add the shapes, and one to do the fine details .. they look so functional ..if only I could grab one .. but it is just out of reach! I would start with the center one to do a big sky and clouds .. marvelous big storm clouds .. and maybe the one on the right to add some sharper details to the clouds and then the one on the left to do the sky line of winter trees, no leaves, just the bones of the trees ...

Very existential, these - drawings of objects used to paint... You are a superb artist, bringing simple objects to life with pencil and paper. I absolutely love these, and I'm sure Tara is absolutely correct - the originals must be even more alive.