The Ballpointer PICKS page

2021: The Ballpointer enters YEAR SEVEN online. Great THANKS to all our supporters!

Since 2014

Original content © The Ballpointer / Mahozawari Unlimited

PICKS PAGE ARCHIVES 2015:

James Mylne, 1999 London, England

PICKS PAGE ARCHIVES2016: Read about these artworks in the artists' own words in The Ballpointer PICKPIECE archives. Click on the artwork to see their PICKPIECES.

Dave Warshaw San Diego, California

Matt Rota Brooklyn, New York

PICK PIECES The Ballpointer staff choose the artwork and let the artist explain it in their own words Vol 4 No 4 posted July 3, 2017

C.J. Pyle・Indianapolis, Indiana

A Chorus of Horace 2016 ・ 9.5 x 13'' (24.13 x 33.02cm) ・ Ink, ballpoint pen, pencil and colored pencil on found paper

No, the drawings presented here have NOT been ''defaced'' or altered in any way. The title of this new section, DE FACED, simply describes the fact that the artworks presented here have been pulled from social media posts such as facebook and, as such, therefore ''de''-faced, as it were. Some of the artists may be familiar to readers, but new faces will also be introduced here. These artists have not been notified of inclusion here, but every effort will be made to credit the artwork as they did in their original posts.

The content of this slideshow presentation will be revised regularly & randomly.

Listed by date, from most recently posted.

・

All artwork ©

respective artists

Pepe Lozano Cordoba, Spain

Lennie Mace Tokyo, Japan

EDITORIAL by R. Bell originally posted October 27, 2014

Missing the Ball Point

Dimes-to-donuts there's a ballpoint pen within reach of you right now. Reliable friends, always there when you need them; on standby to scratch a Hitler mustache onto The President or blacken the teeth of the covergirl dujour. Your grade-school composition books were probably filled with more stream-of-conscious creative filler than actual studies. But this proletarian tool is no longer just for signing checks, writing postcards or doodling sweet nothings.
The origins of ballpoint artwork echo the humble origins of art itself. Caveman roots; the universal, instinctive urge to create. For some, an irresistible force; to express oneself, to leave one's mark, to teach, using whatever tools are available. All that's necessary is the will to do so, pressed by a bit of creative curiosity, aided by ingenuity. ''Let's see what happens when I do this.'' Galleries, museums and art critics enter the equation much later.
There you sit, a dozen-thousand years later, surfing through the daily barrage of viral news. A headline grabs you: Starving Artist Illustrates The Bible on his Bedroom Wall Using Ballpoint Pens. Well, ''starving artist '' doesn't mean much anymore; with the amount of aspiring artists art schools churn out every year its a miracle anyone goes onto a career. ''Illustrating the Bible ''? Hasn't that already been accomplished in any number of formats any number of times in any number of languages ? ''On his bedroom wall ''? Children cover walls with masterpieces daily, to their parent's dismay, worldwide. And ''using ballpoint pen''? Now there's a story, right ? Well…
News outlets worldwide still report about artwork created using ballpoint pens as if, in the half-century since its invention, the pens have never been given any artistic consideration. Prior to the advent of the internet and social media, their ignorance could be forgiven. Nowadays ballpointers are everywhere, in every corner of the world, and the so-called ballpoint Wow Factor in and of itself carries less weight. The internet and social media are these days awash with ballpoint art blogs of every stripe, although with varying content. Ballpoint art classes may already be part of a curriculum somewhere. But the birth of the internet didn't mark the beginnings of ballpoint innovation; if anything, it merely serves as proof of how commonplace it has become, or how it has been all along ・・・

MalOjo Basque Country

Andrey Poletaev Lugansk, Ukraine

Eric Seaholm Tokyo, Japan

Peter Ross Hong Kong

Shane McAdams Wisconsin / Brooklyn

''This piece was started around 2011 and about a third of the way to completion was abandoned. It sat in my files until inspiration hit and it was finished in 2015.

I have no explanation for this as I normally start an image and follow through to completing them one by one. This piece has a black ink background that I sometimes use to push the image forward and also add to the overall texture. The title is a dedication to jazz artist Horace Silver and oddly enough, this piece of art was the inspiration for a jazz composition authored by renowned Jazz pianist Steve Allee humorously titled 'When Our Eyes Met'''・

For more art & information:

www.cjpyle.com・

C.J. Pyle is featured in the new book Ballpoint Art and will exhibit at Carl Hammer gallery, Chicago, this September.・

Artwork © C.J. Pyle

RECAP originally posted in installments throughout 2015

Andy Warhol @ Christie's online auction series, 2015

Read archived coverage of Warhol ballpoints put up for sale

Pepe Lozano Cordoba, Spain