Paul Rickards

@paulrickards

Artist exploring vintage pen plotters with modern code. Retrocomputing repair and collecting. Mixes the best of new and old. He/him #penplotter #c64 🏳️‍🌈 My blog: My shop:

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Paul Rickards@paulrickards· 26d

We could all use a little something to smile about. CMYK on 11”15” watercolor paper, vintage HP DraftPro DXL #PenPlotter, Python, #NoAI Available in my shop: shop.paulrickards.com/character-po... #GenerativeArt #ArtSky #Art #ArtForSale #Artist #ArtForSaleByArtist #PenPlotterArt #PenPlot

A pen plot on white paper of Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa, drawn using lines of CMYK ink with a pen plotter. The drawing has a Polaroid instant film frame drawn around it.

Paul Rickards@paulrickards· 28d

I miss when upon launching Illustrator you were greeted by Venus. CMYK on 11”15” watercolor paper, vintage HP DraftPro DXL #PenPlotter, Python, #NoAI shop.paulrickards.com/character-po... #GenerativeArt #ArtSky #Art #Artist #PenPlotterArt #PenPlot

A pen plot on white paper of Botticelli’s Birth of Venus cropped to just Venus, drawn using lines of CMYK ink with a pen plotter. The drawing has a Polaroid instant film frame drawn around it.

Paul Rickards@paulrickards· 29d

Recently I've been shooting Polaroid film and love how "instantly" recognizable and unpredictable it is. And I've been working on different ways plot a raster image as vector in a way that produces interesting results. These are the results. 🧵 shop.paulrickards.com/character-po... #PenPlotter

A pen plot on white paper of Vermeer's Girl With a Pearl Earring drawn using lines of CMYK ink with a pen plotter. The drawing has a Polaroid instant film frame drawn around it.

Paul Rickards@paulrickards· Jul 10

Another busy CMYK Carousel with ribbons and arcs of hatched blue denim and warm gold. CMYK on 24”x36” watercolor paper using a vintage HP DraftPro DXL #PenPlotter with Python. Available in my shop: shop.paulrickards.com/cmy-carousel... #GenerativeArt #Art #ArtForSale #ArtSky #NoAI

An abstract pen plot of stacked overlapping geometric shapes with smooth curves. The primary colors are a blue denim and warm gold shades created from cross hatch pen strokes of only cyan, yellow, and magenta.

Detail from an abstract pen plot of stacked overlapping geometric shapes with smooth curves. The primary colors are a blue denim and warm gold shades created from cross hatch pen strokes of only cyan, yellow, and magenta. The closeup shows individual pen strokes of ink and black outlines.

Paul Rickards@paulrickards· Jul 8

CMYK Carousel w a very busy flowing field of ribbons & arcs of hatched blue denim and hot red. CMYK on 24”x36” watercolor paper using a vintage HP DraftPro DXL #PenPlotter with Python. Available in my shop: shop.paulrickards.com/cmy-carousel... #Art #ArtForSale #GenerativeArt #ArtSky #NoAI

An abstract pen plot of stacked overlapping geometric shapes with smooth curves. The primary colors are a blue denim and hot red shades created from cross hatch pen strokes of only cyan, yellow, and magenta.

Detail from an abstract pen plot of stacked overlapping geometric shapes with smooth curves. The primary colors are a blue denim and hot red shades created from cross hatch pen strokes of only cyan, yellow, and magenta. The closeup shows individual pen strokes of ink and black outlines.

Paul Rickards@paulrickards· Jul 7

Another Truchet tile plot of big sweeping arcs of bright color like neon lights. CMYK on 24”x36” watercolor paper using a vintage HP DraftPro DXL #PenPlotter with Python. Available in my shop: shop.paulrickards.com/large-plots/ #GenerativeArt #ArtSky #Art #ArtForSale #PenPlotterArt #PenPlot #NoAI

A pen plot on white paper of Truchet tiles of large overlapping concentric arcs in portrait orientation grouping, swirling around the page in primary CMYK inks but mixing to create secondary colors.

Detail from an abstract pen plot on white paper of colorful concentric arcs and circles that swirl over and under each other around the page Only CMYK ink is used for each pen stroke as they combine on the page to create other colors. The detail shows a close up of the individual pen strokes that comprise the tile patterns.

Paul Rickards@paulrickards· Jul 4

Over/Under: a big Truchet tile plot w a repeating pattern and wavy fringe. CMYK on 24”x36” watercolor paper using a vintage HP DraftPro DXL #PenPlotter w Python. Available in my shop: shop.paulrickards.com/large-plots/ #GenerativeArt #Art #ArtForSale #Artist #PenPlotterArt #PenPlot #NoAI #ArtSky

A pen plot on white paper in portrait orientation of a pattern of repeating arc segments running left/right that go over and under the rows above and below it. The arcs are large and comprise of multiple pen strokes of cyan, yellow, magenta, and black inks creating secondary colors. Around the permitter are thread-like strokes that appear to flow with the wind.

Detail from a pen plot on white paper at an oblique angle of a pattern of repeating arc segments running left/right that go over and under the rows above and below it. The arcs are large and comprise of multiple pen strokes of cyan, yellow, magenta, and black inks creating secondary colors. At the bottom are thread-like strokes that appear to flow with the wind.

Detail from a pen plot showing the pen strokes at the bottom that look like threads.

Detail from a pen plot showing the individual pen strokes that comprise the Truchet tile arcs.

Paul Rickards@paulrickards· Jul 2

Heat Waves: a Truchet tile plot in a sizzling hot palette. CMYK on 24”x36” watercolor paper using a vintage HP DraftPro DXL #PenPlotter with Python. Available in my shop: shop.paulrickards.com/large-plots/ #GenerativeArt #Art #Artist #NoAI #ArtSky #ArtForSale #TruchetTiles

A pen plot on white paper of Truchet tiles of small overlapping concentric arcs in portrait orientation grouping, swirling around the page in primary CMYK inks but mixing to create secondary colors, predominantly red, orange, and yellow shades.

Paul Rickards@paulrickards· Jul 1

Lots of small arc tiles make up this big Truchet tile rug plot. CMYK on 24”x36” watercolor paper using a vintage HP DraftPro DXL #PenPlotter with Python. Available in my shop: shop.paulrickards.com/large-plots/ #GenerativeArt #CreativeCoding #Art #ArtForSale #Artist #NoAI #ArtSky

Detail from a pen plot on white paper of Truchet tiles of small overlapping concentric arcs in a large portrait orientation grouping, swirling around the page in primary CMYK inks but mixing to create secondary colors. The detail focuses on a the bottom showing the individual pen strokes of the tassel threads in an oblique view as the distance goes out of focus.

Paul Rickards@paulrickards· Jun 28

Big Truchet tiles in #C64 inspired raster bar color patterns. CMYK on 24”x36” watercolor paper using a vintage HP DraftPro DXL #PenPlotter with Python. Available in my shop: shop.paulrickards.com/large-plots/ #Art #ArtForSale #Artist #ArtForSaleByArtist #PenPlotterArt #NoAI #PenPlot

An abstract pen plot of colorful concentric arcs and circles that swirl over and under each other around the page. Only CMYK ink is used for each pen stroke as they combine on the page to create other shades, predominantly violet and yellow.

Paul Rickards@paulrickards· Jun 27

Some #PenPlotter ASMR drawing tiny halftone dots with a cyan pen on top of a completed yellow layer. #GenerativeArt #CreativeCoding #MastoArt #Art #ArtForSale #Artist #ArtForSaleByArtist #PenPlotterArt #PenPlot #NoAI

Paul Rickards@paulrickards· Jun 26

CMYK Halftone Roses. Doing plotter halftones is brutal on the pen up/down mechanism but the results are very pleasing. CMYK on 24”x36” watercolor paper using a vintage HP DraftPro DXL #PenPlotter w Python. Available in my shop: shop.paulrickards.com/large-plots/ #Art #ArtForSale #Artist #NoAI

A portrait pen plot on white paper of a bouquet of roses in yellow, pink, and red. The yellow and pink roses are almost fully open while the red and several others are still tightly closed. The drawing is made from thousands and thousands of tiny dots of various sizes in rotated halftone screen all drawn in cyan, yellow, magenta, or black pens.

It’s based on the horticultural work “Varietes de Rose jaune et de Rose du Bengale. Rosa lutea & Rosa Indica (Var.)” by P. J. Redoute and Langlois from around 1830.

https://collections.rhs.org.uk/view/64393/varietes-de-rose-jaune-et-de-rose-du-bengale-rosa-lutea-rosa-indica-var

Detail of roses and a butterfly drawn with tiny CMYK dots of various sizes.

Detail of roses drawn with tiny CMYK dots of various sizes.

Detail of a butterfly drawn with tiny CMYK dots of various sizes.

Paul Rickards@paulrickards· Jun 24

CMYK Hatched Delaunay Triangles on Waves, color curved triangles from overlapping sine waves hatch shaded with arcs. CMYK on 24”x36” watercolor paper using a vintage HP DraftPro DXL #PenPlotter with Python. Available in my shop: shop.paulrickards.com/large-plots/ #Art #ArtSky #ArtForSale #Artist

An abstract pen plot on white paper in portrait orientation of tightly packed triangles outlined in black and arranged in a subtle wave pattern from upper left to lower right each hatch shaded with arcs in a different color from overlapping cyan, yellow, and magenta inks.

Detail from an abstract pen plot on white paper in portrait orientation of tightly packed triangles outlined in black and arranged in a subtle wave pattern from upper left to lower right each hatch shaded with arcs in a different color from overlapping cyan, yellow, and magenta inks. The detail shows individual pen strokes comprising the hatch shading.

Paul Rickards@paulrickards· Jun 23

A big rainbow phyllotaxis spiral, beaming with positive pride vibes. CMYK on 24”x36” watercolor paper using a vintage HP DraftPro DXL pen plotter generated and controlled with Python. Available in my shop: shop.paulrickards.com/large-plots/ #PenPlotter #Art #ArtForSale #ArtSky #Artist

Oblique view detail from an abstract pen plot on white paper in portrait orientation of a series of slightly overlapping droplet shapes spiraling out from the center in a phyllotaxis pattern each hatch shaded with the colors of the rainbow. The detail shows the individual pen strokes of cyan, yellow, and magenta inks that comprise the hatching.

An abstract pen plot on white paper in portrait orientation of a series of slightly overlapping droplet shapes spiraling out from the center in a phyllotaxis pattern each hatch shaded with the colors of the rainbow with lavender in the middle transitioning to violet, blue, green, yellow, organ, and red. Each shape is outlined in black and has a small drop shadow in black.

Detail from an abstract pen plot on white paper in portrait orientation of a series of slightly overlapping droplet shapes spiraling out from the center in a phyllotaxis pattern each hatch shaded with the colors of the rainbow. The detail shows the individual pen strokes of cyan, yellow, and magenta inks that comprise the hatching.

Paul Rickards@paulrickards· Jun 22

Rainbow tapestry, a plot of rainbow textures with wavy fringe giving a textile feel. Happy Pride! CMYK on 24”x36” watercolor paper using a vintage HP DraftPro DXL with Python. Available in my shop: shop.paulrickards.com/large-plots/ #PenPlotter #Art #ArtForSale #PenPlotterArt #PenPlot #NoAI

An abstract pen plot on white paper in portrait orientation of thin irregular horizontal sections of rainbow shades of color from hatched pen strokes. The rainbow starts with pink at the top and goes to red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and ending with violet. The top and bottom have black gently waving lines coming out of them that look like threads.

Detail from an abstract pen plot on white paper in portrait orientation of thin irregular horizontal sections of rainbow shades of color from hatched pen strokes. The detail shows a closeup of the hatch pens strokes of cyan, yellow, and magenta pinks.

Paul Rickards@paulrickards· Jun 21

CMYK Circle Galaxies, a nod to space telescope photography. Probably one of the more complex plots I’ve done. CMYK ink on 24"x36” watercolor paper using a vintage HP DraftPro #PenPlotter with Python. Available in my shop: shop.paulrickards.com/large-plots/ #NoAI #CreativeCoding #Art #ArtForSale

An abstract pen plot on white paper in portrait orientation of a field of densely packed variable sized circles of a variety of colors on a black background. The colors of the circles are loosely related to one another and slow change color across the composition.

Detail from an abstract pen plot on white paper in portrait orientation of a field of densely packed variable sized circles of a variety of colors on a black background. The detail shows the individual pen strokes that comprise the shading of the circles in cyan, yellow, and magenta.

Detail from an abstract pen plot on white paper in portrait orientation shown at an oblique shallow depth of field of a field of densely packed variable sized circles of a variety of colors on a black background. The detail shows the individual pen strokes that comprise the shading of the circles in cyan, yellow, and magenta.

Paul Rickards@paulrickards· Apr 9

Super excited to announce my #PenPplotter #art work will be on display in the Grand Opera House in Wilmington, Delaware during the month of May 2026! Titled "Programmable Ink: Pen Plotter Art," the show will feature works from a variety of series I've created over the past 10 years.

An invite with a colorful pen plotter design behind text that reads

Paul Rickards

Programmable Ink:
Pen Plotter Art

Solo Art Show
May 2026

Opening Reception
May 1, 2026
5-7pm

The Grand Opera House
The Gran Gallery

818 N Market St
Wilmington DE 19801

Paul Rickards@paulrickards· Apr 8

Engagement. Black India ink on 11”x15” watercolor paper using a vintage HP 7585B pen plotter generated and controlled with Python. Available in my shop: shop.paulrickards.com/wildcards/ #PenPlotter #Art #ArtForSale #ArtSky

An abstract pen plot on white paper of social media icons of hearts, stars, bookmarks, and arrows in black ink haphazardly stacked and rotated on top of one another.

Detail from an abstract pen plot on white paper of social media icons of hearts, stars, bookmarks, and arrows in black ink haphazardly stacked and rotated on top of one another.

Paul Rickards@paulrickards· Apr 6

Truchet țile curves have to be one of my favorites, diving over and under with endless paths to explore. CMYK ink on 11”x15” watercolor paper using a vintage HP 7585B pen plotter. Available in my shop: shop.paulrickards.com/truchet-tiles/ #PenPlotter #Art #ArtForSale #ArtSky #TruchetTiles

A pen plot on white paper of a large number of overlapping, concentric arcs in portrait orientation grouping, swirling around the page in primary CMYK inks but mixing to create secondary colors bounded by a black box.

Detail from a pen plot on white paper of a large number of overlapping, concentric arcs in portrait orientation grouping, swirling around the page in primary CMYK inks but mixing to create secondary colors bounded by a black box. The detail focuses on a middle showing the individual pen strokes of the arcs in a multitude of colors.

Paul Rickards@paulrickards· Apr 5

A second CMYK circle growth with a black background. These are tricky to photograph, the black is so saturated it wants to reflect light. CMYK on 11”x15” watercolor paper using a vintage HP 7585B pen plotter. Available in my shop: shop.paulrickards.com/cmy-circle-g... #PenPlotter #Art #ArtForSale

An abstract pen plot on white paper in portrait orientation of circles of various sizes packed together on a black field with very little space left between them. The circles are shaded a variety of colors and outlined in black.

Detail from an abstract pen plot on white paper in portrait orientation of circles of various sizes packed together on a black field with very little space left between them. The circles are shaded a variety of colors and outlined in black. The detail shows a close up of the individual pen strokes of cyan, yellow, and magenta inks that comprise the hatch shading.

Paul Rickards@paulrickards· Apr 4

CMYK circle growth with a black background making the colors pop like stars in a galaxy. CMYK on 11”x15” watercolor paper using a vintage HP 7585B pen plotter generated and controlled with Python. Available in my shop: shop.paulrickards.com/cmy-circle-g... #PenPlotter #Art #ArtForSale #ArtSky

Paul Rickards@paulrickards· Apr 3

CMYK circle growth with circles densely packed and shaded. I promise it’s not a pseudoisochromatic color vision test. CMYK on 11”x15” watercolor paper using a vintage HP 7585B pen plotter with Python. Available in my shop: shop.paulrickards.com/cmy-circle-g... #PenPlotter #Art #ArtForSale #ArtSky

An abstract pen plot on white paper in portrait orientation of circles of various sizes packed together with very little space left between them. The circles are shaded a variety of colors and outlined in black.

Detail from an abstract pen plot on white paper in portrait orientation of circles of various sizes packed together with very little space left between them. The circles are shaded a variety of colors and outlined in black. The detail shows a close up of the individual pen strokes of cyan, yellow, and magenta inks that comprise the hatch shading.

Paul Rickards@paulrickards· Mar 29

Rainbow tapestry, a plot of rainbow textures with wavy fringe giving a textile feel. CMYK on 11”x15” watercolor paper using a vintage HP 7585B pen plotter generated and controlled with Python. Available in my shop: shop.paulrickards.com/wildcards/ #PenPlotter #ArtForSale #Art #ArtSky

Paul Rickards@paulrickards· Mar 27

This CMYK circle growth plot reminds me of a geode with sparkling crystals growing inside. CMYK on 11”x15” watercolor paper using a vintage HP 7585B pen plotter generated and controlled with Python. Available in my shop: shop.paulrickards.com/cmy-circle-g... #PenPlotter #Art #ArtForSale #ArtSky

An abstract pen plot on white paper in portrait orientation of a series various sized shaded pentagons distributed on the page, all surrounded by thin black evenly spaced outlines all around.

Detail from an abstract pen plot on white paper in portrait orientation of a series various sized shaded pentagons distributed on the page, all surrounded by thin black evenly spaced outlines all around. The detail shows the hatch shading is made up of individual pen strokes of cyan, yellow, and magenta.

Paul Rickards@paulrickards· Mar 25

CMYK Square Growth with a bold tree, square leaf nodes, and chaotic outlines of motion all around. CMYK on 11”x15” watercolor paper using a vintage HP 7585B pen plotter with Python. Available in my shop: shop.paulrickards.com/cmy-circle-g... #PenPlotter #ArtForSale #Art #ArtSky

An abstract pen plot on white paper in portrait orientation of a series various sized shaded squares distributed on the page that are connected with a progressively thicker black lines as if branches of a tree, all surrounded by thin black evenly spaced outlines all around.

Detail from an abstract pen plot on white paper in portrait orientation of a series various sized shaded squares distributed on the page that are connected with a progressively thicker black lines as if branches of a tree, all surrounded by thin black evenly spaced outlines all around. The detail shows the hatch shading is made up of individual pen strokes of cyan, yellow, and magenta.

Paul Rickards@paulrickards· Mar 24

CMYK Circle Growth visualizes the growth of a tree structure as a groovy 70s jazz record sleeve. CMYK on 11”x15” watercolor paper using a vintage HP 7585B pen plotter generated and controlled with Python. Available in my shop: shop.paulrickards.com/cmy-circle-g... #PenPlotter #ArtForSale #ArtSky

An abstract pen plot on white paper in portrait orientation of a series various sized shaded circles distributed on the page that are connected with a thick black line as if branches of a tree.

Detail from an abstract pen plot on white paper in portrait orientation of a series various sized shaded circles distributed on the page that are connected with a thick black line as if branches of a tree. The detail shows the hatch shading is made up of individual pen strokes of cyan, yellow, and magenta.

Paul Rickards@paulrickards· Mar 23

More rainbow phyllotaxis spirals. Larger petals with a variation on the light source directly overhead with shadows all around. CMYK on 11”x15” watercolor paper using a vintage HP 7585B pen plotter with Python. Available in my shop: shop.paulrickards.com/wildcards/ #PenPlotter #Art #ArtForSale

An abstract pen plot on white paper in portrait orientation of a series of droplet shapes slightly overlapping as they spiral out from the center in a phyllotaxis pattern each hatch shaded with the colors of the rainbow with pink in the middle transitioning to red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet. Each shape is outlined in black and has a small drop shadow in black.

Detail from an abstract pen plot on white paper in portrait orientation of a series of small droplet shapes slightly overlapping as they spiral out from the center in a phyllotaxis pattern each hatch shaded with the colors of the rainbow. The detail shows the individual pen strokes of cyan, yellow, and magenta inks that comprise the hatching.

Paul Rickards@paulrickards· Mar 22

Another iteration of the rainbow phyllotaxis spiral with larger petals this time. Happy spring! CMYK on 11”x15” watercolor paper using a vintage HP 7585B pen plotter generated and controlled with Python. Available in my shop: shop.paulrickards.com/wildcards/ #PenPlotter #ArtForSale #Art #ArtSky

Paul Rickards@paulrickards· Mar 21

It’s spring time here, so I’m revisiting phyllotaxis spiral patterns which are visible in some plants as they grow. CMYK on 11”x15” watercolor paper using a vintage HP 7585B pen plotter with Python. Available in my shop: shop.paulrickards.com/wildcards/ #PenPlotter #ArtForSale #Art #ArtSky

An abstract pen plot on white paper in portrait orientation of a series of small droplet shapes spiraling out from the center in a phyllotaxis pattern each hatch shaded with the colors of the rainbow with pink in the middle transitioning to red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet. Each shape is outlined in black and has a small drop shadow in black.

Detail from an abstract pen plot on white paper in portrait orientation of a series of small droplet shapes spiraling out from the center in a phyllotaxis pattern each hatch shaded with the colors of the rainbow. The detail shows the individual pen strokes of cyan, yellow, and magenta inks that comprise the hatching.

Paul Rickards@paulrickards· Mar 18

CMY Delaunay Triangles on Waves with triangles that gently blend into a soft colorful tapestry. CMY on 11”x15” watercolor paper using a vintage HP 7585B pen plotter generated and controlled with Python. Available in my shop: shop.paulrickards.com/cmy-delaunay... #PenPlotter #ArtSky #Art