Today I want to celebrate our mutual positive love of bicycles and all things riding by sharing the beautiful and insightful illustrations of Walt Cahill’s INKtober contributions.
INKtober
The origin of INKtober is similar version of other monthly challenges – in this case, to produce one ink drawing each day for the whole month of October. There are many different versions of weekly, monthly (in some cases yearly) art/craft challenges – my favourite is still Noah Scalin’s Original 365 Skull-a-day, but each with the intention of producing work, igniting creativity and building skills and ideas.
INKtober began in 2009 by Jake Parker, and it has steadily grown in popularity since.
The idea is that you:
1) Make a drawing in ink
2) Post it online
3) Hashtag it with #inktober and #inktober2016
4) Repeat
Jakes’ website states: ‘you can do it daily, or go the half-marathon route and post every other day, or just do the 5K and post once a week. Whatever you decide, just be consistent with it. INKtober is about growing and improving and forming positive habits, so the more you’re consistent the better.’
Each day has a theme. If you are on Instagram, check out some of the amazing art people are contributing this year #inktober 2016.
This years’ prompt list is:
Walt Cahill
One artist I found participating in INKtober this year is Walt Cahill. His work caught my eye as I saw one of his ink drawings on a totally unrelated site and followed the crumbs back to his official website. So, I went on an internet wonder and this is where I discovered he is combining his love of bicycle and riding with INKtober this year.
What a gift!
Since then, I’ve been checking in to see Walt’s latest creations. Also, his work still makes me smile and I have been thoroughly enjoying his style and unique offerings.
To date, my favourite is still his work for Day 7: LOST because of its whimsical nature, colour and juxtapositions. I’ve included a small selection of what Walt has created this month, but to see the full range, go to his website.
As the month comes to a close, Walt’s work is a lovely way to reflect back on a challenging month. The vignettes express the emotion, mood and situations simply and cleanly. Walt’s style is no fuss, uncomplicated and recognisable styling – life and riding should be just as unambiguous.
I appreciate Walt sharing his INKtober work so freely – it has been a source of inspiration and comfort for me. It is wonderful to see bicycles being promoted in such a positive, vibrant and affectionate way.
His attention to detail and personal aesthetics makes his work widely accessible to many, not just cyclists. It reminds me that despite some hard work which is necessary, that life is always better when bikes are involved.
