I drew this pencil drawing of Bob Dylan at the request of my good friend Koji. The drawing is from Bob Dylan’s The Times They Are A-Changin’ CD cover. I added the record label and Dylan’s handwritten lyrics in the background. I did consider including the score for the song, but I felt the handwritten lyrics looked better.

This drawing took several days to complete. His hair and shirt were challenging, but I think they both came out nicely. The source image I used was not ideal. It was small and unclear. Some details were obscure and dark. So I had to use a little artistic license to create what I could not see. For instance, in the photograph I could not see his pupils nor could I see the top of his head. I found another photograph online where I could see what his hair looked like during the same time period, possibly the same photoshoot.

Just as a side note, I had to extend the drawing an additional inch because I accidentally marked a small portion of the drawing with chocolate. A little “doji” on my part. That’s clumsy in Japanese. And during my scanning process, I unintentionally bent the right edge of the drawing with the scanner cover’s hinge. The drawing wasn’t damaged; only the side edge was bent. I was able to straighten out the edge with an iron, but it will always have two small marks as reminder to me.

In any case, I think this drawing turned out great. I think it is a very nice tribute to Bob Dylan and his renowned musical career. I really like this drawing and I hope you will like this drawing too.

This is the second drawing in which I used the color pencil set gifted to me by my fellow artist and friend Sayuri. This drawing is of a photograph I took with my smartphone along the seashore next to the Enoden train tracks in a late afternoon sun on a mid-summer’s day.

We were about 4 months into the corona pandemic hoping things would return to normal soon. If you look closely you will see the train driver is wearing a mask.

I’m actually thinking about talking with the train company to see if they would like to use this drawing in an advertising campaign. If they do, I will let you all know.

I really enjoyed drawing this piece. Granted it wasn’t easy. It was very complex and time-consuming; I included many details in the drawing, but I believe it was well worth the effort. The destination, the train number and the track marker are clearly depicted in the drawing. Its warmth and easy feeling relaxes me and holds the promise of a better tomorrow. I really like this drawing. I hope you like this piece too.

I drew this pencil drawing because I thought my good friend Koji would like it. He is a big fan of the Rolling Stones and Mick Jagger. Koji loves rock ‘n roll and owns Analog, a rock bar I frequently go to in Kyodo. He allows me to hang my drawings on the walls in his bar.

I think this drawing turned out a lot better than I had anticipated. I say that because I stopped several times during the drawing process. I felt the drawing wasn’t looking exactly right and it seemed something was off. I felt what I had drawn at that point was bad and was not good enough to finish. Mick’s hair and eyes were wrong. His mouth and teeth were a disaster. So I stepped back and put the drawing aside for awhile.

And then I recalled what my high school art teacher (and good friend) would say to me when he saw me struggling with a piece in class. “Don’t over work it. Know when it’s done.” So after a few days of thinking about it, I dove back into the project. And in the end it came out much better than I could have hoped.

I think this piece is my favorite drawing thus far. The reason could be that I struggled so much with this piece. The hair looks good, the eyes turned out right, and I really like how the teeth and mouth came out. I couldn’t be happier with the results. I really like this drawing, and I hope you will too.