First Inning Artworks

Abraham Lincoln, pen and ink

jgstovall — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 15:49:33 +0000

This pen and ink drawing was made last night (Saturday, Dec. 13) as I was beginning to think about the upcoming 200th anniversary of the birth of Abraham Lincoln — something I am writing about at the Writing Wright. We are going to be hearing a lot about Abraham Lincoln in the next couple of months.

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Abraham Lincoln
pen and ink
8 x 10 on Bristol board

William Tecumseh Sherman, pen and ink

jgstovall — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 00:08:11 +0000

This is the third in a set of pen and ink drawings of Civil War officers that I did for a series of book reviews for The Writing Write. The other two are John Singleton Mosby, which can be found here, and Nathan Bedford Forrest, which is here.

All of these drawings were made on 11 x 14 Bristol board and are suitable for framing. I have not put a price on them individually or as a set, but if anyone is interested in buying the originals, I would like to hear from you.

The books and their reviews are here:

The Mosby Myth: A Confederate Hero in Life and Legend

The Myth of Nathan Bedford Forrest

Sherman’s March in Myth and Memory

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William Tecumseh Sherman
pen and ink, 11 x 14 Bristol board

Nathan Bedford Forrest, pen and ink

jgstovall — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 18:26:24 +0000

Nathan Bedford Forrest is one of the most interesting and vexing characters to come out of the Civil War. He was a soldier of uncommon courage and undoubted genius, but his history of slave-trading before the war and association with the Ku Klux Klan after the war — as well as his presence at the Ft. Pillow massacre — does little to endear him to the modern age. Yet he has defenders, many of whom are adamant about his symbolizing the best of the Confederacy.

I drew this pen and ink to accompany a review of a book by Paul Ashdown and Ed Caudill titled The Myth of Nathan Bedford Forrest on The Writing Wright.

Charles Dickens, pen and ink

jgstovall — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 11:04:26 +0000

I did this drawing to accompany an short essay on the Writing Wright.

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Charles Dickens
pen and ink, 11 x 14 on Bristol Board
Jim Stovall

Copyright 2008 all rights reserved

John Singleton Mosby - pen and ink

jgstovall — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 16:19:58 +0000

This pen and ink drawing of John Singleton Mosby, the Gray Ghost of the Confederate Army, was done to accompany a review of The Mosby Myth: A Confederate Hero in Life and Legend by Paul Ashdown and Ed Caudill. The review appears on the Writing Wright blog.

A short audio interview with author Ed Caudill is included with the review.

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John Singleton Mosby
pen and ink
11 x 14 Bristol board

Copyright 2008 by Jim Stovall
(This image may not be reproduced in any form without permission.)

Barack Obama, president-elect

jgstovall — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 04:02:08 +0000

Congratulations, Barak Obama.

President-elect.

Truly remarkable. Truly.

And congratulations to Senator John McCain for your unquestioned patriotism and courage and your service to your country.

The Writing Wright now available on Amazon

jgstovall — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 09:55:01 +0000

Tom Clancy, Ernest Hemingway, Mark Twain and Satchel Paige — they were all writers (of sorts). And they have all made it into this first volume of The Writing Wright.

The Writing Wright is now available on Amazon.

If you are fascinated by writers and writing, The Writing Wright offers a box of chocolates you can’t refuse. The book sprinkled quotations and stories from many writers along with my own insight, instruction and commentary. Here you’ll find:

• Mark Twain’s critique of the writing for James Fenimore Cooper

• Ernest Hemingway’s attitude toward punctuation

• How expensive a misspelling can be

• Down-to-earth instruction on the glue of writing

• When Tom Clancy learned about submarines

• What Satchel Paige said about braggin’

• What H.L. Mencken thought about being a reporter

And much more.

The book contains many of my own illustrations. My hope for The Writing Wright is that it will draw you in and teach you something about writing – lessons you can learn over and over.

The price is $10.

The Writing Wright’s fan page on Facebook

jgstovall — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 12:24:18 +0000

Just created a fan page for The Writing Wright on Facebook.

The Writing Wright is a book of essays, quotations and snippets about writing, the language, journalism and the writing life. The book is illustrated with the author’s pen and ink drawings.

Doing the fan page once wasn’t too hard. I’m sure when I do it again, it will be even simpler.

I loaded a few of the drawings that are in the book into the first photo album, and I’m going to take some screen shots of a few of the pages and put them in another album. I also wrote on the Wall and started a discussion thread.

Before long, I’ll figure out how to invite folks to become a fan. Probably won’t do that until ordering info comes through from Amazon.

Meanwhile, you can head over that way and see what’s up.

Lady in Red: Book cover illustration

jgstovall — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 14:46:49 +0000

I have always shied away from book covers and book cover illustrations, but I find it hard to say no to friends, too.

That’s why when friend Cyn Mobley, author of many books and head of Bushido Press, asked me to do a illustration for a book a friend wants to publish, I told her I would give it a shot. Cyn’s company has published The Writing Wright, a books of snippets about writing with illustrations (by me) of various authors, so it was impossible for me to turn her down.

Cyn said she wanted a woman in a red dress who was breaking away from a Lilliputian tie-down. She told me she thought my style of pen and ink drawing would be appropriate for this book.

The illustration above is what I came up with.

Fortunately, Cyn and the author liked it — a lot, apparently. Cyn called it a “home run.” Very gratifying.

The book is Life among the Lilliputians by Judy Lockhart DiGregorio. The publisher is Celtic Cat Publishing.

On the loose in Washington, D.C.

jgstovall — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 19:58:35 +0000

A hot September afternoon in Washington, D.C., where I am attending the national conference of the Online News Association.

My hotel is a few blocks from the National Portrait Gallery where the Arts on Foot is currently underway.

It’s a giant street fair with artists, crafts, music and food. And lot of people.