Two Months in One

Ferdi’s Drawings Newsletter — Issue 017, February 2022

I hardly drew in January 2022. And yeah I skipped January because it was already February 25th when I started drafting this edition. So here’s my drawings roundup for both January & February 2022.

The January & February Drawings

Square and Triangle Study

Ello | Instagram | Twitter | JoinDiaspora

Started as a doodle, and published still as a doodle. This began as me practicing drawing squares, circles, & triangles in freehand as a warm-up exercise.

Square Circle Meditation

Ello | Instagram | Twitter | Joindiaspora

Inspired by a comment from David Krakauer in 2016, recently rediscovered:

“One of my favorite philosophers who very few people know is Alexius Meinong who had an elaborate theory of the ontology of imaginary objects: the existing world — things we see like cups and glasses, cats and dogs; the subsisting world — mathematical theorems — they kind of exist but they’re not like apples and oranges — he called that subsistence; and the absisting world which is the possible impossible objects, for example a square-circle. Now, a square circle is possible in language but it’s impossible in reality; it’s a contradiction. Yet, if you say that to people, they immediately imagine something like a donut as rendered by Piet Mondrian.”

Suffice it to say I got to thinking, “Hey wait a minute, a square-circle is a cylinder!” I suppose one can argue that it’s not, but regardless here was my go at it.

Wall-Climbing Illustration

Ello | Instagram | Twitter | Diasp.org

My brother asked me to create an illustration for him, to be used internally at his office, portraying a wall-climbing race. What I finally gave him was a more full-colored version, but this version I kinda-sorta liked better, I think…

Buttons (line-sketch)

Ello | Instagram | Twitter | Diasp.org

Rows and rows of buttons, to push… This one is also an update to an idea I had in July 2021. Still not done yet.

Figure Study (4 by 5 tall extension)

Ello | Instagram | Twitter | Diasp.org

Not a completely new drawing, no; this is an update from a drawing I did back in October 2021. Pulled the lens back a bit wider, so to speak, to see more of the dancer…

Painted myself into a corner (sketch from late February)

Ello | Instagram | Twitter | Diasp.org | Mastodon.cloud

I got the idea for this in my head way in the middle of this February, maybe even earlier I can’t exactly recall. Anyways I only posted this version by February 27th. The idea being that my raising my quality standards has made me more self-conscious about the drawings I put on the Internet… But like, that shouldn’t be the case, etc., etc.

Miscellaneous Tidbits

Meta & Administrativa

Yes I’ve been significantly slacking in the number of original drawings I’ve posted to the Internet, and I’m certainly far from my latest personal target of at least ten (10) drawings per month. I’m not going to beat myself up over it though. And I also have some strategies & tactics I’m considering so that I will continue enjoing sharing my drawings on the Internet, and continue improving my drawing skills while doing so.

I don’t think I’ll keep posting drawings on the Internet if I don’t improve my drawing skills while at it. And I’m very sure I’m going stop drawing if I don’t enjoy it. I’ll never stop doodling though, no definitely not, but one thing that’s definitely not off the table is I might stop posting my drawings on the Internet. At least on the regular.

So yeah, either I make this work, or I make this stop. Hopefully I can still make this work. I’m pretty sure I still can.

Things & happenings that I can’t seem to not think about this month

• Ukraine: Man there’s so much going on, what with the gaslighting & disinformation campaign Putin’s Russia and Putin’s sympathizers have been engaging in. Luckily most of the World still hangs on to the core truth that Putin has ordered Russian state apparatus to invade a sovereign country, and Putin has done so in clear violation of several international laws & compacts regarding rules of engagements of war. (TL;DR: Putin is a war criminal, and is doing war criminal things. And strongman bully things, too. But he’s not getting his way just like that. Oh no no no.)
• Also per day 3 (Feb. 27), there are reports that as much as 3,500 Russian troops have been killed in the offensive. Might be an exaggeration but at least a few multiple hundreds I’m sure, what with the two Ilyushin Il-76s transport planes downed, and that Russian convoy bombed & burned in that highway, and so on and so forth. Poland is also supporting fast-tracking Ukrainian membership in the EU. Germany reversing course and finally sending “lethal aid”. And so on and so forth.
• My sister got COVID, but we’re fine now. Our family then self-isolated at home for 10 days and our latest tests confirm we’re now clear.
• NFT and crypto-economic scams. Compiling some links. Maybe write a new blog-post updating my personal position. Or maybe not.
• JoinDiaspora, the first ever Diaspora* server, is going away. A transition team has been formed though, and all data will remain downloadable per private user, and will be stewarded by the main Diaspora Foundation. Thus why I’ve established a new Diaspora account at @ffz@diasp.org, since I soon won’t be able to post anything anymore to my original 11-year old account at @ffz@joindiaspora.org.

My socials etc.:

• Twitter: @f_fz
• Instagram: @ferdiz_draw
• Ello: ello.co/FerdiZ
• Mastodon: @FerdiZ@mastodon.cloud
• Diaspora: diasp.org/u/ffz
• Medium: ferdifz.medium.com
• Ferdi’s Drawings Roundup at Medium: medium.com/ferdis-drawings
• Ferdi’s Drawings Roundup at Revue (‘defunct’): getrevue.co/profile/ ferdiz_draw/
• Tumblr blog: ferdifz.tumblr.com
• Personal WordPress.com blog: minddumpster.wordpress.com

If you’re reading this on the Web, please consider sending me feedback by commenting here on Medium. Alternatively you can also hit me up at my socials. Feedback & constructive criticism really helps and would really encourage me, and it would help me grow my editorial & current-affairs drawings & illustration skills to get feedback.

Thank you for reading. 🙏