Monday, December 21, 2015

Vision

     A rock pile ceases to be a rock pile the moment a single man contemplates it, bearing within him the image of a cathedral.

                            Antoine de Saint-Exupery

 Well, this drawing is about as far away from the last one as I usually can manage.  For me, this is very loose drawing and I am working very hard to work less on the details in her hair.  Hopefully, I will be able to stay nice and loose in her clothing as well.  And, the big decision to be made ~ where to put the red?!?  Merry Christmas!

Thursday, December 17, 2015

Crimson Sheets

A very beautiful woman hardly ever leaves a clear-cut impression of features and shape in the memory: usually there remains only an aura of living colour.

                                            William Bolitho

      At last!  This little lady is finally done.  She can stop sitting on my drawing board.  So far in this series of women with red this particular drawing has taken the longest to complete.  It turned out that it was more an exercise in working with colored pencil than it was in achieving value.  Having worked so much with oil paint I have grown accustomed to being able to cover up any color or value of color that didn't work within the painting with another layer of paint.  Once dark shades are put in with colored pencil, however, it is next to impossible to lighten them ~ much like watercolor.  I have a new respect, therefore, for colored pencil artists.  They must be very good at planning ahead!

Friday, December 11, 2015

The Red Sheet

     The world is a looking glass and gives back to every man the reflection of his own face.

                                                             William Makepeace Thackeray

 Since this blog is called One Artist's Journey I have decided to go back and start posting some of my works in progress.  This is the next drawing of a woman done in charcoal pencils and red colored pencils.  Her face is wrong, wrong, wrong.  Somehow I have managed to put her nose as if it is being seen in a full frontal view.  Hopefully, in the next session I will be able to give her a nose job.  That should help with another problem I see ~ her eyes.  As it is now they look too close together as their placement on her face don't agree with the way her nose looks.  Basically there are two different perspectives which leads the eye to be confused.  I am also having trouble with the shadows in her wrap.  Even though I was trying to stick to only using red pencils it looks as if I am going to have to add some purple in the shadows to give it more dimension.  There is red in purple so I am only breaking my made-up rule a little!  Looking at the picture as a whole, I also think I have way overworked her face.  I like the gentle shading on her body so will try to erase some of my darker lines when I get back to her features.  Anyway, there is a long, long way to go on this one but thought I would put it up now to show how things are constantly being worked and reworked.   Привет

Thursday, December 3, 2015

The Redhead

       A man of eighty has outlived probably three new schools of painting, two of architecture and poetry, and a hundred in dress.

                                         Joyce Carey

      The pictures that I am working from for this series of drawings actually come from a black and white clip art book I have.  When I first saw this one I was tempted to make her necklace the red component in this drawing.  Once I got into it, though, I realized her hair was the feature that demanded the most attention.  It is always difficult to draw young, thin people ~ any artist that has tried her hand at life drawing will tell you that.  The more wrinkles the better ~ no matter where they are.  That fact is obvious in the picture.  One can only look at her face for so long before one's eye is drawn to her ribbon necklace.  Even though it is not done in color like her hair, the shadows and highlights created by all the folds in the ribbon make it an equally strong part of the drawing.  Also the shape of the necklace itself completes the circle partially created by her hair and the side of her face keeping the viewer's attention on her face.  Off she goes to join the other ladies!

Monday, November 23, 2015

Red Ribbons

There is in every true woman's heart a spark of heavenly fire, which lies dormant in the broad daylight of prosperity, but which kindles up and beams and blazes in the dark hour of adversity.

                Washington Irving

 This drawing is number three in my series of charcoal pencil drawings of women highlighted with red pencil.  She looks like a woman that gets done what she sets her mind, too.  I tried to convey a little bit of spark in her personality by making her ribbons red ~ they help to give the impression that she walks her own path.  Again there is a lot of value work here.  These exercises are a great way to learn to see the value of being able to see value!

Tuesday, November 17, 2015

Lady in Red

Would that life were like the shadow cast by a wall or tree, but it is like the shadow of a bird in flight.

                   The Talmud

      After I posted this yesterday and got ready to put this lady aside I decided it needed just a little more work.  I am frequently asked when I know a piece of work is finished.  The honest answer ~ I don't.  They just get put aside and then usually pulled back out after some new change pops into my mind.  Anyway, this is the semi-final drawing of the Lady in Red.

Monday, November 16, 2015

Lady in Red

A very beautiful woman hardly ever leaves a clear-cut impression of features and shape in the memory: usually there remains only an aura of living colour.

               William Bolitho

      This is the second drawing in the series I am working on of women.  This one appealed to me because of its simplicity ~ simple hairdo, simple dress, no jewelry and yet she conveys such elegance and style just in the way she holds herself and the way she gazes so confidently into the distance.  I am toying with the idea of drawing some girl children but am finding that the older faces give me more chances to work on mastering value ~ lots of wrinkles to work with! 

Thursday, November 5, 2015

The belief that youth is the happiest time of life is founded upon a fallacy.  The happiest person is the person who thinks the most interesting thoughts, and we grow happier as we grow older.

                William Lyon Phelps 

      Well, after finishing the drawing of the old woman I have decided to do a series of women of all ages.  I have got this one on the page and have made a start on her hair and her eye.  I have always wanted to try my hand at portrait oil painting so this will be a first step.  These drawings are a real lesson in value and composition.  Already I am seeing a problem with her eyebrow ~ some plucking to be done next session.

Monday, October 26, 2015

Solitude

Night, when words fade and things come alive, when the destructive analysis of day is done, and all that is truly important becomes whole and sound again.  When man reassembles his fragmentary self and grows with the calm of a tree.

                                         Antoine de Saint-Exupery

         While I may have inadvertently added glazes to my paintings before I am consciously using them on this one.  Even though I feel as if I have been working on this one for years (which I actually have off and on) it also feels as if I have just begun.  So far I have only glazed over the windows in the boat and the inside of the row boat.  And I have only added very light glazes.  Over the next several weeks I plan to experiment a lot more and see how the glaze applications will add depth to the overall composition. This technique takes quite a bit of patience as each coat must be allowed to completely dry before the next one is applied.  Thank goodness I have many other projects to work on ~ too many! 

Tuesday, October 20, 2015

Lost in Thought

The tragedy of life is not so much what men suffer, but rather what they miss.

                                    Thomas Carlyle

      Now that I am back from my trip I was able to get my hands on a few things to put the final touches on this drawing.  I darkened some of her clothing and some of her hair with charcoal and used some different colored pencils to give more depth to her head scarf.  The whole time I was drawing her I was under the belief that she was thinking sad thoughts but now I have changed my mind.  If she has the spunk to tie a red scarf on her head I think she must have some pretty exciting memories ~ some of which I am sure are connected to that wedding ring she still has on her finger!

Wednesday, October 14, 2015

One of the recognizable features of the authentic masterpiece is its capacity to renew itself, to endure the loss of some kinds of immediate relevance while still answering the most important questions men can ask, including new ones they are just learning how to frame.

                                                   Arnold Stein

 Last week I had a wonderful opportunity to visit the National Gallery of Art.  Washington, D.C. is beautiful this time of the year.  After a lovely stroll from Union Station past the Capitol and the Reflecting Pool the icing on the cake was standing before so many of the old master paintings the gallery offers.  I was so inspired by everything I saw that I spent the next day all day in the hotel room working on this drawing.  I was so happy that I had packed my pencils and this drawing to work on.  Usually I just bring along a few pencils and a sketch pad when I travel but this time knowing that I would get a chance to have some time to work I brought this project along.  Anyway, as you can see I did go ahead and make the scarf red and even added a little blue to her eyes.  Not quite sure if this is finished yet ~ now that I am home I might possibly use some charcoal to darken some of the shadows and her coat.  For now, though, I am going to put this sad little lady in the corner and grab my paints.  I have been reading about the Flemish method and am anxious to give it a try.

Friday, October 2, 2015

Lost in Thought

The spiritual eyesight improves as the physical eyesight declines.

                  Plato

      Once again I have fallen into the trap of not planning ahead.  While I am happy with the pose and placement of this drawing I really didn't think out the color scheme like I should have.  When I first made a quick sketch I was toying with the idea of doing the whole drawing in graphite and then going back and doing the scarf in red colored pencil.  Now that I have highlighted her hair in white chalk I am not sure if that is such a good idea.  Her coat is going to be a deep black but, then again, maybe a deep purple if I do the scarf red.  There are no rules in art but sometimes I wish there were!

Tuesday, September 29, 2015

Solitude

To dare to live alone is the rarest courage; since there are many who had rather meet their bitterest enemy in the field, than their own hearts in their closet.

                                        Charles Caleb Colton

 I started this painting at least five years ago.  Hours and hours went into painting those rocks until I couldn't look at them any more.  Into the corner this one went to join other unfinished projects.  It stares at me forlornly every time I walk into my studio.  Finally this past week I stuck it up on my easel and did a little work on the sky and added the mountain on the left.  It seems like such a lonely place.  I believe it is called Peg's Cove.  I know I copied it from a photograph of a painting from some magazine.  Of course, the photograph is somewhere but after three moves in five years I can't put my finger on it.  Anyway, my idea is not to copy any more but to use it as a base painting for ideas and techniques I have picked up since I first started it.  So off we go!  It looks like such a lonely place so for now I am calling it Solitude.  Maybe I'll put a few people in the boat and a dog by the house.  Maybe.

Friday, September 25, 2015

As the births of living creatures at first are ill-shapen, so are all innovations, which are the births of time.
                            Francis Bacon

 Since my last post was about death I thought I would post today about birth.  The above is the birth of a new drawing I have started of an old woman deep in contemplation.  I lightly penciled in a rough sketch placing a few prominent points off which to measure the entire drawing.  Now that she is placed on the paper where I would like her to be I have started shading in her scarf and hair and am slowly working my way down.  Using both graphite and charcoal pencils and working on the larger shapes first I will probably work my way down this drawing four or five times.  By the time I have finished she and I will be great friends! 

Tuesday, September 22, 2015



                                                 There is no such thing as death,
                                                 In nature, nothing dies:
                                                 From each sad moment of decay
                                                 Some forms of life arise.

                                                                            Charles MacKay
 
          Once again this poor pot sat in the corner of my studio for weeks.  Something was wrong (well, actually, more than one thing but more about that later.)  The idea was to depict the last bit of a large flower arrangement left to die in a huge pot.  I was so intent on using some radiant white that would stand out against the darker edge of the pot that I kept going over and over the flowers working on getting a dynamic contrast.  Of course, dying flowers are not vibrant ~ not vivid ~ not bursting with energy.  They are limp, sad, and most of all, dreary.  I have toned these down quite a bit but they still need more work.  How does one paint sadness and decay???  And once that distressing feeling is visible in the flowers how will they still maintain their proper place as the focal point?  Should have thought this through way before I put the first dab of paint on this canvas.  Composition, color mixing, technique, on and on ~ so much to learn!

Wednesday, February 25, 2015

It is through color changes that we go forward...all decisions come about as the picture is made and in response to painterly demands.  The descriptive and anecdotal come second.

                  Wolf Kahn

      This painting has been sitting in the corner of my studio for quite a while now.  I made the tablecloth green thinking it would give the whole painting a warm, exotic feel.  I hated it.  That's why it sat in the corner for so long.  Every once in a while I would rework the pot.  Then I would put it back in the corner and consider giving up painting.  Then the other day in a reckless mood I succumbed to the idea of change.  I painted over the green making the tablecloth a traditional white.  I blued down the flowers a bit and realized once again the power color has on what we find appealing and what we find jarring.  There are still a few touches this one needs but it won't sit in the corner any more.

Monday, February 9, 2015

Final Boot Drawing






All art is based on observation, and this, in its time, must be disciplined to be of any value.  Vague recollections are of no value to the artist.  Know what you are looking for and why, and then record it.  Then look again, for what you missed.

              Van Waldron

      Well, I will never look at a pair of old shoes the same way!  The more I worked on these the more I realized how much character they had.  There is something very meditative about concentrating on something for a long time and really seeing it.  This drawing took about 7 hours to complete from start to finish.  There were lots of small details and quite a bit of value changes to deal with.  A great exercise in observing!

Wednesday, February 4, 2015

Boots Update

Talent without discipline is like an octopus on roller skates.  There's plenty of movement, but you never know if it's going to be forward, backwards, or sideways.

              H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

          Well, the boot drawing above is really taking shape.  I have about 6 hours into this and think maybe one more session will finish it off.  It is so easy for me to put things aside and start something new ~ so many pictures to draw and paintings to paint!  However, at this point it is important to finish each piece in order to practice the fine points of value.  Now it is time to really look at these boots in the photograph and really see all the different gradations from lightest light to darkest dark.  Sharp eyes and sharp pencils!

Tuesday, February 3, 2015

Values

Learn to look at shapes and values, not things... switch over to the right brain's understanding of spatial relationships, instead of depending on the left brain technical skills.

               Laurel Weathersbee

        This past Friday I attended an open studio at Crealde Art School in Orlando.  Nineteen people crammed into one small space to take advantage of a great opportunity to work with a lovely model.  It was fascinating to walk around the room and see the different styles of work and the various techniques being employed ~ amazing what one can learn by watching someone else.  It was also a  great chance to try some of the things about value that I have been reading about in Juliette Aristedes' book.  There is a long way to go in developing my technique but I am starting to get the idea.  The open studio was only three hours so I worked on this a bit more after I got it home.  This coming week I will go again but there will be a different model ~ am anxious to try again.  Maybe I will even be able to do that switch Ms. Weathersbee is talking about!


Thursday, January 29, 2015

Boots' Progress

When my daughter was about seven years old, she asked me one day what I did at work.  I told her I worked at the college ~ that my job was to teach people how to draw.  She stared back at me, incredulous, and said, "You mean they forget?"

              Howard Ikemoto

 Just a quick look at my drawing board.  The boots are coming along ~ mainly working with only a 2B charcoal pencil.  It is always amazing to me how much more one can see in something the longer one looks at it.  At first all I saw was a pair of boots and now I am lost in all the little bits and pieces that make up each one.  God bless the shoemaker!  Tomorrow I am off to a life drawing class ~ been a long time since I have given that a whirl ~ we'll see!

Tuesday, January 27, 2015

Monochromatic Master Copy Painting

To a true artist only that face is beautiful which, quite apart from its exterior, shines with the truth within the soul.

                  Mahatma Gandhi

 The first exercise I have attempted out of Juliette Aristedes Classical Painting book is to try my hand at a monochromatic master copy painting.  I chose Marie Genevieve Bouliard's self-portrait for many reasons but mainly because I have long wanted to try my hand at portrait painting and thought using a very limited palette might make the process a little easier.  For my painting above I used only zinc white, ivory black, burnt sienna, and burnt umber.  I mixed a value range from 1 to 10.  Although my Genevieve doesn't look so much like the original Genevieve I was happy with the overall result.  I was more than amazed at how only two colors with the addition of black and white produced such a range of depth in the final piece. 

The next chapter discusses value ~ very interesting!  According to Ms. Aristedes "the portrayal of light and shadow is itself one of the driving forces behind most successful works of art ~ infinitely greater than the most carefully rendered inventory of objects."  Sounds to me she wouldn't be too disappointed in my Genevieve either.  I am still going back to my drawing board, however, as my ultimate goal is to paint paintings that actually look like the subject!

Wednesday, January 14, 2015

Shoe Drawing

The simple things are also the most extraordinary things and only the wise can see them.

                            Paul Coehlo

 The top photograph shows the initial drawing of the shoes done in 2B graphite pencil.  I used a few graph lines to find my major points and then measured off from them to get the rest of the outline.  After getting a fairly accurate drawing I went back and retraced it adding a few more lines with a 2B charcoal pencil.  After 2 hours in I now am ready to start adding the finer lines and some shading.  It has been a long time since I have put so much work into a drawing ~ forgot how much work they can be but also how enjoyable they are to do.

As for my work with Juliette Aristides' book I am continuing the chapter on composition ~ tackling the concept of root rectangles.  This is another system used by the classical artists to create harmonic divisions within their paintings.  Using geometric principles a different armature from the armature of the rectangle can be made ~ again providing an endless variety of compositions.  It is suggested to study the compositions of past master paintings in order to familiarize oneself with the structure of the piece.  Sounds like a trip to the art museum to me!


Tuesday, January 6, 2015

Harmonic Ratios



There is music wherever there is harmony, order and proportion; and thus far we may maintain the music of the spheres; for those well ordered motions, and regular paces, though they give no sound unto the ear, yet to the understanding they strike a note most full of harmony.

                                                Thomas Browne

 My new year's present to myself was Juliette Aristides book Classical Painting Atelier.  According to the jacket "Aristides uses the works of old masters and today's most respected realist artists to demonstrate and teach the principles of realist painting, taking students step by step through the learning curve, yet allowing them to work at their own pace".  This book is just what I have been looking for ~ and anyone who is interested in joining the new renaissance of classical, realistic painting will be delighted with this book as well.  Besides giving an outline of the basic steps in learning to paint, timeless principles and practices are covered as well.  I have just begun the chapter on composition ~ an in depth discussion of how the harmonic ratios discovered by Pythagoras came to be used by artists to divide up their pictorial space.  I had already chosen the top photo above for a drawing exercise.  The second photo is a copy of the armature of the rectangle used by artists to create an infinite number of compositions.  The third photo shows a portion of the armature sketched on to the photo from which I am working.  One of the most important thing about any work of art is its composition and being able to recognize the elements of a good composition is paramount to the work's success.  Ms Aristides book, so far, has been a great resource on explaining the harmonic ratios used in successful arrangements within a painting ~ fascinating the extent to which master artists of the past relied on geometry for their work!