The Drill

In olden times, prior to all of the digital latitude that we now enjoy parked in front of computer screens clicking and dragging, we had a great deal of fun, that is, with pencils, ink, markers, pastels and straight edges, on, get this, colored paper. This type of commercial, industrial oriented art, had a fun and satisfaction all its own. We stood before drawing boards, sometimes in smoky rooms, held the media in our hands, and created, all without the benefit of the "undo" command.

The above sketch rendering, as it was referred to, was a regular in my portfolio, in the days when a portfolio was a narrow black leather bag with handles that you protected and hauled around like the family treasure. If you backed up your work, you shot slides (what's a scanner?). On seeing this drawing, an industrial designer who I greatly admired once remarked that he liked it very much. He said it appeared that "you got in there, you did your thing, and you got out." I took that as a compliment.