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paulrickards.bsky.social
Paul Rickards
@paulrickards.bsky.social
3.4K followers 150 following 410 posts
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: https://biosrhythm.com/
My shop: https://shop.paulrickards.com/
Posts Replies Media Videos
paulrickards.bsky.social
🐖 Start pig-mode?
A Mac System 7.5 dialog box from ResEdit with a small pig icon, the text "Start pig-mode?" and Cancel and OK buttons. It apparently constantly tries to free up resources, aiding developers. To see it, hold command-option-shift and choose About ResEdit from the Apple Menu.
September 17, 2025 at 10:31 PM
paulrickards.bsky.social
Over the past week, I built a new tiny #PenPlotter with a vintage ALPS 2.25" mechanism! It sports a 3D printed snap-fit case, receipt paper holder, speaks GRBL over WiFi, 18650 battery w USB-C recharge, and a color scheme borrowed from the JLPGA PowerBook 170.
A tiny pen plotter housed in three increasingly sized plastic boxes of red, blue, and yellow. A white top with buttons and paper coming out show the text Hello, World and a differential growth pattern drawn on it.
September 12, 2025 at 2:52 AM
paulrickards.bsky.social
Putting Zork 1 on my Atari Portfolio for some gaming on the go.
An Atari Portfolio computer with a serial interface. On the screen is a terminal program XTerm downloading "zork1.dat" showing progress as dots. An Atari Portfolio running Zork 1. On the monochrome screen it says "West of House. You are standing in an open field west of a white house, with a boarded front door. There is a small mailbox here." There's a > prompt and a flashing cursor at the bottom of the screen.
September 4, 2025 at 9:45 PM
paulrickards.bsky.social
A gift from a friend. ❤️ My friends know me all too well.
A canvas tote bag with the Tekserve logo on it with "Apple Specialist" below it and their former NYC address.
September 3, 2025 at 8:58 PM
paulrickards.bsky.social
Rate my battlestation!

This is a Sony Anycast Station AWS-G500HD from 2007. It's essentially a Sony luggable PIII 933Mhz PC that runs Linux 2.4.20 with a ton of FPGAs to do the heavy lifting of a video switcher. Plus glorious physical buttons, faders, dials, and removable keyboard. And a jog wheel.
A Sony laptop-style computer cosplaying as a video production switcher with keyboard, buttons, sliders, and dials on the bottom and a LCD on the top showing several windows of different video sources including "Video Killed the Radio Star" by The Buggles, Look Around You: Maths, a Lisa sales pitch video, and a rotating cube.
August 20, 2025 at 2:39 AM
paulrickards.bsky.social
Moody disjointed EA logo in KPT Bryce, MacOS 9
Screenshot from Mac OS 9 showing KPT Bryce software interface with a dim rendering of some mountains and misty purple water with a cube, sphere, and pyramid floating above.
August 18, 2025 at 4:23 PM
paulrickards.bsky.social
It's an "install an old version of Linux" kind of day. TWM really takes me back..

#RetroComputing
Screenshot of a Linux X-Window session with the Tab Window Manager with several apps open including xterm, Netscape, xcalc, xbiff, and xclock. The color scheme is a simple white, black, and light cyan.
August 17, 2025 at 7:56 PM
paulrickards.bsky.social
Repairing an Okimate 20 printer. Given the complexity of this thing and age, it's quite repairable and the output is really nice.

#RetroComputing
An Okimate 20 printer with the cover removed revealing the inner workings of the printer including belts, gears, and electronics. Paper is loaded and printed with barber pole test.
August 15, 2025 at 3:18 PM
paulrickards.bsky.social
TIL the Kensington Turbo Mouse can use a billiard ball.
Photo of a beige trackball with an 11 red/white striped billiard ball in it next to a Mac Plus keyboard. Photo of a beige trackball with an 8 black billiard ball in it next to a Mac Plus keyboard.
August 14, 2025 at 4:38 PM
Reposted by Paul Rickards
nanoraptor.danamania.com
bitbang.social/@paulrickard...
A photo of some 3.5” floppy cassettes being used in a Roland sequencer. One yellow is inserted and the other is red and still in its jewel case
August 8, 2025 at 11:10 PM
Reposted by Paul Rickards
mmjs86.bsky.social
The absolute highlight of my Saturday - I got to see @paulrickards.bsky.social's plotter art exhibit at Bantam Tools Machine Arts Gallery in Peekskill. In addition to art on the walls, Paul had a modern Bantam Tools pen plotter hard at work creating even more art!
Paul speaking to a visitor in a gallery featuring large colorful pen plotter drawings on the walls Doors and the poster for the exhibition Very large plotter plotting a tall drawing
June 8, 2025 at 1:15 PM
paulrickards.bsky.social
I’ve long admired the old ALDUS logo from PageMaker. I’ve used that style to create a #PenPlotter rainbow portrait of Alan Turing for pride month.

CMYK on 11”x15” watercolor paper and a HP 7585B pen plotter with Python.

shop.paulrickards.com/wildcards/

#Art #Artist #PlotterArt #PenPlot #NoAI
An abstract portrait of Alan Turing comprised of 34 horizontal lines that modulate thicker or thinner based on the portrait and are one shade of a rainbow continuous outlined in black. The shading is from cross hatching of pen strokes of cyan, yellow, and magenta inks.
June 3, 2025 at 7:03 PM
Reposted by Paul Rickards
billlange.bsky.social
Playing a little Mozart with MIDIPLAY on my #Atari #STe on a dreary afternoon.
May 22, 2025 at 9:48 PM
Reposted by Paul Rickards
rectapete.bsky.social
Apparently there is a #FlowersonFriday so here are some irises from my backyard that were transplanted from other irises from @paulrickards.bsky.social.
Irises
May 16, 2025 at 7:28 PM
Reposted by Paul Rickards
savetz.bsky.social
Caroline contemplates @paulrickards.bsky.social plotter art.
“A cat sits on top of a printer, intently staring at a colorful abstract painting on the wall. The printer is covered in various stickers and sits beside a desk cluttered with papers and cassette tapes. Two vibrant framed artworks hang on the wall above the printer.”
May 9, 2025 at 1:32 AM
Reposted by Paul Rickards
rectapete.bsky.social
Went to the @paulrickards.bsky.social art exhibit in Peekskill, New York yesterday. Such a great day and I am always amazed at his work.
Bantam Tools Paul’s work Paul’s work
May 4, 2025 at 8:38 PM
Reposted by Paul Rickards
bantamtools.bsky.social
Paul Rickards Opening Party
@paulrickards.bsky.social 
this Saturday, May 3rd, 4-6pm
RSVP ⬇️
bantamtools.com/blogs/galler...

#penplotter #penplotart #axidraw #nextdraw #artframe
April 27, 2025 at 4:52 PM
paulrickards.bsky.social
Excited to announce my #PenPlotter artwork will be on view at the @bantamtools.bsky.social Machine Arts Gallery in Peekskill, NY Friday-Sunday during the month of May! There's an opening on Saturday, May 3 from 4-6pm. If you're in the area, stop by and say hi!

RSVP: partiful.com/e/HyqDgIQ9Bo...
RSVP to Paul Rickards | Bantam Tools Machine Arts Gallery Opening | Partiful
Join us for the opening of a solo show by Paul Rickards, an artist and engineer who brings vintage pen plotters back to life. Using custom code and obsolete machines, Rickards creates algorithmic draw...
partiful.com
April 26, 2025 at 5:51 PM
paulrickards.bsky.social
At first glance, I thought it was a box of decongestant.
A small white rectangular paperboard box opened on a black table with a silver plastic packet visible in the opening. The box says Raspberry Pi Camera Module 2 in a sans serif font with small print and a bar code that evokes a pharmaceutical box.
April 13, 2025 at 5:39 PM
paulrickards.bsky.social
Back from a whirlwind of a weekend. Thank you to all that stopped by my #PenPlotter exhibit table at #VCFEast this year. And a huge thank you to all that purchased plots and floppies at consignment.

If you got a plot or postcard, reply with a picture!

#VCFEast2025 #RetroComputing
An exhibit table at a computer fair with two large plotters and a music keyboard with a built-in plotter. In the back is a large framed abstract colorful plot on an easel. On the wall are various abstract pen plot designs and a poster.
April 8, 2025 at 2:47 PM
Reposted by Paul Rickards
gabiscott.bsky.social
Vintage Computer Festival East was full of colorful, vintage eye candy today. It was also fun to meet some of @polpo.org ‘s online community IRL. @paulrickards.bsky.social pen plot artwork is so wonderful.
Pen Plotter art by Paul Rickards.
April 6, 2025 at 1:42 AM
Reposted by Paul Rickards
rectapete.bsky.social
Come to #VCFEast this weekend to see our #AtariST exhibit!
billlange.bsky.social Bill Lange @billlange.bsky.social · Apr 4
Day 1 of Vintage Computer Festival East 2025. Here is @rectapete.bsky.social and my #Atari ST exhibit. Happy 40th Birthday Atari ST.
April 4, 2025 at 9:32 PM
Reposted by Paul Rickards
amigabill.bsky.social
I will have a video toaster setup at VCF East thanks to your suggestion at LI Retro! Come check it out at our Westchester Amiga User Group WAUG Amiga 40 Exhibit!
April 2, 2025 at 1:15 AM
paulrickards.bsky.social
Getting things ready for my #PenPlotter exhibit at #VCFEast2025 this weekend. Spent the day plotting this poster on the Roland DPX 2000. I added some color splashes to it this year.

If you come to the show, you’ll see this plotter plus a few others.

#VCFEast #Art #RetroComputing
A Roland DPX 2000 pen plotter with a completed poster titled The Plot Thickens: Pen Plotter History and Artistry. An oblique view of the poster showing some color splashes of pen plotter artwork.
March 31, 2025 at 11:05 PM
paulrickards.bsky.social
CMY Delaunay Triangles on Waves builds shaded triangles from sine waves.

CMY on 11”x15” watercolor paper using a vintage HP 7585B #PenPlotter generated and controlled with Python.

Available in my shop: shop.paulrickards.com/cmy-delaunay...

#PenPlotterArt #Art #ArtForSale #NoAI
An abstract pen plot on white paper in portrait orientation of tightly packed triangles arranged in a subtle wave pattern from upper left to lower right each hatch shaded with a different color from overlapping cyan, yellow, and magenta inks. A lighter spot of color is in just above the center. Detail from an abstract pen plot on white paper in portrait orientation of tightly packed triangles arranged in a subtle wave pattern from upper left to lower right each hatch shaded with a different color from overlapping cyan, yellow, and magenta inks. The detail shows individual pen strokes comprising the hatch shading. Detail from an abstract pen plot on white paper in portrait orientation of tightly packed triangles arranged in a subtle wave pattern from upper left to lower right each hatch shaded with a different color from overlapping cyan, yellow, and magenta inks. The detail shows individual pen strokes comprising the hatch shading.
March 11, 2025 at 7:24 PM